PAWS have shared their their new single “One Nation Under Dog” along with its accompanying video. The band’s Phillip Jon Taylor adds: “”One Nation Under Dog” is rooted in my fears for the future and feeling helpless; climate change, how we all interact with each other socially whilst tech advancement and social expectation in that world ramps up and on. The title isn’t some big statement or anything. We just like the play on words for such a big statement.

The main riff for this song sat for ages in a “paws?” marked folder for when Josh and I could get together. Some things I write feel like they can only be a PAWS tune so it’s cool when it pans out and I like the track. It definitely feels like a staple PAWS song. It could be off any of the previous records and fit in…I like that.”

The band are also announcing a UK co-headlining tour with labelmates Worriers and headline shows in select markets. All upcoming shows are listed below. Following the release of their fourth LP, 2019’s Your Church On My Bonfire, PAWS – the Scottish DIY indie rock songwriting partnership of Phillip Jon Taylor and Joshua Swinney, toured briefly, and as the world began to shut down, they slipped out of sight. Phillip retreated north to the Highlands where he focused on his painting, solo work and the rewarding demands of fatherhood. Josh headed south to London, pursuing his other passion as a chef at the highly acclaimed Plimsoll.

Having missed playing together for too long, a plan was set and in October 2022 Josh travelled to Phillip’s home studio in his Crofters cottage where work began on the band’s fifth self-titled LP. Relying on a set of phone demos and chemistry honed after years on the road the songs came together surprisingly fast.

“Remembering just how much we enjoyed writing and recording together was the driving force” explains Josh. After recording previously with both Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus and Frightened Rabbit’s Andy Monaghan, the band once again seized control of production duties as they had on their second album, Youth Culture Forever. “The thing we were hoping to achieve with making this album was to be able to be creatively free and to have fun writing and recording” Josh continues. “We wanted it to happen quickly and not be a stagnant process.” Utilising all they had learned and adding their own DIY ethos into the mix, the music was done in a week. Josh headed home and Phillip set to work on the lyrics.

A disorientated alienation stalks first single “Disenchanted.” “What and who are we as human beings?” Phillip sings above a full throttled punk assault that drops before the two-minute mark while the duo still have breath in their lungs. “That was the first song we wrote and recorded for the album” explains Phillip. “Josh was visiting and we spent all weekend chilling and catching up. Then a few hours before he had to head south again, we just decided to have a quick jam. I played bass and because I have my wee studio set up to record, we just naturally structured a song and tracked it really quickly. It was really liberating.” It also provided the template upon which the rest of the record was built. “If we didn’t like the take or part listening back, we did it again until we were happy and boosted on to the next thing. It was definitely a refreshing way for us to work I found and just allowed us to do what we love.”

Paws
Paws
Tracklist
Ernest Jenning Recording Company

1. Helen Back
2. Plans
3. Uncertain
4. One Nation Under DOG
5. Unfiltered
6. Sound Aye No Bother
7. Elemental Attributes
8. Starf***ers
9. S.A.H.D
10. Disenchante

PAWS 2023 Tour Dates

11.06 – Milton Keynes @ The Craufurd Arms +
11.07 – Norwich @ Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom +
11.08 – Bristol @ Crofter’s Rights +
11.09 – Swansea @ Bunkhouse +
11.10 – Manchester @ Factory +
11.12 – Blackpool @ The Bootleg Social +
11.14 – Birkenhead @ Future Yard +
11.15 – London @ New Cross Inn +
11.16 – Plymouth @ Junction +
12.07 – Aberdeen – Tunnels
12.08 – Edinburgh – Wee Red Bar
12.09 – Glasgow – Poetry Club
12.13 – London – Sebright Arms

+ co-headling with Worriers

Pre-order Paws by Paws HERE