It’s safe to say Split Chain have exploded over the past 24 months. Their brand of “nu-gaze” has earned the Bristol group impressive streaming numbers, shows on both sides of the Atlantic, and a string of festival slots. They’ve also found a label home on legendary independent, Epitaph. This is perhaps their most impressive achievement for a band who are still in its early days. Nevertheless, Split Chain‘s full-length debut, ‘motionblur’, arrives with plenty of eyes and ears, on them.
On the surface, they’re able to back it up with a concise record, albeit one that is understandably stylistically constrained by the band’s newness. ‘Under The Wire’ bursts out of the gate with crunching guitars and penetrative drums. While an explosive chorus that sees vocalist Bert Martínez-Cowles thriving in a newfound purpose, proving doubters wrong. Yet the narrative ‘motionblur’ provides isn’t a constant high. With the band’s origins rooted in Bert helping bassist Tom Davies through addiction, there’s a deeply personal edge to their songwriting, touching on toxic relationships, isolation, regret, and resilience. That emotional weight makes the hushed verses and desperate chorus of ‘ I’m Not Dying To Be Here’ even more raw, while ‘SPIT’s steely punch and swirling metallic guitars complement Martínez-Cowles’s self-destructive words of grief and mental anguish.
Collectively, Martínez-Cowles, Davies, drummer Aaron Black and guitarists Oli Bowles and Jake Reid don’t shy away from their influences. The nu-metal harshness of early Deftones (‘Subside’) and the grungy alt-rock of Superheaven (‘greyintheblue’) loom large throughout these eleven tracks. But there’s a grit to everything Split Chain churn out, with only a few moments of polish peeking through. For example, ‘bored. tired. torn’ radiantly thrives on an infectious hook, as it sinks its teeth with a meaty 90s alt-rock bite. Likewise, ‘who am i’ surges with speedy guitars, leaning into the chaotic confusion of identity in its lyrics. There are even moments, such as ‘The Space In Between’, that melodically nod their head to pop-punk with a post-hardcore adrenaline rush. It provides one of ‘motionblur’s later highlights.
As the final, grungy guitars of the brooding finale, ‘my mistake…,’ fade away, there’s a palpable sense of accomplishment in what Split Chain have created. While simultaneously, this only feels like the beginning for them. After all, they’re a band who have had a rapid trajectory. The ideas shown on ‘motionblur’ are assured and bolstered by the bold, steely production of longtime collaborator Kel Pinchin. Even if their sound isn’t entirely distinctive, ‘motionblur’ is a compelling statement of intent, and Split Chain’s upward trajectory shows no signs of slowing. If they can continue to carve out their own identity and build on what they’ve started here, Split Chain’s next step could be even more rewarding.
‘motionblur’ by Split Chain is released on July 11th on Epitaph.
Find Split Chain on: Facebook | X (Formerly Twitter) | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify | Apple Music | Website
