As I incessantly say, The Nagging Doubts are one of the finest and underrated young bands coming out of Sydney at the moment and we have followed their relatively nascent career with avid interest. Their new single ‘Glue’ proves that this band is a powerful force that deserves a wider audience.
Sung by Ruby, the track is a fine example of the antipodean indie scene with roots that go back to the delicate sounds of The Go-Betweens, The Bats and The Chills: gossamer soft tendrils of sounds with a muscular delivery that are carried by indelible melodies that shimmer.
Guitars jangle and sparkle under the distant vocals that sometime whoop with sheer exuberance and utter warmth. There is a shoegaze buzz to the sound – a wall of guitars and slamming percusion while th vocals float ethereally. Ruby says of the track:
‘Glue’ is a love song for my best friend, it’s the good sides of codependency and it’s my honest depiction of love. I wrote it after the last lockdown when I was feeling how lucky I was to have her, when we would spend hours together just talking non stop. Love is silly but at the same time it’s the most serious thing we have and I think we tried to reflect that in the song.
A vein of yearning melancholia threads its away through the wandering vocals that weave in and out of the music. There is a tangible freshness, earnest and raw, and an arrangement that avoids all tropes and conventions. This is really exciting and innovative stuff:
‘Glue’ was recorded with Izaac Wilson at the Grove Studios near Gosford. It is the last single before the band’s debut album release in early 2025.
