The Short Causeway Lay Claim To Be One Of The Years Most Exciting New Acts On Debut Single ‘Trpping Down The Stairs’

In recent years the area known as the Upper Calder Valley, nestled on the West Yorkshire and Lancashire border, has become a hotbed for indie bands. 

Centred around the famous socialist member's Trades Club, the region that encompasses towns like Todmorden and Hebden Bridge is now perceived to be the home of one of the most exciting music scenes in England. 

Famous bands to recently come out of this small corner of the North-West are The Fall-inspired Lounge Society or the New Order-influenced Working Men’s Club. Being only an hour away from Manchester, it’s easy to see why bands would be dragged into the all-encompassing behemoth that is the city's musical heritage. The Short Causeway, however, are the Happy Valley’s new kids on the block, and they take their influences from much farther afield on their debut single - the irresistible ‘Tripping Down The Stairs’. 

The track immediately catches your attention with its rough and ready feel, where scratchy guitars and a walking bass line are accompanied by lead singer Claudie Nicholson’s mellow vocals. It’s a sound more akin to The Velvet Underground as Nicholson’s words are delivered in a manner not too dissimilar to the much-loved Nico, yet it’s also a vibe that lasts only fleetingly as funk-infused sounds snap into action with the help of some exemplary bass lines from Hayden Davey. 

‘Tripping Down The Stairs’ is a rollercoaster that never truly settles. It can switch at a moment’s notice, from punk style, scratchy riffs to cosmic shoegaze-infused grandeur that would feel at home on a Wolf Alice album. This is all part of what makes the release so good, and why The Short Causeway could well be the most exciting band to come out of the West Yorkshire Pennines in recent times - a not-too-bad achievement when you know the quality of their competition. 

James Ogden 

Image: ‘Tripping Down The Stairs’ Official Single Cover