BE IN no doubt; the Glaswegian indie scene is one these isles should be thankful for.
Having produced so many great bands since the days of the post-punk – c’mon, need we name them all? – the new crop of acts coming through are carrying the proud tradition and knocking out some superb tunes.
In recent weeks we’ve covered a double drop from Jeshua, the dreampop excellence of “IDK” and then the more chillout room vibe of the mnlghtr remix of the same; the unearthed loveliness of TeenCanteen’s original take on “How We Met (Cherry Pie)”, with that Pastels cutiepop thing running vibrant in its veins – and how!; and the proper indie club dancefloor anthem of Gunke’s “Football”; and the spiralling sunshine of Western Column’s “Hear Not Say”. A glut of brilliance.
And it’s these last two which are especially pertinent, since in the Pete Frame Rock Family Tree of these things they feature members of Dutch Wine on aurally exploratory sabbatical; but the mothership is back today with “Whisky”, a song about the water of life, which you can hear below.
Their fourth single, it’s built of slashed guitars, world-weary vocal melody, even a dub-inflected intro; and deals with a broken relationship and the slump in health that so often walks hand in hand with that. And it deals with that in a sound that’s a little bit Franz Ferdinand, a little bit Pale Saints, mantric chanting for this lost love to “take me back” subsumed by guitar howl.
Guitarist Christopher Devine says: “Compared to our previous releases, it’s definitely a bit softer and – at least from a guitar point of view – is much more orientated towards a pop vibe.
“In its developing stage we just nicknamed it ‘Whisky’ because it felt quite chill compared to the other songs and wanted to give the vibe of chilling out in an armchair sipping on some old whisky.”
Singer Calvin Smith adds: “It’s about about someone kind of falling apart at the hands of a broken relationship, feeling detached and relying on substances to even feel something.
“I wouldn’t say it’s very personal, I just tried to use emotions I’ve felt from break-ups but exaggerate it to a point where that idea of having to let go totally overcomes your day to day life.”
Dutch Wine’s “Whisky” is out now on all digital streaming platforms.
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