Spearmint – Older Cats 2 (2023)
I was instantly transported back to a smokey indie disco in the late 90s by the latest offering from Britpop’s old-guard Spearmint. Waiting nearly 2 years since their 2021 release Holland Park, ‘Older Cats 2’ is taken from their latest record This Candle Is For You. This synth explosion paired perfectly with classic jangly guitars that this scene is renowned for, I can’t help but feel that this track is semi-autobiographical as these guys have been doing this for nearly 30 years and are still deserving of the adoration of fans young and old.
Joyus is the only way I can describe this track, in adulterated indie fun, bouncing along with the excitement of a kitten rather than the older cats Shirley Lee is singing about. This is a testament to how much they obviously love what they do. No band with such a decade-spanning career can have anything but a raw passion for their work. I couldn’t help but delve into the new album which for fans of this track is much of the same joyous indie fun.
After finishing the album I couldn’t help travelling through their back catalogue and revisiting tracks I honestly had forgotten existed. With this new record, they also played their first show in nearly four years at Hoxton Colours to launch the album, promising first live performances of some tunes from their last album Holland Park thrown in for good measure. I personally hope this is a precursor to a UK-wide tour in 2024 and I can catch them closer to home. With all this in mind, I can safely say that never a truer statement has been uttered than that of Tom Hansen in 2009’s 500 Days of Summer: “It pains me we live in a world that nobody’s heard of Spearmint”.
For more from Spearmint, check out their official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
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