In the contemporary pop music scene, it is rare to find a band as anomalous as the Glastonbury-born, Dive In, whose discography conforms to every modern pop cliché imaginable: anthemic choruses, soaring falsettos, and shimmering bubble-gum pop-production, but does so in a strange, paradoxical manner that makes one feel as if it belongs to an entirely separate genre of music. It is because of this, it is difficult to define exactly what kind of band Dive In are, and as a result, they have carved their own, unique place within indie-pop music that, surprisingly, is far more satisfying than the works of much of their contemporaries.
‘Eighteen’ is glistening indie-pop at its
finest: bright, aerated and nostalgic. A self-confessed “product of
excitement”, the track was born as a result of envisaging that the band could one
day amount to the successes of other artists who played at the yearly extravaganza
in their local village. Throughout ‘Eighteen’, Guttridge’s smooth vocals glide
effortlessly over a haven of pulsing dream-pop synths, as he pays tribute to
his youth and young love. The high-octane melody of the chorus, “I can be the
cold, cold air you breath/ I will be the long lost love you tease”, performed
over euphoric electronics, introduces the nostalgia of summers gone by.
Like
most of their music, it’s uplifting in the strangest of the ways, and it is
exactly this charm that will continue to catapult the band into further success
in the years to come.
