Bleach Lab share latest single and video ‘Nothing Left To Lose,’ a further look at their forthcoming debut album Lost In A Rush of Emptiness, set for release on September 22nd via Nettwerk. Produced by Boygenius, PJ Harvey and The Big Moon collaborator Catherine Marks, the band recorded the album together live in the same room for the first time; a transformative move after forging their trio of explorative EPs while splintered apart by the isolation of lockdown. Further elevating their reputation with their dynamic live shows – which have included a sold-out headline show at London’s Lafayette late last year and a packed out recent set at Latitude Festival – Bleach Lab are gearing up for a run of Autumn headline tour dates through Europe, Ireland and the UK, full dates below.
On ‘Nothing Left To Lose,’ frontperson Jenna Kyle finds parallels in water to illustrate the uncharted depths of new romance; “ Nothing Left To Lose is about the beginning of a relationship. Being afraid of what’s to come and questioning your path forward. Keeping your walls built up and ending up being stuck in the same place because of it. ‘When oceans collide, there’s a different blue on each side’ is one of my favourite lyrics of the album. I’d read a story that day about a place in the world where two bodies of water meet but don’t mix, and I loved that idea as a metaphor for colliding with someone else and not seeing eye to eye. Both strong forces in your own way but unable to blend together.”
As foreshadowed via earlier singles like ‘Smile For Me’ and ‘All Night’, on Lost In A Rush of Emptiness, the glimmering indie-rock on which Bleach Lab have built their foundations shelters what is essentially an exercise in joint catharsis for the band. Rather than culminating in a singular moment of explosive revelation – here this is achieved by the band’s intentional burrowing deep into the disorientation of life-altering moments, and sitting with and dissecting those feelings. Each band member’s experiences live within Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness, with its title being a line borrowed from Leonard Cohen’s posthumous collection The Flame. Bassist and co-lyricist Josh Longman – wrote key tracks including the eviscerating single ‘Counting Empties’ ‘ where he explores alcoholism – documenting and acknowledging how an old drinking habit impacted his relationships. Whilst a key thread through the record too is Jenna Kyle’s grappling with the fall out from a toxic relationship, there’s also more universal moments too – such as on ‘Smile For Me’, where she recounts her frustrations and experiences of sexual harassment on the street, exploring the tension between both the simmering rage and feelings of powerlessness these encounters cause.
Originally hailing from Buckinghamshire, founding members Jenna and Josh first met at college before Bleach Lab organically came together, with their vast and varied influences lending a kind of democracy to their music. Drummer Kieran Weston loves the shimmering ‘80s pop of bands like The Cure and The Smiths, while Kyle is drawn to “sad solo female artists” like Phoebe Bridgers and Daughter’s Elena Tonra. Guitarist Frank Wates has a keen ear for new music, and is a key source of the band’s knack for crystalline dream pop. 2021 saw the four-piece mark their arrival with the release of their first two EPs, A Calm Sense of Surrounding and Nothing Feels Real, the latter produced by Stephen Street (The Cranberries, The Smiths, Blur). 2022’s If You Only Feel It Once, drove the bands vision forward delving into poppier, more modern sounds alongside producer Duncan Mills (Peace, The Vaccines, Jake Bugg). With each consecutive release, the band have experimented without restriction, dipping their toes into unfamiliar genres to fully work out what kind of band they are, what works best for them, and where to go next. Their debut full-length effort will see Bleach Lab take another huge step forward, and setting the tone for 2023 and beyond.
Lost In A Rush of Emptiness Tracklist:
01. All Night
02. Indigo
03. Counting Empties
04. Saving All Your Kindness
05. Everything At Once
06. Nothing Left To Lose
07. Never Coming Back
08. Smile For Me
09. Leave The Light On
10. Life Gets Better
11. (coda)
