Listen: Strange Cages - "Desert"
Moniker: Strange Cages. Appropriate, because they sound like they just crawled out of one. Song title: “Desert”. Also appropriate, because although this three-piece hail from Brighton, this track sounds like the product of one of Josh Homme’s infamous drug-fueled desert production sessions.
It’s not Homme behind the wheel here, but Theo Verney—fellow Brightonian and garage/psych enthusiast—who does an excellent impression here. With his help, the youngsters in Strange Cages pair jangly, saw-blade guitar riffs and pounding percussion as the musical backdrop, a combination that yields only to the impassioned-to-the-point-of-cocksuredness vocals of the lead singer.
“Color’s deeper when you’re around”, he yelps, primal and precise. Whether he’s talking to a proper lover or a more, shall we say, regulated mistress remains to be seen. When a song pulses with this kind of intensity, I’ll keep listening to find out.
“Desert” is available for free download 9 June. The three-piece play The Victoria, London with Dead Rabbits on 7 June.
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