Casey – ‘Love Is Not Enough’

Casey have, in recent months, whipped up a frenzy with their emotive, powerful tracks. Successful tours and EP releases have seen them hailed as the next big thing within the UK music scene, a title that hasn’t been thrown at them without good reason. Their self-released EP ‘Fade’ garnered rave reviews, and now, with the impending release of their debut album ‘Love Is Not Enough’, they’re sure to gain even more buzz and attention.

‘Darling’ is haunting. Tom Weaver’s vocals echo and reverb around the fuzzy guitars which, in turn, creates a tense atmosphere. In contrast ‘Ceremony’ contains huge slabs of electric energy and is staggering, especially when Being As An Ocean’s Michael McGough lends his raw, cutting vocals. ‘Sleep’ is blistering and cuts through with massive riffs and demonic drum work, blended with rough vocals, this track is definitely one of their grittier works of art. Then there’s ‘Passion Flowers’, a spoken-word track that brings a taste of La Dispute with it – a frantic voice is layered on top of some fantastic guitar work, and sees this track build beautifully.

Disembodied cries of “Are you happy?” cut through the heavily instrumental interlude ‘Happy’, which is just one example of how stunning Tom is as a vocalist. On ‘Mourning’, they’re desperate and unhinged, which is further shown with lyrics such as “The only time you ever call is to remind me of something we never were / Were we anything at all?” – they’re bruising and gut-wrenching.

For a debut album, ‘Love Is Not Enough’ is a release that will push Casey out from their underground roots and will see them standing side-by-side with more established peers, from Being As An Ocean and Touché Amore. This is an incredibly strong foundation for them to build on, so expect bigger and better things from this quintet.

JESS TAGLIANI