Seek out Muckle as fast as possible. Searching for “Muckle – Television” will bring up some television licensing options. Ignore those, obviously. Pushing through with a strikingly unique debut track Television, Muckle enters the lion’s den of music with a strong debut piece. Reminiscent of more than a handful of artists that have surely influenced the band in one way or another, it never feels as though Muckle are wanting to replicate. They do not, and that is key to their success with first track Television. It has all the sensibilities of what a good independent track should do, with thrashing guitars, a bold soundscape and a key, interesting lyrical hook.
Muckle has managed to craft a song that will have the mind flickering everywhere from IDLES to Arctic Monkeys in only slight and brief moments. As a whole, Television is its own piece. Incomparable. There are flickers of reasonable comparisons but none of them does the quality of this piece much justice. “Whatever happened to the BBC” one lyric lingers, as reflective and loud as Muckle gets. There is a great consistency to this first track, a wild and large professionalism that a band usually don’t have at this stage. As the first track release becomes not just an important milestone but a massive statement of intent, Muckle has just about managed the perfect first release. It is not often a band can hit a stellar piece on their first go, but that is more power to the trio here.
Fantastic instrumental pieces, those rises and falls that both bolster the vocal screams and hold their own when focus is brought to them, are superb. That slow build from the guitar as the chords open up an audience to what Muckle has to offer is an intense, spirited rise that sees the track through a great and consistent intensity. Beyond that though are the drumming abilities, the capable collusion of guitar and drum that sounds so simple on paper but in practice creates such an incredible, unique variance for Television. The Leeds-based band bring out the best in the abilities of one another, and there appears to be a clear and engaged link between those “lions in a cage” lyrical repetitions and the image of the band as a whole.
With the rise of social media prominence comes a collection of artists always ready to engage with their audience. Muckle appears hungry for it. Up to the task of rallying the troops and pushing forward with the next step in sound. There is more to come, that much they have teased. Artwork from Peter Mcnelis is a wonderful touch for a track that feels as complete an introduction to Muckle as would be expected of a three-piece unit with enough talent to take on the heavy waves of a bigger-than-big genre. Television is a strong statement piece, one that will no doubt hold its own against a tide of independent releases that dominate the genre. Luck isn’t needed when there is this much talent contained in just three minutes. Muckle will strike again.
Get Muckle’s debut track, Television, listened to below.
