single review ~ 'animated angels' ~ high sundays

Name: High Sundays
Genre: Funk/Rock
For Fans Of: The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Treehome
Location: Belfast

Young, driven and very, very loud. Belfast's 'High Sundays' fit this blue-print perfectly, and despite being very new to the music scene here, they've wasted no time in getting their name out there. There's a few reasons at play for this. Firstly, the ambition radiates from this band from the moment you meet them. Always planning, always scheming, looking for a new challenge. Withing the first couple of months of becoming a band they'd already made it through to the final of The Pavilion's prestigious Battle Of The Bands contest, built up a firm following through their funky demos and supported the beloved Serotonin at their farewell roof-top gig in The Oh  Yeah Centre. Not bad. Secondly, they're all really decent dudes. Friendly, personable and always laughing, High Sundays seem to embody their own upbeat tunes off the stage, as well as on it. Earlier released demos such as the excellent 'Racing' (which is really worth a listen), put the band in a good position ~ but could they deliver on their new single?

'Animated Angels' see's High Sundays dabble with electronica for the first time, indeed, upon hearing the first 30 seconds you'd be forgiven for thinking In An Instant had released their new single early! It's eerie, yet unusually house-like. A strange mix, all brought together with a great melody and a smooth vocal from frontman Jack Moran. 

It's hard to talk about this band without mentioning The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, who are clearly a mammoth influence. Yes, there's perhaps a Stadium Arcadium vibe running through here if you dig deep enough, though it must be said that 'Animated Angels'  is the biggest step High Sundays have taken to crafting their own personal sound to date. Catchy, chilled and with a huge chorus thrown in for good measure, this, you feel, is High Sundays at their best. When they are writing songs like this, they enter a groovey soundscape dominated so far by the awesome Treehome and very few others.

No doubt High Sundays have the potentiual to stay there too.

Taylor Johnson