English Teacher have dropped their seething new single ‘R&B’.
The post-punk band have shared the latest song from their upcoming album ‘This Could Be Texas‘, due out April 12 via Island. ‘R&B’ was previously released in 2021, and has been re-recorded for their new record.
Frontwoman Lily Fontaine has said this single is about a former partner: “When I was with him I had writer’s block and to add insult to irony, the only idea I had was for an R&B top line – the genre people always assumed I worked in.
“As soon as he ended it, I converted that top line into the lyrics and riff for ‘R&B,’ and took it to my three best mates. Putting the effort that you could potentially put into a partner, back into yourself and your career, is cool and sexy and gets you signed to Island Records and writing press quotes in a tour van in Holland and you get to meet Jools Holland. Thanks lad.”
Take a listen to ‘R&B’ below.
Fontaine also opened up about the single in NME‘s Cover story with English Teacher. “There are times when I still worry about how we are viewed as a band,” she said. “I always used to think about how we started to gain attention for our music around the same time as the George Floyd protests, and I was worried that people thought that the only reason we were getting any support was because I’m not white. I know that the talent is there – we’re not just a diversity pick. I had to unlearn that previous mindset.”
The band have previously released ‘Albert Road‘, ‘Mastermind Specialism’, ‘Nearly Daffodils’ and ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’ in anticipation of their new record. English Teacher have teased that ‘This Could Be Texas’ feels like “you’ve gone to space and it turns out it’s almost identical to Doncaster. It’s about inbetweens, it’s about home, and it’s about Desire Paths.”
In other news, English Teacher have spoken about being ambassadors for Independent Venue Week 2024, citing the importance of venues such as Leeds Brudenell for up-and-coming bands.
“The Brude is the prime example because it’s where we all studied and found our scene,” said Fontaine. “It’s the cultural centre for the music scene. It’s where you meet the kind of people who just show up because it’s where the good music is, and the people who make that happen.
“It’s where bands are started and where everyone wants to play, but also where people want to drink just because it’s where you should be. It’s the main reason I can’t move out of Leeds because I love it so much.”