Sunderland post-punk four-piece Roxy Girls have shared a new single titled Sister Fatima. The song comes on the heels of their single Like A Buoy and is lifted from the band’s forthcoming EP ‘Roxy Girls Are In The Drink’. The EP is due out 27th August 2021 via Moshi Moshi Records.
The last two years has seen Roxy Girls light up their homeland with the release of their critically acclaimed mini-album’s ‘A Poverty Of Attention’ and ‘A Wealth Of Information’, which earned plaudits from the likes of BBC 6 Music (inc. sessions for Marc Riley & Tom Robinson), BBC Radio 1, NME, DIY, Clash, Gigwise, So Young, tmrw, Paste, Radio X and more. Similarly, late-2019 saw the band play a number of shows across the UK earning a reputation for their angular and intoxicating live performances supporting the likes of The Murder Capital, Drahla, Du Blonde, Flamingods, The Rhythm Method, Crocodiles, Duds, Thee MVPS and more.
The new EP ‘Roxy Girls Are In The Drink’ was born out of the band not seeing each other for some time and meeting at the height of the UK’s third lockdown without having much idea of what to record. The resulting four tracks taken from this recording session are made up of live takes of tracks written in the studio, but despite the circumstances, the new EP finds the band continuing to develop and expand upon what a Roxy Girls song can be.
Influenced in part by albums like XTC’s ‘Drums and Wires’, the EP sees the band build on their unique and idiosyncratic take on the post-punk format, with crisp polyrhythmic guitar lines that interweave with one another, whilst placing more emphasis on the dynamics led by the drums and bass. It still conveys the same breathless intensity that Roxy Girls have been lauded for in the past, but not at the expense of the band moving towards warmer, more melodically driven songwriting. Whereas the band’s previous release ‘A Wealth Of Information’ saw the band strip back their sound slightly, the new EP sees them strike the balance between frenetic intensity, restraint and fastidious musicianship.
Lyrically, the ‘Roxy Girls Are In The Drink’ is more surreal than previous outings, partly due to the circumstances forced upon the band and general public by the pandemic. However, they still contain that same high-energy and mordacious, dry lyrical humour that frontman Tom Hawick has instilled across all the band’s releases. Speaking about recording the EP Hawick says, “After being sat in front of the tv for much of the last year, the lines between reality and entertainment started to blur, influencing portions of the EP’s lyrical content. ‘In the drink’ came from countless episodes of Takeshi’s castle and ‘My new home’ after too many grand designs.
Going on to speak about the new single Sister Fatima, Hawick says, “Our hamster was a nice girl, she died just after we recorded this. Rest In Peace Fatty.”
In spite of the situation thrust upon the band, the new EP sees Roxy Girls once again find a very natural evolution of a sound that has become completely their own. ‘Roxy Girls Are In The Drink’ sees the band taking a big leap forward in terms of their songwriting ability, further honing both their textural and melodic sensibilities. Whilst only four tracks long the EP stands as a blistering statement of what is yet to come from the band as they continue to push the boundaries of what they are capable of – lockdown or not.
‘Roxy Girls Are In The Drink’ track list
1. Like A Buoy
2. Sister Fatima
3. In The Drink
4. My New Home
‘Roxy Girls Are In The Drink’ is out 27th August – Pre-order here
Roxy Girls also recently announced that they will be going on tour this October with Leeds band, Mush. They will play the following dates:
14th Oct – Yes, Manchester
15th Oct – Central Library, Blackpool
22nd Oct – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
23rd Oct – Jericho, Oxford
24th Oct – Rough Trade, Bristol
25th Oct – Moth Club, London
26th Oct – Record Junkie, Sheffield
27th Oct – Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
28th Oct – Broadcast, Glasgow
29th Oct – Cumberland Arms, Newcastle
30th Oct – Trade Club, Hebden Bridge
Tickets are available here
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