OVERSIZE’s debut album Vital Signs is a delicious blend of shimmering, introverted sounds and alt. metal. Guitarists Lewis Lennane-Emm and Tazz Edwards unpick their band’s place in the current shoegaze revival, processing grief, and the “magic” of ambiguous lyrics…
For all the talk of revival, renaissance and the role of TikTok, did shoegaze ever really go away? OVERSIZE don’t think so.
“It never went anywhere,” says guitarist Lewis Lennane-Emm, speaking to Kerrang! alongside fellow axeman Tazz Edwards. “But it’s a revival in the sense that more young people are listening to guitar music than they have done for a long time. It’s authenticity – it’s not a type of music that is being written for commercial gain.”
Embodying that authenticity with a healthy dose of meaty guitars, shoegaze is at the epicentre of OVERSIZE’s world, alongside post-hardcore and alt. metal flavours. It’s like the mid point between Vein.fm alt.rock offshoot Fleshwater, and Deftones. Hailing from the “sleepy medieval town” of Salisbury, the quintet – completed by Sam McCauley (vocals), Sam Shutler (drums) and George Lewis (bass) – are gearing up for their debut album Vital Signs, which centres around Sam McCauley’s grief after losing his mother.
“It was less than a year after his mum had passed. It was very fresh and raw,” says Lewis. “Sam has a great way of writing ambiguous lyrics that aren't on-the-nose, but also they're relatable at the same time – I think there’s a magic to that.”
Tazz, who proudly wears the badge of being OVERSIZE’s first ever fan (before being later asked to join the band), agrees. “He's a poet… there's a lot of discovery in Sam's words. “That's almost the band's secret weapon.”
Another not-so-secret weapon is their incredibly dense guitar sound, channelling the ’90s influence from Smashing Pumpkins and Pixies with an overtly modern production style.
“[When I joined], it was quite apparent that OVERSIZE was always meant to be a guitar band,” says Tazz. “Even though there's a good ebb and flow to some quieter songs, big guitars were always the main focus for this record.”
Be it the hazy Daretomove or the chunky Fall Apart, the OVERSIZE sound definitively belongs in 2025, in a time where My Bloody Valentine are back on the road and Superheaven have gone viral.
“I give TikTok a lot of shit, but it's been such a great avenue for young people to find an identity within alternative music,” admits Lewis. “If young people stop having an interest in music, the scene’s cooked for the next 20 years.”
And in the cold, wet winter months, Vital Signs exemplifies why British shoegaze is resonating. “We live in an age where everybody’s extroverted and has an opinion. Anybody can create an empire and become a personal brand just by having a social media account,” concludes Lewis.
“Even the word ‘shoegaze’, there's an introverted nature to it… the vocals aren't upfront and you [often] can't even hear the lyrics. By its nature, it’s more about the feeling, emotion and the vibe. People are looking for something more meaningful.”
Vital Signs is released on February 28 via SharpTone
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