I first became aware of Jekyll a couple of years back while visiting a local venue for a night out, and to see a bunch of unknown bands playing live (The Ferret in Preston if you must know). I find it an enjoyable thing to do…just rock up with no prior knowledge of who is playing and check out the bands and what they have to offer. It’s usually entertaining and you can discover some good bands this way…and if you’re lucky, every now and then, you might be blown away. This particular night I was enthralled by this bunch of lads. Yes ok, there were hints of Muse in there but they were young and probably inspired, and anyway fledgling bands often retain influences, because after all they haven’t been together long enough to define their own sound. But even so that night there was something unique about them, and something very special in singer Joel Foster’s voice, and even in the stillness and the angelic devilishness of his face, the band quietly poised around him as they unleashed an awesome and epic set upon a mostly unsuspecting pub crowd. Very impressive even then.
Since then they signed with Fierce Panda records, got new management and even a top notch booking agency, have a couple of EP releases under their belt, and lockdown must have agreed with them because, boy have they matured. I predicted that this band were going to be big and I fully expect when their album finally lands that they should go meteoric. They are the complete package.
And so to this, their new single. And if it’s a taste of things to come then where do I sign. An anthem of epic proportions which breathes life into the pain we feel and turns it into a dynamic energy. It’s glorious in every way, from the production to the arrangement, with massive reverb drenched guitars playing shifting chords underneath a heart stopping, though beautifully subtle, vocal melody that carries you off into space, shooting past planets and flying through the cosmos on a magic carpet ride of epic proportions. My only gripe is it’s TOO BLOODY SHORT. Come on lads, I WANT MORE. But this is a hell of a start!
‘Tear Ourselves In Two’ is out now via Fierce Panda Records on all of the usual streaming platforms.
Find out more on Jekyll’s official website.
Review by Andrew Wood
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