Introducing #161 - crush
Let us introduce you to Manchester’s crush, who’s recent single ‘Chewed’ channels ‘90s bands such as Slowdive. They talked us through their music.
Hey crush. How are you? You’ve just released your new single. How does it feel to have it out in the world?
Arthur: Feels amazing! As is usually the case we've had it floating around for a while, we used to gig it with a terrible middle 8 section that had a synth solo in it so we're so glad we took the time to scrap that and write something a bit more delicate in its place. Has been worth the wait.
The track’s called ‘Chewed’. Can you tell us what it’s about?
Amber: The lyrics are quite personal, they talk about the breakup of friendships and the initial vulnerability I felt. I’ll admit that they’re a little depressing, but I wanted to be transparent with how I felt at the time and writing this song helped me alot! I hope they can also be relatable and viewed from many different perspectives.
You’re from Manchester, yet your sound is fairly removed from the typical vibe of most bands from the city. Did you intend to distance yourself from that image from the beginning?
Arthur: I wouldn't say it was necessarily intentional, we just have never really fit it that well on lineups we've played so far, as amazing as some of the bands have been. Shoutout to Jupiler Sky for being our shoegaze brothers in arms. Manchester has a very specific history and we just don't happen to have been influenced by the same bands. Bee Gees are the best band to come from Manny, hands down.
You’ve just released the video too. Can you tell us a bit about that?
Amber: We wanted the video to have a DIY feel and when we were recording chewed at the studio we had our friend Josh come along to film us recording and doing daft things! The video is made up of clips from the studio and of us in our rehearsal room performing the song. We thought the video should have a stripped back and raw feel similar to the songs lyrical content and we’re really happy with how it turned out. We recorded the video in a couple hours one morning and then went to get £1 tacos and bao buns at wolf at the door in NQ
What are the key musical influences when it comes to your music?
Arthur: For chewed I wrote all the guitar parts and structure thinking it sounded very Alvvays esque, full band we expanded on that. From there in the studio I guess it turned into a huge Slowdivey style arrangement. Honorable mentions across the board are My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Neil Young and Radiohead.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never listened to your music before?
Amber: If they had never heard of shoegaze or dream pop I would probably describe it as “really reverby with some fuzz and lots of guitars, sad but dreamy”