Pleasure Island Return With Their First Post- Pandemic Single: Shallow Grave

Liverpool’s punchy, indie-rock duo, Pleasure Island, will be releasing their newest track, Shallow Grave, 25 January 2023.

With Sean Ekins’s on guitar and vocals, and Sam Pierpoint on the drums, the two artists are notorious for their bold, outspoken and edgy music, which took root in light of the Covid19 pandemic. Their songs do not shy away from controversy or political discussion, but rather weigh in with candid and impactful insight; with earlier releases such as Help Me NHS (2020) and Priory (2021) commenting on the treatment of healthcare workers during the pandemic, and Ekins’s own mental health.  

Shallow Grave will be the duo’s first post-pandemic release and will have listeners hooked by its crunchy guitar riffs, heavy bassline, and vigorous and impassioned drums. Musically, it is dark, energetic, and fast paced; yet the song writing has an incredibly poetic quality, with lines such as “I don’t want to be scene I just need to be heard,” and “well if you’re gonna be seen time to act like the herd.” Their clever use of wordplay throughout makes this track a lyrical piece of art, commenting on a wider sense of societal vanity and hypocrisy and a desire to stay as far away from it as possible. 

Ekins has commented that, ‘it’s a dark sounding track which partly reflects how things are these days, but it’s got tons of energy to give everyone a taste of the live show and incentive for people to come see us on the road.’ The song is directed at those with a sense of amiss pride, who think they know better and flaunt a superficial sense of intellect.  Ekins goes on to say, ‘I think it’s common a scenario that most bands, at some stage when they realise that they’ll never get to be friends with the cool kids, write a song about how little they cared and never wanted to hang out with them in the first place.’

The track was recorded at Liverpool’s historic Motor Museum with platinum-selling producer Al Groves who has earned critical acclamation by his work with Bring Me The Horizon, The Sherlocks, Paris Youth Foundation, and many more. Al Groves’ experience, commercial success and passion for ‘ambitious, high energy records,’ has supplemented an impressive and robust track. Shallow Grave is infused with the qualities of psychobilly rock music and tessellates perfectly into the anxious and uncertain era we are living through. 

Fans of Art Brut, The Bug Club, The Lounge Society, or Idles will love the punky and exhilarating spirit at the core of Pleasure Island’s new song. There is something incredibly sinister about it, in the best way, making the witty lyrics and captivating rhythm all the more compelling. Furthermore, you’ll not want to miss out on their live shows!  They will be playing at Jacaranda Basement, Liverpool on the 1 March and The Chameleon Arts Cafe, Nottingham on the 18 March. We have no doubt that both performances will be absolutely stellar. 

Pleasure Island Shallow Grave will be available to stream on Spotify and other major streaming platforms from 25 January 2023. 

Make sure to follow Pleasure Island on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates on their latest releases and gigs.

Erin Mills