London quartet alphabet come crashing back with “Motion Sickness,” a song that hits like a burst of icy colour before melting into something raw and human. The band – Lena, Tom, Milo and George – have built a reputation for balancing ferocious noise with a tender heart.
From the opening wash of frosted guitar tones, the track feels like stepping into a snowstorm mid-spin.
The sound is exhilarating, disorienting, and strangely beautiful. The layered shoegaze textures wrap around driving drums while Lena and Milo’s twin vocals intertwine like conversation and doubt.
“Seems so far but so close, a gentle pull of devotion / One word we might fall,” these lyrics linger like breath on cold glass.
Whilst the pair’s voices glide through their lyrical statements and echoes, the emotion that follows is a pure rush.
Sounds bend, collide and then snap into new focus. There’s a beautifully underplayed mantra sung throughout, “Be here now.” It acts as both the hook and the heartbeat of the song, describing perfectly the struggle to stay present as the world tilts.
Alphabet turn their practice-room intensity and summer live shows freedom into a widescreen catharsis as they wield their sound with more and more assurance.
“Motion Sickness” feels like a natural progression, as well as a reawakening – further cementing them as one of the most compelling guitar acts.
