Chicanes: Something Beautiful
(Self-released)
Norwich-based alt-rock quartet Chicanes make a bold statement with their long-awaited debut album, Something Beautiful. Already a well-known force on the East Anglia live scene, the band have built their reputation on high-energy gigs, emotionally charged songwriting, and explosive stage presence. Now, with the help of two-time Grammy-winning producer Adrian Bushby – known for his work with Foo Fighters, Muse, and Placebo – Chicanes elevate their sound to new heights, delivering an album that feels both polished and raw, visceral and vulnerable.
Opening with the punching riff of Livid, the band waste no time building suspense before bursting into a thick, headbanging wall of guitar, punching drums and tight bass. As the track progresses, the verse takes on an awkward shuffling rhythm, with an elegantly melodic, Royal Blood-esque vocal delivery. Reaching a high-octane, intense chorus, the vocals move to a shouted, evocative roar as the musicality reflects the shift in intensity. Growing across its five minutes, the track reaches a jerking middle eight showcasing the metal influence in the band’s sound while subtle synths pull the track back from the brink into an alt-rock spectrum.
Elsewhere on the ten tracks, Slow Death continues the trend with heavier than heavy, yet melodic riffs, which showcase a blend between Queens Of The Stone Age like melodic flair met with a driving hard rock intensity comparable to the likes of Alter Bridge and Architects.
Tracks like Neon Dream and Fray showcase shoegaze and post-punk influences, blending jangly modulated guitar tones, unorthodox drum beats and inventive vocal production with the heavily distorted guitar tones of other more intense tracks on the album. These creative choices and varied sound palettes are what give the album edge and highlight the band’s creative flair – not just settling into a comfortable alt-rock lane but instead challenging themselves to create music which defies convention and delivers something more intriguing and ultimately, better.
Towards the end of the album, one of its standout tracks, Live Well, showcases the record’s diverse musicality with a raw and visceral sound. It opens with barked, screamo-style vocals, jagged, uneasy riffs, and sprawling drums that gradually coalesce into a powerful burst of tightly locked bass and guitar lines, driven by rapid double-kick pedals. As the track unfolds, it shifts seamlessly from a jangly verse to a soaring, anthemic chorus, ultimately climaxing in a euphoric wall of pitch-shifting guitars and explosive, cymbal-heavy drums.
At its core, Something Beautiful is a coming-of-age record, not in terms of age, but in sound, representing a clear maturation in songwriting and sonic ambition. The band lean into a darker, heavier alt-rock territory, frequently flirting with grunge, alt-metal but retaining a melodic, and at times delicate shoegaze flourish. This isn’t just angry noise, there’s a genuine sense of emotion, and catharsis throughout the track which gives them a sense of depth.
Lyrically, Something Beautiful is steeped in themes of loss, internal conflict, personal growth, and survival. The band’s intention to write with “more refined, deeper storytelling” rings true across the entire album. There’s a consistent emotional thread running through the record, one that allows for both sonic heaviness and lyrical vulnerability to coexist without feeling forced.
Across ten tracks, Chicanes carve out a sonic landscape that is as diverse, yet cohesive. From the roaring guitars and punchy rhythms to the expressive lead vocals and thematic depth, Something Beautiful thrives on contrast and evolution, highlighting the potential that Chicanes have.
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All words by Simon Lucas-Hughes. More writing by Simon Lucas-Hughes can be found at his author’s archive.
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