New Music: Publicity Department – Sheltered Life

Originally a solo project for Brunch vocalist Sean Brook, Publicity Department later expanded into a full band line-up. His new album sees him return to his roots and original musical vision on Sheltered Life.

Coming as it does from a distinctly lo-fi perspective, Sheltered Life has one foot in 60s/70s rock and the other in the equally individualistic strands of 90s alt.rock. You can hear the early solo works of John Cale and Lou Reed feed through into the economical approach to playing and singing, where less is so much more.

That sound is given a 90s style makeover, with the dissonant jangle of the guitar and plaintive vocals very reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel and Guided By Voices at their best, as vocals and melody play a central role in setting the mood.

Reveals Brook about Sheltered Life, “It’s about realising maybe you aren’t quite as worldly as you thought and coming to terms with the difference between who you think you are and who you actually are.”

Sheltered Life is the band’s debut single for Safe Suburban Home, with whom they’ll release their Old Master album in February 2025. The long player sees the project return to the set up of the first record. Brook handles all the writing, performing and mixing duties.

He discloses, “[Old Master] captures a time where, having moved into a new house, I discovered a shed in the garden that had not been mentioned in the listing. This was quickly set up as a makeshift studio and the album was made over a few months in late 2023.”

“It is consequently a move back into more lo-fi, homespun territory, and features a collection of songs variously from the perspective of old men raging at a world they have all but destroyed but no longer understand, and the young people trying to make sense of what’s left.”

Old Master is up for pre-order in cassette and digital formats on Bandcamp. For all the latest album updates, make sure to follow Publicity Department on Instagram and Blue Sky.