It’s a tale as old as time: A creative young man experiences the disintegration of a relationship, and perhaps incidentally, listens to a lot of The Strokes, Libertines, and Nirvana as it all goes south. The result is a song like “Love Is Dead,” a snarling haunter of a tune that’s just one-half of a new offering from English punk-grunge trio The Pleasure Dome.
The new single comes with another new one, a more unhinged “Insane,” and both compose the AA-side single to mark the Bristol band’s signing to Hound Gawd! Records, with a debut full-length out later this year.
In the meantime, “Love Is Dead” is a proper tumbling primer for The Pleasure Dome, and even the video reflects the mood, with found footage of a Soviet dignitary’s funeral, edited by guitarist and vocalist Bobby Spender, with additional scenes from photographer Josh Wood. “It represents the funeral of love and the grief you experience at the end of a relationship,” Spender says.
He adds: “Believe it or not I was listening to a lot of The Strokes and The Libertines first albums when I wrote this song, but also Nirvana too, so it came out a bit more heavy. The relationship I was in at the time was starting to go wrong and breakdown — we wanted different things, but we were in love and I felt like I was losing my mind. I had episodes of psychosis and schizophrenia in my 20s, something I have more of a handle on now, but I was scared I was starting to lose my mind again. This song was a bit about coming to terms with that, questioning my own sanity while a relationship breaks down. It always feels to me like a song that opens the gates of hell, a release of frustration and negativity, self deprecation; an ode to psychosis and love.”
Love may be dead, but the classics never die. Get into “Love Is Dead” below, as well as companion track “Insane,” and pre-order the AA-side 7-inch for when it manifests in physical form come August 4.
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