Passive Redefine “Youthfulness” on New Single ‘Like This’

London’s currently teeming with young talent, and North-London newcomers PASSIVE are without a doubt, no exception to the trend. Gaining some decent press on previous single ‘Premonitions’ from the likes of Gigslutz and more, as well as some recognition from London-based tastemaker radio stations, securing slots at numerous festivals across the country and packing out esteemed London venues like The Camden Assembly and The Water Rats; exhibiting their buzzy live-performance they’ve already in check, they’re now releasing their second official release.

Passive’s latest single ‘Like This’, led by Elliott’s emotive, husky tones – sometimes comparable to Brooks Nielsen’s of The Growlers – immediately sets a tone of youthfulness, something the band channel expertly through their songwriting. However, by no means does the phrase ‘youthfulness’ encapsulate the life experiences pouring out of Elliott’s lyricism, or the arrangements and overall composition of the single; guitars ring out in all the right places, backing vocals add a melancholic pop wedge to the mix, and the organ addition in the final chorus evokes an intoxicating nostalgia.

Frontman Elliott tells us the premise of the single; “Like This was the first of a bunch of songs that I wrote about a particular relationship a long time ago. At the time of writing, I thought it had quite a positive or hopeful meaning; that “when [relationships are bad] it’s like this”, “I’ll do what I do best [to fix things of course]”. Upon reflection I may have been putting my head in the sand a little, and we wanted the album art to represent this. The Burial of Atala by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson depicts a man who’s closing his eyes, gripping her legs and hoping for the best. There’s a dreamy element to the song; “let your mind go, step out of limbo”, so we chose to pixilate his partner to show that she’s disappearing and becoming a dream.”

Passive have released a couple of tracks only via SoundCloud, this will be their first official release and here’s why Elliott’s decided this; “there’s a lot of pressure these days for artists to constantly be releasing music, and if you don’t as much content as the next person posting dinner on their Instagram story every day, then it’s hard to make an impact. We want to be careful about what we release on the likes of Spotify. A back-log of songs for a band can never be too big!”

Stream ‘Like This’ below – out on all platforms now.