First Day of Spring launch new retro-futuristic era with ‘PARTYZEIT!’
In the haze of modern-day chaos where technology rules all, it’s easy to lose yourself to its whims and forget to breathe. Respite comes eventually, however, a feeling that First Day of Spring captures in their latest single, ‘PARTYZEIT!’, the first in their forthcoming Human Flesh series.
This marks the London-based group’s first in over a year, signalling a new era with all of bandleader Samuel Jones’ familiar strokes, from the bouncy core energy to the way it flowers into something boundless, retro-futuristic yet rooted in something quintessentially nostalgic.
Enriching its whimsical, faraway feel are vocals from The Plan’s Rebecca Gillerion, adding to the theme of coming back to yourself after a long while away. As Jones explained, it’s about “the re-learning process and personal growth that follow from piecing things back together after long periods of feeling disconnected from ‘keeping it in the day.’”
He added, “‘PARTYZEIT!’ represents the authentic, humbling, energising and uplifting process of coming back to yourself. I wanted that energy to live inside the music’s aesthetic — an aesthetic that The Plan’s queen, Rebecca Gillerion, helped fully realise.”
These aesthetics are precisely what make it such an enticing listen, its psychedelic colouring emerging from the core without the need for any additional visual aid, almost like the lightweight, rebirth feeling that comes with feeling like yourself again. It’s an energy that’s difficult to anchor in music, but one that appears effortless here, vibrant and rhythmic yet infused with something quintessentially laidback, like their familiar shoegaze feel injected with something akin to LSD.
This is a common response to First Day of Spring’s music. Even in the haze of their dreamy atmospheres, like in previos songs ‘The Rising Tide’ and ‘Moon Boy’, there’s a constant sense of movement, like you’re less a passive participant in the listening experience and something closer to proactive reflection, whether it’s in the rumination of times gone by or, more recently, that re-energising feeling that comes with piecing yourself back together.
With ‘PARTYZEIT!’, however, all of these elements are enhanced by a different kind of sophistication, or a renewed sense of focus, perhaps, the kind that only comes with knowing the type of group you’re trying to be.
Even better is the effortless blending of multiple styles and genres beneath the surface, like the funky grooves of new wave mixed with the grit of post-punk or underground rock. And while it feels like it’s on that constant journey of movement, it also takes its time, letting these emotions simmer in unique ways, unafraid to be a little different or quirky in the techniques used to get there.
Perhaps the beauty of this first instalment isn’t in how fun it is to listen to. It’s that, too, of course, but there’s also something embedded in its grooves that provokes you to think a little, too. Even if it’s just about how the arrangements work together, swirling in an endearing abyss of escapism that beckons you to celebrate feeling okay once in a while.
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