London’s DIY pop ensemble Tugboat Captain have shared new single ‘Be Strong, Smoke Less’ – a delicious slice of chamber-pop inspired by a conversation between frontman Alexander Sokolow and his mother that finds them trying to be good people while also pondering just how hard this can be: ‘I’m just trying to try my best and nobody wants a mess’.
Mixed by Bob Cooper and full of good advice, the bittersweet duet owes a debt to ’60s-tinged pop but combines this with more contemporary and joyfully jangly influences including Belle and Sebastian and Field Music.
