Seventeen was the last time that I recognised myself. I spent three years in a costume pretending to be someone else.

Those agile masters of noise BathTub are back with a solid bang with what I think is their best track yet. Almost 12 month after their New Era EP, with tracks containing a loosely running story exposing the stunted and troubling view of a young lad stumbling his way into adulthood, the Stoke/Manchester based duo are back with what feels to be another chapter in the new era. Here’s their bright new and banging new single Sweet View.

It feels as though the mask and the veneers have been removed and at 20, our protagonist suddenly realises the last few years have been a lie and suddenly they are in a bit of a free fall crisis as they realise their views of the world have changed

– “don’t get pissed with a nihilist, unless you want to open your eyes”. The song to my mind gives a strong feel for that mental health crash we can all feel when we pretend if we swim through it and carry on, it might just get better.

To match the dark mood, the musical backdrop has a frantic manic urgency. It sounds like BathTub but even more so. Brandon’s drums are bright and sharp, the bass work of Olly matches the edgy, unsafe feel of his spitted tight vocals. Meantime the video which is lined up to accompany the song is a visual masterpiece; I know the lads are proud of both single and video and deservedly so. The song has been in the works for quite a while (Olly came up with the riff line in January 2021), and it offers a genuine step forward for the duo.

BathTub are yet another band that were it not for covid or irregular train services I would have caught live by now, but the videos and shots of the guys on stage look massively powerful. The band often play around Manchester or Stoke (but not exclusively so) so look out for them. I’ll quite probably be that bit sweaty old bloke at the front left.

Chris R