The special milestone of releasing their debut album saw Everything Else play a stripped back set to a packed Truck, Oxford.
If a checklist for an archetypal band back in the early 90s existed it would undoubtedly include the Thames Valley, an abundance of guitar pedals, mops of hair, and cheekbones sharp enough to cut paper. So far so good for EVERYTHING ELSE, but this is 2025 and they are next off the rank of young bands after the likes of BDRMM, deary and Whitelands in following where the OG bands went 30+ years ago (and in many cases have reformed to do so again). RESOUND caught them for a chat around their album release gig in Oxford.
Hello Everything Else! Can you introduce yourselves for us?
Hello! We’re Charlie and Herb from Everything Else based in Oxford and Liverpool.
You’ve recently released your debut album “Another One Making Clouds” – congratulations! How was the recording process for this and how does it feel to have your music out in the world?
(Herb) Thank you! It’s really exciting to finally have our music out there. The feeling is so surreal considering we recorded most of the tracks in our rooms as 19 year olds. The process usually involved getting excited about different sounds we had found and crafting a song around them. It was a very collaborative process between the two of us, as even when we weren’t recording together we were sending over demos, giving the other person free rein with the track.
I think it’s fair to say your songs are definitely Shoegazey. It feels like a genre that continues to flourish and evolve, both for original bands from the ‘90s and newer bands that are discovering it and putting their own twist on it. How did you find your sound and does it feel weird having the original Shoegazers sharing your album on social media (as Rachel from Slowdive did recently)?
(Charlie) We always drew a lot of inspiration from the original shoegaze bands such as Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, and Cocteau Twins, but tried to also bring in sonic elements from contemporary artists such as Beach House and Mac deMarco. Our overall sound ultimately came from a lot of trial and error with different pedals, really focusing on building a cloudy atmosphere. To be recognised by Rachel Goswell was very special to us and really filled us with confidence as Slowdive’s influence on the genre was monumental
Talking of Slowdive, you have Neil Halstead appearing on the album. I know Charlie has been part of HOO whom Neil collaborates with, but how was it having him work on your music?
(Charlie) It was unreal to have Neil work on the song ‘Two Monkeys‘. All of our songs were built from bedroom recorded demos, so the mixing took a long time and was a key part of the creation. So being able to have Neil mix ‘Two Monkeys’ was amazing and gave us the ability to release our first single with confidence.
I appreciate you’ll want to enjoy having the album out, but what plans for the future? More live dates? New material being worked on?
(Herb) Right now we’re both just so excited about getting back to working on new material as we’ve gained so much confidence and experience through this first process. Making music together is something that never gets old. We’re also looking forward to playing at Yes in Manchester on August 22nd as a full band, and have some more dates in the future.
Thank you!
(Charlie) Thank you! Appreciate you talking to us.
And so to the gig. Taking to the small stage at Truck, the band performing as a duo with drum/bass backing tape in place, launch straight into the aforementioned ‘Two Monkeys’. It’s a cautious start, the two musicians finding their feet in the packed room as nerves slowly ease. It’s clear though that playing stripped back (albeit with a veritable arsenal of pedals between them) allows the songs to have more space and the intricacies of the music come to the fore. Vocals are shared and drift in and out of the layers of guitars, often being lost before re-emerging. The pacing is languid, but this is music to wrap yourself in and allow the picked strings to soar and take you with them.
Outside in the afternoon sun, the everyday world of pedestrians and traffic drift past the window at the duo’s backs oblivious to the sounds within. It’s their loss, particularly when stand out song ‘Every Word Said’ pops up towards the end of the seven song set. The sparkling shimmering refrain that underpins things sounds as fresh as on record and highlights that when they choose to the bar is set high for Everything Else. The challenge that is ahead is to take these promising beginnings and work out where they wish to go.
But that is for another day and before then they have a shop of punters awaiting them, one of whom has been in their shoes back in the early 1990s in the form of ex-Slowdive drummer Adrian Sell (he of the turning down the record deal with Creation to go to University infamy). It’s mooted that the cross-generational appeal of Shoegaze is down to the original bands being in their late teens when recording back in the day. Seeing another band of that age releasing and playing new music in the Thames Valley in 2025 looks to be the promising start of a new chapter for the genre .
Everything Else play YES Manchester 22nd August 2025. Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/everything-else-tickets/artist/5609600
Everything Else on Bandcamp at https://bigpotatorecords.bandcamp.com/album/another-one-making-clouds
Words and pictures: Geoff Shaw
@gsmusicphotos