If classic authors are to be believed, the best stories always rest on an alliance of four completely different characters. Remember at least the “Town Musicians of Bremen” or the foursome from “The Wizard of the Emerald City”. When on February 14, 2016 vocalist Paul Crisp, guitarist Josh Brice, drummer Dan Turtle and bass guitarist Mike Pocock came together “out of a complete absence of romantic plans”, they, without knowing it themselves, launched a similar chemistry. Having changed the early name The Crew to the bright Suncharmer, this quartet from the southeast of England set off to conquer the indie scene, knowing exactly how to turn heterogeneous elements into a single, powerful sound. Their new single “Out Of My Hands” is, perhaps, the best illustration of how this four works today.
Photo by David Campbell
Suncharmer know how to create the right atmosphere around themselves. In their songs one feels a love for Tarantino’s cinema, the vibe of spaghetti westerns and the glam-rock shine of the 70s, but in “Out Of My Hands” all this cinematic past has finally compressed into modern, dense and damn driving indie rock. The track begins without unnecessary buildups: a rhythmic, overloaded bass and resilient drums set the pulse, while the guitar marks out the space with dynamic rock riffs. On top of the confident foundation the vocals cut in-in the choruses it breaks into an expressive tear for which fans so love the British alternative scene.
But the most interesting thing in the single, I consider, is the play on contrasts. The song sounds like an ideal soundtrack for a night autobahn or a noisy festival slam, but the semantic layer leads into a much more intimate and melancholy plane. “Out Of My Hands” is an adult confession of a person who suddenly realized: control over one’s own life is just a beautiful illusion.
The hero of the song confesses to a moment when habitual security cracks at the seams. Lines about “faces impostor” and “playing empty card” speak of the falsity of the surrounding world. And the image of living on land where no one is supposed to be “living on land that no one’s supposed to” perfectly conveys the feeling of a shifting ground under one’s feet when old landmarks no longer work. The key point of the song is its title motif: “I’d change a lot, but it’s out of my hands / Take me for what I am”.
Photo by David Campbell
In this one hears long-awaited relief. Suncharmer propose to stop a meaningless war with windmills, throw off someone else’s masks and finally allow oneself to be imperfect.
“Out Of My Hands” is a very lively, catchy and organic track, in which rock-and-roll drive complements soulful vulnerability. It seems the guys from Suncharmer have again managed to find the harmony for the sake of which four different people once gathered in one room.
Voxwave Magazine: Music, Culture, Interview, Fashion 