Manchester art pop group Dutch Uncles return with new single ‘Upsilon’, expected Tuesday May 19 via Memphis Industries.

“’Upsilon’ is about an overdramatic decision to quit Facebook or MySpace because, when you're young, you don't always have the capacity to see other people's lives (or the bits they want to show you at least) for what they really are,” explains lead vocalist Duncan Wallis. “This is also a result of the immense peer pressure to join in with the flirt of social media.”

'Upsilon' is backed by a new b-side, 'Realm', which is streaming exclusively via NME.com now.

You can listen to 'Upsilon' now via Soundcloud.

Dutch Uncles are set to perform an array of live shows including their biggest headline shows to date at the Ritz in Manchester this Friday (Friday March 27) and Koko in London on Friday April 10.

Live Shows
26 March - Stoke, Sugarmill
27 March - Manchester Ritz
10 April - London Koko
24 April - Belfast Limelight 2
25 April - Dublin Workman’s Club
02 May - Live at Leeds
03 May - Live at Glasgow
04 May - Birmingham Institute
14 May - Brighton Great Escape
23 May - Liverpool Sound City
24 July - Cloudspotting Festival
25 July - Deershed Festival
26 July - Sheffield Tramlines
01 August - Kendal Calling

The five piece band return with their studio album O Shudder. The band epitomises the well-trodden route of college band hopefuls made good. They have, over the last six years, grown and now have built a solid fan base. As if to prove that their career wasn’t going well enough, they even have a burger named after them at one of Manchester’s finest eateries.

These foundations have seen them support Paramore, and the band have just been announced to perform at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

In describing their sound it’s too simplistic to say that they continue in the great tradition of British indie pop art school bands. The band packs a few surprises and they are far from a conventional sounding band. Frontman Duncan Wallis leads the aesthetically pleasing, well groomed band. Just before the band’s appearance hits your eyes, its Wallis’ vocals that hit your ears. His dulcet tones can be described as sounded androgynous with a hefty dose of Wild Beasts with a hint of a wailing Kate Bush. The track ‘Given Thing’ in particular displays his full range as a vocalist, as he launches into high pitched melodramatic verse.

It’s not just the vocals that set Dutch Uncles apart from other bands. Not content with attempting an almost unique style of presentation. It is the band’s subject matter that is as distinctive as Wallis’ vocals. The lead single from the album is entitled ‘Decided Knowledge’, and the band have explained that the subject matter came from an unsuccessful job interview. Not only did this amuse the band, it also made them realise that an office job was simply not for them. So the local council’s loss is our gain. They possess the ability to comment on modern day themes as well as their own growing pains, therefore their subject matter relates to the adaption of the disappearance of youth. The band has all but settled into the dreaded twenty-somethings, and they deliver a narrative of it with a tongue-in-cheek sensibility.

Their off-key subject matter and relaxed delivery allows the album to wash over the ears. It is clear that they feel comfortable in their own progress over the past six years as their sound is now perfectly refined.

O Shudder is available from amazon & iTunes.