JAWS Return With An ‘Untitled’ New Offering From Their ‘The Ceiling’ Era

Indie-rockers JAWS have released a previously unheard track from the album sessions for their 2019 album ‘The Ceiling’ called ‘Untitled’, in celebration of the announcement of their new limited edition photobook shot by their close friend Peter Lally during their 2019 winter tour.

“Untitled’ was recorded for our last album ‘The Ceiling’ but just didn’t make the final track listing. It’s a track I’ve always loved, it reminds me a lot of our earlier stuff and I guess it’s a nod to that,” tells the band's lead vocalist Connor Schofield. Despite his comparisons holding true, ‘Untitled’ is a much more polished and refined version of the sounds of JAWS’ early work.

The track begins with a distorted and hazy blend of guitars and synths, which become gradually more layered and prominent as the track progresses. This instrumental serves as the soundtrack to Schofield’s dreamy and slightly muffled vocals. The lyrics are somewhat difficult to interpret on the first few listens of the song, but a stand-out line in the first verse is the wistful “Fall out of love and fall back in”.

There is an interlude roughly halfway through the song where the guitars are suddenly silenced, minus the strumming of one acoustic guitar. With the majority of the layers stripped back, the listener can now hear the subtle and faint sound of a wailing siren echoing in the background of the instrumental. The lone guitar then grows stronger, before the track explodes once again into the chorus, this time with Schofield’s more pronounced vocals at the forefront.

‘Untitled’ is a smooth, ambient, and atmospheric tune. Its biggest strength is the fact that it utilises complex layering techniques, combining different instruments and even experimental sound effects together to form a complex and intricate song. Despite failing to make the cut for JAWS’ 2019 album ‘The Ceiling’, the track is still a worthwhile listen from a band who have truly mastered their dream-pop, shoegaze-leaning brand of indie-rock.  

Gemma Cockrell

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gemma_cockrell

Image: Peter Lally