TASH x TOM SAINT
I’m In Love With a Vampire
TASH is an alt-rock duo from London/Brighton that’s been releasing music since 2020. This track, their fifth, is a collaboration with Tom Saint (pictured above), who not only produced the track, but takes over vocal duties on the second verse. They reference influences of Wolf Alice, Royal Blood and Yonaka - we hear a lot of Evanescence, as well as the Plasmatics (look ‘em up, hipster). What we’ve heard so far is pretty diverse and impressive, and this track (I’m In Love with a Vampire) should definitely bring some well needed attention - here’s our review.
Cool intro as they peel back the EQ of a heavy guitar riff like it’s inside a steel can - releasing a heavy edge just in time for Tara’s vocals to drop in on the first verse. First verse is subdued - just her vocals, that riff and a sparse drum and bass accompaniment. Lyrically, the images are all about infatuation and the description is vivid. With the chorus (and we write more about this below), they do a great job of keeping the first one sparse so you can hear what’s going on, only to come back around and beat the crap out of you with its repetition. ;). Great post-chorus section too - and little lyrical desert piece, a nice chocolate at the end of a heavy meal.
Tom comes in on the second in more of a hip hop & rap feel, and the juxtaposition between his delivery and Tara’s is really cool. Are they singing about the same love interest? Are the singing from the standpoint of different periods in time? Who cares - it’s cool. Second chorus hits harder than the repeat of the first. Love how everything drops out on the first “in love with a vampire” line. Second post-chorus here is different than the first post-chorus (lyrically and musically) as they chaotically lead us into a solo / bridge / screamo section. This feels like a chase sequence, love scene and murder movie all in one. I’d love to see how they pull this off live. For the ending, everything drops out except her vocals on the title - great effect. WILD TRACK. Chaotic and passionate, edgy with a create story, and hooky with a killer production.
For all you Producer / EQ nerds (and I mean that lovingly), this is definitely a track to study. Listen to it in your monitors, then put your cans on. Listen to the difference in the first “two” choruses. How they created separation between the two, AND allowed the track to build despite it basically being a repeat is very well done. One of the most important factors in creating pop music is just the right amount of repetition in the hook and they use it well here. The EQ on the guitars is great throughout the entire track. Great compression - it matches the angst of the vocals. Note the difference in heaviness from the verses to the chorus - good work there. Great job on the different reverbs on her vocals too - it could be a bleed over in the EQ’s but it sounds like it’s all planned. Take special notice to in the subtle differences in all the backgrounds. Great panning, sits perfectly in the mix (especially in the cans), and the effects used on her screams after the bridge are straight up scary as hell. Finally, notice all the difference between the different kick tones, cicada hi-hats and fills - this one took some time for sure. Hell of a job, Tom!
Make sure you scroll down to check out their socials and other tracks. Hard Habit is probably our favorite since it’s such a departure from the heaviness of this track - great vulnerability in Tara’s voice on this one. Chase is hella good - great modern riff on the chorus and love how they EQ’d the drums. It gives you a clear line of progression in their growth from the beginnings to Vampire. Good stuff, we look forward to what they’ll be doing next!