Gentle Stranger, an amorphous, avant-garde collective consisting of an ever-shifting cast of members, have shared new single ‘Dunce Disco Anthem’ exclusively with tQ.
The track comes from their forthcoming debut album Love And Unlearn, recorded when the band consisted of Tom Hardwick-Allan, Alex McKenzie, Josh Barfoot and Evangeline Ling, and featuring flute, trombone, saxophone, dual clarinet and smoke alarm.
Ling, who has since departed the group to focus on her project Audiobooks, takes lead vocals on ‘Dunce Diso Anthem’, which you can hear above.
“We wanted an album that existed within the logic of a world that it made for itself, like a school band pretending they’re superstars,” says Hardwick-Allan of the record – influenced by Philip K. Dick, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Blake and Ivor Cutler.
“That’s part of the texture of the album, this straining towards something that’s beyond our capabilities.”
Love And Unlearn is released on 31 January via PRAH Recordings. You can pre-order it here.
The band play live in Bermondsey on 14 November, supporting Charles Haywood at MOT Unit 18.
