Well, here we are at the end of January and we can’t deny it any longer… we’re officially in 2023. Today, we’re picking out some tracks from the past month that you definitely shouldn’t be sleeping on. One of our favourites is Disco Mary‘s ‘Disguised As A Party’, released via Groove Bound Records. Composed of Glasgow-based Kev Sherry (lead singer of Attic Lights) and Dutch London-based electro-pop artist charly haze (Charlot Henzen), this band have been live and kicking around the Scottish indie-pop scene for a couple of years now and they’re gearing up to launch their second EP. ‘Disguised As A Party’ is the newest taste of their upcoming The Wow! Signal EP and it’s another anthemic indie-pop gem peppered with funk and soul.
The understated opening bubbles up with an isolated string refrain, but just a few seconds in and the whole track explodes into frenetic energy of stuttering drums, off-kilter synths and sloping vocals that hit the rhythm. You can’t help but groove out to this introductory verse and if the whole track carried on in this mode, we’d be more than happy, but Disco Mary soon enough transition us over into a summery state of bliss with strutting funk and a glassy melody. By the time we reach one minute, the track has switched scenes again for an insert of minimalist electronica accompanied by sing-speak vocals. In fact, through the whole song, the soundscape keeps shifting, which of course is so sonically engaging for the listener, but it also induces a subtle sense of unease, one that’s exacerbated by the sudden smashes of glass, the out-of-tune horns and the myriad of other unexpected sounds.
This shifting sense of self was purposefully crafted by Disco Mary, because ‘Disguised As A Party’ “is about putting on a brave face when you’re having a rough time. And how sometimes, against perceived wisdom, this can actually help you. Some days, you just gotta get up and deal with the world and show a bit of grit. Sometimes you can redefine how you feel by throwing yourself into the myriad detail and complexity of life. The song however, is also about the flip side of why we feel compelled to put on a happy face and the attendant social pressures of this social expectation to be happy or upbeat.”
The Wow! Signal EP is set for release later this year, but for any impatient fans, there’s a single launch at Nice’n’Sleazy in Glasgow on Sunday 5th February.
You can find ‘Disguised As A Party’ in our Outsiders Club playlist.
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