Sydney quintet Enclave have spent the last couple of years enjoying a fairly consistent run of activity. Regulars around Sydney’s Inner-West, I’d dare say there are few remaining venues in the area they haven’t played. The band even indulges in the odd excursion further afield, bringing their energetic sounds and vintage goth threads to Melbourne and beyond.
In the spirit of consistent activity, Enclave have announced two new singles; ‘12 Steps’ and ‘Doubt’ for release on 23 August and 27 September, 2023 respectively. These two singles will appear on a 7 inch titled ‘Fallen For Now’ slated for release later this year.
The first single, ‘12 Steps’, brings a sense of impassioned grit into the mix. There’s a raucous feeling to the track through its less than 2 minute run time. A feeling led by a commanding drum pattern and vocalist Pat McCarthy’s signature deep chested vocal.
The track is loaded. “12 steps to heaven” barks McCarthy as he portrays destitution and impressionability from the subjugator to the subjugated.
Full steam ahead, the manic track wrangles its way through with a chest thumping energy. It fuses a kind of controlled chaos with Roland S. Howard styled guitar work and heavy-hitting drum patterns.
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The track ‘Doubt’ is a change in tack compared to ‘12 Steps’. Opening with atmospheric synth work before finding its rhythm, the pace is slower, but the mood hangs heavier as rolling percussion and jangled guitar enter the frame.
The slower pace gives the synths more space to breathe and spread outwards, allowing for a sense of melody to enter mid-way. Giving McCarthy some peaceful interludes to momentarily tone down his vocals into the most tender I’ve heard them. This, building into the crescendo of “an individual is nothing” / “There isn’t any world, but the world we live in”.
On these two tracks, Enclave demonstrates the thoughtfulness of their occasionally unhinged post-punk rhythms, as well as some new and more tender dynamics.
I won’t deride the band with the modern cliche of a descriptor that is ‘socially conscious’. Rather, Enclave see things for what they are, and bark it out with a sense of rugged poetic sincerity. The band has a lot to say, and no shortage of sounds to carry the message.
An empty sentiment, Enclave most definitely is not.
