The Bristol based alternative rock band Echo Hotel are releasing their new single “Hangers On” on the 30th April, described by the band as a “sax-drenched rumination on strangers at an out of control afterparty”. Echo Hotel are a three-piece band, that manage to create full, layered and established sounds. Their own description of this track is a very succinct one, briefly alluding to the wonderfully ghost like and moody atmosphere "Hangers On" brings. There is a strong sense of echoing and dedicated emotion in this track which aids the depiction of a dark night where strangers meet. The band tell me that their lyricism is “chronically self-aware”, which is certainly true in this single which looks into the self as the music builds and degrades. The artistic unsettling sounds that regale a strangers meeting, echoes the theatricality of the rock band Muse. The band tell me that the track was inspired by being in one of the band member’s brother’s house after a club night: “we found it full of random people engaged in an out-of-control afters”. These people are described as “smoking area limpets…trampling all over (the brother's) stuff”. They tell me that this narrative inspired a sound that evoked “alienation and discomfort in your own home”. An emotive backdrop they have certainly reflected in the music. I will ask the reader to listen to this track, once it is released, and imagine the state of your home being torn apart by strangers. The eerie vocals, echoing saxophone in the far-ground and distorted guitar accompanies the suggested image; watching the sanctity of home being torn apart. The band approach their chosen themes with detail and articulation, continuously exploring the fluidity of the alternative rock genre. When reading their own descriptions of their song and viewing the single’s artwork, all of their thematic ties knot together to form “the emotional cost of hedonism and the shallowness of a rotating cast of afterparty acquittances”. Their single’s artwork in particular evokes the vulnerable position of the watcher, the image shows a child observing a dark sky that displays a kind of aurora borealis, portraying either isolation or wonderment. What I can certainly say about Echo Hotel, is that they create interesting music. Far too often new and young artists are too afraid to go against the grain and end up worrying too much about “sounding good”, when sounding interesting, in my opinion, can some times be a greater starting point for an artist's progression. This evocative, haunting and saxophonic track is both edgy and mesmerising, creating a space that defines Echo Hotel.
Echo Hotel's single "Hangers On" will be released on the 30th April 2021, you can pre-save the single HERE.
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