INTERVIEW: Happy Accidents

I’ve been a mega fan of Happy Accidents since first falling in love with the South London based duo at the late, great Indietracks Festival in 2018, and have been an avid follower of the active roles that both Rich and Phoebe have continued to play in the DIY music scene over the years, including their other musical projects including ME REX and Cheerbleederz. So, I was super excited to hear that they’ve now announced that they’ll be releasing a new album at the end of this month, and playing their first live show in five years tomorrow!

Ahead of the imminent gig and album release, I had a little chat with Phoebe from the band about what inspires them, how their recording process has evolved, the ‘secret world’ around the new album, the struggles of being a new artist in the industry at the moment, and more… Have a read, and make sure you pre-order Edit Undo now!

Hi Happy Accidents, welcome to Get In Her Ears! How are you both doing today?
Really good thanks! Getting ready for our first show in ages (tomorrow 3rd September at Paper Dress Vintage) which is super exciting. 

You’ve been making music together for about ten years now – are you able to tell us a little bit about how you initially met and decided to start creating together? 
We were connected through our mutual pal Connor who I was playing in a band with at the time in Southampton. We all started playing gigs together pretty soon after that, along with Rich’s brother Neil. There was a pretty good DIY scene at the time there and we got to play and meet bands like Muncie Girls and Great Cynics, got inspired by so many lovely people and the rest is history! 

I’m such a fan of your lush jangly sounds and the heartfelt emotion that flows throughout your songs. So, I just wondered if there’s anything or anyone that you’re particularly inspired by when writing your gorgeous music?
Thank you so much! We listen to so many artists between us and we were talking the other day about what links them, and we think it’s that raw expressiveness and clear love of their craft – you can tell they’d be making their music no matter what. That really inspires us when we’re writing – channelling our faves and figuring out what we want to make that day. Some songs never make it out, but the process of writing and recording them still gets us to good places; questioning what we want things to sound like and how we want them to evolve. And just what we think sounds cool! 

Your brand new album Edit Undo is set for release at the end of the month, which is super exciting – I can’t wait! Can you tell us about the inspirations behind the album, and if there are any themes running through it? 
We wrote and recorded as we went, over a period of nearly a year and – as a result – themes sort of developed on their own, rather than us having any preconceived ideas. But, if we had to narrow it down maybe we could include things like:

  • Finding the important things that make your life worth living, especially amongst all the awful things we hear about in the news on a daily basis.
  • Realising everyone sees things differently, and all the contrasting ways events can be interpreted.
  • Choice paralysis and deciding what your values are, especially as you get a little older and feel like you’re at a cross-road; realising you can’t plan anything, so don’t worry about it.

And how would you say the process of recording it has differed from your previous releases? 
It’s probably the most experimental and laid back we’ve been! We didn’t rehearse or plan anything really – everything was just exploring in the studio, which we’re lucky to be able to do because Rich can record it and so the costs are a lot lower. When we were making our first few records, we were recording in different cities and doing something like ten days in a row, and so naturally we’d need to be really prepared for that; there would be a lot of planning, rehearsing, tweaking, demoing etc. This album couldn’t have been more different! It just sort of formed itself because we gave it the time and space to do so. It feels more like our lives, rather than something we made, which is a good feeling.

In the run up to the album’s release, you’ve introduced a ‘secret world’ around it with special releases and features only accessible to fans who’ve pre-ordered the record or searched for the hidden artist page. Can you tell us more about this and the reasons for doing it? 
With the last few releases we’ve done, we’ve just put it out online within two weeks, but this time it felt right to let it breathe a bit. We are always interested in finding ways that we can do things a bit differently. Also, streaming is a bit of a bin fire, and often nowadays it feels like you make art to put up an Instagram post, and then it disappears within a week. To us, it felt like a good way to incentivise getting a bit more involved, and have layers for those who want it. If you pre-order the album you get added to a mailing list where we’ve set up a sort of alternate timeline for the album that all takes place in the 1800s. There are more singles, alternate versions, and you also get the whole album on a secret streaming page a month early. We could have just sent the files out, but it felt like a more engaging way of releasing music that also incorporates how most people listen nowadays. Thanks to everyone who’s got involved with it! It felt like an opportunity to make releasing music fun, and building a world around things has always felt important to us.

To celebrate the album, you’re playing a release show on tomorrow, 3rd September, at Paper Dress Vintage (already got my ticket – I can’t wait!) – this’ll be your first live gig as a band in about five years, so it must feel extra special! How are you feeling about this? And what can fans expect from the show? 
Honestly just so excited! We’ve got our friend Kris who also plays in Lazy Day’s band on bass, and we’re relieved people are coming. We’ll be doing a mix of songs, some oldies and obviously a bunch of new ones. There are some songs that we put out years ago but never got the chance to play live before the pandemic, so that’ll be fun. Paper Dress Vintage is quite a homely venue to do it in too, and Myles is opening with a ME REX solo set – we’re genuinely looking forward to seeing a ME REX set from the crowd! 

You’ve played loads of amazing gigs over the years, touring with the likes of Muncie Girls and Fresh, and playing festivals such as 2000 Trees and Truck Festival (and I remember a particularly lovely set at Indietracks in 2018 – RIP to the best festival!). But is there a particular show you’ve played that stands out as a highlight, or as particularly memorable?
That Indietracks one is definitely up there for sure – it was where we got everyone to boo us, which is a core memory. Such a shame it’s not going anymore but we’re so grateful we got to do it! Our first album release show at Urban Bar with Colour Me Wednesday, Fresh and ME REX was great; both our Mums came and it was funny seeing them outside afterwards, all sweaty and hanging with our friends. We’ve played some weird ones too… In converted Frankfurt prisons, all sorts of German squats, been caught in snow storms – all sorts of stuff!

And when you’re out on tour, or playing gigs, are there any particular essentials that you like to have with you to keep you going?
Aside from all the obvious (earplugs, sharpies), maybe water? Portable coffee cups! Maybe Berocca?

As we’re an organisation with a focus on supporting new artists, I just wondered how you feel the industry is for new artists at the moment? And do you feel much has changed over the years in its treatment of female and queer artists?
It’s probably harder than ever to be a new artist; so much of the infrastructure that existed for us when we started no longer exists. Press and radio aren’t what they were, there’s so many less promoters, everything’s about five times the cost that it used to be. It’s really grim out there! But I mean those who are putting on shows, playing new bands and supporting new music are more important than ever – so that’s very much appreciated. When we were starting, it felt like Phoebe playing drums was a real rarity, and that’s not the case any more at all – so representation is definitely getting better, partly thanks to grassroots organisations like Girls Rock London, Come Play with Me, and loads more. Change is possible, but then there’s still a lot of work to do. What good is getting through the door, if there is no real structure to facilitate a career in music after that point? At this point, we very much know that playing music isn’t going to pay our bills, but it would be nice if future generations didn’t have it getting increasingly worse year on year.

And are there any other new bands or artists that you’d recommend we check out?
You probably know them! We love the band adults. We’re also looking forward to the Trust Fund album. Lazy Day is great and they have a new album coming out. cheerbleederz are good eggs, and ME REX also good… !

And, finally, following the album release next month, what do Happy Accidents have in store for the rest of the year?
We don’t really know! We’re recording more music at the moment! Our other band ME REX is going on tour with Los Campesinos which will be fun. Maybe there’ll be more HapAx shows…? It feels like we’ve done way too much practising to just play the one!
Thanks for talking to us, we really appreciate the work you do!!

And we really appreciate all that Happy Accidents do, and the gorgeous music they continue to create. Massive thanks to Phoebe for answering our questions!

Edit Undo, the upcoming new album from Happy Accidents, is set for release on 27th September via Alcopop! Records – pre-order here. Catch Happy Accidents live at Paper Dress Vintage tomorrow, 3rd September – tickets here.

Photo Credit: Benjamin Whitley

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INTERVIEW: Los Bitchos

Following the success of their 2022 debut Let The Festivities Begin, London based Los Bitchos are now ready to release their brand new album, Talkie Talkie, this Friday 30th August via City Slang. Known for their ability to fuse together layers of colourful instrumentation to create joyous cacophonies, the new album combines elements ranging from Turkish psych and Cumbian Guacharaca rhythms, to funk-fuelled hooks and the racing excitement of comic book-inspired storylines, to create a thrilling, fun-filled collection; oozing a rousing sonic euphoria throughout. 

Whilst Let The Festivities Begin very much did what it said on the tin, the new album picks up and develops its celebratory mood: “The first album was about getting the party started…”, synth and keytar player Agustina Ruiz reflects, “… and now (with Talkie Talkie) it’s more like, let’s continue the party!”. 

I catch up with Ruiz and lead guitarist Serra Petale a week before the new album is due for release, and they’re clearly very excited to finally share it with the world after touring and promoting their debut for the last few years. Centred around the concept of a club that the band are inviting you to – “… there’s something in there for everyone. Different rooms with different themes, and everything’s fabulous!” – Talkie Talkie showcases how Los Bitchos have honed and developed their sound. Discussing how the album differs from its predecessor, Petale explains: “I feel like we, as musicians, are probably a bit more experienced by this point; we went in knowing more about how we wanted to record the songs…” Reflecting on how the song ideas were clearer and more developed this time around, she continues, “Recording the first album, we were just kind of really starting out, and now we’ve got that under our belt, and we’ve had a lot more studio experience as well, which has been pretty helpful. Now (with Talkie Talkie), we just wanted to keep going and keep evolving. You don’t really want to make the same album twice.”

Whilst Petale does the majority of the songwriting, the process of recording and performing is always very much a collaborative process for the band: “I often start by writing all of the parts, because that’s how I can best form the song… ”, she reflects, “… then, of course, things might develop and change… But this is good because you want people to put their own touches onto their parts. And then sometimes that difference is what makes the song all the more rich.” Initially meeting roughly eight years ago, Petale and Ruiz, later joined by band mates Josefine Jonsson (bass) and Nic Crawshaw (drums), clearly work well as a team, and their closeness as friends is evident when listening to their joyous creations; this element of collaboration being something which they all really value. “It’s so important to make sure that everyone feels creatively expressive. We are very much a band, and everyone is so integral…”, Petale shares when asked about the recording process, “I mean I love songwriting, I think it’s my favourite part of being in a band, so I personally need that creative output. But it’s really interesting to see the development of the songs; like perhaps I’ve just put down an idea on my computer, and then when we go to play it, it’ll inevitably change again. And that’s the fun of it.”

With such a unique and eclectic range of sounds apparent throughout their songs, Los Bitchos find it hard to pick out any specific influences, but rather attribute what inspires them more to the mood that they aim to create through their music: “You just get so inspired by bands or songs that you love and that make you feel a certain way. And I think a lot of what inspires me comes from wanting to emulate those same feelings.” If their aim is to emulate feelings of pure ecstasy and blissful abandon, then Los Bitchos have certainly succeeded in what they set out to do; and this distinct sense of fun and carefree swirling energy particularly shines through in their videos: “We just really love making videos!”, Ruiz admits in response to me gushing over how much I love their recent visual for ‘Kiki, You Complete Me’, “We have all these ideas that just kind of come out of nowhere. Then we have Tom (Mitchell), and we’re just like ‘Tom, we want to do this’, and then he goes and makes it look really cool. But we all really enjoy the process. We’re super involved in everything.” Petale adds: “We just get to dress up and be the most ridiculous characters. I sometimes can’t believe this is my job – it’s so fun!”

The fun that the band are having is something you’ll know all about if you’ve ever seen them perform live; seeing them at Deer Shed Festival this summer was pretty wonderful, and they’ve played many festivals over the last few years, but one experience will always stick in their minds: “Glastonbury!”, Petale and Ruiz exclaim in unison when asked to pick a highlight. Reflecting on their experience playing the legendary festival last year, Petale reminisces, “It was iconic. I remember that moment when we out onto the Park Stage, and we saw so many people there. I remember just being like, ‘Oh my God, is this what it’s like?!’… It was an incredible feeling. Incredible! And it was so nice to experience that together as a band.”

Los Bitchos’ enjoyment of live shows isn’t limited to festivals, however. Set to head out to the States soon to play a run of headline shows, ahead of embarking on a UK and European tour later this Autumn, they have fond memories of the last time the played North America: “It’s so much fun playing in the US. We have friends in almost every city, so it’s always a good time.”, Ruiz begins, before recalling a particularly lively night in Dallas. “Yeah…”, Petale agrees, “… whenever we’ve gone to the US, people are so friendly! Like, super willing to talk to you. It’s just really, really nice.” Despite their love of a good time, maintaining some downtime and self-care remains important to the band whilst out on tour. Agustina, for instance, always takes a book with her to read on the road – “It’s so important to me. Whatever kind of book I’m in the mood for – like, for this US tour, I’m going to take one about the Tudors.” For Serra, however, it’s all about skincare – “… You know when you come out of a gig and you’re so disgusting (which happens to me a lot, because I sweat so much), and then you come into your room, and you can just wash, and it’s like, it’s just a little bit of comfort. And I enjoy it.”

Having the opportunity to go out on tour and have fun on the road isn’t something that Los Bitchos take for granted, and they appreciate how different things may have been for them had they been a band a few decades ago: “Comparing now to, say, the ‘70s, when being a woman in the music industry must have been hell, I think things are definitely better now…” Ruiz muses, “There’s still more changing that needs to be done, but it has changed. It is more accepting…” Reflecting on how increased acceptance and visibility for women and queer artists, particularly over the last ten years, has improved the industry, Petale adds: “A lot of artistry is queer in itself… And I think something really positive now is that there is more of a push to accept yourself and for people to accept you as you are. And I think that it’s really wonderful to see so many queer artists. And I love that term because it brings a lot of people together… Giving visibility and housing a place of acceptance for queer artists is just absolutely essential. And I love that about music, and I love that about artistry.” She goes on to emphasise that at Los Bitchos gigs, they aim to create a safe and inclusive space for all: “We would always say that everyone is always welcome at our shows, and you should just feel that you can just be yourself. That’s paramount.” A band after our own hearts for sure!

Huge thanks to Serra and Agustina for making time to chat to me. I can’t wait for the new album, and very much hope to be able to be a part of the immensely joyous experience of seeing Los Bitchos live again soon! And, if you haven’t had the chance yet, you really must get down to one of the upcoming dates (or if you have before, you probably already have tickets as you’ll be aware of how much fun it is!). After their US tour next month, they’ll be travelling around the UK for a load of headline dates in October. Find all information and tickets here. And, if you can’t wait for then, they’ll be celebrating the release of Talkie, Talkie, with a special DJ set at Someday in Finsbury Park this Friday 30th August (nab a free ticket here), and then playing a one-off in-store show at Rough Trade East on 3rd September. 

Talkie, Talkie, the brand new album from Los Bitchos, is out this Friday 30th August via City Slang. Pre-order here.

Photo Credit: Tom Mitchell

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ALBUM: Mammoth Penguins – ‘Here’

There’s a cliché that, as bands mature, they tend to drift away from something essential into experimentation. For Cambridge’s Mammoth Penguins – made up of Emma Kupa (vocals, guitars), Mark Boxall (bass, keys, vocals), and Tom Barden (drums, percussion, vocals) – their fourth album – Here – takes things way, way back. To such an extent that, though largely recorded at Norfolk’s Sickroom Studios, the band decided to make additions to the album in the simpler environment of a garden shed belonging to Tom.

It’s not surprising then, that the album blends some of the rawer elements of garage or US college rock, and smatters of math-rock, alt-country and post-punk, with the more whimsical instrumentation of British indie-pop. The lyrical approach of the latter, open-hearted and often confessional, is present throughout with narratives that appear to be drawn directly from songwriter Emma’s life. In that way, and especially given the album’s title, the whole appears to be an attempt to define where, in 2024, Here is.

The dozen songs on the album zip by, despite frequent switch-ups of pace. Structurally, the songs are mostly grouped thematically in pairs; this is most clearly demonstrated in the titles of consecutive songs ‘Old Friends’ (a lilt full of jaunty strums which has both bleeps and a full-on rock guitar solo in its middle eight and lyrics expounding on the positivity of reuniting), and ‘Lost Friends’, which is acoustic guitar led and brief (coming in at less than two minutes) but as poignant as its title suggests. Elsewhere, Emma’s lyrics discuss the relative ups and downs of being in bands – ‘Flyers’ with its bouncy bass, and ‘Blue Plaque’, with its overdriven lead guitar. She reflects on surviving the days in ‘Help Yourself’ (whose Camera Obscura style opener, blends into guitars full of whammy) and the gentler sound of ‘Success’, which opens with birdsong but still contains biting lyrics in its final chorus: “Fuck success, fuck expectation”.  

There are bops, in the shape of the album’s second single ‘Everything That I Write‘, where spiky guitar flecks and power chords belie lyrical discussion of someone dedicated to a band. Similarly, ‘Nothing and Everything’ is a full-on stomper, with spectral guitar and interwoven backing vocals, while lead single and album opener ‘Species‘ discusses Emma’s relative unimportance against the “between two-hundred and two-thousand species that go extinct each year”, as a flurry of percussion explodes beneath the vocal line.  

What the album really leaves you with, though, is the sense that there is an emotional core underneath the rock stylings. ‘I Know The Signs’ is alt-country (with shades of Courtney Barnett), and reflects on a relationship going south. ‘Here’ sits Emma’s yearning vocals prominently alongside acoustic guitar, with lyrics about waiting for an unknown person who will partner you in adventures. Album closer ‘A Plea for Kindness’ is the nearest to an outright political statement, as its title suggests. Its opening lines “I don’t care what’s in your pants, I care what comes out of your mouth” begin against a downbeat bass, but as the song progresses, with the same lyrics repeated throughout, it turns musically into a garage stramash, clocking in at five minutes ten. Directed at the completely ill-founded and unnecessary hatred and prejudice that transphobic people insist on sharing, it offers  a heartfelt message of solidarity with our trans and gender non-conforming siblings. A fitting summary of the album that has preceded it.  

For Mammoth Penguins then, Here is where you were, where you are, and where you’ll be, with someone new but thinking about those that have gone; not getting what you want, but striving for more anyway. And, in another year of social and political upheaval, what better directions could there be?

Here, the new album from Mammoth Penguins, is out now via Fika Recordings. Find it on bandcamp.

John McGovern
@etinsuburbiaego

Photo Credit: Gavin Singleton

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LISTEN: Charley Stone – ‘Better With You’

The PR for the latest Charley Stone single describes her as a ‘scene queen’. Hype, you may well initially think, but Charley’s been more than prolific for a long while. Having played with the likes of Salad, Charley currently plays guitar on tour with both Sleeper and Desperate Journalist. Her tribute band work is almost a Wikipedia page in itself: The Fallen Women (an all-female Fall karaoke band), ABBA Stripes (ABBA played by a White siblings-esque duo), Hive Fives (part of The Hives franchising of their own band) and The Dumb Blondes (a Dolly Parton tribute), to name just a few. Now, after so long playing others’ parts, Charley Stone is prepping to release her debut solo album, with musical support from her group, The Actual Band.

Before the album is released next month, Charley brings us its second single – ‘Better With You‘, the follow-up to last month’s ‘A Scream’.  But where the latter was spacey and darkly psychedelic, ‘Better With You’ finds us very much at the kitchen-sink, with Charley’s lyrics outlining the image of a couple making the misstep of travelling to a wedding. Musically, it’s more raw too; the association with The White Stripes is apparent here, with the guitars stripped back and fuzzy and drums way up in the mix, and there’s a resemblance to The Lovely Eggs in there – no great surprise given Holly Ross’ own Britpop to neo-garage trajectory. In addition, with the lyrical evocation of chaotic people combined with lo-fi guitar, there’s also an echo of Wild Billy Childish’s work from the noughties, albeit with vocals that sound somewhat akin to Lush’s Miki Berenyi. That’s not to say that this has been simply slung together, even if – as Charley herself describes it – the track was virtually recorded as live, “guitar solo and all”.

Lyrically, the track heads in one direction, indicating that the pair it depicts are simply “better with” each other, before its spoken-word middle eight undoes all of our understanding. And that’s sort of the rub; Charley Stone clearly has lyrical and musical chops, and ideas for what she wants to do, it’s just (as she said in a recent interview), “all my experiences with bands…were synthesising into something inside me that I now need to do”. And it’s to our benefit that she has: as all her various bands already know, everything’s better with Charley.

Here Comes The Actual Band, the debut album from Charley Stone, is out on 29th May.

John McGovern
@etinsuburbiaego

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