With an insistent, driving beat and crystalline guitars, ‘In The Dark’ is an instant indie anthem that is posed and elegant in its delivery. Astonishingly, this is a debut single from Brighton’s The Brave Faces: it has a pre-installed maturity that augurs well for the future of the band. Here at Backseat Mafia, we are very proud to premiere the debut of an act that will be worth following.
With the deep and wry vocals, there is undeniably a genetic thread to bands like The National, but this is just a passing reference for a band that is forging its own path. The Brave Faces can indeed take their place alongside – if not ahead of – the best of their peers in the indie/post-punk camp, brushing up, as they do, against a shoegaze genre.
Of the themes of the song, the band says:
In the Dark explores power within a relationship. (The lyrics are) delivered from the perspective of someone offering up fumbled clichés as apologies, desperately trying to save face after the latest in a series of breaches of trust.
A very heady beginning for the Brighton band, which will be following up with two more singles in sequence. The single is available from 27 March 2020 here.
Feature Photograph: Ian Howorth
