Emotions eclipse and overflow on W.H. Lung's pulsating "Showstopper" featuring softlizard. The driving bass lines, sparse yet ever so potent guitar lines, synthetic atmospheres and forward pushing beat feel as stoic as they feel joyous. The cool evocative vox lend an air of mystery and even alluring veils of danger. As the layers amp up and build I couldn't help but think (for whatever reason) of an amalgam of iconic decades and artists like Human League, LCD Soundsystem, Drab Majesty and The Stone Roses maybe not purely as a distillation of all of them together but in bits and pieces. Very cool. I like the sonic universe being built.
Of the track, the band shares:
“Showstopper is about The Fear. It’s the day after the night before when you’ve let it all go or let yourself go large or let yourself get vulnerable, thinking ah no what happened last night? what did I say? And yet the song does contain testimony of the beauty and transformation that can be found in a very good night out. softlizard’s verse is saying, alright stop thinking so much, get up and dance.”
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.whlungmusic.com/%C3%82%C2%A0
W.H. Lung announced their sophomore album, Vanities, last month with their first single “Pearl In The Palm” to glowing press in the U.S. and massive BBC Radio support in the U.K. They’re back today with the moody post-punk-meets-dance track “Showstopper” feat. softlizard. Their new single captures the feeling after a big night out, the mixture of “oh no, what did I do to myself” and the life-affirming moments that make nightlife so incredibly important. W.H. Lung say:
“Showstopper is about The Fear. It’s the day after the night before when you’ve let it all go or let yourself go large or let yourself get vulnerable, thinking ah no what happened last night? what did I say? And yet the song does contain testimony of the beauty and transformation that can be found in a very good night out. softlizard’s verse is saying, alright stop thinking so much, get up and dance.”
W.H. Lung’s sophomore album, Vanities, documents a period of change for the group. They lost a member to a move and fell more in love with dance music and the shifting sense of community and inclusivity that came with these changes.
The main songwriting unit of Tom Sharkett and Joe Evans exude positivity; an incandescent dance floor giddiness that can be felt all over Vanities. Despite being written in isolation and remoteness the album is rooted in very real physical spaces. “Manchester is a very important part of this record,” says Tom Sharkett, “The White Hotel, nights like Wet Play, seeing Gerd Janson DJ at the End of Year Riot (Electric Chair) and then discovering all the amazing stuff on his label Running Back. Then when we moved to Todmorden it was the same. Seeing Andrew Weatherall down the road from our flat at The Golden Lion - it just felt like an exciting time for us and I wanted to consume as much new music as possible.” Joe shares his bandmates’ enthusiasm for their dance floor experiences that have fed into this record. “Vanities is a musical representation of what Tom and I crave the most now that it’s been taken away from us,” he says. “In simple terms, we love to dance and have both fallen deeper in love with the music that facilitates that. Because of this voracious appetite for new music and the experiences that come with that hunger, influences on the album are vast: the aforementioned Weatherall, Robyn, Todd Terje, Grauzone, Kelly Lee Owens, Helena Hauff and countless others.” But the end result is something distinctly the band’s own.
W.H. Lung, indie rock, alternative rock, electronic pop, new wave tones, iconic sounds, cinematic, "Showstopper", featuring softlizard, sophomore album, "Vanities",
W.H. Lung's sophomore album "Vanities" drops September 3rd (2021) via Melodic Records. The Official Video was directed by Eve Louisa:
“Shooting this video was a first for myself as a new director, but it could not have been a better experience. As soon as I heard the song 'showstopper', the ideas were endless and working with the band was wonderful. The video demonstrates the captivating nature of the song. From the single-audience member’s entranced dancing too the hypnotizing backdrop visuals. Pulling inspiration from the videos of Dee Lite and King Krule amongst others, we wanted to show a charismatic, eclectic, intriguing look at the band - a show stopping appearance.”
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.whlungmusic.com/%C3%82%C2%A0
W.H. Lung announced their sophomore album, Vanities, last month with their first single “Pearl In The Palm” to glowing press in the U.S. and massive BBC Radio support in the U.K. They’re back today with the moody post-punk-meets-dance track “Showstopper” feat. softlizard. Their new single captures the feeling after a big night out, the mixture of “oh no, what did I do to myself” and the life-affirming moments that make nightlife so incredibly important. W.H. Lung say:
“Showstopper is about The Fear. It’s the day after the night before when you’ve let it all go or let yourself go large or let yourself get vulnerable, thinking ah no what happened last night? what did I say? And yet the song does contain testimony of the beauty and transformation that can be found in a very good night out. softlizard’s verse is saying, alright stop thinking so much, get up and dance.”
W.H. Lung’s sophomore album, Vanities, documents a period of change for the group. They lost a member to a move and fell more in love with dance music and the shifting sense of community and inclusivity that came with these changes.
The main songwriting unit of Tom Sharkett and Joe Evans exude positivity; an incandescent dance floor giddiness that can be felt all over Vanities. Despite being written in isolation and remoteness the album is rooted in very real physical spaces. “Manchester is a very important part of this record,” says Tom Sharkett, “The White Hotel, nights like Wet Play, seeing Gerd Janson DJ at the End of Year Riot (Electric Chair) and then discovering all the amazing stuff on his label Running Back. Then when we moved to Todmorden it was the same. Seeing Andrew Weatherall down the road from our flat at The Golden Lion - it just felt like an exciting time for us and I wanted to consume as much new music as possible.” Joe shares his bandmates’ enthusiasm for their dance floor experiences that have fed into this record. “Vanities is a musical representation of what Tom and I crave the most now that it’s been taken away from us,” he says. “In simple terms, we love to dance and have both fallen deeper in love with the music that facilitates that. Because of this voracious appetite for new music and the experiences that come with that hunger, influences on the album are vast: the aforementioned Weatherall, Robyn, Todd Terje, Grauzone, Kelly Lee Owens, Helena Hauff and countless others.” But the end result is something distinctly the band’s own.
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