I don't always write about brand new music here, although a lot of what I cover is new to me. Today's feature is a good example: 'Summer Haze' was released almost two months ago and I've been listening to it every few days on average since then. With each play, the song has worked its way a little deeper into my brain until it reached a tipping point and I knew it had to become a blog post.
The band behind this song are She's In Parties - they're from Essex and released their first "official" single in April 2022. Their name is a song by English gothic rock band Bauhaus which was released 29 years previously; but their music pushes well clear of the darkness of that genre, while sharing something of the ability to express deeply-felt, common experiences. If I had to, I'd put She's In Parties partly in a dream-pop bucket (excuse the weird metaphor), but erring towards 80s-inspired synth-supported euphoria.
'Summer Haze' doesn't so much begin as arrive: you press play, and become aware of a bubbling, buzzy synth loop approaching at high speed; it's with you almost before you can comprehend. This foundation sound is then joined by more synths, but this time a warmer pad presenting a joyous and celebratory sound, and one which is utterly of the 80s.
The statement has been made, the scene has been set, and now it's singer Katie Dillon's turn to develop the song. With the hazy but upbeat rhythm and overall atmosphere of the track already introduced, Katie's crisp but imaginative delivery does a fine job of leading us further down that path.
Along with all those synths, Katie's voice is lifted and carried by real, organic drums which skip along steadily; and, brilliantly, an electric guitar picking out the melodic theme. And finally, not to leave out the piano enthusiasts, there's one of those in the mix too, staying deep for the most part, but pushing up as the song begins to reach its end. Those firm piano chords turn into a solo line, repeating the theme we've been hearing, and rounding off the song with a nicely stripped back coda.
'Summer Haze' is light-hearted in some ways, evoking exactly what the title of the song would suggest: becoming lost in a summer dream, a haze of euphoric emotion. But listen closer and that's not quite the story being told here.
"Reality what's happening somebody please save me
I don't know how I got here but I'm scared I think I might just die..."
Katie has explained that the song is about the first time ever she smoked weed "in central park in Chelmsford," including "the parts where I thought I was gonna die or I thought there were undercover police."
So that's drug-induced paranoia! Check. Leading into a full-blown existential crisis! Check, too, because later the song tells of how the singer worries "all the time" that she'll never be someone.
Personally, I may not have exactly those experiences sung about in 'Summer Haze': but that deeper meaning to the song taps into something we all have to deal with at times. And all of this delivered on a bed of addictive, shoegaze-meets-dream-pop goodness. That's what makes a track like this - and the band who created it - so very special. They've found a unique niche, which is getting a lot harder to do these days, and settled into it confidently and comfortably.
This single is the band's first release with Submarine Cat Records, which has built a great roster of bands including She Drew The Gun, ARXX and Alabama 3. This bodes really well for the future.
Check out 'Summer Haze' below, or above, or wherever you want really; and follow the band in the usual places, including Bandcamp, where they've got some really tasty merch going on (and quickly selling out, by the look of it).
Photo (above): Polocho