With the massive influx of new artists throwing their hat into the ring in a post-Covid world, it’s unsurprising to see how many people have had their, ‘you only live once moment’ and started their on their passion for music.
The Underclass are no exception to this rule, having utilised their time wisely to get on the train before it leaves the station. And now, having two different sets at Y-Not Festival under their belt, the time has come to push themselves further, with the new single Time and Fate.
With more of an introspective feel than their previous barn burner style singles. They bring a much more Britpop influence over the indie rocker aesthetic. The song is a gentle drifting effort that’s filled to the brim with atmosphere, soft vocals, and a good mixture of all the usual suspect instruments.
The whole soundscape of the song is filled with guitars, drums, and long held notes all melding together into a canvas of sound. It’s a lot down to the guitars doing some heavy lifting with catchy licks and consistent chords that are all over the track.
With so much going on, there’s naturally not just one guitar doing all this work, with a mix of lead, rhythm, bass, and acoustic all doing their part. It’s the lead though that has the notable elements, such as the twanging and echoing notes.
The drums are a much more tame beast, with just a simple arrangement to of gentle beats to really let the tracks atmosphere permeate and breathe. It’s not here for big bombastic breakneck beats and doesn’t need to fill the air. A lot of drummers will fall into the trap of feeling the need to fill what they think is dead air, rather than letting things just sit for a moment. Not here though, instead there’s this measured and steady feel.
As far as vocals go, what’s being displayed in this track is easy to listen to and pleasant in delivery. There’s an obvious after-effects and vocal tuning here, but rather than trying to make the vocalist sound great, they’re more here in service of the feel of the track. Rather than trying to patch up a crap performance, they soften and enhance the ethereal nature of the song. It’s the correct and sensible way to use post production and vocal effects, and works wonders for softening the song to the level it wants. The true vocals do still come through clearly and showcase the natural talent on display, whilst also giving that iconic Britpop feel.
As far as singles go, Time and Fate does feel like a very measured and deliberate effort to branch out and not pigeonhole the band. Rather than recycling the same mood, style, and feel of their previous tracks, The Underclass want to flex their creative much more. It’s a solid effort that has paid dividends considering how Time and Fate feels like a solid song to lay some more experimental foundations for the band.