Baxter Dury’s third single, ‘Schadenfreude’, from upcoming album ‘Allbarone’, is vengeance mixed with a guttural post-disco beat
The third preview from Baxter Dury’s upcoming album ‘Allbarone‘, ‘Schadenfreude‘ sits comfortably between the introspection of his earlier work and his new dance-infused vision of the future. Dury’s got blues whistling vengeance through his teeth. He rides a rhythmic, post-disco beat with a guttural note of bitter triviality – a bruised ego and a simmering self-combustion. It’s punchy and danceable.
Speaking about the track, Baxter says “As soon as we had the backing track, it remained on loop, played through these giant bespoke speakers that looked like Cocaine Daleks. It has this optimistic, pulsating French dance feel, compromised by this slightly over-honest man’s lyric. Schadenfreude.”
This push and pull is the spark of the track: a slick French groove wrapped around a bitter mantra, a beat poem. Stripped, pissed, melatonin fever. ‘Schadenfreude‘. Dury’s vocals sit high in the mix, deeply human, raw – more spoken than sung – evoking the hedonistic cadence of an Irvine Welsh monologue, “Choose life. Choose a job…”.
The track is accompanied by a cinematic music video, less Trainspotting and more pulp 80s nostalgia – comedic, and off-kilter.
Video director Gareth Bowen explains: “I loved the tune. It instantly felt really cinematic… It also felt perfect for building a twisted narrative that’s atmospheric, joyful, comedic and spooky too.”
Baxter will be heading out on the road across the UK and Europe later this year, with ‘Allbarone‘ set to hit your dome on September 12th, via Heavenly. In the meantime, hit play, loop the spite, and let the beat roll.
Watch the video for ‘Schadenfreude‘ here:
Catch Baxter Dury at the following:
11th November – Mandela Hall, Belfast
12th November – Vicar Street, Dublin
14th November – SWG3 TV Studio, Glasgow
15th November – Albert Hall, Manchester
16th November – O2 Academy, Leeds
18th November – Rock City, Nottingham
19th November – Tramshed, Cardiff
21st November – The Dome, Brighton
22nd November – Eventim Apollo, London
23rd November – O2 Academy, Bristol
25th November – AB Brussels, Belgium
26th November – L’Aeronef, Lille, France
27th November – Kantine – Cologne, DE
28th November – Paradiso – Amsterdam, NL
30th November – Uebel & Gefaehrlich – Hamburg, DE
1st December – Huxleys – Berlin, DE
2nd December – Karlstorbahnhof – Heidelberg, DE
4th December – La Salle Pleyel – Paris, FR
5th December – Rocher de Palmer – Bordeaux, FR
6th December – Transbordeur – Lyon, FR
8th December – Razzmatazz 2 – Barcelona, ES
9th December – Sala But – Madrid, ES
10th December – LAV 2 – Lisbon, PT.