Belfast quartet announce their sophomore LP, ‘Animal Style,’ with a track that weaponizes nostalgia through a wall of distortion.

Following their 2022 debut ‘Moonsoake,’ which was birthed in the echo-chamber of an abandoned Portuguese factory, the band have returned with news of their sophomore effort, ‘Animal Style.’ To herald the announcement, they have shared the video for the lead single, ‘Be Positive.’

Due for release on May 29th via the stalwart Fierce Panda Records in the UK and Propeller Sound Recordings in the US, the new material sees the band stripping back in favor of something more raw.

‘Be Positive’ is a study in juxtaposition. The title suggests a saccharine affirmation, yet is filled with distorted guitars and a rhythm section that hits with the weight of industrial machinery. It is shoegaze with teeth; the ethereal vocals of Melyssa Shannon are fighting to be heard through a thicket of fuzz and reverb.

The production backstory is delightfully analogue. Produced by the band’s own Jonny Woods alongside Andy Bradfield (The XX, Manic Street Preachers) and Avril Mackintosh, the track’s spine is built on a specific, deliberate limitation. Seeking a “Phil Collins snare” sound, the band utilized a cheap MPX100 reverb rack unit, locking the entire composition around a snare decay they couldn’t alter. “When nostalgia may seem your only way to feel positive about the future, it might be best to kill your darlings,” the band notes, adding that the title is a blood-type nod to goth icons Type O Negative.

Animal Style was recorded in the cavernous space of an old ballroom situated above a working men’s club in Belfast, a setting that seems to have seeped into the recording itself. It promises a “more guitar-focused album with less guitars”…