Tom (Atkin, singer in Hull punks The Paddingtons, father of Lux and co-host of the 22 Grand Pod podcast)’s low key new single Mood Swings is as tenderly unbalanced as the title suggests. Opening with sparse, echoey vocals and a lonely bassline, the song builds up to become a brooding wall of sound, wonky guitars that crumble and crash, lyrics recounting jumping on a train heading North to get away from an unpredictable relationship, Tom’s vocals shifting between steady, controlled croon to a full-lunged yell and back again, eventually tapering out two minutes on with an incensed croak and sigh.
The flip side, ‘Kept It To Myself’, appears like the comedown. A mellower, piano-led lament, possibly to the same girl, becomes a tangle of guitars and distorted pitched up vocals as Tom considers whether he should have just kept his thoughts to himself instead of causing some shit to pop off.
Tom heads out on a mini Christmas tour with The Paddingtons in December, stopping at Stockton, Hull, London and Glasgow. Tickets are available by following the link in their Instagram bio.
Edge of Arcady 