Yesterday, I spent most of the day sorting out various forms of Great Escape-associated plans (which included redraft of my timetable for the fourth time this year). It was whilst attempting to plan the clashiest Thursday known to man I got to thinking about previous Great Escape clashes—which ultimately got me to thinking about the bands I’ve seen at the festival over the years.
There’s one Great Escape show that really stands out for me; one Great Escape show that I don’t think will ever be matched… the appearance of Australia’s Miami Horror at Coalition.
You’re probably wondering why I’ve classified it as my most treasured TGE memory. You’re probably wondering what mind-bending visuals they had in place, how note-perfect they were, what they did to absolutely nail showmanship. But in actual fact, it’s none of those that make it such a vivid sticking point for me. It was, in fact, purely because of how much I had wanted to see them. Here was a band that I had accidentally stumbled across on Last.fm in 2009 and had never played a show in the UK and god, had I wanted to see them play so badly from that first time of listening. So it’s little wonder why, when they turned up two years later at TGE it was incredible—because here was a band I never thought would be in the UK not only in the UK, but on my doorstep, playing every single track off their album I absolutely adored.
Since then, times have moved on, Miami Horror have hidden themselves away to write their second album and already it’s shaping up to get me as excited as when I saw them in the flesh.
‘Colours in the Sky’ is pure summertime bliss for your ears. Whilst not as up-tempo as their previous works, it seems as though Miami Horror have mastered the art of the slow-burners. It’s luxuriously relaxed, it feels like indulging in a backrub, slow and pleasant as the melodies roll over you. The piano is enchanting, despite its’ simplicity whilst the other musical layers bleed over the top in a rainbow of tropical euphoria.
It’s the synths that add the blue to the flames, burning the hottest in the track. They’re the elements that most recall Miami Horror’s debut, Illumination. But unlike previous efforts where these would steal the show, here they’re used sparsely just to edge to a higher crescendo. It is, in fact, the dreamy vocals from Cleopold that provide the track highlight; breezing in over the top, they are rich and temperate ensuring ‘Colours in the Sky’ never blazes too hot.
Here’s to summer.
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