LISTEN: Saltwater Sun - 'Mouthbreather'

New Saltwater Sun! A cause for celebration, for sure. The Reading four-piece first came onto my radar last Summer with their single Hot Mess, and they released their The Great Deceiver EP earlier in the year. In short, they've had a pretty exciting year with support from press (the likes of NME, DIY and The Line of Best Fit) and BBC Radio (Huw Stephens, Annie Mac, Jack Saunders). They performed at a string of festivals this Summer, have recently supported US rockers Jimmy Eat World, as well as playing with The Amazons and Another Sky.

Brand new track Mouthbreather precedes a batch of new material set for release next year, produced by Kristofer Harris (who has worked with Bear's Den, Belle and Sebastian and more... though I know him best as the lead singer of the criminally underrated Story Books.) Delivering a sassy, rage-filled vocal, Jen Stearnes explains that "'Mouthbreather' is a monumental rant about the myriad people who get on Saltwater Sun's collective last nerve. Loud chewers, bad drivers and mansplainers - the list goes on! Sure, we could be the bigger people and rise above, but where's the fun in that?" 

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LISTEN: Saltwater Sun - 'The Great Deceiver'

Who said guitar music was dead? It's very much alive and kicking in this new tune from Reading five-piece Saltwater Sun. The Great Deceiver is the title track of their highly anticipated EP which is released tomorrow and features recent single Blood alongside a new track, Trying. The EP follows a big 2018 for the band with press support from the likes of NME, DIY, The Line Of Best Fit, airplay from BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music and slots at The Great Escape and Reading & Leeds' BBC Introducing stage.

True to form, the track's lyrics take a personal meaning, as frontwoman Jen Stearnes reveals: "I wrote this song to my younger self. I always wanted to sing but doubted myself because I hated my appearance and feared it would be scrutinised if I put myself out there."

"We all grow up with unrealistic beauty standards, or expectations of how we should be and that makes me think about all the other people who have been held back, or made to feel small or like they don’t have a place by those ridiculous standards and expectations. I’ve found confidence over time, but this song services as a little pep talk every now and then, and is here for anyone else who needs it; it is about finding your voice, not giving in to self doubt and learning to be comfortable in yourself, whoever that is."

The band celebrate the EP release with a hometown launch show at Purple Turtle in Reading this Saturday, followed by plenty of festivals across the next few months!

6th April - Purple Turtle, Reading (EP launch w/ Honey Lung & Weird Milk)
9th April - Scala, London (supporting Anteros)
4th May - Live at Leeds
5th May - Liverpool Sound City
17th May - Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London (Close Up Festival)
13th July - Hidden Herd Festival, Brighton
14th July - Readipop Festival, Reading
26th July - Truck Festival, Oxfordshire
9th August - Boardmasters Festival, Cornwall

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LISTEN: Saltwater Sun - 'Blood'

If you're a fan of the likes of Pale Waves and Swimming Girls, I'm pretty sure you're going to love Saltwater Sun. The Reading five-piece have released their first single of 2019 in the shape of Blood, taken from their forthcoming EP The Great Deceiver, which is due for release in April. Typically addictive, with explosive guitars and a just-right blend of shoegaze and indie, the track also explores a personal element of the band's songwriting.

Frontwoman Jen Stearnes explains that "since the death of my father, I've come to know joy as sorrow-tinged throughout each altering epoch and mundane happiness in my life [...] with age, I mourn less for my loss and more for his, and so endeavour to carry his memory so that he might live on through me. It's deeply personal, yet completely universal; Blood is about finding solace in the idea that we might transcend death through lineage." 

The band may just be starting out, but they've already been supported by the likes of NME, DIY and The Line Of Best Fit, BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music, and played capacity shows at last year's The Great Escape and Are You Listening? festivals. To celebrate the release of the EP, they're already booked in for Live At Leeds (4th May), Liverpool Sound City (5th May) and London's Close Up Festival (17th May) - with more dates to follow!

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LISTEN: Saltwater Sun - 'Hot Mess'

With support slots for the likes of Gengahr and Black Honey under their belts over the last couple of years, Reading's guitar pop exports Saltwater Sun are firmly putting their stamp on the indie landscape with latest cut Hot Mess. The quintet have already gained support from the likes of Huw Stephens, who gave the track its first play on Radio 1 on Monday evening. The track is an "impassioned plea to let go of any shackles and never take yourself too seriously" with front woman Jen Stearnes' strong vocal performance complimenting some pretty wild guitar riffs - for fans of Black Honey and Swimming Girls.

If you're digging the tune, catch the band on tour this September, including a night at London's Sebright Arms on the 27th.

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