To The Chase - When You Believed

To The Chase are a three-piece Indie/Soul band from Hackney, East London. With a claim to dominance over a myriad of musical styles, the band are releasing a number of singles in the run up to the release of their self-produced debut album, ‘Listen Close’, on their own label. The first single is entitled, ‘When You Believed’.

There is a serious energy to the title track, When You Believed, almost bordering on a fury. The drums are behind this, with drummer Jim Rooney refusing to sit idly by and play one snare/cymbal hit at a time. The sticks bounce of the skins at a rate of knots in each bar of the verse and chorus, relenting only at the stops in the pre-chorus and bridge. The self-produced trio are sure to have put a lot of effort into keeping things tight and it shows.

Complimenting the drums, the bass and guitar playing is equally as tight on the track, guitar screeches giving the intro some edge before the band fly into the indie-pop verses. The level of edge and intensity of this track in a much needed progression from the typically laid-back approach that many indie bands still cling to, and . The track is definitely more of a grower than a shower. The indie elements stand out initially, but the more energetic and intriguing elements shine through on further listens. Perhaps not the most interesting song in the world, but it’s an infectious one nonetheless.

On the flip side, we have the brass infused The Return. Sounding almost like the theme-tune to a cheesy 70’s detective show, the track revolves around the edgy three-note guitar line and the stabs of brass. It’s not all cheese however. In keeping with the more ‘poppy’ A-side, singer Aaron Kravitz keeps the vocal melody light, contrasting with the almost overpowering instrumentation.

This track seems to give a more ‘live’ feeling than When You Believed, serving to give the listener an inkling into the band’s live performance with the prominence of the brass section. First of five singles running up to the release of their debut album, it’ll be interesting to see if the band can push the genres any further. The band tells us, “each of the song’s are very different, you won’t hear any repetitive sounds here”. Well, we’ll see…

Published on Drop-D.ie, 22nd April 2011