Words: Linn Branson
It's a funny old thing when 'new' bands appear. If they sound a tad too good to have just sprung from nowhere - it usually means they haven't. West London five-piece Saltwater Sun have, over the last few weeks, been dominating blogosphere with a new psych pop-rockin tune they have put out called ‘Habit On My Mind‘. Now the curious thing is the number of bloggers who are calling this the band's 'debut' and how they have (seemingly) just emerged, blinking into the sunlight, in 2015.
Now either some bloggers have short memories or they are repeating the PR line fed to them, but Saltwater Sun have in fact been in existence for far longer than one might think - since 2013 in fact. (Although originally from Buckinghanshire, they have known each other apparently since schooldays.) And what's more, they released a four-track EP, ‘Silk Fade', last spring when still describing themselves as an "acid pop" outfit. While they may still blend together a fusion of indie, psychedelia and funk, you might now be hard pressed to find any trace of that EP. Such is the way with 'new' bands who undergo a line-up or image change, and subsequently try to obliterate their past.
Anyway, back to the here and now, Saltwater Sun are quietly building a buzz around themselves (which didn't appear to happen last year) with comparisons to an English version of Alvvays, or Best Coast, or Wye Oak, or...and so on. With all that aside, what your ears may hear is a fuzzy blast of reverb and woozy distorted guitars, over a swaying indie pop melody and Jennifer Stearne’s psychy dreamgaze vocal reigns supreme. All working, it has to be said, with engagement and panache.
Saltwater Sun are: Jennifer Stearnes - vocals, Dan Kingham - guitar, Joel Neale - guitar, Rob Carter - bass, Ben Chandler - drums.
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