News: slowly then all at once Shine On Debut Single ‘Rewind’

London-based shoegaze and dreampop quartet slowly then all at once introduce themselves with the radiant debut single ‘Rewind’, arriving September 25th. Blending hazy textures, immersive soundscapes and understated instrumentation, the four-piece make a compelling first impression, balancing ethereal atmospherics with an organic, restrained approach that allows melody to shine through the fog.Comprising Anna McClean (vocals and piano), Stan Thompson (guitar), Luke Faiers (bass) and Ozan Koseoglu (drums), the band build their sound around subtle layers and carefully considered arrangements. On ‘Rewind’, understated percussion sits alongside swirls of distortion, reverb-soaked guitars, delicate synths and rich bass, gradually forming a warm, enveloping backdrop for McClean’s smoky, melancholic vocal. Languid, murky and dreamlike, the track retains a melodic brightness that cuts through its atmospheric haze, pairing the dreamy sensibilities of Yndling and Night Swimming with a more immediate, boxy 90s alt-rock edge, propelled by upfront, direct drums.There is a sense of looking backwards throughout ‘Rewind’, both in its sound and the circumstances surrounding its creation. The track began life years before its eventual recording, offering a snapshot of an earlier version of its songwriter. Guitarist Stan Thompson reflects on the experience of revisiting the song and bringing it to life with the full band.“Rewind was one of the first songs I remember writing. I wrote it as a teenager. I had the lyrics and the chords but the rest of the music came years later when we recorded it as a band. It’s nice to have a sort of time capsule of myself from a different period of my life and at a younger age. It’s fun to try and find meaning in the lyrics and to try and understand what the teenage me was thinking about – mostly nonsense by the sounds of it.”That distance between past and present lends the single an added emotional resonance, with its reflective qualities extending beyond nostalgia into the uncertainties of growing up. For vocalist Anna McClean, the song captures the strange tension of adolescence, when an expanding awareness of the world can exist alongside a sense of being unable to move beyond familiar surroundings.“I think it tries to catch that psychology of being a teen and being too self aware, and also having this sudden new consciousness of the world around you but you’re still physically in exactly the same place you grew up in – so your awareness of the world has expanded but your agency hasn’t which puts you in this kind of liminal space that forces you inwards and you default to rumination.”It is a feeling that finds a natural counterpart in the track’s arrangement. Its hazy guitars and unhurried progression create a sense of suspension, while the underlying rhythmic drive keeps the song grounded. Rather than allowing its dreamlike textures to drift into abstraction, slowly then all at once maintain a clear melodic focus, giving ‘Rewind’ both a sense of intimacy and an expansive, immersive quality.