VLURE - Escalate

Since erupting onto the scene in 2021 with the barbaric ‘Shattered Faith’, Glasgow’s finest pill-punkers VLURE have been busy administering sonically gloomy yet spiritually euphoric injections of rave catharsis across the UK. Their debut LP may feel somewhat overdue, but the storm of thrashing synths, raging vocals and unrelenting energy proves worth the wait. “Give me a release,” frontman Hamish Hutcheson demands incessantly on the high-tempo ‘Heartbeat’, a statement of intent delivered with clenched fists. ‘Feels Like Heaven’ could soundtrack the peak of any night out, its glitchy vocal samples twisting a declaration of love into a euphoric rush, while ‘Better Days’ pulls things inward, a poetic reflection on nights gone by and those still to come. Across 13 tracks, the record’s pulse rises, falls, and distorts, occasionally testing its own stamina but never losing focus. Capturing a once-dominant culture that few now dare to revisit, ‘Escalate’ proves VLURE’s ability and desire to marry sentimentality with sheer force. This is their moment - and they seize it completely.