Recorded at Livingston Studios in London and produced by long-time collaborator Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever), ‘The Races’ is built on a driving bassline, with their trademark swagger in full focus. Lyrically it continues to play with middle English characters recognisable from the band’s back catalogue, this time delving into dodgy politics and misguided patriotism.

Following its premiere by famed BBC Radio presenter Annie Mac as her Hottest Record in the World earlier this week, UK art rockers Sports Team today share their anthemic new single ‘The Races’ – out now via Dew Process / Universal Music Australia.

.

LISTEN TO SPORTS TEAM’S NEW SINGLE ‘THE RACES’

.

Of the track’s beginnings, frontman Alex Rice offers: “Oli [Dewdney – Sports Team bassist] came in one morning with the opening bass idea and we’d finished the song in a morning. It was unusually easy. It’s a lot of fun to play.”

‘The Races’, which the band recently shot the wedding-themed video for in South London [set for release early next month], comes hot on the heels of their debut headline tour of the US, as the band commence their biggest UK tour to date, culminating with a headline show in London in December, capping off a breakout year, which included them recently being selected as one of VEVO DSCVR’s Artists to Watch in 2020.

Of the tour Rice says: “The songs are written to be a spectacle live. That’s where you’ve got to hear them, front row, with most of the parts played wrong. No one’s doing it better”

The band recently finished supporting fellow alt rockers Pale Waves before playing their first arena shows as main support for Two Door Cinema Club and out in the US headlining their first full run across the Atlantic.

The London six-piece met at uni in 2017 and have since become part of the UK guitar music revival. They swiftly made a name for themselves on the back of visceral, erratic live shows – a feature that has remained their hallmark. Their debut EP Winter Nets was produced by Dave McCracken (Ian Brown, Depeche Mode), and released in January 2018, and served as a darkly humorous introduction to their weird world, channelling lyrical cynicism that touches on young professionals and provincial UK clichés.

The ensuing 12 months were good to the band, with sold out shows, the formation of their own label (Holm Front) and follow up single, ‘Kutcher,’ which was again recorded with producer Burke Reid and was also named BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record in the World.

The band went on to record their second EP, Keep Walking, with Reid, and from there went on to build momentum to sell out 1,500 capacity venues in the UK – even without a full LP under their belts.

The band’s most recent singles, ‘Here It Comes Again’ and ‘Fishing’ took things up a gear once again, cementing the band as one of the UK’s most important rising rock acts, quickly amassing almost a combined 1 million streams.

‘The Races’ is the latest track to come from the band’s as-of-yet untitled debut album, set for release in 2020.