Scottish alt-pop duo SIRENS have hit our radar through their debut single, Envy.

By Graeme Smith

Envy is a slow burner of an opening gambit. Ghostly vocals and solitary guitar form its early running, luring us into a melancholic world that has an undercurrent of anger.

The band say the track was written from a place of stress and chaos, and you get a sense of that as it moves along, building with emotional layers. The vocals are arresting, as are the image-rich lyrics which speak of not wanting to put a burden on loved ones.

“We always talk about escaping to the middle of nowhere to hide in the trees when life is stressful,” say the band. “A walk in the woods feels like therapy in a way, as a brain detox, so when writing Envy, the lyrics came naturally as we have had the conversation so many times before.”

The track arrives inevitably at a cathartic finish, exploding at its climax in a way akin to Daughter’s Music From Before the Storm.

 “Musically, we wanted to create a sound where you could close your eyes and escape into the song (when you can’t escape to the forest),” the band go on. “With so many layers in the song you can listen to it differently each time and pick out things you never noticed before.” 

SIRENS are Marc Thomson and Lindsey Hendry, two musicians who met at the University of the Highlands and Islands. They collaborated on several projects before officially forming as the duo we hear today.

They have now firmly got my attention, and I can’t wait to see how their career develops.

Envy is out now, and you can listen to it below.

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