Gang of Four frontman JJ Sterry teams up with Canarian producer Santi Arribas to produce this alt-pop gem about modern living.
– Impact Date: Oct 25th –
Genre: Alternative, Indie Alt-Rock, Alt-Pop
Label / Imprint: Dharma Records
Format: Digital Single
“Sounding excellent” John Kennedy / Radio X
“You’re doing OK aren’t you? You’ve achieved something in life & are consequently feeling safe… or are you!” – such is the premise of latest single from alternative duo Rear Window, the aptly named Head Above The Water.
Following the release of their debut single Running Away, Gang of Four’s JJ Sterry & The Roadside Bandits’ Santi Arribas, collectively know as Rear Window, now come with Head Above Water – a tight four-to-the-floor groove with staccato synths & looping guitars, over which Sterry’s confrontational vocals propound his thoughts on the illusion of security we may feel in our lives. There’s a video too with stark graphics that add to the record’s feeling of vulnerability & illusion. With early supporters like Radio X’s John Kennedy, BBC Introducing & Amazing Radio the track is turning heads & causing a commotion.
Sterry explains: “As much as we’d like to think otherwise, our fate isn’t really in our own hands. Your boss might be having a bad day, family issues, health, wealth, whatever – one small thing can set off a chain reaction & it all comes crashing down.” The idea flips on its head within the verses: “Even with the bits we can control, we still have to rely on ourselves not to screw things up… to bite our tongue & set aside our moral objections to keep our place at the table.”
Arribas states: “I think the lyrics are quite relatable as everything feels kind of up in the air right now, people are just about getting by – but the song is somehow still kind of uplifting. ‘I’m doing my best…’ Rear Window is quite liberating for both of us as there’s not really any musical avenues we won’t go down. There’s no shortage of ideas so we can just cherry pick what we like, rather than trying to fit into any kind of preconceptions of what we should be doing”.
Citing Talking Heads, The Cure, Baxter Dury & XTC as creative influences, Rear Window was formed in the aftermath of a writing session between two London-based musicians; former Gang of Four vocalist John (JJ) Sterry & Canarian producer / guitarist Santi Arribas (of The Roadside Bandits Project). The pair met when Sterry was invited by the late Andy Gill to join his influential post-punk outfit Gang of Four as their front man, with whom he toured extensively. At the time, Arribas was working with Gill at his recording studio Rear Window until his passing in Feb 2020 after which Arribas took the helm.
The duo sat together in early 2023 to write a song for Arribas’s 2nd album & decided to ‘write a couple more songs for fun…’. which then evolved into an entire album made up of eclectic & sometimes uplifting songs. Sterry pens the lyrics while Arribas leads on the production & for them, it felt only natural to name their new project after the studio they work in.
With differing influences & bringing their skill sets from different angles, Rear Window meet in the middle to create exciting music, unconstrained by genre. Definitely one to check!
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