KROOKED TONGUE’S SUN-SOAKED NEW SINGLE ‘YOU DON’T NEED A SUN TAN’ IS BRIT-POP BRILLIANCE RE-EMERGING
Pub summer, anyone?
SINGLE REVIEW | KROOKED TONGUE – YOU DON’T NEED A SUN TAN by Martha Munro
If you’re looking for a fiery, nostalgic, beer-sticky song to have on a loop this sunny season, you’re bound to fall in love with the hot new single You Don’t Need A Sun Tan from up-and-coming, alt-rock Bristol trio Krooked Tongue. Jam-packed with fuzzy fills of bass, ripples of crazed drums, and outstanding lyricism, this single is the fifth in a series of teasers for Krooked Tongue’s 2026 debut album. Setting Sun Tan apart from its sister singles – Nothing Ever Grows, Ember Mile, Let ‘Em Loose, and Marigold – is its live, mosh-mad feel, encapsulating the bittersweetness of returning somewhere you lived and left with its beachy and metallic turmoil. Fans of Deftones, Stone Temple Pilots, Highly Suspect, and Death From Above 1979 – we might have found your new favourite band.
Kicking off the song is guitarist Dan Smith, whining out a classically beachy, early 2000s electric guitar riff to frame the track and bring that effortlessly sunny sound to the forefront. Then, an atmospheric crash into the full soak of summer, founded by mad, metallic drumming from Harry Pritchard, with an undercurrent of reverbed bass: a lively springboard for lyricist Oli Rainsford to bounce from into the first verse.
Nostalgia well and truly powers this track, with lyrics like ‘nightclub budget cologne follows you home / the small town temple you own.’ Those classic poprock melodies and chord progressions are injected with a gritty, buzzing bass, creating a contrast that communicates a sense of blissful conflict – when you go back home, you slip so easily into a familiar, home-town rhythm: ‘When you’re in Rome, you do as Romans do.’
After a snappy, isolated pre-chorus – still with that hazy electric guitar core – the drums crash back in for a wild, messy, chorus, made up of short lines full of youthful angst: ‘Break out, run away / Go anywhere that you can / You don’t need a sun tan.’ An epic guitar solo follows, drenched in the unmistakable character of 90s Britpop, with thumping riffs and amped-up slides.
Lyricist Rainsford’s intention of encouraging people to ‘get out from under the weight of what they know, and discover what they don’t know yet’ is expertly expressed, juxtaposing that fast-paced, angsty chorus with deeper, more exploratory ideas in the verses. The second follows the same structure as the first – if not for some added energetic anticipation from Pritchard on the drums – but extends the lyrical world from small town to whole planet: ‘See you around, I’m gonna steal the world.’ With this, those childhood hopes and dreams are carried by the music into reality, a future full of irresistible possibilities. Rainsford himself said, whilst musing on the creative process of the songwriting, that ‘you don’t need a resume to see the world.’
The second chorus punches in with a delayed crash, enhancing the energy to take the same path as the first. In the following bridge, a more choral style is taken on by the additional backing harmonies, again employing a light contrast with the otherwise heavy feel to keep the track flowing. The drums reduce to just their rippling bass, accompanied by that trusty guitar line that whines across the atmospheric soundscape, along with another line of higher harmony, this time more synthesised and pronounced. Then: total silence, before a euphoric smash into the final chorus – not drawn out or overdone, just showing off that addictive, live feel Krooked Tongue have achieved throughout. And as the drums drip out, warping and slowing to a stop, it really does have the quality of a live performance, fading out with tasteful laziness and grit.
Overall, You Don’t Need A Sun Tan is an undoubtedly promising, head-thrashing teaser for the big album release brewing for Krooked Tongue. Whilst, admittedly, the track is predictable, it’s been done not only very tastefully, but personally too, with several pockets of well-loved live genres reeling in new listeners from all corners of the British listening field. The band have edge, a proud signature sound, and an undeniable earworm quality to accompany you on your nights out this summer.
