aaamusic | On 25, Jun 2011

Edinburgh’s five piece Letters caused quite a stir earlier this year when their dark cello pop, urgent melancholic vocals and ambitious rock instrumentation, saw their first double sided free single ‘Grand National / Pipe Dreams’ cause a buzz across the UK’s media and blogosphere. Scotsman Radar, The Pop Cop, Jim Gellatly, CMU Daily and Ally McCrae’s Radio1 Session in Scotland were among the many voices declaring Letters as a band to watch. The anticipation mounted for their next move, a series of low key gigs and select festival appearances at Wickerman and Rockness followed.

Now Letters reveal their darker side on new release ‘Flash! Lights’. A slow burning anthem that sears itself into your brain though singer Michael Ferguson’s emotive refrain; ‘set this relic up on fire/its a past life its over’. Its throbbing cello lines, cascading fearsome drum patterns, layered guitar riffs, and grand strings building to crashing crescendos in its final epic minute. In the band’s own words…

“Flash! Lights’, to paraphrase one of the lyrics in the song, is about feeling dwarfed by the possibilities of time and the panic induced by fear of under achievement. It’s about trying to let go of your past and your vices in order that you embrace the things that truly inspire you and ultimately drive you forward, all the while recognising the complete hopelessness that neither of these aforementioned things can exist without the other.

We wanted to write a song that put the fear of God in us, something that can be as scary as the subject matter and I think we’ve managed to achieve that.”

“The hottest new band in Scotland right now.” The Pop Cop

“It’s rare that such a new band sounds so close to the finished article…fans of acts such as Jimmy Eat World will find much to admire in the pedal-to-the-metal chorus, but there’s still plenty of musical meat on the bones.” Scotsman Radar

“An enthralling mix of Frightened Rabbit and Idlewild.” Faded Glamour

“Their tendency to leap on the distortion pedal as songs draw to an end, and my weakness for vocals sung in a Scottish accent, it makes for a winning formula…They could have a very bright future indeed.” CMU