We first wrote about Foundlings back in 2018, describing their “insistent, guitar-driven energy [which sets] the tone somewhere between urban style and sweet nostalgia.” The London/Brighton-based band followed up those singles with a self-titled debut EP on the Scottish label, Last Night From Glasgow.
Opening with ‘Enemy’, the release’s sense of immediacy is clear from the off, the luminous energy of the instrumentation balanced by a retro cool in the vocal delivery. Detailing a past flame that won’t quite extinguish, ‘Caught Up On You’ is no less bright in its rhythm, the clattering drums driving the wistful pleas of the lyrics.
Every now and then
I still see you
Can we not pretend,
You’ve forgotten
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‘Busan’ sees things turn dark and brooding, a neon-nighttime track where some ominous force lurks behind the surface, while ‘Slumber’ emerges through the murk with a renewed brilliance. The verses are still cast in a cool dark, but with the chorus comes a rise toward something altogether more vivid.
Such juxtaposition is intrinsic to the Foundlings sound, be it the interplay between light and dark, retro and fresh or hipness and sincerity, and makes for an engaging and compelling aesthetic. Closer ‘Fall Out’ is no different, combining the glassy cool of Blondie with a full-hearted, earnest vitality.
Foundlings EP is out now via Last Night From Glasgow and you can get it on Bandcamp or physically via the label.
