Glasgow-based, Cornwall-raised songwriter and composer Stanley Welch has unveiled his new single, “Punisher.” The track marks the third single taken from his ambitious upcoming double album, Songs About Women and Songs About Women – The Musical, set for release on December 4th.
Shifting between a chaotic, synth-driven main riff and half-whispered, tension-filled verses, “Punisher” pairs complex composition with Welch’s pop sensibilities. Conceptually, the dual-album project originated as a musical written from the perspective of different guests leaving a house party before mutating into a non-traditional breakup record that blurs the lines between character studies and personal reflection.
Sharing the origins of the song’s title and its evolution, Welch explained:
The lyrics were originally about someone being chased down by lawmen – then soon after I wrote it I played it at a gig and didn’t like what I was singing, so I rewrote it the next day to be about who-knows-what. It’s a party song, and a really good live song, though it’s maybe more the kind of party you see in clearings in renaissance paintings.
I once spent a long time talking to someone from LA who introduced the word ‘punisher’ to me (someone who talks and talks at you) and I really liked it. This song and the album cover are inspired by the same painting in the National Gallery. There’s a secret very catchy melody that nobody’s ever heard, which I left out of the breaks in the middle for fun.
