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Add of the Week: English Teacher are politely PO’d on ‘R&B’

Every Monday, Add of the Week unveils all the new songs going into the 88Nine on-air playlist, with one hand-picked selection put in the spotlight by music director Erin Wolf.

Leeds-hailing English Teacher is the newest in deadpan-delivery bands that like to get a teensy bit raucous with their splashes of post-punk. This Could Be Texas is English Teacher’s debut album, and on it they already sound poised — poised and annoyed.

Led by Lily Fontaine, the vocalist recently issued a statement, “Being a woman of color fronting a band shouldn’t even be a thing to talk about; we need to just get on with it — only then will the narrative around that change.” Fontaine readily injects that notion of turning things on their head into the dry and calculated single, “R&B,” on which she sing-speaks:

I've been writing R&B for you
I've been making you a tea
Before you know it's what you need
Tell me, is it too sweet for you?

I've been writing R&B
The shivering truth of the matter is so easy to see
If I have stuff to write, then why don't I just write it for me?
Despite appearances, I haven't got the voice for R&B
Even though I've seen more Colour Shows than KEXPs

You can listen to the track right here and catch it as part of the playlist rolling out on 88Nine’s airwaves, as well as streaming on our website and mobile app. It also sits just about in the middle of English Teacher’s new album, This Could Be Texas, available now on Bandcamp and other places.


This week’s other adds

88Nine Music Director / On-Air Talent | Radio Milwaukee