On their new single, "Claremont Road," Pavement Saints tap into the emotional reservoir of nostalgia and heartbreak, resulting in a jangly indie-pop track that lingers like a bittersweet memory. The West Midlands duo Callum Graham and Jake Williams, whose C86-inspired jangle-pop has been through rigorous paces, continue their mixed bunch of jangly guitar work and songs that sound like rifling through faded Polaroids of teenage years.
At its core, "Claremont Road" is a song about a place, but rather, it is a lost form of home, love, and the self. The song starts with the sting of being left out in the cold, literally and metaphorically, then spirals into a wallow haze of hazy recollections and emotional detritus. It's eulogistic of anything connected to a time and place that once felt like home.
The lyrics are raw and open, but the band's instrumentation makes the ache feel melodic. Rumbling along a shimmering wave of jangly guitar riffs, plodding kick-drum patterns reverberate to sound like thoughts pinging around in a half-empty room. As the song progresses, you can almost picture the overcast sky lingering over "Claremont Road." "Claremont Road" is a song that treads the fine line between sentimental and clear-eyed, with an authenticity that's hard to fake.
For indie pop fans with honest hearts, Pavement Saints have cut a new street on the map here, and it's been paved with jangle, longing, and quiet honesty. The Claremont Road is a feeling. And it's a road we've all been down before. If that's what is in store for Pavement Saints, then perhaps, for you, it's about time to pack a bag because this emotional road trip is just beginning.