Charlie Vaughan has released new single ‘Don’t Wanna Drive’, a hazy, melody-driven track that marks a deliberate shift towards simplicity in the English songwriter’s approach.
The track has an unhurried, sun-bleached quality in its verses before opening into a chorus that sticks quickly and doesn’t let go. It is leaner than much of Vaughan’s previous work, the result of a conscious effort to strip arrangements back rather than build them up. What remains is more direct for it: a piece of English indie songwriting that trusts its own instincts.
Vaughan has spoken about the single’s origins in straightforward terms. “I wanted to write something dreamy and simple, no crazy structures,” he said, noting that the track changed considerably once it moved from the studio to the stage. Playing it live with the band pushed the tempo up and sharpened the rhythm, while a fortunate accident in rehearsal produced the closing section. “Me and the band knew this was the perfect end,” he said.
The release follows a busy stretch of touring across Europe and the UK alongside The Backseat Lovers and Hamilton Leithauser. Vaughan plays London’s Paper Dress Vintage tonight, 10th April, with a video accompanying the single also out now.
