Spotlight On... Blush Club
Following the release of their Ornamental Ponds EP, we shine a spotlight on Glasgow five-piece Blush Club as they talk us through their new record track-by-track
We love it when something lands in our inbox and immediately excites us, which was the case when we first heard Glasgow five-piece Blush Club's single Ornamental Ponds. Released back at the start of July, it's the kind of angular and jaunty slacker-indie that sticks with you for time, and in its final 30 seconds, frontman Hamish Swanson is like a runaway train as he frantically flies through the rest of the song's lyrics that ponder over what he should be worshipping. It's frantic, mildly unhinged, but oh so exhilarating, leaving us wanting more.
Skip forward to this month, and Blush Club are now the proud owners of their latest four-track EP which takes its name from that single. Full of loads of jangly guitars, engaging vocal turns and percussion, it only feels right to shine a spotlight on Blush Club and dig a bit deeper into how the band came about, alongside an exclusive Ornamental Ponds track-by-track courtesy of the five.
Image: Blush Club by Morven Fuller
Firstly, how did Blush Club come about?
We collided one summer night in 2019, all playing in different bands sharing a bill at King Tut's. Conor [Heafey, guitar] and Cam [Gibb, drums] were enamoured by Hamish's onstage performance and quickly approached him about starting a new project. Before the end of the night the first rehearsal was organised. Craig [Carrington-Porter, bass] and Phil [Smith, guitar] joined the fold shortly after and Blush Club was formed.
Can you talk us through the new EP track-by-track?
Ornamental Ponds: Our guitarist Phil brought Ornamental Ponds to the band as a demo, which germinated into this song. It is angular in the verses, juxtaposed with a big 90s chorus. It was super fun to produce, as we added layers of weirdness with percussion instruments borrowed from a local primary school. All the pent-up frustration alluded to in the song explodes in the final section which is very fun to play live!
Spices: Spices came together quickly on an autumnal Sunday afternoon. It emerged as a crystallisation of the season's mellowness and sunlit calm. The instrumentation provides a sway and charm, see-sawing between two chords, which enabled us to play with dynamics between the verse and chorus. The lyrics were written in the winter lockdown and imagine a correspondence between people confined to only their streets and the internet.
Different Reasons Why: We wrote this piece early on in the inception of the EP. Live, it is a favourite to slow things down as it has a ballad-like quality. The rawness in the lyrics are a heartfelt response to the period of isolation and unsettling loneliness we all endured during the pandemic. Musically it is airy and open, accentuating these sentiments with texture and lushness in the production.
I’m Not an Artist: I'm Not an Artist is this guitar-driven, mantra-chanting, stomping romp that is the zenith of the EP’s energy. This song was the perfect excuse to squeeze in a howling guitar solo – it might be a little self-indulgent but it's always exciting to play. The lyrics explore that universal feeling of not being sufficiently competent or skilled enough, of being an imposter, and a desire to just exist without having to be something.
What's next for Blush Club?
We have a new music video we’re very excited to put out coming shortly, so stay tuned for that! We also have one more big show before the end of the year which is also to be announced soon. Long-term plans-wise, we’re working on some new music and looking to the new year to get on the road and play some shows outside of Glasgow.
Ornamental Ponds is out now