Brighton trio Self Torque step into a restless headspace with their new single “(All The Things I) Wannabe,” a sharp-edged snapshot of identity in motion. Written in a work van on a cold, wet day, the song pulls from Californian garage while staring down the contradictions of self definition. Guitarist and vocalist Gabriel MacKenzie frames the track as a study in internal conflict, with the music swinging between hard, fast pressure and a slow, doomy collapse thick with choir and reverb. The shifts feel physical, like gripping the wheel too tight, then letting go.
The single arrives alongside the debut full-length ‘A Brutal Nadir,’ out now via Sugar-Free Records. Recorded at Brighton Electric, the album was produced and mixed by Mark Roberts with additional engineering from Alex Gordon. Completed by drummer Luke Ellis and bassist Jay Cross, the band bring a tightly wound live energy shaped by years in the DIY punk circuit. The songs move with urgency and nerve, melodies cracked open by conviction and volume, and the record hits with the kind of force that makes shoulders tense and jaws set, then snaps back with clarity and resolve.