Health and Beauty is the music of Calum Stewart. The project has been bubbling under the surface of his previous work with The Ninth Wave. It is a confident, heartfelt, and focused piece of work; a thrilling introduction to an artist who has taken his time to perfect his solo work. The first track from the project is the rousing ‘In Disarray’, released this November via new label Bounse Records. After joining The Ninth Wave in 2019, when the band supported CHVRCHES in Glasgow, he quickly became an integral part of the group. However, he continued to work on his own music in tandem, crafting what has become the first Health and Beauty EP. Always fascinated by dance music, yet with a background and love for indie, Calum is forging these two core elements; making music which is hook-laden and danceable, yet introspective and emotive, driven by his unique falsetto voice. The result is a crash between, on the one hand, 80s and 90s band influences such as New Order, My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins and, on the other, heavy doses of early 90s techno built from his love of Aphex Twin and Detroit techno masters. The music is filled with ‘crying on the dancefloor’ moments. A multi-instrumentalist, Calum is in control of every element, from drums, guitar, synths and vocals to the lyric writing, which explores personal worriment in various guises. It is a big departure from the collaborative nature of his old band, although hints of the songwriting processes he learned from his time with the Ninth Wave remain evident with Health and Beauty. A pop sensibility is detected throughout this brilliant debut EP as musical boundaries are dissolved and retro techno meets indie shoegaze.
