Next Wave #1068: Coach Party

In Association With Vero True Social

Coach Party make music that bites back; with heavy riffs and even sharper tongues, these indie rockers are here to make a racket. Combining bitter lyricisms with sweet dream-pop inflections, Coach Party are an ethereally raw delight. New EP ‘Nothing Is Real’ is out now, and only serves to add fuel to the fire – with three killer singles already out, it’s clear that this time round Coach Party have truly come into their own.

‘Nothing Is Real’ is defined by this sense of refinement. Speaking about the new EP, drummer and production-wizard Guy Page notes that “it is definitely like a bit of a departure for us.” The release is a new chapter in the quartet’s story, shedding the skin of previous aesthetics – notably the ‘Party’ imagery linked with the first two EPs. “We felt like After Party was like kind of a sequel to Party Food, and we sort of thought about that for this 3rd EP… it just wasn't one of those. The ‘Party’ thing made sense at the time, but we feel quite liberated in what we're doing now. It's nice to like, move on.”

And move on they have – ‘Nothing Is Real’ only emphasises Coach Party’s strengths, especially their penchant for raw, brutally honest lyricisms. “From the word go with the first EP, like, we just managed to set this quite unique style of saying something,” Guy says. “We try to be quite mature, and quite deep and thoughtful, but in a way that is really informal.” Guy goes on to note the perfect example of this: “on the second EP (Coach Party), there's a track (Crying Makes Me Tired) that starts with 'you're a prick and I hate you.' Jess was like ‘I've got this new song’ and started playing it instantly, and I was instantly just like, ‘oh my God… that's the best line?’” But we could only do it in this band, I think. With us, it makes sense.”  

Thematically, alongside their more matured sound, this new EP delves into some more serious themes than previous releases – but still handled with that same nuanced approach. The first two singles FLAG and Weird Me Out touching on ideas of toxically idealised relationships. Jess says that they were initially worried to tackle political topics – but this felt right. “I do think we were worried… but it was quite effortless.”

Aesthetically, Coach Party also manage to capture something effortlessly rich. Daniel Broadley has perfectly emulated all of their tracks so far into a visual form, and this new EP is no exception. FLAG’s video is a delight. Why? Well… “imagine if the 1800s had fuckboys,” Jess explains. With huge renaissance nude paintings, horseback riding and Tarantino-esque shoot-outs, the FLAG music video is a powerful aesthetic that gorgeously amplifies the feel of the track. (Jess does take a moment to ponder what happened to the naked painting of her, laughing “I think it got destroyed… but I never saw it get destroyed?”).

In terms of the rest of the EP, ‘Nothing Is Real’ is set to further solidify the strong image Coach Party are building for themselves. The release is ram-packed with the sharp wit and charm that has brought them this far, truly pushing themselves as writers and artists. Guy name-drops one double-sided track in particular that will get people thinking; “’3 Kisses’ is pretty gross… but we've kind packaged it in a very fun, reversible way… the meaning meaning of it is like hidden in plain sight.“

From floating soundscapes, to anti-riffs, to Guy’s talent for writing “groundbreaking middle-eights”, Coach Party truly put their own twist on the indie rock genre. When it comes to the band’s approach, Jess notes how “there's just a tightrope, always waiting to snap – and I think that's the secret.” It’s tense, it’s precise, and it keeps you wondering what they’ll do next.

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'Nothing Is Real' is out now.

Words: Emily Swingle
Photo Credit: Hattie Neate

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