Spunk Records is happy to announce its latest signing, Armlock, the Melbourne-based project of multi-instrumentalists Simon Lam and Hamish Mitchell. Following recent singles “Turf War” and “Power of a Waterfall” – which garnered support from Stereogum, NME, NYLON, Beats Per Minute, FBi Radio and more – Armlock has now unveiled “April,” the final instalment from the band’s forthcoming debut release, Trust, due June 25. Watch the video for “April” below.
Trust is a remarkably nuanced collection of music. It’s one that explores disillusionment with adulthood and the inner conflicts that come with personal growth with a shrewd sense of self-awareness and honesty. A quiet, thrashing gem of songcraft, the record makes as much use of the intimate, empty space as it does of its layered, heavy instrumentals. Each one of these songs conjures a summer storm of internal conflict, with the angst and uncertainty that comes with realising that you’re finished growing, and rather than feeling a sense of ease, you’re left restless and discontented.
“April“, which features Juice Webster‘s backing vocals, arrives as the opener to Trust and is described by the band as rushing, carefree and furious; intertwining sputtering electric guitar, blinking digital textures, and Lam’s earnest vocals. “Just when we were out of the gate/Honest to god I wanted to stay,” sings Lam over Mitchell’s acoustic guitar that works like a metronome underneath. It’s a quietly stunning moment on the forthcoming release, the band’s entire ethos presented in a song.
“Lyrically the song is about the removal of something very negative in life, and now that it’s gone, the feeling of the pressure to improve sets in,” explains Lam. “Realising it may be easier to live with the problem than pushing past it and leaving it behind.”
Previously the Australian duo have worked together as 2/3 of the electronic outfit, I’lls (who earned comparisons to Portishead, Four Tet and Radiohead from Pitchfork) with Lam then forming Kllo alongside his cousin, amassing 100 million streams and support at GQ, Stereogum, NME, Pitchfork, The Guardian and NYLON, before helming his own Stereogum-backed solo project, Nearly Oratorio.