Leeds indie stalwarts, English Teacher, have become something of a staple in the UK indie scene. It’s hard to refute their rise, in the past couple of years they’ve completed sold-out UK and US headline runs, supported Paolo Nutini (heard of him?), been named as ‘Official Independent Venue Week Artist Ambassador’ for 2024 and debuted on ‘Later With…Jools Holland’ – as you do.
It’s English Teacher’s wonky post-punk tunes delivered with a cool-as-you-like attitude that’s got them this far – and with the band’s latest offering, ‘R&B’, they’ll go much further.
In typical unashamed style, ‘R&B’ saunters out the gates with a (show stealing) rickety bass groove, nonchalant vocals from Lily Fontaine, and the occasional washes of reverb-soaked guitar. It’s a mature and fully realised sound, simple in approach and delivered with a wry smile.
The bassline pulls you in, but it’s the chorus that keeps you. Abrasive Wolf Alice-esque guitars screech and squeal, and Lily Fontaine becomes increasingly manic, it’s infectious. By the time the second chorus comes around the song reaches an intoxicating fever pitch – you can’t help but feel that English Teacher are worth every bit of the hype.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the track is born from pain and discomfort, as frontwoman Lily Fontaine explains: “When I was with him, I had writer’s block and to add insult to irony, the only idea I had was for an R&B top line – the genre people always assumed I worked in.
“As soon as he ended it, I converted that top line into the lyrics and riff for ‘R&B’ and took it to my three best mates.
“Putting the effort that you could potentially put into a partner, back into yourself and your career, is cool and sexy and gets you signed to Island Records and writing press quotes in a tour van in Holland and you get to meet Jools Holland. Thanks lad.”
The single is accompanied by an avant-garde music video. Detailing the visuals, the group revealed: “It’s an ode to the chaos of the calm and the calm of the chaos. It’s an ode to the greatest TV show of all time – The Shivering Truth. Here’s to theatre and here’s to behind the scenes. We fight. We break up. We kiss. We make up.”
‘R&B’ also arrives with the announcement of English Teacher’s upcoming debut LP ‘This Could Be Texas’, set for release April 12th via Island Records.
Featured image by Denmarc Creary
