For their second single, the cerebrally poetic Indie/Americana ensemble, Run the Enemy, unearthed the sublime from the serendipitous, immortalising the fleeting yet eternal encounter between Elvis and Barbara Gray in 1956.
Infused with samples of fervent Elvis fans within an Editors-esque post-punk framework, the Cambridge, UK-based band magnifies the tenderness of transient intimacy in a pop culture moment of pure connection, inviting listeners to inhabit that ephemeral instant and luxuriate in its synchronicity.
With vocals reminiscent of Elbow, choked with emotion and deftly illuminating the lyrical depths, and an atmosphere of sepia-toned nostalgia enveloping the hauntingly angular guitars, iridescent keys, and throbbing rhythm section, Barbara Gray lodges itself in the soul, simultaneously imparting the transcendent nature of a moment never to be lost to history.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a better entry into the UK indie scene in 2024. It’s only a matter of time before Run the Enemy tears its way into the mainstream.
Run the Enemy Said:
“The song is about randomly overlapping lives, inspired by the fleeting moments shared by Elvis and Barbara Gray, captured on film by Alfred Wertheimer in 1956 at the Jefferson Hotel in Virginia.
For over fifty years, the girl remained anonymous until she appeared on the Today Show to discuss the one day that her life crossed with Elvis’s, like a crossword clue; he was seven down, she was eight across. Despite the moment being so transient and their lives going in such different directions thereafter, their moment is preserved forever on film.”
Barbara Gray was officially released on June 28th; stream the single on Spotify.
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Review by Amelia Vandergast