Billingham Lo-Fi Garage Queer-Punks MOUSES Announce New Album 'bwywtb' Released 21st June 2024
Billingham Lo-Fi Garage Queer-Punks MOUSES Announce New Album bwywtb
Released 21st June 2024
Explore Identity, Estrangement & Parental Divorce On AA Single ‘Illusion’/‘Nostalgia’ Out Now
Stream and share - HERE
Watch the video for ‘Illusion’ - HERE
Watch the video for ‘Nostalgia’ - HERE
Select Live Dates On Sale Now
Tickets - https://linktr.ee/mousestheband
Billingham, Teesside-based based lo-fi garage queer-punk duo Mouses are delighted to make their long-awaited return with the announcement of their second album bwywtb set for release on 21st June 2024.
Following a 7 year hiatus after the release of 2016 debut The Mouses Album, during which time the pair have raised families, forged careers, and explored identities, Mouses recently revealed AA side single ‘Illusion’/‘Nostalgia’ as the first taste of new material.
The single’s A side track ‘Illusion’ is weird, in that wonderfully Mouses way. It's noisy; it’s a fuzzy little trip with erratic dynamics that follow the ebbs and flows of manic depression. Its verses are jarring; whirring guitars and intricate drumming create the backdrop for a crooning vocal packaged in a big ball of melodic fuzz, leading into a raucous blast of a chorus.
Lyrically, the song is a deeply personal exploration of identity and estrangement, as guitarist/vocalist Steven Bardgett explains: “It tackles the difficulties of growing up and growing apart from a parent who is no longer there for you when you grow into someone they never wanted you to be. The song questions the feelings of guilt, regret and existential anguish that come to head when dealing with growing apart from someone who raised you and someone you idolised as a kid.”
AA side ‘Nostalgia’ is a sucker punch of distorted garage punk, teeming with the angst and regret that comes when facing up to your past. Clocking in at under two minutes, it’s a short, sharp fuzzy blast of frenetic punk rock, recorded DIY-style in a bedroom and fuzzed up by the wonderful Rob Irish—think The White Stripes De Stijl meets Weezer’s Pinkerton, with the lo-fi leanings of YUCK and the primal energy of Lightning Bolt.
Commenting on the track, Bardgett says: “At its lyrical core, ‘Nostalgia’ deals with the sugar-coated notions of nostalgia, tackling the trauma that stems from parental divorce at a young age. The song is deeply personal, wearing its vulnerability on its sleeve, questioning feelings of loss, grief, guilt and ultimately shame in childhood naivety.”
Mouses are guitarist and vocalist Steven Bardgett (he/they) and drummer Nathan Duff (he/him), a lo-fi garage queer-punk duo from the North East of England renowned for their raw, energetic, and often chaotic live performances, and their willingness to tackle societal orthodoxies and injustices head on.
They have previously played Reading and Leeds Festival, after being hand-picked by BBC DJ and Introducing champion Huw Stephens, and built a fierce reputation off the back of two DIY EPs with support from the likes of DIY, Clash, Louder Than War, BBC R1, BBC6 Music and more.
Following the release of their critically-acclaimed 2016 debut The Mouses Album, the band busied themselves creating their own festival showcasing marginalised talent, and became a huge part of launching the Rebel Rouser stage at Greenbelt Festival, before family and work commitments saw the band take a back seat.
Now re-energised, ready, and raring to go with their first new material in 7 years and further live plans TBA, the pair are once more bringing their uncompromisingly sunshine-filled, psychedelic fuzz to the world. Further details of the album will be revealed over the coming weeks.
Mouses’ second album bwywtb is released 21st June 2024
Live Dates:
May 3rd - The New Adelphi Club, Hull
May 26th - Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek
August 22nd - 25th - Greenbelt Festival, Kettering
Mouses are:
Steven Bardgett (he/they) - guitars/vocals
Nathan Duff (he/him) - drums
Mouses online:
https://www.facebook.com/mousestheband
https://www.instagram.com/mousestheband
https://twitter.com/mousestheband
