Hannah North
Freelance Journalist for CLUNK and photographer. Based in London, but you can often find me in Bristol.
Bristol ‘Bootgaze’ quartet Langkamer drop their new single ‘Aberfan’ today as a final teaser for their third studio album ‘Langzamer‘
A song about modernity and apathy, ‘Aberfan‘ takes a look at how awful it feels to realise you have become passive to the neverending deluge of the modern world. The single has all the hallmarks of Langkamer: the notes of gritty Americana, grassroots melodies, and a subtle blend of reflection and euphoria drip all over the track.
It’s important to note the title of the song – ‘Aberfan‘ being the site of the catastrophic colliery collapse in Wales that killed 144 people. It provides a solemn context to the single, an ‘atheist gospel’ about ‘struggling to find any real joy or enthusiasm in your day.’ And you can really feel the weight of this context in the lyric ‘some mornings I cannot even lift myself like the worst of mountains.’
There are notes of 70’s pschedelia in the intro and first verse, before the chorus erupts into something much more folksy. This chorus feels optimistic compared with that which surrounds it, until lead singer Josh Jarman tells us that telling the mountains to sing doesn’t mean anything at all. And yet, despite the harrowing content of the lyricism, there is something truly hopeful about the sound.
Verses and choruses rise and fall, just like those mountains the band sings about. By the time the single comes to a close, it almost feels as though you’ve traversed a rocky terrain with them, and come out somewhat unscathed.
In short, ‘Aberfan‘ is rousing. The track, alongside other singles ‘Richard E. Grant‘ and ‘At The Lake‘, makes me very excited to hear the rest of the project.
LP ‘Langzamer’ is out on 16th October via Breakfast Records.
Watch/Listen to ‘Aberfan’ here:
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