By Jack

The Clouded Lights may indeed be underdogs, but if they keep this up they may find themselves front-runners yet.

 

‘Night of the Underdog’ is an off-kilter, puzzling, thrilling indie tune. 4/4 thump is largely absent, with skittering beats and a gentle, lackadaisical bass groove forming the percussive core.

Hailing from West Yorkshire, home of champions, the four-piece appear to have arrived at indie-rock from an entirely different path than any of their contemporaries. There’s a distinct lack of melodrama, which is refreshing for anyone exposed to inchoate indie rock as regularly as this publication.

This isn’t so much emotionally resonant as emotionally satisfying. ‘Night of the Underdog’ is no appeal to the heart, nor an attempt to connect on simple terms. The writing is dense, the tone pleasingly off-the-wall. It never quite winks at you, but ‘Night of the Underdog’ has its fun, and offers many interpretations. When they listed the late great Leonard Cohen as an influence, they weren’t kidding. The track is full of Cohenesque barbs.

‘Night of the Underdog’ is a great tune, and a refreshing twist on the norms of indie rock.

Follow The Clouded Lights here.