The Amber Bugs premiere new single and video David Dimbleby.
Before entering the recording studio in 2017, The Amber Bugs had a motto.
‘If it can’t be done live, it can’t be done’. It was from this motto that their latest single ‘David Dimbleby’ was born.
As lead singer Ben Kelly explains: ‘There’s only three of us and we want to sound not just big, but HUGE. We achieve this by really spending time on the arrangements. It’s rare to have a moment in a song where at least one of us isn’t quite busy.
We’re trying to tell a story as band, it’s an angstful story but it’s hopeful too. You know those deep conversations at the end of a boozy night when there’s only a few of you still standing? That’s usually us and those moments seed our songs, no topic is off limits and all styles are allowed. There’s even a weird little baroque inspired instrumental breaking up the ska in the new single.’
Indeed, this eclectic style if apparent when asked about their influences. Ben states: ‘We’re influenced by Lou Reed, Paul Simon, The Cure, Bright Eyes. Less than Jake, Blink 182, We Are Scientists, Radiohead, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Jeff Buckley to name a few. We try to do our own thing though, I guess it’s Alt / Indie / Pop-Punk / Grunge or something.We just work from a starting point that we all agree on, and go from there!
Bassist Theresa Kelly gives some background their new track, and specifically the intriguing song title: “David Dimbleby probably isn’t the most obvious chap to write a song about. Really he’s a stand in for the media in general and the song is about the rise of the politics of division. How the media are feeding on it and how they act like arbitrators when they are really enablers of divisive opinions.’
Aside from touching on new political themes, the band also express that the song represents a change in sonic style for them too. As drummer Jon Pritchard explains: ‘The song represents a change in direction for us, we’ve added a horn section to our line up which is really letting us explore some new tones. We’re big fans of old school ska such as The Specials and The Skatalites but also keen to inject some of the energy of the ska-punk movement so there’s some hints of that alongside our shouty alt indie craziness.’
The band have spent the past year honing their live show, securing support slots alongside the likes of Jingo, Fiende Fatale and The Scruff Club.