Basht. – Keira Knightley
Dublin four-piece Basht. share “Keira Knightley,” the latest single from their debut album Poor Advice, out October 9th on LAB Records, produced by Ali Chant (Dry Cleaning, Perfume Genius, PJ Harvey). It follows “Perfume,” which set the tone with its dark atmospherics, and this one pushes further into charged, reflective post-punk.
The title comes from Love Actually, but frontman Jack Leavey isn’t using it to celebrate the film’s grand romantic gesture. “This song is about the desperate lengths people go to in an effort to save a relationship,” he says. “It’s about a relationship I had that started off being incredibly exciting and loving but then slowly devolved into jealousy, desperation and resentment.” The reference becomes something closer to a warning sign than a tribute, someone reaching for a romantic cliché while the relationship underneath it is already falling apart. Leavey’s vocal carries that tension well, vulnerable and frustrated at the same time, and the band lets the song’s quiet patience build toward something heavier rather than rushing it.
Poor Advice is a ten-track concept album examining institutional power in Ireland, tracing the relationship between church and state before pulling that thread into the present. “Keira Knightley” sits more in personal territory than that broader frame, but it’s clearly part of the same record’s emotional register. Basht. have built up a strong live reputation touring with DEADLETTER, Everything Everything, and Wunderhorse, and with a packed run of festival and headline dates ahead, this feels like the moment the wider audience catches up to what the live shows have been building toward.
UK & Europe:
- Jun. 20 / Glasgow, UK / TRNSMT Festival
- Jul. 2 / Werchter, Belgium / Rock Werchter
- Jul. 11 / Southampton, UK / Papillon
- Jul. 30 / London, UK / Amersham Arms (War Child Fundraiser)
- Jul. 31 / Dover, UK / The Booking Hall
- Aug. 1 / Oxford, UK / Wilderness Festival
- Aug. 9 / Newquay, UK / Boardmasters Festival
- Aug. 29 / Sheffield, UK / Rock N Roll Circus
- Aug. 30 / Leeds, UK / Leeds Festival
- Sep. 5 / Maastricht, Netherlands / Zero Four Three Festival
- Sep. 25 / Stockholm, Sweden / Gathering Sounds Festival
UK & Ireland headline run:
- Oct. 27 / Nottingham, UK / Rescue Rooms (low tickets)
- Oct. 28 / Glasgow, UK / Art School (low tickets)
- Oct. 29 / Manchester, UK / Gorilla (sold out)
- Oct. 30 / London, UK / KOKO (low tickets)
- Nov. 7 / Dublin, Ireland / Button Factory (low tickets)
