REVIEW:
JUNK DRAWER - ‘TEARS IN COSTA’
Spawned from a tearful breakdown in a high-street coffee shop, the Belfast based DIY group Junk Drawer have just released ‘Tears In Costa’. While the lyricism of Stevie Lennox dives into the panicked notion of being reduced to an instinct, the band build a spellbinding cocoon of left-field rock and roll.
Explaining the song’s name, the frontman said: “The title stems from a time when I found myself with tears streaming down my face due to a deadly concoction of myself (I get the odd extreme brain reaction from epilepsy) and the over-caffeination native to chain cafe, Costa (where our Rory has completely coincidentally just started working). The general gist of the song comes from the realisation that at any point, we can be flung back to ground zero with nothing but our experience behind us. And that’s tough, but it’s something that needs to be accepted, otherwise, you risk getting pulled down with that reset. The riff idea came from one day when my partner and I were cleaning the house, listening to Omni. At the next practice, I presented the riff to the band. They all immediately knew what to do with it, and we more or less finished the song in an hour."
Anchored by a total earworm of a guitar riff, ‘Tears in Costa’ is a full-bodied listening experience that combines tinges of post-punk psychedelia with searching vocals. Rounded off with a charming music video (which also feautres a lovely rendition of ‘Crazy’ at the end) plus some stellar cover artwork. Junk Drawer are taking the ‘art-rock’ label fully in their capable stride.