In one sense, the Tubs will not be a brand new band. All 4 members of the London-based Welsh rock group had been in Joanna Gruesome, the incendiary noise-pop act that has since splintered right into a sprawling community of interconnected initiatives. But anybody anticipating a reprise of Joanna Gruesome’s distortion-blanketed indie ought to look elsewhere — say, to Ex-Vöid, a band that accommodates three out of 4 Tubs plus Joanna Gruesome singer Lan McArdle. Three-fourths of the band are additionally within the chaotically noisy punk band Sniffany & The Nits. But because the Tubs, they’re following a janglier, extra jittery path — one which traces throughout the many years, from Britain to Oceania and again.
Formed by the songwriting group of singer-guitarist Owen “O” Williams and guitarist George “GN” Nicholls, the Tubs sound like a misplaced ’80s indie-pop band that might have been school radio staples in the event that they’d ever made it out of the UK. The band cites touchstones like Flying Nun Records, Canterbury folk-rock, and a handful of British indie-pop cult favorites. You can in all probability hear traces of ’80s American icons like R.E.M. and Bob Mould of their propulsive guitar jams, too. Really, when Williams is bellowing eruditely amidst zipping guitar traces and nervy rhythms, you would possibly hear any variety of iconic indie bands.
On debut album Dead Meat, out subsequent week by way of the good Chicago label Trouble In Mind, that omnivorous jangle turns into a canvas for Williams’ reflections on his personal neuroses. It’s an album about how psychological sickness is definitely fairly depressing and alienating — a sentiment expressed by way of songs about sniveling, erotomania, and disconcerting outbreaks on the pores and skin. You won’t discover all of the disagreeable vibes, although, when the songs are this catchy.
In a latest video name, Williams and Nicholls spoke about why hopeful songs are often dangerous, tips on how to make decidedly retro sounds really feel recent, and the tangled historical past of their musical buddy circle, which spent a while dwelling collectively in an deserted police station after shifting to London. Below, learn our dialog and watch director Tasha Lizak’s “Wretched Lie” video.
You guys have all these totally different bands with barely totally different lineups and sounds. Is that only a perform of getting totally different configurations of individuals collectively to play, or do you’ve the will to discover all these totally different aesthetic concepts, or what?
OWEN “O” WILLIAMS: There’s like 10 of us who’re all associates, and we spend like all our time collectively. And sometimes, if somebody is especially into one thing, they’ll recruit like three of us from the friendship group to again them up in no matter whim or style they need to discover. So typically it’ll be a power-pop band, and typically it’ll be a horrible punk band. It relies on who has the thought.
GEORGE “GN” NICHOLLS: Yeah, it’s about 10 of us, and perhaps three individuals out of that 10 are in every of perhaps six bands. So it’s simply type of like a rotating lineup inside 10 associates, principally.
Do all of the totally different acts play exhibits collectively in London?
WILLIAMS: [Laughs.] Yeah, in all probability too usually! We should do, like, costume adjustments.
I’ve been round scenes like that earlier than the place totally different associates are realigning into barely totally different lineups. It looks as if you no less than have sufficient consideration and acclaim that you’d be capable to get individuals from exterior of the 10-person buddy group to return to the exhibits.
NICHOLLS: It’s a blessing when greater than 10 individuals come to the exhibits, to be trustworthy. [Laughs.]
WILLIAMS: Some bands have extra capability than others, I suppose. So you see barely totally different individuals at every present. No, there’s crossover. But lots of people don’t appear to know that I’m on this band and Sniffany & The Nits and Ex-Vöid or no matter. They do are inclined to occupy type of separate planes.
And I assume these acts all go on tour collectively as properly?
NICHOLLS: We’ve performed that earlier than. I feel most excursions we’ve performed have labored in that approach.
WILLIAMS: Yeah, my band Ex-Vöid’s happening tour with a band referred to as Garden Centre, and I’m in that band as properly. So it’s really occurring, like, on a regular basis.
I figured logistically that might be simpler.
NICHOLLS: Well I feel it was the case after we went to America that Max [Levy] from Garden Centre, if he got here to America we might have performed a Joanna Gruesome and Garden Centre tour. So it simply meant him reserving an additional flight, and every part was capable of go forward as traditional.
How did the Tubs come to be?
WILLIAMS: Me and George simply began writing kind of folky, a bit like post-punk, type of Cleaners From Venus-style tunes. And it simply kind of snowballed from there.
NICHOLLS: That was after we used to all dwell in an outdated police station collectively. It began off as simply me and him writing new songs.
WILLIAMS: What was it referred to as earlier than the Tubs? It was like, the Friendly Band. Or the Crazy Band. It went by way of plenty of horrible names earlier than we reached the Tubs.
NICHOLLS: I feel the Friendly Band’s nonetheless higher than the Tubs, to be trustworthy.
And it was instantly obvious that that is its personal factor, this doesn’t match into the rest we’ve been doing, this must be its personal inventive realm unto itself?
WILLIAMS: Yeah, I feel it was fairly a specific sound that we alighted upon. I used to be doing extra of my British model.
NICHOLLS: And I wished to play extra Felt-style, intricate guitar music. Owen’s superb at guitar, and it’s good for each of us to sit down down and play troublesome and folky music collectively.
It looks like we’ve gone by way of years and years of ’90s-inspired songs, however there’s a lot ’80s within the sound that you simply’ve landed on right here. There’s clearly the British folks stuff that predates the ’80s, however you point out Felt and the Cleaners From Venus. I hear plenty of American ’80s jangle in there too. Despite the truth that we now have plenty of throwing again to totally different eras, it looks as if you possibly can nonetheless discover one thing recent in music that has perhaps already gone by way of a number of totally different revivals.
NICHOLLS: That type of guitar music tends to both go down a very heavy indie-pop route and it’s actually jangly and actually fairly saccharine, or it goes the opposite approach and it’s like ’90s and grungy. I feel we’ve simply ended up attempting to make it sound a bit extra just like the Jam or one thing.
WILLIAMS: Loads of what we do, I suppose, is let all of the influences come by way of, so it’s type of postmodern, like mass references. I suppose most good guitar bands are kind of doing that in the meanwhile the place all of the borders collapse a bit and also you’re laying in stuff from the ’90s, the ’80s, the ’60s, the ’70s. That’s the one strategy to make something that sounds trendy, I suppose. Even although it’s nonetheless kind of by-product, it’s additionally postmodern.
You’ve promoted a recurring theme of psychological sickness at its most unglamorous. Do you intention to have a topical consistency to go together with the aesthetic consistency, or is it extra like that’s simply the place your head was at whenever you had been writing?
WILLIAMS: I didn’t actually need to write something that was type of like tremendous confessional. I wished to maintain it throughout the aesthetic the place it was like pop lyrics. But for some cause I discovered as I used to be attempting to jot down these lyrics as pop songs that plenty of it was coming again to me being a psychological man [laughs] and obsessing over my insane, like, hypochondria and shit like that. And I’m type of influenced by my bandmate in my different band Sniffany & The Nits. She writes properly about how embarrassing and pathetic it’s to be mentally unwell typically. I type of took that concept.
NICHOLLS: She’s positively far more gross about it than you, I feel.
WILLIAMS: Yeah, she’s a lot better at being embarrassing than me.
Even if the songs are about embarrassing issues, they’re gracefully executed songs.
WILLIAMS: Yeah, I wished it to be refined. For occasion, I’ve a lyric within the title observe which references this rash I’ve on my groin. I saved working out of this steroid cream. And I used to be like, OK, I can put that in, however I’m not going to make a giant deal out of it. I’m not going to signpost that an excessive amount of. If you knew me, you’d know I used to be speaking in regards to the rash on my groin.
NICHOLLS: You additionally made us examine it, initially, to make sure that you weren’t going to die. [Laughs.]
WILLIAMS: Yeah, I wished to verify it wasn’t contaminated.
NICHOLLS: It was a bit purple.
Yeah, it’s not such as you’re writing a tune referred to as “Rash On My Groin.”
WILLIAMS: Yeah, it’s not a novelty tune.
NICHOLLS: I feel additionally, with most songs, in the event you simply went as much as somebody and mentioned, “This song is about this,” and fully earnestly mentioned, I imply I personally assume that might be a bit embarrassing in itself. If there’s a component of it being a bit cryptic and a bit hidden and never too confessional, it makes music a bit extra palatable to me.
In your bio there’s a quote from Owen that expresses skepticism in regards to the language round psychological sickness on-line or in society: “Having a compulsive disorder which makes me go bonkers isn’t my ‘superpower’ or whatever, it actually just makes me this irritating guy who smells.”
WILLIAMS: ‘Cause I kept hearing people being like, “Anxiety’s my superpower!” And I used to be like, no, it simply makes me fairly annoying and boring and odor dangerous or no matter. I discover all of that type of discuss fairly irritating. I can’t bear in mind why I discussed it. [Laughs.] I feel I used to be on one which day.
The strategy that you simply’ve taken towards the topic is richer when it comes to inventive potential versus this kind of like cheerleading.
WILLIAMS: Yeah, I don’t need to write something affirmative or hopeful or something. It’s simply dangerous writing to try this.
I don’t know if I’d take it that far! Why do you assume one thing affirmative or hopeful would mechanically be dangerous writing?
WILLIAMS: Just in a tune, like a tune about beating psychological sickness simply appears to me like a horrible thought for a lyric.
NICHOLLS: It comes off like fundraiser kind of vibes.
WILLIAMS: I’m positive there’s in all probability songs that I’ve landed on which have some type of hopeful factor. Maybe I’m being a bit excessive. But no, I stand by what I mentioned.
Do you think about the Tubs persevering with in that vein when it comes to material, or is that this band one thing that has the potential to broaden into totally different realms, discover totally different topics?
WILLIAMS: To be trustworthy, it’s in all probability bought essentially the most scope for reinvention. Out of all of the bands we do, it has essentially the most various array of influences. Part of the problem is attempting to know which strand to observe. Sometimes I feel, “Oh, the next album should be a traditional folk album.” Or it needs to be a post-punk album, or one thing. And I feel the lyrics would go together with that.
NICHOLLS: I don’t assume the lyrics are notably obscure in some elements. “I can’t believe I’m in love with you again” — there are tens of millions of songs that sound like that. But I feel there’s a threshold of earnestness in no less than this sonic realm that our music occupies that clashes with what the music you’re attempting to make is. Being affirmative and hopeful clearly has its place, however it will simply sound bizarre within the context of the songs that we’ve bought on this document. I don’t write a lot of the lyrics, I do extra of the music bit, however I don’t assume it’s notably unusual, lyrically. I feel you try to keep away from being too earnest, and I feel that’s good.
I’d like to listen to extra in regards to the band’s origins and your neighborhood there. You talked about there was a time whenever you had been all dwelling in an outdated police station. When was that?
NICHOLLS: That was after I first moved to London. And then Max and the remainder of that lot moved to London the 12 months earlier than. But all of us grew up collectively in Cardiff.
WILLIAMS: We shaped the band Joanna Gruesome after we had been youngsters.
NICHOLLS: I feel I used to be 15.
WILLIAMS: You had been 15. I used to be like 17 perhaps? And then I suppose we type of gathered lots of people round that band.
NICHOLLS: The Tubs now could be Joanna Gruesome after we had been 15. There you go.
WILLIAMS: It was like us 4 plus Alanna was Joanna Gruesome. So yeah, we’re that band as properly. I overlook about that. But yeah, we simply had this tight-knit group of people that had been in in all probability 10 notable bands. I don’t even know what number of bands there are. It’s like Soup!, after which it’s like Porridge Radio, [and so on].
Were you all nonetheless dwelling collectively when lockdown occurred, or had you dispersed by then?
NICHOLLS: We lived down the highway.
WILLIAMS: I began dwelling with Sniffany & The Nits on this deserted psychological hospital, like an asylum I suppose. And that was horrible. And we simply lived within the creepiest place on the planet. And George, I don’t know the place you had been.
NICHOLLS: I lived in the identical place the entire time. I labored in a college not too far-off from the place [Owen’s] place was, and it meant I’d drive previous on my approach again. Because I used to be instructing, I had to enter work, so I didn’t have to remain in the home. So I’d come again, and I’d type of see everybody, sit exterior my automotive and like chat to everybody from the door. And everybody’s like, “Yeah, there’s loads of writing on the walls, and it’s really weird.”
WILLIAMS: It’d say stuff like “Dr. Jenkins is a pedo” and stuff like that. It was the creepiest place. I can’t consider we lived there. It was essentially the most horrible interval to dwell by way of. I don’t know if they’ve it within the US, this stuff referred to as guardianship schemes the place principally you’re like authorized squatters for outdated buildings. They had been renting it out to us to be squatters, principally.
NICHOLLS: When squatting grew to become unlawful — as a result of it was by no means unlawful. Because within the UK it means one thing fully totally different, am I proper? If you took over an outdated care dwelling or an outdated police station or one thing, and it was unoccupied, you had been fully allowed to remain there. And then the legislation modified, after which firms purchase all these locations up, after which simply lease them to you. So it’s identical to paying cash to dwell someplace that you simply actually shouldn’t be paying any cash to dwell in.
WILLIAMS: Yeah, we had been suckers.
NICHOLLS: But then all of these things in regards to the writing on the partitions — I used to be not allowed to go inside ’reason for the lockdown, so it was like, I can’t consider your room says “Dr. Watkins is a pedo” or no matter. And then when was lastly allowed to go inside, I used to be trying round this place being like, “Oh my god, it’s absolutely horrible.” It was horrible!
WILLIAMS: I suppose we recorded the [Names] EP whereas I used to be dwelling there. I bear in mind strolling round within the night time, actually scared, listening to the Tubs mixes.
NICHOLLS: Maybe that made your unusual lyrics earnest.
WILLIAMS: That’s proper. I wrote plenty of the lyrics after I lived in a psychological asylum. That in all probability connects to the psychological well being content material. [Laughs.]
Is there a sure a part of London you’re all congregated in?
WILLIAMS: Yeah, the southeast. ‘Cause people used to live in the east. It used to be where all the bands were. And that became gentrified, and now it’s kind of a fairly bougie, hipster-ish space. So plenty of like poor artists and musicians are inclined to dwell within the southeast now.
NICHOLLS: I feel even that is turning into type of unaffordable. I feel all of it is. Everything is.
You’ve bought this Tubs album popping out this month. What else is arising? More Tubs music? Are your different bands releasing stuff this 12 months? What’s 2023 maintain?
WILLIAMS: Loads of shit. The Tubs album’s popping out. I suppose we’re doing a tour of document shops? And then when it comes to different bands, there’s one million issues occurring.
NICHOLLS: My different band Soup! are doing a tour in a pair weeks. There’s stuff occurring with all of our totally different bands.
WILLIAMS: Georgie from Porridge Radio’s in [Soup!]. And then there’s Ex-Vöid, we’ve bought some new tunes. So yeah, our loopy circus will keep it up.