Part-Time Model are a Leeds four-piece made up of Lucy Tessier (vocals), Rafael Mendes-Browne (bass), Charlie Wilberforce (guitar) and Ben Smith (drums). Cut Off Point is their debut single, released via LAB Records. And what a debut it is.
Their sound is indie rock with a jazz sensibility and touches of post-punk reminiscent of Dry Cleaning, wrapped in a warm, slightly psychedelic atmosphere. Clean, crystalline guitars weave hypnotic melodies with a jangly, almost watery tone that at times brings Crumb to mind. The bass winds its way through the track while the drums keep a steady, dynamic beat, and the arrangement gradually builds in intensity without losing its elegance. But it’s Lucy Tessier who really pulls you in, with an expressive voice and a very personal delivery that shifts from melody to near-spoken lines and on to something much rawer.
Beneath that enveloping sound, Cut Off Point explores the contradictions of growing up. The band call it “an extended metaphor for cutting the imaginary umbilical cord between mother and child when you reach adulthood”, except that here the cord never quite gets cut. The song deals with emotional dependence, nostalgia for childhood and the disorientation of leaving home. That unease extends to economic insecurity, too, and to a future where having a place of your own seems like a luxury.
It’s hard to believe this is a debut. Part-Time Model have enviable instrumental chemistry, ideas of their own and a way of playing with sound that makes Cut Off Point a little gem of alternative rock. And they’re only just getting started.
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