Single of the Week: Climbing Trees – ‘Graves’

You may remember these four Welshmen from back at the start of the year, when 2015 was still full of possibility and not the crushing disappointment it turned out to be. Mind you, that might just be me. Yes, you see or even saw, we first covered Climbing Trees back in January as ones to watch in our Pulse: New Music You Need in 2015 feature, and not all that long after we managed to catch up with Matthew from the band for a little bit of a natter, about this and thatter.

The boys have been hard at work since, slogging the slog with gigs galore, but they’ve primarily been burying themselves deep into the writing process for that famously difficult second album. Though, on the basis their latest single, and likely sign of things to come, that second album hasn’t been all that difficult for them. Well, it doesn’t sound like it at least, because ‘Graves’ comes across with the kind of confidence usually reserved for those that this sort of thing comes easy to. Then again, the best music always does, no matter the truth.

The song itself is a moody and folksy number, riding Americana and blues by way of Welsh indie, always threatening to burst into full on rock song. However, the band keep those tendencies restrained, resulting instead in an atmospheric track, burgeoning with an underlying tension and melancholy. It’s a song to get thoughtful to, for sure, but its anthemic chorus it out of itself, and you out of yourself too.

‘Graves’ first made an appearance back in September when it cropped up on a charity CD including a number of Welsh musicians aiming to raise money for Refugee Action, and it’s recently had some heavy rotation on BBC Radio Wales; the Holy Grail for Welsh bands on the rise, of course. However, this week see its release proper as a single, and in doing so it comes accompanied by a suitably affecting video and a little bit of home for the boys. Seeing as the video, starring Nicholas McGaughey, was filmed around Pontypridd at night, capturing the mood of the song, as well as the ghost town of its lyrics, perfectly. However, knowing Ponty, I’m going to have to assume it was a school night.