Vaarwell - 3am on the northern line
The London-based duo, originally from Portugal, have been making a wave in the UK underground for a hot minute now. Their music serves as a love letter to the UK underground as the duo navigates the dense, fertile history of the Isles' music. Vaarwell's blend of UKG and uplifting synth work is very refreshing in a landscape of club bangers, as 3am on the Northern Line (2025) feels distinctly separate from that. The album is a reflection on rather than an addition to the scene. The duo is clearly influenced by some of the UK underground's staples, such as Burial, Four Tet and Mount Kimbie, in the way they use fleeting dance-music elements to inform their work.
Soft synths complement the truly angelic vocals perfectly. This motif becomes the narrative throughout as Vaarwell create a disparity between these much more club-influenced sections and the more blissful and reflective portions of the record. On the tracks '10pm' and 'IDK' the duo accentuates these features, with the former feeling like a brisk morning complete with bright blue skies and that shimmery glisten that comes off the frost I show walking home at God knows what time, while the latter draws on biceps-nostalgic electronica, crafting soft stubs against off-kilter garage beats. The garage influences really come to a head on the track, 'real'. The future garage influences are evident, and thankfully, the duo don't fall into the speed garage trap. Still, given the music's reflective nature, they fail to really infuse the garage sections with much personality. I feel as though they relied too much on nostalgia in the music, but if they expanded their influences, there might be more room for innovation.
The duo's face is a slight lack of originality on some of the cuts. The record is a love letter to the UK underground scene, and unfortunately, that can be too prominent a voice. When the duo crafts a garage record, many elements feel diluted. Their strengths lie in their vocal-forward style, with a smattering of synths playing ice-cold melodies. Take, for example, 'where we are', which turned down that future carriage percussion in favour of almost dude sound, allowing some beautiful harmonies to take shape. Thankfully, though, while the beats the bases, some of the hooks can sound slightly cookie-cutter. There is definitely a spark of originality that runs through every track. Take, for example, 'Corinthia', which melds a bit of UK funky with grime, but where it stands out is in the builds and the delicateness of the vocals overtop. And without sounding too much like her musical reviewer, it's that juxtaposition between my more aggressive UK sound and the really delicate, feather-like, even wistful vocal, with synthesisers crafting beautiful harmonies on top, that makes it unique.
What troubles me so much about 3am on the Northern Line is that the duo clearly have an ear for the cinematic. They understand texture quite well, and there's a deep euphoria in the music, but it's this over-reliance on tired cliches that holds them back from advancing musically. Now, one of the best tracks on the release is 'Safe'. Everything slows down and is stripped back for a bit, allowing those vocals to really shine before flying headfirst into a beautifully constructed breakbeat section. They managed to create something that feels quite modern and contemporary, with a thin coating of nostalgia through those breakbeats, in the same way that the breakbeat genre has been exploding. This is a perfect blueprint for what the dealer should strive for. 'Safe' reminds me of a track like 'Katie's On A Mission' or something in that era, without dating itself too much.
The reason artists succeed in putting nostalgia into that music is that they capture a vibe, not the sound directly. It's by far the best track on the record, and that's largely down to how exciting it feels. This scatty, lightning-fast drum break combines with that really emotive singing to make you feel like you're part of an action film or in hot pursuit. It is the perfect driving track, either through city streets or down a spotlight-lit motorway. It's really underappreciated how important it is for someone to take you away, even for just a few seconds, but they nail it on this one.
Vaarwell - 3am on the northern line
