Back with their first new music of 2021, THE CLOCKWORKS release the essential new track: “Feels So Real”, via It’s Creation Baby.
With the enlivening roar of a city in full rush, “Feels So Real” is a paean to our urban centres. Breathing-in every particle of their newfound home in London, on their latest single The Clockworks exhale a torrent of noise, energy and atmosphere that captures life in the capital for all its exhilarating, exhausting nuance.
From the glitz to the grit, its bottle-cap strewn pavements and shopping trolleys in the river, to the incandescent promise of its bustling nightlife; in the band’s typically erudite and observational style “Feels So Real” offer a warts-and-all portrait of the city with painterly detail. Finding inspiration in the individual cogs that power the great machine, it’s a track that comments on urban decay and social inequality, drug abuse and danger; but ultimately finds a band living for that incomparable buzz only life in the city can bring.
Speaking about the track, James McGregor from The Clockworks says:
“The idea for this song was to soundtrack a certain feeling, a rapture or excitement, for the lyrics to set the scene and the music to set the feeling. This song is essentially about how all the things that make up the city; the good, the bad and the ugly are all what make it exciting… In a way it could be about finding hope in hopeless circumstances.”
Written just before and finished during the course of the first lockdown, “Feels So Real” is a vivid memory of the capital pre-Pandemic and a pre-emptive forecast of its return to normality.
With words by James McGregor, “Feels So Real” was recorded by The Clockworks at Unity/Aquarium Studios, Willesden. It was produced and mixed by Michael Rendall with The Clockworks, with additional mastering by Nick Watson at Fluid Mastering.
Pairing snarling kitchen-sink commentary with insuppressible sonic tenacity, the time is now for The Clockworks. Formed in Galway and drawn together by a mutual appreciation of all music, past and present, The Clockworks are a four-piece comprising James McGregor on Vocals/Guitar, Sean Connelly on Guitar, Damian Greaney on Drums and Tom Freeman on bass.
Relocating to London in 2019, the quartet signed to Alan McGee’s new record label Creation23 almost overnight. They have since impressed audiences across Europe with live performances at festivals including Eurosonic and Electric Picnic, performing to a huge crowd at Sefton Park in Liverpool in support of Kings of Leon, as well as a head-turning televised appearance on Sky 1’s Soccer AM. And the media have been quick to show their support too, with Louder Than War Magazine praising their: “devilish eccentricity and high energy. They look as sharp as they sound”, and CLASH effusing their “ferocious sense of purpose, with the careering post-punk guitar lines”.
Previous singles “Enough Is Never Enough”, “Can I Speak To A Manager?” and’ “The Future Is Not What It Was” received praise on BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac on her “New Names” showcase, BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq on his ‘Recommends’ show, received day-time radio play on RTÉ 2FM, and impressed the legendary Rodney Bingenheimer on Sirius XM.
Now signed to McGee’s latest label venture It’s Creation Baby, new single “Feels So Real” only continues their winning streak under a new banner. With its driving dual guitars riffs and pummeling percussion, it’s a searing pinch primed to awaken us from the nightmares of the last year and welcomes the return of real-life for everything it is.
