Chappaqua Wrestling return with their new single ‘Early’. Chappaqua Wrestling are long-term writing partners Jake Mac and Charlie Woods, both 24, from Brighton via Manchester.The band have gained support from BBC Radio aficionados Huw Stephens, Steve Lamacq, Jack Saunders and Annie Mac as well as supported Sports Team and Black Honey. The band have also performed at the Green Man and Latitude Festivals, before travelling to the US for their first stateside show at 4XFAR in California last month. Chappaqua Wrestling are set to release a new EP this spring.
With sweet melodies, hazy tones and lush delicate intricacies ‘Early’ continues Chappaqua Wrestling’s sublime musicianship. The band smooth a grunge hue over their irresistible sound to create a sublime edge. Twinkling guitars create a dreamy refrain with a sun speckled radiance as the velvety vocals caress the melty melody with a laid back tone. The duo unravel the track beautifully, building to a heavier chorus with a gritty tonality of raw guitars and heavy beat. The narcotic tranquilizing verses disperse elegantly into the ears with a butter on toast warmth and melting quality while the crashing chorus showcases Chappaqua Wrestling’s fine ability to blend genres seamlessly. These guys are talented for sure. The lushness and deft musicianship is presented in such a wonderful and subtle way it’s an utter delight to the ears.
About the track the duo explain : “Early is the resurrection of a group of parts and a chorus written a while back. It’s something of a time traveller but has only recently been put together as a live song. The earliest notions of it date back to 2014 when we were in college, but the intro came as recently as a few weeks ago when we were in California.It chronicles the early stages of a relationship and the late nights/early mornings that came with it, dipped in layered guitars and harmony riffs. It’s a helluva fun song to play, so we are hugely excited to release it.”
Brighton band Chappaqua Wrestling have released their new single ‘Is She Happy Turning On Her Side?’. The band have had a hectic year supporting Sports Team and Black Honey as well as playing Latitude, Green Man and Live At Leeds amongst others. They were also invited to record at Abbey Road for BBC Introducing and will be interviewed on Radio 1 next Monday to launch this new single.
‘Is She Happy Turning On Her Side?’ is a sweet can of indie pop flavoured with Americana hues fizzed to perfection. Chappaqua Wrestling have finely brewed their melodic smooth sound into something truly captivating. With a bubble gum “bah bah dah bah bah” vocal hook between the sweet mellow melody, the band create a dreamy tune that drifts delicately into the ears. With lush harmonies and velvety vocals the track flows fluidly. The band however take this sweet candy floss element and back it with a warm sting on guitar to add a dash of zest. The west coast groove wiggles its way throughout creating something to shuffle and jiggle to while the Americana hues add sweltering heat to the track. This rich instrumentation makes the track tantalizing to the senses and ensures repeat plays. With a shredding solo, exotic guitar flurries and a western- esque humidity between the laid back effortless atmosphere Chappaqua Wrestling have created a track that immerses you in a blissful world completely crafted by them. Honing in on their breezy retro sound of their last single ‘Cry Every Time’ and refining it to polished perfection Chappaqua Wrestling are fast becoming a band to keep an eye on.
It was a Brighton take over Thursday night in The Grand Social Dublin. With sparkles at the ready, swagger in tow and Guinness ready to guzzle. Indie rock, rising deity, Black Honey took the venue by storm equipped with everything to make the night memorable.
One of those was fellow Brighton gems Chappaqua Wrestling who flooded the venue with the sweetest, most delicious tunes as their musical prowess pleasantly wafted delicately about our ears. Each tune brought their sound to a new delightful level. Both Jake Mac and Charlie Woods take turns on vocals as they coo and softly lull through tracks like ‘False/Blue’ and ‘Wait To Form My Head’ while ‘Football’ blows our minds with blistering instrumentation. Their tracks are laid back, sun soaked and infectiously groovy. The duo are accompanied by Jude Lilley and Josh Cassidy-Stone who maintained the joyous buoyant foundation and rhythmic bliss superbly. Their breezy tracks melt exquisitely into the ears with ease as the honey drizzled melodies float upon their edgy indie backdrop. Each track was tight and utterly mesmerising with a 50’s melodic hue floating about them. You can’t fault their slinky solos and thrilling riffs as they flesh out the bands intricately weaved sound beautifully.This duo’s easy going charm is infectious as they banter with the crowd “ I tried my first Guinness today …. I love it so much” as well as jokingly haggling on the price of their EP as members of the crowd try to create a bit of currency exchange confusion. The band are talented and down to earth with some really infectious tracks . They even hug each other after their set, it was pretty moving. Chappaqua Wrestling are definitely ones to see live.
Black Honey take to the stage triumphantly as the crowd’s cheers resound through the venue. The ever so spellbinding frontwoman Izzy B Phillips parades in a sparkly pink dress and flashy sunglasses which she presents to a thrilled fan at the front with a wink and greeting smile before belting straight into ‘ I Only Hurt The Ones I Love‘. Flamboyant and sassy she struts about the stage executing every pose, stride and wiggle with a precision that leaves the crowd in awe. She has a mesmerising effect on the audience as they gaze upon her in all her glittering glory. The band is brimming with charisma, guitarist Chris Ostler prances about as he performs those sublime, ornate and golden soaked spaghetti western melodies and refined solos with finesse and grandeur. His smiling face a joy to see as he bops and hops along to their lavish tunes. The band give us a sneaky listen to the cinematic James Bond – esque new “not on the internet yet” single ‘ I Don’t Ever Wanna Love’.
“Girls come close, come in, lads step aside, girls at the back come up…. Cos this song is for you ” Izzy calls as she moves closer to the crowd hugging her stunned fans while they sing the chorus for the beloved ‘Corrine’. This is something she regularly does throughout the set, she stays with the crowd embraces and dances with them before returning to the stage to wiggle and shimmy to the bands infectious tasty tunes. The tracks take a new dimension live, the disco funk speckled delight ‘Midnight’ becomes more gritty and raw within the live setting while a slower start to the exhilarating ‘Spinning Wheel’ teases the fiery frenzy to come. Drummer Tom Dewhurst lays down that all important meaty foundation and punchy beat that keeps tracks like ‘All My Pride’ pounding through your soul as he grins to the coolly composed Bassist Tommy Taylor who’s slinky bass lines make tracks like ‘Teenager’ and ‘Midnight’ swelter their way to epic status.
A beautiful rendition of ‘Baby’ allows Izzy to showcase her flawless vocals while ‘Bad Friends’ and ‘Into The Nightmare’ wallop through with attitude and fiery instrumentation. Their setlist powers through at an unstoppable speed, it almost feels like no time has passed when the band announce their final track of the night ‘Somebody Better ‘ as the crowd cheer and dance along.
Black Honey put on one heck of a performance. One of the best live shows of the year so far.
Indie: (n) an obscure form of rock which you only learn about from someone slightly more hip than yourself.
