B-Side Guys

The London band’s name originates from a colleague’s workplace observation—an “apples and apples situation” meaning identical yet different. That paradox informs everything ApplesandApples creates, particularly “The Unswept Floor,” which examines how people transform in relation to each other rather than in isolation. Their eclectic influence list spanning Ben Howard, Slowdive, Spice Girls, Portishead, and Fiona Apple produces exactly the kind of alternative dance that resists easy categorization.

The track captures what the band describes as quiet surrealism in everyday intimacy, romantic yearning fragmented through disconnected observations. They construct scenes from muddled maps and worn faces, St. James Park pelican counting sessions, hair compared to violin strings. These details accumulate without obvious narrative connection, creating atmosphere through association rather than linear progression. The observation that someone is always herself, described as the unswept floor, acknowledges imperfection as permanent condition rather than temporary state requiring correction.

ApplesandApples’ production approach—influenced by Talk Talk, Radiohead, and New Order among others—builds indie dance framework that supports contemplative lyrics without demanding constant movement. The first chorus arrives at 0:50, the outro beginning at 2:23, the band understanding that sometimes listeners need structural markers when navigating fragmented emotional terrain. Their willingness to cite Astrid Gilberto alongside The Beatles and Rozi Plain suggests comfort pulling from disparate sources without anxiety about coherence.

The core insight arrives in that final observation about changing in relation to each other. ApplesandApples recognizes that transformation rarely happens through individual effort alone—we shift based on who surrounds us, relationships acting as catalysts that alter perspective and behavior. “The Unswept Floor” appears on their new EP We never have to go back to a place like that, a title suggesting relief at escaping somewhere unpleasant. The track itself doesn’t dwell on what was escaped but instead examines the strange beauty found in quotidian moments once you’ve achieved enough distance to notice violin-colored hair and park wildlife worth counting.