Signed to Gary Powell's 25 Hour label and strongly endorsed by British indie icons The Libertines, the Southampton four-piece Dead Freights are making an impressive name for themselves.
Now they unveil their debut release on Powell's label, 'Hey Hatred'. The single was the product of lead singer Charlie James pouring his emotions from lockdown into his writing. The result is a propulsive punk-rock track that is embellished with thought-provoking and poetic lyrics that give insight into an introspective battle.
Singer Charlie, in his own words:
'I wrote (Hey) Hatred on my own, which was terrifying. It was lockdown, my band are my family and we couldn't play together. I was experiencing constant anxiety about my future, my relationships, and as is so often the case, it just projected into an underlying anger. I wanted to confront that feeling head-on with this lyric. So much rock and punk is masculinity masquerading as some kind of authentic rage, but I wanted to confront mine, make fun of it, tell it to riot on.'
'There's references to The Beatles, Dante, a book I love called 'I Lucifer'. I took my seclusion as a safe-space to write whatever I wanted. The feeling of opening massive sold-out shows with this song has given me - and now the band - an unbelievable sense of empowerment. But fucking hell, it was a rough road...'
The release coincides with the last leg of support for The Libertines 'Giddy Up' UK tour at the Kentish Town Forum.
Check out 'Hey Hatred' featuring b-side 'Batman':
Follow Dead Freights on Instagram