We are very pleased to premiere the new single from Cardiff quartet Columbia, who unashamedly embrace a late nineties baggy madchester ethos in their glorious new anthemic track ‘Glory People’.
The DNA within this track is undeniable – you can hear echoes of Oasis and Embrace with a touch of the Verve and Stone Roses – but Colombia provide their own stamp on this shimmering rollercoaster of a track. A celestial chorus that is rousing and euphoric, coupled with scything, chiming guitars and ethereal backing vocals, all combine to create something quite special and sparkling. Pure adrenalin-creating rock.
Singer and songwriter Craig Lewis says of the track:
It’s a song about hope and making the best of what we have. ‘When we walk into the storm, I know we’ll be fine.’ This song had been kicking about for a while, but we’d never really nailed the recording. We recorded it ourselves during the same time as Fall into the Sun. We released this originally at the start of 2020 as a single, but it was always the plan to record it again in the studio. During the recording I could just hear a female vocal over the chorus, like that in Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones, not that I’m comparing it! I spoke with our producer, and he suggested someone who he had recently worked with: Asha Jane. She came into the studio and within an hour had recorded some amazing vocals. I can still picture Sanders (producer) and I staring open mouthed at what she did. It sounds even better than I expected it to. It’s a step forward to where we started with the recording. It’s absolutely MEGA! It’s another monster live.
Of course the essential ingredient in this is the swaggering approach, full of bravado and poise – that kind of attitude that makes this cathartic and immensely enjoyable. Touched with a hint of psychedelia and a whole lot of punch, ‘Glory People’ sets out Columbia’s wares very nicely: this is a band that delivers a much needed dose of melodic guitar-based rock:
‘Glory People’ is out on Friday, 3 December 2021 through all the usual download and streaming sites.
Columbia is comprised of frontman and rhythm guitarist Craig Lewis, Ben Rowlands (lead guitarist), Chris Webber (drums) and Aron ‘Sten’ Stennings, (bass), with singer Asha Jane adding backing vocals. The track is off Columbia’s forthcoming album ‘Embrace the Chaos’ due out on 25 February 2022 with full tour dates to be announced.
Feature Photograph: Chris J Milligan
