Lauren Lakis sings smooth in a haze of distortion, blending in with the feedback and fuzz. Or she can howl with a cry that gets twisted and thrown into synth-like contortions. Both these vocal tricks shift to lock in with the textures that ramp up and strip down around her, ‘Fear Of God‘ is a cold slab of goth coloured grunge that flirts rough with new-wave and shoegaze.

One moment we’re soaked in a felt of guitars, in the next there’s a clean 90s jangle. Drums that played straight with a tight rigid backbone strike out onto tough beaten toms. But the pressure keeps pulsing throughout, there’s a pressed isolation that clings to each section and a reverb kissed sheen to each sound.  

And while there’s hard darkened gloss on the outside, ‘Fear Of God’ seems to straddle two camps. The foreground is bleak but there’s softness beneath, that of US C86 revivals. Looking back over EPs and singles to date, including the gleefully stark ‘Sad Girl Breakfast’, I can’t attribute this to hesitation. But I might still be wondering how this song might sound with a harder lean one way or other.

As we move through the track in three minutes, we’re exposed to old fears and redemption. And once more where there’s vagueness and religious reflections that persuade us there’s deeper behind them, we might not have the weight or the caustic connection that the subjects inside might be wanting.

It’s a gruff blast of guttural indie tinged grunge, ‘Fear Of God’ is a fierce and quick fix. There’s a prevailing mood thick enough to sink into and enough grit to make it taste real.

Now go hunt down the back catalogue, hunt down ‘Sad Girl Breakfast‘, and hold out for that forthcoming album.

‘Fear Of God’ is out now, there’s an album on way. Find this single in last August’s playlist.