Straddling the boundary between discordance and serenity, Rude Films contrast light and dark to craft alt-rock that is foreboding yet hopeful. Since 2018, they’ve occupied the dank mills of Manchester, heavily inspired by their precursors but determined to carve out their own sound. With a shared love of guitar pedals, they blend elements of shoegaze, post-punk, and industrial to create songs as immersive as they are intense. 2025 proved to be a busy year for Rude Films, with the arrival of their self-titled debut album in March and a double single in December to round out the successful year.
“Horseshoe” joins “Through the Light” as Rude Films waves goodbye to 2025 and sets its sights on the new year. The band’s final release of 2025 proves to be a memorable one, with shoegaze textures that maintain a plush feel while exploding out of the speakers with grace and care. As soon as you press play, you are thrown into a universe of searing guitars and crashing drums, as droning vocals swirl around and create lovely hallucinations for the listener. You see shadowy figures of loved ones dancing about, as Rude Films proves to be mult-dimensional songwriters with a poetic flair. “Horseshoe” hides its infectious nature under the raw prowess of this band, almost as if their pop tendencies are reaching out from another dimension, pulling you through a wormhole of mystifying tones before landing on familiar ground. Last year was the moment Rude Films exploded onto the shoegaze scene, and “Horseshoe” was a piece to a puzzle that is only growing in size, as this band seems to be on the heels of a significant breakthrough.
“‘Horseshoe’ to us is a straightforward love song, probably our most radio-friendly release to date, but still unrelenting and intense. It was recorded at the renowned 80 Hertz studios in Manchester, UK, and produced by Greg Veryard,” says the band when asked about their latest release.
