All the way from Los Angeles and the beach cities of SoCal, Velvet Starlings soar into our playlists with latest release ‘H.G. Wells’ – taken from upcoming sophomore album ‘Pacific Standard Time’.
After a flurry of singles in the last year, this new snappy 2-minute-44-second track from the neo-psyche garage rock n roll outfit mixes science fiction themes with a groovin’ sun-soaked sound.
As the song title would perhaps imply, ‘H.G. Wells’ lyrically pays tribute to some of the legendary time lords and sci-fi figures to grace page and screen – including Wells (author of books such as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds), Back To The Future’s Doc Brown and our very own Dr. Who.
But rather than purely a homage, lyrics speak specifically of the dream to go back in time in an attempt to change the somewhat sorry state of the world today – something many of us may well wish was a possibility.
“All we need’s your time machine”
Despite the threads of futurism and time travel, the tune itself feels almost certainly of this earth (besides a section around 1.13 which feels pretty damn spacey). It’s a gritty mix of West Coast psychedelia, swinging 60s Brit rock and garage fuzz.
Right from the off we’re thrown into the thundering drumbeat, climbing guitar riffs and distinctly biting lead vocals – the cadence of which is akin to Jack White’s The Raconteurs in particular. Sound-wise Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, The Who and The Flaming Lips also come to mind.
Indeed, this single drops just in time to coincide with the band’s UK tour as they debut a new 4-piece line up. But whether live or streamed from your stereo, this one needs to be played loud. And you can guarantee it’ll leave your speakers and lugholes buzzing..