The Guest List have shared a new single, ‘If Ever Your Devil Is Kind’ – you can listen to it below.
The song will appear on the Manchester indie band’s debut studio album, ‘Something Real’, which is due for release on August 28.
Inspired by frustrations witnessed at a football match, the brooding anthem channels the tension of modern masculinity. ‘If Ever Your Devil Is Kind’ also tackles themes of loneliness and resentment, bred by the pressures put on men to embody a certain ideal.
“This song is about feeling unfulfilled in spite of having achieved everything that you thought would make you happy,” The Guest List wrote on social media today (Friday July 3).
“It closes Side A on the record and features the only live string arrangement on the album.”
“Why the fuck aren’t you happy yet?” asks frontman Cai Alty in the sweeping emotional cut, as he faces up to the expectations for men to “have it all”. The track is accompanied by a striking official music video, directed by Valentina Khodnevich. Tune in here:
‘Something Real’ will also feature the previously released title track and recent single ‘You Should Care’.
The forthcoming album was recorded in Norway with collaborator Matias Tellez and produced in-part by The Coral’s James Skelly. Across the 12 songs, The Guest List balance weighty themes of mental health, climate change and domestic violence with moments of vulnerability and resilience.
“The album is basically us saying, ‘we’re young, we’re confused just like you – how did we get here?’” Alty explained. “It’s about trying to find something meaningful in a world that often feels overwhelming.”
This summer, The Guest List are set to make festival appearances at Reading & Leeds, Boardmasters, Latitude, Tramlines and Victorious, among other events. Their European and UK headline tour kicks off in the autumn, including a gig at London’s Scala. Find any remaining tickets here.
The band shared their debut EP, ‘When The Lights Are Out’, last year, and have previously toured with the likes of Blossoms and Inhaler.