Planets, consisting of Hector Castro (guitar) and Charlotte King (vocals), are a rock duo freshly formed in 2024. With their debut single ‘Red Earth’ released in July, the pair have followed up with ‘SIGNS’, which is already hot on the heels on their first single’s success.

The track opens on a moody chord progression and melodic guitar riff that’s been treated to give it an early 2000s rock-pop feel. It’s a strong start with a nostalgic undertone, but it’s underdeveloped and constrained, almost creating an atmospheric moment but falling just a little shy. The duo come closer to capturing an atmosphere during the opening verse, using a synth repeater to create a twinkle of melodic texture behind the vocals. This is joined by a deep, droning synth that lies subtly under the mix. The depth in tone created here is successful and would have been a welcomed addition in the intro, with development occurring during the verses.

The vocal melody, whilst simple, is consistently interesting across the single with unexpected pitch variations keeping the phrasing fresh and surprising. King’s vocal tone is somewhat juxtaposing to the darker instrumental - feeling more indie than rock - but this combination gives Planets an interesting sound signature. This is most successful when the duo leans into the conflict between King’s airy vocals and Castro’s heavy guitar. The thickly layered, highly reverberated vocal echoes create an angelic tone, which sits sparsely against the hard rock instrumental textures and creates the perfect clash. This is particularly triumphant right at the end of the track when the texture thins to just the vocals, drums, soft synth and a chromatic guitar melody, working together to construct a celestial climax. This dramatic finish leaves you wishing the pair had ramped up the exciting fusion throughout the rest of the single.

When you consider that Planets are barely a year in formation, the release of ‘SIGNS’ is an incredible feat. Sure to grow in confidence to express their unique sound, we can’t wait to see what Planets have got to come.