It now seems like several light years ago but, in fact, it was only February when the media were urgently buzzing Halifax teenagers The Caymans for press quotes. That was after they’d randomly bumped into Pete Doherty in Leeds city centre and somehow secured themselves a support slot at The Libertines gig at The Wardrobe that very same evening.
It was a dramatic start to the year and a lot more has happened since: They’ve teamed up with a high-profile mentor and manager in Aaron Casserly Stewart, former singer with triple Grammy Award winners The Sounds of Blackness. They’ve been in the studio with Ukrainian producer, Yaroslav Ponomaryov. They’ve played the VIP Lounge at The Piece Hall. They’ve made their live debut in Manchester, supporting Mercy Kelly at The Castle Hotel. They’ve had airtime on Chris Hawkins’ BBC 6Music show.
The next phase of their development is just as exciting, with their new double-A sided single – All That’s Mine / I Don’t Wanna Be Your Lover – seeing the band break new ground.
All That’s Mine storms out of the gate, baring teeth. Raw, clattering punk rhythms bleed into a series of single chord high-voltage shocks, each one dissolving to make way for a sweetly melodic vocal. The aggressive, near-primal dynamics of the guitar, framing the distinctly-pop vocal lines as they do, shows a band pushing out towards their limits. A cathartic Pixies-esque banshee-squeal is further evidence of sonic exploration. Think Joey Santiago from the Doolittle era. Seriously. Two-note minimalism with maximum bend. Over the course of the track, the hard-edges and soft centre coalesce to form a volcanic, uplifting chorus.
By some contrast, I Don’t Wanna Be Your Lover begins as a sparse, yet confident ballad, opening out and cantering along with an effortless, breezy poignancy. The delicate guitar aligns to the vocal melody, forging a compelling, instant hook. The track boasts the heartfelt resonance of a pre-Beach Boys garage-surf band, or the indie-rock polish of Keane or The Script, full of fine-tuned harmony and lyrical sincerity.
With each release, The Caymans have shown us new layers of songwriting ability and this is no different. The guitars, in particular, have never before sounded quite so alive.
Jacob, bass and vocals: “We sat down and had several conversations to pinpoint the music that was influencing us all separately and took some time to analyse what we liked about their sound and what we could do to create that atmosphere and soundscape ourselves. The main influences surfacing were Wunderhorse, Fontaines D.C, Inhaler and Catfish & the Bottlemen.”
Originally, The Caymans recorded a bunch of songs in a month, with the intention of issuing them all in one go as an EP. But as the year has unfolded, they’ve staggered the release of those tracks, leading up to the most hard-hitting and what Jacob believes is most representative of the band’s sound going forward.
Looking back, it’s been a rollercoaster year, one that started with a chance encounter with a Libertine, but that has continued to blossom because of a lot of hard graft.
“We’ve learned to appreciate luck, but also learned that the dedication to practicing and writing, no matter how dull it may seem at the time, has allowed us to capitalise on our luck. We have learned a great deal about not only the music industry but also about ourselves as musicians and how we function as a band.”
An element of their concerted effort has been channeled towards taking risks. Their latest release offers plenty of proof that they’re eager to evolve.
“We’ve become more comfortable putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations, saying ‘yes’ a lot more than we say ‘no’, holding ourselves to short deadlines, playing in new places, experimenting with new ways of doing things in the interest of trying to better our musical output. We definitely want to pursue the idea of creating a larger body of work to showcase our new sound and endeavour to keep saying ‘yes’.”
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