Uzumaki’s new single ‘Heaven’ is exemplary of the London-based outfit’s split personality. The band take influences from both light poppier alternative rock and darker grunge-inspired roots. Here they certainly play with both sides of that coin, in more ways than one. Vocalist and guitarist Alex Cheung says “Being the final single ahead of the album launch, we wanted the music video for Heaven to really show the two sides of us, whilst of course being true to our core essence (personified in this occasion as goofy dumbasses). We worked with Ben Pollard on this video which was appropriate seeing as he worked on the music video for our first ever single ‘Tired’. The clip shows us in our ‘lightest’ form, having fun and exploring together, whilst experiencing ‘darker’ situations. Although, in classic UZU fashion, ‘dark’ could be described as a medium-grey with this tongue-in-cheek spoofy music video. ‘Heaven’, lyrically, touches on themes of feeling not good enough, to feeling empowered with an ‘I don’t care’ mentality, then hopping right back to the familiar not-feeling-good-enough verse/period of your life. It’s this ebb and flow that many of us experience regularly and we feel the track is a bright and positive take on that conflicting state of being.”
‘Heaven’ comes on the eve of the release of Uzumaki’s debut album ‘waded’, which is set for release 13th September via Everything Sucks Music. The record also includes killer lead single ‘Scenes of Beauty’, which introduced the scuzzed-up, Britpop-imbibed, singalong magic of ‘waded’ with aplomb.
Having shared stages with acts such as Superheaven, Glitterer, The Front Bottoms, Vundabar and, most recently this summer, Movements, Uzumaki embark on a clutch of headline dates around the UK this month. Local support acts have now been announced for each show and tickets are on sale now.
This is a band who embody that 90s slacker-grunge vibe but Uzumaki’s music itself is anything but slack, with a crucially tight rhythm section, fuzzed-up guitars, the hookiest of hooks and earworm choruses in spades. Inspired by the likes of Teenage Fanclub, old school Weezer, Pulp, Blur, Sonic Youth and Sebadoh, the band have a fresh and energised take on some classic sounds.
‘waded’ was recorded at The Bookhouse in London with Tom Hill. As Cheung says: “Tom is amazing at capturing the sound of the room, keeping a realness to the recording which is so often lost these days. The demos for this album were very complete, with bells and whistles already locked in, so the recording session was less about the crafting of the songs than it was about capturing the natural energy of us playing the songs for real.”
That raw and real energy is evident throughout this full length, which conveys both the feel of a crucial live band and the dynamic brilliance of some truly gifted songwriters. Uzumaki originally formed in Norwich but all the band’s members eventually ended up in London – a city which has become a big part of Uzumaki’s identity. After having self-recorded their early stuff in Norwich, then recording debut EP ‘Square One’ in the middle-of-nowhere, London felt like the natural place to bring ‘waded’ to life. As Cheung explains, the record “is essentially the personification of Uzumaki” and London is at the core of the band’s very being.
UK HEADLINE TOUR:
11 Sept The Victoria, London with Mercury & Mild Men
12 Sept Voodoos, Norwich with TSO & Reno Dakota
13 Sept The Hope & Ruin, Brighton with Prom, Wimp & The Serfers
14 Sept Crofters Rights, Bristol with Sun Spot & COSM
UZUMAKI ARE:
Alex Cheung (guitar, lead vocals)
Nick Allen (guitar, vocals)
Alex Fletcher (drums, vocals)
Conor Thompson (bass)
CONNECT WITH UZUMAKI:
Instagram| Bandcamp| Facebook| Store
