Clean Shirt: Tracks That Shaped Our Sound
Hailing from Brighton, England, Clean Shirt is an alt/pop rock quintet whose roots trace back to their time at Solent University in Southampton in 2015. Comprising Tess LK Davey, Ollie Maxwell, Dan Brown, Tom Webb, and Scott Holder, the band initially emerged as a studio project during the pandemic, crafting demos from the comfort of their homes. While always intended to be a live endeavor, it wasn't until 2022 when the members reunited in Brighton that Clean Shirt could fully realize their vision on stage. Infusing grunge-inspired tones with ethereal pop melodies, Clean Shirt creates a unique blend of nostalgia-driven anthems.
Come Down - Gleemer
Most of us came up through the Emo/Alt scene so naturally the sound of that scene has really influenced us. We discovered Gleemer as teenagers and hearing ‘Come Down’ was a total game changer. Gleemer have beautiful melodic Lead lines and melancholic vocals. We were all hooked on them instantly. We loved the counter melodies of the Lead guitar and vocals and how they are interwoven. This really informed the way we approach writing.
Aint It Fun - Paramore
Hayley Williams’s vocals and lyrics have always been a huge influence for me. Her voice has so much expression and range to it, I definitely took inspiration from her with the bigger notes in Fools View. We also took a lot of inspiration from tracks like Ain’t It Fun, using multiple harmonies and having both male and female vocals.
Giant Peach - Wolf Alice
It goes without saying that Wolf Alice would be a vital cog in the mechanism that formed the Clean Shirt sound. Hearing Giant Peach for the first time during university, had opened up a world of modern, heavy and in your face riffage. We knew that we wanted Fools View to end with a bang. Starting off with an anthemic riff, gradually ascending into a heavy, all-out, distortion fuelled ending. So we paid a little homage to Wolf Alice there.
Daylight - Teenage wrist
We share a similar DNA in terms of sound and feel. The modern grunge/shoegaze elements in their tracks we definitely take inspiration from in a big way. A good example is their latest album ‘Still Love’ which showcases all that’s great about this band, the layers of heavy guitars and booming drums makes it an absolute favourite.
She Sells Sanctuary- The Cult
The Cult had a big influence on me growing up. Big guitar melodies and driving rhythms is what we base a lot of our songs around and growing up with songs like ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ certainly shaped that for us.
