Tag: London UK

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: ZODIAC Shares Lush and Summery “Horizon”

Formed back in 2023, the rising London-based production and DJ trio ZODIAC — Joe Doyle, Will McMullin and Ellis Moss — quickly signed to [PIAS] Électronique, the label home of artists like Tinlicker, Eli & Fur and Innellea. Each member of ZODIC brings a distinct sound and vision to the project, blending their talents to create a captivating electronic-driven soundscape that’s both evocative and immersive.

The London trio’s debut single “Blink,” featuring The Boxer Rebellion‘s Nathan Nicholson received support across the global electronic music scene, earning endorsements from Joris Voorn, Above & Beyond, Sister Bliss and Alfa Romero.. Adding to a growing profile in the global electronic music scene, the London-based trio have had opening slots for Armin Van Buuren, Korolova and a growing list of others.

The trio’s highly-anticipated debut EP Constellations I was released last week. While showcasing deep, driven and rhythmically rich melodies, the EP marks a new chapter for the group — the first batch of new material following the addition of Ellis Moss, an already established name in the electronic music scene.. The EP’s first single “Horizon” is a club banger anchored around glistening synth oscillation, a relentless motorik-like groove paired with tweeter and woofer rattling thump. The production serves as a lush and hook-driven bed for a soulful, pop belter vocal sample. Ultimately, it may be one of the more Ibiza/summery songs I’ve listened to and covered in the past few months.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Los Angeles’ Dear Boy Teams Up with Rocket on Anthemic “After All”

Los Angeles-based indie outfit Dear Boy — founding members Ben Grey (vocals, guitar) and Keith Cooper (drums) alongside Austin Hayman (lead guitar) and Lucy Lawrence (bass, vocals) — can trace their origins back to when its founding members Grey and Cooper were living in London during their mid-twenties. The band’s Hayman and Lawrence joined once the duo returned to the States. Interestingly, despite their Stateside roots, the Los Angeles-based quartet’s work has drawn from ’80s and ’90s Brit pop and shoegaze — with the band citing Pulp, Oasis, Slowdive and The Jesus and Mary Chain as major influences, while also embracing the likes of Pixies and R.E.M.

The band’s sophomore album sophomore album, the Aron Kobayashi Ritch-produced Celebrator is slated for an October 17, 2025 release through Last Gang Records. Following the success of their full-length debut, 2022’s Forever Sometimes, the band took a step back from perfectionist production practices and leaned into spontaneity. Written in 12 sessions and recorded live in under two weeks, the album’s material reportedly bristles with a palpable energy while showcasing the band’s musical and creative chemistry. “We made this album to remember why we do this in the first place,” the band says. “Because we love it. We adore each other. Joy. Connection. Heartbreak. Celebration. We’re not interested in anything other than that.”

Celebrator‘s first single, “After All,” features Rocket’s Alithea Tuttle. Anchored around rousingly a rousingly anthemic hook and chorus, the new single immediately brings 120 Minutes-era MTV and 90s Brit Pop to mind while arguably being the most straightforward, bombastic rocker of their growing catalog to date. “It is crazy to have been a band for this long without contributing a primal-teenage-bedroom-rock riff. Happy to finally right a wrong,” the band’s frontman Ben Grey says.

The collaboration with Rocket can be traced to a deep and genuine friendship. “We first played with Rocket on New Year’s Eve a few years ago and became fast friends. We’re both from the Valley, went to the same pre-school, a tale as old as time,” Grey explains. “But truly, they’re an important band, and I think Alithea has one of the defining rock voices of this generation. We feel so honored she sang on ‘After All’. It’s the Catherine Wheel/Throwing Muses moment we’ve always dreamed of.”

Directed by the band’s Ben Grey, the accompanying video for “After All” is fittingly, a decidedly 120 Minutes-era MTV-like visual that’s a slick mix of old super 8-shot home videos of family gatherings and celebrations with footage of the band playing in a studio amidst a storm of confetti.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Dutch Mustard Shares Breakneck and Escapist “Life”

Dutch-born, London-based artist Sarah-Jayne “SJ” Riedel is the creative mastermind behind the rising indie recording project Dutch Mustard. With Dutch Mustard, Riedel blends ethereal dream pop, 90s alt-rock with shoegaze touches to create a soundscape that features painterly and swirling guitar textures while the Dutch-born artist’s vocals drift between a near whisper and yearning, heavenly arching shouts. 

Riedel and Dutch Mustard exploded into the British scene with the release of 2022’s debut EP An Interpretation of Depersonalisation, an effort that was featured by the BBC while receiving airplay on BBC Radio 1’s Future Artists with Jack Saunders and a co-sign from the legendary Iggy Pop.

2023’s sophomore EP,  Beauty received airplay from BBC Radio 6’s Lauren Laverne and co-signs from Don Letts and Amy Lamé. Adding to a growing profile, The Independent, The Line of Best Fit, Clash, Dork and Notion have all covered her — and The Grammy Awards selected her a one of 6 Female Fronted Acts Reviving Rock, along with Wet Leg. 

Since then, the Dutch-born, London-based artist has been busy: She has released a couple of singles — two of which I’ve written about here: “Loser” and “Dreaming,” which was released earlier this year. She followed that up with her Stateside debut at The New Colossus Festival earlier this year. Building upon a growing international profile, Riedel’s latest single, the Dean James Barrett, Craigie Dodds and Riedel co-written “Life” is a breakneck, Brit Pop meets industrial punk-like track anchored around taut, skittering beats and buzzing power chord-driven riffs that continues a run of material that showcases her unerring knack for crafting catchy, rousingly anthemic hooks. While being one of the punchiest songs of her growing catalog, “Life,” as she says “is the soundtrack to that heartbreak you should’ve seen coming, when everything gets so chaotic and absurd, all you want to do is tap out for a minute.”

Directed by Josiah Newbolt, the accompanying video is split between gritty black and white shot footage of Riedel and her backing band out in the streets, as we follow her to a studio for a carefully choreographed dance routine. The result is an urgent and vivid fever dream.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Shawn Lee and Kelly Finnigan Team Up on a Breezy and Soulful “Say It Again”

Acclaimed singer/songwriter, musician, producer and Monophonics frontman Kelly Finnigan recently teamed up with acclaimed Wichita-born, London-based producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and Young Gun Silver Fox co-founder Shawn Lee on “Say It Again,” a breezy and soulful tune that seemingly channels 1970s Isley Brothers — in particular, think of “Summer Breeze Pts. 1 & 2,” “That Lady,” and the like.

“There has always been a mutual admiration society between myself & Kelly. Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of playing on both the Monophonics & Kelly’s solo records in the studio and live onstage,” Shawn Lee says. “This is the first I’ve had Kelly on something that I’ve put together. Good things come to those who wait…and here it is!”

Colemine Records officially released the track on all DSPs today. Be on the lookout for 7″ 45RPM vinyl on September 19, 2025.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: HighSchool Shares Breakneck and Hook-Driven “149”

Rising London-based post-punk outfit HighSchool — Melbourne-born, London-based duo Rory Trobbiani and Luke Scott, along with live backing members Lilli Trobbiani and Lucy Lamb — exploded into the scene with their debut, six-song EP, 2021’s Forever at Last, an effort that saw the band distilling circa-’86 indie lo-fi, New Wave, goth and post-punk through a new, very modern lens.

With self-directed, deeply arresting videos for each of the EP’s six tracks and multiple vinyl runs selling out, the band began to receive attention globally. Beginning with a stint residing London, the duo and their live band played shows across the UK, European Union, North America, Japan and back in Australia, making a run of the international festival circuit, while sharing stages with CHVRCHES, Sam Fender, NewDad and Wet Leg among others.

The rising post punk outfit followed up with 2022’s Only a Dream, which was recorded with Dan Carey and released through his Speedy Wunderground and 2023’s “Colt.” The duo signed to [PIAS], who released their sophomore EP, last year’s Accelerator. Accelerator saw the duo taking their sound to a much darker, reflective place while being an effort that revealed new layers and added depth with each listen. The band went on to support the EP with a successful UK tour with Wunderhouse.

Building upon a growing profile, the band has received praise from NME, The Fader, Clash, DIY, Dork Magazine, The Line of Best Fit, Paper Magazine, Rolling Stone ANZ, So Young and airplay from triple j, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, KEXP and several others across the globe.

The band’s highly-anticipated full-length debut is forthcoming, and the album’s first single, the Ben Hillier and Finn Billingham-produced “149” is a breakneck, mind-melting mix of shoeagze, New Wave and jangle pop and Brit pop that reveals a band with an unerring knack for catchy hooks. And at its core, the song captures languorous, boring and seemingly carefree summers in your teens and early 20s.

“‘149’ is about slow, teenage suburban summers – long, dry days, sprinklers on cracked lawns, the smell of cut grass and cheap beer, halogen-lit tennis courts and supermarket car parks. Nothing to do but kick rocks, ride your bike, hang at the skatepark or by the pool. 

You end up at a shit house party you weren’t invited to, with the girl you’ve had a crush on all year – the one you thought never noticed you. Someone’s playing Benny Benassi on a light-up Bluetooth speaker. People spill onto the porch, your breath tastes like warm wine from a sack. Maybe you hold hands or she kisses you. ‘149’ is a brief moment in the noise, knowing it won’t last. And that’s the point”. 

The accompanying, self-directed video finds the band and friends commandeering a London double-decker bus and driving around London. The band plays an impromptu set onboard. But the video has some impromptu origins: The band borrowed the bus from Nev, who lives next door to the band’s studio. Nev runs a dub radio broadcast out of his kitchen; but he happened to own a party bus. It’s the sort of surreal set up that can only occur late at a night in a big city, with indelible characters.

“The video captures the feeling we wanted for ‘149’ — the dizzying elation of a rambunctious night out, full of promise and unpredictability. It’s about the seemingly endless possibilities a party can bring, and that fleeting feeling of being pulled out of your head and into the present, knowing it can only last until the night ends.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising London Outfit World News Shares Jangling and Anthemic “Don’t Want To Know”

Rising London-based post punk outfit World News — brothers Alex Evans (vocals, guitar) and Rory Evans (bass), along with Malte Henning (drums) and Jack Tolman (rhythm guitar) — can trace their origins back to 2018. The Evans Brothers, performing under the name Tinman cut their teeth in Brighton’s grassroots scene, relentlessly chasing opening slots in that city’s busy music scene.

Following a case of badly mistaken identity in which concert-goers arrived expecting an Austrian DJ of the same name — and a chance meeting with Malte Henning at a local Pizza Express, the band, rebranded as the extremely difficult to Google, World News.

The band, now known as World News were quickly gaining momentum, having sold out their first London area headlining show at The Shacklewell Arms when the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a halt. The band quickly established a sound inspired by 70s and 80s post-punk, indie rock and shoegaze, blending atmospheric guitar riffs with seductive melodies and a penchant for rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses, drawing comparisons to The Smiths, The Clash and Dire Straits among others.

Their debut, 2020’s Job and Money EP was released at their lowest point — COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and was deeply informed by personal experiences: heartbreak, night shifts, desperately hustling to survive and the claustrophobia of living in a windowless London room.

Fueled by restlessness, disillusionment, impatience and yearning for more, the London-based quartet have been busy the last few years, releasing over a dozen singles and three EPs while remaining committed to a firmly held DIY ethos. That busy period included last year, which saw them releasing two EP’s Escape and Mindsnap, along with the addition of Jack Tollman (rhythm guitar). Escape EP saw the band expanding on their now, signature jangling sound. Mindsnap dove into darker, much more gothic territory and marked the first bit of material cowritten by The Evans Brothers.

The rising London-based outfit closed out last year receiving coverage from Stereogum, SPIN, The Fader and KEXP, as well as sold-out shows at London’s The Lexington and Piano’s. Building upon a growing national and international profile, the members of World News are looking forward to releasing their highly-anticipated full-length debut.

Recorded at London-based RAK Studios, the rising quartet’s latest single “Don’t Want To Know” sees the band firmly cementing a sound that immediately recalls Boy, October and The Unforgettable Fire-era U2: jangling, reverb-soaked guitars, driving rhythms, rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses paired with earnest, yearning vocals.

Directed by Teddy Hansen, the accompanying video for “Don’t Want To Know” focuses on the band’s Alex Evans as he rapidly goes through a series of costume changes that shows the band’s frontman going through different scenarios — some worse than others.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: heavy wild Shares TrIppy Visual for Brooding “Wasteland”

Led by Wolfgang Harte, rising London-based lo-fi outfit heavy wild just released their highly-anticipated Paolo Ruiu-produced debut EP Death Dreams. 

Sonically, the EP sees the London-based lo-fi outfit blending elements of alternative rock, post-punk, garage rock, shoegaze, indie rock, lo-fi and grunge — and is a culmination of the project’s output date, as Harte explains: “I think having a running theme through any body of work is always important. I tend to write subconsciously and never really with a specific idea in mind so looking back through all these tracks and identifying what they’re really about has been interesting, discovering the themes that underpin my writing. There’s a couple of well-loved tracks on there but I’m excited for people to hear some new stuff too and see the direction it’s moving in.”

The EP’s first single “Wasteland” is a brooding whirlwind of a tune featuring shimmering and reverb-drenched guitars and distorted synths and driving rhythm section paired with remarkably catchy hooks and choruses and fuzzed out yet plaintive vocals. Sonically recalling a woozy mix of Interpol, Crocodiles, Grave Babies and others, the song explores themes of fractured relationships, arrests and suicide.

“Ultimately, it’s an optimistic track. It’s about going through dark times and finding a way to keep on going,” Harte explains. “I had a bassline [sic] that I was just playing on loop and I started writing, and this montage of stuff that had happened over the years was flooding my mind, and the energy of that bassline [sic] just kept dragging more stuff up. I guess it’s me sort of processing some of those situations and reflecting on it all. It’s about standing in the wreckage of life and saying fuck it… just gotta keep going.”

Harte cites Wavves, Beach Fossils, Small Black, Girls and Crocodiles as a big influence on him — and on the track. “On this track, I think I was really going back to that stuff that I loved as a teenager when I was first making music and trying to capture that frenetic sort of energy. I wanted the song to sound like it could fall apart at any moment,” Harte says.

The accompanying video is a mix of analog tape fuzz, kaleidoscopic filters and footage of the band in studio shot and edited in a way that evokes our uneasy, near apocalyptic moment.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: London’s Le Bon Jams Shares Euphoric, Club Banger “What U Need”

Le Bon Jams is a London-based dance pop/electronic dance pop quartet features an acclaimed collection of British music scene veterans, including: Last year was a breakthrough year for the collective, which blends live instrumentation and […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Yumi Zouma Shares Breakneck and Melodic “Bashville on the Sugar”

Formed back in 2013 in Christchurch, New Zealand, the multinational and multi-continental JOVM mainstays Yumi Zouma — Melbourne-based Christie Simpson (vocals, keys), New York-based Josh Burgess (guitar, bass, vocals, keys), London-based Charlie Ryder (guitar, bass, keys) and Wellington, New Zealand-based Olivia Campion (drums) — have had an acclaimed run that began with their shoegaze and dream pop-driven debut EP, the aptly-titled EP I and included their critically applauded albums, 2014’s Yoncalla, which saw the band dabbling with synth pop; 2017’s Willowbank, 2020’s Truth or Consequences and 2022’s Present Tense.

The JOVM mainstays have received praise from Pitchfork, Stereogum, Consequence, The FADER, SPIN, The Guardian while receiving airplay from SiriusXM and Australia’s Triple J. The multinational and multi-continental outfit have also developed a reputation as a mainstay on the global touring scene — first through opening slots for Air France, Jamie xx and Lower Dens, and then as a headlining act.

Recently, Yumi Zouma signed to Nettwerk Music Group, who will be releasing the band’s latest single “Bashville on the Sugar,” their first bit of new material in over 16 months or so. Beginning with a Foo Fighters-like “I’ll Stick Around“-like drum fill, the acclaimed outfit’s latest single may be the most downright breakneck tune they’ve released to date while continuing to showcase Simpson’s ethereal yet expressive delivery paired with cascading and chiming guitar work from Burgess and Ryder and MTA field recordings. Written in bursts across Mexico City, New York and New Zealand, “Bashville on the Sugar” captures the energetic pulse of commuting on public transportation in a large city, as well as the excitement and sense of infinite possibilities that could happen — right before that subway door closes.

“The first song on our forthcoming project that we really dug into, it’s an ode to the subway and public transport, New York’s in particular. The band has a deep affinity for it; its reliability and the access it provides are unlike anything we experienced in New Zealand,” the members of Yumi Zouma explain. “At the same time, its unpredictability—what you’ll see, who you’ll bump into—keeps each trip rooted in the present.”

Directed by the band, the accompanying video for “Bashville on the Sugar” features a blend of photo studio footage, Mini DV footage shots in New York and clips, and manages to capture the band’s sweet and goofy nature while evoking the endless motion at the heart of the song.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Total Fucking Darkness Shares a Sardonic and Uneasy Banger

Besides being an awesome band name, Total Fucking Darkness features: 

Earlier this year, the trio shared “Desolation Boys,” a slick yet chaotic synthesis of Tweekend-era Crystal Method and Come With Us-era Chemical Brothers-like big beat, LCD Soundsystem and deep house with glistening synth arpeggios delivered with a nihilistic, tongue-in-cheek absurdity.

Created in the final hours of a manic, 72-hour writing spree with McFall flying in from London, “Desolation Boys” encapsulates the band’s volatile energy. The song is anchored around spontaneous, stream-of-consciousness-like lyrics and a raw vocal take where Campbell can be faintly heard yelling “go fuck yourself,” mid-chorus. Who is he yelling at? Himself, perhaps? 

The song reflects the band’s ongoing exploration of themes like the futility of existence, the exciting pointlessness of class war and the rejection of everything that doesn’t BANG. 

The trio returns with “Take It Easy,” a relentlessly pulsing and unsettling track that pairs propulsive dance floor friendly energy with a tongue-in-cheek and irreverent sense of despair. The song finds the trio daring listeners to embrace the void rather than resist it; to readily acknowledge that the world and everything you know is on fire and there may be little you can do about it. As the old saying goes “Might as well laugh, ’cause it hurts too much to cry.”

The irony of the song’s title isn’t an accident. The song is anchored around a platitudinous phrase used as a bitingly sardonic weapon in an our hellish, at times, Kafka-esque moment.

Written in real-time, “Take It Easy” was born from pure instinct. The trio’s Torquil Campbell wrote the lyrics while listening to the track for the first time, which baffles his bandmates Stephen Ramsey and Tom McFall. And there are sheep. Yeah, sheep.

“There are sheep involved in the track. It’s not the first song I’ve heard with sheep in it this year,” Total Fucking Darkness’ Ramsey says. “If you think about it, songs with sheep in them are an incredibly good sign, because there’s never been a bad song that mentions, or actually features sheep. Think about it.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: London’s heavy wild Shares Brooding “Wasteland”

Led by Wolfgang Harte, rising London-based lo-fi outfit heavy wild will be releasing their highly-anticipated debut Paolo Ruiu-produced EP, Death Dreams on May 28, 2025. The band has already made a name for themselves making a run of the UK and European Union touring circuit, playing sold-out shows opening for HighSchool, Swim Deep, Dog Race, Humane The Moon and Chicago‘s Blood Club, among a list of others. And over the past month, the London-based band went on their first, six-date, UK headlining tour.

Sonically, the EP sees the London-based lo-fi outfit blending elements of alternative rock, post-punk, garage rock, shoegaze, indie rock, lo-fi and grunge — and is a culmination of the project’s output date, as Harte explains: “I think having a running theme through any body of work is always important. I tend to write subconsciously and never really with a specific idea in mind so looking back through all these tracks and identifying what they’re really about has been interesting, discovering the themes that underpin my writing. There’s a couple of well-loved tracks on there but I’m excited for people to hear some new stuff too and see the direction it’s moving in.”

The EP’s first single “Wasteland” is a brooding whirlwind of a tune featuring shimmering and reverb-drenched guitars and distorted synths and driving rhythm section paired with remarkably catchy hooks and choruses and fuzzed out yet plaintive vocals. Sonically recalling a woozy mix of Interpol, Crocodiles, Grave Babies and others, the song explores themes of fractured relationships, arrests and suicide.

“Ultimately, it’s an optimistic track. It’s about going through dark times and finding a way to keep on going,” Harte explains. “I had a bassline [sic] that I was just playing on loop and I started writing, and this montage of stuff that had happened over the years was flooding my mind, and the energy of that bassline [sic] just kept dragging more stuff up. I guess it’s me sort of processing some of those situations and reflecting on it all. It’s about standing in the wreckage of life and saying fuck it… just gotta keep going.”

Harte cites Wavves, Beach Fossils, Small Black, Girls and Crocodiles as a big influence on him — and on the track. “On this track, I think I was really going back to that stuff that I loved as a teenager when I was first making music and trying to capture that frenetic sort of energy. I wanted the song to sound like it could fall apart at any moment,” Harte says.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: DG Solaris Shares Warm and Heartfelt “I Believe in You”

London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Danny Green’s career started in earnest as the frontman of acclaimed British folk pop act Laish. During his time with Laish, Green wrote and recorded four critically applauded albums, which were supported by extensive touring across the UK, the European Union and the States.

In 2019, Green went through a series of major life changes: That March, he met Leanna Green — and by the end of the year, they got married. For their honeymoon, the Greens decided to spend six months traveling across South America with a simple recording setup that they carried with them in a backpack. During that trip, the couple won dup and recording a series of demos that would eventually become the earliest DG Solaris songs. “In between swimming with sea-lions, exploring sacred plant medicines and climbing mountains, we had been searching for beautiful spaces to set up our backpack studio,” the Greens explained in press notes. “All of our recordings feature the sounds of birds, cicadas and crickets.”

Returning home to London after their honeymoon, Danny and Leanna recruited Tom Chadd, Matt Canty and Matt Hardy to help flesh out the material they demoed during their honeymoon. The end result was 2020’s full-length debut Spirit Glow, which drew from and meshed elements of 70s psych pop, synth pop, krautrock and prog rock in a unique and playful fashion — with the album’s material written as a textural journey through emotional realms. “We wanted to explore the idea of two voices, two spirits, two creative minds and see where this dynamic could take us,” DG Solaris’ Leanna Green says in press notes. Danny Green adds, “It has been an incredibly inspiring trip. We came back with over forty songs and it has been a challenge to chose our favourites for this first album.”

Green spent between 2021-2022 or so, collaborating with Somerset, UK-born, London-based singer/songwriter  Jeremy Tuplin. The pair’s collaboration can trace their origins through some unusual circumstances: Although Green and Tuplin have been writing and recording albums over the course of the past decade, they’ve only been vaguely aware of each other’s existence. One night in Peru, following an intense shamanic ceremony, Green had a vivid dream that he and Tuplin were floating high above the ocean. The next morning, Green contacted Tuplin to share his strange, astral encounter. The pair began a correspondence, which lead to their first EP together, Crashing In The Waves. 

Released earlier this year, “I Believe in You” sees Green’s warm, sonorous delivery with a lush, unhurried arrangement of strummed acoustic guitar, a regal horn solo and boy-girl harmonies for the song’s hook and chorus. But at its core, “I Believe in You,” is both a sweet, old-timey declaration of enduring love and devotion and a gentle, heartwarming recognition of self-acceptance of your foibles and of those whom you love, all while offering support when you might need it the most. And it’s done in a way that will remind some of The Beatles “When I’m 64,” with the same playfully bittersweet acknowledgement of aging.

The accompanying video features home footage of Danny Green, Leanna Green and their adorable family in their daily life both at home, going on hikes and what not, the inevitable leak at home, the family cat, Green performing live and recording sessions with fellow folkies Beth Rowley, Rachael Dadd and The Gentle Good.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Total Fucking Darkness Shares a Banger

Besides being an awesome band name, Total Fucking Darkness features:

The trio’s latest single “Desolation Boys” is a slick yet chaotic synthesis of Tweekend-era Crystal Method and Come With Us-era Chemical Brothers-like big beat, LCD Soundsystem and deep house with glistening synth arpeggios delivered with a nihilistic, tongue-in-cheek absurdity. And it slaps so fucking hard that it sounds like it could be played at clubs in Manchester and Berlin back in 1999-2006 or so.

Created in the final hours of a manic, 72-hour writing spree with McFall flying in London, “Desolation Boys” encapsulates the band’s volatile energy. The song is anchored around spontaneous, stream-of-consciousness-like lyrics and a raw vocal take where Campbell can be faintly heard yelling “go fuck yourself,” mid-chorus. Who is he yelling at? Himself, perhaps?

The song reflects the band’s ongoing exploration of themes like the futility of existence, the exciting pointlessness of class war and the rejection of everything that doesn’t BANG.

The accompanying video features edited footage of a concert somewhere in Berlin, pro Palestine protests and UCLA’s dance team, a country dance team, an old pun rock show and other pop detritus.