A five-piece formed out of friendships and New Year’s Eve encounters, Leeds’ Treeboy & Arc share new single ‘False Objects’ taken from debut album Natural Habitat out 7th July 2023 via Clue Records who are partnered with EMI North.
“A lot of the vocal deliveries on the record are spoken word and lacking in a real melody, so I wanted to make an effort to sing a bit on at least one of them.”, says guitarist and vocalist Ben Morgan of the new single. “False Objects is a bit slower in tempo and the instrumentation felt more open, there was a lot of space to play with so I thought this would be a good song to do this on.”
Ben continues, “For some reason my girlfriend and I became weirdly obsessed with Jack Osbourne. We saw a programme called ‘Portals to Hell’ and the name sounded so ridiculous we watched it and it was Him presenting it, that opened a can of worms. He also does a show with Sharon and Ozzy called ‘The Osbournes Want to Believe’ where he plays them spooky video clips of ghosts and UFOs and Bigfoot in an attempt to convince them it’s real and plausible. A lot of it is bollocks obviously but some of it is pretty compelling and left me thinking “OK well if that isn’t a ghost, then what on earth is it?”. At some point you can tell that Ozzy is really starting to buy into it all, and I realised that I was also starting to believe.”
On debut album Natural Habitat, they pit pop songs against avant-garde, kraut-punk noise to see which elements come out on top, perfectly setting the scene for abstract tales of disillusionment, loss, ill health and the occasional Bob Mortimer obsession. The lyrics often dark and sinister sounding, you don’t need to listen hard to hear the tongue-in-cheek wit and cynicism in their deliveries that is so often associated with the North of England.
After successful single releases, via Leeds’ Come Play With Me Records and London’s lauded tastemaker label Speedy Wunderground, the band self-released their debut EP Life Preserver to high praise from the likes of BBC6 Music, BBC Radio 1, So Young Magazine, DIY, CLASH, and more. In 2022 they played The Great Escape, Left Of The Dial in Rotterdam, and toured Europe. They’ve previously shared stages with Parquet Courts, Shame, Ulrika Spacek, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, and toured with Crows and LIFE, as well as being supported by PRS Foundation.
Natural Habitat is Treeboy & Arc’s most ambitious release to date, after the original version was scrapped. With the opportunity to really experiment in the studio, the songs recorded became darker, harsher, and more brutal sounding than any of the original demos the band had recorded themselves. With two singers and two lyricists, the meaning of each song feels completely separate from the last. From anxiety to the supernatural, whether disguised by cryptic language or told as “matter of fact”, the album discusses the full spectrum of emotions.
The band felt it important to keep things homegrown and chose to work alongside seminal Leeds producer Matt Peel at his studio The Nave, who has worked on the likes of TRAAMS, W.H. LUNG, Eagulls, Pulled Apart By Horses, Heck, and more, helping them create a brand new sound.
Treeboy & Arc have so far been confirmed to perform at Sound & Vision, Ceremony at Esquires, Blue Dot Festival, and will play a headline show at London’s Moth Club for October. They’ll also currently supporting DITZ at selected dates. Tickets on-sale now HERE.
Natural Habitat
Out 7th July 2023 via Clue Records
Pre-order HERE
TOUR DATES 2023
20/04 – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club w/ DITZ
21/04 – Cambridge, Sound & Vision
10/06 – Bedford, Ceremony @ Esquires
22/07 – Cheshire, Bluedot Festival
18/10 – London, Moth Club
Tickets on-sale now HERE
THOUGHTS WORDS ACTION 