New Band of the Week: BREATHER

Plymouth band BREATHER are happily “grungegazing” their way into our lives with a diverse and engaging sound they describe as “eclectic, heartfelt and anthemic.”

BREATHER formed as a four-piece in January and swiftly clicked. Guitarists Sam, Jack and Josh – who was in Ashestoangels, who played one of the first gigs we reviewed alongside Fort Hope and Tigress in October 2016 – and their previous drummer wrote their first song Wrong within their first three-hour session together. They maintained that momentum, writing their debut EP much quicker than expected. Big change saw the drummer recommend vocalist Scott, before stepping away and being replaced by current drummer Harry to cement the BREATHER sound.

On the sound they’ve honed over the last few months, Josh told us: “Take 90s grunge and early shoegaze, smash it together with early 2000s emo and sprinkle in a touch of modern pop-punk and that’s probably as close you could get to our sound. Most people who have heard the EP can’t place their finger on our sound and we think that’s pretty damn cool!”

Our first taste of this was debut single What Are You Saying?, which was released last month. It opens up with a piercing noise that drops into lively guitar chords then laid-back vocals with edgy backing instrumentals. It flows into an engaging chorus, which continues into another rapid verse and chorus. Second-time around, the chorus gives way to heavier drums and an intense spinning synth sound in the background, then a chunky bassline feeds into a final chorus.

Discussing the single’s release, Josh told us: “Honestly, way better than we could’ve expected for our debut! Our friends have been super supportive and we are mega proud of what we have achieved. What Are You Saying? is a perfect introduction to BREATHER. At under 3 minutes, it acts as a snappy showcase of our chaotic yet fine-tuned energy.” Check it out in the stream here:

That’s swiftly been followed by the band’s debut EP BREATHER, which was released on 1 September. The EP opens up with We Know Pt. 1, which starts with a stabbing guitar line and a piercing lick. Engaging vocals join in with echoey lines followed by repeats of “We know, we know,” before a more laid-back section with the piercing guitar lick continuing. The pace drops midway through with light guitars supporting reverby vocals, then cool repeats of “We know” and a fun guitar lick set up a final chorus. Check it out here:

That’s swiftly followed by We Know Pt. 2, which opens up with light guitars then a cool piercing guitar sound. It drops into laid-back vocals that intensify through the chorus, then bursts of piercing guitar sounds creep into the second verse.

The EP is completed by the debut single What Are You Saying?, the mellow Unknown and the highly enjoyable aforementioned Wrong, which you can check out in the stream here:

Ahead of the EP release, Josh told us: “Absolutely buzzing for it! We’ve worked so hard over the past 7 months to write, record and mix this EP. From humble beginnings at the practice space writing Wrong, up to September 2nd when we play the release party, this EP is an imprint in time of who we are and we can not wait to share that. As our resident shoegazer Sam would say: THIS IS US!”

The BREATHER sound is inspired by a wide range of musical influences. As Josh explains: “It’s hard to really place our influences into specific bands or musicians because we all come from different musical backgrounds. For example, Sam is influenced by a lot of shoegaze bands like Ride, Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine but I come from a much more metal/punk-oriented background coming from my previous band Ashestoangels, then Scott has a lot of hip hop influence. We think this lends to what makes our sound so unique yet familiar.”

And on what inspires them to write music, Josh adds: “Lyrically, we get influence from situations involving loss of friendships/relationships. We take quite a stream of consciousness approach to lyricism that adds to the dreamlike atmosphere of the music itself, usually creating vivid dark imagery inspired by dreams and/ or surrealist film.”

The debut EP BREATHER is out now. You can see BREATHER for yourself at The Underground in Plymouth for the EP release show of our former New Band of the Week Carrier on 30 September. The band are currently writing their debut album that they plan to record at Shearwater Studios in Plymouth towards the end of the year.

You can follow BREATHER on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Soundcloud and YouTube.