London six-piece Flat Party release new single ‘Shotgun’ on Submarine Cat Records. Signalling the follow up to their widely praised self-titled debut EP released in January this year, Flat Party will celebrate the release of ‘Shotgun’ this Friday 26th July at the Windmill Brixton, London.
Wrapping flamboyance, humour and complex emotions around urgent, shapeshifting art-rock, Flat Party have garnered a reputation as one of the most thrilling live bands in the country, with notable tours and dates supporting English Teacher, Courting, Opus Kink, FEET and Goat Girl as well as playing up and down the country to rousing sold-out crowds of their own. On new single ‘Shotgun’, Flat Party’s vocalist Jack Lawther moves with a refreshing self-deprecating swagger, to a backdrop of riff-laden, 80’s flecked grooves. By his own admission, the track is “An ode to hedonism” including playful imagery such as “Cruising round the table to play tennis with your pupils”, as well a disarming frankness: “Spill my guts at the bar / Wish I’d spilled them across the road”.
On the release of ‘Shotgun‘, Lawther said:
“‘Shotgun’ is an ode to hedonism, but it’s also full of self-loathing and anxiety. There’s a lyric in there based on a quote I read that was “The sun never sets on the British Empire, because even God couldn’t trust the English in the dark”, I thought that was brilliant. Musically, it’s a bit of a pisstake to be honest. I wrote it very quickly as a bit of a jab at the sea of cowbell-punk-bands that were impossible to escape at one point. A fair few people have told me after gigs that this is their favourite song and I think “of course it is, I wrote it for YOU”.
The band’s drummer and director of the video Zander Hearn adds:
“Set in the depths of purgatory, the video is a peak into the surreal world surrounding the release. Matching the upbeat energy of the track, we tried to keep the performances fun, whilst the moody interiors and mysterious characters allude to the darker backstory behind it.”
With collective influences ranging from Big Star, Suede and Sparks to Japanese Breakfast, The Replacements, Manic Street Preachers and David Bowie, Flat Party’s music and overriding ethos historically has been rooted in escapism, yet their vision for the future of the project is more ambitious and sprawling than ever before, as Lawther explains:
“In comparison to the subtle optimism of our debut EP, ‘Shotgun’ and the new songs we’ve been working on are dark, hedonistic and dramatic. There’s always been that side of the band present, so it felt right to represent it properly. Sonically, it’s all a lot more intense than the first EP too and we’ve really made the most of our musical arsenal when it comes to the arrangements.”
Flat Party Live Dates
July
26 Windmill Brixton, London (Headline)
27 Life In Death Festival, Southampton
August
03 Humber Street Sesh, Hull
17 MK Sports Bar, Milton Keynes (w/ King Nun)
18 Hot Box, Chelmsford (w/ King Nun)
October
5 Night Currents Festival, Portsmouth
November
19 Zerox, Newcastle (Headline)
20 Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh (Headline)
22 The Rat & Pigeon, Manchester (Headline)
23 Hallamshire Hotel, Sheffield (Headline)
24 Heartbreakers, Southampton (Headline)
26 The Louisiana, Bristol (Headline)
27 The Lexington, London (Headline)
For more information on Flat Party please check their facebook and instagram.
