South London’s own Red Ivory have dropped ‘12th October’ — the first taste of their upcoming EP Please Leave, I Need To Wake Up Now (out 28 November) — and it’s a belter. The four-piece met in their secondary school music rooms and you can still hear that spark of discovery and defiance all over this track. It’s raw, restless and absolutely alive.
‘12th October’ was the first song they ever wrote together, now reimagined at Strongroom Studios with producer Adele Phillips, thanks to their Festival Republic ReBalance award win. The result is grunge-soaked indie with teeth — all soaring vocals, moody dynamics and that unmistakable ache of being young and too awake to the world.
You can hear the ghosts of Live Through This-era Hole, flashes of Wolf Alice’s introspection, and a fair bit of Elastica’s sneer in there too — but Red Ivory are already carving out something of their own. There’s tenderness under the noise, a kind of emotional literacy you don’t often hear in bands this early on.
Their upcoming EP Please Leave, I Need To Wake Up Now gathers together five songs written between 2021 and 2024 — a document of teenage chaos, friendship, and the first hints of power. It’s the sound of a band finding their footing and stamping it down hard.
Red Ivory might still be in their teens, but they’re writing like they’ve already lived a few lives. File under: ones to watch, loudly.
Live:
- 5 Nov – Reading, Purple Turtle
- 13 Nov – London, Mascara Bar
- 14 Nov – London, The Greyhound, Peckham
- 3 Dec – London, Sebright Arms (Still Listening Mag show)
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