Originally from Buckinghamshire, and now based out of South London, Bleach Lab have been sharing their music with the world through a series of stand-alone singles since 2019. Having caught the ears of a number of high-profile websites and making the 6Music playlist with previous single Old Ways, the quartet are set to make their biggest statement to date this week with the release of their much anticipated debut EP, A Calm Sense of Surrounding.

There’s a conceptual approach to the EP, with each of the five tracks exploring a different aspect of grief, with lyric writing shared between vocalist Jenna Kyle and bassist Josh Longman, who each suffered differing life events that they seek to contrast and compare across the record. Recent single Flood is a fine scene-setter for the record, exploring ideas of depression; the track has been described by Jenna as, “one long metaphor for being completely overwhelmed and overcome by someone”. Musically, it is a brooding piece of grunge-tinged dream-pop, a slow-building number reminiscent of The Joy Formidable or Slowdive. Elsewhere on the EP, Old Ways is a dramatic affair with crashing drums and cascading guitar lines, while Lighthouse is a darker number, built around a particularly wonderful atmospheric bass-line. The record closes with the song representing acceptance, Scars, it’s the brightest track on the record, with the guitar-line taking on an almost country-edge as it seems to revel in the joys of starting again, it’s fitting send off to a record that feels like the start of a journey, Bleach Lab may have their scars, yet their future is looking very bright indeed.