British alternative artist SICKY gets into the spirit of the season with ‘Mort’, the first track on his forthcoming full-length Redland album – his fourth to date. Once again, he delivers an earful that is full of mischief, attitude and a darker sense of humour with a song inspired by the book MORT from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld.
In that novel, an awkward farm boy named Mort becomes the apprentice to Death — a tall, cat-loving skeleton personage, who decides to take a sabbatical to experience human pleasures — and must learn to navigate the immense cosmic responsibility of harvesting souls while attempting to outsmart his master and alter fate itself.
SICKY is the solo project of Mick Butler, whose brand of melodic Britpop-infused indie rock spells good news for fans of Beck, Supergrass and early Blur. Originally from the Black Country region of England, he is now based in Shropshire. After a run of playing in bands — from the brass soaked pop of Papa Mantra to the dirty stomp of SUMO — he now derives pleasure from banging out tunes and crafting new material as a true independent creator.
“This song was inspired by the wonderful Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novel of the same name. In the video, Death (played by the ever-dark Lily) is featured doing everyday mundane stuff. In the novel, he hired Mort to take his place so that he could experience human life for himself,” says Mick Butler.
“This video and song were recorded in my hometown, Bridgnorth. The making of the video turned a few heads — a miniature Death carrying a scythe in a supermarket tends to do that. This was my first attempt at recording my newly bought piano. A certain amount of pointing a mic and hoping for the best went on, but hopefully it has worked out okay.”
‘Mort’ is also the second single from the Redland album, following‘Bubblegum Party’, each showcasing SICKY’s playful, infectious pop-rock sensibilities and off-kilter style.
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Redland is an album about friends lost along the way and it’s a good bit darker than past albums. While the new record presents some other shady moments, ‘Swim’ and‘Bubblegum Party’ are not among them, presenting SICKY’s buoyant cheekiness, the latter track telling of a gloriously messy breakup party, served with a crooked grin as sweetness meets spite, chaos and a wicked sense of fun.
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