Anyone trying to make a living out of making music will tell you that the music industry is a ruthless place. It’s something Coventry up and comers Candid have learned alarmingly quickly for a band so young, and it forms the subject matter of latest single ‘Numbers Game’.
Musically, the track sees the band lean into their rockier side, proving they sound as great when they play at being a straight up rock band as they do when they show off their indie side. In the early moments, stomping drums beckon us in before moody yet monumental guitar riffs creep in and bring the song to a daring, epic sound. It would be easy for the sound Candid is going for to sound contrived and while it’s not exactly radical, they display a clear sense of assurance in how they want to make music and they still manage to demonstrate that they’re not just another British guitar band.
Lyrically, Candid crafts a song that manages to be not only astute in its criticism of the music industry but somehow manages to be relatable even to those who haven’t seen its nature firsthand. They express a sense of disenchantment at being “surrounded by numbers just to prove your worth’” that may be echoed in the minds of the listeners feeling the same way about the similar numbers game played out on Instagram every day. The middle eight opens with a warning – “They’re going to find you / They’re going to suss you out” – eerily reminiscent of the thoughts swirling in the brain of someone with impostor syndrome. Being not only unique in its subject matter but writing lyrics that manage to be both specific and open enough for fans to project their own feelings onto is impressive for a band so early on in their career.
Candid is a band with stacks of promise and ‘Numbers Game’ affirms it further. Keep an ear out for that name on the radio or on your social media – you could soon be hearing it everywhere. You heard it here first.
‘Numbers Game’ is out on 18th September.
Words by Emma Wilkes
Photo by Garry Jones