Hamburg’s Heiko Schneider (aka theCatherines) has been a ‘Bandcamp darling’ in the hearts of ‘road less travelled jangly indie-pop connoisseurs’ for over seven+ years now, having collaborated on releases with the indiest of indie-pop labels such as FadeAwayRadiate, Mondo Canapé, and Entes Anomicos.

Despite my 50+ advancing years, a fashion sense that can only be described as being at the unintentionally scruffy end of grunge, and a lifelong predilection towards being anything but cool, I have somehow become cyber-mates with Heiko (you see, gushing hero worship does pay dividends sometimes!?) and I have acquired inside knowledge that the 2024 album he is working on now is likely to be his jangliest yet, which appears somewhat obvious if this initial single is indicative of what’s to come.

…And thus it is so, that this reworked I Don’t Wanna Hear You Whining track (originally released in 2017) springs to life with a stunning jangle-pop intro that the Bancamp release page dismisses as:

Intro:
1. Guitar: h/d/a… f#/a/e… h/d/a… f#/a/e…
2. Guitar: d a d a
Bass: g h e d

However, this does a complete disservice to the sort of jangly riffs that simply resonate with a beautiful chiming clarity in the same manner as acts such as The Shop Window and the Lost Ships have recently achieved.

While the sound of the 90s jangle courses through the veins of this single, somehow Schneider still manages to retain his omnipotent sense of indie-pop cool. Whether it be through his lyrical persuasions or a scouse-pop smooth vocal delivery that is so reminiscent of The Wild Swans / Paul Simpson, Heiko Schneider just finds all manner of subtle ways to remain our indie darling.

I simply cannot wait for the album!

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