Indoor Pets - 'London (Love To Hate)'
Indoor Pets return with a scuzzy cuss to the capitol, in their first release since their 2019 debut album, Be Content.
“London (Love To Hate)” is a conflicted tale of life in the big city, of the struggle to survive in a world where the working class are being increasingly cast aside. It’s bigger, heavier, and more serious than their previous sounds, but it was the unsettling of the pandemic that changed the motivation of the members and nearly resulted in them quitting music forever. Writing on socials today, the band explained how post-covid they all found themselves on different paths, pursuing new careers in order to make ends meet, but when they were finally able to reform, this track which had been in their repertoire for years felt more prevalent than ever, and they knew “London (Love To Hate)” was the resurrection they needed.
With huge support slots already under their belt such as opening for Weezer and Ash, Indoor Pets were making a name for themselves, but then the world all went to shit. It’s poignant but of little surprise that returning we find ourselves in no better place than we were before it all, when this song was written. “Dying by the living wage / Trying to suppress my rage / London is the place I love / The place I love to hate.” It’s a distinctly British sentiment of bitter acceptance, and yet the band still sound more like stateside surf-punk bands of the 2010s than the actual fact, four lads from Kent.
It's a refreshing mix up though, nostalgic of the past and benefitted by the pop-punk revival, and also very different to what most young British bands currently sound like. The meaty guitars and beat lead the track for sure, with tight glossy production, the second half beefs up the riffs and tempo to really get your head banging. It’s catchy and oh so relevant, but kind of a wildly serious topic for such a fun-sounding band to express.
Words by Alice Jenner
