“It kinda is like a big old news bust isn’t it”, states Haggard Cat’s Matt Reynolds with an infectious smile. “I guess normally you wait and do a little single first then you tease a little bit and then eventually to the shock of no one you kinda go, oh we’ve got an EP coming. But we went nah, fuck all that. Everything, all of the information, all out at once.”
Haggard Cat have long been an act to do things their in their own, completely unique way. A product born out a last minute improvisational live set, Nottingham’s dynamic duo have remained loyal to their DIY background and ethos even after almost a decade of activity. Plus much like their energetic craft, they’ve garnered a reputation of sheer unpredictability. Be it performing surprise late night sets at Glastonbury, climbing atop vendors at 2000 Trees or literally building a homemade antigravity room for their latest music video, the band have long doing things on their own, albeit reckless accord. So with that in mind, it’s no real surprise the bluesy turbo-punk act decided to announce their new EP Cheer Up and drop it’s first single ‘Quit Your Jobs’ in the fashion they did – by announcing everything all at once without any prior warning.
However, the ability to chart their career totally free of restraints is only something the band have obtained recently. In fact, if the band were to confirm Cheer Up a year or two ago, it’s likely the announcement would have likely taken an entirely different form. Following on from the release of their second record Common Sense Holiday last year, the band decided to cut all ties with their then record label. Citing hilariously misguided advice and restrictive holds as their reasons – a topic explored within the aforementioned ‘Quit Your Jobs’ – Cheer Up sees the band going totally solo and independent. For Haggard Cat there’s no label, no PR agency, and most crucially of all, no restrictions whatsoever.
“It definitely feels like a new approach for us. Obviously we come from a DIY background and that’s what we’ve always done. Two albums ago we released Challenger and then we roughed up this record deal and it was completely new to us. We were kind of balled over by it to be honest”, continues Matt when asked about the decision to go it alone. “Although it was great for a little while, and there was definitely a honeymoon period, we soon realised that we didn’t like not doing things on our own terms. That sense started to bridle what we were doing quite a bit. We were doing things focused in a way that was like “this will go out through those channels, it needs to kind of look this for this, that and the other.” All of that started to stifle us in a way.”
“So for that suddenly to have the lid lifted off, it feels like a rebirth. Everything feels fresh and we’re so lucky to do this on this group of songs because it just feels like a breakthrough for us. It just means, anything goes. Absolutely anything goes and that’s really fucking exciting. We don’t have to bite our lip a little bit. We don’t have to think if the record label is going to be upset over anything because there isn’t one. It’s true, honest and energetic.”
Having gone from strength to strength with their first three records, Employed To Serve took the opportunity during their (well-deserved) main stage slot at the Download Pilot last weekend to announce they’d spent lockdown writing and recording their fourth album, titled Conquering. At that point, they tore through its first single that officially came out this Friday, ‘Exist’. A real juggernaut of a song, it sees the band exploring the more metal edges of their sound, replete with thrash segments and a riff heavy enough to level skyscrapers. The roars of “this is hell” are sure to be yelled back at them live and it’s driven by a feral stomp that simply demands circle pits. They’ve also debuted a video alongside it, tying in with the track’s themes of celebrating the highs and lows of existing, where the band are turned into action figures by a young fan who’s clearly ecstatic to have discovered the band, with more than a few easter eggs nodding to their own friends’ bands. Welcome back, Employed To Serve. We missed you.
The second track taken from the Birmingham band’s new release, ‘Unconditional’ is a beautifully oppressive tapestry composed of intertwined doom and shoegaze that depicts the fatalist nature of the modern existence. Released via Church Road Records, this barren monochrome ode is a bleakly gorgeous and ocean-sized soundscape that’s abundant with mirage like qualities that harken back to pioneering acts such as Nothing and Hum. The unison of shoegaze, doom and ethereal post-rock has been popular in recent years, but with this track and the rest of the group’s output floating delicately amongst the likes of Holy Fawn, Slow Crush and Sugar Horse, this track is richly textured proof that Outlander are one of the most promising acts within the haze that cloaks the genre.
Metalcore mob Make Them Suffer have clearly been hard at work since last year’s excellent How To Survive A Funeral and this week released their latest single ‘Contraband’. Not only is it another step forward for the band but it’s also a collaboration with one of the most recognisable and upcoming voices in the scene, Spiritbox’s Courtney LaPlante. Her voice is unmistakeable both in her clean singing and brutal screams that easily reach ‘Holy Roller’ levels of viciousness. Vocalist Sean Harmanis said of the single, “Lyrically, the song is about everything and nothing at the same time. It’s about relationships with friends and family. But it’s also a low-key political song, as well as an expression of the frustrations surrounding COVID and its impact on our lives, particularly as members of the music community. Contraband is a build up – the result of two years without musical catharsis.” It’s a welcome continuation of the band’s run of form and features crushing, vicious riffs and a closing breakdown sure to get bodies flying in the pit.
Despite it being an unnecessarily dirty word for some, it was the halcyon days of nu-metal that truly presented what could be achieved by unionising metal with rap, hip hop and other related subcultures and genres. It was, and still is, a divisive moment in metal’s history, but one that gathered mainstream attention and opened the gates for more hybridisations in similar nature.
Many years and moons have passed since the inception of the nu-metal moment and yet we’re now amidst a total revival and resurgence of the nu-metal genre. However, the asthenic, influences and overall sound is far flung from the days when the genre was synonymous with baggy shorts and hilariously bad facial hair. Spearheaded by trailblazing acts such as Tallah, Tetarch, Lotus Eater and a myriad of others, the current renaissance of the genre has been met with nothing but praise and acclaim. The recent re-emergence of nu metal – something many have dubbed as the birth of nu-core – has seen nothing but pure aggressive dynamism and unrelenting fury from the acts pursuing the sound. One band showcasing pure promise in rising to the top of the ranks of the still blossoming genre is Bristol’s NO:IR.
Originally forming in 2019 in order to chase a more conventional hardcore sound, NO:IR have undergone a substantial, total metamorphosis since the dawning of this year. Taking direct inspiration from the aesthetics of film noir, the thriving, festering Bristolian culture and the urbanite nature of grime and dark pop, recent months have seen NO:IR emerge from the shadows as a more gritty and enigmatic entity. They’re an entity devoted entirely to articulating the cynicism that comes with modern living and the existential philosophy of enduring a pointless existence with a venom laced take on the genre that’s complete with a blend on grime and cutting edge modern metal. Whilst such claims are often uttered about emerging bands, NO:IR’s debut EP Are We Really Alive? demonstrates fierce creativity and a ravaging hunger to stake their claim as one of the South West’s most prominent modern nu-metal bands.
Produced, mixed and mastered by Josh Gallop of Phoxjaw, Are We Really Alive? Is a frantic beast of aggression, resentment and genre dynamism. Against a lacerated backdrop of piledriving riffs, bombastic trap drums and spasmodic vocals that snap between incendiary grime haste and bellowing screams, the group crash though an ornate blend of a myriad of genres in a manner utterly reckless, yet composed. As demonstrated prior to it’s release with the lead single ‘Spineless’ – a track exploring how authoritarian structures are detrimental to individualism and creativity – the EP is a must listen for anyone with even the passing interest in modern nu metal or rap-focused alternative metal. It’s also one for anyone with penchant for bands who harbour a clear artistic vision.
With Are We Really Alive out now independently, we got in touch with the band to find out more about NO:IR, their ethos, the EP and more.
