Here's some good news to start the month! Swansea Sound are prepping a new album and we've got a video to feature today. The world is going to hell but at least there's still great indie-pop, eh?
A refresher? Swansea Sound is 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, Louis Philippe, Pete Astor, and Papernut Cambridge). They make brash, wry, clever tunes that seem to channel the spirit of each of those bands mentioned above. The new record will be called Pre-post-truth and we've got our first taste of it today.
"Mean to be Mean" is Amelia and Rob's tussle with a UK music journalist updated for a new century. As someone who read NME and Melody Maker with a near-religious devotion at times, this reviewer understands just how hurtful those writers could be in years past. Scoring a quip at the expense of a band wasn't uncommon. The subject of this song is unnamed, but we can get the point about that general culture. The playful back-and-forth between Amelia and Hue is some of the best vocal interplay from Swansea Sound to date, and the tune bounces around with real wit and energy.
Pre-post-truth by Swansea Sound is out on November 13. Details via Skep Wax, and you can pre-order here.
[Photo: Tiger Lily]