There are a few bands that you can associate with dark and misty weather. A band that you trudge through muddy puddles just to purchase some grime supermarket sandwich on your lunch break or a band you will happily wander through the streets to get home in a torrential downpour, just because they fit the mood. You can go as far back as you like or you bring it up to date with a band that are just nothing short of excellent. I’m spending my lunch break wisely by listening to The Other I for the third time today and attempting to write something about it that hopefully puts across how great it is. Alternatively, you can skip this and just buy the record next Monday (it’s out 2 days before my 28th, November is an alright month.)

2:54 are a band I have spent a lot of time listening to and really appreciating everything about what they do. I think Alex is one of the best drummers around, Hannah makes me wish I could play guitar and Colette has this gorgeous voice that I part wish I had, and the other part of me wants to have her sing me eerie songs every night before I sleep so I have some wonderfully lucid dream. Everything about 2:54s music is what I love. They have this brilliantly dark tension to their sound which is what made me fall unapologetically in love with their music a few years ago. The demos/b-sides I heard before their first record came out made me realise instantly that they were going to be a band that I would have to always listen to. To this day, I play their first record almost constantly. It makes the journey to and from work a little easier, I push myself a little more at the gym when I listen to it, I walk home imagining their lyrics coming to life. Their words and music are like an old, sacred Gothic novel made for Autumn/Winter. The Other I really brings all I’ve mentioned to life in the most ethereal way imaginable.

I tried to wait until I got home to write about The Other I, so I could spend the rest of my afternoon at work listening to it whilst staring at a screen pretending to know what I’m doing. I obviously, like a child at Christmas, just couldn’t wait.

The first three tracks are ones we have already heard. I’ve written about them previously so you know how I feel about them. No Better Prize and Sleepwalker were made for you to have obscure dreams to. The best way to listen to music of any kind is through headphones whilst laying or sitting on your bed. Do it in the dark, set your mind free and go some place. However, listening to The Other I at work is equally as powerful. The images come through, and as hard as I am trying right now to not shut my eyes and go somewhere; their songs are strong enough for me to do it with my eyes open. Colette’s voice on Sleepwalker is beautifully haunting. Her voice has this perfect gentle tone to it but at the same time creeps you out- on Sleepwalker it really comes to life. The Other I sounds perfect against their debut record, one isn’t better than the other. Both are masterpieces, and I vow to stand by that.

Tender Shoots is a quiet and delicate gem, and before you know it you are hit with The Monaco. I’m pretty sure, if they do this live, the drums are going to sound insane live. It’s slightly more upbeat (tempo wise) than their others songs, but I don’t mean this is something to dance to. You just move your body differently to it than you would to others. On their first record, how you move to Sugar is different to how you move to revolving. Something takes over, and you just go with it. I know I go on about Colette’s voice, but there’s a little breakdown on The Monaco where it just echoes and it is standout moment, for me.

Everything gets heavier from Crest onwards, and you sort of feel like you’re listening to a band that got you through your teenage angst years. Instead, you’ve found the band that allow escapism for adulthood. I’ve been trying to figure out what song I love the most on The Other I. Part of me is besotted with Pyro, but then I listen to South straight after and I cannot choose. So I won’t choose. The Other I, if you’re looking for comparisons, heavier than their debut. There are some “smack you in the face” moments on their debut and there are plenty on The Other I.

I don’t know if I’ll make a list of my favourite records this year, but if I feel the need I think it is safe to say this is my number 1. I’m torn between Pyro and South right now, maybe if they play them live I’ll be able to make some kind of decision but life I guess, is too short to always have favourites. All I know is that The Other I is a perfect record to listen to on this dark, murky day. Just like their debut, I plan on listening to it constantly. Their London show on the 19th (November) has sold out but they’re playing Dingwalls in February.

2:54 are a quiet storm, a sacred listen. If you ignored them the first time, don’t make the same mistake again. They are a band that make you realise that not all new music sucks and not every band is copying what has been done before. The eerie atmosphere that flows throughout The Other I is one of the main reasons as to why I love the record. That, and the fact that a band I really bloody adore and believe in are back, that’s enough to make me happy right now. 2:54 are a band that I want everyone I know to listen to and to love, just because they have this indescribable quality to their music that just makes it feel like you’re listening to something truly precious. I hope some lost teenager hears their music and starts their own band; that’s just how much I really dig this band.

Alright, that’s enough. I’ll go to my work now.