Bay Area post punk/ jangle pop trio Neutrals have unleashed their new single “Wish You Were Here“, accompanied by a music video.
The track features on their upcoming sophomore album ‘New Town Dream,’ set to arrive on May 31 on Slumberland Records & Static Shock. Pre-order your copy here.
“A “Dear John” letter by way of three postcards sent from a Balearic holiday, ‘Wish You Were Here’ reveals that Gary Borthwick wasn’t telling tall tales (Bus Stop Nights EP, 2022) when declaring his love for an Elizabeth Taylor – just not THE Elizabeth Taylor. Unfortunately his feelings for Liz are unrequited and she finds distraction in the flattering attentions of an amorous Flamenco dancer… but are Pedro’s intentions entirely honorable?
Allan / Neutrals
Inspired by watching Alicia Jeanine playing my guitar at a show, I bought myself a capo. The very first time I tried it out, this riff appeared. I turned on the tape recorder and here we are.”
Dream… or nightmare? That’s the underlying question posed on “New Town Dream,” as guitarist/vocalist Allan McNaughton’s lyrical narratives expand on the world first built on the band’s 2022 EP “Bus Stop Nights,” offering snapshots of mundane lived realities in the “New Towns” that proliferated in the UK during the ’60s and ’70s. While “New Town Dream” conceptually voices the psychic tension of that era, of being pushed toward the margins and becoming just another cog in a deeply broken machine.
The band’s musical touchstones are squarely situated in the timeline of doomed Thatcherism that followed from the late ’70s to late ’80s.— Erika Elizabeth
Watch the Elyse Schrock-created video below.
New Town Dream Tracklist:
- New Town Dream (Version)
- That’s Him On The Daft Stuff Again
- Wish You Were Here
- Stop The Bypass
- Travel Agent’s Windows
- Chaos At The Jasmine
- Last Orders
- Steven Proctor, Bus Conductor
- The Iron That Never Swung
- How Did I Get Here
- Substitute Teacher
- Phantom Arcade
- Leisureland
TOUR DATES
05/05 San Francisco, CA – Knockout w/Chime School & Teini-Pää
06/06 Oakland, CA – The Oakland Weekender at Thee Stork Club