After the release of their critically acclaimed debut album “The Mouses Album”, and a bit of a hiatus where they cemented themselves as a huge part of the thriving DIY scene, creating a festival showcasing marginalised talent and becoming a huge part of launching the Rebel Rouser stage at Greenbelt Festival, Mouses unleash a brand new single on August 18th.
“Illusion” is the band’s first single in seven years as they look towards the release of their long-awaited second album. It was recorded DIY style in a bedroom and fuzzed up by the wonderful Rob Irish. Sonically, it’s weird, it’s noisy. “Illusion” is a fuzzy little trip, with erratic dynamics that follow the ebbs and flows of manic depression. Its verses are jarring; whirring guitars and intricate drumming create the backdrop for a crooning vocal packaged in a big ball of melodic fuzz, leading into a raucous blast of a chorus, à la Pinkerton if it was blasted through a Big Muff.
Lyrically, the song is deeply personal. It tackles the difficulties of growing up and growing apart from a parent who is no longer there for you when you grow into someone they never wanted you to be. The song questions the feelings of guilt, regret and existential anguish that comes to a head when dealing with growing apart from someone who raised you and someone you idolised as a kid.
Mouses are guitarist and vocalist Steven Bardgett (he/they) and drummer Nathan Duff (he/him), a lo-fi garage queer-punk duo from the North East of England renowned for their raw, energetic, and often chaotic live performances and their willingness to tackle societal orthodoxies and injustices head-on.
“Illusion” will be released digitally with Butterfly Effect on August 18th.
