The Slow Readers Club have shared the video for their new single, ‘Killing Me’, the latest track to be taken from their new album The Joy Of The Return, which is out now and currently at number 5 in the midweek album chart.
Capturing the raw intensity of their performance, the video sees the band perform the track while the camera switches between members to give an intimate perspective of their live show.
The band explain; “The video is based on a simple idea of letting people see a performance from the band’s perspective, filmed during the pre-production rehearsals for a tour that never was. Chris, the director strapped a GoPro to our heads to achieve the effect. It’s pretty lo-fi stuff but captures the energy and rawness of the tune.”
‘Killing Me’ follows the release of ‘Jericho’ and ‘All I Hear’, released to acclaim from the likes of Steve Lamacq and Chris Hawkins at BBC 6Music, who premiered the track. Recorded at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool and produced by long-standing collaborator Phil Bulleyment, The Joy Of The Return marks a significant change in the band’s process, with their extensive touring allowing them time to write and develop tracks and arrangements through soundchecks and back-of-van jams.
Throughout the album, the band explore a vast swathe of sonic territory, with the dark power-pop that defined their previous releases still holding a strong influence. ‘No Surprise’ provides a powerful dose of evocative, brooding lyricism amid immersive soundscapes, while the unsettling ‘Paris’ is an undulating exploration of observational songwriting and eclectic musicality.
Elsewhere, the swelling, arena-sized ‘Zero Hour’ displays the enormity of The Slow Readers Club sound and sets the precedent for their incredibly exciting future, before ‘The Wait’ closes the album with a beautifully absorptive combination of atmospheric synths flipping the pace of the record on its head to intoxicating effect.
The new album comes on the back of a stellar 2019 for the band, which saw them play a mammoth 32-date European tour, and a number of sold out UK shows including London’s The Dome and two consecutive nights at Manchester’s The Ritz following the release of their critically acclaimed third album, Build A Tower.