The London six-piece offer up an upbeat journey through heartbreak on new EP ‘Record Time’.

There’s an calming warmth which comes over you when listening to south London band Tugboat Captain. Record Time, the band’s new four track EP, flicks between galloping indie pop and buoyant jangle-pop. Harnessing the carefree stop-start pop of early Vampire Weekend, with intricate loveswept guitar reminiscent of New Jersey’s success story Real Estate, Tugboat Captain certainly encapsulate the major league recipe for success.

Opening track Record Time is a tale of modern day romance, floating synths wrap themselves around drum rolls that move at a canter as the track comes in at under 3 minutes. For that matter, the whole EP is done and dusted in under 11 minutes, a remarkable feat considering the romantic imagery packed within it. Bestfriend is a dreamy ode to post-relationship friendship, the track rises and falls in dramatic fashion, quite in line with the subject matter. As a crystal-clear slice of indie pop, it’s a beautiful moment on the EP.

Dog is the emotional roller coaster. Whilst continuing in the same forward-thinking indie pop vein as the previous two tracks, Dog builds into a wall of dreamy euphoria and then erupts in anger with “You treat me like a fucking dog”, whilst synths contort and leap out against a backdrop of sonic heartache. Ending on a positive note, Light ‘n’ Breezy contemplates a future of loneliness. Despite this, it’s actualy an extremely cheery track and lyrically extremely relatable.

Tugboat Captain‘s new EP is an indie mini-masterpiece, with more than enough instrumental detail to sink a ship, it’s also upbeat, dreamy and has a subtly sharp sense of humour.

READ MORE

IN DEEP WITH.. Peel Dream Magazine.

Live Review – Goat Girl + audiobooks @ The 100 Club.

Self Help – ‘Organic Noise Kitchen’ – Oxford four-piece unveil a high-octane thriller of an EP.

By Karl Johnson

FB // Twitter // Instagram // Radio // Hype-M