Arp releases title track from his upcoming “New Pleasures” album due July 15, 2022.

Photo by Kelly Jeffrey

Today, composer/producer Alexis Georgopoulos (Arp) has announced New Pleasures, a new album slated for release on July 15th. With the record,Arp sculpts angularities into fresh, alluring shapes, expanding and contracting song form into brain-teasing sound design. The sensation the music offers is almost rubbery; it makes you feel as if you could flex, bend and squeeze your body inside out – a vivid, deconstructed take on high-definition pop, avant-garde, and dance music forms. Drawing on the promise of futurism, New Pleasures reflects the slipperiness of time, the multidirectional, non-linearity of memory; how our minds shift millisecond to millisecond from past to present to future and back again.

Lead single “New Pleasures” comes alongside a striking video directed by acclaimed filmmaker Adinah Dancyger.

“That space between idea and reality, fact and fiction—which drives ‘New Pleasures’—is so often inhabited by commerce, which conjures our fantasies for us,” Georgopoulos explains. “And there we find desire. For connection, luxury, distinction. We think we’re immune to its psychology because we’re conscious of it, but in some ways, it drives everything.”

New Pleasures is the second chapter in Arp’s ZEBRA trilogy and advances the narrative begun with 2018’s acclaimed ZEBRA; pastoral in mood, expansive in style, the record acted as a dawn on a nascent, Edenic landscape, reminiscent of a beautiful, long-lost Fourth World album. In this world, the music approximated the patient cadence of geological time – the way time suspends when you watch a river in motion. There was, nonetheless, the presence of something alien on the horizon.

Now, Arp drops us deep into the grid of the city. New Pleasures fast-forwards a few centuries, locating listeners in a post-industrial Sprawl (to borrow an expression from William Gibson’s Neuromancer) of concrete and glass, imbuing the album with the flinty glow of commerce, the sleek rhythms of industrialization, and the cool finesse of brutalism. The result is a collection of futuristic pop interiors with glinted exteriors; a prismatic inquiry into machine sentience, the economy of desire, and myriad forms of possession.

“Sometimes the most alien thing is simply seeing what we take for granted from a slightly different angle.” – Arp

Keep your mind open.

[It would bring me new pleasures if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Mexican Summer.]

Brijean announces new EP out August 05, 2022 and premieres new single – “Shy Guy.”

Photo by Maya Fuhr

Brijean announces their new Angelo EP (out August 5th on Ghostly International) with lead single “Shy Guy” and new tour dates. Angelo, named after Brijean Murphy‘s 1981 Toyota Celica, features nine songs Brijean have crafted and carried with them through a period of profound change, loss, and relocation. It finds percussionist/singer Murphy and multi-instrumentalist / producer Doug Stuart processing the impossible the only way they know how: through rhythm and movement. 
 
The months surrounding the acclaimed release of Feelings, their full-length Ghostly International debut in 2021 which celebrated tender self-reflection and new possibilities, rang bittersweet with the sudden passing of Murphy’s father and both of Stuart’s parents. In a haze of heartache, the duo left the Bay Area to be near family, resetting in four cities in under two years. Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and these tracks, along with Angelo, became their few constants. Whereas Feelings formed over collaborative jams with friends, Angelo’s sessions presented Murphy and Stuart a chance to record at their most intimate, “to get us out of our grief and into our bodies,” says Murphy.
 
Like much of Angelo, lead single “Shy Guy” offers levity and movement in spite of the sorrow, and is a motivational anthem for the wallflowers among us. Murphy sets up the daydream: “We are in junior high, we’re on the dance floor, what’s going down, who is dancing, who is not, how are we gonna make them dance?” The narrator, the MC, hypes up the room as conga-driven rhythms bounce between languid synth and guitar lines. “Show me how to move…I feel something…I know you feel it too,” Murphy sings sweetly, calling back to the opening lines of Feelings, and this time the audience chants it back. 

Stream “Shy Guy”

On Angelo, Brijean explores new moods and styles, reaching for effervescent dance tempos and technicolor backdrops, vibrant hues in contrast to their more somber human experiences. Angelo beams with positivity and creative renewal — a resourceful, collective answer to “what happens now?
 
In support of Angelo, Brijean will play their first headline shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Brooklyn, and make international appearances with Poolside in London, Berlin, and Mexico City.

Pre-order/pre-save Angelo EP
 
Brijean Tour Dates
Sat. June 25 – Denver, CO @ Color Field
Thu. Aug. 11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Sat. Aug. 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
Wed. Aug. 17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Rooftop
Fri. Aug. 19 – Sun. Aug. 22 – Long Pond, PA @ Elements Festival
Sat. Aug. 27 – Mexico City, MX @ Auditorio BlackBerry

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Lu.Re – Ruminate EP

Recorded entirely in her Bethnall Green flat, Lu.Re‘s Ruminate EP is a five-song exploration into obsessive compulsive disorder mixing house beats with viola and heartbreak.

“Hold On” has Lu.Re singing encouragement to a lover she doesn’t want to lose (“I know you want to make it better, baby. Hold on to me.”), possibly while they’re on the dance floor (or anywhere else, really) judging from the wicked beats she lays on the track. “These Days” continues the theme of looming heartbreak (“All you need to know is that we can bring it back to these days.”) as Lu.Re uses her break-beats to reflect the popping and locking thoughts in her head.

There are two versions of the title track, and the first is “Ruminate 2 Step.” Its beats are so peppy that you can barely keep up with them as Lu.Re sings, “I need someone to settle my mind.” The song ruminates on rumination, making an interesting Mobius strip (the mentioned “figure eight” in her lyrics) as it propels you to dance. The original version is a bit slower, but not by much, and has more of a soulful feel to the vocals and rhythm (and the inclusion of simple piano chords is a great touch).

“Nostalgia” wraps up the EP with tick-tock beats and melancholic viola as Lu.Re admits she has trouble living in the present when her past weighs so heavily on her (“I don’t want to be haunted.”).

It’s an impressive debut that lets everyone know two things: 1. You are not alone in your struggles with stress and mental health. 2. Lu.Re is poised to be one of the slickest producers and house musicians on the scene.

Keep your mind open.

[I often ruminate about you subscribing.]

[Thanks to Harbour Music Society.]

Levitation France 2022 recap – Day Two

When in Angers, you should check out the Apocalypse Tapestry at Chateau d’Angers. It’s one of the most doom metal things ever made.

Day Two (June 04th) of Levitation France was our busiest day of the festival. There was a small worry of rain and thunderstorms hitting the festival all three days, but it stayed away on Friday and had hit the area on Saturday afternoon. The skies looked clear for Saturday evening, and, thankfully, that turned out to be the case. We walked in for about the last third of a set by You Said Strange, who were highly popular judging by the number of their band shirts I saw at the festival that day.

You Said Strange getting strange on the Reverberation Stage.

Up next were Death Valley Girls. I hadn’t seen them live since the Psycho Music Festival last year, and they’d written a couple new songs since then (with a new album due in 2023!). They came out, battling the sun beaming directly into their eyes, and put on a heavy, spooky set to counter the light pouring over them.

Death Valley Girls battling the sun and casting spells.

I finally got to introduce myself to them afterwards, which was a delight. We’d only “known” each other through mutually followed Twitter feeds until that time. They’re currently on a three-week European tour and will have a big U.S. / Canada tour this summer (as well as a return to Psycho Music Festival). Don’t miss them.

Some blogger / radio DJ with Death Valley Girls

We then zipped across the lot to see Gustaf. I’d been itching to see them, as I heard their live shows were as fun and weird as their album, Audio Drag for Ego Slobs, and I had heard right. They were just as quirky and sharp as I’d hoped.

I’m not sure if Gustaf or the crowd were bouncing more during their set.

We took a food break (Thanks, BBQ food truck!) and then returned to the Reverberation Stage to see the legendary Kim Gordon come out and rock a mini-skirt better than most women half her age and rock a guitar and stage better than most anyone in the game. It was great to see someone exude so much sensual, raw power.

Kim Gordon flat-out ruling.

Australian rockers Pond were up next and put on a fun, energetic set. Their musicianship was tested and on full display when one synthesizer broke only a few songs into their set. They had to adapt their set list on the fly and play songs they hadn’t intended, and did it without missing a beat.

Pond, changing like chameleons from song to song.

Japanese psych-rock legends Kikagaku Moyo were next. In case you weren’t aware, they are on their final tour for a long time – possibly forever – so don’t miss them if they’re near your town. They sound great as always and dazzled the crowd for their whole set.

Kikagaku Moyo

The festival closed with Canadian electro-industrial duo Pelada, who, if I heard right, were booked a bit at the last minute. They got the entire crowd dancing, with singer Chris Vargas owning the stage (and crowd) from the first moment she appeared. Tobias Rochman‘s beats were a wild switch from the trippy psych-rock and post-punk of the day. Watching douchebag guys being intimidated by Ms. Vargas was one of the highlights of the day.

Pelada dropping beats and spitting fire.

It was a fun day all-around, and the next day would bring psychedelic Shinto music, a band that plays like their hair is on fire, some psych-rock legends, four men on a mission, and a bus ride that will be talked about at the festival for years to come.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

Levitation France 2022 recap – Day One

It was my first time back to Levitation France in a few years, and it felt great to be back in Angers and at another Levitation music festival. This was my first time attending the festival at the La Chabada venue, which was composed of two outdoor stages facing opposite of each other, a food truck area, and an indoor merchandise booth. One of the many things Levitation France does better than most other festival is to offer affordable, tasty, non-alcoholic beverages for purchase. The lemonade and apple juice (really more like apple cider) there were top-notch. I wish festivals in the U.S. offered stuff like that. Here, it’s usually just an overpriced bottle of water or a can of Mt. Dew.

Day One of the festival (Friday, June 03rd) started off with a small bump when the lineup order had to be changed due to Dry Cleaning having to cancel their festival appearance. That was a bummer, as I was keen on seeing them for the first time. I hope they’ll be at the main Levitation festival in Austin, Texas this October.

So, we started off the festival by catching most of Stuffed Foxes‘ set. They’re a group of friends no older than twenty-two, I think, and they threw down a wild set of loud rock to get everyone ready for a wild weekend.

Stuffed Foxes stuffing us full of rock.

Up next were Albinos Congo, who played a fun set of post-punk with a bit of psychedelia thrown into the mix. Their drummer was sharp, using fills to excellent effect.

Albinos Congo

We closed Day One with Automatic, who hypnotized the crowd with their synth-punk / krautrock set. A funny moment was seeing them leave the merchandise area not long after their set, as they had a flight to catch or had to get on the road for their next gig, and watching their surprise when so many people applauded for them as they left.

Automatic playing alongside a beheaded Silver Surfer.

We were a bit exhausted by the end of their set, so we cut out early in order to be well-rested for the next day, which we knew would have even better attendance.

Coming up next, I finally get to introduce myself to a band I’ve been promoting for a while, see some dynamite legs, watch a band adapt to an equipment malfunction, see some psychedelic legends on their final tour, and watch a woman enthrall a crowd.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

Harkin is “Here Again” on her new single.

Photo by Kate Leah Hewett

With new album ‘Honeymoon Suite‘ out June 17th via Hand Mirror, the label Harkin founded in 2019 with her wife, the poet Kate Leah Hewett, today Harkin is sharing her new single “Here Again“, featuring brass by Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes) and Aaron Roche (Lower Dens, Sufjan Stevens, Anohni, Flock of Dimes). 

Speaking about the track, Harkin said “‘Here Again’ is a song about the timelessness and of love and loss. It’s about the dance of raw vulnerability and galvanising strength that comes with both, how each are transcendent and everyday. Everyone seems to mention how time has worked differently the last few years, and for me that really crystallised in my experiences of love and loss.

My grandad, who passed away years ago, wrote poetry and the line about dancing away references a poem he wrote about his own feelings on mortality. In some ways it feels like an ongoing conversation with him. It’s been hard over the last few years to feel like I’m remaining porous and open to life when there are so many reasons to want to shut it out. This song is a reminder to let it all in.”

Listen to “Here Again”: https://youtu.be/aSTJZBLJUQ8

‘Honeymoon Suite’ are a blend of love, grief, anxiety, resilience, danger, heartbreak and hope. Part pop record, part electronic soundscape, part interior still life, ‘Honeymoon Suite’ was recorded in a one bedroom flat in the depths of UK lockdowns

The album marks a significant shift for an artist who had previously built a career around collaboration. In addition to her own bands, Harkin has been a touring member of Sleater-KinneyWild BeastsFlock of Dimes, and Kurt Vileand Courtney Barnett’s Sea Lice. She performed backing vocals for Dua Lipa on Saturday Night Live. She dueted with comedian Sarah Silverman on ‘Tiny Changes: A Celebration of Frightened Rabbit’s The Midnight Organ Fight’. Her studio work includes contributions to Waxahatchee’s ‘Out In The Storm’. Outside of the music world, Harkin has composed for Turner Prize-winning artist Helen Marten and British comedian Josie Long. She even has a Saturday Night Live sketch named after her (Fred Armisen’s 2016 ‘Harkin Brothers Band’). 

Where her self-titled first record is infused with the expansiveness which birthed it – written and recorded while touring the globe – ‘Honeymoon Suite’ is an entirely different affair. The album was written in the same room in which Harkin and her wife ate all their meals, held their virtual wedding reception and attended a funeral over zoom. As Harkin describes it, ‘Honeymoon Suite’ is “a ship in a bottle of that time”.

The album takes its title from the couple’s affectionate nickname for the flat they found themselves living in after relocating from their then-home in Hudson, New York, where Harkin’s wife was working as a live music promoter until the pandemic was declared. When it became obvious that they would both be out of work indefinitely, they joined many others heeding the call of their home nations to repatriate. In addition to that frenzied move back to the UK, the couple’s planned wedding also took a hard left turn. They had intended to hold a wedding for 150 in September 2020. Instead, they got married in a small, outside ceremony in front of their bubbled parents and siblings. They were married in the Derbyshire village of Eyam, coincidentally famous for quarantining itself during The Bubonic Plague. The flowers in the image on the album’s back cover are their wedding bouquets. “I followed a YouTube tutorial and made our bouquets out of the wedding flowers our friends sent us. We didn’t take a honeymoon and still haven’t. Instead, the flat in Sheffield became our honeymoon suite.”

The album’s DIY ethos continued through its artwork. “Kate took the cover photo and designed the layout. She also designed our original wedding invitations so it felt apt.”

The album also marks Harkin’s first forays into self-producing, a journey she began immediately after her move back to the UK. At that time, her best friend, cinematographer Ashley Connor, asked her to create the soundtrack for an experimental short film she was making for Sam Abbas’ quarantine movie ‘Erēmīta (Anthologies)’. “I’ve worked in all manner of studios and assumed many different roles in music making. I had thousands of flight hours but I had still never been the pilot. Owning the role of producer was more of a mental block than anything else, but circumstance dissolved that intimidation. Working on Ashley’s soundtrack early in the pandemic gave me the confidence to continue producing my own solo work. I won a grant from the PPL Momentum Accelerator Fund which would cover the mixing and mastering if I could be self-sufficient in recording. It felt like the quest I needed to push me into discovering this new direction.”

In terms of instrumentation, ‘Honeymoon Suite’ is more electronic than Harkin’s previous work and this too was for largely practical reasons. “Kate took a remote call centre job when we first got back. This meant we were in the same room, her taking customer service calls and me working on the album. The flat was also above a pub, so I had to record strategically. I’d program drum machines and synths in the day, record guitars in the evenings over the din of the pub-goers, and I’d squeeze vocals into the quiet weekend mornings.”

Indeed, most of the tracks on ‘Honeymoon Suite’ emerged out of synth drones, a refuge for Harkin during the weeks at a time that she didn’t feel like bursting into song. “The album’s glitches and degrading samples reflect the limitations of the digital intimacy we were all relying on during that time as we literally phoned it in.”

Harkin freely admits that the enormity of the task was no walk in the park for the first time producer. “Being my own mirror was ego-crushing at times; I knew these songs deserved extra gusto that I had to outsource.” That’s where the brass by Nate Walcott and Aaron Roche, slide guitar by J.R. Bohannon (Torres) and backing vocals by Sophie Galpin (Soft LadSelf Esteem) came in, sent down the wire from their respective homes. It was even mixed and mastered remotely (mixed by Jeff T Smith in Leeds and mastered by Guy Davie in London).

As Harkin puts it, “for me, this album was a rabbit hole and escape hatch. It’s a very vulnerable record. There are no performances – I made it alone. Releasing it into the world feels like an extension of the solitary process and remote collaboration which created it. I hope it travels far and wide.”

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe while you’re here again?]

[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

Ultraflex invite us to party on “Rhodos.”

Ultraflex is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Farao (NO) and Special-K (IS) and today they are sharing their new single & video “Rhodos“, which showcases another glimpse of their playful disco-pop. 

“Rhodos” is an ode to Northern European tourists partying in the South of Europe (Mallorca, Ibiza, Rhodes etc.) It honours pink beer bellies, Smirnoff Ice and the smell of aftersun and is inspired by Ultraflex’s own experience of getting liquor poured straight into their mouths by flexing bartenders at a time in their lives when belly rings and miss sixty jeans were of the utmost importance.

The track is accompanied by a jeggings and jewels filled music video filmed in Greece, directed by Sigurlaug Gisladottir. In the words of the band, ‘Rhodos’ was written in deep pandemic, when we were desperately craving to party. Longing after people yelling in our ears, everyone bumping into each other, stepping on our toes and the sensation of cold beer flowing down our backs. Writing Rhodos immediately transported us to a hot and sticky beach, a place we loved and loathed equally.”

Listen to & watch “Rhodos” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hPlYDuiRt4

Ultraflex released their saucy debut album Visions of Ultraflex was released in 2020 to critical and popular acclaim, winning The Icelandic Music Awards 2021 for ‘Best Electronic Album’ and Kraumur Award for ‘Best Album’, besides collecting additional international nominations. Ultraflex places equal value on sounds, lyrics and visual representation – music videos or experimental films are made to every single song.

Ultraflex’s sound is inspired by the disco, italo and funk of the 80’s, blending it with new-age sensibilities, unexpected jazz chords and melodic twists. The result is a catchy, contemporary whirlwind of dance floor weirdness, nodding to their ancestors in the historical lineage of spectacular electronic music. The duo’s material is simultaneously kitsch and conceptual, filtered through contemporary pop culture. Ultraflex creates their own brand new lotion carefully tailored to your needs.

Keep your mind open.

[Join the party by subscribing.]

[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

JayWood says “Thank You” on his dreamy new single.

Photo by Tonje Thilsesen

JayWood – the moniker of Winnipeg musician & songwriter Jeremy Haywood-Smith – presents a new single/video, “Thank You,” from his forthcoming album, Slingshot, out July 15th on Captured Tracks. The album’s penultimate track, “Thank You” was co-produced with Jacob Portrait of Unknown Mortal Orchestra & Blouse and features string arrangements by Johan Lenox. The song brings JayWood’s sound full circle, offering something reminiscent of Haywood-Smith’s earliest recordings while flaunting that “the best is yet to come.” “‘Thank You’ is a song that’s dedicated to the folks that aren’t really in my life anymore, but more importantly it’s for my mom who passed away back in 2019.” says Haywood-Smith. “I feel like this song kinda wrote itself, it felt so easy to put together because I knew the core of what I was trying to get across. The demo for this song felt super strong but after Jake and I spent some time expanding a few ideas, the song really blossomed into something I couldn’t ever imagine.”

The charming accompanying video, directed by Chantel Simpson, shows Haywood-Smith passing out flowers across Harlem.

 
Watch Jaywood’s Video for “Thank You”
 

The narrative for Slingshot takes place in the span of one day. From the first track to the last track, JayWood takes you on a journey that touches on themes of childhood, religion, and identity. While writing and recording the album, Haywood-Smith put together a complex “script” mapping out all of the plot points, environments, characters that make up this surreal version of his real life. Musically, Haywood-Smith wrote and performed a bulk of the track’s instrumentations, but the LP has notable appearances from Canadian contemporaries Ami Cheon and McKinley Dixon, and fellow Manitoban musician Kayla Fernandes who fronts the doom-metal band Vagina Witchcraft. Despite the culturally homogenous nature of his hometown, Haywood-Smith takes inspiration from a wide range of Black performers and artists working in all genres and eras. “This album felt like I was making something that I would want my younger self to hear.”

Born and raised in the Canadian prairies, JayWood has captured Haywood-Smith’s journey of self-discovery and heartache through unique songwriting since 2015. After the loss of his mother in 2019 and a global standstill with multiple social crises throughout 2020, Haywood-Smith yearned for forward momentum. “The idea of looking back to go forward became a really big thing for me—hence the title, ‘Slingshot,’” Haywood-Smith explains. Feeling disconnected from his past and ancestry after the death of a parent, Haywood-Smith made a conscious effort to better understand his identity and unique Black experience living in the predominantly white province of Manitoba. Slingshot is a self-portrait of JayWood at his surface and his depths, merging fantasy scenarios, personal anecdotes, and infectious pop and dance instrumentals.

 
Watch “Just Sayin” Video
 
Watch “God is a Reptile” Video
 
Pre-order Slingshot

Keep your mind open.

[I’d thank you for subscribing.]

[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

October and the Eyes hits hard with her new single, “When I Was Your Girl.”

Photo by Erika Denis Feble
Having recently toured with Yves Tumor, New Zealand-born, London-based singer & songwriter October and the Eyes has announced her new EP ‘Who Upset You?‘ is set for release June 24th via KRO Records and is sharing new single & video “When I Was Your Girl”

Speaking about the track, October said “‘When I Was Your Girl’ ruminates on my former love and life spent in our Queen Street, Auckland flat; Dancing on our dining table, playing music too loudly, filling the room with cigarette smoke and masking the scent with our favourite Curio Noir perfume ‘Tobacco Nights’. We would always host these big parties and subject everyone to The Kinks or The Rolling Stones or Jefferson Airplane with our best mate assigned as rock n roll DJ for the night. I remember feeling angry when writing this too – I felt bruised by the whole experience. But time is a great healer, and now I’m able to find peace in its nostalgia. I guess it’s a bitter sweet meditation on a love now lost but not forgotten.”

Listen to & watch “When I Was Your Girl” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PdNOwoipwI
Listen via other streaming services here: https://orcd.co/vey8n44

October is no new-comer to music, the New Zealand born musician has been involved in musical pursuits since she was a child. Heralding from a musical family, the prospect of pursuing music in one form or another was almost inescapable: A classical pianist mother, fanatic music fan father, and two older multi- instrumentalist brothers who were always holding their band practices in the family playroom. October’s childhood was that of a humble upbringing; having grown up in a small rural town in New Zealand’s wine country, she turned to songwriting as a means to stave the boredom away. She taught herself how to record and produce her own music aged 12, locking herself away in her bedroom for hours on end, and hasn’t looked back since. Claiming the internet raised her, it’s clear she had her sights set on broader horizons and bigger cities.

Having moved half way across the world to her new home in East London, October has remained true to her traditional isolated writing style by holing up in her East London flat for several months and writing a small collection of songs that can be described as dizzying, darkly kaleidoscopic, and dauntless above all. October describes her musical style as ‘collage-rock’ (not the be confused with college rock). Pulling musical inspiration from the likes of Bauhaus, Bowie, Siouxsie Sioux and Suicide, she then squeezes her influences through the gauze of modernity and electronics, thus creating something entirely of her own.

With nods to acid rock, psychobilly and post-punk, October and The Eyes’ music is equal parts nostalgia-drenched as it is future forward, employing layers of ambient synth drones to anchor the crunched guitars and jagged organ parts. Delivered with a twisted theatricality, her vocals pendulum between commanding chants and soothing coo’s, proving that not only is she a versatile songwriter and producer, but a versatile vocalist too.

October released her debut EP Dogs and Gods in 2020 and will release the follow up with ‘Who Upset You?’ on June 24th via KRO Records.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

Regressive Left profess “Bad Faith” on their new single.

The much-tipped Regressive Left return today with news of their signing to new tastemaker label Bad Vibrations, born from the revered live promoters of the same name, and that their debut EP, On the Wrong Side of History, is set for release on July 15th.

PRE-ORDER HERE

The Luton trio also share their first new material of the year with the DFA-flavoured “Bad Faith”, featuring a vocal contribution from Manchester’s experimental-pop act Mandy, Indiana – quoting French psychoanalyst Octave Mannoni’s paradoxical mechanism: “Je sais bien, mais quand même.” In other words: “I know very well, but even so…” – and picking up the ascent exactly where earlier singles left off, placing wry social commentary and dancefloor ambition right at their front and center.

Front-man Simon Tyrie says the following about the themes behind the track:

 “This song essentially focuses on the idea of deliberately assuming the worst of someone or something they’ve said or done. Social media has really amplified this trend: everyone has to have a take. So we read between the lines and make wild accusations on the faintest of evidence. It’s something of an art, but one that I think is ultimately detrimental to society.”

WATCH VIDEO TO “BAD FAITH” HERE

Already chalking up a strong live reputation, the band have toured in support of BODEGA and Folly Group in 2022 already, and today announce their first ever headlining dates.

Catch Regressive Left live at:

MAY

14 Brighton – The Great Escape – Revenge
14 Brighton – The Alt Escape – The Hope & Ruin
15 Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
21 York – The Crescent
27 London – Wide Awake

JUNE

11 Bristol – Strange Brew
18 The Hague – Grauzone (NL)

SEP

26 Birmingham – Hare & Hounds
28 Glasgow – Hug & Pint
30 Manchester – YES

OCT

2 Bedford – Esquires
4 Brighton – Prince Albert
6 Margate – Elsewhere

Keep your mind open.

[I have faith that you’ll subscribe today.]

[Thanks to James at Prescription PR.]