Cut Glass Kings are calling with 'Telephone Song'
As their second album arrives this week, Cut Glass Kings offer a track-by-track guide and release a last-minute tease…
TELEPHONE SONG
Instantly inspired by the textures inherent to vintage tape recording, the band offers a final taste of their new album
The fuzzy-psych Birmingham duo also outline a personal, track-by-track guide to From A Distant Place – OUT ON FRIDAY
Cut Glass Kings – Telephone Song
OUT NOW on Run On Records
New album, From A Distant Place - OUT Fri 21 February 2025
UK TOUR CONTINUES - LAST FEW TICKETS
** CLICK FOR VIDEO / AUDIO **
Opening the door to a whole new world of inspiration in a deserted car park, Cut Glass Kings found a vintage tape-recorder the key to a mellow and matured second album, previewed with the release of latest track, Telephone Song. A dreamy, impish psych swell is the latest and last listeners will hear before the release of their second album, From A Distant Place – OUT THIS FRIDAY.
Adding a heady new chapter to their long history together, Greg McMurray and Paul Cross add 11 new tracks to their songbook and live set as the follow up to their 2019, self-titled debut arrives. Inspired by fellow travellers including Eels, John Grant, Ty Segall and Timber Timbre, plus benefitting from the close confidence of touring mates, The Coral and their talisman, James Skelly, Cut Glass Kings have returned in restored and rejuvenated form, as heard on previous singles, At The Borderline and Big Dreams.
Releasing Telephone Song just days before the album’s release and as their current UK Tour continues on towards a release night, hometown party (Fri 21 Feb – Birmingham, Actress and Bishop), Cut Glass Kings showcase both their enthusiasm for analogue recording techniques and the sense of artistic freedom that persists between the two childhood friends.
Cross says of the song: “We wrote this off the back of getting a Fostex cassette recorder. We’d never had any analog gear before and we’d always wanted to record to tape. It blew my mind how good it sounded.
“I just wanted to write something so I’d have something to record to tape and this is what came out. It was a magic moment where the finger picking pattern and melody and structure all happened first time. The first line is subconsciously from a Harold Melvin song that I was listening to at the time, called Get Out.”
From A Distant Place is released with Run On Records (The Coral, Royston Club, Rianne Downey) on multiple formats, including vinyl, CD and digital.
Adding to the sense of anticipation around the release in advance, and providing a guide for listeners when the album lands, both McMurray and Cross offer a track-by-track guide of the entire album, as follows:
Big Dreams: (Paul) “This was a kind of a happy accident. The way my guitar had been leaning on the wall tuned the high E string down so, when I played a normal chord, it sounded amazing. I just had a burst of inspiration and Track One was finished in five minutes”
At the Borderline: (Greg): “This song is almost like the bridge from our first record to this one. It shares some of its DNA. I remember Paul sending me the voice note of the chorus and think it’s one of our best. “we’re the fuse to a fire we’ve never understood” is about the two of us making music. A lot of the lyrics on the album are about that.”
Gift Horse: (Greg) “The working title was Kiwanuka, even though it doesn’t really sound like him to me now. I can hear In Rainbows-era Radiohead in there and Neil Young. Lyrically it’s about the kind of mad curse of being hooked on making music. That sort of weird and sometimes unhealthy trance like state you spend a lot of time in. Daydreaming about what songs could be. But at the same time wondering - what else is there to think about?”
Flying Saucer: (Paul): “This started off as just messing around, making up stupid songs, trying to make my girlfriend laugh. I thought it was actually quite good, so decided to finish it. The chorus came to me when someone was talking to me and all I was thinking was: Can you please shut up so I can sneak off and record this into my phone before I forget it?”
Fever Dreamin’: (Greg) “This is one was put down all in one live take. It’s about a series of panic attacks/nightmares I’d had and we wanted the whole song to sound like that. Paul would never be able to play the solo again if he tried.”
Thick as Thieves: (Paul) “This one’s got a glam rock kind of vibe. After initially writing it, I was wary of it not being moody enough, being in a major key. There’s a thin line between cheesy major key and pulling it off, but it turned out cool in the end. We put this drone note under the chords which made it come together.”
The Crossing: (Greg) “It’s Timber Timbre crossed with Ennio Morricone. Again, we recorded the bass and drums in one take. I was reading a Western book at the time and stole the title. It’s at this point in the album that it feels like we cross over into a moodier place.”
Seven Signs: (Paul) “This was basically a demo that I made when Greg was away for a few days. I just had a drum machine going and laid the guitars, bass and vocals down. Sometimes keep it to the essentials, right? It’s about being drawn to those people that you know aren’t good for you. Greg came and put a load of percussion and drums on it to finish it off.”
Streetlight: (Greg) “James (Skelly) helpfully suggested the album needed a fast tune, so we just wrote this in the studio one night. Sounds like The Strokes doing The La’s via Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The songs about that idea of committing to something regardless of how bad it might be for you.”
Only the Fire: (Greg) “Paul saw someone playing this kind of drum beat online. He got me to play it and he wrote the idea over the top. I remember writing most of the words in one go on a really hot day in my garden. It’s about the idea of being really close to someone but miles apart at the same time. That kind of distance is a theme through the album. Vocally, Paul is channeling Nick Cave or someone and the outro was inspired by the famous Guinness surfing/white horses advert.”
Having opened their tour on Valentine’s Night at London’s The Black Heart, Cut Class Kings’ current UK Tour continues into next month, taking in the following venues:
Fri 21 Feb – Birmingham, Actress and Bishop
Sat 22 Feb – Halifax, Grayston
Thu 27 Feb – Liverpool, Kazimier Stockroom
Fri 28 Feb – Blackpool, Bootleg Social
Sat 8 Mar - Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
Fri 21 Mar – Glasgow, McHuill's
Sat 22 Mar – Barrow, Underground
From A Distant Place was mixed by James Skelly and Chris Taylor (The Coral, Blossoms, Courteeners) at Liverpool’s Kempston Street Studios, after McMurray and Cross had self-recorded tracks using a vintage Tascam 388 tape machine, bought in a Devonian car park for cash, in their cellar studio.
Originally formed near Birmingham in the early 2010’s as a three-piece, Cut Glass Kings as a streamlined two-piece began their creative friendship with Skelly and the city of Liverpool following a gig at Seel Street’s Zanzibar in 2014. The title track of their debut EP, released on Skeleton Key Records in 2017, Shadow Of Your Love, has gone on to gather almost five million streams on Spotify.
For the most up-to-date information on Cut Glass Kings, including future releases and live announcements, connect with the band online at:
https://twitter.com/cutglasskings
https://www.facebook.com/cutglasskings
https://www.instagram.com/cutglasskings
