Easter’s new single “Fresh Hell” unfurls out of the speakers like a timelapse triffid riddled with guitar earworm. Within seconds, our feet and ankles are entwined in sonic tentacles as frontman Tom snags us with a ridiculously contagious guitar riff and transports us back to that time a few years ago when the doors locked from the inside.. “You know you’re sinking in this lockdown abyss. Back to square one, what fresh hell is this?”
For many, this is a scene we may never want to think about again, but for Tom, the lockdown was a period he will find himself reflecting on for many years to come: “It was a time of huge change and upheaval for me personally, as it was for many, and it took a lot of resilience and change to get through, yet the country has remained stuck in many ways, mired in multiple crises, and now without much hope of meaningful change.”
“Fresh Hell” is the first single from the new album Facsimile of a Dream, due February 2024 on Scratchy. Produced by Simon Ding Archer (PJ Harvey, The Pixies, The Fall) at 6db studios in Salford, the album title seems to refer to the lockdown period in one sense, a document of that time, but as Tom elaborates: “It also harks back to pre-lockdown, when there was actually a possibility of some change on offer. Unfortunately we‟re forbidden from talking about that. There were solutions to many of the problems we face now, but that dream was crushed, never to be spoken of again”.
Listen to the exclusive XS Noize premiere of “Fresh Hell” – BELOW:
Manchester indie-rockers Easter have built a reputation as one of the city‟s best-kept secrets. Spurred along by singer/songwriter/guitarist Tom Long with a rotating cast of Manc-underground shredders, they‟re a formidable live act who‟ve toured the UK repeatedly and provided support for post-rock behemoths Mono, avant-rockers Ranga and Mugstar but also poppier acts such as Canadian shoe-gazers Tallies.
However, for all of Manchester’s illustrious musical history, it’s hard to bring to mind a local act that they compare or aspire to. Instead, Easter’s binoculars are fixed on the fuzzy indie-rock of Dinosaur Jr and Teenage Fanclub with added twin-guitar weaving recalling the articulate jams of Television, Chris Forsyth and jeez, even Wishbone Ash. While Tom’s vocals have a bit of that rich Gedge-ian twang from a few junctions away across the M62.
They’ve found admirers in Huw Stephens at Radio 1 and Tom Ravenscroft at 6Music and garnered praise from Uncut, Record Collector and NYC’s The Big Takeover while building a loyal fanbase across the UK.
See Easter Live:
Friday 20th October – The Exchange Basement, Bristol
Saturday 21st October – Two Palms, London E8
Saturday 28th October – The Star & Garter, Manchester
Friday 3rd November – Puzzle Hall, Sowerby Bridge, Yorks
Follow Easter here.
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