Falkirk’s very own sons Pleasure Heads rally for a return to reality-rooted connection on their conscious new single Cosmopolis, out via 7 West Music on Friday 17th July.
Taking aim at smartphone dependency, unconscious surveillance and modern day despondency, Cosmopolis details an impassioned desire to break free of digital customs and an appreciation of genuine human interaction. Known for sharp and biting lyricism, Pleasure Heads take no prisoners on Cosmopolis – critiques of the 24-hour news cycle, instant messaging, dating apps and social media transform from dogged poetry into garage rock gold as the band throw caution to the wind with an emphatically optimistic pop chorus.
Offering an insight into the conception of Cosmopolis, vocalist and guitarist Euan Purves comments: “The idea for this song mainly comes from my disdain of technology. I’d admit that being able to see, in real time, events happening on the other side of the world is valuable in bringing humanity together; yet the personal connection is suffering as a result. It’s easy to think of persons as disembodied voices, messages to be avoided, mere pixels on the screen. We too often can’t see the brilliant, independent trees for the all-encompassing wood. Cosmopolis is a call for everyone to log off for once, see past the digital glitz, and broadcast their community spirit IRL.”
The single artwork for Cosmopolis is a 1959 illustration titled ‘Traffic Of The Future’, painted by the late German retrofuturist artist Klaus Bürgle. “We came across Klaus Bürgle and loved his work. Our favourite piece was ‘Traffic Of the Future’ and thought it might be worth getting in touch with the person who now holds the rights to the painting. Luckily he turned out to be a musician as well and was more than happy to let us use it as the cover.”
Adopted by the nearby Glasgow scene, Pleasure Heads quickly made a name for themselves with fast-paced crowd pleasers such as their debut ‘Concrete Lips’ and subsequent tracks ‘Middle Man’ and ‘Sick Of The Sights’ – to name a few. The band were rewarded for energetic performances with an outpouring of support which saw the quartet play back to back sold-out headlines show at the city’s Poetry Club venue last November. Appearing at festivals such as Tenement Trail, XpoNorth, Stag & Dagger and more, Pleasure Heads strive for excitement, viscerality and escapism with a post-punk inspired delivery.
Pleasure Heads are Euan Purves (vocals, guitar), Ross Coulter (guitar), Alan Sharp (bass) and Lewis Jaoui (drums).
Cosmopolis was recorded and mixed at 7 West Studios by Chris Marshall, produced by Johnny Madden (of Baby Strange) and Chris Marshall with mastering by Tom Woodehead at Hippocratic Mastering.
Cosmopolis is out via 7 West Music on Friday 17th July and available for pre-save here.
