Part of a rich tradition of distinctly British disrupters, DC Gore releases his debut solo single, ‘California’ today. Watch the David J East (Foals, The Japanese House) directed video for ‘California’, shot in the industrial heartlands of the Thames Estuary now.
From the dissolution of south London trio Little Cub, Gore has remodelled & reimagined the band’s electronic synth-pop to incorporate additional acoustic instrumentation which makes for a more textured and temperate sound. Via arpeggiated synths, lounge-influenced brass, and buoyant piano chords, ‘California’ offers a slice of widescreen dancefloor-focused melancholia.
As inspired by the unvarnished portraiture of Martin Parr as he is Ballardian grotesquerie - and by the seedy witticisms of Jarvis Cocker and arch art-pop commentary of Neil Tennant, ‘California' sees Gore conjure up what he describes as ‘a very English type of failure’. Here we find a strong image of our lead ‘flagging proud in sweaty Speedos…Byron-esque on Venice Beach’ - a self-lacerating starkly rendered snapshot of an Englishman abroad distilled within an expansive palette of sophisticated art-pop. California dreaming indeed.
‘California’ was co-produced by DC Gore and Duncan Tootill with additional production by Tom Gillieron. The track was mixed by Alexis Smith (Speedy Wunderground).
