{"product_id":"rural-france-sloths-lp-purple-vinyl","title":"RURAL FRANCE - Sloths - LP - Purple Vinyl","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #ff0000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLP - Limited Edition Purple Vinyl. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMuch like the duo’s music, the story of \u003cstrong\u003eRural France\u003c\/strong\u003e is both mundane and magical. \u003cstrong\u003eTom Brown\u003c\/strong\u003e (also of transatlantic janglepunks \u003cstrong\u003eTeenage Tom Petties\u003c\/strong\u003e) and \u003cstrong\u003eRob Fawkes\u003c\/strong\u003e moved to London in their mid-twenties. Despite living under the same roof, they never picked up a guitar – except for one drunken, failed attempt at writing a Spoon song (“\u003cem\u003eBig Chops\u003c\/em\u003e” …don’t ask).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was only after both separately relocating to Wiltshire and starting families that they began assembling songs as a way of meeting up. Tom had amassed a pile of sprightly slacker jams that were calling out for Fawkes’ messily melodic guitar lines. Rural France was born. After a debut album on their hero, ex-\u003cstrong\u003eLemonhead\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eNic Dalton\u003c\/strong\u003e’s \u003cstrong\u003eHalf-a-Cow Records\u003c\/strong\u003e, they retreated to a garage to record their next two albums: RF (2021) and \u003cem\u003eExacamondo!\u003c\/em\u003e (2024), both released on much-respected jangle label \u003cstrong\u003eMeritorio Records\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite being lo-fi in the truest GbV sense, both records were warmly received by the DIY indie blogosphere, with their short, scrappy, but supremely melodic songs landing on numerous AOTY lists. RF even won Album of the Year at Janglepop Hub.\u003cbr\u003eRaven Sings The Blues probably summed up the sound best: “With drunken visions of Beach Boys harmonies playing in the back of their heads and hooks that consume Teenage Fanclub cheeriness with the same beautiful brevity that drives Tony Molina, the pair have knocked out eleven rumpled classics.” \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlbum four, \u003cem\u003eSLOTHS\u003c\/em\u003e, arrives via \u003cstrong\u003eMeritorio Records\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eSafe Suburban Home Records\u003c\/strong\u003e on 08\/05, and is a slightly different beast. For one, it’s been mixed by a professional – \u003cstrong\u003eRob Slater\u003c\/strong\u003e (Westside Cowboy, Yard Act, Thank) – giving the guitars and drums room to breathe. It’s easily their most high-fidelity record to date.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt’s also their jangliest, most baroque and thoughtful album yet. But alongside added organ, horns and mellotron – and drums from Tom’s Teenage Tom Petties bandmate \u003cstrong\u003eJeff Hamm\u003c\/strong\u003e – it still retains the buzzes, hums and little freak-outs that stick to the duo’s original “Pavement playing Teenage Fanclub” mission statement.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Rob and I both wanted to do something a little slower and a little more melancholy,” says Tom. “We resisted our usual urge to hit the distortion pedal and made something that fitted where we are now and celebrates how we still listen to Meatloaf when we get drunk.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSLOTHS\u003c\/em\u003e is also the most thematically consistent Rural France record to date. While it wouldn’t be right to call it grown-up, it definitely has homeowners’ insurance. From the Silver Jews-esque Americana of “\u003cem\u003eSlab\u003c\/em\u003e” and mid-life rallying cry of “\u003cem\u003eThirty Seven Forever\u003c\/em\u003e”, to the horn-embossed loser anthem “\u003cem\u003eLonely Heart Pyramid Scheme\u003c\/em\u003e,” the songs celebrate (and rail against) the absurdities of getting older, forming a band in your thirties, and the strange phenomenon of time passing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause no matter how slow you move, everything else goes fast. \u003cem\u003eSLOTHS\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Safe Suburban Home","offers":[{"title":"LP - Purple Vinyl","offer_id":57400210063705,"sku":"SDZ-30278","price":30.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0588\/3455\/0945\/files\/Rural_France_-_Sloths_-_LP_Purple_Coloured_Vinyl_-_2026.jpg?v=1772207501","url":"https:\/\/spindizzyrecords.com\/products\/rural-france-sloths-lp-purple-vinyl","provider":"Spindizzy Dublin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}