New Town Dream

Neutrals

New Town Dream

SLR 283 » released May 2024

LP
» $21.00
CD
» $9.00
DIGITAL » Bandcamp |  Apple Music |  Amazon Music
1. New Town Dream (Version) 8. Steven Proctor, Bus Conductor
2. That's Him On The Daft Stuff Again 9. The Iron That Never Swung
3. Wish You Were Here 10. How Did I Get Here
4. Stop The Bypass 11. Substitute Teacher
5. Travel Agent's Windows 12. Phantom Arcade
6. Chaos At The Jasmine 13. Leisureland
7. Last Orders  

First pressing on baby blue vinyl with fold-out newspaper lyric sheet and bonus postcard.

nice color

Dream… or nightmare? That's the underlying question posed on "New Town Dream," the second LP from Bay Area trio Neutrals, as guitarist/vocalist Allan McNaughton's lyrical narratives expand on the world first built on the band's 2022 EP "Bus Stop Nights," offering snapshots of mundane lived realities in the "New Towns" that proliferated in the UK during the '60s and '70s. "New Town Dream" conceptually voices the psychic tension of that era, of being pushed toward the margins and becoming just another cog in a deeply broken machine.

The band's musical touchstones are squarely situated in the timeline of doomed Thatcherism that followed from the late '70s to late '80s. "Wish You Were Here" and "The Iron That Never Swung" jangle with a razor-edged rapid strum to rival The Wedding Present; "That's Him on the Daft Stuff Again" and "Travel Agent's Windows" nod to the Television Personalities' naive, kaleidoscopic mod melodies streaked with cynicism; "Steven Proctor Bus Conductor" slowly unfolds from verses in the dark, rhythm-forward spirit of Josef K to transcendently Pastels-esque pop choruses with sugary-sweet (but slightly deadpan) backing vocals from bassist Lauren Matsui. Perfect C86 sounds for often hellish C24 times!

— Erika Elizabeth

Notes:

First pressing on baby blue vinyl with fold-out newspaper lyric sheet and bonus postcard. This is a co-release with our friends at Static Shock Records in the UK. If you're in Europe please support your local indie label and get it from them.

see also » Personal Computing 7"/digital

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