Post War Years - Black Morning
When you are an up and coming band from a town as distinctly nondescript as Leamington Spa (the setting for televisual heavyweights such as ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ and ‘Dangerfield’) , then you need something which is going to set you apart from the majority of lumpen drivel and make people sit up and take notice. Thankfully, Post War Years have both a name and a sound which provokes attention. ‘The Black Morning’ is the band’s debut single, yet it exudes a maturity and self-assuredness which belies their relative inexperience. ‘The Black Morning’ is a darkly textured and intriguing record which shimmers with a melancholic chill. Beginning around a recurring piano motif reminiscent of Elbow the track builds gradually, introducing layered instrumentation and propulsive beats before ascending into an infectious chorus doused in scuzzy electronic which will evoke comparisons aplenty with Talking Heads. The influence of the new wave, art-rock luminaries also looms largely over the excellent B-side ‘Latin Holiday’, its electronic flashes weld majestically with oft-kilter spiky guitars to produce a fiery racket. ‘You and Me Both’, the third track on this excellent debut is a fuzzy, glam stompalong with a highly charged chorus. This is one of the most immediate, engaging and confident debut singles of the year; one which suggests an extremely bright future.