More about: Murmur

Brighton’s Murmur have returned with their latest single ‘Shame’ - an exhilarating deep dive in to the more aggressive depths of their sound. The single is Murmur’s second outing as a three-piece following 2019’s grungy and infectious ‘Cradle’, and provides further proof of a band possessed of the rare ability to be at once sparse and powerfully visceral. 

Punching drums and Murmur’s characteristic angular guitars lines open the track, but there is also an immediate impression of a band trying to do things differently in the recording process. Together with their producer Alex Gordon, the band decided to shun the best of Brighton Electric studio’s amps in favour of a beaten up Peavey Bandit, and abandon the big room drum sound by setting up the kit in a vocal booth. The result is a sonic pallet both familiar and estranged - from between the brittle guitars and puncturing drums emerges a blissfully feral tension. 

Vocally the song is also a veer towards something more emotionally explorative and tonally adventurous. Singer/guitarist George Mills’ voice is at moments bitterly self-scrutinising and at others completely unhinged. The band’s command of melody - something they’re rightly known for - is entirely present, albeit in a more untamed fashion. That new found aggression perfectly complements a song that meditates on openness and vulnerability. 

‘Shame’ is an exciting development from an extremely promising band, who are able to tread the line between concise craftsmanship and wilful sonic abandon. 

More about: Murmur