With a new LP waiting in the wings, the London band share a new single.
NEW MUSIC | TUGBOAT CAPTAIN | WORDS BY KARL JOHNSON
Though Tugboat Captain’s new single was penned over a year ago, the song’s title and statement has eerily shown signs of clairvoyance, given the current state of affairs of both the global health pandemic and live music. Cut from their forthcoming debut studio album ‘Rut’, recorded at Abbey Road, the London four-piece have shared ‘No Plans (For This Year)’.
While the South London band’s reputation was forged on raucously DIY live shows and lo fi recordings, their new single offers instrumental muscle, a new sense of grandeur and something Beatles-esque. Perhaps the weight of a “ramshackle orchestra of friends” – that filed into Abbey Road in the wee hours during spare studio time – was key to add further instrumental depth and intricacy.
‘No Plans (For This Year)’ clocks in at four minutes and eighteen seconds, which is lengthy for a band known for crafting hook-laden indie pop that fits into a radio ready nutshell, I challenge you to find a Tugboat Captain track under four minutes in fact. What I’m trying to say is, this is the band’s chance to shoot for the stars, and with ‘Rut’ and ‘No Plans (For This Year)’ that’s exactly what they’ve done.
Tugboat Captain have inked a deal with Scottish label Double A-side records, and their album is due for release in October. Find the band on Spotify here.
hardofhearingmagazine.com 