For a band implicitly founded on the thesis statement “youth culture forever,” the fact that PAWS’s Phillip Jon Taylor and Joshua Swinney have been at it long enough that the former has retreated into fatherhood and the latter into a culinary career might signal the end to the noise-pop experiment the Scottish duo set out on over a decade ago. Yet a reunion late last year proved otherwise: Today the band is announcing their self-titled fifth studio album, set to arrive October 27 via Ernest Jenning Recording Co. As is the case with many mid-career self-titled projects, the album previews a rebirth of sorts for the project as their first self-produced record since 2014’s Youth Culture Forever, while lead single “Disenchanted” demonstrates the reckless energy harnessed across the LP.
“Josh was visiting [London] and we spent all weekend chilling and catching up,” Taylor recalls. “Then a few hours before he had to head south again, we just decided to have a quick jam. I played bass and because I have my wee studio set up to record, we just naturally structured a song and tracked it really quickly. It was really liberating. If we didn’t like the take or part listening back, we did it again until we were happy and boosted on to the next thing. It was definitely a refreshing way for us to work I found and just allowed us to do what we love.”
That initial recording—“Disenchanted”—is a rowdy, pared-down post-hardcore jam that suggests PAWS as being more than just nominally a good touring partner for PUP. Check out a video for the single (directed by Taylor) below, which sees the band blazing through the track in a forest, and pre-order PAWS here. The album will be available as a deluxe LP including a full-color 28-page zine featuring behind-the-scenes photos.
