I must admit that I've been rather despondent with my musical listening this evening, trudging through our raft of demo submissions and PR plugs. Even The Killers doing 'When You Were Young' on 'Later With Jools Holland' failed me. So I wasn't expecting to enjoy the new single from Lancashire six-piece Then Thickens but 'Restart Your Heart' brought back nostalgic memories of both Foo Fighters and Biffy Clyro at their hearty best.
To my pleasant surprise, I also discovered that Then Thickens is an outfit led by Jon-Lee Martin - perhaps most famous for his work in KONG but for me, it was his work in Fi-Lo Radio that most enraptured. (I remember chatting to their lovely bassist Jude a few times at gigs, check out her new stuff in To The Bones.)
Then Thickens looks like it may be Martin's most impressive venture yet, matching a lo-fi aesthetic with anthemic aspirations on 'Restart Your Heart'. I'm starting to think they might fill that LULS-shaped void in my life, which is most welcome. The band join Nine Black Alps on tour in the UK at the end of the month.
'Restart Your Heart' is out digitally on 2nd December. Find more info at facebook.com/thenthickens.