PATHS - Right Beside You/Last One Standing

It's barely been a month since we first wrote about PATHS, the electronic solo project of Northern Irish music mainstay Jules Shaw. Her first single, "Neoprene", has gone down incredibly well, picking up a smorgasbord of love right across the spectrum, getting played on Radio 1 and being picked up by some lovely other blogs.

Since then, we've had the pleasure off seeing PATHS' first gig, which took place during the Output Festival in Belfast at Aether & Echo. The music comes across really well on stage, with the loops and guitars complimented by a visually impressive light display (which we later learned took several months to program in anticipation of this gig), and it seemed to go down well with the crowd, which is always a good sign on a debut gig.

Given the warm reception received since its debut, it looks as if PATHS is hoping to strike whilst the iron is hot by released a brand new A/B side single mere weeks after her first single debuted. It's a bold move, but given the strength of the songs to come out of it, a pretty nifty one.

The A-side of the single is "Right Beside You", a song that PATHS says is about 'digital distraction'. The song is built around an off-kilter woodwind sample (or possibly string? We're not 100% certain), which is complimented by layers upon layers of harsh synth sounds over a triplet-beat.



However, it is the B-side of the single that we are most excited about, "Last One Standing". When we saw PATHS live, it was the song that really stood out in the set, and we're really glad that a full recording has come out so quickly, as we believe that it's going to be the song that's going to help PATHS make the next big breakthrough in her career.

Why? Because it's so darn infectious, that's why. When we find ourselves humming the main riff of a song for hours after we hear it for the first time, we know that we're on to a winner. There's a few tropical-house elements floating around "Last One Standing", and as well has having a few 80s influences thrown into a modern sounding production (those drum rushes at 2:49 are to die for). It's a pity that it's being classed as the B-side of this release, as it is our favourite release from PATHS to date, but we're confident that once a few more people catch wind of "Last One Standing", it is going to blow up in a massive way.



Both "Right Beside You" & "Last One Standing" are available to download/stream now from all the usual outlets.