7th Date by Spectrals
Spectrals is the creation of one young lad "L" from the north of England, a place where to not have a baby and a criminal record by the age of 18 is seen as unusual. After being in various bands playing punk rock in basements, L decided to start something combining his love of doo wop, girl groups and adding a bit of rat pack flair with a punk rock vibe to create Spectrals. In Spectrals short life span they have released an excellent single for Captured Tracks and toured the UK with bands such as Girls, Real Estate and Desolation Wilderness.
7th Date is Spectrals' first release for Slumberland and it's a corker. "7th Date" combines classic 50s songwriting with a lazy swing and drawling, Westerberg-ish vocals. Understated guitar twang snakes through tremeloed strum, punctuated by tambourine shakes and tinkling bells. Lovely! On the b-side, "Don't Mind" is a gorgeous piece of slow-dance perfection, evoking scenes of beach bonfires and the end of summer. There's a weepy, woozy vibe to L's vocals, his sighing "ahh ahh" back-ups drifting skyward through the jangle riffs to the starry skies.
The balance of timeless songwriting and modern suss is pitch-perfect, and this single shows Spectrals to be purveyors of smart modern pop of the first order.
