The Zine UK

The spirit lifting quartet have just shared their fourth album, ‘Signs Of Life’,

Era defining classic rock, from an aura defining band.

Genre: Asylums - available from https://www.musicglue.com/asylums/

This collection of essential songs is a gift for the world’s most extended family: Music Lovers.

Drawn from modern life experiences for The Many of us, Asylums convey ordinary observations in an extraordinary way.

01 Scatterbrain
02 Understand The Psychology
03 Instant Coffee
04 Signs Of Life
05 Crypto Klepto
06 Erase The Edges
07 If You Cant Join Them Beat Them
08 Say Goodbye Before You Die
09 Nursery Rhymes Against Humanity
10 Everybody Has A Space To Fill
11 Spat Out The Other Side
12 The Mirror

“See how the truth can bend / Delete forgotten friends / Illusionary scenes / In fresh purgatories outside your scatterbrain”

It’s 2022. If your brain ain’t scattered right now, check that you have warm blood. This record is for all life forms, though, so don’t worry, if you’re friendly.

Michael, Luke, Henry, Jazz - band images by Alistair Underwood

Released via their strategised collective, Cool Thing Records, it was recorded in the iconic Rockfield Studios with "sky's not the limit" wonderman, Dave Eringa on production skills. The results are dovetailed; Made to last, ‘Signs Of Life’ wouldn’t sound out of place in arenas. The thrill of such a band in smaller venues is a golden ticket for those who know.

Cool Thing Records creative are a family. Iron Brain (Luke’s dad) artwork, videos by J J Eringa (Dave’s son) and Luke becoming a father just before lockdown, underlines the personal circled signs of life in every facet of this band.

Imagine flying to the moon, entering a crater door to a huge Asylums moonrock show. All manner of creatures going wild with glee to songs pulled apart by textures and rhythmically snapped together by Henry Tyler (Drums), Michael Webster (Bass), Jazz Miell (Guitar) and Luke Branch (Vocals/Guitar).

They emit armageddon age audiofusion to pull at heart strings and push up souls. It’s mind music to salve the exhaustion of existing into excitement. ‘Understand The Psychology’ has the insight to incite. It’s Asylums freshly re-imagined with power pop sensibility. The video illustrates the above:

Look how battered and bruised our music world is. Asylums are an aspiration.‘Signs Of Life’ soundtracks a parallel dimension road trip.

“The record is simply meant to reach out to people who may have had similar feelings over the last few years and bring some reassurance and comfort - if even one person feels that it will be enough for me”. (Luke)

Asylums escape Earth’s underwhelming overwhelming mind melt, with a call to charms that re-united lockdown parted friends to give us a reflective collection of hope. The Musical. From the track which recently topped the Netherlands Indie XL chart:

“I sit and drink my instant coffee / While the world is in despair / All around me faces start to frown / As our freedom turns to fear.”

'Instant Coffee' is so lush. It’s so all of us, too. Not afraid to engage a wider audience across the broader minds -v- narrow minds divide. Normal Island’s moving art punky movement (of which Asylums are ring leaders) encompasses and owns our shifts of apathy, depression, confusion and elation.

Title track, 'Signs Of Life' is a weighted bliss out dance with the band’s sonic trademark of ambitious expanse in it’s wistful plea “Give me a sign of life.”

“Don’t feed Asylums after midnight!”: 'Crypto Klepto' mad bastardo rage pace rhythm primal howl voices in your head shout along. “Everybody looks good online”. My eyes went a bit wild with what my ears told it, the first time I heard this sped up audible catharsis.

And then…

'Erase The Edges' is empathetic lyrical allure. Musicians and producer are holding nothing back on a soaring ballad ambition with Prince/Adele tinted depth of the Bond Movie kind.

Asylums have been through real life’s wtf personal rollercoaster since they formed. I think they HAD to make this record or succumb to the madness that hovers in the shared periphery vision of many people. They’ve taken head trips to dark places but also had incredible life moments - it all created this LP for healing - the medical magical musical way.

The quirks of 'If You Can't Join Them Beat Them'. Timely tide turning time through venomous verse veering to joyous chorded chorus and instrumental laser beams of sound with urgent pound drive feels like we CAN beat “them”.

'Say Goodbye Before You Die' is built on bold bottom end ballsy ballast of orchestrated neurovision at a tempo of gravity.

“Please don’t give up playing your winning hand / Because your lifeforce is something they’ll never have”.

What a fab (album) four 'Nursery Rhymes Against Humanity' graces. Old world disorder psyche pop for history’s most historic years from an Only Hearts Club Band. Coincidence? In Lockdown, our homes were virtually yellow submarines. We are still misruled by Blue Meanies. You couldn’t make reality up, so inject this sparkling groove into your veins. These tunes MUST be heard.

'Everybody Has A Space To Fill' is also for the people. Humans are outsiders in an insider dealing age of ingreeding inbreeding. A tears to eyes warmplay of inclusive hymn, sang with gentle strength while the sonic layers are as emotive as the words.

'Spat Out The Other Side' drives like a baton swirling stomper paced variety show of mood swing and incantation. ‘The Mirror’ In Asylums is classic moonrock that straddles both centuries in sound. It’s so high that the sky is not the limit. This finale track pulls out like a peace train.

WHAT an album.

A difficult question (as every track is a personal reveal), but I asked Luke which ones meant the most to him.

“The two most personal songs for me are ‘Instant Coffee’ and ‘Erase The Edges’ - it's hard to listen to them some days but at the same time I'm incredibly proud of them artistically - bit of a dichotomy I guess…”

Dichotomy with emphatic enunciation of our darker ages. Enlightened by jarred chords, stuttered breaks. squealing licks, rumbling bass and croon to crazy vocals, this classic album unites a rage of peace to stand the test of time. As a child I could love a song instantly and am lucky to have lived long enough to know this release will stay with some for a lifetime. It’s not just me. At The Remedy (monthly gig by the ever supportive John Kennedy of Radio X), Luke and Jazz were spotted by my friend. In hushed tones, he pointed out “indie royalty”.

In TheZineUK doc’s situationist tapestry of artbeat poets pulsing primal passions, Asylums are key.

On a firm foundation of world class composition and performance skills, ‘Signs Of Life’ is heart on sleeve honest. A band, career and era defining release.