Sheffield’s WHITEHORSE, led by Thomas Haywood (former frontman of The Blinders) are back with their electrifying second single, ‘Red Riptide’ out now.
Bringing together a gritty yet melodic guitar led soundscape, the track captures both a gritty sense of drive and a melancholic, melodic undercurrent which gives the track both an evocative sense of energy and a tuneful flourish, ultimately sitting somewhere between Iggy Pop, Fontaines DC and The Strokes.
Driven forward by its tight drums and unrelenting bassline, the track leaves space for the reverb drenched guitars to dance around the tracks backbone. Topped with the urgent lead vocals, the track is given a brooding, compelling central pin through which the track’s sense of suspense and energy is fulled.
Speaking about the track, the band explains: “It’s as heavy as we go at the moment and to me describes desire in a tune and screams ‘fucking come on then’ to anything thrown your way. It was written when heavy rains burst the waters of a riverbank and the whole thing was just gushing all over the place and it set me off big time.”
Formed in late 2024 in Sheffield, WHITEHORSE unites Haywood with Bobby Bouché (lead guitar), John McCullagh (second guitar), Nathan Keeble (bass), and James Keith (drums). Despite only debuting their first single Doesn’t Come Close earlier this year, the band quickly made their mark with support from BBC Introducing, sold-out headline shows, and a short UK run in March.
With support from BBC Radio 6 Music, ‘Red Riptide’ has further cemented the band as one to watch. The release precedes upcoming UK dates this November, including London’s The Old Blue Last (Nov 19) and Manchester’s YES (Nov 20), promising a live experience that channels the same intensity of their recordings.
Listen below:
