PET NEEDS release single 'Tracey Emin's Bed' // Watch the video now // Preorder debut album 'Fractured Party Music' out 12 March 2021

The latest single from PET NEEDS’ forthcoming debut album ‘Fractured Party Music’ - out 12 March 2021, preorder on CD, download and transparent blue vinyl (vinyl to arrive in April) - is accompanied by a video. Take a listen to and see ‘Tracey Emin’s Bed’:

“IT’S LIKE TRACEY EMIN’S BED IN MY HEAD!” howls Johnny Marriott in one of the year’s most curiously compulsive choruses thus far.

Inspired by the profound mess of that notorious Turner Prize nominated masterwork, like its namesake ‘Tracey Emin’s Bed’ is a commentary on self-image, public perceptions of appearance and mental health.

“It came from looking at the nature of art and worth, and comparing this to the mental health and self-image topics in the verses,” says Marriott of the track, “the whole song is rife with juxtaposition and contradiction.”

Pausing for thought on notions of selling out, ‘Tracey Emin’s Bed’ began to take shape when Marriott thought he recognised a renowned punk from his town walking home with an M&S meal for two.

“Turns out it wasn’t him, but the first line of this song was already formed: ‘I saw you walking home with your Marks and Spencer’s bag. I thought that punks went to Iceland.’” says Marriott. “It’s quite a ridiculous line when you take time to think about it!”

Taking the song to his brother and lead guitarist George, the pair thrashed out a melody as catchy as its subject matter proved controversial. Throwing-in a riotous rhythm section courtesy of Jack (drums) and Rich (bass), George Marriott adds an admirably avant-garde axe solo. Mixed and mastered by Frank Turner (who also mixed and mastered their forthcoming debut album), the result is a seismic punk record with its vision fixed squarely on the rock club dancefloor.

PET NEEDS were founded in Colchester by brothers George and Johnny Marriott. Composing a clutch of anti-anthems inspired by the disastrous job interviews, self-destruction and river journeys on inflatable kayaks that have defined their lives, the pair have earned a reputation for idiosyncratic lyrics and an effusive energy. Bringing Jack (drums) and Rich (bass) on board to complete the line up, PET NEEDS have quickly risen through the ranks to share stages with the likes of Muncie Girls, Buzzcocks, Maximo Park, PiL and The Undertones. Impressing audiences at several major festivals, it was their explosive live performance at Camden Rocks that would see them win-over: Frank Turner, who would go on to mix and master their debut album..

Like all other bands, PET NEEDS were forced off the road in 2020, but took it as a sign to complete their long awaited debut: ‘Fractured Party Music’. Coruscating the modern malaise with sneers at pretence, musing on artistic ambition versus commercial success, and tales of creativity and failure, ‘Fractured Party Music’ will be a topical blitz upon apathy. Calling on Turner to harness the collision of frenetic energy they have stored up in months bereft of live shows, expect a studio record of electrifying feedback and cynic-stinging lyrics capable of blowing away even the heaviest lockdown hangover.

With a febrile tension that feels like it could erupt at any second, latest single ‘Tracey Emin’s Bed’ is an example of ‘Fractured Party Music’ just as the artist intended.

Crazy Arm release third single 'Fear Up' from forthcoming fourth album 'Dark Hands, Thunderbolts' out 29 January 2021

A firm favourite of the band’s, ‘Fear Up’ is the third track to be taken from Crazy Arm’s fast-approaching new album, ‘Dark Hands, Thunderbolts’ out 29 January 2021. Preorder here on black or white vinyl, CD and download.

Listen to the new single here, with a video due very soon.

Epic of sound and cinematic in scale, ‘Fear Up’ erupts from the speakers like Ennio Morricone conducting the Constantines. From its gunslinging opening guitar lines, to its stentorian rallying cries and palpitating drum rolls, ‘Fear Up’ gallops towards a blazing Mariachi brass inflected finale courtesy of the genius that is Simon Dobson on trumpet.

A brooding and vengeful disposition, not for the faint-hearted, the track finds Crazy Arm musing on a controversial and psychologically coercive military technique that plays on personal terror. As Darren Johns explains: “The title (‘Fear Up’) is US military slang for the use of the spectre of violence to keep citizens submissive and afraid. Naomi Klein explains its nefarious use in her book, ‘The Shock Doctrine’.”

The track arrives hot on the heels of the hard-hitting polito-punk of recent single ‘The Golden Hind’, which alongside ‘Brave Starts Here’; pave the way for their long awaited fourth album ‘Dark Hands, Thunderbolts’. Their first new music in seven long years, it’s a record that promises a return to the rowdy guitars, epic choruses and Americana twang of their first two albums. Though much has changed since they’ve been away, expect a band in reflective, but no less indignant mood.

Speaking about the band’s long awaited return, Darren Johns (vocals/guitar) of Crazy Arm says: “We may be 15 years old now (and more of a fluid collective than a band), and the twin troughs of COVID and Brexit may have scuppered all our best laid tour plans, but we’re not done yet! We hope ‘Dark Hands, Thunderbolts’ makes this current colossal shitshow a little easier to bear. Here’s to the unwritten future.”

Guaranteed to be worth the wait, Dark Hands, Thunderbolts is a sonic and emotional rollercoaster ride that upends expectations at every turn.

Crazy Arm release new single 'The Golden Hind' // New album 'Dark Hands, Thunderbolts' out 29 January 2021

Crazy Arm release their timely latest single, ‘The Golden Hind’ on 14 December, their second from forthcoming fourth album ‘Dark Hands, Thunderbolts’ out 29 January 2021. Preorder the album here on CD, black or white vinyl, and download.

Listen to the new single here or via YouTube below.

A slab of hard-hitting polito-punk, ‘The Golden Hind’ is a sordid and skewered ode to the Devon band’s Brexit-majority hometown of Plymouth. “It’s not our fault that we’re deaf, dumb and blind we say” roars frontman Darren Johns through a maelstrom of thunderous drum rolls, hairpin tight riffs and searing six-string acrobatics.

Packing a spirit and tenacity akin to F**ked Up, Planes Mistaken For Stars and 16 Horsepower, ‘The Golden Hind’ is an adrenaline pulsing, hard-rock epic ripe for these times.

The antithesis to the posi-punk roots stomp of its predecessor, ‘Brave Starts Here’, this latest track offers a bracing second dose of their upcoming fourth albu:’ Dark Hands, Thunderbolts’. Their first new music in seven long years, it’s a record that promises a return to the rowdy guitars, epic choruses and Americana twang of their first two albums. Though much has changed since they’ve been away, expect a band in reflective, but no less indignant mood.

Speaking about the band’s long awaited return, Darren Johns (vocals/guitar) of Crazy Arm says: “We may be 15 years old now (and more of a fluid collective than a band), and the twin troughs of COVID and Brexit may have scuppered all our best laid tour plans, but we're not done yet! We hope ‘Dark Hands, Thunderbolts’ makes this current colossal shitshow a little easier to bear. Here’s to the unwritten future.”

Guaranteed to be worth the wait, Dark Hands, Thunderbolts is a sonic and emotional rollercoaster ride that upends expectations at every turn.

Skinny Lister release brand new single 'Shout It Out' // Watch the video and stream the single now

With a positive burst of energy before 2020 is out, Skinny Lister release brand new single ‘Shout It Out’ today (Friday 11 December 2020). Watch the video below and stream or download the single from your favoured platform here.

Like ‘We Will Rock You’ if it were written by The Pogues, ‘Shout It Out’ is a big, anthemic, universal and uplifting new song from the folk-punk sextet.

A celebration of the communal and fighting spirit humanity can channel when together, ‘Shout It Out’ is perfect for 2020 and for looking towards a brighter 2021.. Skinny Lister’s Dan Heptinstall says of the track: “‘Shout it Out’ is about being optimistic in the face of adversity. It’s a release, a reminder to let go of that unhealthy habit to keep things bottled up inside. A kind of primal scream therapy where we can let go of anxieties, stresses, anger, frustration etc.”

Hallmarked with a Celtic twist that harks back to their very earliest days, but with a confidence that only comes from a band in their prime, ‘Shout It Out’ is a track that finds itself instantly at home in the Skinny Lister canon.

In something of a first for the band, ‘Shout It Out’ was recorded and produced completely in-house, “a liberating experience” Heptinstall says. While the majority of the song’s parts were recorded by members remotely in light of the current circumstances, every care was taken to try to capture the resounding live energy of a Skinny Lister live show in full flight. The talented Tristan Ivemy (who produced the band’s third album ‘The Devil, The Heart & The Fight’) was also drafted in to work his magic on the final mix of the track.

With a chorus destined to be roared back at the band in venues across the land, the track is accompanied with an official video that dares to dream of those scenes next year. Creating a montage of some of the stand-out moments from their headline shows last year, this video is a humbling reminder of just how much we have missed live music this year.

Reflecting on the video, Dan Heptinstall says:

“It was great to be able to pull together some previously unseen live footage from last year’s headline Skinny shows. The crowd hollering along with us with such communal spirit really captures the essence of the track and is a great reminder of what we’ve been missing over this past year. It’s also a celebration and’an optimistic look forward to when those times return and we can shout our hearts out together again.,

‘Shout It Out” follows the band’s recent fifth anniversary re-issue of their breakthrough album ‘Down On Deptford Broadway’. Released on a special deluxe edition vinyl with exclusive new artwork, you can order your copy here.

As folk rock’s rowdiest rabble since 2009, Skinny Lister have reeled and partied into the hearts of the UK, America, Germany and Japan. Passing the growing flagon of their experiences with every album and tour, they’ve led an endless parade gathering fans old and new, from the respected folk circuit to the riotous Download Festival, igniting pogoing mosh-pits at each. Over the past ten years they’ve travelled from rain-soaked London to the vast arteries of the USA, upgrading from narrow boat to Salty Dog Cruise, played huge tours across Europe and North America with Frank Turner, Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly as well as headlining themselves across festivals, sweatboxes and ever-larger venues.

With four albums under their belt, ‘Forge & Flagon’, ‘Down on Deptford Broadway’, ‘The Devil, the Heart & the Fight’ and ‘The Story Is…’ the band have explored a lexicon of tastes through a whirlwind of adventures across the globe.

skinnylister.com // Instagram: @skinnylister // facebook.com/skinnylister // Twitter: @skinnylister // YouTube

Xtra Mile Recordings signs PET NEEDS // Debut album 'Fractured Party Music' out 12 March 2021 // Preorder on transparent blue vinyl, CD and download

Xtra Mile Recordings are pleased to present…PET NEEDS.

Formed in Colchester by brothers Johnny and George Marriott, the pair has signed with the Xtra Mile to unleash the feral thrills of their debut album, ‘Fractured Party Music’, set for release on 12 March 2021.

Preorder on transparent blue vinyl, CD and download.

Mixed and mastered by friend and fan Frank Turner, the four-piece can reveal the first single to be lifted from the record, ‘Pavlovian’. Watch the video below.

Four minutes of piledriving punk-rock that recalls the Sex Pistols through to Enter Shikari, ‘Pavlovian’ demonstrates the band’s barbed wit and razored riffs at their sharpest. A track that in its nature demands your response, it paves the way on a trail of destruction that leads all the way to ‘Fractured Party Music’.

PET NEEDS were born when guitarist George landed on his brother Johnny’s sofa in Colchester after abandoning a job in a Midlands petrol station for the dazzling lights of north Essex. They didn’t have a plan. But they had guitars. Composing a clutch of anti-anthems inspired by the disastrous job interviews, self-destruction and river journeys on inflatable kayaks that had defined their lives so far, their idiosyncratic lyrics and effusive energy soon began to attract all the right attention. Bringing Jack (drums) and Rich (bass) on board to complete the line up, Pet Needs quickly rose through the live ranks to smash sets all across the UK and beyond. Sharing stages and festival bills with the likes of Muncie Girls, Buzzcocks, Maximo Park, PiL and The Undertones, it was their explosive live performance at Camden Rocks that would see them win-over Frank Turner, who would go on to mix and master their upcoming album, .

Like all other bands, Pet Needs were forced off the road in 2020, but took it as a sign to complete their long awaited debut ‘Fractured Party Music’. Coruscating the modern malaise with sneers at pretense, musing on artistic ambition versus commercial success, and tales of creativity and failure, ‘Fractured Party Music’ will be a topical blitz upon apathy. Calling on Frank Turner to harness the collision of frenetic energy they have stored up in months bereft of live shows, expect a seismic studio record of screeching feedback and cynic-baiting lyrics capable of blowing away even the heaviest lockdown hangover.

www.petneedsband.com

Crazy Arm release first album in seven years 'Dark Hands, Thunderbolts' on 29 January 2021 // Limited edition black or white vinyl on 19 March 2021 // Listen to new single 'Brave Starts Here' now

Seven years since their last official release, Crazy Arm will release fourth studio album Dark Hands, Thunderbolts on 29 January 2021 on CD and download, with a limited edition black or white vinyl release on 19 March 2021. Preorder the new album here.

A shot out of the blue, the Devon punk-roots trail-blazers release an incendiary new single ‘Brave Starts Here’ out now. Listen to it on various streaming platforms here. Watch the video below.

Rigorously road-tested during the interim years between third album ‘The Southern Wild’ and now, 'Brave Starts Here' is a breathless ode to heartbreak, loneliness, ageing and self-determination, occupying that sweet spot between bluegrass and punk rock. It's also a tribute to their good friends and labelmates, Larry & His Flask.

An emphatic lead single and a statement loud-and-clear that they’re back in business, ‘Brave Starts Here’ triggers the countdown to a fourth studio album on Xtra Mile Recordings, ‘Dark Hands, Thunderbolts’. It’s a record that promises a return to the rowdy guitars, epic choruses and Americana twang of their first two albums and will find the band in a reflective, but no less indignant mood. Despite spending only three weeks in the studio, it took the band four years to complete. To cut a long story short, life got in the way.

Explaining their long absence, frontman Darren Johns writes:

“Our last record, 'The Southern Wild', was released in 2013. A year later we almost called it a day but Jon (Dailey - guitar) said we should record one more album. Behold! We demoed these songs in the summer of 2016 with our good friend, Tim Langsford, on drums, and started recording properly that winter with Tim and regular live drummer, Matt Colwell, on board. We finished recording in the summer of 2020, although we only spent three weeks actually working on the album. Suffice to say, this has been a very protracted affair.

“Over the four years, the songs effectively grew up, hit puberty, left home and came back with crow's feet and new pronouns. In the meantime, Jon got married, had a baby, and became a professional tattooist; Matt upped sticks again and settled in sunny Bournemouth; Luke (Yates - fiddle) got married and moved to Leeds; our good friend, Dan James, became our new bassist; Samantha Spake joined as second violinist; the ace Tia Kalmaru and Becky Saxton started singing with us; I fulfilled my dream of touring the USA, started playing solo as Warshy (as in, shy of war), and bid a final farewell to my mum and cat; and the world got disproportionately more unstable.

We may be 15 years old now (and more of a fluid collective than a band), and the twin troughs of COVID and Brexit may have scuppered all our best laid tour plans, but we're not done yet! We hope 'Dark Hands, Thunderbolts' makes this current colossal shitshow a little easier to bear. Here's to the unwritten future.”

Dark Hands, Thunderbolts will feature the heaviest, the lightest and the most expansive songs that Crazy Arm have recorded, with a strong cinematic influence at play. 'Montenegro', 'Blessed & Cursed', 'Fear Up' and 'Howl Of The Heart' all betray the band's oft-mentioned fondness for Ennio Morricone, Murder By Death and Constantines, while the two mournful interludes, 'Dearborn' and 'Paradiso' are soundtrack scores-in-waiting, featuring Samantha Spake and Simon Dobson on violin and trumpet, respectively. Of course, the band's stock-in-trade – breathless punk rock riffola, Appalachian harmonies, syncopated rhythms, anthemic singalongs – are still very present, correct and unrelenting.

Despite the long gestation period, the album sees Crazy Arm touch upon a varied and timely array of subject matter. 'And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Meds' and 'Demonised' lay existential despair bare via caffeinated post-hardcore, 'Loose Lips' wades through Southern sludge with a salute to refugees, 'The Golden Hind' violently skewers the band's Brexit-majority hometown, 'Mow The Sward' turns alienation into a heartland rock anthem, 'Epicurean Firestorm' remoulds Arcade Fire in a cauldron of guitars and body dysmorphia, and 'Health Is In You!' is a pro-feminist clarion call that sounds like ZZ Top mentoring Hot Snakes.

Guaranteed to be worth the wait, ‘Dark Hands, Thunderbolts’ is a sonic and emotional rollercoaster ride that upends expectations at every turn. So, take a seat and hold on tight, it all begins with ‘Brave Starts Here’...

Album tracklisting

1 Montenegro
2 Blessed & Cursed
3 Brave Starts Here
4 Fear Up
5 interlude: Dearborn
6 The Golden Hind
7 Loose Lips
8 Mow The Sward
9 Trail Of Meds
10 interlude: Paradiso
11 Epicurean Firestorm
12 Howl Of The Heart
13 Demonised
14 Health Is In You!

crazyarmband.com // crazyarm.bandcamp.com // facebook.com/thecrazyarm