South London eccentric Frank Lloyd Wleft and his Orchestra have shared their most wired and frenetic offering to date with the release of “I Have Been In the Desert So Long.” Out today, June 16th, the raucous, trembling punk-Americana track serves as the final teaser for his highly anticipated debut album, The Actual Kids In Actual America, arriving on July 3rd via Strong Island Recordings. To celebrate the album’s launch, Wleft will return to the capital for his third consecutive, and traditionally sold-out, American Independence Day headline show in London on July 4th.
“I Have Been In the Desert So Long” masterfully wrangles the scruffy, erratic punkabilly and effusive lyricism of Grotesque-era The Fall, driving it forward with potent basslines and scrambling post-punk guitars. The track acts as a sonic bridge between two worlds: fostered in the rich, avant-garde counter-cultures of South London, but conceptually baked in the post-industrial desert sands of Las Vegas, Nevada. The single continues a larger narrative arc for the forthcoming debut LP, which meticulously documents Wleft’s life-changing solo coast-to-coast journey across the United States back in 2022.
Frank describes,
“This is a portrait of the US sterilisation of its Western landscapes. Midnight daylight in the neon of Las Vegas. The burst of heat as you step between air conditioned 4×4 and air conditioned hotel room in Phoenix, city without centre. No glass by the pool!”
While the lyrical scope looks directly across the Atlantic to dissect the sterile, neon-soaked realities of modern American landscapes, the project’s heart remains firmly rooted in London’s independent scene. The upcoming album boasts a vibrant cast of contributors from DIY heavyweights, including The New Eves, Tapir!, and DEADLETTER. Having earned a regular home on the legendary stage of the Brixton Windmill alongside acts like Lambrini Girls and mary in the junkyard, Wleft’s unique brand of desert-baked post-punk has already secured a spot on the Green Man Rising Longlist and garnered widespread praise from tastemakers like KEXP, The Line of Best Fit, and Radio X’s John Kennedy.
