WL//WH Track Of The Day: SCHØØL “Somehow”

WL//WH Track Of The Day SCHØØL

Formed in Paris in the autumn of 2023 as the brainchild of singer and guitarist Francis Mallari (Rendez-Vous), triggered by 90s Shoegaze icons such as Swirlies and Drop Nineteens, and joined by Franco-American Erica Ashleson (Special Friend, Dog Park, Eggs) on bass, Australian Jack Moase (Liquid Face) on guitar, and Alex Battez (Marble Arch) on drums, SCHØØL are back with the new single, “Somehow,” via the independent label Géographie, concurrently with their return to the stage on October 10th at Paris’ Le Trianon, where they will be opening for WU-LYF.

In the wake of last year’s debut album, “I think my life has been ok,” the band keeps weaving noisy, misty, and stirring strands of deep melancholy, drifting between fragility and heaviness, delicacy and scratchiness, through a push-and-pull of earnest intimacy and sonic restraint.

Drifting once again between Grunge, Shoegaze, Britpop, baggy rock, and skate culture, the new track, written by Francis Mallari against the backdrop of a breakup, talks about letting go of guilt and finding self-forgiveness.

“Somehow” bobs its way through a dusky, murky haze built on drained, at times Greenwood-like choppy, droney guitar riffs, layered over tight, deliberate drums and moody thrumming bass lines, with dim, forlorn synth melodies atop that somberly hearten whispery, aching vocals, gently seeking for ‘give me some time to love myself‘, amid buzzing streaks of restrained abrasive, screechy distortion.

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