There is something magical in discovering a new band or an artist. It doesn’t really matter if you find them through TikTok video, or accidental Spotify stream, through a live performance (always come early to see the support acts!) or hear them on the radio. What’s truly important is putting yourself out there, widening your musical and cultural horizon and taking a leap of faith. I absolutely adore the feeling when I’m listening to the song for the first time and I’m falling in love with the track right there and then. Nothing beats the excitement of hearing new music, new sound and new voices. about-faces weren’t sent to us through a PR agency nor have we learnt about them through an exciting review from one of the music magazines that love to make you believe they care about new music. We just did it the old-fashioned way – by scrolling through our social media and paying attention to what was being posted. Their debut single, “Under the Sun” came out almost a month ago, but we haven’t had any time to review it, until now. Believe me, this is a 5 piece you have to listen to.
“Under the Sun” single cover
Official bio: about-faces are Sennen Ludman (vocals/guitar), Joseph Schofield (drums), Danielle Capstick (keyboard/vocals), Nigel Ngwenya (bass) and Cormac Connolly (lead guitar). The band came together through shared passions of musical creativity and lyrical self-expression – in a search for an escape from day-to-day life. This Leeds 5-piece have their eyes on creating arena-ready songs for the masses. Their lively alt-rock instrumentals provide a colourful canvas for the dual vocals of Sennen’s distinctive northern delivery and Danielle’s effortless harmonies to accent. about-faces hung out in practice rooms for nights on end slowly engineering their sound and trying to encapsulate their views on life in musical form. With shared ambitions and a work ethic to match, this band produces music with a message: “you could do it” – for a world in need of positivity.
Despite seemingly appearing completely out of nowhere, about-faces are not newcomers. Everyone except for Danielle Capstick were previously members of an acclaimed indie band called Sounds Like A Storm that managed to make their name on the national level. They supported Twisted Wheel, King No-One, played the biggest festivals (Leeds and Reading, Live at Leeds, Tramlines, The Bingley Weekender) and received numerous plays from BBC Radio 1, BBC Introducing, Radio X and BBC Radio 6. Nigel Ngwenya was also a member of another well received Leeds band called Atlanta House that supported Circa Waves and Marsicans and played The City Square Live at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. The newest member of the group – keyboardist and vocalist Danielle, is a multi-talented young lady with modelling, acting and music credits to her name.
With such background and experiences, the band knows exactly what to do to be noticed. Many young artists are still evolving and searching for their musical and scenic identity by the time they release a debut single but about-faces are in a completely different league. I very rarely can call anybody a professional, but those guys (and a girl) definitely are.
The debut single is called “Under the Sun” and was recorded at Greenmount Studios in Leeds with production and mixing from Jamie Lockhart and Rob Slater (Ellie Goulding, I Like Trains, The Cribs, New Model Army) and mastering from Felix Davis (Italia 90, Goat Girl, Hotel Lux) at London’s Metropolis. That’s quite an impressive team assembled, especially with Davies at the mastering helm, I really enjoyed almost all his recent releases, Italia 90 being the masterclass on how to master indie alternative and post punk.
“Under the Sun” stands at 2 minutes and 56 seconds and as one reviewer put this, it is very hard to classify. I truly like songs that are not easily squeezed into one musical box, it makes us dig deeper into the music and we try to find alternative ways to describe it to the readers. It’s super boring when the only description that comes to our heads is: “This band sounds exactly like band X mixed with band Y”.
Sometimes it is sadly inevitable, but I prefer to be kept on my toes and having to guess. about-faces gave me a bit of a trouble how to properly describe them but I can say that the song is quite “airy” and open, with a lot of space that clearly distinguishes each instrument, without fusing them into a wall of sound – something that was the trademark of bands like Ride and later, The Hurricane No.1. Keyboard parts remind me of short-lived electro rock (or alternative dance as NME used to call it) that dominated the dance charts thanks to Electronic, early New Order and The Other Two at the beginning of the 1990’s. This is particularly evident at the 44 seconds mark, when the first chorus starts – the beat sounds almost like Tim Burgess B-side mixes for “The Only One I Know” that he did for his band, The Charlatans.
“Under the Sun” has very addictive dual harmonies – male and female voices are perfectly matched and, in the video, you can see that Sennen and Danielle have some sort of a matching dance routine too, tilting their heads and stomping their feet to the music, a really neat little addition. There is a strong bass line flowing alongside the drums in a SUB SUB manner, and the drumming is fast but steady. It’s like Britpop became infused with a Factory vibe and a bit of acid house extravaganza a la The Stone Roses and The Shamen. Hard to believe really the band comes from Leeds and not from Manchester. I’m surprised they are not signed to the new iteration of The Creation Records. Somebody call Alan McGee, pronto!
Lyrically, the track is about breaking up and not seeing eye to eye with a former partner. It’s hard to establish a friendly relationship with one’s former lover when emotions are flying high and both parties are hurting. Maybe I’m a bit too old and it will resonate closely with younger audiences, but I find the lyrics a bit too cliché for my liking. That’s just a tiny little fault. Overall, this is a fantastic debut single from a band that has a great deal of potential and knows what they want.
I only wish that a proper record label would take a bit of a risk and invest in them. I wrote about it many times but we have enormous amounts of talent on the indie/unsigned circuit and if that talent is not properly appreciated and nurtured, we will be poorer as a country a few years down the line. The UK haven’t built their musical empire on industry plants and rich kids but on working class folk that lived and breathed music. True music is not born in a corporate environment, but among friends who are not afraid to experiment.
Let’s stop throwing money on the incompetent and invest in those who really need it. Here is a band that could be huge in the next few years. Give them a chance.
about-faces online:
https://www.about-faces.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/aboutfacesband
https://www.tiktok.com/@aboutfacesband
https://twitter.com/aboutfacesband
https://www.instagram.com/aboutfacesband/
https://www.youtube.com/@aboutfacesband/
https://soundcloud.com/about-faces
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7qremW2LDEd5VxTpld79LN
“Under the Sun” was released independently on 5th of July 2023
Cover and pictures by Barnaby Fairley.
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 