Very much a creation of the current London scene, The Orchestra (For Now) have enough buzz around them to be mistaken for a swarm of bees. Out on the 31st October.

There are a few different sounds dominating the London musical indie-underground right now. One of those very much has caroline, English Teacher and Black Country, New Road as its spiritual figureheads. This style mixes avant rock, baroque indie, post-punk and hints of jazz. The Orchestra (For Now), like Man/Woman/Chainsaw and Honeyglaze, are firmly in this camp. This is not to say the EP sounds derivative, just that like vocoders around any track released in the early 2010s, it has a range of techniques and styles that mean it couldn’t have it been released anytime but now.

Like Man/Woman/Chainsaw the members of this band are all ridiculously young and insanely musically talented. Whilst lead singer Joseph Scarisbrick doesn’t have the most highly trained of voices he makes the most of what he has been given. He delivers spoken word, singing, at times yelping and screaming with real effort. There is a wide range of instrumentation to support him with a further six members in this band including a cellist and a violinist.

This is their second EP this year, the Plan 76 EP following on from Plan75. There are five tracks. First track, ‘Impatient,’ captures that mood entirely. There is an urgency that keeps creeping into it, the second-half cuts loose and doesn’t drop until the end.

‘Hattrick’ spends a minute building before swirling around with bouts of controlled aggression contrasted with minimalist piano and violin.

‘Amsterdam’ initially seems less frenetic, more tuneful, though still manages a burst of energetic breakdown in the middle with shouted vocals before rebuilding to a frenzied crescendo. ‘The Administration’ captures a Radiohead vibe (circa OK Computer). ‘Deplore You/Farmers Market’ confirms there is absolutely something special here. There are real emotional depths conveyed through the music. The contrast between the quieter moments and the full on sonic assaults are dizzying. There is a mix of confidence and playfulness at work.

As a calling card this EP is a pretty spectacular one. It isn’t perfect, there is plenty of room for them to grow and develop – but there is already a very serious musical outfit at work here. With only one EP out they have already booked in a show at Scala in November. It looks tempting, despite us having a pretty busy month for gigs already.

Live dates:
1st Nov – Les Nuits Botanique, Brussels, BE
6th Nov – Iceland Airwaves, IS
13th Nov – Sheffield, UK – Hallamshire Hotel,
14th Nov – Glasgow, UK – Hug & Pint,
15th Nov – Live at Leeds In the City, UK
16th Nov – Manchester, UK – YES Pink Room
18th Nov – London, UK – Scala
20th Nov – Bristol, UK – The Exchange
21st Nov – Southampton, UK – Heartbreakers
22nd Nov – Brighton, UK – Green Door Store
4th Dec – Cambridge, UK – Portland Arms