Last year’s Transmit a Little Heaven EP by Belfast’s Virgins was every bit the bona fide shoegaze classic it had promised to be. I can also attest from first-hand experience that Virgins live is a sonic assault that will live in your memory for a long time after. This formidable band is formed around main man Michael Smyth with David Sloan on guitar, James Foy on drums, Brendy McCann on bass and Rebecca Dow on vocals. After cementing that reputation with live gigs up and down the emerald isle Virgins return with a new single.
I asked Smyth what ‘Slowly, Long’ is all about.
“Lyrically the track speaks of unchecked desire being set free. ‘Slowly, Long’ is the sound of us leaning into our strengths, fusing elements from different genres to bring a fresh, contemporary and exciting sound to a genre. This is the first track we wrote together as a band and definitely has a more gaze-pop feel to it. Mashing pop centric melody against a multitude of fuzz and reverbs.”
The song opens on reverberating chiming guitars before exploding into life and they propel us into the song. Dows vocal performance is dynamic and expressive. Anyone who has seen the band live knows how she embodies the spirit of the songs. The multi textured guitars vary from dreamy and floaty to pummelling fuzzed out chaos.
Production values are extremely high with the band once again teaming up with producer Jonny Woods. You may know Woods as the guitar powerhouse from the band Wynona Bleach. Every corner of the sound stage has something amazing going on. Especially when you get this track into the headphones.
The single comes with a fantastic performance video featuring dancer Anna Tennyson. You can check it out here.
Once again, Virgins have pulled an absolute belter of a single out the bag and it’s obvious, they have evolved their approach. Their sound is more upfront and has a new complexity which makes this a really satisfying listen.
‘Slowly, Long’ is out August 11th via Blowtorch Records. You can stream it on Spotify here or grab it over on the Virgins Bandcamp page.
You can follow Virgins on social media here…
Photo credit
Ebony Alexander Media
Static Sounds Club 