Bleach Lab bare their hearts on the gritty, grungy ‘Close to the Flame,’ an achingly expressive EP that burns hot and cold as they blur the line between love and pain, chasing release through heavier textures and unflinching confession. In conversation with Atwood Magazine, the South London dream pop band reflect on their creative rebirth, the stories behind each song, and why this project feels like their most powerful reintroduction yet.
Stream: “Drown” – Bleach Lab
You hurt yourself to feel alive, holding up the whole weight of the sky.
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Bleach Lab’s new EP isn’t afraid to plunge headfirst into the fire.
Close to the Flame is dark and dramatic in the most beautiful way – a tender tempest aching with raw intensity, visceral honesty, and breathtaking vulnerability. From the crushing weight of “Drown” to the fragile surrender of “If I Could Be Anything,” the band’s five new songs burn with a passion that scorches and heals at the same time.
It’s Bleach Lab at their most uncompromising: Restless, confessional, and unflinchingly human. Close to the Flame is a cathartic and all-consuming eruption of love, loss, and longing – a record that proves Bleach Lab are unafraid to hold their hands to the fire, even when it hurts.
You look so pretty when you cry
Makes them wanna break your heart
To watch you die inside
You’ve been running all your life
Late night talks and smoking in
The shadow of the night
He said he wants you
But it’s too much
He said he loves you
But it’s not enough
You hurt yourself to feel alive
Holding up the whole weight of the sky
When you want something you
Let it rule your life
Holding onto things that don’t feel right
– “Drown,” Bleach Lab
Independently released July 18, 2025, Close to the Flame arrives as Bleach Lab’s first project since their breathtaking debut album Lost in a Rush of Emptiness, which Atwood Magazine hailed as “an immersive collection of inner reckonings and soul-stirring reflections on what it means to be alive.” It’s also their first entirely self-produced body of work, made alongside new guitarist Louis Takooree, who joined the band in 2024 – rounding out the current lineup of vocalist Jenna Kyle, bassist Josh Longman, drummer Kieran Weston, and Takooree on guitar.
A longtime Atwood Magazine artist-to-watch and six-time Editor’s Pick, Bleach Lab have been praised for their “soul-stirring lyrics full of depth, unfiltered emotion, and substance” and for delivering “an achingly warm and wistful dream pop experience” that aches with fragility and catharsis in equal measure. Since forming in late 2018, the South London quartet have built a reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting indie acts, blending shoegaze, dream pop, and raw alternative rock into a sound that feels both nostalgic and new. From the grief-stricken reflections of their debut EP A Calm Sense of Surrounding, to the heartache and yearning of Nothing Feels Real EP, to the searching and belonging of If You Only Feel It Once EP and the radiant, resounding inner reckoning of 2023’s debut album Lost in a Rush of Emptiness, their music has always been defined by emotional honesty, existential questioning, and a willingness to bare their most vulnerable selves.
Bleach Lab continue that life-long journey on their latest EP: Where Lost in a Rush of Emptiness distilled four years of grief, reckoning, and renewal into a cathartic full-length effort, Close to the Flame finds them leaning into heavier textures and darker themes with grungier edge without losing the dreamlike quality that has defined their sound from the very beginning. Written through trial and error, and shaped in equal parts by instinct and exploration, these five tracks reflect a group both expanding their sonic horizons and reasserting the intimacy, vulnerability, and visceral emotion that have always made their music so special.
“We’d be lying if we said that the follow up record wasn’t a little daunting,” Jenna Kyle tells Atwood Magazine. “I think it was perhaps a little hard to get going at first, but after a few sessions with Louis we already had ‘In Your Arms’ and ‘Close To The Flame,’ so it all started to feel very natural quite quickly. I think the key was to just let that process play out, and figure out the kind of music we wanted to write. We really gave ourselves time to explore the new dynamic of having Louis in the band (who also produced the record alongside Kieran) so it was really important to allow ourselves that time.”
Rather than go in with a fixed vision, Beach Lab allowed the songs to take shape organically. “The only goal was to write music that we all resonated with, as it’s always been,” Kyle says. “I think the goal was to just roll with whatever was coming naturally until something cohesive started to form. The vision was constantly shifting to be honest – we wrote some softer songs, shimmering ‘80s tracks and slightly folkier tracks which didn’t make the cut, all before we started to mold the EP as it is now. I think what we ended up came about through lots of trial and error and exploration.”
The result is one of Bleach Lab’s most resonant efforts yet. Close to the Flame is about being stuck in relationships where you’re constantly pulled between love and pain – “whether it’s wanting to be everything to someone, holding onto someone that’s slipping away, or struggling with guilt and anxiety that make it hard to move forward,” the band shares.
“It captures the messy reality of trying to hold onto love, whilst dealing with self-doubt, regret and the fear of losing yourself in the process. Fighting for connection but feeling the weight of it all. It’s a raw journey through relationships that consume you, from the thrill of a whirlwind romance to the heaviness of carrying regret and anxiety, showing how love can both lift you up and drag you down at the same time.”
In many ways, Close to the Flame is a reintroduction – a statement of who Bleach Lab are in 2025. The band describe themselves as being in a great creative place, with new guitarist Louis Takooree’s presence and proximity making writing and demoing easier than ever, and with more time spent on these songs than any of their previous releases. It’s a record that carries the fresh influences Takooree has brought into the fold while staying true to everything that has defined Bleach Lab’s artistry from the start – “the perfect reintroduction,” as Jenna Kyle puts it.
The title is taken from the track at the EP’s core. “‘Close to the flame, stay warm’ is a metaphor with multiple meanings – one is that as long as you stay near whatever is impacting you, negatively or otherwise, you’re going to remain in that state until you remove yourself from the situation,” Kyle says. “It felt like a great metaphor for the kind of relationships we were exploring throughout the EP, so it became the title track. Whilst the flame can make you feel warm, it can also harm you if you get too close.”
The title track sits at the heart of this EP, and it’s one of the most powerful statements Bleach Lab have ever made. “‘Close To The Flame’ is about being in an all-consuming relationship, wanting to be absolutely everything to someone and the very reason they exist,” the band share. “Perhaps a whirlwind romance based on lust over love. The chorus represents driving fast down a road at night, with streetlights passing overhead. Suggesting that they might be escaping the world together.” Tension and release define the song’s every moment – aching in its verses, exhaling in its soaring chorus – until the listener feels just as consumed as the narrator.
Whisper softly to me
Wanna be the air you breathe
Wanna be everything
Write my name on your skin
Like a wave I’ll pull you in
Lights passing
You by my side
Life’s passing
You keep me alive
The reintroduction begins with “Drown,” a song that hits with raw urgency and unrelenting force. It’s Bleach Lab at their heaviest, channeling heartbreak into a whirlwind of grungy guitars and pounding drums. “It’s about being stuck in a toxic cycle with someone who is no good for you. You always say it’s the last time you’ll let it happen, but somehow you keep finding yourself back at square one. You keep going back to them even though deep down, you know it’s not right,” the band explain. That tension is carved into Jenna Kyle’s voice as she cries, “You hurt yourself to feel alive, holding up the whole weight of the sky.” Her words ache with self-destruction, while the music swells like a storm, refusing to let go. From there, the band pull inward with “Feel Something,” a quietly devastating song about dependency and the exhaustion of carrying someone else’s sins. Kyle sings of sleepless nights and broken promises, her voice trembling with both fragility and fury. It’s one of the EP’s most haunting moments, a reminder of how easily love can corrode when imbalance takes root.
The ache continues with “In Your Arms,” perhaps the EP’s most quintessential Bleach Lab ballad – tender and expansive, aching with a desperate desire to hold on to something that’s already slipping away. Recorded alongside a windswept video at Seven Sisters, it captures the dizzying collision of devotion and heartbreak, the euphoria of memory tempered by the dread of loss. It’s also one of the band’s proudest moments: “I think we’re all big fans of ‘In Your Arms.’ That’s the one we all keep coming back to – I think in terms of the songwriting and production it really is one of our best yet,” Kyle grins.
The EP’s closing track, “If I Could Be Anything,” brings everything to its darkest point, wrestling openly with guilt, anxiety, and intrusive thoughts. “If I could be anything, I’d be dead,” Kyle sings, her words cutting straight to the bone. It’s an unflinching look at how regret can weigh a person down, but also an act of catharsis – the kind of song that offers release by naming the pain out loud. “The heavier shoegaze chorus is something we’ve wanted to do for a while, so there’s something quite cathartic about that,” Kyle adds. “We’re very excited to play that one live!” Together, these tracks form a journey that is as consuming as its title suggests, each one an intimate exhale of sorrow, longing, and survival.
I’d run to you
In a burning room
First time that we met
You told me
I was made just for you
Remember when we kissed that night
I could’ve died inside
And come right back to life
In your eyes
I don’t wanna forget
But I can see that it’s fading in
Your mind
For Kyle, who struggled with bouts of writer’s block throughout the EP’s creation process, these lyrics all hold special meaning – some more than others. “When it all started to flow, it was a real relief,” she admits. “I love to create a visceral image in my writing, so one of my favourites is ‘Sitting by your window, morning lights just coming through’ in ‘Drown.’ I feel like it really sets a particular scene. I also love the darkness and literality of ‘carry guilt like a chain on my neck’ in ‘If I Could Be Anything.’”
Each song on Close to the Flame stands as its own world – a journey worth taking, full of tension, tenderness, and catharsis. Together, they form a body of work that is as consuming as it is cathartic, with every track revealing another layer of Bleach Lab’s honesty and artistry. It’s an EP that doesn’t just burn; it glows, flickers, and smolders in ways that linger long after the final notes fade.
In the context of their discography, Close to the Flame feels like both a continuation and a rebirth. Throughout their career, Bleach Lab have always made music that cuts to the core of what it means to be human. Their latest work takes all of that hard-earned emotional gravity and pushes it further – darker, louder, heavier – without losing the dreamlike quality that has defined them since the very beginning. Close to the Flame is more than a return; it’s a reintroduction, and a powerful reminder of why this band continue to be one of the most vital voices in indie music today.
Replay it over and over in my head
Wishing I could go back
To the start, reset
Carry guilt like a chain on my neck
If I could be anything
I’d be dead
Eyes are closing heart rates
Slowing down
My body becomes frozen
Wishing I could go back now…
– “If I Could Be Anything,” Bleach Lab
It’s no wonder the band themselves describe this record as grungy, dreamy, and introspective – three words that capture both where Bleach Lab have been and where they’re headed. That combination is rare, and it’s what makes this EP feel so special: A raw yet ethereal reckoning, grounded in the shadows but always reaching for the light.
Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Bleach Lab’s Close to the Flame EP with Atwood Magazine as they take us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their latest release!
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:: stream/purchase Close to the Flame here ::
:: connect with Bleach Lab here ::
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‘Close to the Flame’ – Bleach Lab
:: Inside Close to the Flame ::
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DROWN
“Drown” was our first release of the EP back in November. It’s about being stuck in a toxic cycle with someone who is no good for you. You keep going back to them even though deep down, you know it’s not right.
FEEL SOMETHING
“Feel Something” came together probably the quickest of all the tracks on the EP. Louis walked into the room and just played the first ting that came to him over this bass idea we had – that is pretty much the part that ended up on the final record!
IN YOUR ARMS
This has been one of our absolute favourites to play live recently, it’s a true Bleach Lab ballad in all the best ways. The music video is also incredible – It was filmed down at Seven Sisters with one of our favourite directors Polocho. Such a beautiful location, he’s captured the essence of it so well. It’s about being head-over-heels in love with someone who’s incidentally falling out of love with you, and you’re doing everything you can to make them stay.
CLOSE TO THE FLAME
This is another track that instrumentally was written quite a while ago. It sat untouched for a little while but was something we wanted to come back to, and felt it sat sonically amongst the other tracks on the EP. ‘Close to the flame’ also felt like a great metaphor for the kind of relationships we were exploring throughout the EP, so it became the title track. A flame can keep you warm, but can also burn if you get too close, which we felt summarised the feelings we were exploring on this record.
IF I COULD BE ANYTHING
This one came about during a session with me, Josh and Jenna. It was one of the more emotionally challenging songs on the EP to write lyrically. It touches on a lot of really personal feelings about regret, self-love (or lack of!) and being tied down by negative thoughts. It was an incredibly self-reflective song to write though, so i’m grateful for it. Hopefully you like it!
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:: stream/purchase Close to the Flame here ::
:: connect with Bleach Lab here ::
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© Alex Esden
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