For some reason, this week seems to be inundated with breakup songs – of varying degrees. Isle of Wight natives Wet Leg and Coach Party both delivered excellent indie-rock breakup tracks this week, while alt-pop duo Oh Wonder released the second single off of their upcoming album, which describes their own breakups – with each other. Read on for my top picks this week.
Track of the Week: Wet Leg – ‘Wet Dream’
Last June, guitar two-piece Wet Leg became an (almost) overnight sensation with the release of their debut single ‘Chaise Longue’, which has racked up over 2 million streams on Spotify and over a million views on Youtube. Now they’ve returned with their equally tongue-in-cheek second single, ‘Wet Dream’.
While ‘Wet Dream’ has less of ‘Chaise Longue’s deadpan delivery, it maintains the same witty, catchy hooks created by post-punk-esque guitars and beats. Rhian Teasdale of the band explained that the song is actually a breakup song, and was inspired by an ex who texted her saying that he had a dream about her.
Although Teasdale says it’s a breakup song, it certainly doesn’t feel like one – with lyrics like ‘You said “Baby, do you want to comе home with me? I’ve got Buffalo ’66 on DVD”‘ and ‘I’ve never seen anything so obscene / It’s enough to make a girl blush’, Wet Leg continues to amaze with their surrealist take on life.
‘Wet Dream’ is out now via Domino Records. Watch the video below:
IDLES – ‘The Beachland Ballroom’
IDLES have announced their fourth album, CRAWLER, to be released in November this year. ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ is the first track that we get to hear off of this record, and it is certainly not anything that a long-time IDLES fan would expect.
Firstly, it’s substantially slower than the usual fast-paced rock attitude that the band tend to adopt. Secondly, frontman Joe Talbot (who usually sticks to a sort of spoken/shouted word method) is actually singing. Yes, singing – and doing it well. ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ is almost a ballad, with soulful organs and plucking guitars creating the backdrop for Talbot’s emotional vocal performance. With their upcoming album having been co-produced by Kenny Beats, it seems that IDLES have given themselves the opportunity to let go of expectations, and delve into new territory.
Crawler is out November 12 on Partisan Records. Watch the video for ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ here:
Coach Party – ‘FLAG (Feel Like A Girl)’
For some strange reason, it seems that the Isle of Wight can’t stop creating fantastic indie bands (see: Wet Leg, Lauran Hibberd). Coach Party are another one of these bands hailing from the island, and their latest single ‘FLAG (Feel Like A Girl)’ is the perfect angry song “for those who know what it’s like to feel unsafe, objectified or hurt by someone”. The chorus screams ‘I’ve been up all night / I can barely sleep / Wanna hurt you bad / Just like how you hurt me’, and although the lines may seem ambiguous, it is clear what the meaning is – it tells the story of so many women who have been the victim of manipulative, abusive behaviour. ‘FLAG (Feel Like A Girl)’ gives anyone who needs it a chance to scream.
‘FLAG (Feel Like A Girl)’ is out now via Chess Club Records. Watch the video below:
Oh Wonder – ‘Don’t Let The Neighbourhood Hear’
Oh Wonder‘s upcoming album 22 Break is a unique one. The record was written during the lockdown in the midst of the pair’s (temporary) breakup, and the tracks released from it thus far are, unsurprisingly, heartbreaking.
Their latest single ‘Don’t Let The Neighbourhood Hear’ is a much more low-key pop song than the previous single ’22 Break’, but is decidedly sadder. The pair sing ‘Am I not good enough to be loved by you?’ on the chorus over deep pianos and synths before the song strips down to just Anthony West of the duo singing ‘You gave me all of the dark that I got / But I would never dare to give up’.
West said of the album ‘It was such a weird thing [..] to make a breakup album with the person you’re breaking up with, while you’re breaking up’. Maybe he should talk to Fleetwood Mac.
22 Break is out October 8th on Island Records. Watch the video for ‘Don’t Let The Neighbourhood Hear’ below:
Other Selected Releases
SINGLES
Kali Uchis, SZA – ‘fue mejor’
Ashnikko – ‘Maggots’
Years & Years – ‘Crave’
Flight Facilities, BROODS – ‘FOREVER’
Remi Wolf – ‘Front Tooth’
Grace Savage – ‘Tracy’
Wet – ‘Far Cry’
ALBUMS
Christine and the Queens – Joseph EP
RAY BLK – Access Denied
Everyone You Know – Just for the Times
Molly Payton – Slack
This Week In Records: Playlist
Need a weekly music fix of all the songs you should care about? We’ve made a super handy playlist of all of this week’s biggest releases, so just sit back and listen to the good stuff. Updated every Saturday.
