Songwriting can really take it out of you. And for Ultimate Painting, my favorite band coming out of London right now, their proverbial well was slowly starting to dry. After three albums in three years, the duo of equal but contrasting songwriters were feeling a little burnt. “We started to question what people wanted from us and in the process I think we briefly lost the idea of what the band was.” Lucky for us, Jack Cooper and James Hoare reevaluated their predicament, scrapped some lackluster jams, and liberated themselves from those heavy, confining negative thoughts. What resulted was an album reflecting that pain, but also bursting with hope, perseverance, and a collection of incredible songs. Appropriately titled Up!, Ultimate Painting’s fourth release drops April 6th on Bella Union, and lead single “Not Gonna Burn Myself Anymore” is overwhelming proof that these dudes got that well flowing again. “I wrote it in one go,” says Jack of the track. “Over the next few days I kept singing it to myself. Sometimes the best songs are completely spontaneous and pure. I wrote the words to reflect that… not everything worthwhile has to be hard work.” –Maya Eslami