Ain’t

Emerging alternative band, Ain’t are a party of five from London made up of George Ellerby (guitar & vocals), Ed Randall (guitar), Hanna Baker Darch (lead vocals), Chapman Ho (bass), and Joe Lockstone (drums).

Building themselves up as a first-rate live act, they have been touring the London circuit, and recently blew fans away at Brighton’s The Great Escape Festival. Until now, Ain’t had yet to officially release any music, except for a handful of live recordings circulating online.

Fans will be happy to know their debut single ‘Oar’ has digitally dropped and will be physically released, on 7” vinyl with new song ‘Teething’, in early August through Fear of Missing Out Records.

After listening to ‘Oar’, we could instantly hear echoes of shoegazers from the late 80’s and early 90’s. Loosely inspired by the Welsh legend of Llys Helig and a folktale of a drowned kingdom, Hanna weaves in a story about a medieval Wales and modern disillusionment. Her obscured vocals are heard over an ethereal mix of guitar feedback, distortion and effects. The poetic imagery of “waves and tides” are met with waves of volume and by tides of off-kilter, sweetly discordant melodies.

Adding new material to the shoegaze vault, the shoegaze-tiktok-resurgence shows no signs of abating. Seminal shoegaze bands from the ‘90s like Slowdive and Ride have recently resurfaced and become even more popular now than they did in their own time. Unsurprisingly, these under-the-radar bands are now influencing and inspiring a new generation of musicians.

If you want a fresh take on a honed sound, ‘Oar’ is here for you.