LISTEN: Ski Lift - 'Teenager'

I'm a teeny bit late to the party with this one, but I've really been digging Ski Lift this year, and as I shared Portal and Moaning Again, it seems only right to share Teenager - the third of a trilogy of tracks they've released this year. It's warm and I'm more than a little bit exhausted physically (.... hot) and mentally (hooray for that one horrible anti-masker who is desperate to spout ridiculous views towards retail workers - woo!) and I'm trying to write this far too late in the day, so I might just let the track do the talking. There are some pretty relevant themes at play... 

Vocalist Benji Tranter, who fronts the project alongside a rotating group of musicians as live back-up, explains of the track - "Teenager represents the mindset of youth, the optimism, the cynicism, the freedom, the rebellion. That time in your life when everything is ahead of you, and life is exciting and you believe that you can change the world - while at the same time you're imprisoned by it. There's a bittersweetness to it but it's visceral and real and tangible. Life can beat you into submission and apathy, but the young will always fight that. This is me refuting the mundanity and conformity of adulthood, even if only for two and a half nostalgic minutes at a time." 

Ski Lift · Teenager

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LISTEN: Ski Lift - 'Moaning Again'

Cast your mind back to March... you remember Portal, right? AKA the absolute belter of a tune from South London trio Ski Lift. They're back, this time with Moaning Again, the second of a trio of singles to be released through Spring. I think this one might even top Portal, which is saying something. Upbeat indie-rock at its finest, the kind of music you'd love to be in a basement music venue (the grottier the better) listening to of an evening right now. The shimmeriest (not a word) of guitars masks the more delicate nature of the lyrics, tackling the hidden nature of mental health problems in the style of a conversation with yourself in the mirror.

On the track, vocalist and songwriter Benji Tranter says: “Moaning Again is an internal conversation - I wrote it during a ‘down’ period, mentally speaking. I suppose I was trying to reason with myself, tell myself that it’s okay not to be okay - that your highs and lows are always relative to wherever your centre of balance is, emotionally. Looking back through the original scrawl of lyrics, there were some darker moments in there that I left out. On this occasion we packaged it up, all-smiles, with an indie-rock bow on top! But even the smiliest, loveliest person can be secretly battling their inner demons.”

Ski Lift · Moaning Again

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WATCH: Ski Lift - 'Portal'

Really really digging this one. Portal from Ski Lift is a two-minute burst of glorious indie-pop. I defy you to not sing/clap/sway along to this one. The first of a trio of tracks to be released this Spring, the track is the follow-up to their debut single Comfortable Here from 2019. Starting in late 2018 as the writing and recording project of Welsh songwriter Benji Tranter, he is joined by Ailsa Tully on bass and Jovis Lane on drums. Excited to hear more!

On Portal, Benji shares: "It's a love song to nature, but also a peacemaking process with my new hometown of Croydon - having grown up in the beautiful countryside of the welsh border, I have always found the transition between city and country to be a strange and bewildering thing to experience. But I have learned over the years that you can find vibrant energy in the fields and forests, and peace and solitude in the midst of a bustling city, if you look for it." 

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