Humour share first new single in two years ‘Neighbours’ out now on So Young Records

Humour | Photo Credit: Pedro Takahashi 

Glasgow's Humour return today with the post-hardcore driven track 'Neighbours', their first single in nearly two years.

‘Neighbours’ follows two critically-acclaimed EPs from the band in 2022's Pure Misery and 2023's A Small Crowd Gathered To Watch Me, both released through tastemaker label So Young, and with last year largely set aside to write new material and land upon the sound that would drive them forward from here, it represents a surly, thrilling return from the five-piece and one of their heaviest releases to date.

Paired to a claustrophobic suburban-set video directed by Pedro Takahashi, the band's front man Andreas Christodoulidis had the following to say about the themes behind their new single:

"Neighbours is about a guy who lives alone but is convinced that a group of mischievous creatures share his flat, deliberately doing things to make him suffer, like turning off the heating in winter, or turning it up when he’s too hot and making noise in the kitchen when he tries to sleep.

As he gradually descends into paranoia and psychological instability, he decides to try and get rid of them by turning the oven on and letting gas fill the flat overnight."

Further new material is set to follow in 2025.

At the tail end of 2022 Glasgow's Humour put out their debut EP Pure Misery, a six-track fever dream that established the band as one of the most exciting new bands on the circuit, a record they called themselves "a montage of miserable things... a bit desperate and a bit grim, but also a bit ridiculous".  Already known for the strength and raw unpredictability of their shows, 2023 saw more touring, their inclusion in the NME100 and the group taking further strides with A Small Crowd Gathered To Watch Me, a second collection of songs that showed a further progression towards capturing the powerful sound that emanates from their live stage - "something unique: vocals that veer wildly between extremes, sometimes a manic gibbering mess, others an emotive swagger, the instrumentals tightly wound and hard-hitting." (NME)

Humour live together in Glasgow and formed across the lockdowns, writing and recording their material at home, with the music intended as a backdrop to Andreas' narrative-driven and often surreal lyrics. Sometimes they’re about letting people down, sometimes they’re about pets dying, sometimes they’re about trying to say something when you don’t have anything worth saying.

The imagery of the lyrics is reflected in the illustrative designs Andreas makes for the single and album artworks, making drawings to go along with each of their songs, and the visuals behind the lyric videos for previous singles.

Humour live:

25/05 A Stone's Throw Festival, Newcastle
09/07-11/07 2000 Trees Festival, Cheltenham

Humour are:

Ruairidh Smith - Drums
Lewis Doig - Bass
Ross Patrizio - Guitar
Jack Lyall - Guitar
Andreas Christodoulidis - Vocals

Previous praise for Humour:

"Bracing, bizarre avant-rock... Humour combine melancholic, open-hearted instrumentation with Andreas Christodoulidis’ utterly alien vocal performances, replete with violent pitch changes and lurching dynamics."
Loud & Quiet

“Superbly exciting… a honed and thrilling live act…”
NME

"A seethingly intelligent slice of guitar music."
CLASH

"Far from the despair of its title, ‘Pure Misery’ has lots in it to love"
DIY