October Drift has released their new single, Airborne Panic Attack, the first new music since their acclaimed debut album Forever Whatever and follow up EP Naked released last year.
“The majority of the lyrics for Airborne Panic Attack were written before the pandemic at the start of 2020,” frontman Kiran Roy says, “but it wasn’t until COVID-19 hit that they were suddenly brought into focus and began making much more sense to me.
“The mundanity of daily life in lockdown in contrast to the world falling apart lead me to look at the lyrics from a much less personal point of view.
“It seems like horrific events are happening on an almost daily basis – whether it’s the imminent disaster of climate change or the countless humanitarian issues we face. We watch these apocalyptic visions with bizarre detachment, feeling momentarily sick and then continuing to scroll through cat videos and recipe ideas, ignoring that one day these events could be unfolding on our own doorsteps with our phones doing the filming.
“Surrounding all this chaos is a backdrop of division, fuelled by politicians, media outlets, fear and uncertainty. People spend their precious energy at each other’s throats online or shouting into their own social media echo chambers while nothing changes.
“Airborne Panic Attack is the void between everyday life and these huge global problems that hang so heavy above us and feel so out of our hands. Ultimately, it’s about not letting the weight destroy us and carving our paths while we’re at it.
“If I’m a lab rat, I’ll take this chance to give my best dance.”
Having played Glastonbury’s John Peel Stage, Reading and Leeds and The Great Escape, as well as a major European tour with Editors and a slot at Liverpool’s Sound City, the band are hitting the road at the end of September for an extensive run of dates across the UK, including a performance at London’s Boston Music Room.
Tickets are available from octoberdrift.com
Oct 1st – Portland Arms, Cambridge
Oct 2nd – Westgarth Social Club, Middlesbrough
Oct 4th – Leadmill, Sheffield
Oct 5th – The Parish, Huddersfield
Oct 6th – The Mash House, Edinburgh
Oct 8th – Bootleg Social, Blackpool
Oct 9th – Jimmy’s, Liverpool
Oct 10th – The New Adelphi Club, Hull
Oct 11th – The Cookie, Leicester
Oct 12th – The Horn, St Albans
Nov 5th – Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate
Nov 6th – Hope & Ruin, Brighton
Nov 7th – Heartbreakers, Southampton
Nov 8th – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
