Bethlehem Casuals - Release New Video 'The Oke'

BETHLEHEM CASUALS - are back with a surreal new video for ‘The Oke’; the latest offering from upcoming album: ‘The Tragedy Of Street Dog’ (out 17th April 2020). Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DatOWEWTk7Q

Flicking to an all-new chapter in their ambitious concept album - a record that tells the story of a dog who wonders where all the music in Manchester has gone - this track introduces the listener to: ‘The Oke’.

Frontman Will Hearne explains: “In a time when Manchester is silent, lacking all music for some unknown reason, there is still sound coming from one place... The Oke is the beast from Salford town who blisters and stings the ears of listeners with the raucous and terrible stories of his music. But Salford, is not Manchester, so our hero (Street Dog) still needs to find out the where the music in Manchester can be.”

Directed by Ashwin Menon, the video captures faceless ghouls and animal-headed beasts clashing in some of the darkest and most desolate corners of Manchester’s seedy underbelly. From its boozy classical beginnings, to its off-kilter synthesisers, thrumming tribal chanting & percussion, and its injections of smoky film-noir woodwind; the Casuals throw the kitchen sink at ‘The Oke’ to deliver another deliriously inventive single that defies categorization.

Around the release of new album ‘The Tragedy of Street Dog’ this April, the psychedelic jazz-pop septet have also announced a series of UK tour dates. The 14 date ‘Tragedy of Street Dog Tour’ will see them take their electrifying live show to some of the country’s finest gig haunts, with the full list of tour dates to be found as follows:

‘THE TRAGEDY OF STREET DOG’ TOUR

MARCH

• 6 - SHEFFIELD Peddler Night Market*
• 7 - CHESTER Telford’s Warehouse*
• 8 - YORK The Fulford Arms
• 13 - BLACKPOOL Bootleg Social
• 20 - HUDDERSFIELD Northern Quarter*
• 21 - BRADFORD 1 in 12 Club

APRIL

• 8 - BATH The Bell Inn*
• 9 - BRISTOL The Jam Jar
• 16 - LONDON Islington O2 Academy 2
• 17 - MANCHESTER The Bread Shed
• 19 - LIVERPOOL Zanzibar
• 28 - OXFORD The Mad Hatter

MAY

• 8 - NEWCASTLE Castle

* Free Entry

Tickets for all shows can be found here, and are on sale now: https://www.songkick.com/artists/8702093-bethlehem-casuals/calendar

Released on 17th April 2020, ‘The Tragedy of Street Dog’ tells the story of a house-pet-gone-rogue. Set in the band’s own hometown, the story follows a canine protagonist ‘Street Dog’ as he embarks on a quest to rediscover the music of Manchester. Along his perilous journey, Street Dog visits some of the city’s infamous haunts like Temple Bar, The Oxford Road and The Hacienda, and encounters treacherous foes like ‘River Rat’ and ‘The Oke’.

Erudite and experimental, ‘The Tragedy Of Street Dog’ sees Bethlehem Casuals’ sleazy, sultry and saxy brand of oddball pop truly come into its own. Mind-bending and musically adept in equal measure, it’s one heck of a ride and a record that casts a fresh and fantastical light on whether a dog’s life is all that bad after all... ‘The Tragedy of Street Dog’ was recorded at Giant Wafer Studios, Llanbadarn Fynydd in May 2019. All tracks on the album were engineered by Saam Jafarzadeh and Ashwin Menon, with mastering by Peter Fletcher.