Idle Ross are an exciting new band tearing up the Sheffield music scene after only a few months together and a handful of intimate gigs around the city, but now Ross, Charlie, Spen and Joel are releasing their debut track “Into the Thick of it” and it’s a stormer. Inspired musically and stylistically as a band by a finely gathered selection of influences from Oasis and the separate Gallagher brother outfits to the Jam and the Strokes, their debut single is far darker and heavier than these acts and draws comparisons to more local talent like the “AM” era Arctic Monkeys and Reverend and the Makers.
“Into the Thick of it” is a cocky, swaggering, hypnotic three minutes of swirling classic rock guitar riffs and shuffling Kasabian-esque hip hop beats. During an interview with lead singer Ross, he talks about how important it is to not just try and make good music, but also music that’s about something and the track provides some quite deft lyrical explorations which stand up to both closer scrutiny and are very instant and chant-along-able too.
The last minute of the song descends into a wonderful crazy aural assault with guitarist Spen providing a Slash-powered solo over frontman Ross’s refrain before the whole thing ends in a consciously lo-fi crunch, inviting you to press repeat. Overall it’s a bold statement of a debut single and it’s easy to see why the band’s gigs so far have been packed out, sweaty, triumphant affairs.
Idle Ross are set to return to the live scene in the coming months with a Tramlines slot on the cards, but for now, check out this single and find more about the boys on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Read my accompanying interview with lead singer Ross Green here.
