New Music – Bruising – I Don’t Mind

We don’t get much in the way of good Indie these days. That is why Bruising have arrived to fill the void with a perfect slice of indie pop, with delicate vocals over some chunky guitar riffs. Enjoy it below…

Bruising will release new single ‘I Don’t Mind’ on December 2nd via Beech Coma, backed by B-side ‘Rest In Peace Kurt Donald Cobain (1967-1994)’.

Initial praise came in thick and fast from high places for the band – Perfect Pussy’s Meredith Graves and Andrew W.K are both fans, for instance, and the past year has seen the four-piece play a run of sold-out shows with Mitski, Los Campesinos! and Waxahatchee – but Bruising took their time in following up last year’s acclaimed debut single ‘Emo Friends’ / ‘Honey’. Front-woman Naomi Baguley spent a year studying in Berlin, meaning that the band swapped demos over email until their ideas became fully formed. Guitarist Ben Lewis would write the music in his Leeds bedroom, and Baguley would write her lyrics and melodies from Germany. ‘I found myself feeling lonely in Berlin, with a lot of time to read and write for myself’, Baguley says, and this sense of loneliness is the driving force in both ‘I Don’t Mind’ and ‘Rest In Peace…’.

‘I Don’t Mind’ showcases the best of Bruising’s pop sensibilities, with hooks that are both blistering and bashful. Whilst Lewis’ guitar work is commanding and venomous, the focus in the studio was on communicating the sentimental lyrics. ‘“I don’t mind” is a sweet phrase’, Baguley explains ‘It’s supportive and comforting, not as passive as it seems. Whatever you are going through or whatever you need to be – I don’t mind’. Whilst recording with Hookworms’ MJ at his newly reopened Suburban Home Studios in Leeds, the band collaborated with the engineer, adding layers of vocals and textures to the lyrics. Backed by now permanent members James Thurley (bass) and Stephanie Anderson (drums), the result is an infectious yet melancholic pop song.