Formal Socks - ‘Downtown’ Review: Already nailing blissful indie-pop, the sky’s the limit
Formal Socks double-down on their genre-bending style with sophomore single Downtown.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Credit: Rafferty Baggaley 📸
After a sunny entrance onto the shores of indie-pop last Summer (Beach House), Formal Socks are back with a colourful, optimistic and euphoric follow-up. Downtown was released on Friday 8th March via Pink Water Records.
Beach House introduced this young quartet’s genre-bending style, mashing up easy life, Kenny Beats and Clairo. It was dubbed ‘debut of the year’ by Dean Jackson on BBC Introducing and in our review, we encouraged you to blast the tune on Summer road trips. Over less than a year, it’s amassed almost 200,000 listens on Spotify, which speaks volumes in itself.
Comprising Charlie, Ross, Dan and Travis, their collective music taste is what morphs into a refreshing, dreamy and gorgeous indie-pop sound. You’ll find each of the four listening to easy life, Little Simz, CMAT, Big Thief, Daft Punk, Earth Wind & Fire, BROCKHAMPTON and Loyle Carner.
Their second single, Downtown, is even bigger than before. You can immediately tell where this band is at and where they’re heading. It’s hard to comprehend the fact it’s their second single. Jam-packed full of ear-worm vocals, woozy instrumentals and a dance-worthy beat. You’ll even hear Tom Misch’s influence jazzing around the melody.
In a similar fashion to Beach House, this track thrives on massive hooks. Once we hit play, we couldn’t turn it off. Because for a moment it felt like Summer. The euphoric state that comes with this uplifting track is mesmerising and addictive. It’s no exaggeration to say this is a testament to Formal Socks nailing everything which makes indie pop blissful. And for it to happen this early, is quite phenomenal.
Lyrically, Downtown tells of a relationship from two sides, aptly being sung by two people. But it’s the clever songwriting which makes it a real joy to singalong to (‘If you say you love me, then I promise I’ll change, I gotta little in my pocket but a lot in my weight’).
Beauty in simplicity is something many artists seem to overlook. On the surface, Downtown is concise, fun and charming. The way a track like this should be. Listen closer, and you’ll hear groovy layers, quirky sound effects and creative attention to detail.
The wait may be over since Beach House, but we’re already ready for what’s next. After this track, we’re crowning them one to watch for 2024, as potentially the hottest new artist on the scene. This is a band of the next generation. And if they drop another single of this calibre, the sky’s the limit.
Now, it’s your turn. Give it a spin, and tell us what you think on Insta or X.
Rating: 8/10
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