The Mysterines

Event information

Formed in Liverpool, The Mysterines - frontwoman Lia Metcalfe, drummer Paul Crilly, bassist George Favager and guitarist Callum Thompson - have undergone a radical transformation over the past few years. Fresh with new purpose and reinvigorated from song-writing sessions while secluded away in the countryside (in between playing to 60,000-strong crowds while on tour with the Arctic Monkeys), the band are now about to release the best music of their career. "We can feel the difference with this album," Metcalfe says. "These songs show how far we've come. We've grown up a lot."

Testament to that is the album's blistering first single "Stray", a superb slice of grunge-rock. "What a drag it is," Metcalfe drawls. "Look what you've done now. You're not the kind to make real promises." Just as you grow accustomed to that slow build of tension, the song explodes. "We're stray," Metcalfe sings in a she-wolf howl, over frenzied percussion and the shiver and snarl of the guitar. "We're stray."

"Stray" is a warning shot. The menacing instrumentation speaks to the song's theme of lessons that are learned too late, and how the wrong path can at first be made to look so beguiling. It's a venture down dark alleyways and deserted streets, all the while glancing back over your shoulder and wondering if something really did just move in the gloom.