The Early Mornings are a Manchester trio who formed in 2018, and earlier this month released their debut EP, Unnecessary Creation. It is a glorious pairing of songs new and old, bringing certain flavours of post-punk and melodic pop together to create one of the strongest introductions of the year. We also had the pleasure of talking with Annie and Danny about it, which you can read below.
As for the EP itself, it is a flittering, fiery dose of off-kilter grooves that will stick in your head for ages. I get some real Shopping vibes from it. The bass is turned up nice and loud (like all good post-punk should be), enabling the rhythm section to deliver solid grooves throughout. As they focus deeply on keeping things together, the guitar riffs are allowed to waltz their way across the layers, bringing much needed energy to the party.
Songs such as ‘Days Spent’ showcase these elements wonderfully. Thunderous guitars lead the way for melodies to noodle their way through the airwaves, falling between the crashing drums and basslines that don’t let up. Annie Leader’s vocals don’t quite hit the “singing” stage but come with a lot of passion that matches the instrumental perfectly. Fitting the tone of the EP. With their answers below, the trio’s downtrodden mood of simply finding ways to kill time resonates through. While they care little about ambition, they certainly make sure to enjoy the moment by making as much noise as possible.
‘Departure From Habit’ lowers the tempo to bring down the mood a little. A murky set of melodies drag their feet along the verses, as if they’ve woken up not fully awake yet. The deadpan vocals for the chorus ring out “When I’m with you/I’m so happy” only add to the not-there-ness of the track. It’s brilliant. ‘Not Content’ does inject some energy back, however. I like how it allows the guitars to branch off into their own little sections as it helps shake up the formula a little bit.
Unnecessary Creation is great. The Early Mornings have brought some highlights from their old material and paired it with new songs to really show off how eclectic their sound can get. It is a blast of a listen. Thank you once again to Annie and Danny for taking the time to answer our questions!
Congrats on the release of your Debut EP Unnecessary Creation! What can you tell us about it? A: It’s six songs, some old, some new.
D: The result of three people with no ambition for anything else, passing the time in the only way that means something and also nothing.
How does it feel to finally launch your debut? A: It feels great to get these tracks out into the world. We are looking forward to writing more and getting started on recording our next EP.
D: I don’t really like recording so I’m just happy to get it out the way.
The EP was recorded in a day in the ballroom of an old house-turned studio. What was that experience like, and would you do it again for future material? A: It was really nice surroundings. You’ve got loads of instruments lying around, a suit of armour and chandeliers. You would see little birds and the odd cat coming to the window. I would do it again because I loved working there, but I think we would like to try new places at the same time.
D: Recording live is the way that feels right for us.
Is early morning your favourite time of day? A: Nah.
D: Definitely not. I’ve always preferred the night time and used to work night shifts. An added bonus to that is you can wake up and it’s a perfectly acceptable time to start drinking.
What have you been listening to lately? A: Some new bands like Legss, Deliluh and Mush. Some older records like Patsy Cline, Miles Davis, Sun Ra.
D: Lewsberg, Lithics, Table Sugar, Eddy Current Suppression Ring. Now we live with Rhys we’ve had all his records to listen to as well, some that come to mind are Ween, Peter Paul and Mary, Butthole Surfers. We’ve been learning to play a cover of ‘Hungry Beat’ by Fire Engines and the way he sings means the lyrics are ridiculously hard to decipher, so we’ve all heard that repeated a lot lately.
Finally, what’s your favourite fruit? A: Aubergine (which is technically a fruit) because I prefer savoury over sweet.
D: A nice and juicy peach.