There’s something entrancingly non-pretentious about psychedelia. By virtue of its origin within an opposition movement to American imperialism in the 60s and 70s, flower power is inherently without ego, and has remained joyously so as the world around it changed in so many ways (but remained the same in so many more). Enter Brighton’s premier “post-yacht” psych act Hutch and their new single ‘The Bow’, bursting out of my speakers like the tweeter is literally vomiting rainbows.
It’s a glorious technicolour explosion, a frolicking turn through an entire universe of jangling guitars and reverbs big enough to straddle several postcodes. It moves at a clip – a delightfully disco 120ish bpm – but at no point do we feel rushed or dragged along or beaten up, all of which are possible at this tempo. It’s here that I have got to mention the absolutely watertight drums, totally consistent as the track’s main source of energy but at no point interfering with the hypnotic airiness of the song’s structure. Ear candy is extremely on point here – there’s so much harpy synthiness happening just off the stage to pick up on repeat listens.
This is all enacted and given life in the highly-saturated music video for the track, depicting some form of induction ritual into the band’s prismatic world – sort of like if Midsommar was a film about how nice rainbows are. It’s clear from the runtime of the track and the hooks studded throughout that the band have one eye squarely on its life as a live offering, and what a long life it’ll have.
It’s probably no secret to anyone that there’s a bit of a sincerity crisis raging across the internet, likely as a self-care response to a relentlessly bleak nightmare world taking form outside our windows. Every now and then it’s a real, tangible joy to listen to a three minute song about rainbows and dancing in the sun. More please.
Words: Ed Hambly // Photo: Ele Marchant
‘The Bow’ is out now. Find the track on streaming services here.