New Pagans first came to my attention when their PR sent in their latest music video towards our ‘Video Of The Week’ feature and my interest – and, indeed that of our chief pack mule Monk – was piqued. Seeing they are playing nearby later this week gave me the perfect reason to check them out more, which led me to a very pleasant discovery indeed when checking out their Youtube channel.
The first thing that comes to mind is a vintage ’90s alt-rock sound, with something along the lines of Northern Irish compatriots Ash mixed into a Pixies or Smashing Pumpkins approach in varying measures, with that more uptempo approach being more evident cross this EP as a whole. Opening track ‘Admire’, which is also their latest music video, has a feel of Smashing Pumpkins ‘Tonight’ to it, with a bit of something different, while the vocal harmonies that pop up throughout the album further add to the ’90s alternative feel.
The first song that properly caught my ear on the first playthrough was ‘Charlie Has The Face Of A Saint’ as being particularly different, though ‘Bloody Soil’ also did a good job of this too with an almost post-punk approach to the drums and driving bassline in the beginning. ‘Charlie Has The Face Of A Saint’ has a very Pixies vibe to it in its simple bass and drum approach through the verses, in a similar manner to ‘Where Is My Mind’, separating it slightly from the rest in its approach, but not so far as to feel out of place in amongst the rest of the tracks.
They employ a slight fuzz to the bassline through a lot of the EP which just adds to the earlier mentioned alt-rock ’90s feel that pervades their sound and it’s to their credit that they have produced an EP while they are still really in their formative years as a band that can stand up to that kind of scrutiny. While a couple of bits do appear to be borrowed from places – the guitar hook in ‘I Could Die’ is half of the one from Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’, for example – they have enough of their own verve to stand up on their own merits. It’s an accessible piece of work that should stand proudly both in their own discography as well as in your own collection.
- ‘The Glacial Erratic’ is released on Friday (6 March).
New Pagans are currently on their debut headline tour, which hits The Flying Duck in Glasgow tonight (Tuesday 3 March) and continues as follows:
- Thursday (5 March) – Newcastle Upon Tyne, Think Tank
- Friday (6 March) – Manchester, Off The Square
- Saturday (7 March) – Camden, The Lounge (with The DeNiros, Dramalove and more)
- Sunday (8 March) – Bristol, The Crofters Rights
They have also been confirmed to play ‘OK?’, a one-day music and arts festival in support of mental health awareness and suicide prevention, taking place in their home town of Belfast on Saturday 28 March. Also appearing are And So I Watch You From Afar, Soak, General Fiasco, Pillow Queens, Careerist and many more. You can get further information HERE.
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