Alt-rock group National Playboys’ upcoming single is gritty, raw and truthful. No Feeling is the fourth release from Edinburgh’s up-and-coming five-piece band. National Playboys have been hard at work playing in venues across Scotland, and they are set to play at The Fiddler’s Elbow in London on 19 July.
No Feeling begins with a grungy tone before diving straight into the alt-rock sound that National Playboys nail so well. This track was inspired by alternative artist giants such as Radiohead and Slowdive, alongside contemporary artists including Shame, Idles, and King Krule.
No Feeling sees the group’s newest two members, Anna Trost (Puppy Teeth) and Megan Pollock (Cowboy Hunters) show off their skills during animalistic instrumentals.
“Our most personal song yet”
Talking about the creation of this song, National Playboys said: “[it] was written during the deterioration of a long-term relationship and lyrically it is our most personal song yet. It is about still loving and caring for someone despite the relationship slowly deteriorating until there seems to be no feeling left between each other – like a slow death.
“We hope this song resonates with people who have experienced something similar.”
Ewen Kerr (guitar), Dave Reed (bass), Megan Pollock (drums) and Anna Trost (vocal, guitar, synth) claw tooth and nail at their respective instruments, delivering a raw and bloody sound. The energetic gloom from their sound boosts Kyle McFarlane’s (frontman, vocals) vocals to another level as he belts out lyrics with a soul-crushing, painful honesty.
No Feeling marks the band’s fourth single release, and the group have had time for reflection on their journey so far.
“We feel as though we have developed our sound. We are more polished and are getting better at creating interesting melodies that fit the themes of our songs. We want to be more melodic but with our same signature energy which we believe is demonstrated in this new single.
When writing, we seem to default into a post-punk and alternative-rock sound, which is something we want to continue to develop moving forward.”
Talking about the future of the band, National Playboys let Discovery Music Scotland know about their plans for any bigger projects.
“We will hopefully have a full body of work at the end of the year. As an independent band, it’s difficult to raise funds for a large project, particularly with the way the world is at the moment. But we are hopeful to have something by the end of the year.”
Gigs
The future is looking promising for National Playboys, and it brightens even more with their first ever London gig coming up. They’ll be performing at The Fiddler’s Elbow on Friday 19 July with tickets available at the door (£7 per ticket).
“We are buzzing to be heading down [to London] for the first time. It’s something we have always wanted to do and [it’s] great for us to show our ambitions as a group,” the band said.
But before the group head down to London, they are having a release party for No Feeling at Nice N Sleazy’s on Saturday 13 July.
Featured Image Credit: @nationalplayboys / Instagram
