Washington Irving – Moscow Rules: Track premiere
Listen to Moscow Rules, the B-side to Washington Irving's new single We Are All Going To Die.
Glasgow folk-rockers Washington Irving recently spent six months scattered across rural Scotland, but they've regrouped and now return stronger than ever. New single We Are All Going To Die follows the one-two punch of their Palomides EPs in 2013, offering some insight into their forthcoming album.
The band have given us a sneak peak of the single's B-side, the brooding Moscow Rules. Shimmering with the bruised tenderness of The Gaslight Anthem, yet tinged with the brooding grace of Editors circa The Back Room, it's the perfect counterpart to the spiritual release of We Are All Going To Die. Listen to Moscow Rules below, and watch the video for We Are All Going To Die at the foot of the page.
The band's frontman Joseph Black describes Moscow Rules as “light-hearted.”
“We all have a soft spot for the manic chorus and the guitar solo,” he explains. “The plot of the song doesn’t have any basis on specific events. It’s more just tapping into the mental landscape of 20th century European war and paranoia where the album is set. We love this song but unfortunately couldn’t squeeze it onto the record! Oh yeah, and the title is a reference to a cold war spy code. Anyone get it? No? Anyone?”
Recorded in New York with Titus Andronicus producer Kevin McMahon, and replete with a raucous choir of drunkenly enthusiastic locals, new single We Are All Going To Die starts in wistful-but-strident mood before climaxing with a euphoric singalong; transcending the bleakness of the titular refrain through a joyous, communal epiphany.
Washington Irving play a series of gigs with Washington Irving alongside Titus Andronicus across the UK month, including shows at Manchester's Deaf Institute, the Kazimier in Liverpool, and Stereo in Glasgow, ahead of a headline show at Summerhall in Edinburgh in December.
11 Nov – Deaf Institute, Manchester *
12 Nov – Kazimier, Liverpool *
13 Nov – Stereo, Glasgow *
14 Nov – Beacons Metro Festival, Leeds *
15 Nov – Haggler's Corner, Sheffield
16 Nov – Bodega, Nottingam *
22 Nov – The Hanger, Dublin *
23 Nov – Cypress Avenue, Cork *
24 Nov – Rosin Dubh, Galway *
25 Nov – Empire Music Hall, Belfast *
2 Dec – Summerhall, Edinburgh
*with Titus Andronicus
We Are All Going To Die is available for download via the band's own Naked Empire Recordings
• Read The Skinny's review of Washington Irving's 2010 debut EP Little Wanderer, Head Thee Home
• Our review of Wickerman Festival 2015, featuring Washington Irving, WHITE, Errors and Kathryn Joseph