Junior Bill, the ‘21st Century Joe Strummer’, spins a tale of post-Brexit isolation in dub-pop anthem ‘TEETH’
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After the roaring success of Junior Bill’s first 2023 single ‘Boys From Jungle’ - praised, played and playlisted worldwide - then the mournfully and politically-loaded follow-up ‘Flag of St George’ comes the third Junior Bill single of the year. ‘Teeth’ is a melancholic reggae number about a lonely, isolated society where sugar passes for joy and life stays stagnant around a tiny cul-de-sac in post-Brexit Britain.
Junior Bill is the project of Cardiff songwriter Robert Nichols - acclaimed as ‘a 21st Century Joe Strummer’ by BBC 6Music’s Tom Robinson earlier this year. The group have found support both locally in their home country of Wales as well as internationally on radio and press in Australia, Spain, Brazil and Canada. Turning debut album ‘Youth Club!’ into a series of singles released over the course of the year, has shown a broad range of reggae, psych, indie and blues that has a core element of storytelling about pressing and urgent politicised life.
The songs of Junior Bill reach into the lives of others in an unusually empathic way, whilst still remaining extremely “singable”. Gigwise said "it's a political maturity set against a childlike honesty that makes Junior Bill so intriguing." ‘Teeth’ tells the story of an elderly woman who can’t stop eating sweets, living a lonely life in a Truman Show-style world where people “live and work and die” all in one isolated neighbourhood. It’s all somewhat reminiscent of Britain’s increasingly claustrophobic societal atmosphere. This toy-town is recreated in the song’s video, a naive stop-motion animation made by Junior Bill and his friends. The track deals with themes of isolation, the loneliness of ageing, our increasing inability as a nation to care for the vulnerable, as well as the song’s main hook singing of the both immediate and deeper long-term need for the country’s national healthcare.
In the live music scene Junior Bill have made a lasting impression, opening for Supergrass during their reunion shows after a supporting tour with drummer Danny Goffey, then last year making their debut at Glastonbury Festival. The band returned to their hometown of Cardiff in January to a packed out show, and have a series of dates to come throughout the UK whilst releasing more singles and then the debut album ‘Youth Club!’ before the end of the year.
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