DANCING MANIA (I WANT TO WANT TO DANCE)
Slender Pins are a London, UK, based new wave indie band with loud instruments and a vivacious front man. With a deep rooted DIY ethic, the band write songs about medieval plagues, landlords and millennial life in London. Alongside an obsessive appetite for melodic and rhythmic hooks, main songwriters, vocalist, Ash and, guitarist, Alex hold on to one fundamental principle when creating music with, bassist, Rob and, drummer, Ed – does it soothe both mind and body, in equal measure?
Slender Pins formed in 2018, after Ed met and booked Ash, Alex and Rob – then called The Hirelings and accompanied by a drum machine called Than – to play a show he was promoting in Camden. Bonding over a mutual sense of despair felt from trawling London’s underground music scene, Ash and Alex invited Ed to replace the drum machine on their unpolished and jaunty new wave songs.
In 2019, the band released three living room produced demos, which saw radioplay on BBC London Introducing, features in grassroots music press and support from US new music champion, Rodney Bingenheimer. This culminated in several appearances at the Windmill Brixton, south London’s own cultural Mecca, thanks to support from south London promoter ph7 & The Neutral Zone. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Slender Pins also supported Declan Welsh and the Decadent West, and US band The Spyrals on London dates of their respective UK tours. Slender Pins live sets are described as being ‘charming chaos’, driven by lead vocalist Ash’s demure eccentricity and a solid garage accompaniment from the rest of the band.
With influences ranging from Abba to The Stooges, The B-52s to Pulp, the band’s sound is grounded in 1980s new wave and British indie rock. Since playing their first live show in 2018, Slender Pins have released two singles and seen support from grassroots radio and press around the world. Now, when great guitar music is needed more than ever, the band are set to release a new single and debut EP, later this year.
Last year Slender Pins released two singles, Apprentice to Life and Visions. Both premiered by Laura Peglar on Peggy’s Daylight Rockery Show on Boogaloo Radio and won over several zine editors and music blogs. The tracks bagged the band a slot supporting Meatraffle last December at Peckham’s AMPStudios.
Slender Pins will release their debut EP later this year and they have recently released their latest single “Dancing Mania (I want to want to dance)” which coincided with a show on 25 June at AMP Studios in Peckham in association with Independent Venue Week, promoted by The Neutral Zone.
Drummer, Ed, has said about the new track:
“When Ash and Al showed me the song at rehearsal song I loved it straight away. Ash told me the history of dancing mania and I was transfixed.. Google it, it’s fascinating. The notion of it has such a sense of warped optimism. Irony is a wonderful thing, a song about a historic “plague” recorded in between pandemic lockdowns. Listen closely and there’s a synth lurking around somewhere in the mix.”
The track is available to download and stream now. The band will be playing the following shows to promote the release of Dancing Mania (I want to want to dance):
- 25 September – Camden Assembly, London (Hot Vox Promotions)
Listen to Dancing Mania here now
FOLLOW SLENDER PINS
Bandcamp: https://slenderpins.bandcamp.com
Facebook: /slenderpins
Instagram: @slenderpins
Twitter: @slenderpins
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/slenderpins
Written by The Songbird HQ
The songbird 