Rapid Review.. 2:54 - '2:54'

In their eponymous debut album, sisters, Colette and Hannah Thurlow have managed to create an piece of work that is consistently ethereal, managing to sound both eerie and somewhat gritty at the same time. Vocalist, Colette Thurlow possesses an often mystical and haunting voice that manages to permeate the throbbing music and resonate inside your brain long after the final seconds of the album sounds.

'Revolver' does not connect as immediately as the brilliant 'You're Early' does in its stead, the latter easily being a standout track and a good choice as the first single from the album. Colette Thurlow's voice lures you deep into the melody, yearning longingly in the simple chorus refrain of 'I just want to be close', tempting the listener throughout. Things get (slightly) more upbeat and immediate in 'Easy Undercover', though the desire for 'closeness' is a recurring theme. The rolling drums on 'A Salute' create tension before the lucid release of energy. Similarly, 'Scarlet', previously released on the 'Scarlet EP' tempts you in with relaxing guitars before suddenly getting more aggressive upon hitting the verse. The chorus - 'Lover, she said/ 'You put the beat in my bones/ It's all I hear in my head/ You make it easy to see/ If love.. if love.. if love..' - haunts the mind for a long time after, and is one of the best tracks. 'Circuitry' is louder and more unrelenting , though again Colette's voice holds order even as the guitars clash. Final song, 'Creeping', also a single, leaves the listener with an almost cinematic image in their minds as Colette sings 'You pause, I turn' towards the culmination of the song.

Shoegazing is apparent here, but it is done well. This music is emotive and intense. There are occasions were the lyrics are rather indistinguishable, but this tends to add to the overall effect,  as if the singer were channeling such rapid and conflicting thoughts. When the Colette and HannahThurlow harmonise, it really is beautiful. This album sounds sleek even when the guitars jarring, and the Thurlow sisters have easily outdone themselves by means of a debut album.

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Just one of those days..

That's what yesterday was.

I woke up in an epic mood. Got invited for a day trip to Birmingham with the guys from the band and mutual friend's of ours but turned it down because I wanted to write up a contribution to The Guardian. They advertised a link via Twitter asking for thoughts on the legacy of iconic British punk band, the Sex Pistols to commemorate the Jubilee (35 years ago they unleashed 'God Save the Queen' on a coinciding and infamous jubilee boat trip ).

But first, I wanted music on my iPod.

I left my Japanese Voyeurs B-Sides CD ripping onto iTunes whilst I took a shower and came back to find that my computer had entirely crashed and would now not even turn on, with the CD stuck inside. Now that requires fixing.

Left the house to buy the 2:54 self-titled album only to find nowhere stocking it (I resorted to good ol' reliable Amazon), when I my aunt rang me whilst up town to say there were job vacancies at TK Maxx. I enquired, and the woman that I was speaking to had absolutely no idea what I was going on about. So I got on the bus home when my aunt txt me to say that the jobs were for their distribution centre so I'd have to go there to get a form -_-

I then attempted to write the article at my Nan's (I could write many a detailed page on this topic but was contested with a pretty short word count), and accidentally deleted more than half of what I'd actually written because I was looking at the wrong count.

It was just one of those days and I was close to pulling my hair out!

Luckily, I was due to see a group of my friends up town for our weekly get together and, I won't lie, got intentionally rat-arsed just for the hell of it. It was a good night even though we just ended up doing frequenting our regular haunts - Varsity (a pub where the band played), Babylon (cheesy '80's/ '90's music with 1 playlist), Planet (charmingly dingy rock/metal nightclub), along with a bar called Numa.

A sucky day turned into a great night (from what I remember)!

My Mom has the Jubilee weekend off so we may be venturing out to do something interesting.

Also, not sure if you'll see that Voyeurs review any time soon, given that the disc is stuck in my desktop. If they can't salvage the disc, I'll cry (it was a limited run, number 231 out of 250). Ah wells.

New Waves.. 2:54 - 'Scarlet'

You may or may not have heard of a band named 2:54, but you should! Getting the perfect balance between gritty and eerie, 'Scarlet' is from their self-titled first album which is out now, and which I know I'll most certainly be getting. I'll most likely write a review when I do, it's already been pretty well received.

Also, I need new favourite bands please, mine have a habit of splitting up. Recommendations?