The Exact Opposite release their second single Look At Him Go! via Tone Deaf Inc. in North America on 19th April 2024. Between singer/guitarist Jamie Stuart and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Nigel Powell they have a long musical pedigree – together in underground indie heroes Dive Dive, and separately in Dustball, Unbelievable Truth and Frank Turner And The Sleeping Souls. Look At Him Go!, the opening track on forthcoming album Skill Issue, is a flurry of angular, crunching riffs with a very real and raw sense of urgency.
“I remember,” says Stuart, “that there was a slight false start when I was writing the lyrics to ‘Look At Him Go!’. It was about something different, but then I decided what I wanted it to be about and I’ve never had such a stream of lyrics. I’d never put that many different words into a song before. And I know songs about aging superheroes – which is really about the death of the hero inside you – have been done by other bands, but it was really fun. And if there is an underlying theme to the record, it is aging and wondering if it’s time to call it. But it’s clearly not!”
The last song completed for the record, it serves as a testament to the importance of creativity, addressing the reasons and purpose for the pair making music together while simultaneously confronting their hesitations about doing so, along with the ineluctable existential dread of mortality. “When we finished that song we both just looked at each other and said ‘Fucking hell, this is great!’”, says Powell. “There’s just something about it – it’s very hooky, it’s got a great story, I love the lyrics and it just crackles with excitement and energy.”