Local heroes bring out second single from new EP.
Birmingham band JAWS are back with the brand new single, Sweat. Hotter than the summer of 2023 that never happened, it arrives as the freshest track to emerge from their highly anticipated EP If It Wasn’t For My Friends, Things Could Be Different (out 15th September).
A song about how to deal with the heat when it feels like the weight of the world is bearing down, Connor Schofield of Jaws explains: “Lyrically Sweat is about dealing with your anxiety in the moment, everything slowing down and trying to take it as it comes when in an overstimulating situation.”
Searching for clarity of mind through waves of undulating basslines, drifty duelling guitar breaks, and opalescent sonic textures, Sweat finds JAWS marrying shoegaze-like qualities to their trademark dreamy indie-pop creations and pushing their sound to intrepid new limits.
While Sweat itself has been an old favourite of the band for sometime, it will finally find its place on their upcoming studio effort If It Wasn’t For My Friends, Things Could Be Different, alongside recent single Are My Friends Alright?. The first body of work by the band since 2019’s The Ceiling, the new EP will also be the first to be produced entirely by Schofield. Written at 123 Studios in Peckham, the new recordings also feature input from Brett Shaw (Foals, Florence and the Machine) who provided his additional production nous to the project, plus the Grammy-nominated duo Mikko Gordon and Robin Schmidt who mixed and mastered all five of its new songs.
Having released two EPs and three albums including their 2014 debut Be Slowly and 2016’s Simplicity, the band’s forthcoming EP will be their first extended offering since self-released LP The Ceiling in 2019.
Best known for their sunny and subversive take on indie-rock, JAWS have previously supported the likes of The Twang, Peace and Spector, and are set to appear as special guests to Swim Deep at their tenth anniversary shows in Birmingham and London this month. Praised by The Guardian for creating “a rising tumult of lovely lacerating melodies and noise over a rock beat you can dance to”, the band have attracted praise from the likes of NME, DIY, Gigwise, Dork, The Line of Best Fit, Far Out Magazine, The Independent, Clash and more.
A spiralling statement of intent from a band who, more than a decade on, are continuing to evolve with a fresh sense of vigour, JAWS will release If It Wasn’t For My Friends, Things Could Be Different, their first extended work for over four years, on 15th September. Sweat is out now.
JAWS also play The Crossing, Digbeth on 30th September. Tickets are on sale here.
