“Overheard listing the many shortcomings of a local miscreant, an elderly Lanarkshire woman ended her rant by proclaiming, “and he’s always smoking that daft stuff!” The songs write themselves don’t you know.” -Allan / Neutrals
***
Dream… or nightmare? That’s the underlying question posed on New Town Dream, the second LP from Bay Area trio Neutrals, as guitarist/vocalist Allan McNaughton’s lyrical narratives expand on the world first built on the band’s 2022 EP “Bus Stop Nights,” offering snapshots of mundane lived realities in the “New Towns” that proliferated in the UK during the ’60s and ’70s. While New Town Dream conceptually voices the psychic tension of that era, of being pushed toward the margins and becoming just another cog in a deeply broken machine.
The band’s musical touchstones are squarely situated in the timeline of doomed Thatcherism that followed from the late ’70s to late ’80s. “Wish You Were Here” and “The Iron That Never Swung” jangle with a razor-edged rapid strum to rival The Wedding Present; “That’s Him on the Daft Stuff Again” and “Travel Agent’s Windows” nod to the Television Personalities’ naive, kaleidoscopic mod melodies streaked with cynicism; “Steven Proctor Bus Conductor” slowly unfolds from verses in the dark, rhythm-forward spirit of Josef K to transcendently Pastels-esque pop choruses with sugary-sweet backing vocals from bassist Lauren Matsui. Perfect C86 sounds for often hellish C24 times!
– Erika Elizabeth
Press photo by Mark Murrmann
TOUR DATES
05/05 San Francisco, CA – Knockout w/Chime School & Teini-Pää
06/01 San Francisco, CA – Edinburgh Castle Pub
06/06 Oakland, CA – The Oakland Weekender at Thee Stork Club
07/19 Emeryville, CA – Unimatrix Zero
Neutrals
New Town Dream
(Slumberland)
Street Date: May 31, 2024
Pre-order HERE
Track List:
1. New Town Dream (Version)
2. That’s Him On The Daft Stuff Again
3. Wish You Were Here
4. Stop The Bypass
5. Travel Agent’s Windows
6. Chaos At The Jasmine
7. Last Orders
8. Steven Proctor, Bus Conductor
9. The Iron That Never Swung
10. How Did I Get Here
11. Substitute Teacher
12. Phantom Arcade
13. Leisureland