London mod revivalists The Studio 68! started out in the mid-80s and recorded their first album PortobelloHello in 1992, but things went wrong after that—a backstory worth reading. In 2014, the debut was finally released, and more work followed bit by bit. The band’s central members, Paul Moody (vocals, guitar), Thrill Heaven aka Will Beaven (Hammond organ, backing vocals), Patrick O’Sullivan (bass) were there from the start, and Simon Castell (drums) joined soon after, and they’re still going strong. Their latest 45 shows how welcome their sound still is in ’24. B-side Let’s Get Wasted is great fun, but it’s A-side The Way It Is that inspires the most awe here, not least because of Dani Turner’s awesome lead vocals and Sean Poe’s saxophone.
The Way It Is b/w Let’s Get Wasted, produced by Brian O’Shaughnessy, is out on vinyl 7″ through Detour Records.