The understated opening of the saloon piano erupts into a riot of guitars as the chords before dropping you back, shaken, into the yearning verse. Olly Bayton’s vocals coax you along the intricate guitar line and just when you’ve settled in again, the band – made up of Bayton, Billy Twamley (guitars), Finn ‘Blue’ Lloyd (bass) and Jake Coles (drums) – detonate into a blistering chorus.
But while it flows through these different movements, it’s anything but chaotic. It’s deliberate, designed to unfold through different emotions, surging, falling, crescendo and quiet. From the full-throttle outpouring in the chorus, the song delicately returns to earth, giving us all the chance to breathe again, take stock, and listen.
Sonically, it’s luxurious and cinematic. Produced by Ru Lemer (Foals), mixed by Adrian Hall (Depeche Mode, Anna Clavi), and mastered by Nick Watson (Sea Girls, Warpaint) it has both intimacy and emotional expanse all at once, carrying us through a story that explores themes of uncertainty and resistance, messages to loved ones, images of streets and small rituals of escape, capturing the tension between instability and identity.
Formed in Exeter through a series of chance encounters, the four-piece quickly embedded themselves in the city’s live circuit, selling out 500-capacity rooms entirely under their own steam. Since relocating to Brighton last year, that momentum has only intensified: four consecutive headline sell-outs during their “Mosquito Nights” residency and tour slots alongside The Molotovs and Nieve Ella have sharpened both their profile and their sound. The early murmur from peers is growing louder. Die Twice are already being tipped as one to watch in 2026.
