Love em or loathe them Backyard Babies are in the house and ‘Good Morning Midnight’ is the lead track off the brand new long player set for release March 1st, 2019. Order now: Here
More than three years have passed since their last studio album “Four By Four”, but 2019 sees Nicke, Dregen, Johan and Peder return to celebrate their 30th anniversary in style with a brand new record entitled “Sliver & Gold” which is due to be released on March 1st, 2019 via Century Media Records. In celebration of the bands anniversary, Century Media is releasing both limited formats as special editions that will come wrapped in gold foil and include five newly recorded acoustic bonus songs!
It might not be rainy today where you are and the suns always shining here at RPM HQ that’s why we want to banish the cold and let a ray of sunshine into your life so here’s one from USA rockers Babylon Shakes and some good time dirty rock n roll sleazy style and label mates to RPM favourites Prophets Of Addiction. with a new album about to drop heres Babylon Shakes with ‘Velveteen Libertine’.
Another firm favourite would be those pop tarts More Kicks with one of the best singles of 2018
Seeing as last week was a big week in Bowie world is it ever a bad time to play a Bowie tune? Of course not and this one will get anybody’s week off to the best start so here he is doing ‘Jean Genie’.
South Yorkshire band Hands Off Gretel deal in 90’s Grunge swagger, deliver riotous live shows and have enough bubblegum hooks to scale the top of the charts baby! It’s no surprise to find their Pledge Campaign for sophomore long player ‘I Want The World’ currently sits at a staggering 230%. Not bad for a relatively unknown and completely independent band.
We caught up with lead riot grrl Lauren Tate to get the lowdown on all things pink and girly and find out exactly what she’s been up to, locked up in her bedroom all these years.
Your pledge campaign reached 100% in under 24 hours. Were you expecting such a quick response? Ah, dude! It was crazy, we were all sat hitting refresh every second, it was so exciting! I’ve teased the album for a while; people were ready and willing to pre-order it. I was blown away that we hit it so fast though, it really gives me so much hope for the future of independent music.
Your new album is entitled ‘I Want The World’ …so what’s the message there then? ‘I Want The World’ is about how I’ve felt since I was a little girl. I’ve always felt shushed and muted, with everyone always telling me to shut up or stop being unrealistic, leaving me constantly thinking of ways to give everyone who doubted me or ridiculed me the middle finger.
‘I Want The World’ feels like my rebellion. I’m chewing gum, I’m not smiling because someone told me to, I’m not just being a nice pretty girl, I’m fucking angry sometimes and I deserve more, be it friendships or respect from others without being patronized. ‘I Want The World’ to me, means ‘I deserve more than this world is gonna give me and I’m gonna kick and scream until I get what I want’!
You’ve always been an independent DIY band, handling all the artwork, design and even producing the videos. Why choose now to go down the PledgeMusic route? The Pledge route to me is the best way for independent artists to self-release their music. It shows there is demand for your music, that your fans believe in you without needing a label to put it out for you. With Pledge too, you’re giving fans exclusive content. You can get personal with them, which would never be an option signed under a label. I’m not saying getting signed is a bad thing, I think if you’re wanting to be world famous it’s easier to be signed than it is to get there independently. But until the right deal comes along on my terms, I have no interest in searching for a record label.
Recent singles ‘Kiss Me Girl’ and ‘S.A.S.S.’ suggest a more commercial direction and a definite sense of stepping things up a level. Was this the intention when setting out to write the album? The first album I ever wrote was our first album. Before then I’d written a few acoustic songs here and there, but I’d never done an album before. Since that point in 2017 I’ve learnt so much about myself playing live and working with song formulas, that this time around I was just naturally better at composing songs. I knew more about what kind of artist I was too, without worrying about what anyone else wanted me to be. Songs like ‘Kiss Me Girl’ and ‘S.A.S.S’ came to me almost instantly, it was a very natural progression for me mixing more of a melodic pop sound with distorted heavy fuzz guitars, creating the newer sound we have now.
You’ve gone through a few line-up changes in the past, which is not unusual for an upcoming band finding their feet. Going by recent performances, you are certainly at your strongest live right now. With the addition of Becky on bass, does it feel like the band are now a cohesive unit? Yeah, I mean it’s bound to happen within bands. I’ve always been honest, I wear my heart on my sleeve and if anything feels wrong I gotta speak up about it. I think people who judge bands for having lots of line-up changes should try spending tour after tour with the same people without going nuts. You find out very fast if you can spend that much time with another human and with us, whenever anyone has left the band, it’s always made the line-up stronger because you can’t force something that just isn’t meant to be.
You recently toured with The Virginmarys, how did you go down with their fan base and were their fans even aware of Hands Off Gretel before seeing you live? Weirdly, we had a load of cross-over fans I didn’t even know about. I was announcing us each night imagining nobody knew us, but the majority of the crowd knew the songs. We picked up loads of new fans from those shows, it was a blast. The Virginmarys boys and their tour crew were lovely; we were saying we would defo do some shows with them again.
What’s your favourite venue to play? I’d say one of my favourite is my hometown venue The Old School House in Barnsley. The stage is a great size, same with the room and the sound rocks! We’ve played plenty of shows there which always sell out.
Lauren, you have become a bit of a role model for alternative girls, tackling issues in your lyrics that the mainstream avoids and advocating women being authentic, strong and true to themselves. Still, in this day and age, there is a lack of truly great female fronted rock ‘n’ roll bands out there. Why do you think this is and do Hands Off Gretel have the power to help change this? Sure, yeah. It’s always great to motivate and inspire young women. Growing up, I looked up to my biggest role model P!nk and I held onto her every word. She changed my life and she’ll never know that. It’s small changes that change the world, one individual at a time. I believe yes, 100%, I alone can contribute to a better future for girls and boys.
All my life I’ve been talked down to by ‘authority figures’ and teachers and made to feel like I couldn’t achieve even a quarter of what I have up to now. I’ve played with lots of women in bands, they are everywhere in the underground scene, just ready and waiting to break out to the mainstream rock stations and festival line-ups that still are mostly all-male bands. I think everyone realises now, with social media being a wonderful platform, that there is inequality still to challenge in society, and as long as people continue to speak out about this and create platforms for these passionate, angry women to have a voice, the world will have no choice but to listen.
You’ve had abuse from girls in the past online, but do you ever get heckled at gigs, and if so what’s the weirdest experience? I’ve had abuse from everyone online! It just hurts like hell when it’s a girl because I believe so passionately that women should bring each other up. People love to believe I’m a bitch, I think they really want me trip up and fall flat on my face because things are going well for me. I’ve had it all my life with teachers and kids at school, I’ve done this independently for so long without any mentoring or help. I know all eyes are on me when it comes to trolls and haters online and I’m determined to prove them wrong. Haha YES!!
One time this man wanted to buy pictures of my feet for $500, but he wanted me to give him a free sample, then he intensely stalked me and created multiple profiles attacking me with insults and threats online because I said I didn’t want to suck my own toes for money, that was weird haha! Gigs are alright though; I think the biggest stalkers and dick pic charmers prefer to stay behind the keyboard!
What was the best year for music in your lifetime? I pretty much missed all the ones my dad talks about seeing, as I wasn’t born until ‘97. It gives me hope though, I feel sorry for kids growing up having to listen to their parents banging on about the good old days. Sure the music back then was raw and brilliant and most of my favourite bands never made it past 1999, but I’m focused entirely on the current time and this generation of music because this is my generation. I’m so excited when I hear amazing bands that nobody knows about, being in a crowd of 10 watching something spectacular before everyone else knows about it.
At what point after you were born did you discover who you were? Probably around 14 years old, when I chopped off all my hair and started listening to The Distillers. Before that point I was totally lost, trying to be popular, trying to fit in listening to N-DUBZ, I was so chavvy it’s unreal. I cut off my hair and became hated at school, it was the most freeing thing I’ve ever done.
When you hear the word ‘successful’, what comes to mind? I think of being in a position where I don’t have to suck anyone’s wrinkled balls to get what I want. I mean, I’d never do that hahaha but I think of success meaning ‘I am now a boss bitch’, I think of finally being respected by those that have ignored me in the past and continuing to be authentic, making a living off my own self-built empire.
If you could have a drink with anyone alive or dead, who would it be and what would you drink? I’d sit in my music room with Freddie Mercury and ask him what his last thoughts were as he died. Did he feel quenched by his life, did he reach his goal? I obsess over death, it’s my biggest driving force because I’m so afraid of my time being up and not being finished with my creations. We’d drink a little vodka and cry together.
Welcome, welcome, welcome step inside the 45’s club and see what delightful singles and videos get pushed through our virtual and physical letterbox. a right mixed bag arrive for this update and there is only one place we could possibly start and that’s with HeWhoCannotBeNamed and his brilliant video for ‘Good Fuck’ taken from his new album ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Brutal’. Spin the black circles and keep it 45…
Jake Starr & The the Delicious fullness ‘All The Mess I’m In’ (Beluga Records) This Singles comes in four delicious coloured sleeves and fours different coloured records, Blue, Red, White, Black.
After fronting Washington DC garage rockers Adam West for nearly 17 years, soft-spoken, introverted, and mild-mannered Jake Starr took a few years off to recharge his batteries. Now he’s back with a band of brothers (and sister) alongside him to deliver the best in high-octane, garage rock-n-roll. With Sean Crowley (Hall Monitors) on guitar and backing vox, Louie Newmyer (tons of bands) on bass, and Nathaniel Osgood (ex-Phobes) on drums, this swinging combo is the perfect mix of the Small Faces, Chocolate Watchband, Easybeats, Music Machine, and everything nice in 1966. The A-side is a rock solid retro rocker but the gem here is ‘Biff Bang Pow’ a cover of the Creation number and with its fuzzed up lead guitar its a real hoot and sure to fly off the shelves – our advice if you want the colours you better get a move on and shake your shit over to Beluga.
Lags – ‘Knives And Wounds’ (Casu Marzu Records/To Lose La Track/Fuzzy Cluster Records) Next up is the new single from Lags.a post-hardcore band out of Rome, Italy, They’re gearing up to release their second album, SOON, on March 29th, and they’ve teamed up with Heavy Consequence to premiere the video for the new song “Knives and Wounds”. The song is an anthemic track with a sound reminiscent of bands like Hot Water Music, BoySetsFire, and Sparta, as singer Antonio Canestri delivers the lyrics with a powerful rasp.
As mentioned, the album SOON will arrive on March 29th. Pre-orders for the disc are available here and here.
Powersolo“Transfixing Motherfucker” EP (Slovenly) If it’s on Slovenly then we want to know about it. Wear it like a badge of honour because Slovenly don’t put out rubbish and when we got this pottymouthed single we virtual high fived Powersolo for having the cheek to knock out a garage dripping rock n rolling old school it’s like Bo Diddley and the Cramps going shot for shot and having some instruments thrown in for good measure. These Danish rock n rollers kick out the jams for sure and even manage a tune in their native tongue which is always cool with RPM.
The Cavemen “Lowlife” EP (Slovenly) Always happy to review a Caveman record that for sure and Lowlife doesn’t disappoint. The Lead track sounds like The New York Dolls in full peacock swagger and that guitar solo fuckin’ rules! ‘Baby I’d Do It For You’ is like a rocket, all speed and fuck you fury straight out of the traps and it doesn’t relent until it crashes and burns. To close off this monster is a dark brooding Cavemen progbustin four-minute classic. Like they’ve been down to the crossroads and old Nick has thought fuck this do your worst I’m off. the Cavemen rip it up like hooch when you’ve run out of moonshine. Single of the month? I can’t see anything else even coming close. Get these dirty rock n rollers on tour with Brother Jim Jones and his righteous mind that would be perfect. Facebook
Priors “Call For You” EP (Slovenly Recordings) Hailing from Montreal this five-piece wall of garage rock n roll fills me with joy due to their understanding that garage punk rock comes in many forms and they hit you right in the kisser with their guitar driven rock n roll and the lead track ‘Call For You’ is a force of nature, a wall of guitars, unrelenting and unforgiving yet the tune has melody and makes me feel warm and fuzzy. ‘Destroyer’ is more of the same to be fair maybe a little more uncompromising but equally enjoyable. Which just leaves ‘Swelter’ to shake its shit with its awkward rhythm to pulverise you with. A most excellent record and available through their bandcamp in very limited quantities so don’t sleep on this one. Bandcamp
Crows – Chain Of Being (Balley Records) London post punk noisemakers sign to Joe Talbot of Idles Balley Records and ‘Chain Of Being’ is the first song released off their debut album “Silver Tongues” released on March 22nd Pre-order Here. They head out on tour with Idles in March to coincide with the album check em out Facebook
The Anomalys “Trooper” EP:(slovenly Recordings) Straight out of the Garage in Amsterdamned these rock n rollers kick up a veritable shit storm with their fairly traditional reverb dripping rock n fucking roll. ‘Fire In The Hole’ is the second song in and flys by in less that one and a half minutes of rowdy rock n roll just as we like it. To be fair that’s pretty much a done deal for the band as its only the fourth track that the tempo drops below boiling, ‘Anomolyphant’ is an instrumental but doesn’t really go anywhere but three out of four isn’t bad at all. Keep an eye on these noisemakers. Facebook
Erica Drive – All We Are – Emo alternative rockers Erica Drive are about to drop their second album and have released ‘All We Are’ to pave the way. South coast five-piece worked with Mike White (wolf Culture) and had the tracks mastered by My Chemical Romance engineer John Naclerio With heavy riffs and crisp production I’m sure the band will pick up more than the last albums 10,000 Spotify plays. Full-length album to come in early April.TwitterFacebook
The Empty Page – ‘When The Cloud Explodes’ (Punk Fox Records) the Empty Page has grown up as a band in public and that journey has landed them here at this junction with a new single on offer this coming Feb the 22nd to be precise. Its a confident slab of alt-rock shaped using the inspiration of their idols it’s got a great hook and feel to it as lyrically it celebrates their roots and obsession with the wet northern weather with a huge wall of sound. Stirring stuff indeed and if this is the strength of the new material it won’t be long before bands are citing the Empty Page as an influence alongside your Sonic Youths and Pixies. Great stuff!
Vain vipers – Kissy Doll (Volcano Records) I couldn’t resist throwing this bad boy up here just because I could. Can you believe outside the parody shite that is Steel Panther there are still heavy on the ride fretboard tappers out there strutting their shit like its cock rock o’clock and people really want to hear this. Like anyone dances on their bed wearing some Vain Viper grits who hasn’t been paid to. I also love that the axeman (that’s what cock rockers call their six stringers right?) has got a replica Slash tattoo on his right gun. Absolute comedy gold can’t wait for the follow up its like 1987 never ever happened.
Forty years into his career as the number one 4-string plank spanker on the UK punk rock scene you can perhaps forgive Alvin Gibbs the “self indulgence” (his words, not mine) of a solo record. I mean he’s worked with some of the biggest names on the scene during that time, plus he’s also penned some absolutely amazing songs along the way too… and the musician’s modesty aside, I for one was straight out the blocks to order my copy when the pre-order for ‘Your Disobedient Servant’ went live on the T&M Records website just after Xmas. So, why all the rush of anticipation I hear you ask?
Well, the best place to start is with the guest list of musicians that Alvin has assembled to help him make this record. It reads like a veritable who’s who drawn from his expansive career and boasts the likes of Brian James, Mick Rossi, Timo Kaltio and James Stevenson amongst the names eager to offer up their services as Disobedient Servants. It was only the name of Iggy Pop that for me was the real glaring omission, but then when I first got to hear ‘Ghost Train’ the lead single from the album, I had to double-take. Could my jug-likes be deceiving me? That is surely Iggy crooning his way through this belting ‘Instinct’ like rocker, but no…it’s actually Alvin Gibbs, and what a great voice he has too. ‘Clumsy Fingers’ the flipside of that mega limited and long since sold out 7” also proved to be a fun time piece of Iggy influenced garage punk, and these two tracks alone were enough to convince me that this was certainly no vanity project and Alvin Gibbs was possibly about to do a Keef and release a solo album fans of his day job band would be clambering to hear too.
With Alvin having also released one of the best books about being in a rock ‘n’ roll band, the awesome ‘Neighbourhood Threat’ (recently re-released as ‘Some Weird Sin’) written about his time spent playing bass for Iggy Pop. It kinda feels eu natural for ‘Your Disobedient Servant’ to kick off with ‘Arterial Pressure’ a (just shy of 2 minutes long) barnstormer of a track written about how Alvin got to know Joey Ramone through Mr Osterberg.
Next up is the aforementioned ‘Ghost Train’ which here perfectly segues into the equally Iggy -like strut of ‘Dumb’, and right here we have as near a perfect opening 1-2-3 to any album I’ve heard in many a long year. Seriously folks if these tracks were on a new Iggy record the mainstream music media would be spunking their chinos over them.
‘Camden Gigolo’ takes things down an anthemic gear or two before ‘Clumsy Fingers’ speeds off in a frenzy of glam tinged punk rock guitar complete with few week’s road dirt under those nails.
Not unlike Glen Matlock’s excellent ‘Good To Go’ album from the tail end of 2018, where ‘Your Disobedient Servant’ really excels is when it throws you a curveball and in side one closer ‘Heaven And The Angels’ Alvin delivers a menacing slice of southern fried psycho-drama that challenges the listener with each new listen twisting and turning itself into your very soul.
Flipping the record over and side two kicks off with perhaps the most UK Subs like track on ‘Your Disobedient Servant’, the riotous ‘Back To Mayhem’ a track that simply fizzes with raw energy, that’s before the more subtle slide driven ‘Polemic’ takes you on a fascinating trip through what influenced Alvin to get into the music business in the first place.
It’s here that for me the LP flips from the overarching influences of Iggy and garage punk to that of one drawn from the likes of Mott and Bowie with ‘No!’ hinting at latter day Hunter and ‘Desperate Dave Is Dead’ doffing its baker boy cap to one of the young dudes passed all to soon. ‘I’m Not Crying Now’ too has more than just a little bit of cracked acting going on within its grooves, whilst album closer ‘Deep As Our Skin’ hints at just how great Cheap And Nasty might have been if Alvin had been given more a role in front of the microphone.
Having been lucky enough to get a good few preview listens of ‘Your Disobedient Servant’ the immediate thing that leapt out at me was just how much this sounds like a band, not a solo record. So kudos indeed to the real heartbeat of The Disobedient Servants; guitarist Steve Crittall, drummer Jamie Oliver and of course Alvin himself for making this one hell of a riotous rock ‘n’ roll record….and one I just can’t wait to get my finished vinyl copy of.
As I mentioned in the intro to this review ‘Your Disobedient Servant’ is available to pre-order right now via T&M Records on LP/CD and via Bandcamp for the download (the links are below). If you are after the LP/CD combo you best make sure you snap one up sharpish as when those red and white splatter babies are gone they really will be gone. So, trust me when I say, ‘Your Disobedient Servant’ is one record you really do not want to be without.
Running With The Boss Sound – Today is January 26th and for me, one of my favourite and most cherished albums was released into the world way back in 1979. I still play it regularly as it had a big influence on an impressionable young lad. From the attractive lady on the cover to the pills never mind four gangly lads with leather trousers and scruffy died hair. It was everything I wanted it to be and I can still remember twisting my mothers arm to let me go home from Woolworths with my very own copy tucked under my arm and when I got home it might as well have been welded to the house stereo because it only left the turntable to get turned over for what must have been weeks or months even.
‘Valley Of The Dolls by Generation X might not be as revered as ‘Never Mind the Bollocks’ or ‘The Clash’ it doesn’t get talked about as much as The first Joy Division album or the first few classic Buzzcocks records but to me it might only be outclassed from the 70’s releases by ‘Damned Damned Damned’, ‘LAMF’ and ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’. It was the Dogs danglies as far as I’m concerned and still is and much like the previously mentioned favourites it still gets played quite frequently by myself.
‘January that year was the first glimpse of these four pirates as ‘King Rocker’ is released as a single and one of those seminal moments in time as Idol sneered his way through their performance on TOTP. Reaching a very respectable number 11 in the UK charts at the time was quite an achievement although their label wasn’t so happy. It came out with a picture of each band member on specific colour pressings something that bands have copied since to increase sales – me I only ever got the tony James cover but it was on red vinyl (still got it)
The album came out on this very day forty years ago and took a right panning in the written press , with reviewers slateing it as “overblown and artistically hollow” and only managing to reach number 51 in the UK album charts the next single being the albums title track only managing number 23 in the singles charts things weren’t looking good for the band amidst trouble at their live shows the summer saw the third and final single being released off the record and ‘Fridays Angels only managing number 62 which must have been a killer for the band and their management not even hitting the top 40. the band began to fragment with Andrews leaving before the year was out and Laff following suit soon after via a harsh sacking from James and Idol due to the classic musical differences.
I was also gutted to find out many years later about the internal squabbling involved in the making of this album and when the band got Ian Hunter in to produce he wasn’t impressed with LAff and his drumming and got Clive Bunker from Jethro Tull in to play the drums as hunter didn’t feel Laff was up to the job in the studio. Now had I been in the band and as much as I love Ian Hunter I think I’d have told him to fark off over there and then fark off a little bit further as being in a band was all about a gang you know four lads who shook the world riding in to the valley of the dolls and all that comrade but it seems not every band is like that and Bunker was indeed drafted in.
There was an interview with Andrews in 2013 where he stated “The style changed in as much as we had a famous ‘rock-star’ producer in Ian Hunter, a bigger budget, more time and a wider gap between the two older guys and me and Laff. It was actually heartbreaking for Mark Laff to be told by Ian, Billy and Tony that he was not going to play on this album and for him to choose a replacement drummer. He chose Clive Bunker from Jethro Tull and whilst teaching him the parts with two kits set up it was decided it sounded great with two drummers. If I took too long tuning up for an overdub I could see Tony James through the studio glass calling Chris Spedding! It wasn’t the same camaraderie as the first album”
that’s a real shame because in my eyes VOTD has stood the test of time and in 2019 it deserves to be championed as a bit of a classic and for all the rock star buzzkill that was happening at the time they did manage to write and record some fantastic songs. I think its more in line with the style and sound of Hanoi Rocks than they get credit for and maybe this record was a little bit ahead of the game and would have gone down much better had it been released maybe five years later who knows?
Hands Off Gretel announce new album ‘I Want The World’ to be released March 29th via Puke Pop Records
Watch the band take over a skatepark with the new video for the title track released today!
“A riotous tangle of bubblegum riffs and rebel girl swagger” Planet Rock
Formed in 2015 in South Yorkshire when frontwoman Lauren Tate stuck two-fingers up to the repressive school environment that trapped her and dropped out, the 16-year-old self-confessed misfit wasted no time in finding an outlet to channel every bit of the alienation and despair experienced within those concrete walls into something cathartic and creative. And Hands Off Gretel was born.
Inspired by the volatile and liberating melody fueled noise of bands such as Hole, The Distillers, Nirvana and PJ Harvey, Hands Off Gretel quickly set about creating the perfect soundtrack of sugar-coated grunge-punk for Lauren to vent and rail against the issues of body image, mental health, celebrity, childhood and loneliness she felt enraged by, all of which were addressed from a fiercely female, unapologetic, feminist perspective.
Recorded at Monnow Valley studio in Wales, new album ‘I Want The World’ is set for release this coming March 29th via the bands own label Puke Pop Records and features twelve-tracks hugely addictive, and sometimes vindictive, melodic rock that is unafraid to blend the heavy screeching distortion of grunge rock with the catchy hooks of bubblegum pop, whilst keeping true to their original roots in punk rock.
“I Want The World is a song about how I’ve always felt since I was young,” explains Lauren. “It’s me pouting like a child and saying ‘no! I want more than what this world is going to give me.’ I channel Veruca Salt from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory when I sing it. I am being obstreperous and impossible like a child, kicking and screaming until I get what I want.”
“It feels like I wrote this album 6 years ago in a school toilet whilst skipping class and hiding from the world,” continues Lauren. “The way I felt so ostracized and alone like I didn’t fit in anywhere. It became my mission to sing for the outcasts, the weird kids, the ones that feel misrepresented in society and left behind like I do. I made it my obligation at 15 to make as much noise as possible as a young woman, to challenge everything.”
“‘I Want The World’ is about how I’ve felt since I was a little girl,” she adds. “I’ve always felt shushed and muted. Everyone’s always told me to stop showing off or stop being unrealistic and so I’m constantly thinking of ways to give everyone who doubted I could do this or ridiculed me the middle finger. The album is about feeling rejected and acting out, wanting acceptance from a society you don’t even want to be part of. I’m channelling my childhood throughout it all, always being alone and fighting my own battles. The only track that doesn’t fit this theme is Kiss Me Girl, that’s just my lesbian anthem because I felt the world lacked them and I wanted to piss off homophobes.”
Fiercely independent, Hands Off Gretel produce and control every aspect of the sound and image. Their loyal and passionate international fan base has grown organically from years of work, interacting daily with fans on social media, creating artwork, videos and merchandise, building not just a band, but a brand with a very clear identity. Their hugely successful Pledge Music campaign to fund the album hit 100% of their goal in less than 24 hours and currently stands at over 200%, combined with PRS Foundation Emerging Artist Funding, which has helped Hands Off Gretel bring the sounds in their heads to life on their own label.
“With the new album we wanted to incorporate more of a pop production to our sound, capturing the wildness and brashness of the fuzz guitars and heavy drums mixed with a flirtatious pop fruitiness,” describes Lauren. “The songs have a pop arrangement at the core”
“I worked hard at crafting catchy melodies and layering my harmonies throughout the whole album,” she continues. “All the while keeping the grit and angst people love in our live shows. It was the most natural progression for us being able to express ourselves in different ways without losing what we have at our core.”
Over the past 3 years, the band have played over100 UK headline dates, toured Germany and played major festivals, including, Rebellion Festival, The Great British Alternative Festival, Isle of Wight, Amplified Festivals Download and Camden Rocks festival. They have built themselves a solid reputation for their live shows, which are as visually compelling as they are musically, with Tate like an ever-evolving chameleon, you’re never quite sure what you are going to get.
With tastemakers ‘This Feeling’ picking the band up for their “Big in 2019’ predictions and support from Pirate Studios, the industry is starting to take notice of a band that are making a lot of noise under their own steam. As Northern Exposure put it “Hands Off Gretel are a time bomb waiting to go off”
Catch the band live at the following dates:
Sat 19th Jan – ‘Big In 2019’ This Feeling – Nambucca London
Thurs 28th March – London Album Launch – Nambucca London
Fri 29th March – Home Town album Launch – Old School House Venue Barnsley, South Yorkshire
When is an EP not really an EP? when its the work of some twisted fucked up punk rockers called System Reset that’s when. Its got ten songs for a kick off that’s a fuckin’ album in anyone’s language now if those ten only last the length of time it takes you to upload the songs from Bandcamp to Itunes then ok call it a single call it an EP call it a short to the point kick in the bollocks for all I care the only thing that matters is that it is now in my headphones and when I play it I’ve got a grin as wide as the Severn estuary.
Often fast, always melodic, most certainly punk rock System Reset have stumbled onto something here and I like it – I like it a lot. Calling on a wide range of influences; from 90s skate punk through to crusty anarcho dog on a string punk rock the songs are at times furious but these boys are more than happy to sling in a melody if the song needs it. even some slower passages.
Vocalist Stan’s lyrics touch on emotional personal subjects, views on modern society and politics and sometimes utter nonsense – and why not have some diversity and not be afraid to go places with the music if need be rather than just style it out. Recorded live in the studio by VJ Knievel he of the six strings in Deathtraps, Like I say the EP is available digitally immediately through the band’s Bandcamp page with a physical release on CD to follow in mid-February. I’d love to say here’s a video they recorded on location but social services wouldn’t allow it.
Titter ye not when you hear ‘Growler’ I will stand corrected but this has the handiwork of Sutton from Trigger McPoopschute all over it but this album sorry EP is so much more than that tongue in cheek number The opener ‘Epidemic’ is excellent mid-paced punk rock something you would get right into had it been an early Husker du number.
They follow it up with a great piece of social commentary with ‘Feminazi’ they up the ante on ‘May Already’ I’d just like to believe that one day Theresa will get to hear this, she fuckin’ needs to. Before the album closes I end up gobbin’ tea; sorry that should be strong west country scrumpy or Barley wine over my computer screen thanks to Sutton and his outro on the hardcore blast that is ‘Invade’ it took me longer to type that than the song by the way. which only leaves ‘PTSD’ to close off what is an excellent piece of work. I hope to catch em live at some point and I hope this is indeed the start of something and not just a one-off – great work chaps great work!
UK headline tour continues into Spring, including dates with Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and new video here
Debut album “You Say I’m Too Much, I Say You’re Not Enough”: Here
Photo credit: Imogen Forte
Three months after the release of their critically acclaimed debut album “You Say I’m Too Much, I Say You’re Not Enough”, Estrons show no signs of slowing down, returning today to share a video for their brand new single “Strangers”. Filmed at The Globe in Cardiff, the site of a big sold-out homecoming show for the band at the end of 2018, lead singer Tali Källström says;
“Strangers is about self-acceptance and finding the strength to grow and be on your own. The song takes us on a journey of self-sabotage, redemption, failure and success and how all of these experiences meld together to make us who we are. This video represents the different facets, the flaws, the strengths and the disparities we feel about ourselves and others during our day to day lives. It was important for us that we kept the video as a genuine reflection of who we are and the real-life things that we do, breaking the fourth wall, allowing the audience to empathise with the genuine emotion and meaning of the song. We hope you like it.”
Estrons have brought their inimitable style of ferocious alt-rock to sold-out venues up and down the country, as well as appearing live on-air with Annie Mac and Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1, and Julie Adenuga on Beats 1. Racking up millions of streams for the album, while taking on a successful run of festival appearances in the UK & EU, Estrons received invitations to join Garbage and Pussy Riot on the road, and dates with Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes are up next. The band have been steadily collecting a swathe of new cult fans of all types with a live performance to justify their unique sound.
With many more UK live dates in the diary for 2019, a number of which are already sold-out, the upcoming tour also includes their biggest headline show to date at Scala, London, on Feb 7th.
Estrons UK Tour Dates Tickets for Spring dates on sale Fri 25 Jan at 10am
28 Jan: Glasgow – Broadcast ^
29 Jan: Newcastle – Head of Steam ^
30 Jan: Cambridge – Portland Arms ^
31 Jan: Huddersfield – Parish ^
01 Feb: Sheffield – Record Junkee ^
02 Feb: Bedford – Esquires ^
07 Feb: London – Scala &
15 Feb: Stoke-on-Trent – Sugarmill** SOLD OUT
16 Feb: Coventry – Empire**
18 Feb: Peddler, Sheffield** SOLD OUT
19 Feb: Liverpool – Arts Club**
21 Feb: Newcastle – Think Tank** SOLD OUT
22 Feb: Edinburgh – Liquid Rooms**
23 Feb: York – Fibbers** SOLD OUT 28 Mar: Dundee – Beat Generator
29 Mar: Aberdeen – The Tunnels
30 Mar: Edinburgh – Bongo Club
03 Apr: Tunbridge Wells – Forum
04 Apr: Coventry – The Empire
05 Apr: Norwich – Arts Centre
06 Apr: Bridgend – Hobo’s
10 Apr: Southampton – Joiners
11 Apr: Stoke-on-Trent – Sugarmill
12 Apr: Aberystwyth – Arad Goch 13 Apr: York – Fulford Arms
19 Apr: Cardiff – Wales Goes Pop
04 May: Liverpool – Liverpool Sound City
12 Jul: Cheltenham – 2000 Trees
^ = Independent Venue Week
& = Support from Lucia ** = Supporting Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
Recent Comments