News Arthur Beatrice

: Arthur Beatrice
Based: London
Listen at: Debut single ‘Midland’ on Soundcloud
Similar to: Wild Beasts, Warpaint

Whether through purpose or pure accident, London’s Arthur Beatrice’s debut single, ‘Midland’, somehow manages to encompass at least a dozen delightful, audible influences. Amongst them, you hear the isolation, the intimacy of the debut xx record or Wild Beasts’ latest, ‘Smother’. A frenetic clash of guitars in the song’s closing section revisits Warpaint’s first work, whilst the immaculate vocal exchange from female to male pays homage to both Laura Marling’s early material and the more recent Amateur Best. So many damned musical connections - how on Earth then, is the band’s introduction so refreshing?

Perhaps it’s because we’ve yet to hear such a polished combination of all of these sounds. ‘Midland’ is the sound of London; dark and vulnerable, with its late night feel giving it a strangely beautiful outer edge. It’s also stylish; perfectly turned-out. And the song’s opening lyric - ‘All I want is to be warm in home, and well known’ - suggests a fragility, something we’d like to see develop in a full-length, which is apparently in the works.

Arthur Beatrice’s debut single ‘Midland’ will be released on 12th April via the band’s own Open Assembly label.