Rats-Tails

“An eclectic blend of ’90s indie, shoegaze, and ’70s psychedelic rock…oozes a majestic cinematic quality.” Get In Her Ears

“Evoking a near-epic sense of nostalgia” The New Age

“grandiloquent high-stakes gothic romance.” Hard of Hearing

“Their experimentation is unique. ” Groupie

Returning for their first single of 2024, South East London ‘Dream Rock’ quintet Rats-Tails share genre-bending new cut ‘Flowers’ - due 10th April.

Segueing seamlessly between psychedelic-folk, dream-pop and scratchy indie-disco - all within a labyrinthine-but-breezy 4-minute voyage - ‘Flowers’s elastic framework is equally adept at full-blown, guitar-solo’ing, clarinet-blowing freak out, as it is at harsh, pared-back severity. With Courtney McMahon’s acrobatic vocals as the track’s unifying beacon, ‘Flowers’ blooms with a redemptive coming-of-age narrative; rediscovering oneself, and thriving in change, as McMahon herself explains:

“You’ll never know all of the Flowers” verbatim, was my response to a long term ex-partner admitting he loved the ‘idea’ of me, rather than actual me. After processing the end of this relationship and the weight of his misogyny, I began a journey of discovering what I wish to do in life. ‘Flowers’ is about embracing your personal metamorphosis: the ugly and beautiful parts of you and your history. The sound of the track reflects that metamorphosis - it’s so colourful, full of twists & turns. It plays with genres, resulting in a dreamy and chaotic song about embracing your life journey. ‘Flowers’ is a great track to perform live, I can’t help but dance away with the rats and our crowd. I forget that the track stems from a moment of misogyny.”

To celebrate 'Flowers', Rats-Tails play a special headline show at The George Tavern (London), with special guests The Last Whole Earth Catalog and Lost Lyra - tickets available here

‘Flowers’ by Rats-Tails is available for streaming from 10th April 2024 - Listen here

More about Rats-Tails

Formed in South East London by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Courtney McMahon after she rediscovered her love of performance through singing in a David Bowie covers band, the Rats-Tails project quickly became defined for its bold visual presence and willingness to bend the boundaries of dream-pop beyond the norm. Only a handful of releases into their career, the band’s self-determined ‘Dream Rock’ sound has already shown itself as one of great dexterity and ambition. As debut single ‘Spines’ provided us with a stark folk vignette, last year’s’ Coke In the 70s’ offered the complete opposite, blasting out epic, sprawling shoegaze that comfortably managed to dip its toes still into Latin lounge-rock.

A regular and much-loved feature on the London grassroots circuit for the past 18 months, alongside numerous headlines, the band have shared stages with the likes of Girl Ray, cotoba, Tapir!, Honeyglaze and The Last Whole Earth Catalog, winning early press backing from indie champions Groupie, Hard of Hearing, Still Listening, Get In Her Ears, The New Age Magazine and Post-Brexit Pop.

Rats-Tails Are:

Courtney McMahon - Vocals, Songwriter & Guitarist

Chris Bull - Lead Guitarist

Samuel Hart - Bassist, Filmmaker

Frankie Di Stani - Clarinet, Keys, Backing Vocals

Pitt Vitheethum - Drums