See: Milan’s The Backlash unleash the guitar power of the chameleonic ‘Rise’

THE GUITARS swirl and chime, roar with suppressed passion, the bass and drums kick in with massive propulsion; this song is heading places and you’re aboard, among noir guitars.

Your protagonist? Alone, perhaps, but purposeful, exultant even’ living. Moving. Escaping. “Rolling down the road at night / Singing on your own feels right, ” he proclaims as those guitars pour exultant melody.

It’s the news single from the Milanese outfit The Rise, one of five the band managed to write and record during the hellish Italian experience of the coronavirus, it’s a tune you need to fall inside if you have a penchant for Interpol or Manchester’s cult legends The Chameleons.

The song came in a surge, suddenly, the band say: “It’s like when you’re driving alone, playing loud music and totally lost in your own mind, away from the real world so that you cannot even remember your route. And you have a revelation, all at once you’re conscious of yourself, of where you are and how you reach that point of your life. It’s about feeling suddenly alive (again), willing to rise above all the mud.” 

The accompanying video was made by Andrea Conti, drummer from Sicilian psych trio Clustersun. You can watch that below. He wanted to visually fix the feeling of “getting lost while looking for ourselves. A physical and mind trip taken without knowing the goal and the final destination. Are we escaping our past or are we chasing the future?”

The future was looking hugely promising for The Backlash way back last February when their EP Passing By was released, and started to make waves outside Italy. But then … the virus, of course. The band was hugely frustrated at being unable to capitalise on that cresting wave, causing a kind of collective intra-band breakdown.

But they’ve risen again and they’re currently arranging a string of dates across France and Italy for next year. To find out more, visit their website; you’ll find the address below.

The Backlash’s “Rise” is out now across digital streaming platforms.

Connect with The Backlash elsewhere on the web at their website and on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Bandcamp.