Release Date: Jun 24, 2016
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock
Record label: Frenchkiss Records
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The sophomore studio long-player from the N.Y.C.-based indie rockers, On Desire, unlike the band's peppy, Strokes-ian debut, dims the lights and offers up a brooding profile shot of love gone astray. Statuesque frontman Matt Hitt hasn't lost his affinity for penning Morrissey-inspired tales of cynicism and woe, but there is an extra weight to On Desire that suggests a recent bout with heartbreak may have left some permanent damage. Feisty opener "Troublemaker" presents one of the LP's myriad femme fatales, and the propulsive backbeat and reverb-laden washes of distorted guitar add admirable menace and bite.
Releasing their debut EP on the label of ex-Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgson back in 2013, Drowners established themselves as indie heartthrobs with the most earnest of intentions. Frontman Matt Hitt, a boy from rural Wales making it as a rockstar in New York City, embodied the kind of escapist dream that everybody finds themselves having from time to time. With classic good looks and a roguish style, the band charmed audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
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