Hailing from Oldham, “William and The Eternals” bring out their latest release “To Matt: Forever an Eternal”.
Admittedly, it was an album title that intrigued me somewhat – but it actually has a very raw and deep-rooted meaning; it’s in memory of Matt Norton, the bands bassist that sadly passed away in 2024.
A very touching thing to do in his memory, lead vocalist Paul McGladdery says that “I knew Matt has a kid, asking grown up Matt to form a band was one of my better decisions.
A wonderful melodic player and the loyalist of friends, without him this wouldn’t have happened.”
William and the Eternals is made up of lead vocalist Paul, guitarist and vocalist Molly and Dan on the drums – with the album originally penned as “You’re Welcome To It”.
The first track on the album – “Homegrown” – has got a real catchy intro, very punchy, very rocky, almost vampire-esque? The drums are heavy and the guitar flows beautifully but the vocals tie it all together.
It’s a very easy listen – not too heavy, not too soft, it’s high-energy, fast-paced and sometimes hard to keep up, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing – the lyrics are easy to follow, if anything catchy!
It’s the perfect start to the album and sets the level for what’s to come.
Next up is “Food Song” – this is really fun, it pokes a bit of fun at having food on a date, with a loved one – and it’s sometimes something as daft as everyday things that make the best of a tune, talking about supermarket ready meals, chips and veggies – and the love making food (of any kind!) brings – it’s relatable, it’s catchy and it’s fun.
“A Certain Age” follows on and is that soft-rock style but also still catchy – with also HILARIOUS lyrics “I’m out with the MILF from number 47” absolutely killed me.
It brought me a lot of joy as it just poked fun at getting older, there is a real sense of humour behind all the tracks so far and it’s really refreshing to hear.
It’s another really easy listen and I was picking the lyrics up after the second listen, singing along and giggling – it really has provided me a good laugh and it does make you feel good.
Next up is “Compass” – it goes back to that bit more of a rockier-feel in the beginning – the lyrics go a bit heavier too, referring to a “Moral Compass”, thinking about the colourful language in conversation or the loudness of your voice – it’s a bit more serious but it’s still easy to listen to and follow along – offering relatable lyrics in a different way.
So far the mix between humour and seriousness is extremely well-balanced and the listening experience is outstanding – the sound is crisp, and gives a euphoric feel whilst listening.
At the halfway point now – “Worth Doing” is next.
This is more of a motivational push but in musical form, the message in the lyrics which you will hear a lot is “There is something worth doing today” – it’s a little more melancholic than the previous tracks – but there’s also messages saying “Don’t put it off” and to put yourself out there – it’s a song with an important purpose and whilst more mellow – it gives a real message to it.
“Eddy 8” is next up, the intro for this for me is a real dad-rock settling into the tune, this is very much a storytelling tune with a conversational style – I really like this range from William and the Eternals.
It’s quite poetic and the guitar really ramps up, a fantastic solo in the middle that really bridges the song together, it really stood out to me.
The lyrics are again a bit tongue-in-cheek and it is a fast-spoken (sung?) song – but it WORKS.
“Jeremy Darling” follows and again has that punchy guitar but for me the drums stand out a heavy beat that stands out, but doesn’t overpower – the lyrics almost reads as a letter to a man named Jeremy, possibly from a mother figure, with the “aren’t you Jeremy Darling?” – it’s a different take you don’t hear very often (for me at least) – and I really like this style.
I found myself bobbing my head and singing-along again after a couple of listens – William and the Eternals have a real knack for reeling you in and keeping you hooked.
Up next is “Living Together” – this is talking about moving in together, which house? your house? my house? navigating the different ideas of moving in and in actual fact it’s a rubbish idea (literal lyrics!!) – it’s another cheeky one lyrically but in the most humorous way possible!
It’s how I imagine an honest conversation with many potential significant others would go (if it happened… lol) – but whilst it is cheeky, it does point of the flaws of relationships in the most blaze way and in a comical way – in my opinion, you can’t be mad.
The penultimate track is “Water” and it offers that cool-western rock and again some funny lyrics, “Water always finds the quickest way” – I could be wrong but I feel like it could be talking about a flood? the repetitive lyrics of “drip, drip, drip” had me in stitches – and yet I was having the time of my life listening to it – it is simple but so effective and SO funny – it really puts a smile on your face.
The final track is the aptly named “Last” – a bit of a slower start, with a more acoustic feel to it – but alas, all good things must come to an end.
It’s a bit of a monologue this one, but in a good way, talking about working over in Merseyside but getting drunk and trying to get the last train back to Stalybridge, I really enjoy the local nuggets dropped into this song, having frequented Manchester and Liverpool often in recent years, it brought a real smile to my face.
This was the perfect ending to the album – it’s soft but heartwarming, relatable and if you’re from the North-West offers a lot of comforts from the mentions, from the likes of Concert Square, Lime Street and Mathew Street.
The album is fantastic and well worth listening to, it’s heartwarming, funny and gives you the perfect pick-me-up as well as weaving in some important messages and relatable lyrics.
Whilst I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Matt, I think he would have loved this album as much as I did, if not more.
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