by Craig Howieson

It takes ten seconds for the hollow rattle of a solo note to be overcome by a lustrous chiming guitar line on Never Saw It Coming – the latest single from the Glasgow based pairing, Carla J Easton (TeenCanteen) and Simon Liddell (Frightened Rabbit, Olympic Swimmers). And in those opening moments, you are transported to a cloudy vision of a former self: a nostalgic reflection of stolen smiles and half glances at faces you swear you know.

On Never Saw It Coming, the duo mine past memories from their shoegaze smothered jangle pop, simultaneously evoking The Pastels and The Cure while stopping short of straying into the power pop of their Scottish counterparts, CHVRCHES. Their sound may utilise their influences to conjure a recent history, but on the wistful wide eyed chorus, the pairing stretch out time to revel in the here and now. 

Between them, Easton and Liddel boast a wealth of experience that not only manifests itself in the track’s composition, but in it’s emotional connection. The vocal melody drifts like that of one heard on a late night drive home from a Summer festival, while the guitar chords of the pre-chorus are left to ring out every ounce of feeling they have. 

An impressive and immersive listen on which they splash in sunset glows of pink, purple and orange, Poster Paints invite you to become swallowed up in the swoon of their immaculate brushstrokes.

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