Noisy emo/rock duo Who Loves You are tackling difficult things with their debut EP ‘Green & Tangerine’ but, as disheartening as it is to hear them lamenting missed opportunities and navigating despondency, it’s not all bleak. Who Loves You gather strength over the eight tracks and anxious melancholy gives way to optimism. Sprouting throughout ‘Green & Tangerine’ are buds of hope and ‘shades of green’. Alluding to growth and renewal, the colour green tinges the release with the promise of self-improvement.
‘Primer’ is one of the EP’s pessimistic points. Pounding drums and angular bass riffs allow the track to act as a manifestation of anxiety. Trembling vocals deliver the line “my hands shake when I tell you I’m not well” and indicate the courage it takes to admit that you’re not okay. Lyrical apprehension creates a track riddled with self-doubt but its honesty is commendable.
Many of the track titles confront you with despair. Loneliness pervades ‘Die On Your Birthday’ and sombre vocals hint at exhaustion. Its slow pace leaves you struggling to drag yourself out of darkness and the lyrics “I feel like I’m suffocating” lead you to the most intimate parts of ‘Green & Tangerine’. It’s difficult not to sympathise with thwarted vocals crying out over an overwhelming silence and ‘Ten Year Shit Show’ follows with pessimism, reflecting back on the difficulty of sustaining your mental health and relationships.
The momentum of the album halts drastically when you reach ‘Nosebleed’. Detached vocals experience defeat when confronted with everything “dipped in shades of blue” and the slowing track represents something falling apart and becoming suspended in time. Fragile and intimate, this is the EP’s most poignant track – we watch from a distance as someone crumbles and gives up hope.
Things look up as ‘The Winter’ arrives. “Everyone you love will be alright some day” signals emerging buds of optimism. Finding these in a dark season shows Who Loves You drawing strength from difficult memories. Anxiety continues to linger until the end of the EP and guitar riffs twist and turn alongside erratic drum beats in ‘Green Over Blue’. Like ‘Primer’, it’s another moment of unease. References to anxiety such as “when I sleep my teeth fall out” create apprehension.
Although outwardly a downcast release, Who Loves You don’t want its lasting impression to be one of discouragement and the EP drenches you with relief after hearing eight tracks which provide an outlet for pent up emotions. If there’s anything you should take away from this release, it’s that personal growth and renewal are achievable for us all – and that’s more than encouraging to hear.
SUSANNAH BENNETT