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The enigmatic Irish four-piece noise-punk band Naked Lungs share their new single ‘River (Down)’. The track follows the announcement of their highly anticipated debut album, ‘Doomscroll’, and their recent critically acclaimed singles ‘Pressure’ and ‘Relentless’, which earned plaudits from the likes of NME, BBC Radio 6 Music, Upset, Hot Press, Gigwise, and more. Recorded and mixed once again by Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox at Sonic Studios in Dublin, the new album is out 18th August.
In addition to the new single, Naked Lungs also recently announced details for their first headline UK tour, which is due to start in September and will finish at The Shacklewell Arms in London on 3rd Oct – tickets are available here.
The album and tour dates come on the heels of a triumphant 2022, which saw the band release several singles and a self-titled EP that garnered international acclaim and plays on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music, as well as support from Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop. They followed up with a year of high profile gigs, including two sold-out Therapy? supports, a successful headline UK tour, several sold-out Dublin headline shows and a festival run which saw them play a packed-out morning showcase at The Great Escape, as well as performing at the likes of Otherside Festival, Mutations Festival, and more.
The band’s recent singles ‘Pressure’ and ‘Relentless’ were a grinding and explosive introduction to their new album ‘Doomscroll’, which demonstrated their ability to twist and flex around the loud/quiet dynamics of the band’s crushing instrumentation and sing/shout vocals. The new single ‘River (Down)’ continues to exemplify the bands command of tension and release, with wall of sound, caustic guitar work that builds and bends until it breaks out into an anthemic chorus around vocalist Tom Brady’s screams of ‘Down’.
Speaking about the track, the band say: “River (Down) is us crafting this auditory assault of distortion and drums against a despondent scream into the proverbial nothingness as you spiral deeper and deeper down into a well of self-pity. There’s a definite angst the song that is offset against these abrupt moments of reprieve – building of massive tension only to grant no release, leaving the listener on edge for the whole runtime. This was one of the earliest songs we wrote on “Doomscroll” and it highlights some of the elements and styles we discovered and adopted during the formation of what would eventually become Naked Lungs.”
Over the course of 10 tracks, ‘Doomscroll’ replicates the flow and scroll one might experience as they doomscroll through batches of negative news, each song acting almost as another article. The ebb and flow of emotions around this concept can be seen across the widely varying dynamics of the record, encapsulating these negative feelings and counteract them with moments of levity.
The album still contains the same caustic power that the band have been lauded for, but elsewhere on tracks such as ‘The Garden’ they lean into more melodic and measured territory with sung vocals and post-rock leaning, atmospheric instrumentation. Similarly, on ‘Boo Boo’ the band almost dip into new wave territory with melodic vocals that constrict around droning effected guitars and crashing drums. These tracks are just a taste of where the band’s real talent lies on this record – in their ability to control and toy with both restraint and unbridled power. Tracks such as ‘Outcome’ exemplify this further with moments of uneasy tension, which ignite in a carpet-bomb of noise, distortion, and angst.
Having already been named as one of NME’s 100 for 2023, Naked Lung’s debut album stands as a pulverising display of a band that are able to deliver on all of the hype that has been building around them, whilst continuing to defy pigeonholing. Stop scrolling, put down the phone, and pay attention.
Tour dates:
15th Sept – Leeds – Hyde Park Book Club
16th Sept – Manchester- Deaf Institute
17th Sept – Newcastle – Think Tank
18th Sept – Edinburgh – Sneaky Petes
19th Sept – Glasgow – Broadcast
20th Sept – Blackpool – Bootleg Social
22nd Sept – Birmingham – Sunflower
23rd Sept – Milton Keynes – Craufurd Arms
24th Sept – Ipswich – Smokehouse
26th Sept – Norwich – Voodoo Daddy’s
27th Sept – Southampton – Heartbreakers
28th Sept – Bedford Esquires
29th Sept – Exeter – The Cavern
30th Sept – Tunbridge Wells Forum (Basement)
1st Oct – Brighton – Green Door Store
3rd Oct – London – The Shacklewell Arms
Naked Lungs is:
Tom Brady – Vocals
Andrew Connaughton – Guitar
Matthew Pyper – Drums
Ryan Mortell – Bass
‘Doomscroll’ is out 18th August
Tracklisting:
1. Gack
2. Second Song
3. River (Down)
4. Relentless
5. Shell
6. Outcome
7. Pressure
8. Database
9. The Garden
10. Boo Boo