Jaws the Shark are the latest addition to the Nice Swan label, home to Sprints, Courting, Pip Blom, Malady and others. They released their latest single 'Demon Dream' on 19th February. Head Shark Olly Bailey wrote and recorded the entire song himself, apart from the drums which were performed by Elliot Rawson from Yak.
'Demon Dream' opens with an ear grabbing guitar riff which is then joined by thrashing drums. It’s a slice of Seattle, a track with grunge at its very core, with a swagger and gently distorted vocals which all combined has a density far exceeding just the two musicians.
The lyrics are inspired by a nightmare, says Bailey: "I had this recurring dream where I'm in a big house, with a wooden spiral staircase that leads nowhere, and this demon-like thing forces me to sing at its request. It scared the shit out of me and I would wake in a sweat. The line: ‘Like a rudderless ship, you’re sinking, stuck inside your own head’, is a reference to the fact that with this being a dream and being asleep, you’re defenceless and at the mercy of the dream itself, it just has to play out until you wake up."
The lyrics are inspired by a nightmare, says Bailey: "I had this recurring dream where I'm in a big house, with a wooden spiral staircase that leads nowhere, and this demon-like thing forces me to sing at its request. It scared the shit out of me and I would wake in a sweat. The line: ‘Like a rudderless ship, you’re sinking, stuck inside your own head’, is a reference to the fact that with this being a dream and being asleep, you’re defenceless and at the mercy of the dream itself, it just has to play out until you wake up."
The momentum and tension builds, just like a nightmare where you have no choice but to let it continue until you wake up. The vocals are almost screamed, and then the reverb is played out – as if you are at the point of slowly waking up, back into consciousness. The last part of the song has us back at the start, awake and just hoping that the nightmare doesn’t occur again.
Lets hope Bailey has more nightmares to inspire his musical output. Not great for him perhaps, but fabulous for us!
Lets hope Bailey has more nightmares to inspire his musical output. Not great for him perhaps, but fabulous for us!