We Speak Music
Deadset deal with mental health and addiction with raw new single ‘Heavy Eyes’
Deadset emerged from the creative synergy between guitarist James Massey and vocalist Sam Mellors. Their collaboration gave way to a sound which evolved into a darker, more intense direction when bassist Adam Arnold and drummer Rio Campbell joined the ranks. These additions formed a fully-fledged band and elevated the indie sensibilities of the original duo into rawer, grittier realms. Striving to avoid monotony and maintain a progressive sound, Deadset focus on fluctuating in genre. But are a post punk outfit at heart. Pulling influences from Joy Division, Fontaines DC and Interpol.
New single ‘Heavy Eyes’ is a raw, vulnerable evaluation of a battle against mental health and addiction and how that bleeds into relationships leaving a devastating and fatal aftermath. The song, which was mastered by Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Daft Punk), fluctuates between a morbid sadness and palpitating anger, a conscious decision made by Deadset to emphasise the unpredictable, unsteady impact birthed by poor mental health. ‘Heavy Eyes’ is a staple for Deadset existing in their set from day one. It’s the song that spawned the sound and feel of the band.
‘Heavy Eyes was the first song I came to Deadset with’, says Adam Arnold. I was listening to Spiderland by Slint on repeat at this point. I wanted to recreate that jarring juxtaposition of tempos and riffs that are synonymous with their sound. Obviously in a more commercial sense. At this point however James and Sam had a completely different direction in mind. Heavy Eyes was my attempt to change that. I’m sure they hated it at first and it took a lot of persuasion. But now it’s a cornerstone of our sound and a constant reference for me’, he further explains.

We Speak Music
Michele Ducci teases new album with uplifting indie single ‘Woman Like You’
Michele Ducci has unveiled the second single, ‘Woman Like You’, from his forthcoming album and animated film ‘Snail in the Clouds’.
‘Woman Like You’ pairs bright distorted electric guitar with an electronic drumbeat, adding in Ducci’s soulful vocals and a catchy uplifting chorus with Letizia Mandoleisi’s sweet vocal harmonies. A vintage organ pedalboard operated by Ducci simultaneously generates chords, bass and rhythm, like a one-man band. Shane Kennedy (Girl in the Year Above) joins in on guitar. Simon Milner (Is Tropical, Ysing) recorded and produced the track at his 4am Studios in London.
The album and film tell the story of a planet called ‘Snail’, inhabited by hybrids – primarily a mixture between scorpions, snails and humans – who lead a life according to the style of Pythagoras, devoted to music. There is also a cloud man named Agostos, a writer of musical operettas, who together with a talking smoke machine called Doctor Subtilis, begins to kill all hybrids, targeting in particular the hybrid musician Diodoros and his band, in an effort to steal the ark of melodies, an ancient ship that allows the whole planet to survive with music and joy.
The video for the single, created and animated by Ducci and Mandoleisi, delves further into the realm of planet ‘Snail’:
Says Ducci, “The ark of melodies, after various attempts, finally starts to work and fly in the planet Snail, while the shady Doc. Sub. and Agostos, with their platoon of soldiers made of foggy smoke, spy the miracle, planning to steal the ark for their evil and tyrannical purposes.”
About the track, Michele says, “I wrote this song for my love Letizia. Love seen from the mind is the sound we make. Sound is the love of matter.
We used a Technics synthesizer organ from a flea market. I tried to find a mood that was right for the song and I started using the bass of the pedal board together with the synth and the drums, and it was magical to hear the song reveal itself all coming from a single instrument. Leti was singing with me and we recorded everything live in one shot. Then we made Shane do the guitar flight, as if he came out of the window. The idea was to maintain disproportions, guitar thrust and synth drum thinness a la Haroumi Hosono, so as to create an estrangement, but naturally: it’s about how I listen, with close up something that captures me in its nuance as element of a larger orchestra somewhere. I’m glad we decided in the studio with Simon to use the layers of arrangement as the close-ups in the cinema; they look like strange enlargements that perch on parts of a mutated orchestra. I’m happy to come back with this love song at a time when everything seems to opt, even my labor in managing the flows of selfishness that have poured out on me while doing this album, for the sound of war. I’m here happy to be able to say that the sound of love always wins as did for me. Snail in the clouds is one of the most important works in my life and I am glad to start from pure love for this album that is my son.”
The album and full-length film will be released on the 5th of June on Monotreme Records.
Michele and Letizia’s previous musical short film, ‘The Great Book of Nature’, is an official selection for the 2026 Venice Shorts Film Festival.

-
We Speak Music1 week agoMemory Spells Unleashes An Album That Glows With Human Connection
-
We Speak Music6 days agoPaul Archer Unleashes New Single ‘No Fear’
-
We Speak Music1 week ago
They Might Be Giants release video for Raspberries cover ‘Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)’
-
We Speak Music1 week ago
Christian Balvig offers up stunning first taster of new album in collaboration with Ensemble Hermes
