Review: Gumshoe - Sayonara

Gumshoe is baring his sole on new, trippy indie banger, ‘Sayonara’, set for release on February 25th. One-man band Phil Hampson got the “Gumshoe” name from old film noir. He purposefully avoided a name with obvious meaning; this created an air of mystery around the man and let the music do the talking. His first single, ‘When Things Started to Ignite’, was released in 2019 and has surpassed eleven thousand Spotify streams. A slot at Kendal Calling 2020 was also on the cards, but Coronavirus prevented the ‘Shoe from donning his wellies.

Hampson recorded a socially distanced Gumshoe show late last year, which recently premiered on The Lock In (check it out here). I was there, and a poorly timed Sober October means I remember the night much more vividly than my messier Odd Frog outings. That’s not the only reason Gumshoe stuck, though. Hampson’s pleasant demeanour and playful back-and-forth with the audience added an extra dimension to the performance. He seems at ease on stage, effortlessly switching from humour to complete immersion in the music.

Gumshoe’s upcoming single ‘Sayonara’ is a soaring psychedelic journey through the twists and turns of separation. Starting out with a simple acoustic guitar strum, the song quickly introduces more complex layers. Seventies rock riffs intertwined with dazzling tambourines underscore Hampson’s powerful yet cleverly distorted vocals. The lyrics construct a captivating image of fading romance; the mirage of love becomes hazy as Gumshoe passionately declares “I won’t let go”.

Since ‘Sayonara’ was written, performed, and produced entirely by Hampson himself- with mixing by Brett Shaw (Foals, Florence and the Machine)- Gumshoe had to trust his gut during the creative process. He told The Lock In: “it's just instinct, or whatever feels right. I think if you try to balance things, or spend too much time thinking about them, you'll never be truly happy with what you've created”. Those instincts are clearly strong: ‘Sayonara’ is already enjoying success after being selected as BBC Introducing’s Track of the Week.

‘Sayonara’ may mean farewell, but fans will be greeted with some great new material when Gumshoe returns on February 25th. Pre-save the single here!