They say everyone has a book within them, so perhaps for a music lover there is at least one tune also lurking inside. While it might be one thing to produce a sole banging tune, it’s another level entirely to produce a spotify profile containing a whole series of them.

Huddersfield’s Renegade (Ewen Rivallain (vocals), Eddie Kirkby-Geddes (guitar), Will Senior (guitar), Alex Philokyprou (bass) and Max Slingsby (Drums)) are building up an impressive resume of 80’s and 90’s style pop tinged killers; most recently in 2020 with released tracks Kale and June.

It’s beyond time this banging young band got onto more people’s radars.

Although Kale has a somewhat unlikely song title (dad joke alert: let’s hope Cabbage never do a cover), the song has an immediacy to it from the off with a great strident opening tune and then Ewan’s almost choral vocal starts.

In the lyrics, Ewan provides an explanation about the conundrum of life the universe and everything:

My fear of getting old is starting to blur with my desire of dying young.

It’s all downhill from here, the the best is yet to come.

Wise words from one who in this life has yet to experience the older bit, and thus see life from both sides of the coin.

June was somewhat confusingly released in April and is something of a more straightforward lyric although it has the more complex tune. Here Ewan’s vocal rather reminds me slightly of Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley or John Mellencamp; he has a strong solid balladeer voice. Musically, there’s something of the rock funk sound of someone like Genesis. There’s even a snazzy jazzy guitar solo in the bridge heart of the song. June is just pure solid pedigree pop-rock with an updated twist.

It’s a close call but if I had to choose just one of the two tracks from a fate of nuclear winter, it would be Kale, those lyrics have the edge. June however has that nice slightly lazy and happy summer vibe and is a perfect release for these long days of spring (very loooong days in lockdown). Renegade are on a roll; while obviously there are no gigs on the immediate horizon, a new track FOOLWY is due to be released shortly.

Chris R

• Images have been taken from the bands social media accounts.