Dutch band Personal Trainer have shared a new single, “Muscle Memory,” along with an accompanying video. It’s taken from their forthcoming EP Gazebo, out on Feb. 5 via Holm Front, a label formed by English rockers Sports Team. “Muscle Memory” follows their previous singles “Politics” and “Issue Box.”
“Muscle Memory” captures the feelings of discomfort that come with being just another drop in the bucket of a world so unfathomably large. They rattle off everyday tasks and objects that feel almost alien after deep contemplation of their inherent purpose or existence. But their juxtaposition of bleak verses with an impassioned, hard-hitting rock chorus illustrates the beauty and harshness of our inability to fully understand things.
“I think Muscle Memory is our most emo song to date,” songwriter Willem Smit says. “I liked the idea of a softer eerie verse with spoken group vocals, then a completely bombastic chorus. To me it’s about cycles and structures on a big planet, that become a blurry backdrop for more mundane activities like doing groceries or brushing your teeth. The gap between me and the actual world I live in gives me feelings of guilt and shame. I have eaten at least two hundred pizzas in my life, but I have no idea where they grow.”
Watch the video for “Muscle Memory” below, and preorder Gazebo on 10-inch vinyl here. Check out another recent Holm Front release, Maxband’s Top of the Stairs EP, here.
