Spectrals / 7th Date

Slumberland

Spectrals is the creation of "L," a young lad from the North of England, where not having a baby and a criminal record by the age of 18 is seen as unusual. After playing in various basement punk bands, L combined his love of doo wop and girl-groups, adding a bit of Rat-Pack flair and a punk rock vibe, and came up with Spectrals. They have already released an excellent single for Captured Tracks and toured the UK with bands such as Girls, Real Estate and Desolation Wilderness. 7th Date is Spectrals' first release for Slumberland. The A-side combines classic '50s songwriting with a lazy swing and drawling, Westerberg-ish vocals. Understated guitar twang snakes through tremelo'd strum, punctuated by tambourine shakes and tinkling bells. The flip "Don't Mind" is a gorgeous piece of slow-dance perfection, evoking scenes of beach bonfires and the end of summer. There's a weepy, woozy vibe to L's vocals, his sighing "ahh ahh" back-ups drifting skyward through the jangle riffs to the starry skies The balance of timeless songwriting and modern suss is pitch-perfect, and 7th Date shows Spectrals to be purveyors of smart, modern pop of the first order.  "... pairs a Righteous Brothers-style yearning vocal with a fuzzed-out Spector-esque wall of sound." --Pitchfork  "Spectrals are one of the most exciting new UK bands around. 9/10." --Vice  "Insatiable tunes... Spector-goes-surfing inspired lo-fi pop." --Drowned in Sound  "This unique shake-up of heavy-hearted British gloom and infectious sunkissed, breezy melodies has had us totally hooked." --Transparent

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