New Music: Not Richard & Her Majesty – Everything Explodes

Messy and magical, Everything Explodes is a nostalgia-driven reflection on trauma, allied to a rock and roll beat.

(Not) Richard has previously played with Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, UNKLE, and The Duke Spirit, but this track sounds nothing like any of those bands and is all the better for it.

A Burundi beat gives the song a solid, chunky spine, as the band whips up a terrifically energising mix of Roxy Music, Velvet Underground, and psychobilly, making you wonder if this is a deep cut from the 50s or a modern exploration of the glories of rock and roll at its no-frills best.

Trust me, it’s definitely the latter, especially if it makes you feel like you’re at a high school hop hosted by Tim Curry and Roky Erickson.

Richard says about the song and accompanying video clip, “As soon as we chose that song for a single, I knew it was going to be a wedding video. Watching the footage from my parents made me so uncomfortable.”

“I’ve only known them to be so angry and disappointed by their relationship and each other, so watching them in tears of joy was deeply strange – as sad as it felt pathetic. The irony of that event feels so on point with the lyrics that I find it hard to divorce them from each other now. So to speak.”

Everything Explodes features on Not Hot, the band’s new EP, which can be heard on Bandcamp and Spotify. Not Richard & Her Majesty play The Hope & Ruin in their hometown of Brighton on the 15th of August – check out their Instagram feed for ticket details.