HOOTON TENNIS CLUB
Hooton Tennis Club have announced details of their second album, Big Box Of Chocolates, which is released on Heavenly Recordings on Friday October 21st 2016.
Produced by Edwyn Collins at his Clashnarrow Studios in Helmsdale, Scotland.
If their debut album, Highest Point In Cliff Town, released in August last year, was the band’s sprightly statement of intent, Big Box of Chocolates may well be their coming-of-age: a record that retains all the colour and invention of their debut, while being elevated by richer instrumentation and lyrics that hint at slightly heavier themes: love and loss, nihilism and the ‘non-spaces’ of Northern England, all delivered in the band’s typically laconic, bittersweet style, like a Mersey Beat Murakami.
The dozen tracks continue the band’s knack of combining catchy off-kilter riffs with droll storytelling; album narrators – vocalists and guitarists Ryan Murphy and James Madden – seem to straddle optimism and uncertainty with their lyrics, whether singing about their internal worlds or commenting on a motley cast of characters (Bootcut Jimmy, BBC 6Music presenter Lauren Laverne, Lazers Linda…) who turn up across the album’s 41 minutes to amuse, tempt or torment them. Whether fictional (the awkward genius Jimmy ‘looking shifty in his new shoes’) or real (Ryan’s ex-housemate immortalised in first single ‘Katy-Anne Bellis’), each character shares an equal platform, all revered in Hooton’s own low-key way.
Recorded over three weeks in Helmsdale, during which time they all grew beards, drank copious amounts of tea, became birdwatchers and whiskey tipplers, the album reflects the band’s RELAXED approach to songwriting ; they tend not to labour over recording demos or strumming and beating the life out of songs in the practice room -instead, ideas are allowed to form spontaneously: melodies are hummed into phones or computers, lyrics batted back and forth between Murphy and Madden, songs worked out alone in the bedroom, or layered up from scratch together in the studio.
Formed in Ellesmere Port in Cheshire in 2013, musically, their inspirations range from Big Star to Can while elsewhere; they’re influenced by authors who deliver a ‘down and out skewed view of the world’ like Kurt Vonnegut, Hermann Hesse, Henry Miller.
Having previously toured the UK and Europe, played countless festivals including Glastonbury and Green Man, five shows at SXSW and nine shows at CMJ New York, the band have announced an extensive U.K. and European tour at the end of the year.
plus special guest…
ZUZU
plus…
SUPER FURNITURE
SUPER FURNITURE
Super Furniture as named by Eddie Argos (Art Brut), are an up and coming indie rock band from Nottingham.
After a few years of writing music together, Herbie and Jonathon decided to form a full band with Will and Josh in late 2015. They started gigging immediately – already building a good name for themselves. In June they won the Future Sound of Nottingham competition after playing the Rock City main stage and went on to open the Splendour main stage in July.
Having finished recording their debut single “Vultures”, it received radio airplay on BBC Introducing (East Midlands) and was song of the week on Gravity Radio. and also played across other stations like Kemet FM before being released on 2/7/2016.
“One of the most captivating, expressive bands I have witnessed definitely one of my favourites!” – Darren Blair (Music Business Management)
“I love the sound of that band, just great!” – Dean Jackson (BBC Introducing)
“With sprinklings of indie, math rock, and some pop sensibility too. For a band that have only just released their debut single, they sound tight. And wait until you see them rock out – they do it like pros. For fans of: a good headbang” – Left Lion