The seaside town of Torquay has acted as the perfect springboard for electronic-pop purveyors Tourists to launch themselves from. The journey so far feeling more like a graceful glide and half-turn, than a straight dive into the unknown. As the band begin preparations for their first full-length album, we are delighted to fill in a piece of the puzzle with new single, ‘Masquerade’. A multifarious pop exploration.
The ethereal number speaks of personal fear through existentialist means, each verse adopting a fresh persona as a symbolic reference to the masquerade: (“I carry a mask, it appreciates my past / It understands the man I really am / Does it disappear? Will it fade away? / Can it just speak for me when I’m done?”). Its six-minute span passes with ease; the jam-out style of the track never feels slack, or hurried, or cumbersome. Tourists have been very smart; veering towards the super psych-pop realms in which Tame Impala find themselves the Godfathers but instead of copycatting their success, Tourists squeeze their own flavour into the pot.
From the start, Scott Morton’s stomp of punchy percussive grit collides with Tom Wilkinson’s otherworldly synth magic, only to be swept further forwards in wig-out mode by the introduction of Lloyd Bastow’s sublime guitar work and Matthew White’s stylish bass backing. When we finally meet the gorgeous vocals of Jamie Giles, he’s more than ready to take us on this journey of discovery.
‘Masquerade’ is out now. Find on iTunes here.
See Tourists in all their glory at the following live dates:
Friday 7th April // Grinagog Festival, Torquay
Friday 14th April // Nambucca, London
Friday 28th April // Whiskers, Newquay
Sunday 6th August // Sidmouth Fringe Festival, Devon
Saturday 26th August // Sea Change Festival, Totnes
