Following a stream of successful single releases over the summer, BBC 6 Music favourites, Ten Eighty Trees are back with a powerful and thought-provoking new single exploring issues of male mental health and suicide.
Inspired by the sonic soundscapes of Queens of the Stone Age and Everything Everything, Ten Eighty Trees have quickly earned a reputation for their life-affirming alternative rock anthems and visceral live shows.
And it hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Newcastle/Sheffield alt-rockers have been the tour support for the likes of We Are Scientists, King No-One, AllUsInLove and the Virginmarys in recent times.
While keeping the groove laden sounds that we’ve come to expect from the trio, ‘Something In The Blood’ offers a more tightly wound, caustic experience than their previous single ‘Superbloom’. It’s full of wildly driven, staccato guitars and off-kilter time changes, keeping the listener on their toes.
Frontman, chief songsmith and guitarist, Nathan Newton said of their composition style: “We try and write songs as intense and angular as they are unforgettable. That means dealing in big riffs and even bigger vocals that make for an unmistakable sound. Coupled with our love of odd timings and visceral guitar tones, We’re anything but subtle”.
The lyrics of Something in The Blood dive deep into the stigma surrounding mental health, drawing on personal experience to create a mood that embodies the feeling of desperation and despair that so many people go through, yet also offering hope and a voice to the lonely and misunderstood.
The unrelenting vocal delivery from frontman, Nathan Newton brings these painful words to life. Speaking about the inspiration for the song, Nathan said:
“The song was written after the passing of a lad I used to knock about with from time to time when I was younger.
“He had a history of mental health difficulties in his family and it felt like more could have been done to understand and treat his condition before it was too late. He was failed by a system that didn’t properly acknowledge just how much he was struggling.
“Something In The Blood is a song for those who may be experiencing these personal adversities, and a plea for people to have compassion when confronted with them”.
