Following the release of their debut 4-track EP ‘Scarlet’ 2: 54 are set to go on tour with The Big Pink in February.
A perilous ride into a foreboding, enchanting dreamscape, London-based sisters Colette and Hannah Thurlow -otherwise known as 2:54– have delivered one of the most thrilling releases of the year, in the form of debut 4-track EP, ‘Scarlet‘ released on Fiction Records.This Is Fake DIY called their EP ‘If 2: 54 continue to put out such high-quality lo-fi then we won’t need to compare them to more established ‘girl bands’; because the Thurlows will be the ones setting the standard’ while the NME is touting them as ones to watch for 2012.
The duo make a vertiginous leap into a whole new world, expanding their vast, darkly cinematic sound, and tapping a bloodline -spanning all manner stoner-rock and punk and deities- in vital new form that instantly places them alongside the finest atmospheric pop experiments of Tomorrow. Proceedings are given an added thrust this time with the arrival of luminaries such as mixer Alan Moulder (Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails) and Mercury-winning producer Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave).
The A-side title track -their first proper single and the first taste of their upcoming album- refines their distinct stratum of brimstone pop to perfection; the sisters’ unerring instinct for gorgeous melody and effortless hooks is cast against lacerating guitars, bludgeoning rhythms and spacey, dive-bomb dynamics. The other three B-side tracks –some of the very first 2:54 material to be written, and recorded in a burst over three days– similarly pulse and pound with a noir magic in their veins. ‘Wait/Awake‘ builds tension through Hannah’s ominous guitar work and Colette’s serpentine call, before fully taking flight in the majestic, pining chorus. The thunderous ‘Got A Hold‘ swoops them into woozy, intoxicating territories with one of their most seismic soundscapes to date dropping out three quarters of the way through for a cliffhanger few seconds, to exhilarating effect. The meditative finale ‘Dawn‘, on the other hand, explores another element of the band altogether, as they turn out a climactic, slow-burning epic to close out the EP in fittingly enigmatic fashion.
8-Feb-12 Bristol Thekla
9-Feb-12 Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
11-Feb-12 Nottingham Rescue Rooms
12-Feb-12 Liverpool 02 Academy
14-Feb-12 Glasgow King Tuts
15-Feb-12 Manchester Academy
16-Feb-12 Birmingham HMV Library
18-Feb-12 Brighton Digital
