New music review with singles from Slowhandclap 'Disarm' and Suede 'Dancing With The Europeans'

Julia Mason aka The Decibel Decoder
2 days ago
3 min read

Our weekly fix of the best new music as Julia Mason (aka The Decibel Decoder) brings us her new music review with singles from Slowhandclap Disarm and Suede Dancing With The Europeans

Artist: Slowhandclap

Track: Disarm

Manchester band Slowhandclap release new single Disarm — Credit Morgan Smith

Manchester’s Slowhandclap release new single Disarm which, if anything, demonstrates their band name is loaded with irony. A clanging, pounding track which edges towards the punk funk of 1990's New York, it is also raw with tension, beautifully executed in electronic precision. The quartet have already shared stages with the likes of YHWH Nailgun, Ditz and Psychotic Monks and on listening to Disarm, it's easy to understand why they were invited onto these gigs.

Working with producer Samuel William Jones, whose credits include fellow Mancunian acts Maruja and SLAP RASH, the new single shows Slowhandclap at their most uncompromising. As it continues there is an eruption of chaotic noise, as if disillusionment and frustration finally boil over.

Vocalist Sam Bullock explains the background to the track: “The track speaks about feeling like you’re under someone’s control, being made to feel like you owe something and the power that asserts over you. It can apply to individual relationships, as well as the gaslighting a nation projects in the form of patriotism. To make people feel like speaking against your government is inherently unpatriotic because of all they’ve given you.”

Slowhandclap Live Dates

July

31 - London, The Windmill (supporting Stratford Rise)

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Artist: Suede

Track: Dancing With The Europeans

Suede release new single Dancing With The Europeans — Credit Suede

Suede have released Dancing With The Europeans the third single from their forthcoming tenth studio album Antidepressants set for release on 5 September via BMG. The new track encapsulates the core of Antidepressants: the notion that we are all searching for connection in a disconnected world. The track is accompanied by an official music video, which captures the unifying power of the shared human experience as a sea of fans invade the stage, creating a collective euphoric state. The visual is directed by Chris Turner (Favourite Colour: Black Productions), with whom the band previously collaborated for the official music video for Antidepressants’ opening single Disintegrate.

Speaking about Dancing with the Europeans frontman Brett Anderson shares: “There's a sense of optimism about this song. I remember specifically we were doing a gig in Spain during the time we were writing this album. I was going through a bad time and at a low, personally. But we played this brilliant gig. There was a great connection between me and the audience. I thought of the phrase, dancing with the Europeans. There's something about that word, Europeans, that I really like. The phrase summed up the experience of looking for connection in a disconnected world. This sense of, where do we find those bonds with our fellow human beings? That show in Spain broke down those barriers.”

The release of Antidepressants will be surrounded by Suede Takeover, a special concert series hosted in different spaces across London's Southbank Centre throughout August and September 2025. The takeover will now be extended to an additional two nights to meet demand. Suede have announced an immersive Antidepressants performance, debuting the new album live and in the round from a new stage within the Southbank Centre’s Clore Ballroom that is specially created for Suede Takeover. The intimate performance will take place on 26 August, giving fans a one-night-only chance to experience the album in a unique environment two weeks before the album releases. Tickets are on sale starting 1 August 10:00 BST.

On 12 September in the Purcell Room, Suede will revisit the up-close-and-personal 2018 documentary The Insatiable Ones; discussing its highs and lows with Miranda Sawyer and director Mike Christie in a live Q&A, and filling in the gaps from the last seven years. Suede Takeover continues at the Royal Festival Hall on 13 and 14 September with two sets of their fiercely loved classics, hits and new music. Special guests for both nights have been announced: Bloodworm on the 13th and Gazelle Twin on the 14th. On 17 September, the group will perform in the Purcell Room for an unusual and intimate off-mic evening. The residency closes on 19 September in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, with their first-ever full orchestral headline show, in collaboration with the Paraorchestra.