SINGLE REVIEW: EARL GREY’S BREAKFAST TEA - SWING
“After forming in mid 2017, Earl Grey’s Breakfast Tea began dipping their toes in the live music scene. Since then, they’ve performed all over Melbourne’s north side for the better part of two years, supporting and headlining a myriad of shows at venues such as The Workers Club, The Espy, The Gasometer Hotel, Grace Darling Hotel and Broadmeadows Street Festival. Having released their debut single, ‘Chrome Lung’, the band show no signs of stopping and are already curating their self-titled forthcoming album. Blending influences from garage rock, alternative punk and elements of psychedelia, Earl Grey’s Breakfast Tea draw inspiration from a diverse range of artists such as IDLES, The Clash and Oasis, allowing them to bring their own unique flare to a live setting. The trio put an energetic spin on modern rock which is matched by their authentic chemistry on stage, concocting a dynamic live set not to be missed. Earl Grey’s Breakfast Tea is comprised of Jordan Newitt (Guitar/Vocals), Alex Brown (Bass/Vocals) and Isabella Vosdoganis (Drums).”
‘SWING’ REVIEW:
‘Swing’ opens with a slow steady introduction, with raw guitar and vocals, slowly building up as the song continues, holding its mellow tone for the most part.
The stripped back track is much more bare bones and grungy than debut single ‘Chrome Lung’, which hold more of a groovy feel to it. The song itself seems to ‘swing’ back and forth between soft slow mellow instrumentals and verses, and the more intense chorus which features the low-key iconic earworm chorus line ‘back in the swing of the things’.
On the new release, guitarist and vocalist Jordan Newitt says
”I wrote it after seeing just such a crazy amount of gambling ads on TV and internet just absolutely everywhere. There also seems to be a huge incentive for gambling in everything these days, even gaming and kids entertainment. I've never gambled but I know people who have been f*cked over by it. “
These sentiments show through in lines such as ‘I’ve got no where else to place my bets’', but majority of the song is not so specific;
‘It's a bit vague though because I wanted to people to relate to that feeling of rock bottom, getting kicked out of home and having to turn to someone you've royally pissed off in the past but you've got nowhere else to go and they're the closest thing you've got to a friend. Essentially it's about fucking up because of your vices or past indiscretions and having to start from scratch.” -Jordan Newitt
My own personal favourite part of the grungy garage track might actually be the longer instrumental bridge section before the final chorus, which itself features a fiery desperate scream before the ending line. The more involved guitar and drums section adds a little more ‘finesse’ to the track leading up to its passionate conclusion.
Overall the track is a solid step in the band’s personal sound and style development, with influential nods to IDLES and Lazertits and great clear instrumental and vocal sound recording quality, especially noticeable in the last outro line - a final note of ‘please let me in’, a begging for forgiveness and reconciliation after such ‘fuck ups’.
Going forward, Earl Grey’s are ‘just trying to work with the current situation’, with plans for a debut album, record label and regional tour (that have now been postponed).
‘We're just working with what we have at the time, planning things out and helping out our fellow artists, sound engineers, venues and other content creators however we can.’