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Nov 26, 2020 By Dom Gourlay Practical Lovers

Nottingham synth pop duo Practical Lovers release their brand new EP tomorrow (Friday 27th November), the band’s first new music since 2015. Entitled Post Mortem, the EP comes out on local imprint I’m Not From London Records exactly five years to the day since the release of their debut LP, Agony.

The songs themselves date back to the recording sessions for the album as singer, songwriter and producer Jack Wiles explains.

“During the early part of lockdown, I found myself going through the old Practical Lovers recordings. I think a lot of us found ourselves in a pretty dark place at that time. I’m not sure how I ended up going through them - maybe it was something to do with the general mood at the time that drew me back into a darker place? I came across three demos that we had decided to leave off the album as they didn’t quite fit somehow. I got in touch with Mark (Connell, bass) and we re-recorded a couple of parts. I gave the whole thing a polish in my home studio, and the ‘Post Mortem’ EP was born.”

Having been on an extended hiatus since 2015; Wiles moved to London working as a sound engineer while Connell remained in Nottingham. The three songs that make up the EP hold a certain relevance to the present.

”“Changing Seasons” speaks of the isolation and solitude being felt by many around the world right now,” suggests Wiles. “Whereas in the light of COVID-19, “Last Chance to Forget” could be reinterpreted as a cry of grief and denial, not for the loss of a person, but of a way of life, more distant with every passing day in the post coronavirus world.”

The video for lead track “Last Chance To Forget” sees Practical Lovers working with fellow Nottingham film maker and musician David Lankester, who produced all their previous videos.

“It would have felt wrong to go with anyone else, but we felt a bit sheepish asking Dave for what we felt was something of a tall order having only a minimal budget. Also, we couldn’t feature in the video for Covid reasons as we were unable to leave the house!” admits Wiles. Before going on to say, “Dave absolutely smashed it - from concept to execution we’re chuffed to bits!”

The Post Mortem EP is available across all the usual streaming platforms from tomorrow.