exit calm Don't Look Down EP (clear vinyl 10", £6.75)

With soundscapes as infinite as the countryside in their native South Yorkshire, Exit Calm return with another slice of aural bliss from their eponymous debut album. ‘Don’t Look Down’ defines the sound of these lads. As huge and epic as it is secretive and intimate, think of those personal moments in a crowd of thousands and you come close to what each note, key and chord invokes. Rob Marshall’s siren-like guitars soar above Scott Pemberton’s building drums, rising and falling with perfect emotion. Simon Lindley’s bass adds depth to the atmospheric wall of sound while Nicky Smith’s desperate vocals cry out. Soon all is finally released with a cataclysmic clash of cymbals and an arena-filling chorus, as bold as it is beautiful. In an age of understatement, irony and cynicism, anthemic Romantics are refreshing rarities, and Exit Calm are deservedly set to follow in the footsteps of contemporary greats. Comparisons with the likes of Spiritualized, U2, Kings of Leon and Explosions In the Sky don’t need to be made, but certainly could be.