Disappointment Machine: Arliston Turn Life’s Cycles Into Haunting Piano Pop

London duo Arliston, who captivated us earlier this year with their poignant Monks of Lindisfarne, dive even deeper into emotional territory with Disappointment Machine.

Their title track Disappointment Machine offers a remarkably candid look at life’s repetitive stumbles, wrapped in delicate piano melodies and atmospheric production.

Jack Ratcliffe and George Hasbury – who playfully brand themselves as “sad song specialists” – have crafted a piece that feels like overhearing a therapy session set to music.

The track builds its emotional landscape through minimalist instrumentation, where each piano note serves as a careful footstep through familiar territory.

Ratcliffe’s vocals carry the weight of recognition – that moment when you catch yourself falling into old patterns again.

It’s precisely this self-aware approach that makes the song feel less like a confession and more like a knowing nod to shared human experience.

The accompanying music video adds another layer to the narrative, following a monk’s journey beyond monastery walls.

Directed by Meriwether Freya Lewis, the visual story cleverly parallels the song’s exploration of cycles and searching, mixing contemplative moments with unexpected humour.

Disappointment Machine serves as the latest single from Arliston’s forthcoming debut album, slated for release February 7, 2025.

You can’t but admire how Arliston turns life’s circular patterns into something both honest and hauntingly beautiful.

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Arliston Disappointment Machine Lyrics

I think about it sometimes in liminal moments
In queues at all those restaurants and waiting on corners
Always trying to find you inside other people in vain 
God at this point I’m just a disappointment machine

Give me a coathanger
To hang all these tiny problems on
Whatever works 
Wherever’s open
Valium in stairwells
Just take these off and let ‘em hang

I don’t know how to take these off
I don’t know where, just sat on the sat on the line
I thought somehow I’d get higher high high high high

Give me a coathanger
To hang all these tiny problems on
Whatever works 
Wherever’s open
There must be somewhere
To get these off and let ‘em hang

If you are ever burning 
If you are ever there
If you are ever burning 
Come talk to me, you know where I am