FFO: Shouting At Strangers – Nescient

Shouting At Strangers are a North-East alternative/progressive rock outfit who’ve just dropped their second single, Nescient

Nescient sees raw, gritty guitar growls sit against bold beats and brooding bass, creating a roadhouse‑style riot beneath punchy, gnarly vocals. Drive‑time solos bring some big, swaggering sounds before dropping into a choral refrain that shifts the mood and kicking back in for a climactic final chorus.

Here, the band give us a flavour of their latest offering using three other tracks…

Cochise – Audioslave

Cochise has always been a favourite of ours. It was the first song we learned together and how we opened the set for our first gigs. Morello’s creative approach to writing driving riffs is something we take a lot of inspiration from. Cochise is one of those riffs that needs to be played with serious attitude. We really wanted to emulate the angsty energy of this riff when we wrote our new single ‘Nescient.’ The contrast created by the radio effect on Morello’s guitar before the last chorus has also become a staple in our music. We love the suspense created when all of the low end suddenly drops out of a track, before surging back in. It’s always a really cool moment, especially live. Joel also takes a lot of inspiration from Chris Cornell’s ability to balance melody with pure aggression, especially on our track ‘Beginning of the End.’

Them Bones – Alice in Chains

This song is one of those classics that you go to when you want a bit of weirdness. With the main riff being in 7/4, it almost makes the song feel disjointed. This is something we paid homage to in our own songs such as ‘Control Freak’ and ‘Getaway Star’. We love writing in odd time signatures, because you can give the song a whole new dynamic by just changing the meter. The vocals are also particularly haunting with the blend of Layne Stayley’s and Jerry Cantrell’s voices which we took as inspiration for the vocal layers on ‘Nesceint.’ The song is feels so naturally powerful, even though rhythmically there is so much going on.

Even Flow – Pearl Jam

Even Flow is one of those classic tracks that everyone knows and loves, but no-one knows the lyrics to. When we told Joel to lean into his Eddie Vedder-isms we weren’t expecting him to sing so fast that we could barely understand him. Joel strikes the perfect balance between complex rhythms and poetic lyrics. Like in ‘Even Flow,’ the verses of ‘Nescient’ are almost rapped over a simple yet catchy riff. The riff for ‘Nescient’ shares some technical similarities with ‘Even Flow,’ with Ben showcasing his love for ghost notes and hammer-ons. We also really like the dip in energy in the bridge of ‘Even Flow.’ It’s a cool moment that makes the last chorus even more punchy. It’s a song writing technique we love to borrow.