Drew Wardle - Suicide Tuesday

Drew Wardle

Suicide Tuesday 
self-released; 2017

3.7 out of 5

By Dan Weston
​

In the process of pre-production Drew Wardle and James Gascoyne had a conversation about how they wanted the five song EP Suicide Tuesday to sound. Bowie’s name came up and the aesthetic that you hear on the album Hunky Dory. He said “He wanted it to be retro but also exist out of time at the same time.” In other words they wanted to make something timeless which seems to me like that would be an inherent goal of any artist. No one wants to sound dated or irrelevant.

The retro feel and general vibe certainly did remind me of Bowie starting with “It won't do”. I enjoyed the song right away especially the vocals. The melodies were catchy and the delivery was also top notch. He sings “You sit with her by the seaside  and reminisce about the times you've had  and all the answers you threw away”.

Up next is the title track. Unbeknownst to me the expression Suicide Tuesday is a term to refer to a hangover from MDMA. The song isn’t nearly as dark as the title implies in fact I would say it feels borderline celebratory.

“You're the one” has a little more nostalgia behind it while “leave” is an ambient track and was wondering if he was inspired by David Bowie’s Low by inserting it in there with other pop songs. In this case I don’t think it worked. It felt a little too alien and ominous compared to the rest of the vibe of the album. The closer “Lover with no name” is an exceptional song mainly because of how well it's written. It’s addictive and loved the lead guitar as well.

These are very well crafted songs but the resemblance to Bowie felt a little too obvious at times and made me feel like popping in a Bowie album. That being said I wouldn't pass this up if you are a fan of rock from the 60’s and 70’s in general. Recommended.

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