Anthemic tales of kindling romance are sweetened for us on GIFTHORSE’s five-track debut EP, ‘Queens of Highgate’.
On the cover, one half of the musical partnership Naomi Mann floats down a grainy London street while other half Charlie Butler rests in an iconic, red telephone box: setting the scene for their first, full-length release before whisking listeners into their idyllic fable.
Their first official single, ‘Please Love Me’, released last year, opens the project, acting as our first window into their exciting frazzled, English pop and details a late-night adventure in the capital city with its cinematic sound and charming lyrics.
Crushing is the weight of a fizzled-out young romance, as presented by ‘Love Is a Landslide’. “Young love never lasts, it melts like the snow”, Mann avers in a coming-of-age declaration whilst our minds become lost in the thoughtful midst of her lush vocals.
“Born to be a pop star in 1985 / Singing ‘Like a Virgin’ on my birthday night”. ‘Silent Disco’ explodes with guitar-driven nostalgia – and sees the EP’s title words muttered. At the midpoint of their first songbook, starry synths soar over a cosy melody and slick percussion that invokes thought and a thirst for romance.
‘Stranger Baby’s euphoric beginning allows a momentary wind-down on the twirling romance as Mann grieves the lost grasp on “a passerby I’ll never know”. Guitars gently wail and sleigh bells enter with an airy jingle to evoke the pain of being able to freely contemplate a forgone “what if”. It feels like coming to the end of a ‘90s rom-com: the crisis right before the perfect resolution.
Notes scatter high and low as Mann’s vocals rise and flow on ‘13 Going On 30’. The opening line asks if we’ve seen the 2004 rom-com, which stars Jennifer Garner as an unpopular teenager whose wish comes true when one day she wakes up as a 30-year-old magazine editor. GIFTHORSE take the film’s message and shine it back at themselves: they just can’t help but look to the past. But rather than forget it and believe it to be gone, they take it with them.
Each track holds a splendid concoction of enigma and lucidity. This wonderful musical partnership has managed to craft a distinctive sound that is unmistakably them.
Track-by-track, ‘Queens of Highgate’ invites you to find love in everything whilst listening. Gazing out a hazy window on the train as the sun flickers through the trees; taking a stroll through lovely North London and giving in to the urge to people watch. GIFTHORSE glorify daily life and make it idealistic through creative sonic dimensions.
Kai Palmer
Image: Charlie Wright (@photosbycharlie)
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