EDINBURGH-based band waverley. have announced the release date for their debut EP, ‘It Makes An Emptiness Of A Crowded Place’.
Released on Friday, November 17 via Blackhall Records, the EP is said to indicate the band’s musical and personal growth – from childhood friends in cramped bedrooms to selling out shows at iconic Scottish venues.
“We see our debut EP as a showcase for what we can do,” explained the band of their writing process. “It was curated as a deliberate artistic statement and not just because we had these songs available. It’s expansive but also interlinked with general lyrical themes, and a sound that is uniquely Scottish – and ours.
“It brings our individual playing to the forefront but never puts any one element above the other, simply focusing on what will best serve the song. These tracks benefit from different songwriters and singers, making the listen feel varied and diverse on a song to song basis. We bounce between a multitude of different genres, from anthemic post-rock songs to more intimate acoustic numbers, however, it all feels connected as one piece of work.”
Ahead of its release, the band have shared single ‘Not Hoping’ – a powerful guitar-driven song that shifts from catchy, anthemic choruses to a climactic, cacophonous finale.
About the song, they said: “We’ve had the foundation of the song for years,” the band says, “but it wasn’t until we scrapped all of the approaches we’d tried before and began again that we finally clicked with it. From there we were able to take the half cooked lyrics and mould them into melancholic verses and punchy, defiant choruses. The roots of the song were months, if not years, in the making and Not Hoping’s creation was an entirely collective endeavour, with everyone bringing their own parts and ideas on how to take it forward.”
