Written by DJ Monk
Despite their name, upstarts Downcast – whose members hail from as far afield as the south-west of England, south Wales and the Midlands – by and large play the sort of bright and breezy, upbeat pop punk that will be familiar to fans of the likes of All Time Low, Neck Deep and The Wonder Years. I say “by and large” because this debut five-track EP does have its moments of introspection, not least on the likes of the appropriately entitled, in both instances, ‘Sombre’ and ‘I’m Sorry’. But then vocalist Liam Edwards views the writing and recording of the mini-album as a catharsis, a way of tackling his own personal demons, as he explains:
“I wanted to write something honest… I hope that this EP will resonate with anyone going through a hard time and helps them to feel less alone. I’ve used putting my thoughts and feelings into songs as a way of coping with negative emotions for a while now; it gives them a long-term purpose. I feel that negative things in your life often reveal positive meanings over time. If the things I’ve written about never happened, these five songs wouldn’t exist today.”
Certainly, that ambition of bringing the positive from the negative permeates ‘Downcast’, which kicks off with the energetic lead single ‘Anthurium’, the upbeat musicality of which contrasts with the slightly darker lyrical theme. The mood changes with the aforementioned, acoustic-led ‘Sombre’, which addresses some of the darker outcomes of depression, with its lyrical subject confined to a hospital bed trying to block out the voices in his head. The honesty of the lyrics, not only in this but in all of the songs, demonstrate that Edwards most definitely was writing from personal experience and not the perspective of someone chasing the mental health bandwagon for the sake of a quick but facile hit.
‘Window Seat’ and ‘2013’ are more retrospective than introspective, as Edwards reflects on his past life, looking to draw inspiration from happier times to help him toward a brighter horizon, before ‘I’m Sorry’ hits home with the sort of message with which we can all identify – that of how do we apologize to those we have hurt for the mistakes we have made that caused us to do so?
Despite the somewhat sombre nature of the lyrical themes, the use of light and shade is well balanced. The performances are taut and proficient, the songs are well-crafted, the EP has a good pace to it and the production draws out the richness of the material from a young band who undoubtedly have a bright future on the UK pop punk scene.
- ‘Downcast’ is released on Friday (11 January). You can get your copy HERE.
- Downcast play The Mother’s Ruin in Bristol, with Who Saves The Hero? and Viva La Bear, on Thursday 31 January, and The Yards Bar in Kettering, with Wishing Wolf, Who Saves The Hero? and PT-33, on Friday 1 February.
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