{"title":"The Tubs","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"the-tubs-dead-meat-silver-vinyl","title":"The Tubs - Dead Meat [Silver Vinyl]","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"aec-body\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-md-10\" id=\"aec-main\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"aec-product-container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\" id=\"aec-product-description\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"aec-desc-review collapse\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-6\" _ngcontent-c11=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"row\" _ngcontent-c11=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-12\" _ngcontent-c11=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"ng-tns-c11-29\" _ngcontent-c11=\"\"\u003eLondon group The Tubs return to Trouble In Mind with their hotly anticipated full-length album entitled \"Dead Meat\". The band were formed in 2018 from the ashes of beloved UK post-punk band Joanna Gruesome by former members Owen 'O' Williams and George 'GN' Nicholls. By incorporating elements of post-punk, traditional British folk, and guitar jangle seasoned by nonchalant Cleaners From Venus-influenced pop hooks and contemporary antipodean indie bands (Twerps\/Goon Sax, et al).\"Dead Meat\" is resplendent in hi-fidelity strum \u0026amp; thrum, incorporating fleeting elements of post-punk and indie jangle, but the group's penchant for trad British folk \u0026amp; Canterbury folk-rock takes a noticeable, caffeinated step forward. Echoes of Fairport Convention’s decidedly English chime cross swords with singer Owen Williams' lyrics directing Bryan Ferry's \"thinking man's libertine\" persona into a more dolorous outlook. Many songs (like \"Round The Bend\" and \"Duped\") soar with an urgent strum under Williams' acerbic lyrics, recalling a younger fiery Richard Thompson. They languish in an aching, bitter resignation (of both the situations described \u0026amp; the protagonist's place in it), particularly near the album's second half. Others like the previously released \"I Don't Know How It Works\", \"Two Person Love\" and \"Illusion\" (re-presented here as \"Illusion Pt. II\" and all rerecorded from their original 7-inch versions) up the urgency, implying that the journey for the person described in each tune is not over \u0026amp; may be even more desperate than before. The band has never been tighter \u0026amp; more dynamic, often imperceptibly ratcheting up the tension, an extra guitar strum overdubbed, a barely audible organ\/synth cranking under a chorus or bridge, or unexpected backups from current Ex-Vöid (and ex-Joanna Gruesome) vocalist Lan McArdle. The Tubs are poised to take over your stereo - there’s no point in resisting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFormat \/ \u003cb\u003eLP\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eReleased \/ \u003cb\u003e01\/27\/2023\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eCatalogue \/\u003cstrong\u003e TIM-173LPC1\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBarcode \/ \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e650076674072\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eArtist \/ \u003cstrong\u003eThe Tubs\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLabel \/ \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTrouble In Mind Records\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eGenre \/ \u003cb\u003ePop \/ Rock\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Secretly Canadian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40473201475645,"sku":"POP-T-650076674072","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1487\/4550\/products\/TIM173.jpg?v=1674564976"},{"product_id":"the-tubs-dead-meat-black-vinyl","title":"The Tubs - Dead Meat [Black Vinyl]","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"aec-body\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-md-10\" id=\"aec-main\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"aec-product-container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\" id=\"aec-product-description\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"aec-desc-review collapse\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-6\" _ngcontent-c11=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"row\" _ngcontent-c11=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-12\" _ngcontent-c11=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"ng-tns-c11-29\" _ngcontent-c11=\"\"\u003eLondon group The Tubs return to Trouble In Mind with their hotly anticipated full-length album entitled \"Dead Meat\". The band were formed in 2018 from the ashes of beloved UK post-punk band Joanna Gruesome by former members Owen 'O' Williams and George 'GN' Nicholls. By incorporating elements of post-punk, traditional British folk, and guitar jangle seasoned by nonchalant Cleaners From Venus-influenced pop hooks and contemporary antipodean indie bands (Twerps\/Goon Sax, et al).\"Dead Meat\" is resplendent in hi-fidelity strum \u0026amp; thrum, incorporating fleeting elements of post-punk and indie jangle, but the group's penchant for trad British folk \u0026amp; Canterbury folk-rock takes a noticeable, caffeinated step forward. Echoes of Fairport Convention’s decidedly English chime cross swords with singer Owen Williams' lyrics directing Bryan Ferry's \"thinking man's libertine\" persona into a more dolorous outlook. Many songs (like \"Round The Bend\" and \"Duped\") soar with an urgent strum under Williams' acerbic lyrics, recalling a younger fiery Richard Thompson. They languish in an aching, bitter resignation (of both the situations described \u0026amp; the protagonist's place in it), particularly near the album's second half. Others like the previously released \"I Don't Know How It Works\", \"Two Person Love\" and \"Illusion\" (re-presented here as \"Illusion Pt. II\" and all rerecorded from their original 7-inch versions) up the urgency, implying that the journey for the person described in each tune is not over \u0026amp; may be even more desperate than before. The band has never been tighter \u0026amp; more dynamic, often imperceptibly ratcheting up the tension, an extra guitar strum overdubbed, a barely audible organ\/synth cranking under a chorus or bridge, or unexpected backups from current Ex-Vöid (and ex-Joanna Gruesome) vocalist Lan McArdle. The Tubs are poised to take over your stereo - there’s no point in resisting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFormat \/ \u003cb\u003eLP\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eReleased \/ \u003cb\u003e01\/27\/2023\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eCatalogue \/\u003cstrong\u003e TIM-173LP\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBarcode \/ \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e650076674065\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eArtist \/ \u003cstrong\u003eThe Tubs\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLabel \/ \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eTrouble In Mind Records\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eGenre \/ \u003cb\u003ePop \/ Rock\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Secretly Canadian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40473204391997,"sku":"POP-T-650076674065","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1487\/4550\/products\/TIM173_458310b4-9368-40ea-b2f3-5acb6c92e063.jpg?v=1674565329"},{"product_id":"tubs-cotton-crown","title":"The Tubs - Cotton Crown","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Tubs' second album, Cotton Crown, sees the Celtic Jangle boyband venture into darker, more personal territory while continuing to hone their highly addictive brand of songcraft. It's a true level up album which sees the band expand their sonic palette to take in a kaleidoscopic range of influences: everything from soulful pub rock (Chain Reaction) to Husker Du aggression (One More Day) to melancholy sophisto-pop (Narcissist) gets a look in. As Pitchfork noted, The Tubs see jangle as a 'vast world of moods and muses' and Cotton Crown sees them continuing to explore this world and creating a distinctly Tub-ular sound in the process.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is in no small part down to Owen 'O' Williams' vocal performance- often compared to a young Richard Thomson- and his frank, bleakly funny lyric writing. Cotton Crown sees him delve further into his favorite themes of love-psychosis, unsympathetic mentally ill behavior, and the humiliations of being a musician in London. This time around, however, there's a palpable sense of risk in his self assessments\/confessions. No more so in the track's closing track Strange- an accounting of the clumsy, intrusive, well-meaning social interactions that took place in the period following the suicide of his mother (the folk singer Charlotte Greig.) As Williams says: \"I'd tried a few times to write a song about it. The result had always seemed either mawkish, simplifying or like I was hawking my trauma. But then this one came out, and it felt right because it looked at something smaller: the weird, unsatisfying, strangely funny ways everyone, including myself, acted after the dust settled.\" The album artwork features an image of Williams as an infant being breastfed by Greig in a graveyard- a promotional shot taken around the release of her debut album (the re-issue of which was featured in The Guardian in 2023.) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe essential trick Cotton Crown plays is to offset Williams' lyrical bleakness with joyous, hook-laden blasts of pop perfection. This is largely down to the guitar work of George Nicholls, who, across the album, effortlessly slips between the virtuoso jangle of Marr, the driving folk-rock of Pentangle and the chorus-heavy hi-fi grooves of contemporary bands like Tops or The 1975. Add to that the breakneck rhythm section of Taylor Stewart (Drums) and Max Warren (Bass)- who attack each song with power-pop ferocity, recalling Guided by Voices at their drunken-yet-tight best- and you've got yourself a recipe for indie rock greatness. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe band's debut 'Dead Meat' was a word-of-mouth sensation that saw the band earn accolades from Pitchfork, The Guardian, MOJO, SPIN and more. They even gained some celeb fans: the inimitable Mark Proksch (The Office (US), Better Call Saul, What We Do in the Shadows) starred in the video for their \"Round the Bend\" single \u0026amp; punk legend Iggy Pop has praised them on his BBC 6Music radio program. Standing in opposition to the UK norm of post punk, and hookless high-minded indie prog, the album was described by Kitty Empire (Observer) as a \"shot in the arm for indie rock\". The band's hard touring and raucous, beery live show have seen them stand out at festivals like Greenman, End of The Road, Melbourne Rising and Canela Party. The band (minus Stewart) were previously members of Joanna Gruesome- who won the Welsh Music Prize, toured the UK and US extensively, and were praised in Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The NY Times, The Guardian and others. Lan McCardle (Joanna Gruesome, Ex-Void) also provides backing vocals on several tracks. The Tubs are part of the Gob Nation collective- the London-based network of bands, writers and promoters who were recently profiled in The Guardian.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat \/ \u003cb\u003eLP\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReleased \/ \u003cb\u003e03\/07\/2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCatalogue \/ \u003cb\u003eTBMD-195\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBarcode \/ \u003cb\u003e785034136450\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArtist \/ \u003cb\u003eTubs\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLabel \/ \u003cb\u003eTrouble in Mind\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGenre \/ \u003cb\u003ePop \/ Rock\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secretly Canadian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42056835301437,"sku":"POP-T-785034136450","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1487\/4550\/files\/4398217-3315416.jpg?v=1740834934"},{"product_id":"the-tubs-hard-life-indie-exclusive-natural-w-blue-yellow-swirl-vinyl","title":"The Tubs - Hard Life [Indie-Exclusive Natural w\/ Blue \u0026 Yellow Swirl Vinyl]","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eUpon arriving in the USA for The Tubs' first tour of the country, frontman Owen Williams told The New Yorker, \"We're here to unite the country. We're gonna come, like, three times. By that point, I think this place will start healing.\" Then, joyously, they did just that, piling into a van and criss-crossing the States, bringing their literary, bleary-eyed, world-weary, night-of-your-life highwire act to the masses when it was needed most.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Tubs have never lacked for ambition - on Hard Life, theirs is to complicate the Tub-ullar experience. Having perfected their chemistry across two prior albums, hundreds of shows, and an ever-expanding universe of bands affiliated with London's Gob Nation Collective (The TSG, Sniffany \u0026amp; The Nits, Spike, and Garden Centre), the London-based Celtic jangle boyband- Williams (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass), Dan Lucas (guitar), Taylor Stewart (drums), and Max Warren (bass)- push themselves further into the shimmering heart of virtuosic indie rock. They're joined by frequent collaborators Lan McArdle (vocals), George Nicholls (guitar), and Rachel Kenedy (keyboards), all of whom have orbited various Tubs-adjacent efforts dating back to Joanna Gruesome, but the secret to Hard Life's lushness is the addition of fiddle player Chris Haigh, an instructor and session musician who left an indelible mark on British pop on Steps' \"5, 6, 7, 8.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMirroring Williams' use of trilling on vocal melodies, Haigh's fiddle shades the vocalist's rueful croon like a bruise. On \"Stoop to Me, \" the folkiest, jangliest pop song on the album, Haigh's licks complement Williams at his most self-deprecating, the lopsided smile of a guy trying not to let on how wounded he is in unrequited love. On album opener and title track \"Hard Life, \" it's the sweetness of the ascending fiddle lines in the mix that weds the harshness of Williams' lyrics to The Tubs' fist-pumping anthemics. The hard line Williams takes here and elsewhere on Hard Life further troubles one's idea of a Tubs song. The persona familiar to listeners of Cotton Crown and Dead Meat - to quote Williams, \"navel gazing about romantic abjection, London squalor, and the indignities of grief and OCD\" - is still present, but so too is a second voice, steelier and more experienced. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The second persona doesn't have much time for the first, \" Williams explains, \"often haranguing him for his self-indulgence and immaturity; sometimes fairly, sometimes unfairly.\" It's the scold who takes center stage on lead single \"Who's Gonna Love You Now?\" His questions, from the titular one to more concrete concerns like \"Who's gonna pay the rent?\" existing in mocking opposition to ideas like moving to the city and really starting to live. Though Williams plays the crank, the song is a raver, guitars ringing out over an organ- brightened horizon. \"It's your life, \" Williams sings, the life chugging away beneath him sounding exceptionally keen. He wouldn't have much sympathy for the lovelorn Williams of \"If You Don't Love Me\" - hell, his whole existence seems like a warning that the kinds of romantic entanglements one suffers when they're young will end in loneliness, failure, and an inbox choked with unread Substacks. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn Hard Life, these voices argue, pester one another, merge into each other, and break apart, sometimes over the course of a single song. They're two sides of the same coin, people who've experienced grief, disappointment, regret, and shame, emerging from the wreckage as changed men. \"I'm interested in the way sympathy and patience for someone suffering always runs out eventually, \" Williams says. \"How this can be a good and liberating thing as well as a sad and brutal thing. But mostly they're just pop songs.\" Exquisite, irresistible pop songs. Spin them until the healing starts, then spin them again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat \/ \u003cb\u003eLP\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReleased \/ \u003cstrong\u003e09\/11\/2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCatalogue \/ \u003cb\u003eMRG-890IEX\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBarcode \/ \u003cstrong\u003e673855089003\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArtist \/ \u003cstrong\u003eThe Tubs\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLabel \/ \u003cstrong\u003eMerge Records\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGenre \/ \u003cstrong\u003ePop \/ Rock\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secretly Canadian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43574538829885,"sku":"POP-T-673855089003","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1487\/4550\/files\/The-Tubs-Hard-Life-Album-Art.jpg?v=1788537847"},{"product_id":"the-tubs-hard-life","title":"The Tubs - Hard Life","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eUpon arriving in the USA for The Tubs' first tour of the country, frontman Owen Williams told The New Yorker, \"We're here to unite the country. We're gonna come, like, three times. By that point, I think this place will start healing.\" Then, joyously, they did just that, piling into a van and criss-crossing the States, bringing their literary, bleary-eyed, world-weary, night-of-your-life highwire act to the masses when it was needed most.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Tubs have never lacked for ambition - on Hard Life, theirs is to complicate the Tub-ullar experience. Having perfected their chemistry across two prior albums, hundreds of shows, and an ever-expanding universe of bands affiliated with London's Gob Nation Collective (The TSG, Sniffany \u0026amp; The Nits, Spike, and Garden Centre), the London-based Celtic jangle boyband- Williams (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass), Dan Lucas (guitar), Taylor Stewart (drums), and Max Warren (bass)- push themselves further into the shimmering heart of virtuosic indie rock. They're joined by frequent collaborators Lan McArdle (vocals), George Nicholls (guitar), and Rachel Kenedy (keyboards), all of whom have orbited various Tubs-adjacent efforts dating back to Joanna Gruesome, but the secret to Hard Life's lushness is the addition of fiddle player Chris Haigh, an instructor and session musician who left an indelible mark on British pop on Steps' \"5, 6, 7, 8.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMirroring Williams' use of trilling on vocal melodies, Haigh's fiddle shades the vocalist's rueful croon like a bruise. On \"Stoop to Me, \" the folkiest, jangliest pop song on the album, Haigh's licks complement Williams at his most self-deprecating, the lopsided smile of a guy trying not to let on how wounded he is in unrequited love. On album opener and title track \"Hard Life, \" it's the sweetness of the ascending fiddle lines in the mix that weds the harshness of Williams' lyrics to The Tubs' fist-pumping anthemics. The hard line Williams takes here and elsewhere on Hard Life further troubles one's idea of a Tubs song. The persona familiar to listeners of Cotton Crown and Dead Meat - to quote Williams, \"navel gazing about romantic abjection, London squalor, and the indignities of grief and OCD\" - is still present, but so too is a second voice, steelier and more experienced. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The second persona doesn't have much time for the first, \" Williams explains, \"often haranguing him for his self-indulgence and immaturity; sometimes fairly, sometimes unfairly.\" It's the scold who takes center stage on lead single \"Who's Gonna Love You Now?\" His questions, from the titular one to more concrete concerns like \"Who's gonna pay the rent?\" existing in mocking opposition to ideas like moving to the city and really starting to live. Though Williams plays the crank, the song is a raver, guitars ringing out over an organ- brightened horizon. \"It's your life, \" Williams sings, the life chugging away beneath him sounding exceptionally keen. He wouldn't have much sympathy for the lovelorn Williams of \"If You Don't Love Me\" - hell, his whole existence seems like a warning that the kinds of romantic entanglements one suffers when they're young will end in loneliness, failure, and an inbox choked with unread Substacks. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn Hard Life, these voices argue, pester one another, merge into each other, and break apart, sometimes over the course of a single song. They're two sides of the same coin, people who've experienced grief, disappointment, regret, and shame, emerging from the wreckage as changed men. \"I'm interested in the way sympathy and patience for someone suffering always runs out eventually, \" Williams says. \"How this can be a good and liberating thing as well as a sad and brutal thing. But mostly they're just pop songs.\" Exquisite, irresistible pop songs. Spin them until the healing starts, then spin them again.Format \/ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eLP\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReleased \/ \u003cstrong\u003e09\/11\/2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCatalogue \/ \u003cb\u003eMRG-890\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBarcode \/ \u003cstrong\u003e673855089010\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArtist \/ \u003cstrong\u003eThe Tubs\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLabel \/ \u003cstrong\u003eMerge Records\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGenre \/ \u003cstrong\u003ePop \/ Rock\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secretly Canadian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43574582673469,"sku":"POP-T-673855089010","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1487\/4550\/files\/4525422-3647995.jpg?v=1788537985"},{"product_id":"damaged-the-tubs-hard-life-indie-exclusive-natural-w-blue-yellow-swirl-vinyl","title":"[DAMAGED] The Tubs - Hard Life [Indie-Exclusive Natural w\/ Blue \u0026 Yellow Swirl Vinyl]","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e***All of these copies have dinged corners, seam splits or bent jackets***\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003eUpon arriving in the USA for The Tubs' first tour of the country, frontman Owen Williams told The New Yorker, \"We're here to unite the country. We're gonna come, like, three times. By that point, I think this place will start healing.\" Then, joyously, they did just that, piling into a van and criss-crossing the States, bringing their literary, bleary-eyed, world-weary, night-of-your-life highwire act to the masses when it was needed most.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Tubs have never lacked for ambition - on Hard Life, theirs is to complicate the Tub-ullar experience. Having perfected their chemistry across two prior albums, hundreds of shows, and an ever-expanding universe of bands affiliated with London's Gob Nation Collective (The TSG, Sniffany \u0026amp; The Nits, Spike, and Garden Centre), the London-based Celtic jangle boyband- Williams (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass), Dan Lucas (guitar), Taylor Stewart (drums), and Max Warren (bass)- push themselves further into the shimmering heart of virtuosic indie rock. They're joined by frequent collaborators Lan McArdle (vocals), George Nicholls (guitar), and Rachel Kenedy (keyboards), all of whom have orbited various Tubs-adjacent efforts dating back to Joanna Gruesome, but the secret to Hard Life's lushness is the addition of fiddle player Chris Haigh, an instructor and session musician who left an indelible mark on British pop on Steps' \"5, 6, 7, 8.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMirroring Williams' use of trilling on vocal melodies, Haigh's fiddle shades the vocalist's rueful croon like a bruise. On \"Stoop to Me, \" the folkiest, jangliest pop song on the album, Haigh's licks complement Williams at his most self-deprecating, the lopsided smile of a guy trying not to let on how wounded he is in unrequited love. On album opener and title track \"Hard Life, \" it's the sweetness of the ascending fiddle lines in the mix that weds the harshness of Williams' lyrics to The Tubs' fist-pumping anthemics. The hard line Williams takes here and elsewhere on Hard Life further troubles one's idea of a Tubs song. The persona familiar to listeners of Cotton Crown and Dead Meat - to quote Williams, \"navel gazing about romantic abjection, London squalor, and the indignities of grief and OCD\" - is still present, but so too is a second voice, steelier and more experienced. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The second persona doesn't have much time for the first, \" Williams explains, \"often haranguing him for his self-indulgence and immaturity; sometimes fairly, sometimes unfairly.\" It's the scold who takes center stage on lead single \"Who's Gonna Love You Now?\" His questions, from the titular one to more concrete concerns like \"Who's gonna pay the rent?\" existing in mocking opposition to ideas like moving to the city and really starting to live. Though Williams plays the crank, the song is a raver, guitars ringing out over an organ- brightened horizon. \"It's your life, \" Williams sings, the life chugging away beneath him sounding exceptionally keen. He wouldn't have much sympathy for the lovelorn Williams of \"If You Don't Love Me\" - hell, his whole existence seems like a warning that the kinds of romantic entanglements one suffers when they're young will end in loneliness, failure, and an inbox choked with unread Substacks. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn Hard Life, these voices argue, pester one another, merge into each other, and break apart, sometimes over the course of a single song. They're two sides of the same coin, people who've experienced grief, disappointment, regret, and shame, emerging from the wreckage as changed men. \"I'm interested in the way sympathy and patience for someone suffering always runs out eventually, \" Williams says. \"How this can be a good and liberating thing as well as a sad and brutal thing. But mostly they're just pop songs.\" Exquisite, irresistible pop songs. Spin them until the healing starts, then spin them again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat \/ \u003cb\u003eLP\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReleased \/ \u003cstrong\u003e09\/11\/2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCatalogue \/ \u003cb\u003eMRG-890IEX\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBarcode \/ \u003cstrong\u003e673855089003D\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArtist \/ \u003cstrong\u003eThe Tubs\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLabel \/ \u003cstrong\u003eMerge Records\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGenre \/ \u003cstrong\u003ePop \/ Rock\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secretly Canadian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43700191854653,"sku":"POP-T-673855089003D","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1487\/4550\/files\/The-Tubs-Hard-Life-Album-Art.jpg?v=1788537847"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.plaidroomrecords.com\/collections\/artist-the-tubs.oembed","provider":"Plaid Room Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}