The Rills have announced the upcoming release of their debut album ‘Don’t Be A Stranger’, alongside a rousing new single ‘Angel In The Snow’.
Earlier this year, the Lincoln band released the single ‘I Don’t Wanna Be’, which they described as “a tale of unapologetic self-affirmation and outgrowing the limited mentality of small-town living.”
Now, they’ve shared their forthcoming debut album’s closing track. ‘Angel In The Snow’ sees them depart on a bittersweet note, complete with anthemic guitars and poignant lyricism. “Angel in the snow, you can’t melt away / Never seen again, but I know you won’t,” vocalist Mitch Spencer sings in the chorus.
“The overriding feeling I get from this song is hope,” says Spencer. “It’s one of the more melancholic songs on the record, but there’s a sense of closure to it. It’s definitive.” He describes the track as “the best snapshot of the whole album: self-aware, angsty but ultimately hopeful.”
‘Don’t Be A Stranger’ is due to be released on November 1 via AWAL and Nice Swan Recordings. You can pre-order here.
Check out ‘Angel In The Snow’ below, as well as the ‘Don’t Be A Stranger’ artwork and tracklist.
The ‘Don’t Be A Stranger’ tracklist is:
- ‘Seasick’
- ‘I Don’t Wanna Be’
- ‘Drive’
- ‘Your Dad’s Car’
- ‘Mistake’
- ‘POV’
- ‘Bones’
- ‘Dream Of You’
- ‘Sirens’
- ‘Stranger’
- ‘Angels In The Snow’
In 2021, the band spoke to NME about how growing up in Lincoln has impacted their music. Quoting his heroes, Bassist Callum Warner Webb told us that Arctic Monkeys’ 2006 song ‘Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But…’ sums up where he feels The Rills are at.
“Alex Turner is singing about getting advice from people telling them to just do gigs at local pubs,” he says. “That makes you think, ‘No, I’m not going to limit myself to a situation where it makes sense to be in a band in a small town. I’m going to completely go against that and run with this idea – even if it kills me’.”
The band’s last EP, ‘After Taste’ received a four star review from NME. In that, Andrew Trendell wrote: “[Spencer’s] voice is rife with a cracking and poetic indie troubadour vulnerability not dissimilar to Pete Doherty in solo or early Babyshambles mode as he tries to navigate flailing romance from the car park of Lincoln’s central and overpriced cinema.
“Speaking as a fellow Yellowbelly Lincolnite, this writer has literally been there, but you don’t need to have seen our Cathedral city to get goosebumps when that surprise mandolin kicks in and makes small town life feel all the more epic.”