First Day of Spring is an exciting band. In their own words, influences fall in the range of Sparklehorse, Spiritualised, Silver Jews, Sonic Youth, The Clean, Cleaners From Venus, and Cocteau Twins. It is a broad scope of highly influential guitar-led bands, a scope that could make many bands crumble with the sheer pressure of attempting to live up to the heights of just one of these legendary groups. The First Day of Spring, however, appears to be completely relaxed in their output. After a relatively recent birth, the London-based band is mapping out a sonic territory of its own.
Cuts from their debut EP, Fly Over Apple Blossom, include moments of unsettling ambiance, pummelling indie-rock breaks, and soaring shoegaze peaks. First Day of Spring returned with the announcement of their sophomore EP, Be My Hospital, with ‘You’re Blue I’m Blue’, and ‘The Rising Tide’. Both songs display the group’s evolving and refining sound. On the latter, you can hear the harsh restraint typical of Sonic Youth, the affected vocals of Sparklehorse, and the minimalism of the Cocteau Twins. All are coming together, ‘The Rising Tide’ sounds like a band more than comfortable showing off the best bits from their favorite bands.
First Day of Spring is slowly gaining more and more listeners. BBC Music Introducing recently had ‘You’re Blue I’m Blue’ playing on the radio, and Wonderland Magazine wrote a piece on this latest single. It is an exciting time for the band, and there’s no better time to start listening. Their second EP drops on August 9th, so you’ve plenty of time to bask in the greatness of their current catalog. Get yourself familiar!
Written by Callum Foulds