Peppy lo-fi college-rock duo, Succulents, release 'Underdog'

Peppy lo-fi college-rock duo, Succulents, emerge from Manchester to release joyful debut single…

Underdog

New fuzzy indie-pop project led by Laurie Hulme (ex-Songs For Walter) shares first release complete colourful crayon shades reminiscent of Yo La Tengo, The Pastels and Belle and Sebastian

Succulents – Underdog

OUT NOW

Brand new girl-and-boy-next-door lo-fi indie duo, Succulents unveil their debut single Underdog – OUT NOW. Formed of artists, Laurie Hulme and Lucy Ridges, the charming two-hander blends upfront plugged-in college rock riffs with candy floss-sweet harmonies, while krautrock tendencies lie in slumber before a motorik middle section cuts loose.

Hulme, also of Manchester four-piece, Big Other, is best known for his long-standing solo project, Songs For Walter, releasing two critically acclaimed albums, Songs For Walter (2016) and An Endless Summer Daze (2018) and earning critical attention for his heartfelt songwriting, hazy production style and generous devotion to the deeply personal concept. Joining Hulme on vocals and completing Succulents, Ridges is an established photographer by day and brings fresh energy to the project’s sense of joyful togetherness.

With the sentimentality of Belle and Sebastian also present, Succulents draw influence from cult indie touchstones including The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Field Mice, Yo La Tengo, The Clean, The Courtneys, The Pastels and Comet Gain, combining a sense of hazy nostalgia with sparky immediacy.

Underdog emerged from a period of retreat and reflection. Expecting a child, Hulme left the busy city for his partner’s parents’ home in the beautiful South Lakes, spending three to four hours a day writing and playing guitar. The music now in listener’s hands captures both the sense of intimacy and restlessness that Hulme recalls of the time, becoming a snapshot of abundant creativity captured under unusual circumstances.

Hulme says of the single: “’Underdog’ centres on a mischievous protagonist deliberately trying to provoke their partner, delighting in pushing buttons and watching the sparks fly. There’s a darkly playful edge to the narrative, not unlike the gleeful antagonism found in The Twits, wrapped in warm, fuzzed-out indie-pop textures.

"It started life as an acoustic, finger picking song and then I realised it would be better louder. At the time I was also playing in a kraut-punk band called Chew Magna and I was really into Can and kraut-rock middle eights, so there’s an obvious nod to that time in my life too.”

The first cut ever to be heard from a growing batch of unreleased Succulents songs, Underdog was initially recorded in a South Manchester bedroom before being painstakingly enhanced, mixed and refined by the songwriter’s brother, Alex Hulme, whose patient studio craftsmanship elevates the track’s lo-fi core into something richly textured and emotionally resonant.