Born from the active music scene in and around Southampton, ALLEY (the band) have a classic sound and compelling origin story.
By Graeme Smith
“Things started about a year ago in a local pub at an open mic night,” they say when I ask them how they came together as a band. Starting with covers, the four members eventually found each other through various performances.
“Ali and Robbie carried on together as others came and went until Jaymie and Antony joined,” they go on. “Jaymie came in first and Antony came in a little later, jumping in at the last minute to help us with a sound check.
“At the sound check Antony asked if he could play the song Watching You Leave first as he loved the drums on it. We started playing and within 30 seconds Robbie had turned to Ali and said, ‘this is who I want to record the drums.’ At the end Robbie said to Antony, ‘man, those drums were what I imagined when we wrote this,’ Antony looked at him and exclaimed, ‘you wrote this!?’”
There’s a kind of naturalness to that story that helps explain the classic sound that ALLEY (the band) bring to their music, drawing inspiration from legendary songwriters like Lennon and McCartney and Bruce Springsteen. Those influences are blended with an eclectic array of contemporary acts like Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, Eminem, and Frank Turner.
It all adds up to a sound that’s easy to fall in love with. Their new single, The Release (Now it’s over) has a ‘60s psychedelia feel about it, combining a swinging rhythm, raw instrumentation, and a haunting, stirring lead vocal.
A soaring chorus is, naturally, the highlight, really letting loose with themes of escape and freedom. As the track reaches its climax, it builds excitingly, hitting a satisfying high.
I was interested to learn that the track was conceived as part of another song. Words Robbie had written for Watching You Leave were deemed too good for a mere bridge, so were converted into what we now hear as The Release.
“Ali agreed, and sent a message saying, ‘I’ll do it’ which in Ali speak means, this is mine!” the band say. “She tried to be empathetic to the emotion of Robbie’s lyrics which subsequently became The Release chorus and wrote the rest of the song to depict a woman breaking free and discovering her full potential.”
The track was recorded in the band’s own studio and was produced by Al Moghadam at Dirty Beast Recording Studios. “He brings our songs to life in ways we could never imagine,” say the band.
The single has got me hungry for more music from ALLEY (the band) and fortunately, more will on its way soon. “Our next single will be released mid-January, and we would expect the EP to follow in February or March,” they say. “In the new year we will have a five track EP ready and then progress onto the album which we would target middle of 2026 for release.”
The band will also be making some festival appearances next year and are hoping for a tour in 2027. Who knows? Maybe they’ll come to York. Their sound would play well here.
Until then, we’ll just have to enjoy the delights of The Release. The single is out now, and you can listen to it below.
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