CALM - Is There Anybody Alive Out There ?/Something’s Changing
CALM are a five piece indie outfit emerging from South London, they are Adam James, Jack Gee, Louie Cameron, Mark Zanna and James Langley.
Keeping it a DIY approach, all songs are self produced out of Adam’s bedroom. Having garnered support on their early releases from the likes of Tom Robinson at BBC Radio 6 and Dave Monks at BBC Introducing Merseyside, the band are making waves into the new decade with fresh music.
Their single Sucker recently premiered on Netflix for Japanese Reality TV show Terrace House and has been added to the Spotify editorial playlist. Their debut show was supporting Dirty Hit's King Nun at The Old Blue Last. The band have also opened for the likes of Childcare, Neon Waltz, Paris Youth Foundation and The Dunts on their most recent London tour dates.
CALM are proud to present a double release today, Friday 26 June, both written and produced during the UK coronavirus lockdown. Inspired by the effects of the current pandemic, the tracks are titled Is There Anybody Alive Out There? with B side Something’s Changing.
When asked about the release the band commented:
The A track reflects on feelings of isolation and being cut off from the outside world during the last three months, wondering who and what will be left once things return to some sense of normality. The song is also a message of hope, questioning whether we will make positive changes to the way we live our lives as a result of this unprecedented event. Following up is the B-side, which touches more on how life has and will have changed for better or for worse, during and post-pandemic.
Is There Anybody Alive Out There ? the lead track is just a bloody glorious piece of synth pop, it has a strong retro melody, which has you hooked and toe tapping from the get go and it never lets that vibe go.
It definitely describes life during lockdown and those feeling of being removed from the world, I loved the opening verse which sings “had everything we wanted can’t believe we tried so hard to break it, everything we needed maybe now it’s gone we’ll try to change it”.
The feeling of loneliness is perfectly captured in the singalong chorus as the words “is there anybody alive out there ? cos I’ve been starting to lose my head, is there anybody alive out there ? is there anybody alive ?”.
And what appeared to be the never ending lockdown was encapsulated perfectly by the final verse “I can’t believe we got this far just to let it fall apart, guess I better dust myself off and start it over , carry on how much longer must this go on ?”.
The other track is Something’s Changing and it is a bit harsh to call it a B side as it is a song which is written to complement side A and stands up very strong on its own merits.
Something’s Changing has a chunkier more vibrant and upbeat feel to the track, the synths and vocals are turned up a notch or two and give it a quicker but nonetheless catchy melody.
Lyrically again it delivers on it’s brief, I love the verses “but it’s a moment out of control that I fear, life’s in postponement I’m out of focus it’s unclear” and “reach out to someone you’ve never even met, tell them that you miss them or you might just regret it, you’ll know that if the lights go out and the night didn’t come it’s over”.
When you listen to CALM they are clearly a band who are comfortable in this synth pop landscape as they have delivered two absolute banging tunes, different in their composition but both deliver melodies that hook you in as the listener and are very ambitious and creative with their sound. The fact that they write fantastic colourful lyrics is an added bonus !!!
I loved Is There Anybody Alive Out There ?/Something’s Changing, which I will be calling a double A side, you will too, so get following CALM as their music will take you on a journey that will be absolutely fantastic.
Give Is There Anybody Alive Out There ?/Something’s Changing a stream now:
https://open.spotify.com/album/6fospXtnwiKj34fnk86nW9?si=yvqMbsNtTfaTjLH27N8uHQ
CALM can be followed on Website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Spotify:
https://www.facebook.com/calmtheband/
https://instagram.com/calmtheband?igshid=11wlv41x4zhcp
https://twitter.com/calmtheband
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7MJDg9vQcDlwnCkOOTUq9Z?si=fYjLGBcBQq-pWtXdknk_3Q
