Calm. – Eat Shit Everyone (2021)
I am not a calm person, but when I come across the UK-based group Calm. everything seems to become serene. This is not because of their soothing, smooth music…not at all. In fact, the lads reverberate down your spine and make your ears bleed; however, there is something calming in the chaos. As if they are taking my disruptive thoughts and laying them bare for all to see in some form of music.
Featured on notable blogs like YMX, Less Than 1000 Followers, and several online radio stations, Ashley Merritt (vocals and guitar), Fred Jones (guitar), Raphael Amancio (bass) and Jamie Lyons (drums), Calm. are building an international following. The Other Side Reviews has had the honour of reviewing their singles ‘Feeling Fly’ (read our review here) and ‘Deflate Me’ (read this review here), and now I am thrilled to share my thoughts of their latest single ‘Eat Shit Everyone’.
Once again knocking it out of the park, Calm. drag you back approximately 15 years with their pop-punk meets pop-rock sound. Reminiscent of Green Day, Good Charlotte and Fall Out Boy – a rather distinctive vocal likeness to Patrick Stump – the lads merge scorching instrumentation and charming vocals with a dollop of mischief in the mix. Recorded with John Shepherd and George Tyreman at Homefire Studios in Harrogate, ‘Eat Shit Everyone’ finds that balance between infectious toe-tapping and vulnerable depth.
Guitar-laden with pounding drums, Calm. pull you into a kaleidoscopic whirlpool of sound with ‘Eat Shit Everyone’. While the fast-paced melody is certainly memorable with an impressive solo by Fred Jones, it is Merritt’s warm tone that rounds everything off. The heartfelt lyricism is brusquely executed with a raw and aggressive edge; however, there is a delicate exposition of fragile anger and aggression in the fiery sound. According to Merritt, ‘Eat Shit Everyone’ was “essentially my immediate reaction to the Covid epidemic as it was just emerging” – personal and powerful from the first second.
In addition to the ear-blasting single, Calm. released a homemade video for ‘Eat Shit Everyone’ that is available on their Facebook. Recorded during lockdown, the video was made without any interaction between the band members – not an easy task. Due to certain restrictions, I am not able to embed the video here, but I recommend you go check out the amusing psychedelic journey of Lego-people. Note: the video contains strobe lighting effects and can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy.
For more from Calm. check out their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
