Hailing from Cardiff, HMS Morris are the Art-Rock project, started originally back in 2012, as the solo project of Heledd Watkins, previously known as bassist for Emmy The Great and Chloe Howl among others. They’ve since expanded in both ambition and members, culminating in their 2018 album, Inspirational Talks. After two years out, the band recently returned with a new single, Babanod, the first of a series of singles to be released throughout the year on Bubblewrap Collective. Today we’re premiering the second of these, the band’s new single, Poetry.

In the band’s own words, Poetry is a reflection on, “the sliding scale of madness that results from unreciprocated obsessive love”. The track traces the progression of the obsessions from, “light-hearted hypothetical quasi-stalking”, through to self-recrimination and ultimately concluding in a full-on wail of desperation.

Rather more high-brow that most of the inspirations on this site, HMS Morris have noted Poetry is influenced by Ravel’s Bolero, “a repeating ostinato rising steadily from very quiet to very loud” – although, in Poetry everything happens at twice the pace, “in acknowledgement of the limited attention span of the snapchat generation”. If Ravel’s influence is all over the structure, the actual music here is somewhat less orchestral, instead HMS Morris build from almost Portishead-like beginnings to a crescendo of angular-noise, resplendent with twanging guitars and chanted vocals, equal part Welsh-psych and artsy post-punk. HMS Morris’ return finds the band as intriguing as ever, and when you’re as unique as this band that’s a very, very good thing.

Poetry is out April 1st via Bubblewrap Collective. Click HERE for more information on HMS Morris.