A Dumbarton band has seen their new single prove a hit in locations as far afield as Brazil and Australia.
Layaway’s single Finite, featuring former Vale of Leven Academy pupils Stewart Matheson, 35, and Rob Lees, 30, was recorded in Dumbarton - and aims to remind listeners that no struggle lasts forever.
The band, which also includes Euan Wilkie and Fraser MacDonald from Renfrewshire, have seen their live performances put on hold after a memorable 2019 - however their hard hitting new track is going down a storm online.
Frontman Stewart, a train driver by day, told the Lennox: “Pre Covid we had some very good things happening.
“We had a couple of amazing shows supporting bands like Larkins and October Drift playing to sold out King Tut’s crowds.
“We headed north for a session with BBC Scotland and also played a sold out show in Inverness, which was pretty surreal for us as we just spent the weekend doing band stuff.
“It was like stepping into that way of life, even if it was just for five minutes. It was a class experience.
“Lockdown has been pretty tough for everyone but I’m not gonna dwell on it as we can’t change it, all we can do is move forward and run the course of all this. It’s all we can do.
“It’s obviously disappointing for everyone across music and events to have live shows cancelled. We missed out on so many good plans last year, but we’ll still be here when gigs return regardless as music is always gonna have a place in some way shape or form.”
The message of Finite could resonate particularly with listeners during lockdown, as the song focuses on having an optimistic outlook on life.
And that message has clearly had an impact - with listeners streaming the track across the world.
Stewart continued: “Finite has had a great reception, we had an online campaign before it to try and get people to pre-save the single to their Spotify account and that had a really good response.
“We had people pre-saving the song from all over the world from countries like the US, Canada, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Australia and even had a couple people from the UAE - which is amazing.
“We record all our own music and it’s produced in my home in Dumbarton so having people not just listening but having the song saved on release day and knowing it was listened to in all these places just seemed amazing to me.
“It was born, recorded and produced in humble beginnings in a house in Dumbarton. The power of the internet still amazes me.”
He added: “It’s a hard hitting song with dark undertones. It’s about family ties and how they can become frayed.
“The song concludes with the lyrics “you reach out in the open, cause you’re hoping you haven’t run out of time” which delivers the sense of optimism I wanted to convey about any situation anyone is struggling with.
“The song was written under the premise that nothing lasts forever.”
