In a few weeks I'm going to be here raving about the new Swansea Sound album, called Twentieth Century. However, today I'm here to rave about "Twentieth Century", the band's new video.
Swansea Sound are Hue Williams (The Pooh Sticks), Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey (Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, The Catenary Wires), Bob Collins (The Dentists, The Treasures of Mexico), and Ian Button, (Death in Vegas, with Louis Philippe, Pete Astor, and Papernut Cambridge). Their debut was released in 2021, and I loved it, but their new trajectory is bolder, more risky. There's stylistic adventurism on this upcoming album, and nowhere is that more apparent than on this new single.
Over a bed of lyrics that have a "Was it all worth it?"-vibe, Hue Williams instead turns towards plotting how to sell out. Images flash of indie folks who have (with some who've lost the plot), and Williams, with help from Amelia Fletcher on backing vocals, makes his move. There's something about this one that really reminds me of 21st century offerings by Luke Haines, but Williams and his Heavenly chums just don't have the bile for that kind of thing. What's here is buoyant but a bit cynical, though still hopeful. It helps that the riffs for this are robust, the churning hook a delicious one.
Now, just wait until you hear the rest of the album! Twentieth Century will be out on 8 September via Skep Wax. More details below.