They received favourable reviews across the board for their debut album Deep Down Happy, gaining a nomination for the 2020 Mercury Prize and even battling Lady Gaga in a hotly contested fight for the No.1 position on the UK Album Charts. They ended up narrowly losing out to the American juggernaut, peaking at No.2 in the UK in June 2020, but going to No.1 in Scotland.

A fair amount of pressure naturally follows in the wake of their debuts success, the age old problem of the difficult second album, however judging by what we’ve heard so far, it’s looking in good shape. Last month I covered their catchy and enjoyably boisterous single “The Game”, and now we have the follow up “Cool It Kid”. It opens up with a plodding Pixies-esque bass line and spacious distorted guitar before Rice’s nasally idiosyncratic vocal storms in with “Doctor doctor my heart’s on so tight, It sings like lobsters when you boil them alive“. A pretty gruelling opening sentiment then, we do hope you are alright Alex. Laterally the song picks up into a simple yet emphatic chorus “Hey! Cool it kid, Hold your ground, The wheels that are running you down, Will come around“. You can check it out here:

Speaking recently with NME, Sports Team said that the song is about “getting too deep in your stress about stuff and sometimes saying to yourself, ‘You know what, maybe sometimes you should sit back and it’s best not to react on your intense irrational emotions.”

The band have an 11-date tour scheduled across the UK and Ireland between October 11 and 25 2022, with 17 shows in the US also preceding this from mid September until early October. They have quite the live reputation too, often taking fan interaction to the next level by inviting the whole venue to the pub with them afterwards, so if you fancy a pint with the lads then I suggest grabbing a ticket to see them soon.

Sports Team are scheduled to play shows in Leeds Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Southampton, Bristol, Norwich, London, Belfast and Dublin throughout October with tickets on sale now. You can grab them here.

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The Indie rock veterans’ hotly anticipated album marks their tenth studio full release, “My Babe” is the third single to be released from Lucifer On The Sofa. The album’s first single, “The Hardest Cut” was released on 28th October 2021 and was accompanied by a music video that featured Halloween inspired themes. The album’s second single, “Wild”, was released on 10th December 2021 and also included an official music video with its release, the single’s video paid tribute to the classic Hollyood Western films.

Frontman and founding member Britt Daniel describes the album with the following statement, “It’s the sound of classic rock as written by a guy who never did get Eric Clapton.” The album’s press release also supplies a colourful description of the release, “It’s the band’s purest rock ’n roll record to date. Texas-made, it is the first set of songs that the quintet has put to tape in its hometown of Austin in more than a decade and bottles the physical thrill of a band tearing up a packed room. It’s an album of intensity and intimacy, where the music’s harshest edges feel as vivid as the directions quietly murmured into the mic on the first take.”

The group’s forthcoming album sees the group work with American producer and musician Dave Fridmann and producer Justin Raisen. The album has been co-produced by the band and Mark Rankin, the UK born producer known for his work with many top-charting artists. Rankin was awarded two Grammy Awards in 2012 for his work with Adele, the award for Album of the Year was bestowed to 21 and the smash hit single “Rolling In The Deep” clenched the Record of the Year.

 

 

 

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The album has already received great critical acclaim with many publications singing the upcoming releases’ praises. MOJO declared Spoon’s sound as “Elvis Costello on the streets, ZZ Top between the sheets”. And UNCUT have simply deemed their new work as “an instant classic”. In praise of the band themselves, NME has stated, “Not many bands can make dogged experimentalism easy for consumption, but Spoon are experts in the game” and The Guardian proclaimed them as “One of the finest bands of their generation”.

Lucifer On The Sofa is available to pre-order in many formats, fans can place their orders via digital platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music as well as sellers of physical formats such as Rough Trade.

Click here to pre-order Lucifer On The Sofa.

In an interview with NME, frontman Kele Okereke said of the themes of the song: “There was no specific incident that inspired this song – it was more a composite of lots of things I’ve seen over the years when being in clubs and seeing violence erupt with feuding love rivals… “I’ve always had a slight obsession with those sorts of moments; like a fuse being lit, when actions turn from words into violence. You can learn a lot about who people really are in those moments.”

Okereke added: “I just wanted to capture that moment of going from nought to 10 in an evening, in a sweaty nightclub.” The group have truly captured this vibe from the outset, with a raucous, hypnotic drumbeat and bassline leading the song while rowdy call and response vocalisations ring out in the background, translating the feeling of being surrounded by bright lights and nightlife hubbub into song. The tune has a notably 70s or early 80s feel at times, with the instrumentals sounding like the wilder side of a Roxy Music tune, with a peppering of early punk attitude.

Previous single “Traps” is a no holds barred rock tune that takes Bloc Party’s familiar indie rock and post-punk flair and cranks the dial, resulting in an explosive return for the band following their 2016 record Hymns, featuring a heavy, mesmerising riff and a danceable beat. You can view the music video for “Traps” at the link below.

Bloc Party’s upcoming album Alpha Games will be released on April 29^th of this year. You can find both “The Girls Are Fighting” and “Traps” on all streaming services, and you can find pre-orders for the album here.

The band will also be embarking on an EU and UK tour in May. You can purchase tickets here, and you can view the UK dates down below.

26/05/2022- O2 Academy 1- Birmingham
27/05- Rock City- Nottingham
28/05- Alexandra Palace- London
30/05- O2 Academy- Bristol
31/05- O2 Victoria Warehouse- Manchester
02/06- O2 City Hall- Newcastle
03/06- The Barrowland Ballroom- Glasgow
04/05- O2 Academy- Leeds