Vetchinsky Settings is the quiet meeting point between two longtime maestros of British indie pop: James Hackett, the unmistakable voice of The Orchids, and Mark Tranmer, the composer behind GNAC and half of The Montgolfier Brothers. Together, they build songs like small, perfectly-kept rooms -soft light through thin curtains, dust drifting, memories laid out carefully on the table. Their album Underneath the Stars, Still Waiting (2019) unfolds like a film that never raises its voice. Divided into four movements – birth, love, grief, and death – it sketches a life in miniature, lingering on the pauses between events rather than the events themselves. Hackett sings with the tenderness of someone opening a letter kept too long in a drawer, while Tranmer’s arrangements glide with the calm, deliberate grace of late-evening streets after the rain. There’s a sense, throughout, of time slowing down: melodies that seem to hesitate before resolving, pianos that wander like thoughts half-remembered, strings that appear only when absolutely necessary. Nothing is rushed; nothing is overstated. The duo carries forward the tradition of melancholic British chamber-pop, but with a cinematic poise that feels both intimate and expansive. Vetchinsky Settings created a magnificent album that draws heavily from their respective bands’ work, offering languid ballads and dreamy, melancholic piano passages, sparkling and inspired pop melodies, and restrained, refined arrangements. A nostalgic vision of life that is neither meant to be consolatory nor cynical. Like life, indeed. Now they’re back with a glorious new single, In The Evening Light, which will be released tomorrow, November 28th. We’re honoured, though, to have it on world premiere here with the magnificent video made by Isobel Blank!

What Mark Says: “In The Evening Light arrived very quickly when I was experimenting with my guitar one weekend. I put my guitar through some pedals that I had recently bought and hit “record”. On this song, and indeed many of the other album tracks, the guitars were recorded “wet”. That is, the effects are part of the recording itself, not added after recording, so they cannot be taken off or altered afterwards. It was refreshing to have fewer choices with effects by recording in this way – rather than choosing from an almost infinite choice of plug-in effects and settings afterwards. It’s also fair to say the sound of guitars with the effects definitely influenced the songwriting process itself. The piano, electric piano, and vibes were added later. Much of the album, including this track, also includes vintage drum machine. James and I immediately liked this one and we have played it live when we played our first show in Scotland in February 2025.“

What James Says: “Our new single In the Evening Light feels to me like a winter lullaby. A much needed embrace of warmth, a comforting, soothing reassurance.“

What Isobel Says:”The music of Vetchinsky Settings immediately evoked for me the intimacy of a domestic space, the warmth of lights glowing at dusk, and the sense of community and closeness one seeks in the darkest moments of life. I tried to translate these feelings into images using a combination of techniques familiar to me: from time-lapse pencil drawing to stop-motion, from paper-cut to editing with AI tools. I believe that openness to novelty and dialogue between very different elements can generate truly original results.
In such a complex moment as the one we are living, I feel it is essential to explore the constructive side of new tools, also to help shape thoughtful regulations that do not suppress harmless creative possibilities. Although I have always loved and practiced slow, labor-intensive techniques such as embroidery, stop-motion, and performance, my way of not seeing innovation as a threat is to integrate it sincerely into my process, while remaining fully faithful to my artistic identity.“

In The Evening Light will be out tomorrow, November 28th.  Look HERE for more Information on Vetchinsky Settings.