{{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. Learn More{{/message}}
{{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}It appears your submission was successful. Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. Learn More{{/message}}
Leeds has long been a creative hub, producing a string of stellar artists, including Gang of Four, Eagulls, Nightmares on Wax and countless others. Now, it looks like Yorkshire’s cultural capital has produced yet another refreshing act.
Going by the name of China Steps, there’s a wonky dynamism to the five-piece – who it must be noted are something of a supergroup – with members plucked from some of Leeds’ most eminent bands. Comprised of Thomas Barr, Ewan Barr, Matt Pownall, Stanley Braddock and Lachlan Banner, the members hail from Eades, Drahla, Van Houten and Genie Genie.
The band have dropped their debut single ‘American Life’, and it immediately pulls you in. Produced by Chris Mulligan of Manchester favourites W.H. Lung, the piece starts with a slightly disconcerting introduction that finds itself placed between Preoccupations and Gilla Band. However, this soon shifts as the guitars gradually cut through the mix, creating a brief drone before the electronic textures drop out, and the Barr’s and Pownall’s guitars deliver one of the finest riffs we’ve heard in a long time.
It’s heady and enchanting and is ballasted by some expressive bass work from Braddock, creating a pulsating sound we didn’t know we needed. The song is the perfect antidote to the bunk that everyday living currently offers.
Unsurprisingly, the band cite some of the most lauded outfits that utilised dovetailing guitars as heroes. Heatmiser, Duster, Deerhunter, Red House Painters and Women are the acts mentioned in their press materials, and they certainly do the aforementioned justice whilst bringing something new to the form. Think Microcastle-era Deerhunter blended with ever-so-subtle twists of post-punk and industrial. It’s one of the most atmospheric releases I have heard in a long time, boasting a re-listenable quality that is a testament to the combined force of the quintet.
Added to this immersive sentiment are the lyrics, brimming with sharp observations about the darker side of the human experience, with the repetition of the word ‘Schadenfreude’ getting the point across.
The band say of the track: “The theme behind ‘American Life’ is ‘Schadenfreude,’ the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, or humiliation of another. This felt very apt for the time we wrote it correlating to the time we were living in at that point with Covid ongoing and Trump in power in the States”.
Follow Far Out Magazine across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
{{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. Learn More{{/message}}
{{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}It appears your submission was successful. Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. Learn More{{/message}}