When a band puts out an animated video it usually means the record company has made a commercial decision that they’re far too busy with the day job of playing shows and general touring to spend a couple of day piddling about under a motorway flyover, playing their future hit 58 times whilst looking longingly at the hired model acting as the love interest, who has been hired in for a couple of days. It doesn’t generally involve the lead singer “tracing over 1500 stills on a lightbox, putting in about 4-6 hours work a day for a couple of weeks”. The result of those 70 hours (i averaged it at 5 hours over the 2 weeks) spent doodling are superb.
The song itself is one of the more upbeat and “pop” songs on their ‘Teenage Blood’ record (my album of the year so far), which had a certain darkness, especially lyrically but the track is upbeat from the off. Great guitar riff, nice vocal harmonies in the chorus and just at the end they throw in a cheeky bit of violin. It’s splendid, shimmering summer folk. B-side ‘Right Side of My Head’ is an altogether more darker affair and could easily have suited the album. Dark, brooding and shimmering but retaining a beautiful melody. Two more tracks, two more reasons why Tom Williams & The Boat are one the best, most unique bands in Britain in 2012.
