After a seven-year hiatus Matt Catling is back with a refreshing project ‘Under The Sun’, the project mostly take on the shoegaze genre with an experimental and dreamy expression, with influences of My Bloody Valentine, Explosions in the Sky, Jesu, Seefeel, M83, Swervedriver and Slowdive.
Under The Sun began early 2020 in Suffolk and already have previous E.P Releases ‘Bloomer’ and ‘Gated’ and ‘Whirlwind’ in 2021. The next and fourth release ‘Floating’ is already out in digital format with the CD coming at the end of January.
‘Floating’ has been mixed and mastered by Darren Barnes (Trillion, Overdriver, Visitors)
Tracks
1. Floating 3: 28
2. Gated (Glitch Mix) 4:37
3. Shining Bright Light 5:27
Matt feels this release brings a progression from ‘Whirlwind’ with the first track bringing a swirling dream pop guitar sound with the filters of electronic dub and glitch beats making it sounds like post rock band Seefeel.
Onto the second track and Matt says ‘The re-recorded of GATED has a driving noise rock wall of sound with the glitch beats to make it sounds like the Jesus and Mary Chain and APTBS recorded at home in a small English town’.
‘Track three sounds a little bit of MBV with the style of Boards of Canada into the mix, and is a nice lo-fi noise pop feel’ explains Matt.
After a few listens of the EP I was pleasantly surprised at the atmospheric music. It took the silence out of the room yet at the same time demanded attention.
It was like a dream journey: ‘Floating’ is softer and more chilled, whereas the other two are urban and industrial and it felt as though I was floating in dream form across the skies from the countryside to over the city.
Don’t get me wrong when I say ‘atmospheric’ music – this is not the soft and fluffy mainstream version, this is shoegaze, this is the post-rock version. ‘Floating’ is a good and interesting introduction into a genre of music that needs exploring more.
Under The Sun is in Heat 2 of BurySOUND at The Hunter Club on 11th February.