I See Orange….And Doll Guts!

There was a time not so long ago when I See Orange was the most exciting new band in Swindon. Their latest offering released at the end of August, a single entitled Doll Guts, truly positions them way above that pedestal and I predict and hope, onto the international market….

Though there’s a nod to the band’s roots in the accompanying picturesque video, in the way of stage show clips from Swindon’s premier venue The Victoria, it’s consolidated with professional storyboard shots of their playfully cute mien, contrasting their macabre component, commonly associated with grunge. It’s an original design identity they’ve manufactured to great success, but never has it been so symbolically recognisable as in this song, and video. The title alone reflects the winsome-dark contrast and their penchant for dolls, and horror, yet that’s only one element which causes me to hail it their greatest song to date, and the next level up.

Doll Guts is perhaps more melodiously memorable than anything I See Orange has put out in the past, the moreish affiliation of pop, without watering down those gorgeous roaring guitar riffs and thumping drums; greater than the chord simplicity of The Cardigans’ Losing My Favourite Game, but equally punchy. Imagine Hole writing the theme of Twin Peaks; this is evocatively fantasised themed, with a singalong chorus, rising and falling like the paragon of classic grunge, yet their own divine spin.

I loved the drive of Mental Rot, the spookiness of Witch, but Doll Guts is the delineation, incorporating all the elements and symbolism of I See Orange’s design and launching them back out there in true colours. You have to love this, everyone in the human race, surely?! You don’t have to be the number one Nirvana fanboy. In fact, while mawkish soft metal turned me away from rock in the late eighties, causing me to miss out on grunge, it has been through local bands like I See Orange, Life in Mono, The Belladonna Treatment and Liddington Hill, which has opened my eyes to its power and worth, so, thanks for that!

I See Orange match with a chemistry every band must envy. Formed in 2022 when frontgirl Giselle, originally a folk-pop singer-songwriter moved here from Mexico, and an impromptu rehearsal session with Cameron and Charlie established potential magic. Inspired by nineties and millennial alt-rock, they add their own unique post-grunge flavour. I have believed it works for sometime now, an accolade burgeoning with pace, seeing them gig in London and beyond, and this song confirms the praise they’re gaining is fully deserved.

JPU Records Link

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