BSPH: We Have Band - Watertight

"Watertight" is a song by Manchester new rave disco-rock-trio We Have Band. It was released in 2012 on their second album titled "Ternion". It is cautious and timid fast-moving, drama-filled song about faith and devotion that swells and tinges with its shadow. The narrative of "Watertight" is built like a arcade platformer. The arrangement of "Watertight" is akin to video-game sound design. Main building blocks of the song - guitar-bass-drums are littered with myriad of little sounds. That adds dynamics and progression to the song.

The male-led verses of "Watertight" are disorientingly repetitive as if the protagonist is in the hurry running towards something trying to stay focused all while avoiding edges and traps. But he reaches the breaking point which accentuated by the breakneck pace of the song - he can't go on like that for too long. Then comes female-led chorus which brings some sort of a balance. All the while the sounds around are pass-by in a kaleidoscopic manner - barely scratching the surface. And then comes a short pause and the song shifts into another gear. It sweeps away everything - back to the starting point - as if the protagonist was caught in the trap and respawned with a reversal of all the progress already made. The songs starts all over again but with acknowledgement of this failure. The tone is a bit more somber than previously. Ending chorus is presented like a distant dream - impossible to reach. The song ends with prolonged reverberation that evokes emptiness felt by the protagonist.

It's hard to talk about the bands like We Have Band because it is something you need to hear first - you will recognize the parts but overall impression will be thoroughly unique. You need to experience that first-hand in order to understand the significance of the band. We Have Band combines DIY-aesthetic with strict and crisp electro / disco rhythms packaged around tender, sensual songs. It's like disco-days Arthur Russell with a fair share of Fischerspooner and The Rapture peppered here and there. The songs and arrangement seems to be dissonant to one another - something like putting souls into the body (pardon for clumsy analogy).

But flashy arrangements are not all that We Have Band have to offer. Their songs can without them. Here's an acoustic version of "Watertight". It is stripped down but delivers the same exact emotional punch:

One of the defining features of We Have Band is focus. Structure-wise their songs don't mess around, there are no spare or repeated bits. Every verse and every chorus brings new colors and shades. And they tend to put a twist into song that puts turns it inside out or upside down. They try to do something different with every song and this results in very unusual ways of arrangement and song structure. You can listen to their songs purely to explore entanglements of arrangement.

However - despite being actually very good - We Have Band still verge in-between underground and mainstream with minimal attention from music press. I guess because "we don't need no unique music". It is unfair - because the band presents unique style that is worth exploring. We Have Band seem to take off where Fischerspooner and The Rapture once left off and over time they evolved way beyond boundaries of style. They transcended into something of their own.