Rock supergroup Loup GarouX has recently dropped the music video for their new single, "Strange Angels," in an exclusive report from New Musical Express (NME) Thursday, May 28.
The supergroup, composed of Mercury Award-nominated singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt, Gorillaz and Senseless Things' drummer and vocalist Cass Browne, and The Feeling's bassist-vocalist Richard Jones. NME reported that the song took inspiration from a near-death experience, with the band explaining in an interview that it "is an explosive Milton-esque narrative of near-death experience, purgatory, revelation, redemption and a final return."
Loup GarouX shared in the exclusive NME interview that the title "Strange Angels" was borrowed from the biography of Jack Parsons, a rocket engineer, chemist, and occultist. The band added that it was the first song co-written by its members, with a large part of the first takes keeping most of itself aside from the mix by Cenzo Townshend, audio engineer who also recently worked with The Rolling Stones latest single "Living in a Ghost Town."
"The lyrics, the melodies, vocal takes - all from that first explosion that day. Ed's blistering guitar solo is also the first and only time he picked the guitar up to just try something out. A deft touch of genius. [We're] really proud of this. It's phenomenal. It sounds like a huge howling hurricane," the band added.
The British supergroup made its debut last October 2019 with the release of their single "Painter of Trophies" and "Sleep Forever." In an interview, also with NME, Harcourt shared that Loup GarouX was formed "out of the ashes of a late night revelation in the Wolf Cabin," referring to the singer-songwriter's studio. The band later released the single in a limited-edition, hand-stamped 7" red vinyl.
Longtime Friends and Collaborators
Cass Browne has played drums and created drum programs for a variety of musical acts, starting with Senseless Things and its predecessor, The Psychotics, since 1986. He formed Delakota after Senseless Things disbanded and later worked as a staple part of the virtual band Gorillaz.
Richard Jones have been active since 1995, playing bass for The Feelings and working for the band's music, including their charting single "Fill My Little World" in 2005 and their debut album "Twelve Stops and Home" in 2006.
According to the website for the historical music venue "The Castle and Falcon," the trio behind Loup GarouX have been friends for years. Ed Harcourt even recounts watching Cass Browne play in the late 80s - early 90s pop-punk act Senseless Things back when he was still a teenager. After Harcourt's collaborative American tour with rock bands Built to Spill and The Afghan Whigs, Richard Jones paid him a visit and started jamming in Harcourt's Wolf Cabin.
The band's natural chemistry made for quick recording sessions, building up a catalog of singles. As for the name, the "X" was added to the French term for a werewolf, which was also the title of Harcourt's 2016 song from his album "Furnaces."
In a statement, Harcourt said that while he was happier doing his own thing. "there's something special about being in a gang of good friends and co-conspirators making great music."
