CHILDCARE release satirical music video for latest release ‘Man Down’. Here, the squash court takes centre stage, to illustrate the tracks seductive, slow-paced yet jocular take on the constraints of the male stereotype.

The ‘Man down’ video was filmed by CHILDCARE guitarist Rich who explained “When Ed and I play squash it’s thirty minutes (usually twenty-five due to punctuality issues) of mildly colossal warfare. A battle of feeble technique fought by two nice boys, with the desire to win.

My slow-motion archiving of our games unintentionally created the video (my initial purpose for filming was to dispute Ed’s interpretation of squash obstruction rules). ‘Man Down’ explores the bits of masculinity that reaches, even those of us who are aware of when we do “manly” things.

The ego, the competition, it all goes on, whether we benefit from It, or not and as Freud said: “the gentle dance of squash brings out the subtleties and nuisances that are at play in gender role conformity”.

‘Man Down’ sees unadorned vocals sit atop of the band’s first use of a metronomic drum machine, grounding the song’s message in a reliable, fatherly embrace.

CHILDCARE were formed in 2016 by Ed Cares, formerly one of west London’s most in-demand male nannies. Overheard humming a song he had written years before, Ed was persuaded by Katie, then aged six, to form a band, and so enlisted local musicians Emma Topolski (bass), Rich Le Gate (guitar) and Glyn Daniels (drums) to complete the group. Two years on, the band has been successfully performing under the only logical moniker in the circumstances: CHILDCARE. Katie, his wise and sharp-eared former charge enthusiastically reviewed ‘Man Down’ as follows: “This song is amazing, and Ed is the best musician in the world and I miss him very much.”

Enthused with the energy of punk, the infectiousness of The Police and a by-numbers approach to songcraft akin to ​Happiness In Magazines -era Graham Coxon, CHILDCAREare a band on the up, making skewed, idiosyncratic, art-punk pop that is gaining them eager fans across the continent. Having played with the likes of ​Bastille​ on their recent arena tour and releasing ​two critically acclaimed EPs with extensive ​BBC Radio 1​ support and wide-spread blog coverage from the likes of ​Indie Shuffle ​and ​The Line of Best Fit, ​CHILDCARE will be babysitting their way onto a stereo near you in the future.

CHILDCARE’s upcoming debut album is due for release February 2019.

‘Really fucking good’ ​ Indie Shuffle

‘A tribute to British awkwardness’ Wonderland Magazine

‘I love this band’ Annie Mac