False Advertising

Manchester alt-rock trio FALSE ADVERTISING are delighted to announce their long-awaited return with new single ‘Don’t Ask Me’ set for release on 31st July 2024 via Alcopop! Records.

The track is the first taste of new material from a larger body of work to come from the band, and follows on from their 2021 standalone single ‘Personal Space’.

Marking the beginning of a new era for False Advertising, the band have recently begun to fire up the engines for a concerted push back into activity, teasing new music live at Manchester Punk Festival and Strangeforms earlier this year, with the band today announcing a run of November 2024 UK headline tour dates, and further live dates TBA (see below for listings).

Starting out as an experiment during the pandemic—which came all too soon after the 2019 release of the band’s debut album Brainfreeze, leaving them with no option but to put their live performances and release plans on hold—the new single is a return to form from the three piece that serves as a reminder of just why they found such a solid fan base so quickly during their rapid ascent.

Cooped up in her flat during lockdown, unable to write with loud instruments for fear of disturbing the neighbours, frontwoman Jen Hingley turned to extensively writing and creating electronic beats.

These beats eventually became the foundation of ‘Don’t Ask Me’ with live instruments layered on top, marking a new progression in False Advertising’s sound. Initially a DIY recording in Manchester, the band collaborated remotely with producer Luke Pickering in London, later travelling to The Church Studios to add the finishing touches once the pandemic ended.

Lyrically, the song urges people not to let the monotony of life stop them from pursuing their true passions—a message the band has held onto during their time away from the spotlight. The themes of control extend into the band’s self-shot music video, featuring a lobster caught and put up for sale in a supermarket’s live lobster tank.

"After watching the episode of The Simpsons where Homer keeps a lobster as a pet, I always wondered what would happen if you actually did that," Jen explains. "Although it’s difficult to know for sure, as obviously we didn’t want to cause any real harm to real lobsters when making the video…"

The band teamed up with animator Callum Scott-Dyson for the finishing touches on the video, who created a stop-motion flashback of the lobster’s life before capture. This visual narrative is further enhanced by darkly cheerful artwork featuring lobster-flavoured instant noodles.

After emerging from humble DIY beginnings in Manchester, False Advertising have spent years filtering and distilling their unique take on smartly-grungy alternative rock. Hardworking, dedicated, and with an unflappable determination to see things through, they are the living, breathing embodiment of the UK underground’s plucky, can-do attitude.

Unwilling to let the minor inconvenience of a global pandemic curtailing their rise dampen their spirits, the band have kept themselves alarmingly busy in the background whilst prepping new music. Hingley joined Jamie Lenman’s live band on lead guitar, whilst Josh began his ongoing tenure playing with The Hyena Kill.

They have played shows with Everything Everything, Palm Reader and Idles, appeared on festival slots at 2000 Trees, Kendal Calling, Burn it Down, and Bad Pond, embarked on a 2021 UK tour with Alpha Male Tea Party, completed a 2022 Independent Venue Week UK mini-tour, and shared previously-unreleased single ‘Funeral’ for homeless charity Coffee 4 Craig.

Since the release of Brainfreeze in 2019, the band have racked up over 750K streams on Spotify, with album singles receiving placement on notable playlists All New Rock, New Music Friday UK, and Top of the Rock.

Their music has received airplay across BBC Radio 1 (Jack Saunders Future Artists, Huw Stephens, Daniel P Carter), BBC 6 Music (Tom Robinson live session, Steve Lamacq and BBC Introducing Mixtape), Radio X (John Kennedy), BBC Introducing, and Amazing Radio, and they’ve been covered by Kerrang! Magazine, DORK, UPSET, NME, Total Guitar, Music Radar, Rock Sound and more.


New single ‘Don’t Ask Me’ is released 31st July via Alcopop! Records