Philosophy

Dogs! Teeth! Release A Family Fantasy

10th May 2023 — 1 Comment

Ever imagined you were adopted?

Childhood. Scraped knees and melted ice cream. Sunshine on schooldays and wet weekends, a life full of play pretend. Quick kissed plasters and playgrounds full of laughter, true faith in that happiness ever after. Looking back, was it all that or was it black? A hole in your memory that only floods occasionally, on the commute to work, a smashed dinner plate, a loud voice in your head, sent outside in the rain again.A few too many drinks into Friday night your mind shows you what it was really like, a head haunted by the ghosts of who you could have been if you had just had the parents your friends had.

A Family Fantasy official music video

A family fantasy is a tongue and cheek track discussing how experiences in childhood hinder our growth as adults. Unfazed and unbothered, sipping tea through harsh realties, turning away from adversity, you can not feel comforted by a cold hand. Who we were brought up to be prevents us from becoming who we are meant to be. Stiff upper lips mirror a face full of tears, suck it up and stand straight, stoic. Polluting their child’s air with poison from their own tongue, aren’t we supposed to protect our young?

The track itself embraces resentment and anger at what could have been in a humorous fast paced way to create an irreverent beat full of energy and anguish, staying true to the bands philosophy of discussing serious topics in a not so serious way. Elements of Queens of The Stone Age, The smashing Pumpkins and The Pixies are definitely imbued in this sound but it is ultimately the eccentric soul of Dogs! Teeth! that give this song its bite.

Set to release on this Friday, 12th of May, there will be a launch party gig on the same day, at Mama Liz’s Voodoo Lounge in Stamford, with Das Kapitans, The Dodo Appreciation Society and Muzzle, courtesy of Socks on Records.

The three piece came together through their love of 90’s alternative guitar sounds in Peterborough, 2022 , despite being brand new Dogs! Teeth! have already received airtime from the likes of WolfmanRadio, Peterborough City Radio and BBC introducing, it’s no surprise that they’ve joined Socks on Records, local DIY Indie band camp label.

Manchester band cruush release debut EP Wishful Thinker

24th Apr 2023 — 1 Comment

Fall in love with this latest release.

cruush captured by Aneela Siddiqui

The quickest way to regain your youth is to have a crush on someone. The rush of blood to your cheeks you catch a glimpse of your cute co-worker’s eye as they peer through the glass of that Monday morning meeting room, lose the ability to structure the sentence to your usual coffee order as your favourite barista. The thrill of the chase, the hope of planting a smile on their face, having a crush is like sitting in a large walled flower garden that’s slowly beginning to burn, it is enjoying the scenery with the threat of impending doom, or growth and fruition, a crush is there perseverance of possibility.

Wishful Thinker

True to their name, cruush’s debut EP Wishful Thinker explores the themes of having a crush from the thrill, the jealousy, the desperation, and heartbreak. Vocalist and front person Amber Warren explains our music has the sweet elements of having a crush on someone but the screeching of an industrial car crusher”.

Formed from the feral depths of freshers week when Warren met, current guitarist, Arthur Boyd met at some ‘shitty event’ and formed a connection. Fully fleshed out when they were joined by drummer Fotis Kalantizis and bassist Ru Cowl, cruush was set on reimagining the shoe gaze genre for the modern age, by introducing a blend of verbs in crisis to reflect current day sensibilities, resulting in shoegaze by digital natives, a generation whom pluralism is commonplace, defining themselves as half memory and have anticipation. If you are a fan of My Bloody Valentine, Wolf Alice and The Cranberries you will call ‘Wishful Thinker’ your home.

The same titled lead track Wishful Thinker has a whimsical charm, that evokes ethereal, the magical moments you share with your crush as you hope you’re becoming closer, you feel like you’ve mastered a skill with no effort. In reality you’re crawling through sand, burns on your body believing your crawling closer to a cascading waterfall, when really, you’re plummeting to your downfall. The stemming watercolour flow state of guitar is met by mournful utterances on toxicity, physiological decline, Narcissistic behaviours, and pessimistic tendencies. The truth is having a crush is soul crushing, you sip your mind with what ifs, you waste time triple checking your teeth in the mirror and analysing their snap score to see if they’re ignoring you. Logical and intellect are the victim of this haze, this little crush is no longer a phase. Warren’s melodic splendour is antidote-like, a siren stealing attention from the tidal waves of noise with queasy timbres of disillusion, doubt, and confusion.  Wishful thinker is no doubt an appropriate figurehead of this musical ship, preparing you for both smooth sailing and Tsunamis, on the ocean of love.

Meeting each other in Manchester and sharing our time here has shaped our sound more than anything else” explains Boyd.So, no matter if cruush lean into 80s indie, alternative 90s or the Seattle sound, they’re able to plug their rock into the aquatic textures of the city in which they reside.  


The EP was released with the help of fellow Mancunians and tastemaker label, Heist or Hit – responsible for launching the careers of Her’s, pizzagirl, Eades and more – offers cruush the chance to spread this message far and wide. And how widely it already has been received, with standing ovations and radio play in tow crush have received accolades from the likes of  Jack Saunders (BBC Radio 1), Steve Lamacq, Tom Robinson & Chris Hawkins (BBC Radio 6), John Kennedy (Radio X), Simone Butler (Soho Radio), Consequence of Sound, Bandcamp Daily, NME, CLASH, So Young and GIGWISE.On the live side, cruush have bagged supports with BDRMM, NewDad, The Lounge Society, Far Caspian, Pale Blue Eyes, Priest gate and Ian Sweet, while selling out hometown headline dates at Gullivers & YES.  

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Head to their website for more information surrounding their next live event on the 2nd September at Manchester Psych Fest. 

Tell The bees- Otala’s latest release.

20th Oct 2022 — Leave a comment
Otala

Otala instantly bang on your ear drums with this new track Tell The Bees. First listen and you’re immediately submerged within the sound of this song, no build up, no warning, and you’re hit with an audible ambush.An eruption of emotion and colourful experiences, an exploration of grief and coming to terms with the inevitable.

Telling the bees is a Celtic custom about informing the yellow helpers of a birth, of a death, when someone comes, when they go. This is done so that the bees stay, tell them your secrets or they’ll fly away. This tale is liquefied to music in Otala’s latest punk anthem, with it’s omniscient narrator seemingly aware of his impending fate.

The track is filled with rage, honouring the inescapable demise of our desperate storyteller. The devoid life we live after loss is explored in poem. There is lightning in these lyrics that crash through the thunderous storm of shredding guitar riffs and drum stabs, the atmosphere reaches a dramatic crescendo in the final words of the narrator. When uttered are met with a raucous bossa nova style sax, an explosion of sound- chaos ensues as the narrator rests. Is this ending an act of rebellion or a celebration at his passing?

In actuality it does not matter if we tell the bees, the inevitable will continue to occur, not as some synthetic concept looming in the future, it lurks on every clock turn and there is nothing we can do to prevent it. The inevitable can strike a smiling face as well as one soaked in tears. Thus it is best to rebel, to dance to live as well as you can whilst the inevitable watches.Look into its eyes and dance anyway.

Otala have already established themselves as punk pioneers after supporting the likes of, Enola Gay, Ritual Hills and Bloodworm, they have also played with the likes of Yabba who you can read about here.The quartet is made up of Oscar, providing the eery voice for the narrator and the surreal guitar riffs, Rory providing the boom on bass, Jack disorienting a listener with this melancholic tale on synths and Fin keeping everything in check on drums.

Click here to see this band Live in action.