LIFE Share New Single 'The Drug' From New Album 'North East Coastal Town'
The accompanying video was directed by long-term collaborator Luke Hallett & drummer Stewart Baxter.
By: Michael Major Jun. 15, 2022
Following the recent announcement of their highly anticipated third album North East Coastal Town, today Hull punks LIFE return with searing new single "The Drug", the third single to be unveiled, which sees the band lean further still into the more intricate textures and subtle idiosyncrasies that they explore on the new record. With punchy, biting vocals and angular, dynamic guitar work, the track carries the band's much-loved trademark hook-heavy sound.
The accompanying video (directed by long-term collaborator Luke Hallett & drummer Stewart Baxter) features various artists and friends from the creative community within Shirethorn House; a commune of artists who have taken residency in the derelict building in Hull's city centre.
Speaking on the new single vocalist Mez Green says: "The Drug is a love song. I wrote the lyrics in the cold mountains of Italy before taking them into the room with the band. ''The Drug I needed has always been here, the drug I needed has always been near'' is, for me, realising that loved ones and those that love you, no matter where you are, can always be present. I'd never really believed this before and whilst this purity is at the lyrical heart of the song musically the band decided to inject flecks of dance, pop, harmonics, and dirty pulses to give the song drive, repetition and jerk-ability."
"The Drug" is the follow-up single to "Big Moon Lake", which was announced alongside the details of the new album and is currently playlisted at BBC 6 Music as well as various European radio stations. The band also shared an album track at the tail end of last year called "Friends Without Names" which also amassed popular support across BBC 6 Music resulting in an A-List addition.
The band will be performing a run of instore dates the week of release followed by a local celebration in Hull on Sat 3 September at The Social. Summer festival dates include recently announced dates at BST Hyde Park supporting Pearl Jam, Sea Power's Krankenhaus festival in the Lakes, and Mad Cool Sunset Festival in Madrid. UK & EU album tours will follow in the Autumn. Full dates are listed below.
LIFE are a band anchored by the city of Hull - it's geography, history and community has always inspired their creativity and with this new record they pay homage to their beloved city and it's folk.
When discussing the concept of "North East Coastal Town", vocalist Mez Green said:
"Hull and the surrounding area runs through our DNA and has shaped us, weathered us, empowered us, embraced us and made us feel accepted.
North East Coastal Town is our love letter to the city. The album is an ode to kinship and relationship with its musical and lyrical spine picking out themes of love, desire, beauty, horror, chaos, pride and most importantly the sense of belonging.
It's a reflective body of work dedicated to people and place and those that have always been there and made us feel like we belong.
Upon writing and recording this album it was important to us that this sense of belonging was also reflected in the album's craft and therefore we used locally based studios, equipment, gear, and the community around us to establish what it means to belong in a North East Coastal Town."
Watch the new music video here:
LIVE TOUR DATES
7/8/2022 - BST @ Hyde Park w/ Pearl Jam, London
7/13/2022 - Colours of Ostrava, Czech Republic
9/8/2022 - Big Festival, Andalucia
9/10/2022 - Mad Cool Sunset, Madrid
Album Release In-Stores
8/19/2022 - Record Junkee, Sheffield (7pm)
8/22/2022 - The Vinyl Whistle, Headingley (1pm) / Jumbo, Leeds (3.30pm) / Crash, Leeds (6pm
8/23/2022- Rough Trade Bristol
8/24/2022- Parade Vibes, Watford (1pm) / Rough Trade East, London (7pm)
8/25/2022 - Pie & Vinyl, Southsea (1pm) / Resident, Brighton (6pm
UK TOUR DATES
9/3/2022 - Hull, UK - The Social
10/3/2022- The Cluny, Newcastle
10/4/2022 - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
10/5/2022- Mash House, Edinburgh
10/7/2022 - Bootleg Social, Blackpool
10/8/2022 - Bodega, Nottingham
10/10/2022 - The Fleece, Nottingham
10/11/2022 - Patterns, Brighton
10/12/2022 - Scala, London
10/14/2022 - Joiners, Southampton
EU TOUR DATES
9/27/2022 - Confort Modern, Poitiers
9/28/2022 - Rock School Barbey, Bordeaux
9/29/2022 - Astrolabe, Orleans
9/30/2022 - Point Ephemere, Paris
10/17/2022 - Blueshell, Cologne
10/18/2022 - Molotow Club, Hamburg
10/20/2022 - Café V Lese, Prague
10/22/2022- Arci Bellezza, Milan
10/23/2022 - Freakout, Bologna
10/25/2022 - Hole 44, Berlin
10/26/2022 - Merelyn, Nigmegen
10/27/2022 - Rotown, Rotterdam
10/28/2022 - ACU, Utrecht
10/29/2022 - London Calling Festival, Amsterdam
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