Songs Of Praise - Vinyle Or

Description

"Concrete" is a hard-hitting track, driven by an incisive post-punk riff. The call-and-response vocals convey the turmoil and schizophrenic inner monologue of the main character. "The song is about someone trapped in a relationship, forced to submit to the other," explains singer and lyricist Charlie Steen. "It's not about physical abuse, but rather an emotionally and psychologically draining relationship. The vocal dialogue [between Steen and bassist Josh Finerty] represents the main character's inner thoughts. They are confronted with two different problems that they refuse to face." The band cites The Fall, Country Teasers, Television Personalities, and Wire among their main influences, and the chilling, claustrophobic sound of "Concrete" places them in the lineage of Magazine and Joy Division. As a songwriter, Steen is a modern flâneur, observing with surgical precision the unfolding and fragmenting lives of others, with Hubert Selby Jr and Irvine Welsh as his main literary influences. "That raw, hard-hitting style of writing has always fascinated me," he explains. "It's not about shocking, but about approaching these subjects with such precision, without sugarcoating anything." The five London musicians quickly forged a reputation as one of the most visceral and exhilarating live bands in the UK, thanks to explosive concerts and an intense touring schedule across the UK and Europe. Formed on the squat-punk scene at the Queen's Head in Brixton in 2015, where they were taken under the wing of Fat White Family, the raw energy of their shows quickly led them to support Soft Play (formerly Slaves) and Warpaint. They were also personally invited by Billy Bragg to play the Left Field stage at Glastonbury. After two singles – "The Lick/Gold Hole" and "Tasteless" (Fnord Communications), released on AA, as well as "Visa Vulture" (a provocative love song to Theresa May, described by Steen as "the worst love song of all time") – "Concrete" is the first track from their Dead Oceans contract. "We started this band for a laugh, but it went wrong," Steen states, deadpan. "What we do is quite strange, even bizarre, but it allows me to meet a lot of people and hear a lot of things. The surrealism of reality interests me."