This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard
Relatively hot on the heels of their debut ‘mini-album’ Control, Coastal Fire Dept. are back with a new single (a lead in to their upcoming new album), You Are Stuck.
Since we last heard from the band on record they seem to have further solidified their line up with Ollie Goddard (guitar and vocals), Saad Frihmat (bass) and Gareth Thomas (drums) being joined more permanently by Bobby Battle (guitar).
On top which, on the production side of things, as well as past collaborator Mikey Ferbrache of Guernsey’s Apocalypse Studios they have somehow enlisted LA based producer Ken Andrews (who’s past credits including Chris Cornell, Nine Inch Nails, Beck and more) to provide the mix.
How direct his effect on the finished product is I’m not sure but it’s hard to argue that the production certainly sounds bigger and deeper than ever from the opening bird song and intake of breath onwards.
From there it launches into more of the kind of prime ‘grunge from the Vale’ that has made the band’s name with a classic formula of contrasting quieter verses with louder, distortion heavy, choruses.
In the clean moments the layered guitars sound lush while the choruses rage with a kind of power that, as I’ve said of the, before, should get crowds moshing like in any early 90s music video (once we’re allowed back out to do so).
Given the ongoing lockdown situation as I write this it’s hard not to relate any new media back to that, even though this was written and recorded well before that occurred.
With that in mind, and as the title suggests, it does fit rather nicely, however I suspect the original intent would be rather more focussed on a more general feeling of loss and isolation, though as it goes on it ultimately has a positive outlook which, again given the current situation, is great to hear.
With an outro of low-key synths and strings that bring to mind some 90s indie I can’t quite place You Are Stuck closes on a revelatory high and marks a step forward for Coastal Fire Dept, developing their sound nicely without deviating from their previously stated, grunge based, aims.
As there’s not yet an official video of the studio version, here’s an acoustic live version of the track:
