Greywind - ‘Antidote’ review
Greywind
Save for an acoustic EP last year, it has been seven years since Irish Emo band Greywind's last full release. In our recent conversation with the brother-sister duo, we delved into the reasons behind this absence and what listeners can anticipate from their brand-new EP, Antidote. Now that Antidote is out, here’s what we think:
The EP begins as quintessential alt rock/pop punk, somehow both brand new and nostalgic at the same time. ‘Swing and Sway’ is very wistful, the spotlight is primarily on vocals from Steph O’Sullivan. It's very reminiscent of Neck Deep with how Steph sounds out each word, while also having some killer high notes. ‘Swing and Sway' feels like the release on an emotional level that Greywind needed.
Continuing a swift opening duo, ‘Antidote’ is the track on everyone’s lips, sharing name with the EP itself. It is very much the “enough of the mushy stuff” response to a very warm welcome Greywind has received back. There's heaps more attitude you’d expect from the genre, and replicates all the previous merits. The bounciness of the track, and punchyness of the guitar puts the EP on a real upward trajectory.
Paul’s dynamic style of playing is very understated due to how singalong based the medium is, but it gets a chance to shine on this EP. ‘Antidote’, the track, dropped with a very quirky, slightly menacing music video back in November. But the track also feels a bit tongue in cheek as the last “why are you waiting?” lyrics ring out.
‘Glimmer’ is a much needed shot of depth in the arm that the EP needed. High energy bands like Greywind really benefit from weaving in a slower track like this. Instead of running faster, the range aims higher. That extra 20 seconds from lyrics and notes ringing out makes this a lot more like an epic in the space of only 3 minutes.
The EP in general seems to tackle varying emotions per song. While that's an obvious thing to point out about music, we’ve been informed previously that Antidote was born out of a “visceral whirlwind of emotions”. It's the yo-yoing this EP does between subjects that helps portray that. It's developed enough in Greywind’s EP that it's as though there’s a conversation happening on that first listen. It makes for a great impression of this new music for both existing fans and new.
That said, with each song taking a different stance, ‘Deathwish’ unsurprisingly takes the direction onto a heavier bearing. This is personally the favourite track of the EP, the "I'll take you to the gallows, do you want this?" lyric is both basic in delivery and poignant. The track as a whole takes everything the Antidote EP does well and carries them to their peaks. Again, it's hard not to marvel at some of Paul O’Sullivan’s range as a musician when all these tracks appear on what is still a short release.
Finally, there is 'You're My Medicine', which brings in a shade of uncertainty to an EP that's been vivid and colourful with its emotion. Even in the most basic of themes, it takes light and shadow, numbness, and finality and says "time well spent".
Antidote reflects the journey that the O'Sullivans have been through and and how it might have changed them. It feels like the main hook, tied in with the EP's title, of "thanks for the cure, I'm not sick anymore" feels like they're turning the page on their past experiences but not forgetting the lessons they've learned from them.
Antidote from Greywind is out Now Version III and available on all good streaming platforms, you can catch the band on various dates of their US tour this April/May.
