Liverpool’s The Shipbuilders deliver dustbowl drama on 'Hills Of Mexico'
Dustbowl drama and poised prose emerge from Liverpool’s The Shipbuilders as they release the lilting, literary folk-rock opus of…
Hills Of Mexico
The Shipbuilders- Hills Of Mexico
OUT NOW
Shipwrecked Records
From the album, This Blue Earth, released Fri 11 July 2025
www.the-shipbuilders.com
** CLICK FOR VIDEO / AUDIO **
Melody and lyrical wisdom drawn from the pages of books amplify the deeply-riven sense of artistic purpose living within the filmic folky-rock of Liverpool’s The Shipbuilders, returning with their latest single, Hills Of Mexico – OUT NOW. Cutting a path of escapism through the mists of the Mersey, as so many of their home city’s esteemed musicians did before them, the whispers of Ernest Hemingway and the weight of history cast long shadows across the single, the second to be released from their upcoming, second album, This Blue Earth.
A self-propelled cultural vortex, drawing in like-minds and long-stories, as inspired by art, books, people and places as they are musicians and bands, including Bob Dylan, Sea Power and The Pogues, the five-piece band gathered effusive praise for their 2022 debut, Spring Tide. Hosting the home legs of their own Club Shipwrecked events in Liverpool and various other UK cities for the return trip, the band’s restless absorption of creative nourishment goes unabated month-to-month throughout every passing year.
With singer and songwriter, Matty Loughlin-Day’s fervent writing, listening and reading continuing off stage and behind closed doors, the 10-tracks of This Blue Earth’s free-flowing blend of raucous, trad-inspired barroom boogie and open plains of intricately drafted alt-folk inevitably takes on deep, personal meaning. When it comes to Hills Of Mexico, he looks to his bookshelf and gets the nod from one of the undisputed titans of the written word.
"I've long had a fascination with the Spanish Civil War and Ernest Hemingway’s 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' is essential,” he says. “Whilst reading the book, so many powerful lines and images jumped out and smacked me in the face, so in writing this song, I wanted to capture the sense of drama, adrenaline and anticipation that comes across in the text.
“He is my favourite author, so I also wanted to try and emulate his style of writing by being economic and using as few lines as possible to portray mammoth sentiments. In this case, rebellion, heroics and pondering about how our actions now ring through into eternity.”
Produced in the company of Danny Woodward (BC Camplight, Ladytron), Hills Of Mexico afforded the band opportunity to push themselves into the realms of admired soundtrack composers, not least Ennio Morricone and Roy Budd, as Loughlin-Day urged guitarist, Danny Lee to the fore. Expanding the band with the addition of trumpeter, Pistol Pete Higham, alongside Tony Ferguson (bass) and Graeme Sullivan (drums), the 2025 line-up of The Shipbuilders goes forth as a cohesive unit of emboldened mood-shifters.
Set for release on vinyl, CD and digital formats, This Blue Earth is scheduled for release on Fri 11 July 2025 on the band’s own Shipwrecked Records.
Having toured extensively in support of their debut and taken to the road with Michael Head and The Red Elastic Band to reach further into a community of listeners grasping for the not-so-simple craft of direct, world-conjuring songwriting, The Shipbuilders announce the following new UK live dates with more to follow:
Fri 13 June – Manchester, Lions Den
Fri 18 July – Liverpool, Bluecoat – Album Launch
For up-to-date information on pre-orders, new releases and live dates, connect with The Shipbuilders online at:
https://www.instagram.com/theshipbuilders
https://x.com/theshipbuilders
https://www.facebook.com/theshipbuilders
