Bellevue Days, hailing from Croydon, usually seen as a grim part of London, have been knocking about for a couple of years now, but it’s only this year that they recorded and released their debut EP, ‘The Sun Came Up When We Were Young’. However, this delay in releasing material has worked to their advantage – even just by listening to it once, you can tell that these guys have gathered their experience and talent to create a lasting impression with this release.
Opening track ‘Let’s All Be Friends’ is a quiet and soft start, before soaring into impressive riffs that feel organic, yet powerful in their own right. Then there’s ‘Capability, Capacity’ which demonstrates the strong combination of vocals from Alan Smith, Dan Lukes, and Joe Blackford, while ‘Seattle’ is the perfect blend of emo, rock, indie, and grunge – a blend that’s sweet, yet bitter, complete with painfully emotional lyrics. Closer ‘Sleep’ is a punchy track, filled with roaring riffs and dynamic vocals – it’s a fantastic ending to a simply stunning EP.
It’s almost unheard of for a band to ever make such an atmospheric, compelling, and captivating release that blows everyone away upon the first listen. But to create such a release the first time round? Now that’s truly magical – or rather, it’s the merging of untold skill and talent that creates such a work of art. And that’s what ‘The Sun Came Up When We Were Young’ is; it’s a masterpiece, and will be the reason as to why Bellevue Days will do incredibly well for themselves.
JESS TAGLIANI