Track Review: Not Up To Much // Spearside
From The Other Side Reviews to Thoughts Words Action, RTE, New Music Detectives, BBC Radio 1, Sinusoidal Music, and tons of other press, Spearside has been turning heads on an international scale. Considering the Irish trio only began releasing music in 2022, they might be considered minnows in the music scene but this is not the case. Blasting out with their unique sound, Oisin Walsh (vocals, guitar), Cian Walsh (vocals, bass), and Dylan Zovich (drums) are standing tall among established and emerging musicians across the globe. The latest addition to their discography is the single ‘Not Up To Much’.
Created as the final song in a sonic trilogy, ‘Not Up To Much’ joins Spearside’s well-received singles ‘Crack In Your Brain’ and ‘Bus Stop’. Recorded in a home studio in rural Ireland (built during lockdown by brothers Oisin and Cian Walsh), ‘Not Up To Much’ retains the raw DIY-ness heard in ‘Crack In Your Brain’ and ‘Bus Stop’. Yet, while a similarity exists with the previous material, the new song has a lighter, more toe-tapping vibe leaning toward 90s pop-rock style – at least, that’s to my ear.
As with many pop-rock and pop-punk artists, the toe-tapping upbeat groove is a smile-inducing melody hiding deeper, more profound lyricism. Oisin Walsh explains that “when the musical backdrop is major key and upbeat, it can offer some extra license to explore darker lyrics without the song feeling too laborious. ‘Not Up To Much’ is about someone revelling in their descent in nihilism…the character in the lyrics takes the tragedy of their life, their apathy, their social isolation and uses it as an excuse to give up, blame others, and crack a wry smile while they do it…”
Sincere and elegant in a gritty, grimy way, Spearside brings audiences musical mastery in this tragic, sinister new single, ‘Not Up To Much’.
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