The welcome return of Hooton Tennis Club has been confirmed as the Wirral band have signed with Alcopop! Records and released comeback single, “Born, Died”.
Recorded by Al Habeck and the band at MUMA Studios, the track was mixed by Harry Chalmers, and mastered by Tom Langrish at E1 Mastering (IDLES, Fontaines D.C, DITZ).
Label boss, Jack Clothier, commented: “From the very first moment I heard HTC’s breakout single Jasper on Lammo’s show, I was blown away – and they pretty much instantly became my favourite band of the year!
“It was just this feelgood instant fuzzy slacker indie smash hit that bounced about for months, pirouetting round my cerebellum like a wistful stroll through the beautiful autumn leaves of Crosby.
“Imagine my unimaginable delight when a few years later HTC happened upon our inbox with a collection of demos that sounded even better.”
Along with Jasper, tracks such as “Katy-Anne Bellis”, “Kathleen Sat On The Arm Of Her Favourite Chair” ,and “O Man, Won’t You Melt Me?” caught the attention of many fans and critics alike across 2015 and 2016.
However, Hooton Tennis Club still flew under the radar for many; one of the most underrated bands of the decade and a stellar live outfit. If you knew, you knew.
Now we can get excited for their return, and the new single is an earworm up there with fan favourite tracks from 2015/2016.
It takes its title from a painting by artist Richie Culver in the 2023 John Moores Painting Prize show which features the words “born” and “died” painted on a large, otherwise-empty canvas, grimly reminding of the meta-data found on celebrity profiles on Wikipedia.
Frontman, Ryan Murphy, commented: “With this subject matter, and the recording clocking in at two minutes thirty-something seconds, the song now plays out like ‘Roy’, the life simulator game in Rick and Morty.
“I really like the way we’ve captured it on record and in the mix, though—it reminds me of The Clean (minus the popping snare): fun, but kind of sad.”
Hooton Tennis Club will curate their own New Year’s “Hootonanny” on 31st December 2024 at Future Yard, Birkenhead with tickets on sale now.
The band will also be releasing more new music and live dates over the coming months.
LISTEN TO “BORN, DIED” HERE.
Photo Credit: Charlie McKeon
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