SINGLE SPOTLIGHT: Followship – “Claire Hale”

 

Released: March 17th, 2023

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Damn, Followship, back at it again with the proggy metal badassery?! Amazing. After nearly two years since the release of their debut album, Violet Teenage Violence, Followship grace our ears with a new single, “Claire Hale”, in preparation for an upcoming new release, and it absolutely highlights everything we know and love about the band while also giving plenty of twists and turns to the listener that put the band’s unpredictable song structure on the forefront. Today, we’re shining the spotlight bright on “Claire Hale” as we also bring this newest heater to the front page.

The video for the single features the work of none other than Cody Mausolf of The Liquor Portal. Mostly a collection of action-packed angles and visual effects, the video manages to encompass the energy and passion the band would put into one of their live performances in vivid recreation. The song, meanwhile, is yet another high point to the band that immediately reclaims their throne as one of the more powerful metal and post-hardcore acts to come out of RVA in some time. Every second of its duration presents a new melody, strong vocal part, or rhythmic complexity that will both make you sway in unison and simultaneously scratch your head on how five people can come together so fluidly despite their compositional contributions being so distinct.

The opening is just a full dive into the melodic, angelic, heavy metal pool of something you’d hear from the likes of Coheed & Cambria, Periphery, or The Mars Volta. A technical tidal wave of riffs and almost trade-markedly impressive vocal work, it’s hard to not feel the excitement and adrenaline packed tightly into this song that reminisces the finest qualities of melodic metal and post-hardcore. When it isn’t engulfing you in the bliss of the 3/4-timed hook of which the song opens on, it is pummeling you with, at least what sounds or feels like odd metered rhythms, punishing guitar runs from Benjamin Pilch and Dylan Edwards, ever-present drum and bass synchronicity delivered by Cameron Hatcher and Spencer Hughes, and shrill shrieks from vocalist Devin Hatcher. A strong, harmonious relationship between instrumental prowess and catchy, alluring songwriting persists amongst all that Followship brings to the table, and the consistent balance of that is not exactly as easy to pull off as you might think.

Long story short, this song is the audible equivalent of flavor town, enough so that even Guy Fieri is going to need a cool glass of water after this waveform punch of sugar, spice, and everything nice. That’s exactly one of many things I admire about Followship, is their seemingly natural ease of controlled chaos within their songwriting. Towards the end of the track, things start to go off the rails a bit, with a practically modulated twist to the song taking way and pitching things in a direction that feels like it’s going into an entirely different song. But just as you think everything is going to wrap up in this musical maelstrom, it resolves back to the hook once more.

If “Claire Hale” is any taste of what we’re in for with the new material? I’d say the future of Followship is in good hands. All anticipations toward their next release will find promise within this track, and if you’ve somehow missed out up till now on the band? Acquaint yourself immediately; They clearly would have a much harder time disappointing than they ever would exhibiting any of the intricacies of their muscianship!