Wednesday 17 April 2013

PREMIERE: The Graphite Set - These Streets EP

EP review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk


Lily Buchanan could very well fill the void of slightly kooky, experimental, powerfully-voiced psych/pop/rock that opened up when Florence decided to take her Machine to more commercial lands, or to easily satisfy our cravings in the time between PJ Harvey albums. As The Graphite Set she's due to launch her debut EP at the beginning of June, and it's everything an interesting solo artist who dabbles in rock, folk and psychedelia should be. Her voice is commanding yet ever so slightly unusual, perhaps like a Nico if she had more range, or even Grace Slick.

It's the title-track that will rightly get the attention for now, beginning with an odd fade-in that stops to let her voice introduce itself alongside guitar from Katherine Blamire from The Smoke Fairies. Before long it surges into chugging psych-rock interspersed with spooky atmospherics; it's potent stuff, but no one-track wonder. 'Pick Me Up' thumps into being as though it's just been teleported in from 1969, as the hippies turned to more robust sounds that still retained that air of mystery. This too has a surging finale. That voice takes center stage on the more downbeat 'In Your Eyes', a song that still feels as though it belongs to a different time, it's quite pensive and tender. Perhaps the most inventive track is saved for last. 'I See No Lies' is a follow-on from the track that preceded it, upping the tempo and bringing with it a smoky, hallucinogenic quality that keeps getting whipped up more and more. It's an impressive way to finish what is an impressive start to a career.





The Graphite Set's website

Catch her live:

Jun 05 Sebright Arms, London, United Kingdom





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