Isle of Wight fourpiece As We Leave have released their new single Rarely Been So Long. It’s the first offering from their upcoming second EP Stop Making Plans which is set for release on 26th June.
Rarely Been So Long opens with gentle guitar strums which set a melancholic air. Entwistle’s vocal is downtempo and restrained, whilst also being peppered with a nostalgic feel. The percussion and guitars are amped up at the chorus where Entwistle’s Kevin Parker-esque vocal is softened by the silky-smooth harmonies. The track harks back to a bygone age with its off-kilter beats and a smattering of psychedelic synths and there’s a roughness around the edges that lends a homegrown appeal.
When speaking of Rarely Been So Long, the band said “Rarely Been So Long is a playful tongue in cheek nod to cynicism and comic disillusionment. We wanted the song to conjure up elements of Bulgakov’s absurdities but instead of the paranoia of Stalin’s 30’s era Moscow, we have the less dangerous panorama of a backwards Victorian island, stuck in limbo….”
Comprising of Caine Entwistle (Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Synths), Kyle Abram (Guitars, Bass, Drums, Keys, Synths, Percussion), Tom Gardner (Guitars, Bass, Keys, Drums, Vocals) and Kit Jolliffe (Drums, Guitars, Percussion), As We Leave bring the nostalgia of bygone island days to their tracks. All four members met at a young age on the Isle of Wight and came together to form As We Leave, going on to release their first EP Everything to a Point in 2020. The band wrote, produced and recorded their new upcoming EP themselves and if Rarely Been So Long is anything to go by I am intrigued to see what direction Isle of Wights most exciting new talent takes.
Rarely Been So Long is available to stream now. Find out more about As We Leave here and have a listen to Rarely Been So Long below.