Description

Indie luminaries The Wedding Present are set to release a brand new single this summer, their first new material since the spring of 2017. Released on 2nd August via Come Play With Me, the single features two new tracks: Jump In, The Waters Fine and Panama.

Set to be a collectors item, the single is available on 7 and limited edition 10 picture disc the bands first! including specially commissioned artwork by Darren Hayman (Hefner), alongside limited signed copies of both formats and a limited edition run of 75 individually numbered, 12×12 Gicleé art prints of the sleeve design signed by David and Darren.

Co-written by David Gedge and new guitarist Danielle Wadey she was previously the bands bass player both tracks were recorded at the legendary Monnow Valley studios in Wales under the watchful eye of multi-Grammy award winning producer Andrew Scheps and engineer Matt Glasbey.

Opening with squalls of feedback, Jump In, The Waters Fine is an epic tale with trademark whirlwind Wedding Present guitar and a deceptively sweet melody. Danielle came up with the solo bass part after I said I wanted to do a song that was bass-driven and it just got fatter and heavier! We also now have three vocalists in the band so we used the opportunity to experiment with some a cappella singing, too, says David.

B-side Panama, is a frenetic slice of indie-pop, where ferocious guitars and heavy drums collide with honest lyrics about love and friendship. Of the recording, David adds, As well as including one of my favourite palindromes, Panama references Earthrise, the iconic photograph of Earth taken by astronaut Bill Anders (during the Apollo 8 mission) on Christmas Eve, 1968. We decided to incorporate samples of the astronauts talking to Mission Control.

Rather surprisingly, this is The Wedding Presents first ever picture disc. Close friend to the band Darren Hayman (Hefner, The French, etc.) was commissioned to do the artwork but his paintings were so impressive that the band decided that the time was right to embrace what is a new format for them. Its only taken us thirty-something years to get around to it! says David.

From their C86 roots in the mid-80s, John Peel favourites The Wedding Present have gone on to become one of the UKs most loved bands, charting no less than 18 Top 40 hit singles. Emerging from Leeds with the classic debut album George Best in 1987, The Wedding Present built a reputation for blending bittersweet love stories with everyday mundanity, set against a backdrop of heavy distortion and exquisite indie-pop.

In 2016, The Wedding Present released their ninth studio album, Going, Going, which featured references to Gedges previous work, including self-referential lyrical moments and has been described as his masterpiece. Loosely based on a road trip across the U.S.A., the double LP was described by Louder Than War as A remarkable album. A joy from start to finish.

The same year, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their debut album, George Best, The Wedding Present released George Best 30. This album featured brand new versions of the original twelve songs recorded by Steve Albini and mixed by Andrew Scheps. 2017 also saw the publication (by Red Planet) of Sometimes These Words Just Dont Have To Be Said a 450 page fanthology of the band.

In 2018, KneejerkFilm released Something Left Behind a feature length documentary telling the story of the George Best album. The film, which featured interviews with all four original band members and was produced and directed by Andrew Jezard, has appeared at several film festivals.