FLOAT conjure up murky post-punk darkness on debut single ‘WATCH’

Every weekday, DIY’s new music know-it-all Neu brings you one essential new release to get obsessed with. Today’s Neu Pick comes from FLOAT.

Cast your mind back a few years and, in the capital at least, there was a pocket of bands that reigned supreme: TOY, Telegram, Charlie Boyer and the Voyeurs et al. You remember ‘em.

Each cribbing influence from various corners of post-punk, krautrock and shoegaze, with splashes of psych and glam thrown in for good measure, they were united by an aesthetic (impossibly skinny indie boys with a penchant for the noir) and a general vibe of hanging out in dingy back corners, smoking fags and being cooler than you.

It was a good time.

On debut single ‘WATCH’, new Londoners FLOAT hark back to that scene. Citing Bauhaus, Echo & the Bunnymen and Television among their (definitely audible) influences, the quintet’s first offering is a propulsive thing, full of claustrophobic riffs and Faris Badwan-esque vocals. As far as opening gambits go, it’s really rather a strong one.

This is what the band themselves have to say about it: “‘WATCH’ reflects on the deterioration of mother earth and its inhabitants under the duress of time, nature and the forces of mankind. As voyeurs and participants all we can do is ‘watch them fade away’.”

Cheery stuff.

Listen to the track here, and catch them live at a string of dates below.