Share This Article
Neil ‘Nail’ Tolliday and Henry Claude Scott continue to build towards the release of their hotly anticipated debut album, offering up a fourth teaser single rooted in their trademark blend of nostalgic synth-pop influences, vibrant musical colours, and distinctive songwriting.
The duo has rightly received plenty of plaudits for their previous singles, all of which – like their latest missive, ‘Seppuku’ – will be featured on their forthcoming debut album. Critics and DJs alike have fallen head over heels in love with ‘Correspondence’, ‘Your Latest’ and ‘Beyond The Rainy City’, songs that deftly showcase sometime Bent member Tolliday’s vivid musical vision and the deftness and surprising themes of Scott’s inspired songwriting – a previously under explored aspect of the Torn Sail and Brown Fang member’s multi-layered musical personality.
‘Seppuku’ looks set to make a similarly sizeable impact among tastemakers. An example of the pair’s ability to pair kaleidoscopic aural colours and cheery melodic motifs with lyrics that explore darker themes – in this case the song’s narrator witnessing friends and colleagues ‘drop like flies’ due to a suicide pact – ‘Seppuku’ was inspired by the ‘twee but dark’ duality of Appalachian folk music.
That this musical and lyrical vision has such dark creative inspirations is perhaps not immediately evident – at least until Scott sings “if we’re going to do it, we do it together” in the song’s catchy chorus. Tolliday’s backing track is warm and woozy, with vintage-sounding Vince Clarke electronics rubbing shoulders with warming electric piano motifs, twinkling pianos and dreamy synth sounds atop a warming bassline and the kind of sparse, lo-fi drum machine rhythm last heard on Timmy Thomas classic ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’.
Shuffling, subtly sun-flecked and stuffed with softly spun sonic beauty, ‘Seppuku’ offers a tantalising glimpse of the subtle variety and mixed lyrical inspirations at the heart of the duo’s forthcoming debut album. Set to be released in September, it looks set to be one of the most talked-about electronic pop albums of 2026.
Pic: Eleanor Seed
