The recording project of Croydon-based songwriter Josh Esaw, Alex Chilltown has long been a fixture of the UK indie scene. After earning badge of honour in the form of a mocking reference in (the then, to quote the president, failing) NME, Esaw turned to the DIY community and found inspiration there, releasing music on bedroom labels and cross-pollinating with similar acts from home and abroad. Indeed, Alex Chilltown could be viewed as a product of the scene, being something of a fluid outfit that has featured members of Big Joanie, Deerful, Toothpaste, Flirting, Tugboat Captain and more in its lifetime.
January sees the release of a brand new Alex Chilltown record on Fear of Missing Out Records. Eulogies represents what we described in a preview as “a blend of dream pop and art rock for the hyperreal present,” drawing on personal experiences, the local environment and research in cultural studies to explore “a place of concrete and tarmac and a constant bustle toward a future that no-one can quite imagine, so is instead painted as another cycle of the past.”
This image is an important one, Croydon painted not as some flat stereotype or total hellscape but rather an ambiguous place. The suburban record is so often one of escape, boredom and alienation driving the artist away, as though a life on the fringes is a life suspended, waiting for the energy of the city to shake it free. Esaw takes a different tack, embracing the contradictions of a brutalist, grey home in which dreams never come true but never quite fade away either, proving that a life on the edges is a life all the same.
Today we’re delighted to share the latest single, ‘Carry On’, a single fully engaged with such concerns, complete with a video by Jamie Drew. “Working with Jamie was a real pleasure,” Esaw explains. “He really embraced our chaotic creative approach and we thrashed out a very simple and effective idea that shows off the song but also I think really highlights what a great film maker he is.”
Eulogies is out via Fear of Missing Out Records on the 24th January and you can pre-order it now from the Alex Chilltown Bandcamp page.
Photo by Jamie Drew