It’s official!
You may remember from my last ramblings about Aaron West that there was a single on the forthcoming album – In Lieu of Flowers – has a track called ‘Alone At St Lukes’. This lit up the soul of every Scottish fan of the Philadelphia based singer songwriter, as the prospect of the St Luke’s in question could be our favourite dog friendly venue. Well… now that it’s out, we can confirm that we are all part of the Aaron West universe.
“The graffiti on the wall says “it’s a new low”, And it’s so quiet I think I can hear my pulse, The gig’s in an abandoned church in Glasgow, The irony’s a little on the nose”.
Back in May of 2022, Aaron West brought the Roaring Twenties to play their first ever full band set in Scotland. The Venue was St Luke’s. The thing that scuppered it was COVID. The full band was reduced to a solo show thanks to members catching the virus mid tour. I was there and the set was emotional and stunning, including a cover of Frightened Rabbit’s ‘Backwards Walk’ – the second time he performed that song in Scotland.
Now, this stunning track takes us behind the curtain of that night.
“As long as we’re still here, We might as well be drinking, But everyone got sick, Cruel and sudden, I’m the only one it spared, I blow a goodbye kiss, And I keep pushing”.
And the finest opening lyric to encapsulate Glasgow…
“The graffiti on the wall says ‘Fuck the Tories’”.
Musically, it’s one of the most dynamic Aaron West songs going. We have a fast marching snare intro bringing us into a big, open chorus. There’s brass, there’s counter melodies, there’s soaring emotion. The band is 16 members strong and it shows. This song is the closest Aaron has been to Springsteen and to be frank, if our generation needed its own Springsteen – here’s your man.
UPCOMING UK SHOWS
MAY
17: MANCHESTER Deaf Institute
18: GLASGOW St Luke’s
19: LEEDS The Key Club
21: NOTTINGHAM Bodega
22: LONDON Underworld
23: BRISTOL Exchange
New album ‘In Lieu Of Flowers’ is out April 12th