by Phil Scarisbrick

The demise of a relationship is almost always a good thing. It’s James Coburn at the Franco-Spanish border in The Great Escape, finally free from the overbearing, oppressive weight of conflict, and a captivity that is almost without boundary. It also creates a complicated set of emotions that can often leave you with more questions than answers. How do grief and relief co-exist? How can something that is clearly the best solution feel like the worst? It is these feelings that are channeled through Bleach Lab’s new single – Never Be.

While previous single, Sleep, centred on the circumstances that led to the end of the relationship, Never Be picks up the narrative in its aftermath. Lead singer, Jenna Kyle, explains: ‘The track is about taking a physical and metaphorical step out from a wearing relationship and moving away. Continuing life in a new city that you were supposed to live in together and trying to navigate around a breakup that never truly had a resolution. I was attempting to overcome the feelings of wanting everything to go back to the way it was even though I knew in my heart that it wasn’t right.’

The track itself trickles in at a volume that forces you to adjust your stereo, only for it to burst to life with a chord pattern and melody that feel instantly recognisable, without ever being derivative. The mix allows each instrument the space to claim its own piece of the action, with a pace that feels like it’s pushing through obstacles to reach the finish line. Rather than feeling lethargic, it gives a sense of purpose, to carry on regardless of what is thrown at it. 

Now on the fourth single from the band since 2019, it definitely whets the appetite for what 2021 has in store from them.