Name: Red EP
Brand: Laundromat

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

BYREC17

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Colour

black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Discs

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2021-04-30

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Tax rate GB

UPC / Barcode

1 / 7" / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

Artist

Laundromat

Genre GB

Indie Pop / Shoegaze

Label GB

Brace Yourself Records

The Red EP is the third and final Laundromat (AKA Toby Hayes) EP in the current set, concluding a triology completed with the prebiously released Blue and Green EPs.

On the EP opener ‘Flat Planet’, Laundromat says "I don’t ever remember setting out to write a tune like this, but here it is anyways. I kinda hear it like a St. Vincent song or something like that. Some tongue in cheek (but not) apocalyptic-pop. An eye-roll pointed right back at us dumb humans. You know how when you’re reading the news, and it’s facepalm after facepalm? This was a response to that feeling. The drop at the end is a Big Muff driving a Harmonic Percolator - a lot of fun through headphones." 

Laundromat, the new project from Toby Hayes has been a long time in the making. Hayes admits as much, recalling a process that has taken "years" to bear fruition.

The resulting EPs showcase a musician who has earned his stripes in the DIY scene. Elsewhere on Red, En Bloc is an ode to friendship, Hayes describing how he "grew up a bit awkward, socially. So now I get really romantic about my pals". While Milky is a more sombre affair that recalls Beck at his most tender.

Lyrically the project explores the end of the world, panic attacks, political figures that don’t represent the people that elected them, the preciousness of friendship, binge drinking, mental health and the time Hayes got ‘catfished’ - for nearly 7 years. 

Influences are broad, ranging from Broadcast, Jaki Liebezeit, Jason Albertini, Madlib to Gonjasufi. Kim Deal stands out as major inspiration. Film is also a huge source of intrigue for Hayes "I find a lot of inspiration in film. Repo Man (1984), Deep End (1970), Punch-drunk Love (2002), and Alice in the Cities (1974) in particular" he says. Hayes finds salvation in the intimacy of bedrooms recordings, " I love the sound of them. There’s something special there that I will always love, the sound of someone exploring their imagination, performing to themselves." Lo-fi may be the guiding force, but after an eventful and painful few years Laundromat is ready to embrace positive change and seek catharsis with these new recordings.

Red EP

Music GB