Nottingham synth pop duo Practical Lovers return with a retrospective 3 track EP.
Singer/songwriter/producer Jack Wiles describes the production of Practical Lovers’ ‘Agony’ LP and the performance of its songs as “truly cathartic”. He says “although of course there was a healthy dollop of exaggeration, melodrama and poetic license in there, I really was working through some issues when we made that record. After the production process and countless nights singing those songs, I felt like I’d purged whatever it was in me that I needed to, and I started to find it increasingly difficult to revisit those places to write and perform as Practical Lovers." Jack moved to London and continued his career as a sound engineer. Meanwhile bassist Mark Connell continued as a stalwart figure in the Nottingham scene, playing in multiple well known bands.
During the lockdown Jack found himself going through the old Practical Lovers Recordings: “I think a lot of us found ourselves in a pretty dark place in that early lockdown time. I’m not sure how I ended up going through them - maybe it was something to do with the general mood at the time that drew me back into a darker place. I came across three demos that we had decided to leave off the album as they didn’t quite fit somehow. I got in touch with Mark, we re-recorded a couple of parts and the ‘Post Mortem’ EP was born."
Jack says he was struck by how relevant some of the lyrics still feel today, even though they were written 5 years ago. ‘Changing Seasons’ speak of isolation and solitude - being felt by many around the world right now. Whereas in the light of COVID-19, ‘Last Chance to Forget’ could be reinterpreted as a cry of grief and denial, not for the loss of a person, but of a way of life, more distant with every passing day in the post coronavirus world.
The band reconnected with old friend and video artist David Lankester, who had produced all the bands music videos to date: “It would have felt wrong to go with anyone else, but we felt a bit sheepish asking Dave for what we felt was something of a tall order - minimal budget, we can’t feature in the video for Covid reasons, and you can’t leave your house!” David shot, directed, starred in, and edited the video for ‘Last Chance to Forget’ with a little help from his housemates Tim Bond and Ben Osbourne. “Dave absolutely smashed it - from concept to execution we’re chuffed to bits. Also we finally got him in front of the camera for once!”
Watch David Lankester’s video for ‘Last Chance to Forget' here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlHd3f_qqnI
from
Post Mortem,
track released November 27, 2020
Written by Jack Wiles with Mark Connell
Produced by Jack Wiles
Vocal, drums and synth: Jack Wiles
Bass: Mark Connell