WORDS BY VON GOLOKA
Released 28th January 2022 on Easy Life Records.
Heading straight down the middle and tackling the hard yards in a transatlantic offensive to woo fans of the notoriously fickle genre of melodic song smithery with their elusive and tricky pop sensibilities Brighton based (UK) pop ensemble THYLA have released their first long player hot on the heels of a brace of well received EP’s and they deserve great credit for attempting this feat. Let’s get that out there straight away. Full of highly accomplished musicianship and an assured production value the eleven songs on the LP really do work hard to satisfy the listener with carefully structured and often dreamy and anthemic nuanced compositions that recall the halcyon era of big 80’s and 90’s pop. But it’s not all unicorns and butterflies as THYLA are more than capable of introducing a bombastic, urgent and dissonant sub plot where they chose and blast out full fat guitar indie work outs to engage listeners liberally throughout proceedings
I have to say that THYLA is best “heard” rather than listened to forensically. By that I mean it works best as a soundtrack to whatever else it is you might be doing so that when your attention is grabbed, as so often it is, it is in a good way, much like when a drive time playlist delivers that surprise package. Beyond that, in no way am I here to diminish the work that has gone into this debut and maybe this record will be THYLA’s “new gold dream” moment.
Our good friends at Brooklyn Vegan describe THYLA as “widescreen pop” and that really sums up the nuts and bolts of it for me and yes there are genuine moments of pure joy to be found in these recordings amidst the unashamed indulgence of a band trying to achieve that most difficult of things, namely to claim a merit worthy spot in the centre ground of contemporary twenty first century pop culture. THYLA are definitely daring to be different with their debut and that earns them a solid kudos, Standout track “Making my way through the skyline” A toe tapping motorik pop workout.
7/10
Thyla – Thyla album tracklisting:
1. Amber Waits
2. Breathe
3. 3
4. Flush
5. Gum
6. Echo For Ingrid
7. Kin
8. Imbude [Interlude]
9. Making My Way Through The Skyline
10. Dandelion
11. Rabbit Hole
Thyla: Millie Duthie (vocals) | Dan Hole (bass) | Danny Southwell (drums)
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My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
