This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard
When retro rock ‘n’ rollers Of Empires called it a day at Sound At St James back in October they were joined in stage by a number of guests and little did we know then, that in amongst them was the nucleus of a new band, Bright Orange Spectacle.
Based out of Brighton the band might feature three-quarters of the aforementioned quartet (Jack Fletcher, Matthew Berry and George Le Page) but it is led by another familiar face, Charlie Sinclair (you might recognise him from Sugarhouse, Future Talks and if you go back far enough Guernsey pop rockers Francisco) who originated the project in the studio before taking it live along with Rooney Durrant and releasing this debut single She Could Get Better.
After an intentionally lo-fi intro the track kicks in with a bold combination of 70s style glam pop and more up to date indie that instantly grabs the ear with its mix of bright and bold pianos, strings and handclaps. Along with this a knowingness in the delivery of the vocals that could easily seem cynically orchestrated here feels natural and engaging.
With hints or Bowie, ELO and even a bit of Pretty. Odd era Panic At The Disco, along with suggestions of Oasis and Blur the recording has a thick sound to it with the standard guitars, bass and drums of an indie band bolstered by a range of other instruments.
This creates a wall of sound kind of effect and manages to bring a cool, summery vibe out of things that at its most simple level could provide a soundtrack to many a warm summer afternoon.
Added into the mix, and giving She Could Get Better an extra point of interest, is a set of lyrics that don’t just go in the typical love song direction and the song as a whole builds to a nice crescendo point before a final chorus in a way many pop songs of this sort seem to fail to do.
She Could Get Better then is a very promising start for Bright Orange Spectacle throwing a lot of likeable sounds into the mix in a way that works very nicely, combing a retro feel with a modern outlook that I’ve not heard in quite such a way before.
