Collecting the last kisses of the sun, Maybe There’s A Difference transports us back to a warmer season. With an ear pressed to nature’s headphone, the spiralled form of a conch concocts wave-like vibrations of a nautical buzz. With the first pinches of strings, the sound of The Painted Ceilings coats you with the salt air of the sea.
Reeling into the first track of the debut the fun nature of this band is apparent. Fresh faced with skills beyond their years, jaunty guitars and rapid beats are complemented with an aroma of kinetic youth. ‘You’re 23’ would slide effortlessly into the background of a coastal scene in a coming-of-age film. The younger relative of a Scouting For Girls hit comes to the forefront of your mind.
Moving swiftly onto the next narrative of the storytellers, Jack and Sadie Pearson’s songs flow back-to-back, establishing the theory that musical talent, does in fact, move like a current through veins. These siblings have collected their heirlooms. Some inherit jewellery while these two have received something priceless. ‘Ascoltami Ti Prego’ – an Italian title paired with Spanish strums – takes a European tour. The quartet’s ambition and vivacity burns fervently. Dipping in and out of the indie rock feel they’re so partial to, Pearson floats through a landscape of jazz. Blending vocals and scatting, her forte is as clear as crystal.
‘Caught Between Two Minds’, initially released as a single earlier in the year, has bowlined the devotion of their early-bird fans. Anchoring back into the depths of shoreside indie, this track’s infectious energy sends the boat rocking. ‘Loving For Two’ takes a simple but sweet interval from the chaos. Diluted down to isolated piano chords, the tender husk of Norman’s singing pries a lover’s padlock away from its railings. ‘Suffocating me, when you are holding my heart’ watercolours the disheartening image of unrequited affection. Not only is she exceptional in the vocal department, her drumming is punchy and consistently pristine. Is this what The Stone Roses meant when they said, ‘she bangs the drums?’
Stepping away from the mic and slipping back behind a shrine of gold and ivory, the snare re-emerges. A pocket rocket by true definition. Like clockwork, she’s followed by disjointed verses of ‘Paranoide’. Like a spy glass to the past we stumble down the stairs to the underground of the Jac – a not so distant memory. Bound by music and camaraderie the group made their Jacaranda debut on the back end of summer ‘24. This high-spirited track is the only buoyancy you’ll ever need. Images of the past pool your mind. Controlled snippets of a dimly lit basement are unravelled. Accompanied with a faded Afghan rug below their feet, The Jac is known to be a podium for many of the greats. Like tectonic plates on the brink of an earthquake, ‘Paranoide’ shook the scene. That was then, but this is now.
‘Luciana’, a classic example of a long-lost lover. Reading like a diary entry, scribbled marks of confusion mask a lined page. ‘When the snow faded away you faded too, what did I ever do’ lingers on the tongue as realisation sets in. Some things are destined to be temporary. As one band member inspires another, Pearson reminisces on his own heartache. Unable to drop a pinpoint to where one song intertwines with another, ‘Bliss Hatred’ fades into a final encore. Like buttercream, looking back to a past relationship that was once sweet has now turned sickly by the silver spoon. Twenty-one minutes ago they were hidden beneath the surface. Now and forever they sit upon the horizon.
The Painted Ceilings: Maybe There’s A Difference – Out now
Painted Ceilings – Caught Between Two Minds (Official Music Video)
