Pennine Suite are on the up and up: a hectic and euphoric 2024 has seen the band debut singles, open festivals and take on the USA with gusto. Their stateside and summertime antics have reached fever pitch, with their next new cut, Manhattan.
Crafted from a range of British Pop influences, PS frontman Nick Aldous wrote the new single while holed up in the track’s namesake city: “I think there’s a large correlation between the Northern English culture and the New York spirit so when I was finally in a position to go, I booked a solo trip out there”. There are clear correlations in the cut, borne of Aldous’ words: it shimmers and snakes with the pop sensibilities of a Blossoms tune, with a driving dance beat that could have been torn straight from a vintage Yeah Yeah Yeah’s cut.
The open hi-hat dance beat drives the tune, along with sufficiently chunky bass licks: it feels like a recipe made to measure for the live circuit. Weather blasting out on a giant festival stage or ringing around York’s sweaty Fulford Arms, Manhattan is built for live performance.
It’s relentlessly charming, coalescing Northern charm with NYC cool, as a squealing guitar part rounds out the track alongside bombastic drum blasts. Pennine Suite are building something huge.