Info: The Future West are the musical outlet of Dundalk based song writer Francis Watters. Once loud, sporadic and harsh, Francis has carefully matured and moulded the band sonically over the last year into something far more melodic that's full of harmony and dynamic twists and turns to give them their unique Indie / Mid-Fi sound. Their debut album "Holy Shit, Here Come The Future West" (available on Spotify and all other good streaming services) was released in 2017 and backed by a small number of U.K shows as well as a sold out launch in An Táin Arts Theatre.
The shift from last year's Holy Shit, Here Come The Future West LP is immediately noticeable on The Future West's new EP, Radio Town. Where that debut album was a carnival of screeching psychedelia, this new collection of tracks simmers on a more casual yet fetching indie vibe. 'Dark Day Dawn' kicks off proceedings with Watters' trademark theatrical vocal style thankfully not something which he set aside for this recording. The line: "I have been told my mental illness is slowing me down but it looked good on paper baby." has to be one of my favourite lyrics of the year so far too.
The EP's title track comes next, a quick brush to the side and The Future West go somewhere very enticing, straddling three decades by the time you're only a third of the way through, 70's soul-funk on the bass and drums, 80's new wave on vox and guitar and then 90's jangle-pop at 1;17, what a marvellous concoction and melding of sound. Final track 'Dream Catcher, Mind Snatcher' dips into retro-glo 80's atmospherics, again Watters' serves up vocal bravado, from baritone to ska and back again, the rhythm of the track sets up its finale really well. The Future West are a curio of mad ideas that probably shouldn't work across an EP or album, let alone within a song itself, but they always seem to pull it off and leave us with a very broad smile on our face afterwards.
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Bandcamp: https://thefuturewest.bandcamp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefuturewest
