Ready, Steady, Die!

An innocent centerpiece amid distant textured pulsations that imply nothing but sheer danger, there’s no getting away from the haunting whisper of a vocal that greets us in Ready, Steady, Die!’s new single “Deep” and its equally compelling music video. 

Ready, Steady, Die! aren’t afraid to be as dark as they are experimental in their meld of synthetic harmonies with bone-chilling, staggered rhythm here, and although theirs is hardly a mainstream sound, there’s nothing so abstract here that casual listeners would feel repelled by the stylization of the music. 

Deep” is a soul-crusher, and ironically, one of the simpler compositions I’ve come across in indie rock lately. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readysteadydie/ The music video for this track feels like a David Lynch film, slowly but surely coming together as an art concept piece before slipping into an aggressive, mortality-reflective work that is extremely multi-interpretive. 

The surreal elements in the visual scheme are enough to drive you mad with curiosity, especially when trying to break down the lyrical narrative at the same time, but rather than spending all of their time on prop-worship, there’s scarcely a moment here in which Ready, Steady, Die! aren’t creating some sense of dreaminess through the music that accompanies every frame. It’s truly a companion work, and one I plan on revisiting later this year in hindsight for sure. 

Uncompromisingly melancholic and cerebral, Ready, Steady, Die!’s “Deep” sets a new standard for the duo and those in their scene moving forward that could go a long way towards exposing their sound to a large audience this autumn. 2020 has been turning in one smashing independent release after another, and although this single and its music video are on the left side of the pop spectrum, they’re not even slightly inaccessible to those who only take in college radio on occasion. 

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Trace Whittaker

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

9/2020