Tragicomics

In 2017, having spent several years away from the music scene, Manchester-based troubadour Christopher Eatough emerged from his struggle with mental health with a raft of new material and a renewed sense of romantic fatalism.

Determined to find a like-minded, ragtag collective of musicians to help bring the songs to life, Eatough brought friends and musicians from across the Northwest together to record and tour an album. With various artists featuring on two subsequent albums - ‘Old Songs for the New Celibacy' and ‘Book of Want’ - Tragicomics finally settled on a fixed five-piece in 2019, channelling an eclectic range of influences.

These diverse influences - ranging from pop, folk and rock to tin pan alley, prog and Americana - shine brightly on latest single, Hopeless Romantic. Recorded at Manchester’s Pinhole Studios and mastered by Frank Arkwright (The Smiths, New Order, Joy Division, Scott Walker) at Abbey Road, the track bursts with Tragicomics’ swaggering, earthy take on folk-rock. Off-kilter rock guitar is combined effortlessly with Eatough's charismatic vocals, the soaring soundscapes of violin, gritty bass lines and a relentless drum beat. Literate, earnest and reflective, Hopeless Romantic is a rousing folk-rock song performed through the prism of Tragicomics’ unique worldview.

Also comprising Toby Cryne (guitar, keys), Laura Morley (violin), Matt O’Brien (bass) and Jay Fearon (drums), Tragicomics have gained support from the likes of BBC Introducing, Drowned In Sound and Louder Than War. 

 Hopeless Romantic is out on 28th October 2022.