Shox & Steatopygous; Devizes Bands Support Menthol Lungs at The Pump’s Future Sound of Trowbridge

By Florence Lee

‘They promised hardcore shenanigans which never fall below 180 bpm’

SHOX:

After seeing Shox in February I was expecting to have a great time, and for them to expand on their ideas which they showcased at the Devizes youth night; however, they managed to smash my expectations once again….

Their set list included ‘Back To School’ by the Deftones, ‘Florescent Adolescent’ by the Arctic Monkeys and ‘Drown’ by Bring Me The Horizon and included some insanely smooth add-in’s using the DJ set. The transition between playing ‘Happy Song’ by Bring Me The Horizon and ‘Killing in The Name’ by Rage Against the Machine had a syren playing and what I can only describe as ‘The music and voice that speaks to you before you go onto a terrifying roller coaster.’ I am not quite sure how to describe it, but I have never heard anything like it before. It was pretty incredible – it drew the audience in and it was a really interesting experience. Their set was very much a journey rather than just some music. SHOX have come on leaps and bounds since the youth night and with some more gigs under their belt, I can only imagine their sound will continue to develop.

I wanted to know some more about them, so after getting in contact, I asked them a few questions. Jamie (drummer) and Ed (singer/rhythm guitarist) played together in primary school and wanted to get into a band in secondary school. So, when they joined they went out and looked for a band. Zac (guitarist) and Dylan (bassist) came along around two years later when they got paired to do an academic music project together. Once they had played a few times, they realised they had ‘great chemistry’ and formed SHOX. They are looking to start the rollout of their debut album called ‘To Be Honest, I Couldn’t Be Bothered’ and are hoping for a release in November. They also have a ‘Big announcement in the middle of June,’ which I am sure many are looking forward to. If you haven’t seen them live, I would really take the next opportunity!

Steatopygous:

If you haven’t read my interview with Steatopygous, I would recommend reading it as you get the ‘inside scoop’ on what Steatopygous really means.

In a nutshell, Steatopygous is a riot girl (and boy) band, which truly could not get any better. With front girl Poppy Hillier, playing guitar and singing, the memorising Eliza on bass and drummer Ewan. They played three originals: ‘Marie’s Wedding Song’, ‘Female CD’ and the new ‘Little Boy’. It is safe to say that since hearing Little Boy, it has not left my mind since. You can tell the song came from somewhere close to their hearts, and is now embedded within the audience’s. Both Female CD and Maire’s Wedding Song are also well written songs, that I cannot wait to be able to listen to online.

With three admirably well executed Bikini Kill songs – Carnival, Feels Blind and Star Bellied Boy, they enticed the audience so much, we were demanding “one more song”. And wow, they performed Deception by le Tigre, which truly exploded the mosh pit, not that we had stopped dancing since Steatopygous had entered the stage. I just want to say an incredibly well done to Eliza, Poppy and Ewan, as during their set, they had to stop for a tech issue, but carried on, dare I say, better than before. As a performer myself, I can understand how gut wrenchingly scary it can be to play on stage, let alone have to stop and start again, and they dealt with it like the pros they are becoming. I have been told they are working towards an EP and I, like many others, am beyond excited to hear how it comes out. So, like SHOX, if your ears haven’t been blessed by the music of these beautiful people, then I would really take your opportunity.

Menthol Lungs:

While I heard both Steatopygous and Shox before, I was pumped to be able to listen to Menthol Lungs as I hadn’t heard of them and all I can say now is that I was missing out. As soon as they started to play, I was transported into the world of Subhumans and Minor Threat and felt the immediate need to find my skateboard and go stagedive off a speaker stack! Their heavy punk rock music was awesome, and I was even more blown away when I realised that eight of their ten songs were originals!

Menthol Lungs are anarchistic hardcore, which was appreciated by me and the crowd. The deeper meanings to what could have been simple lyrics, elevated their performance as they spoke for what they truly believe in. If I thought their performance couldn’t get any better, they then performed ‘The Combine Harvester’ by The Wurzels, which had the audience in stitches and singing along in true Devizes harvest-core fashion :-). I was lucky enough to be able to speak to the amazing Ava, who sings and ask a few questions about their band:

Can you introduce your band?

‘We have Corey, who is on rhythm guitar. Sam, who couldn’t make it today, is on lead guitar – he is great. Zeth right here is on drums, Fergus on bass and I am Ava. I do vocals.’

How did the band form?

‘So, about two years ago, I got kicked out of a sh**** pop, punk band, called Corner Shop Liquor. I then turned around to my mate James, an artist as well, and said “I want to start a new band, can you help me out?” and he introduced me to Corey who could play guitar. Then my fiancé Ash joined us as bassist, but then replacing Ash was Fergus; Fergus and Zeph kind of came as a package deal.’

‘We met Corey at a gig about a year and a half ago and so he vaguely knew us.’

‘Yeah, so about a year and a half ago, we got Zeph and Fergus in a band and we record some stuff and start rehearsing on Zeph’s farm, in some stables. We got our first gig last December.’

Special mention to their six-string bass, which I had to ask questions about:

‘May I just say your six string bass is insane. Looks sick’ – me!

‘There is actually a funny story about that. Fergus left one band rehearsal with a five string bass and he left it at the rehearsal space. When he came back, he had a six string bass with him. It’s brilliant.’

How do you write your songs?

‘So, usually Cory will sit down and write some riffs and upload them onto Songster. He will add some drums and lead guitar and a bit of bass. Then, I usually have some lyrics lying around in my notes app and write them up into a full song, or Corey will write lyrics as well. Then at rehearsals we see what works and it usually ends up in a song.’

How do you think tonight went?

‘Do you know what, it was killer. Best vocals I think I have ever managed, to be honest.’

What’s your next step?

‘Next step … We have an album coming out hopefully later this year. We are hoping for August, but aiming for the end of the year. We have a gig coming up with Disorder in July. We love Disorder. July 25^th – go buy your tickets!’

Thank you Ava for spending some time speaking to me; you and your band are great and I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing how you guys progress in the future!

So, in conclusion, the audience and I had a brilliant time, dancing, sweating, slamming, singing and getting to know these sick bands. If these bands are not on your radar, please go give them a follow and see how they progress as the gifts they have for your ears are extensive and they have years beyond them of only getting better.

Finally, I just want to say a massive thank you to Kieran and everyone at the Pump. It is an incredibly special, intimate place, which holds thousands of memories for us kids. I wouldn’t be able to recommend going more. If you haven’t been, you are not just missing out on amazing music, but also an experience that you won’t be able to forget for years. Thank you for letting bands be able to share their music with everyone. What you are doing with ‘The Future Sound of Trowbridge’ is unbelievably special and loved by so many people.

P.S. the drummer from SHOX, Jamie, has a DJ set at the Pump on Trowbridge on the 10^th of May. Go get your tickets!