TRACK PREMIERE: Ich Bin Finn – ‘Summer Girlfriend’

A sultry, grunge-infused ode to the rush of feelings that come with a new found seasonal crush, London-based rockers Ich bin Finn have shared their latest single ‘Summer Girlfriend’. Taken from their upcoming album, Breakfast Pizza, which is set for release via Roadkill Records on 11th August, the track is a sweet celebration of the transient nature of summer infatuation.

Formed of Finn D’Albert (guitar, vocals), Kim Watson (bass, backing vocals) and Mike Brown (drums, recorder, backing vocals), Ich bin Finn are a proud, vehemently DIY band. The trio enjoy working together and alongside their friends to create their playful, garage rock sounds, and their latest single ‘Summer Girlfriend’ is no different. The track’s artwork features Mike’s son, Wilfred, and the album which it’s lifted from was mixed and mastered by close friend of the band Tom le Beau Morley.

As the title suggests, ‘Summer Girlfriend’ is all about the precious new days of dating someone when the summertime finally kicks in. With their snaking riffs and relatable lyrics, Ich Bin Finn explore the sweet behaviours we indulge in, from eating ice cream together, to showing affection by softly applying sun cream to each others skin. This tender, sentimental mood underscores many of the tracks on the band’s upcoming album, Breakfast Pizza.

“These songs have an optimism and poetic vulnerability about them,” bassist Kim explains. “From lonely post break-up reflections, to a sense of new found freedom to venture out, dive in and explore new romantic possibilities.” Kim and her wife Angie created the artwork for the album together too, further emphasising the love and passion that has gone into the band’s new project.

“It’s all about treading that tightrope between freedom and loneliness,” guitarist and vocalist Finn adds. “Pizza for breakfast? Freedom. Pizza for every meal? Loneliness.” However you view these things, we’re sure that Ich Bin Finn will have a song on Breakfast Pizza that will resonate with you.

Listen to ‘Summer Girlfriend’ below.

 

Follow Ich Bin Finn on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter (X), Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

ALBUM: Ailbhe Reddy – ‘Endless Affair’

“My God look at the state of me / this is so embarrassing” sings Irish songwriter Ailbhe Reddy, scrutinising her drunken reflection on ‘Shitshow’, the opening track to her latest album, Endless Affair. Following on from 2020’s debut full length release, Personal History, on her new record Reddy finds the sweet spot between romantic melancholy, unfiltered shame and wry humour, as she re-frames her fractured memories of nights spent partying in her early 20s and various fluctuating loves and infatuations.

Written and recorded between January 2019 and October 2020, Reddy paired up with producer Tommy McLaughlin again to co-produce Endless Affair. She relished the opportunity to create a truly rounded sound on the record, which maintains the raw spirit of her debut, but showcases a development in her intuition for writing songs that continue to tap into both a personal and universal vein.

Whether she’s admiring the unique way the light defines her partner’s body on ‘Shoulderblades’, or feeling the walls closing in on ‘Last To Leave’, Reddy’s skill for revisiting a moment and making it more poignant – or more painful – than before is the lifeblood of Endless Affair. “It’s not just your drink you’re spilling / to anybody who will listen” she observes on the latter, over gentle beats and considered instrumentation, softening the awkward reality of the situation. It’s a relatable reflection on wanting to atone for potentially embarrassing behaviour – whether personally, or vicariously.

Reddy presents her emotions with endearing and at times excruciating honesty, learning to “take love where it’s planted” on the beautifully sincere ‘Bloom’, revealing the rawness of the wounds left by a breakup on ‘Damage’, and remembering a period of painful apathy on ‘Inhaling’. She explores all these things with charm, wit and impressive grace. This is especially true of ‘Pray For Me’ – dedicated to her late Grandmother – and moving ode ‘Motherhood’, which the songwriter nurtured and developed multiple times throughout the album’s recording process.

Whilst tenderness flows through the veins of Endless Affair, it’s also permeated with moments of recklessness and humour. This is epitomized especially by Reddy’s half-hearted attempts to verbally get under an ex’s skin on ‘ILYW’ (‘I’m Losing You’re Winning’), and the the rolling rhythms and energetic riffs on ‘A Mess’. A reflection on an early, chaotic relationship, the track is a buoyant rumination on the cyclical nature of bad habits and a lively effort to move past them. Whilst the repetition of the titular lyric ‘A Mess’ could sting if it was delivered differently, Reddy claims it as a lighthearted label, accepting that youth and inexperience are all part of the learning process when it comes to forming healthy relationships.

Ultimately, Endless Affair is a patient, earnest reflection on personal growth and a heartening reminder that we’re all just ‘Amateurs’ trying to make sense of the bruises that mysteriously materialise on our bodies the morning after we’ve had too much of a good time. It reaffirms Reddy’s astute songwriting sensibilities and is a tonic for any extended emotional hangover.

Follow Ailbhe Reddy on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo credit: Niamh Barry

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate Crudgington1 Comment

EP: Grandmas House – ‘Who Am I’

Formed of Yasmin Berndt (vocals, guitar), Poppy Dodgson (vocals, drums) and Zoë Zinsmeister (bass), Grandmas House combine gritty guitars, thudding percussion and a joyful dose of sarcasm to create their catchy punk inspired anthems. The Bristol-based trio released their self-titled debut EP in October 2021, which covered everything from dismantling the patriarchy, celebrating queer love, to a penchant for local pasties. Now, Grandmas House are back with their second EP, Who Am I, another collection of songs that tackle body image, identity and disassociation and negatively stereotyped zodiac signs.

Born from the desire to overcome the discomfort that facing your own reflection can cause, opener ‘Body’ is a riotous cacophony that sets the scathing, cathartic tone of the record. Full of candid vocals and boisterous riffs, the anthem aims to dismantle the strained relationships we have with our own bodies. When the band simultaneously chant “haven’t seen myself for a second of the day / it feels like everyone is growing / and I just stay the same”, they capture the uneasiness of existing in an insecure skin, whilst putting their own corrosive spin on this feeling to alleviate the pressure.

What follows is a a bi-lingual blast of angst on ‘How Does It Feel?’. Pairing Berndt’s passionate French vocal with Dodgson’s visceral English one, the track is “a call and response between two people about the feelings of confusion you go through when breaking up.” It bleeds into the smouldering ‘Desire’. Inspired by the disorientating power of romantic infatuation, Berndt’s raucous voice rises and falls alongside Dodgson’s backing vocals and blistering beats across the track, whilst Zinsmeister’s rumbling basslines enhance the all-consuming yearning that’s explored in the lyrics.

Closing their record with the title track – described as “an anthem by Gemini’s, for all the other Gemini’s out there” – Grandmas House gleefully defy the negative stereotyping surrounding their zodiac sign with charged riffs and commanding beats. Clocking in at just under 8 minutes in total, Who Am I is a blast of raw, frenzied post-punk energy that showcases the trio’s talent for writing defiant, witty guitar tunes that warrant repeated listens.

Grandmas House play live tonight (23rd March) at The Victoria in Dalston. Tickets here.

Follow Grandmas House on TikTok, bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Photo Credit: Rosie Carne

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

NEW TRACK: Grandmas House – ‘Desire’

A smouldering blend of charged riffs and commanding beats, Bristol punk trio Grandmas House have shared their latest single ‘Desire’. Taken from the upcoming new EP, Who Am I, which is set for release on 3rd March via Brace Yourself Records, the track is inspired by the disorientating power of romantic infatuation.

Formed of Yasmin Berndt (vocals, guitar), Poppy Dodgson (vocals, drums) and Zoë Zinsmeister (bass), Grandmas House combine gritty guitars, thudding percussion and a joyful dose of sarcasm to create their catchy punk inspired anthems. The band released their self-titled debut EP in October 2021, which covered everything from dismantling the patriarchy, celebrating queer love, to a penchant for local pasties. Now, Grandmas House are back with their new single ‘Desire’, and another collection of songs that tackle topics such as body image, identity and disassociation, and negatively stereotyped zodiac signs.

“‘Desire’ is about meeting someone new and being immediately intrigued by them,” the band comment about their new song. “It focuses on the confusion surrounding infatuation and trying to keep yourself grounded at the same time.” Berndt’s raucous voice rises and falls alongside Dodgson’s backing vocals and blistering beats across the track, whilst Zinsmeister’s rumbling basslines enhance the all-consuming yearning that’s explored in the lyrics.

The single is accompanied by a monochrome video, directed by Oliver Mallory. The visuals feature Frankie Darwin and American writer, poet and friend of the band Savannah Brown, who end up clashing over an unusually intense game of chess.

Grandmas House will be celebrating the release of their new EP with a UK headline tour this March. Full dates are listed below. Grab your tickets here.

Watch the video for ‘Desire’ here:

Grandmas House UK Tour Dates 2023
3rd Mar – Liverpool, UK – Kaz Stockroom
4th Mar – Bristol, UK – Exchange
9th Mar – Leeds, UK – Oporto
10th Mar – Glasgow, UK – McChuills
11th Mar – Sheffield, UK – Sidney & Matilda (Basement)
16th Mar – Leicester, UK – Duffy’s
17th Mar – Manchester, UK – YES (Basement)
18th Mar – Cardiff, UK – Clwb Ifor Bach (Downstairs)
23rd Mar – London, UK – The Victoria
24th Mar – Brighton, UK – The Hope & Ruin

Follow Grandmas House on TikTok, bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment