Formally known as the punk band After Touch playing such events as UNIFY Gathering and Yours & Owls, in early 2022 Fever Pitch emerged featuring the same members – Jesse, Jordan, Jack, and Marcus – with a renewed creative focus on simmering, angular indie rock.
March this year saw the release of their debut, self-titled EP and now they're ready to take the covers off their newest double single 'Cruel/Tranquilise', which they describe as 'a form of musical catharsis'.Ahead of its release on Friday, scenestr is stoked to premiere 'Cruel/Tranquilise' today. Enjoy.
On 'Crue', a song about the highs and lows of a relationship, a spacious yet tight rhythm section is paired to a noodling, cruisy guitar that's layered with emotive, bright licks from an additional guitar that elevate the feels.
With vocals that hint at a new wave edge, it's stylish alternative rock that has tones reminiscent of Interpol and Hot Hot Heat. "'Cruel' is the song that best reflects our mission statement as a band: highs and lows," shares Fever Pitch.
"Lyrically, it's about the highs and lows, having what you don't need and needing what you don't have. And the music tends to reinforce these highs and lows with dynamics, melody, pacing and so on."
A frenetic yet dusty drum beat welcomes 'Tranquilise' before a lush, reverb-flavoured guitar adds a feel-good merriment, the song then continues to quicken its pace, building into a crescendo of noisy art rock.
The track sways between this intensity and a laidback, idyllic vibe before a mellow, psychedelic segue makes room for one final intense rock out that'll be ideal for a strobe-light mosh live!
"We actually had two completely different versions of this song ready for when we were going to record – one was a really rocky sort of thing and the other was a very chill, synth-oriented thing – and we weren't sure which version we preferred," shares Fever Pitch.
"In the end it came down to none of us being sure the synthier version would work live without us spending money we don't have on gear we don't need, so the rock one won out.
"But there are still synths in the studio version that are blended with the guitars that you can hear if you listen closely enough and hint at what the song could've been."
Fever Pitch play La La La's (Wollongong) on 25 October.
