Another Sky

These four Londoners take the composite parts of a rock band and re-mould them in brilliant,creepy new directions over socially conscious lyrics.

Words: Will Richards.

‘Chillers’, the new single from London four-piece Another Sky, is a suitable title. Set over choppy acoustic guitars and menacing percussion reminiscent of Radiohead, the track takes aim at Hollywood bigwigs. “Why worry about the weather or nuclear weapons when they can eat for free on a black card at Nando’s?” vocalist Catrin Vincent spits with venom. Rather than sarcastically taking shots at anyone in sight with tongue firmly in cheek and serving as a Banksy artwork in musical form, it’s delivered as an outpouring of frustration that cries out for genuine connection.

Following recent track ‘Avalanche’, a blistering attack on toxic masculinity, ‘Chillers’ presents Another Sky as a new rock band of a different ilk. Musically, they melt the modern and the traditional together without boundaries, but it’s lyrically that they make their feelings known, a mission statement carved out from Catrin’s own personal evolution and delivered in her menacing, unique bellow.

“I’ve always written lyrics that are politically conscious, and it’s like Marmite,” she tells us. “I do feel a duty [to write about these things] though - I wouldn’t be authentic or honest otherwise. I was always affected by [politics] as a child, but I couldn’t quite grasp what was going on until I went to university and moved to London, which is such a diverse city. I came from a really small town mindset that I knew I didn’t really fit in, but I couldn’t grasp what was happening, and I took it very personally. I thought there must be something wrong with me. To come to London and find like-minded people, and intellectualise what was happening, and learn from this new perspective, it was really important for me. It’s been quite profound, so I guess it comes across in the lyrics.”

Though ‘Chillers’ and ‘Avalanche’ employ sarcasm in order to smash their message home, positivity also sits at the heart of Another Sky, and they move towards a new EP and eventually a debut album with an empathetic outlook, one that champions community and conversation. “I think I believe that the more people talk about these things, the more comfortable everyone will be,” she affirms. “I really don’t like taboo subjects. I know it’s quite a paranoid atmosphere right now, and it feels very divisive. People don’t want to bring up subjects like Brexit just because it’s divided the country, but I believe people should never have to bottle things up.

“I believe that negativity is inaction, while positivity is an action, and though I think negativity is crucial - you have to be able to realise that things aren’t good, in order to solve them - we can get in this loop of negativity, and it becomes really passive. Even if your situation looks bleak, or feels like nothing can cut through or get better, I believe you have to cling onto positivity no matter what.”