Another Form of Relief

I know, I know. I still haven’t written about the Los Campesinos! show yet. I will, and soon, just not today. Partly because I’m waiting for some kick ass pictures to accompany the piece, and secondly because I want to tell you about It Hugs Back.

I’ll get the NME details out of the way first. Yes, they have appeared in said publication. Yes, said publication stated that ‘Kent could soon produce it’s very own Bright Eyes’. Yes, I’d be scared after a review like that too. Truth is, I’d been aware of It Hugs Back for a little while, but I’d never really listened to them. I’m not sure why. Their name screams twee and we all know how I like a good twee pop band, particularly when it’s a somewhat local one. Anyway, their new single popped into my inbox this morning and during my weekly sort out of everything I’m sent (80% awful, 10% passable, 10% good), I gave it a listen. I was very pleasantly surprised.

Of course this led to inevitable exploration of more of their songs. Thankfully their website has two downloable songs, which are rather different from the Grandaddy-esque upbeat pop of the single. ‘Miss Being Young’ is a slowed down acoustic number that is a melancolic look back on simpler times (”Do you miss being young? / The honesty that comes / I miss being old enough to cry”) that isn’t a million miles away from Bright Eyes, loathe as I am to admit the NME were on the right lines about something. ‘Wear You Down’ leans more toward lo-fi dream pop territory, and is just as strong, mostly thanks to lead singer Matt’s intimate vocals.

In the early days of this blog I regularly complained that there was hardly any great new music coming out of the UK as a whole, let alone any kind of local scene. Given some of the things I’ve discovered in the past few months, it turns out I just didn’t know where to look for it.

MP3 It Hugs Back - Miss Being Young
MP3 It Hugs Back - Wear You Down

It Hugs Back’s fantastic new single, ‘Lights In The Trees’ will be released on vinyl and as a download (but of course, not CD, because you know, no one likes those anymore) on October 2 on Tigertrap Records. You can listen to it on the band’s Myspace page. They will also be embarking on a UK tour that includes not one, but two dates in the Medway area in the coming weeks. This might not seem like much to you, but we get so little down here that I’m going to jump on whatever I can. Full details on their website.

It Hugs Back: Website || Myspace

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