Shed Seven have shared a pensive new single called ‘Starlings’ – listen to it below.
The track is the latest preview of the band’s forthcoming new album ‘A Matter of Time’ – available to pre-order here – and follows singles ‘Kissing California’, ‘F:K:H’ and last month’s ‘In Ecstasy‘ featuring Happy Mondays singer Rowetta.
‘Starlings’ is a more melancholy offering compared to their recent anthemic singles, featuring slow-burning strings and piano melody alongside lyrics about a painful but hopeful goodbye.
Listen to the track below.
Speaking about the new track, frontman Rick Witter shared: “‘Starlings’ showcases the album with a different kind of emotion. It’s a love letter to a departed partner. I had an idea about a couple who have been together since forever only for one of them to pass away, and the remaining partner is basically treading water until the time comes where they can be reunited for eternity in the ether.
“Some may say it’s dark subject matter, but I find it also pretty uplifting and is more of a common thing than one might think.”
He added: “The beautiful strings and piano add everything that is needed for such a heartfelt song. It’s nostalgic and reflective but also has a feeling of evermore.”
The Shed Seven frontman managed to get Pete Doherty onboard for the new album’s closing track ‘Throwaways’ after he caught The Libertines frontman singing along to their songs at the side of the stage at last year’s Bingley Weekender.
“We played just before The Libertines on the main stage and while we were doing our set, I just looked at the side of the stage and discovered that Peter was stood there with my family watching the gig and he was singing every word,” Witter told NME in a recent interview.
“So after we’d finished our gig, I went over and he was telling me that in the ’90s – pre-Libertines – he’d sit on his bed with his guitar and learn Shed Seven songs, which I thought was pretty cool. I just said, ‘Look we’ve got this song, we’ve got another couple of guests on our record, we might as well throw the boat out here, would you fancy jumping on?’ And he said, ‘I would absolutely love to’.”