New Music: Fright Years – Dye Star

With a headline tour this November and a new EP in 2027, things are looking brighter than ever for Fright Years.

Fronted by powerhouse vocalist Jules Kelly, Fright Years set the scene for the EP with Dye Star, building on the sound of Never Been Wrong, their single from this May.

Kelly lets her indie rock goddess run free, as her bandmates explore added layers within their established anthemic/introspective sound. Fright Years teamed up with producer Pete Hutchings on Dye Star and appears to been a dynamic catalyst for the band in finding themselves a grander, more epic space for their music.

The band don’t occupy a similar sonic terrain to CHVRCHES, but Dye Star shows they know how to wrap a pop melody in something that carries a strong emotional resonance. It won’t surprise me if Edinburgh-based Fright Years follow their Glasgow counterparts to greater things in 2027.

“Dye Star is the journey towards trusting your own vision and having the courage to stand by your decisions,” states Kelly about the song.

“Lyrically it questions how many versions of yourself there will be before you feel fulfilled, and why happiness can stem from something small on one day and be reserved for a grand vision of yourself on another. The song doesn’t give an answer, because I don’t have one yet, but repeating the question to the end, ‘How do I know when I get what I want’, makes the unknown feel brighter.”

The band’s November tour includes dates in Aberdeen, Newcastle, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham, and Glasgow. The EP is set for release in February 2027.

For news on all that and much more, make sure you connect with Fright Years on Instagram. Dye Star and Never Been Wrong were released via LAB Records and can be downloaded on Bandcamp and streamed on Spotify.

Header image by Diana Dumi