European Sun - When Britain Was Great European Sun

If one LP could act as a refutation of the toxic culture of ‘masculine energy’ and the tech bro-sponsored whipping up of hatred that blights our lives - this is it.

It is true of Steve Miles’ lyrics. Nostalgia for an imagined past where men were men, and racism was de rigeur is eviscerated in title track When Britain Was Great. Fetishisation of a World War by patriots who are too pumped up to realise the war was a fight against Nazism is picked apart in Angels In The Clouds. And the clumsy, half-arsed struggle to seek something better, to try to escape the trap of cynical acceptance of it all, is sardonically observed in the comically accident-prone Falling Down The Stairs With Arthur Seaton. All this is interspersed with deeply personal tracks like The Space She Left, unflinchingly exposing emotional vulnerability and anxiety, and with carefree pop songs, still able to access the wide-eyed wisdom of childhood: The Sea Is A Pirate’s Best Friend expresses a kind of joy that we all had once, but have lost contact with.

The music is a refutation of ‘masculine energy’ too. Sometimes echoing the casual, intimate, fragile tones of the TV Personalities, the songs are bluntly emotional but shamelessly catchy. On other occasions - louder occasions - the echo of an angry Wreckless Eric riff can be heard. The warmth and gentleness of the vocal might remind you of Jonathan Richman. The experimentation - the brass section, the feedback, the occasional reggae rhythm – is reminiscent of the earliest, fearless phase of punk adventurism – The Slits, The Mekons, The Desperate Bicycles even. Punk before it regressed to Rock. This hand-made music is the opposite of AI-generated crud. Every bit of it, even the chaotic bits – especially the chaotic bits - are deliberate and meticulously thought through.

Along with the vinyl LP, Skep Wax will also release a special CD single featuring just one track: School Report, a 17-minute pop song in which a diary of an anxiety-ridden day is punctuated with readings from the singer’s school report: the acid, dismissive remarks made by uncaring teachers years ago echoing cruelly down the years.

‘When Britain Was Great’ is a punk record. It is also an angry, gentle, heartfelt plea for humanity.

Some responses to the first European Sun album (released by WIAIWYA):

'A classic piece of English indie pop from some of the key architects of the scene. It drips melody, whimsy and a lone grey cloud on a rare and perfect English sky' - Louder Than War

Steve Miles is such a great lyricist - huge recommend' - Pete Paphides

''Oddball spoken word folk nudged up against some truly sublime chamber pop.... The songs take you to places you've never been before' - Daggerzine

'Steve Miles' pen could knock out a 6ft 9" bigot in less than seven words.... The jangly indie-pop leanings of a man with something to say about the post Brexit state of the world... perfect Bragg style' - Janglepophub

'The music of Steve Miles is infectious and charming... poised somewhere between Billy Bragg at his most kitchen sink and Robyn Hitchcock at his most earth-bound' - apessimistisneverdisappointed