Premiering on Short.Fast.Loud. on Wednesday, Watchtowers have released a fresh single, said to be the first from their (as yet unnamed) upcoming EP. “Hurt The Ones We Love” is the first release from the Sydney melodic hardcore/spoken word band since sharing their cover of Post Malone‘s “I Fall Apart” earlier this year, and “Distant One” featuring Daniel Wand in 2017. The fresh release comes in conjunction with a music video produced and directed by Billy Zammit.
“Hurt The Ones We Love” won me over within about twenty seconds, when the ‘yes’ vibes of this piece of music ripped through me. Can you tell if a song is brilliant within twenty seconds? I don’t know, but my immediate impression proved true once I’d absorbed the full two and a half minutes, before playing it again (and again). Watchtowers’ Jarrod Anthony Martin (vocals), Lachlan Johnson (guitar), and Mathew Thorsby (drums) have made something cool here.
Distorted riffs and round-toned beats open up this beauty, before a 3/4 dance of tension kicks off with melodic guitar and vocal intensity. It’s a feast of layers that have us drowning in frustration (“How the fuck am I to face this world on my own?!”). Nothing is held back as verses rip out in fury, ache, and self-hate, while lump-in-the-throat emotive guitar continues like a thread holding it all together.
The massiveness of feeling, coupled with the music video, perfectly paints an experience of instability created at the hand of losing something beautiful. A stellar job by all members of Watchtowers packs a stunning emotional punch, expressed by someone who has lost everything. If this is a sign of what’s to come? Bring on the EP.
Watch the music video for “Hurt The Ones We Love” below. You might also be lucky enough to catch Watchtowers at the sold out Sydney show of the Movements tour on Wednesday 29th August.
https://www.facebook.com/watchtowersau/videos/2148190185437068/
