Track of the Day: A.S. Fanning- 'Mushroom Cloud'

‘Mushroom Cloud’ is the latest release from Irish multi-instrumentalist A.S. Fanning. The single, which is out today, has been released via K&F Records/Proper Octopus Records.

The track details the breakdown of a relationship, surrounded by the paranoia and anxiety of the pandemic.

Discussing his new single, Fanning says, “I wrote 'Mushroom Cloud' at the beginning of the pandemic, when society had shut down and we had no real knowledge of when, or if, it would start again. As with most people at the time, I became quite isolated and my world grew very small.”

Opening the track comes the sound of unsettling strings before the deep, rich, baritone vocal of A.S. Fanning permeates through the sound. A sharp shift of ambience resonates from beneath the unnerving sound of the song’s beginning, as the piano introduces a less unsettling feel.

With strings still crying softly in the background, Fanning sings, “Fading/ You know we don't even fight no more/ There's only conversations through closed doors/ Forgotten fire, forgotten wars.”

Defined by a fusion of folk-rock and baroque-pop, ‘Mushroom Cloud’ creates a delicately-curated blend of mesmerising melancholy.

The singer-songwriter, although living in Berlin, is originally from Dublin. After the breakup of his former band, The Last Tycoons, Fanning began his solo project in 2013. He released his sophomore album You Should Go Mad in 2020 and was well-received by Clash Magazine, Hot Press, The Thin Air and Spectral Nights to name a few, as well as BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq.

The single is the first release from Fanning’s forthcoming album of the same name, set to drop May 26th 2023.

Stream ‘Mushroom Cloud’ below.