Following support from the likes of BBC 6 Music’s Marc Riley for debut single ‘We Don’t Need Room For Lovin’, Welsh trio The Bug Club have now shared recent single ‘Check Mate’ ahead of the release of their debut EP Launching Moondream One later this month.
Delivering their uniquely uplifting, frenetic brand of garage rock, The Bug Club provide the perfect soundtrack to these increasingly sun-filled days. Propelled by a vibrant, driving energy, ‘Check Mate’ oozes a playful sense of euphoria as gloriously scuzzy hooks race alongside blissful harmonies.
We caught up with bassist and vocalist Tilly to find out more…
Hi The Bug Club, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourselves?
Hi, thanks for having us! We’re a three piece based in Caldicot, South Wales. Dan is actually from Kidderminster but the rest of the band is based in Caldicot so we just say that. I (Tilly) play bass and vocals, Sam plays guitar and vocals and Dan plays drums. My favourite colours are orange and green, Sam likes orange too and Dan likes yellow and blue. Our special skills are: I’m good at losing things, Sam’s good at guessing the time and Dans good at getting his car stuck in the mud.
How did you initially decide to start creating music together?
Me and Sam weren’t enjoying Uni so we decided to pack it in and start a band. we have been playing on and off since school but our shit time at Uni really gave us a kick up the arse to start doing something we actually wanted to do. Sam and Dan attended the same Uni so that’s how we drafted him in.
You’re about to release your debut EP Launching Moondream One at the end of this month – are there any particular themes running throughout it?
We decided to name the EP after the last song on it. Ben’s (Mr Ben and The Bens) art is really cool so we thought it would be good to give him free rein and let him do whatever came to mind when he heard the words Launching Moondream One. I guess the theme stemmed from there and became quite spacey.
We love your jangly, uplifting garage-rock sounds, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
Ideal band/musical scenario at the moment is Patti Smith and Jonathan Richman on lead vocals, Peter Paul and Mary on backing vocals, Mike Bloomfield on lead guitar, rhythm section from the Violent Femmes and they only ever play ‘It’s Only Life’ by The Feelies.
You’re from a small town in Wales – in ‘normal’ times, how is the music scene down there? Do you get the chance to see much live music?
There’s a bunch of good bands but it’s too small for any venues so we all just go to Newport, Cardiff and Bristol. We’re sandwiched between all those places so we get to see a load of bands when we’re not skint.
How have you been connecting with your audience and other musicians during the pandemic?
We’ve been laying pretty low and luckily managed to record between lockdowns to get this EP done. The connecting will hopefully start happening now the world is feeling better. Marc Riley has been really great to us though and has showed some strangers our songs which we are eternally grateful for!
And has there been anything/anyone specific that has been inspiring you, or helping to motivate you, throughout these strange times?
We have quite enjoyed being able to write a bunch of stuff with no real reason or aim of doing anything with it. There is only so many times a walk to the old windmill stays fun though so.. Beans on Toast, the hit live Saturday morning TV show is our new favourite thing. It’s made by a bunch of the people involved with Bingo Records and has no business being that good and funny. Go find it on YouTube!!
How do you feel the music industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
I like to think that if you try and make stuff that you think is good, be nice and when you’re ready try and reach out to people that you would genuinely like to work with, then things will probably work out alright. If you want to get noticed that is. I think being in a band feels mostly the same at whatever level you’re doing it at. You’re playing the same songs with the same people so don’t put too much time into the other bit. But who the heck am I!?
As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other upcoming bands that you’d recommend we check out?
There’s so many we love at the moment I can’t think on one we wouldn’t recommend! Also with the lack of gigs lately I’d happily watch any person make any noise for about £6 at the moment. Melin Melyn, HMS Morris, Potpourri, Twin Stranger and Sub Cultures will all blow your dick off though.
Finally, what does the rest of 2021 have in store for The Bug Club?
Well we’re hoping to retire off the earnings from this small EP and live expensively in Devon perhaps. But Plan B is to release another something later in the year and play live as much as possible until then! Our biggest dream is to go to Margate and play a big gig with everyone at Bingo Records, that would be heaven. We can only dream.
Massive thanks to Tilly for answering our questions!
Mastered by Eddie Al-Shakarchi, Launching Moondream One, the upcoming debut EP from The Bug Club, is out 30th April via Bingo Records. It will be released on a 7” orange vinyl and comes with the added extras of a comic book, a packet of ‘moon dust’ and secret bonus downloads that differ with each copy.
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