Photo by Nicole Osrin
Guildford five-piece Aqualine have unveiled a new EP, Tripwire, a five-track collection that brings their fusion of post-punk, grunge and indie to new heights. Teeing up a headline tour in the UK that begins today, there’s a sense of ambition with this project, a moment that may well make them one of the most intriguing new names going into 2026.
Tripwire has a tightness to its vision and rawness in its execution. The melancholic waves of guitar melody and forlorn vocals are always settled into a firmer, more energised arrangement. The experimentation is rooted in the emotion of the performance, so you get the interplay of 90s nostalgia with the cutting edge of the current British rock scene. It’s urgent, sombre, angry and almost wistfully hopeful. The rushes of intensity still feel delicate; it shimmers, and it fuzzes.
The band explain how this sound was formed, “The recording process for this was all live in the studio. This was a new approach, as the only live recording we had done as a band was demos in our rehearsal room for fun. It was an interesting challenge playing around with recording to a click for some songs or parts of songs, and then not for others. It was an attempt to get the most natural take and backbone of the songs that we could. Then we layered a few overdubs over the top after we had found that take.”
As the themes navigate invisible struggles and emotional battles, the sound continues to pick up the ears of tastemakers. As well as this, they’ve supported Alfie Templeman, crossed over into Europe and had a live session BBC Introducing.
Listen to ‘Tripwire’
