Mush "Down Tools (Rough Trade Publishing)"
Leeds, UK band Mush have announced their third album, Down Tools, which will be out July 8 via Memphis Industries. (Their previous record, Lines Redacted, came out in February 2021.) This is the first album they’ve made since the death of guitarist Steve Tyson in 2020, and they once again worked with producers Lee Smith and Jamie Lockhart (Yard Act, The Cribs). “They let us do whatever we want within reason, we have fun and you kind of forget they are actually both amazing at what they do,” says singer/guitarist Dan Hyndman. “So much of the guitar had to be improvised in the studio which was stressful but also intrinsic to creating the non-linear vibe of some of the stranger tracks.”
The first single off the album is “Get On Yer Soapbox,” which is powered by an off-kilter earworm riff and Hyndman describes as “a righteous wig-out number, like ‘Alternative Facts’ but with more cowbell.” He adds, “All the solos are improvised and I very much doubt I will ever be able to recreate them live, you can hear the track going off the rails which is something I’ve found exciting on records. Lyrically again it’s a kind of re-purposing of an old idiom which I like to do. Generally being ‘on your soapbox’ is considered to be a bit of a slur but I think a bit of self-righteousness is warranted from time to time, especially with the shower of shite we’re dealing with.”