Track of the Day: Stray Planets, ‘Messed Up’ feat. Dara Kiely

Genre-spanning Irish collective Stray Planets’ - aka John Butler - new track ‘Messed Up’ is a slap in the face by the hand of rock psychedelia. Moany, perfectly wrong sounding lyrics over a hard hitting mystifying guitar and drum beat, the new track is the epitome of unflinchingly sticking to your individual weirdness.

The new single features Dara Kiely from Gilla Band on lead vocals and acclaimed Irish artist Rían Trench at the helm as producer. Written from the point of view of a confused, self-absorbed teenager wishing but failing to connect to the world outside their own head, ‘Messed Up’ summons everyone from the Beatles, Super Furry Animals, and Blur guitarist Graham Coxon’s solo work.

Sealing the deal is a DIY video courtesy of Butler, a timelapse of the streets of Dublin edited together in a double-exposure fiasco with clips of children playing and crying.

‘Messed Up’ comes off the back of acclaimed recent singles - sleazy pop-rock track 'Glowing Rectangles’, and melancholic indie track ‘I Liked You Better Before’, displaying Butler’s talent for creating a banger in any music genre. The Dublin collective's debut single ‘Down a Hole up a Hill’ was released in 2023.

Stray Planets’ upcoming debut album - which was arranged and produced by Rian Trench and recorded by Robert “Scan” Watson in the Meadow, Wicklow - is planning to twist "the last six decades of studio-centric pop leanings into strange and kaleidoscopic places"

Check out ‘Messed Up’ below!