The new single ‘WRSW’ from Lisbon-based Irish quintet pôt-pot is an intriguing motorik slab of krautrock with a slamming beat and a thundering combustion engine of rhythm and shuddering guitars. The vocals have the sort of distant, observant style á la Lou Reed: filled with an insouciant attitude and black-leather jacket swagger with a thousand yard stare.
There is a hypnotic fugue to the delivery augmented by repetition, feedback hovering in the ether and the intense forward motion to the beat. A late night neon-lit Nicolas Winding Refn haze is reflected in the themes. Songwriter Mark Waldron-Hyden says of the track:
‘WRSW’ is a chronicle of being driven in a very nice car to collect and deliver my father’s ashes, and how that odd comfort in such an awful situation jarred me; at one point the driver told me about a journey he’d taken from Ireland to Poland, where after days of driving, in the dead of night, a single road sign appeared, reading ‘WARSAW 480 KM’. I identified with that image of blackness punctuated suddenly by some faraway but tangible relief.
The lyrics reflect the chill in the atmosphere:
Hotel smells up of
What we lost
What we locked
Columbarium
So here it comes
Coming outta my head
I can’t feel it
And I
Don’t feel safe
The juddering anxiety threads its way through the music:
‘WSRW’ is out now and available through all the usal sites. It comes off the newly announced debut album ‘Warsaw 480km’ whose very title reflects the themes in the single. Out through felte, it will be out on 19 September, and you can pre-order through the link below.
Waldron-Hyden says of their sound:
Ollie [Oliver Smith] and Sara [Sara Leslie] are experts at getting the most out of one pedal, a shitty amp, and a guitar they borrowed, a result of innate talent and years of experience; they use some modulation for dronier passages, but it’s their playing styles and understanding of ‘the vibe’ that are the secret ingredients.
Feature Photograph: Celeste Burdon
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