New Music: Tourists – Smokescreen

Published On: March 18th, 2020|

Torquay quintet Tourists got producer Daniel Schlett (The War on Drugs, DIIV) on board for the forthcoming Another State album. Judging by Smokescreen, which you can listen to below, it seems he’s given the band’s already-formidable sound an extra sonic kick.

The song comes from post-punk and early Gothic rock from a very melodic, muscular direction. Acts like Chameleons and Echo and the Bunnymen come to mind, as they successfully weave a stirringly stark lead guitar, a yearning vocal performance and a bright yet intense arrangement into a sound that riffs on the best of the past, without being in debt to it. Lyrically and tonally, there’s a very modern sense of urgency and emotion to Smokescreen that’s incredibly engaging and surprisingly endearing.

The band says the song was inspired by Graham Hancock’s banned drug-related TED talk The War on Consciousness: “the repression of our rights to a meaningful experience that gives us an alternative perspective on our lives and our true meaning.”

Smokescreen is out now; you can stream it, as well as more of the band’s music, over on Spotify. Check the band out over on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and give them some social media love, so you keep up with news about the song, the upcoming Another State album, and more.