Providing acerbic lyricism in the lineage of LCD Soundsystem and an air of Talking Heads’s intoxicating pop, Do Nothing’s incendiary live shows and string of single releases from their debut EP Zero Dollar Bill helped mark 2020 as their watershed moment. “Glueland” by Do Nothing — the Nottingham-based quartet — has just landed on their own label Exact Truth.
Earlier releases this year, such as the incendiary “LeBron James,” earned Do Nothing widespread radio support in the UK from the likes of BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music. Speaking about their follow-up new single “Glueland,” Do Nothing vocalist Chris Bailey said in a press release: “The song refers to the feeling of being stuck in some kind of weird limbo-land. It’s about how rather than being dictated by wild or dramatic decisions, a lot of things (both good and bad) are controlled by this sort of lame jockeying that happens right in the grey dull middle ground of everything.”
Do Nothing champion a rousing, post-punk aesthetic throughout their music, and their latest offering follows in a similar vein. Opening with a deep, ominous synth line, the band’s trademark, discordant guitar lines soon enter along with Bailey’s spoken-word-like vocals. Sonically, hints of revered UK alternative guitar bands such as Alt-J and Everything Everything shine through, and these influences also permeate the track’s lyrical content.
Bailey uses an array of interesting metaphors to convey his ideas of, as he earlier mentions, being stuck in the limbo-land of life. The first verse reads: “I am just dying for a bite to eat / There’s something weird going on out there, man / I’m going round in circles like a little baby eel / In a glass of water, all the way to Glueland.” These lines portray the anguish of a character who’s itching for excitement in their life but find themselves stuck in a state of mundanity — aka in “Glueland” — and they perfectly convey Bailey’s intended message for the track.
With their quirky guitars and lyrical metaphors, Do Nothing are fast becoming a staple to the UK alternative guitar scene. Their post-punk sensibilities are fit for these times of uncertainty and it’ll be exciting to see what lies ahead for the band with 2021 looming.
