By Indie-rockers, Arthur, Ben, Alex, Harry and Brady have set a new bar with their upcoming release, ‘Blackout EP’. Hailing from Hertfordshire, and attending university in Nottingham and Birmingham these 5 lads known as Atlas, show their well-rounded talent by drawing influences to create an astoundingly diverse record.
The ‘Blackout’ EP, which is set to be officially released on Thursday features 4 tracks, 3 of which are brand new and the 4th being a little treat! ‘Blackout’, ‘Escape’, ‘Burning’ and an acoustic version of ‘Campervan In Sydney’, the part title track of their earlier debut, ‘Campervan EP’ are all included on the new record.
‘Blackout’ kicks off first of all with a submerged feel, a deep and intense drawing into the sound that is, Atlas. A unique and catchy riff sparks up and sets the tone, before the invigorating vocals take us to the imminent chorus empowering the entire track. My initial reaction to ‘Blackout’ was that of a surprised feel. I expected a heavier sound, more raucous and chaotic, but the vocals make this a neat and tidy work of art. In all honesty, the track also seems to be over and done with… almost instantaneously. Being exactly 3 minutes long only, I cannot help but feel that we are all going to be left wanting more of this opening title track.
– Continue reading below –
Blackout EP Cover – By Atlas
Luckily, the second track, ‘Escape’, jumps right in with a quirky guitar plucking notion, at precisely 46 seconds… It goes off! I’d love to see this track live and really feel it’s energy. It’s one of those, “everybody get low, when it drops, go mental, yeah? you got it?! Good… LETS GO!”, it’s one of those tracks for sure…. Another aspect of the track that really expresses that live appreciative vibe is the unexpected brass solo which immediately follows every chorus, and towards the end of the track, we get a brass section/chorus overlay.
Now in my own little world, i’m imagining being at an Atlas gig. The third track, ‘Burning’, takes light and I finally get the darker, raucous, chaotic feel that i’ve been searching for. A great build up of guitar and drums to initiate the head-banging. A drum roll into the full output of the track and the mosh-pits are a go. There is so much I would love to say about this last track although I feel like I would be ruining a special moment in music. When I hear music for the first time, unknowing of what I’m about to hear, it’s all hit and miss, but when it hits, it hits! So for that reason, all I will say is you must wait until 3:01 into the song, I promise you won’t be disappointed!
The ‘Blackout’ EP Comes as the second offering from these 5 talented lads. Towards the end of 2015 we were gifted with their ‘Campervan’ EP, featuring their popular track, ‘When I’, and ‘Time’, ‘Free’ and ‘Campervan In Sydney’. If the new tracks on ‘Blackout’ weren’t enough for existing and new fans to become hooked on Atlas, then the fourth and final track being an acoustic version of ‘Campervan In Sydney’ will be.
– Take an exclusively early listen to the EP below! –
Campervan EP – By Atlas
Listen to IndieCentralMusic’s exclusive premiere of Atlas’s ‘Blackout’ EP here!
(NOTE: If the top-left play button doesn’t work, click on the individual song titles at the bottom)
All in all, I’m extremely excited to see where Atlas end up, they’ve got a huge future ahead of them and are sure to make impressions where ever they step foot. We at IndieCentralMusic first picked them up last summer when they were in performing at The Horn’s battle of the bands competition. You can read our Introduction Interview here. And our review of the battle of the bands competition here.
We also managed to see them headline The Horn with the likes of Glass Peaks, Slang and Ripley only a few months ago, read the review here.
For more information about Atlas, check out their Facebook page here.
