Left-field songwriter MF Tomlinson has released his brand new single ‘Nietzsche’s Day Off’, an absurd story about the importance of letting your hair down every once in a while, no matter how worrying the daily news may be. In the song, influential 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche decides to take the day off being serious. As other famously serious people from throughout history—Vincent van Gogh, Joan of Arc, Franz Kafka—get wind of this, they race to join him.

Together, they drink magic mushroom tea, sink some ice-cold beers, and have a truly cosmic time. The tune’s infectious rhythm is inspired by Moebius & Plank, Herbie Hancock and Canned Heat and features wonky synths, killer jazz flute and wound-up-tight beat.

Regarding the new single MF Tomlinson says, “The lyrics in my previous singles, 'Nature Boy' and 'Sum of Nothing', address these overwhelming issues to which there are no apparent solution. The political climate, the environment and the way we live our lives, thanks to today’s technology, we’re totally overloaded all the time. Something about the idea of all these unlikely characters in ‘Nietzsche’s Day Off’ having a knees up felt pertinent to share right now. If you find the world is weighing heavy on you just remember, if Nietzsche can take a break, then so can you…”

About the song’s creation he continues, “I was visiting Frederik Tyson-Brown (of Hunck and also my former bandmate) and we found ourselves writing a tune that made us wanna dance like Grover from Sesame St. We ran with it and so did all the contributors to the song, notably Ed Grimshaw, Angus James & Ami Koda, who added something really special with each performance…”

MF Tomlinson’s songs are the down-but-not-out chronicles of ordinary life, widescreen portraits of his relationships and neighbourhood painted with a cast of talented collaborators. He’s on a musical mission to turn up the transcendental in his everyday experiences. MF Tomlinson will be celebrating the release of ‘Nietzsche’s Day Off’ with a headline show at London’s Moth Club on November 27, tickets are available now through Dice.

The Toronto-based jangle-pop quartet, Ducks Unlimited, are today sharing their buoyant new single, ‘Anhedonia’. Following on from ‘Get Bleak’, that addressed ideas of leaving home with ‘grass is greener’ false-hopes, ‘Anhedonia’, which sonically draws on the sinewy sounds of Sarah Records and Flying Nun acts (The Verlaines, The Go-Betweens, Field Mice, etc), assesses a similar reflective topic for the band.

Frontman, Tom McGreevy says of the track: “‘Anhedonia’ is about being unable to wring any joy out of the things that are important to you, and the general feeling of emotional deadness that I think most people experience sometimes. It was partly inspired by a time when I was standing at the back of a show with a good friend of mine making unpleasant remarks about some band who didn't deserve it, and he turned to me and said "why do you even come to these shows?" He's someone whose perspective I really value.”

“There’s this thing that I've seen happen to others and obviously have experienced myself where people who pursue art get so tangled up in these feelings of hopelessness and resentment that they lose track of why any of this stuff is worth doing in the first place. Sometimes it seems like it sets in with people and never really goes away.” 

In tandem with sharing ‘Anhedonia’, the band is announcing their signing to Spanish label, Bobo Integral as well as details of their debut four-track EP, Get Bleak which is due for release as a physical vinyl and digital format on November 29. The new releases follow earlier cuts from the band that arrived produced by Josh Korody (Weaves, Fucked Up) and found the quartet opening for the likes of Weyes Blood, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and The Goon Sax.

EP Tracklist

Get Bleak

Gleaming Spires

Annie Forever

Anhedonia