BLEACH LAB
Bleach Lab proudly call themselves perfectionists. In the four years between forming and emerging with their debut EP, the South London quartet slowly accrued members hand-picked to contribute to their ever-changing, experimental vision. Forming in 2017 as a duo of bassist Josh Longman and guitarist Frank Wates, they then recruited vocalist Jenna Kyle before reaching their final form at the start of 2021 with the recruitment of drummer Kieran Weston. A few months after that, they introduced themselves fully to the world with their debut EP ‘A Calm Sense Of Surrounding’. Later in the same year, they returned with the second EP ‘Nothing Feels Real’, working with famed producer Stephen Street (Blur, The Smiths), the five songs on it are packed to the rafters with widescreen, dreamy noise that pushed their sound forwards and continued the experimentation that exists at the heart of the project.
Their third EP ‘If You Only Feel It Once’ out this November 2022, is their first release since signing to label Nettwerk. Produced by Duncan Mills (Peace, The Vaccines, Jake Bugg), it’s a record that looks back in its lyrical content, but firmly forwards in its music. Weston explains: “With ‘If You Only Feel It Once’, we wanted to keep the ‘90s sounding influences of EP2, but delve deeper into poppier, more modern sounds. I think ‘If You Only Feel It Once’ bridges that distinction brilliantly.” Wates adds: “The new EP feels like us sounding out how we feel about making pop music at the moment.”
Across the three EPs, the band have experimented without restriction, dipping their toes into unfamiliar genres to fully work out what kind of band they are, what works best for them, and where to go next. While in their instrumentation, Bleach Lab are always striving to break new ground and be constantly on the move sonically, their lyrics – especially on their upcoming third EP – are instead concerned with striving for stillness and balance.