The Exhales’ hugely anticipated release ‘Bouquet’ has just given the Scottish music scene even more to shout about.
There’s something in the whiskey in Scotland. There always has been. Annie Lennox’s expansive voice, Simon Neil’s spiky riffs, Cocteau Twins’ shoegaze shimmer and Paolo Nutini’s rasps only scratch the surface of Scotland’s rich musical tapestry. Now Scotland can boast about The Exhales – a relatively new band whose journey began in King Tut’s hallowed Wah Wah Hut in 2022.
Glasgow’s gallant four-piece have already packed rooms across Scotland and the likes of BBC Introducing Scotland, Amazing Radio and Unsigned Madness have lapped them up from the get-go. It’s clear that The Exhales’ brand of hooky, scopic alt-rock is really connecting with people, and I think that’s never been truer than on their latest single, ‘Bouquet’.
This new single is raw energy and depth all intertwined within four glorious minutes. Let’s start with the energy then. Now I don’t mean “energy” in terms of some crazy 200bpm punk rager or some guttural metal screams; ‘Bouquet’ instead meanders along at its own balladic pace with intensity dripping from every beat, note and syllable. I love the constant building drums, the clamouring guitars and even the epic string swells, it all comes together beautifully.
As for the depth, well, that’s all in the lyrics. I could do some pretentious lyrical deep dive here… Yeah you don’t need that… So, instead I’ll just give you the line “I always wondered, what it would be like to fall from a Glasgow high-rise’. Yep. This gets deep. These lyrics may as well have been etched in blood, as The Exhales tackle themes of feeling unseen, feeling worthless and being riddled with self-doubt. But it’s these lyrics which make the song for me – these troubled souls have crafted a single that resonates way after the four-minute running time.
Whilst I’m nattering on about energy this, deep that, I’ll also give huge kudos to producer Bruce Rintoul. The Exhales, together with Rintoul, have built on their existing indie sound, explored new orchestral landscapes and hit these huge emotional highs whilst keeping a bit of restrain. Basically, what I’m wordily attempting to explain is, ‘Bouquet’ sounds super fresh and you should really check this out.
To celebrate the release of ‘Bouquet’, The Exhales will be performing at Broadcast with renounced booking agent ‘This Feeling’ quickly followed by the Belladrum Festival in July. If you go and watch them (why wouldn’t you), a word of warning – ‘Bouquet’ might make you collapse on the floor in flood of tears. This is a song that has that power.
Check out The Exhale’s new single, ‘Bouquet’, below:
