They may be based in Leeds now, but they grew up playing music in Notts and they're super talented, so we'll happily claim them as ours. And they've just released a Christmas tune, which is well worth talking about...
When you think of the best-known Christmas hits, you've got your Mariah Carey, Wham, and Michael Bublé classics. But now, we've got our very own Christmas tune to celebrate - and it's definitely one for those who prefer to opt for a more alternative listen at this time of year.
Sure, the upbeat, overly happy songs that blast from the speakers in every shop across town throughout December are fine, but they can get a bit tiresome when you've heard them fifty times before the big day has even come around.
So, if you feel that you want to bask in something a little more moody and melancholic, I direct you to It's Not Like The Christmas Films, the latest single from Sunflower Thieves - "a melancholy ode to the festive season and the conflicting emotions that often come along with it."
Born out of a recent writing session with friends Lexie Carroll and Jack Hardman and inspired by the likes of The Staves and Phoebe Bridgers, It’s Not Like The Christmas Films acknowledges another side of Christmas - one far removed from fairy lights, shiny decorations and joyful festivities.
Soft piano provides the perfect backdrop for the pair’s plaintive vocals and signature harmonies, as they vow to “try to warm the kid inside” and battle through the heightened loneliness and gruelling social exhaustion of a long December.
In time, the track opens out into an anthemic full band arrangement, as a memorable chorus hints to the anticlimactic nature of the season; "It’s not like the Christmas films, I never believed them."
“It’s Not Like The Christmas Films portrays how anticlimactic and often, incredibly lonely, the festive season can be, particularly as you grow up and are more aware that it’s not always the picture perfect Christmas scene all the old songs and films show it to be.
"The bad news on the TV doesn’t go away for Christmas, and neither does any sadness you may be carrying with you - in fact, the festivities often seem to highlight this melancholy. We wanted to depict, in a gentle way, that feeling of overwhelming sadness when in such a joyful environment," the duo said of the track.
So, if you find yourselves getting a bit fed up of the Christmas tunes that you hear year-on-year, treat yourself to something a bit different - and a bit more local to Nottingham - this year.
It's Not Like The Christmas Films is available to stream now on all platforms
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