Dharma Records
Present
who share their new track
It’s Raining Again (in Soho)
from the upcoming debut album
– Release Date: 6th Feb –
Genre: Alternative, Alt-Pop, Indie
Label / Imprint: Dharma Records
Format: Digital Single
“A refreshing alt-pop experience… a dynamic force in modern music” Amplify The Noise
“Indie dance euphoria & post punk authenticity” Last Day Deaf
“Sounding excellent” John Kennedy / Radio X
Alternative duo Rear Window, the moniker for Gang of Four vocalist JJ Sterry & The Roadside Bandits Project’s producer / guitarist Santi Arribas, share new track It’s Raining Again (in Soho) from their upcoming debut album Happiness By Design – a song inspired by the passing of The Pogues frontman Shane McGowan that explores the relationship between creatives & their surroundings.
With its sombre & at times filmic arrangement, It’s Raining Again (in Soho) sees vocalist JJ Sterry conjure up atmospheres & situations synonymous with the area’s artisan community. Sterry says of the track “it was written soon after Shane McGowan had died – I saw his picture on the front cover of a newspaper trampled into the ground on Tottenham Court Road while listening to The Pogues’ A Rainy Night In Soho on my headphones. The song began as a kind of tribute to him but soon morphed into something else. I wanted to explore the relationship between the writer & their environment – whether you see things clearer when you’re in the eye of the storm, or observe things better when you take a step back. Shane lived life in the middle of it all, for better for worse, but some of my favourite writers lived on the fringes as bystanders to any kind of scene they may have been associated with”.
With previous singles Running Away, Head Above Water & Multi-Coloured Skies receiving love & support from BBC6 Music’s Gideon Coe, Radio X’s John Kennedy & BBC Introducing’s Abbie McCarthy, Rear Window’s album Happiness By Design explores the banality of modern living in which individuals strive to give meaning to everyday experiences.
Citing Talking Heads, The Cure, Baxter Dury & XTC as creative influences, Rear Window first met when Sterry was invited by the late Andy Gill to join his influential post-punk outfit Gang of Four as their new front man, with whom he toured extensively from 2015. At the time, Arribas was working with Gill at his Rear Window recording studios until his passing, after which Arribas took over the running of the place.
The duo sat together to write a song for The Roadside Bandit’s 2nd album & decided to ‘write a couple more songs for fun…’. This then evolved into Happiness By Design – Rear Window’s debut album. Sterry pens the lyrics while Arribas leads the production & for them, it felt only natural to name their new project after the studio they work in.
With juxtaposed influences & each member bringing skill sets from different angles, Rear Window meet in the middle to create exciting music that’s unconstrained by genre. Definitely one to check!
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