Fall Better is set for release on 24 January 2020 via VKVI Records.
Janine Shilstone, singer with Glasgow’s own Vukovi, has a simple mission statement for her band’s music.
“I want our songs to let people know that they’re not alone in feeling crazy,” she says. “I want to give people who feel that way a little bit of comfort. I want them to feel less alone. I want to let people know that it’s okay to be weird, and for them not to feel isolated because of it. Our fan base is a beautiful army of weirdos, and I want that to grow. I want them all to feel like they belong here. “And I want to be a rock star,” she says, laughing.
Vukovi are back. Although they’ve been keeping themselves busy since the release of their widely-praised self-titled debut album in 2017 with storming sets at 2000 Trees, The Pit stage at Reading and Leeds, Y Not Festival, Slam Dunk, TRNSMT and more, plus support tours that include PVRIS, Set It Off and ONE OK ROCK, Vukovi focused their energy throughout 2018 on writing and recording their second studio album – Fall Better – set for release on 24 January 2020 via their own label, VKVI Records.
2019 has already given us three bites of Fall Better, with singles C.L.A.U.D.I.A and Behave signposting Vukovi’s next phase, while today sees the band award us a third taste with new single All That Candy and it’s suitably vibrant accompanying video.
“When writing All That Candy I was going through a really angry stage towards my OCD,” explains Janine. “Angry because I physically wanted to hurt this thing which I couldn’t, so talking back and standing up for myself seemed the next best thing. I think our songwriting has come on so much since our debut album, but our mental health has got worse. This album is our therapy and we hope it’s going to help a lot of people as well.”
Produced by Bruce Rintoul – in whose spare bedroom Janine recorded some of her vocals – Fall Better provides a master class in powerful, melodic songwriting penned to a rock beat from which every trace of fat has been removed. Set to pulsing rhythms that extend an invitation to the dance floor to all, songs like the soulful ‘Where Are You’ and the rhythmic and insistent ‘Behave’ do their business at the intersection at which rock, pop and dance music meet to break bread and discuss all the things they have in common.
Fall Better track listing:
1. 17359
2. Violet Minds
3. Aura
4. C.L.A.U.D.I.A
5. Behave
6. Play With Me Cos I Can Take Me
7. Verify Your Worth
8. All That Candy
9. I’m Sorry
10. Where Are You
11. White Lies
12. Run/Hide
High Fives & Stage Dives 