Photo courtesy of Everything Else
Everything Else is the collaborative effort of two childhood friends from Liverpool, united by a shared musical bond that has endured since they were six years old. By the age of nineteen, they had retreated into their own universe, crafting their debut album for Big Potato Records with nothing more than guitars, pedals, and an instinctive connection that defies imitation. The label’s commitment to authenticity—releasing the record exactly as captured, without studio gloss or tinkering—amplifies its significance. What emerges is not polished perfection, but the raw, unfiltered expression of youth at full expression, reaching for something epic from the confines of a bedroom floor. The album bears traces of towering influences: The Cure’s icy grandeur, Echo & The Bunnymen’s shadowed anthems, Flying Saucer Attack’s hazy textures. Yet, predominantly, it is the sound of two individuals attempting to channel the chaos and wonder of their nineteen years into noise—a personal, visceral articulation of adolescence. Opening with “Deep Mind,” the record immediately establishes its tone.
Reverb-drenched guitars cascade over each other like ocean waves, while a subtle rhythm section recedes into the background, allowing the guitars to dominate. It’s a gentle yet compelling introduction, hinting at the sophisticated musicianship that belies their tender age. The anticipation of what’s to come is palpable. This momentum swiftly transitions into “Two Monkeys,” their debut single. Thick distortion rattles windows, yet beneath the chaos, a melody persists—twisting and clinging like a spectral nursery rhyme. The rough edges are deliberate, embodying a fuzz that feels alive, messy, undeniably human. “Every Word Said” marks a shift, with brighter, more intricate guitar lines that unfold into a sound reminiscent of ’80s goth pop—still cloaked in reverb, yet more expansive. The vocals, now more prominent, soar with bittersweet weight, revealing the intimate chemistry between two friends weaving something far greater than their surroundings. The title track emerges as the album’s centerpiece. It evokes a storm gathering on the horizon, layers stacking until their sense of orientation blurs. Despite the absence of vocals, it maintains a fragile humanity, a steady heartbeat beneath the tumult. Its ebb and flow—alternating between heavy swells and breath-held silences—recalls Flying Saucer Attack’s most immersive moments. It’s a sonic portrayal of weather forming and dissipating, a natural phenomenon captured in sound.
As the album progresses, it continually shifts in tone. “Hollow Surrounds” exudes a darker allure, evoking the spirit of C86-era Glasgow—steady and contemplative, yet imbued with a comforting steadiness. “Uncertain” embodies the restless energy of youth, balancing hope and frustration. Its pacing feels like a nocturnal walk through a city’s rain-slicked streets, culminating in a chorus that is both uplifting and life-affirming. “Watch” slows the tempo, with a bassline that pulses like a heartbeat, guitars weaving in looping arcs—an atmospheric piece that lingers in suspended space, aching with unspoken emotion. “So Long” offers a brief, shimmering interlude—a two-and-a-half-minute breath before plunging back into the fog, warmth radiating from its guitars. The album concludes with “In Bed,” an intimate, woozy reverie that feels crafted in the quiet hours of the night. Reverb folds inward, creating a space where the listener can feel immersed within the song’s confessional atmosphere. If told this was a lost Slowdive track, one wouldn’t hesitate to believe it—such is its haunting quality. Across these nine tracks, ‘Another One Making Clouds’ masterfully balances grandeur with intimacy. It sounds colossal, yet remains personal—a secret shared in whispers. That’s a rare achievement. Most debut records at this age tend to chase volume at the expense of vulnerability; here, Everything Else has captured both. It’s not merely a reflection of nineteen; it’s a vessel for it—the confusion, longing, and weight of self-discovery amid a shifting landscape of experience. They’ve distilled those feelings into sound, creating a debut that restores faith in the album form. It transforms noise, haze, and shadows into something tangible—something to hold onto. Made by two friends trusting their instincts, ‘Another One Making Clouds’ is a record worth losing yourself in.
Much appreciation to Charlie for his time.
James Broscheid: Congratulations on the release of your debut record! ‘Another One Making Clouds’ was written and recorded when you and Herb were both just nineteen, and you’ve been friends since the age of six. How do you feel that shared history and the specific time in your lives when you wrote these songs influenced the final sound and emotional content of the album?
Charlie Holton: Thank you! We’re both so happy to have the album out now. Our long friendship allowed us both to feel comfortable around each other when sharing ideas or songs, something which isn’t easy when being a young musician. We were always into similar music when growing up, it was a big part of our friendship then, just as it is now. That definitely played a part in the final sound.
JB: The promotional material mentions a “peculiarly British way to express the wonder, confusion and heartache of being nineteen.” Can you elaborate on what you think makes this artistic expression uniquely British, and what specific experiences or feelings you were trying to capture?
CH: I think being in your late teens or early 20s is never easy as there’s so much to navigate as you start to become an “adult.” Dealing with difficulties, even minor ones can feel like a big challenge. Things can often seem gloomier than they are in reality and that was one of the things we tried to put into the songs. And that was something that we think unconsciously came through in the songs.
JB: Everything Else has been compared to a wide range of influential British bands, from The Jesus & Mary Chain to original era shoegaze bands. Which of these influences were you consciously drawing from (if any), and which do you see as more of a natural, subconscious connection?
CH: We definitely drew our main influences from the original shoegaze bands but also more modern dreampop artists like Beach House. We are always interested in seeing who people compare us to and not bothered by it, but for the most part I’d say that most comparisons are a more natural subconscious connection rather than an attempt at merging the sounds from these bands. We really got most of our sound from experimenting in my bedroom trying to create something that felt right to us.
JB: How do you translate a feeling or an internal state into a musical composition, particularly with your guitar work?
CH: It really is just trial and error with different effects and tones to try and create the emotion that we are looking to build for a particular song. The sound of the guitar was always so important to us, that’s where we looked to build the feeling of the song from.
JB: With early praise and features on major playlists, there’s a lot of attention on the band. How are you navigating that duality of wanting to be heard while maintaining the intimacy and personal nature of your music?
CH: To be honest we have never really thought about the popularity of the record or the attention. Our focus was always on making the album that we wanted to make. It’s nice to receive attention, but the music is the only thing that matters really!
JB: ‘Another One Making Clouds’ was recorded in your bedrooms when you and Herb were just 19. How do you feel that the raw, “bedroom-recorded” nature of the album contributed to its sound and emotional core, especially when compared to a more polished, professional studio environment?
CH: The way we went into this, not knowing what we were doing or creating, it meant we were very free to create anything. Making it in our bedrooms gave us freedom to write, record and mix without pressure or questions about where it’s going, which gives the music a rawer and imperfect sound, something we admire about bands like Duster and The Velvet Underground. Though that did mean mixing it was a long process, but we enjoyed that just as much as writing as it brought the scrappy recordings to life. Having Neil (Halstead) mix “Two Monks” was great, he did more than bring the scrappy recording to life, viva la Slowdive!
JB: How did you navigate your influences to create a sound that feels both a continuation of a lineage and unique expression?
CH: I think we were just trying to make music we liked, so as far as our relationship with the music goes, we still like it. Our sound was unconsciously influenced by what we were listening to at that time, Slowdive’s ‘Pygmalion’ (Creation Records, 1995), was one on repeat, Mac DeMarco also had a big influence on our writing styles. We are more excited by making new stuff and the demos we’ve made, but we still enjoy the album and the emotions and time connected to it.
JB: You talked about the trial-and-error process with different pedals to create your “cloudy atmosphere.” Can you describe some of the specific gear or techniques you experimented with that were key to shaping the album’s sound?
CH: A lot of reverb pedals, with some reverb plug-ins, the “Way Huge Supa Puss” (Jim Dunlop) is an awesome delay pedal that I would highly recommend. As we said about the trial-and-error process, we were learning how to make music, and it was simply whatever sounded best in that moment. We both had a lot of free time to spend adding more pedals and layering more guitars and that’s what shaped the album’s sound.
JB: You’ve emphasized the collaborative nature of the project. Now that you’ve released your debut, has your collaborative process changed for the new material you’re working on? Are you approaching songwriting differently with the confidence and experience you’ve gained?
CH: Herb has gone to Canada for the year, and I’m in Liverpool, so meeting up for a jam isn’t the easiest, as much as we miss it. We are both recording demos and sending them back and forth to each other, giving each other free rein to take the demo wherever. So, whether that shapes the sound differently we will see, but the collaborative nature of the band is what makes the sound so that will not change. We are full of energy to get the process going, the way ‘Another One Making Clouds’ was received has breathed so much confidence into us and we are so grateful to people taking an interest in our music.
JB: How has the process of translating your layered, studio-produced sound to the stage been? Could you introduce us to the full band and their roles?
CH: We are planning on getting a lot of gigs lined up for next summer, we did a few dates this past summer and really enjoyed them. We’ve been playing these songs for a little while so stripping back the layers of the recorded songs doesn’t feel too difficult or harmful to the tunes. The current band is Toby Bowen on the drums, Stan Whitty on the bass, and Charlie Holton vocals and guitar and Herbie Whitty vocals and guitar. We would love to head to the States someday, South America too!
For more information or to have a listen, please visit Big Potato Records and follow the band on Instagram. Here’s hoping for a repress!
