Crawlers confront “the pressure to constantly keep up appearances” on new single COOL

Crawlers have dropped a swaggering new single, COOL.

The second single from their forthcoming EP TURN OFF THE TV, following AFRAID TO DIE, finds the band rejecting notions of playing things cool, whether that’s to keep up a facade or to pretend the world isn’t a difficult place to live in right now.

“COOL is all about the pressure to constantly keep up appearances and pretend everything’s fine, even when you’re falling apart inside. Peers’ encouragement when you’re indulging in self-harming behaviour, then being stuck in this performance of having it all together, using distractions like alcohol and trying to stay “cool” to cope with the weight of it all. But it’s exhausting and unsustainable,” explains Crawlers’ vocalist Holly Minto.

“It's about being self-aware enough to know that the obsession with being “cool” is a way to survive, but it’s also a facade. There's a constant battle between wanting to be real and honest versus staying fake to protect yourself. But the pressure is building, and they can’t keep up the act forever. There's also a strong awareness of the world’s problems—the climate, politics, everything is burning up—and asking, "How can I keep playing it cool when everything’s falling apart?"

Listen below:

TURN OFF THE TV will arrive on August 14 via Nettwerk Music Group. The band will play a headline show at London’s Village Underground on November 20 and ahead of that, they’re also opening for Pale Wales in Salford’s Un.Titled Studio on September 11.

Read this next:

• “Even at my lowest, I love to live. I love being alive”: Why Crawlers’ new EP is ultimately a story of survival
• Crawlers: “It’s healing to stand onstage and see kids taking in all our vulnerable moments”
• Crawlers: “You give less of a f*ck as you get older… You start realising life’s too short”