SIR-VERE – The Crazies (2023)
The best way to describe the band SIR-VERE is severe. A cringeworthy pun, I know, but it is true. Not severely bad or intensely despicable but severe in that their music is a whiplash, relentless, reckless awesomeness of sound. Borne from the UK drum and bass scene, SIR-VERE quickly garnered a following as one of the “darlings of the breakbeat and twisted house scene”. Fusing electronic energy with hip-hop tones and indie-rock tinges, Ian McEwan (vocals), Craig Hammond (vocals and noise), Gary Morland (guitars, bass and keyboards), and Stevie Vega (keyboards) blur the line between rock, dance and pop in their sound.
Diverging from 2022’s trip-hop-infused single ‘Misophonia’, SIR-VERE dipped into a Britpop tone in ‘Lovescope’ (the first single in 2023). As the year progressed, the foursome retained the electronic enthusiasm behind their melodies but began to diversify in genres. ‘Peer Pressure’ delved into a punk-inspired style followed by the EP Lovescope featuring songs from reggae to grunge. Today, we take a look and listen to SIR-VERE’s single ‘The Crazies’.
Also featured on the well-received Lovescope, the single we’re reviewing is a reworked radio edit from the Lovescope EP. Released on Worldsound // Virgin Music Group, ‘The Crazies’ finds a line between The Streets and Prodigy with a hard-hitting flush of Pendulum. Forceful from beginning to end, listening to ‘The Crazies’ is like taking a shot of vodka with a tequila chaser and then lying back in an alcoholic haze – all sonic of course. Bold drums match scorching guitars with pounding drumbeats and a slicing bass. Interestingly, while the instrumentation has a powerful punch, the vocals leak a soothing quality to the whirlwind of sound.
What I find intriguing about SIR-VERE, other than their ability to intoxicate listeners in the first beat, is the elegant capturing of themes in their songs. The band explains that ‘The Crazies’ is “a song of our times, these crazy times…” and it encapsulates the uncertainty of insanity with flair. Brash and confident, bold and mystically hazy, ‘The Crazies’ is chaos…but organised chaos.
In addition to the single, SIR-VERE released an official music video for ‘The Crazies’. You can view the video below or on their YouTube channel. Please note: this music video uses strobes and lighting effects that can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED
For more from SIR-VERE, check out their official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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