North London based indie-pop five-piece Sad Boys Club have unveiled their latest track ‘American Spirit’, which comes accompanied by artistic visuals set in both a dark and moody London ally and a low-key music studio, acting as the perfect backdrop for the sullen yet undeniably groovy lyrics. The bands new single stands as a follow up to last year’s debut ‘Know’ and the more recent release of ‘15/01’, all drawing on an amalgamation of influences reminiscent of The Cure, The War on Drugs and The National.
‘American Spirit’s’ artsy visuals, with a toned-down and slightly moody composition, compliment the lyrics metaphorical narrative of the ‘dark city’ reflecting the ‘dark side of man.’ Yet the track provides a glimmer of hope with the reminder that happiness might be found even in the darkest of places, observing that the city ‘looks pretty’ through the light of a cigarette. The band has started to cement the core theme of their lyrics in teenaged caged frustration and the struggle of building connections.
Existing in numerous formations since their pre-teen days, the five-piece band now consists of Jacob Wheldon, Tom MacColl, Tom Herzberg, Jake Chatterton, and Pedro Caetano Leite. Despite experimenting with song-writing together in their early years, the band started out with covers of Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes. However their sound truly began to take shape with the incorporation of their own poetic lyricism. With family connections to Bombay Bicycle Club, Sad Boys Club began rehearsing in Bombay’s studio at the end of the garden, experimenting with hand-me-down equipment and surrounded by inspiration of the bands success.
‘American Spirit’ was produced by Duncan Mills, a producer whose credits span from Spector, Peace, The Vaccines and Jake Bugg. On working with Duncan Mills, the bands frontman Jacob Wheldon explained that they had “wanted to do something together for a little while, but we both knew this was the one.”
Having recently supported Spector at their Manchester Gorilla show, Sad Boys Club are definitely ones to watch this year.
Sad Boys Club Instagram
