“I was your great escape, secret place”
Back this week with another incredible release are the dynamic, rising Brighton pop-duo Stan and Macy who make up two halfs of the alt-pop band Outline. And this Friday, they delivered their fantastic 5-track sophomore EP Cake that follows on from the record’s pre-released single She’s Hiding It From You and the band’s debut EP Outline which they released last year. Working together for almost 5 years now, the pair met in school at the age of 12 where they became friends and begun to collaborate; eventually forming their official partnership in 2016, and they have been writing, recording and performing together ever since. Back with their brand new 2021 releases and continuing to explore the notion of human connection through their poetic lyricism and vibrant alt-pop sound, we are sure to be getting more incredible music and exciting releases from the duo going forward.
Further showcasing their artistic sound and style, with all their music home-recorded and produced by Stan, Cake brings us further into their sonic world and delivers and overarching narrative all about growing older and the things that come along with that. Opening the EP is their latest pre-released single She’s Hiding It From You which they delivered earlier this month. With a dynamic and bold introduction, She’s Hiding It From You sees Stan’s charming vocals emerge on to the soundscape, perfectly accompanied by a rhythmic and acoustic guitar instrumental, that builds to an infectious and hard hitting chorus that is impossible to resist; making for a fantastic introduction to the record. As the EP plays out, we get a range of sounds, styles and energies coming through as Stan and Macy flex their creative and artistic muscles and provide a diverse sonic journey – from the moodier jazzy aura of Vanilla to the more solemn and ambient atmosphere of Cake and the delicate melody and poignant internal monologue of Raindrops. Ending on the power-pop-esque, rhythmic track Game, the record comes to an end on an up-tempo dance-style note with the track fading out on a captivating retro synth beat.
Talking about the EP, Stan and Macy explain:
“For the second EP, we really wanted to create a through line in both theme and sonic cohesiveness. ‘Cake’ is about coming of age and the joys and complications that come with that. We used synths, clean percussion, thematic sound effects and layered vocals to tie the songs together, along with an ongoing exploration of how human connection is affected as you grow older.”
To keep up with the band, find them on all their socials:
