Basht share new single ‘Keira Knightley’ from debut album Poor Advice

Basht have shared new single ‘Keira Knightley’, the third preview of their debut album Poor Advice, due 9th October via LAB Records.

The song follows ‘Perfume’ and the album announcement and takes a different emotional angle from its predecessor. Where ‘Perfume’ addressed the weight of institutional pressure and inherited shame, ‘Keira Knightley’ is more intimate and more raw: a post-punk account of a relationship collapsing under the weight of jealousy and desperation. The title reference is to the Love Actually scene in which a character silently professes love on doorstep cards. “I’ll call you daily / hold you tightly / ring your bell like Keira Knightley,” vocalist Jack Leavey sings.

“This song is about the desperate lengths people go to in an effort to save a relationship,” Leavey has said. “It’s about a relationship I had that started off being incredibly exciting and loving but then slowly devolved into jealousy, desperation and resentment.” The band describe ‘Keira Knightley’ as a deliberate push into new sonic territory, “a new flavour of Basht and a hint of what’s to come.”

The album, produced by Ali Chant (Dry Cleaning, Perfume Genius, PJ Harvey), is a concept record tracing the relationship between institutional power and those shaped by it, moving from the Catholic Church’s influence on Irish private life to the present-day military industrial complex. The Dublin four-piece have spent the past year building a devoted live following through tours with Deadletter, Everything Everything and Wunderhorse. Several autumn headline dates are already running low on tickets or sold out.

20 Jun – TRNSMT, Glasgow

2 Jul – Rock Werchter, Belgium

11 Jul – Papillon, Southampton

30 Jul – Amersham Arms, London (War Child Fundraiser)

31 Jul – The Booking Hall, Dover

1 Aug – Wilderness Festival, Oxford

9 Aug – Boardmasters Festival, Newquay

29 Aug – Rock N Roll Circus, Sheffield

30 Aug – Leeds Festival, Leeds

5 Sep – Zero Four Three Festival, Maastricht

25 Sep – Gathering Sounds Festival, Stockholm

27 Oct – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham (LOW TICKETS)

28 Oct – Art School, Glasgow (LOW TICKETS)

29 Oct – Gorilla, Manchester (SOLD OUT)

30 Oct – KOKO, London (LOW TICKETS)

7 Nov – Button Factory, Dublin (LOW TICKETS)

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