These questions were answered by the band’s drummer, Annabelle Joyce.
How did you all come together as a band?
We all went to uni in Manchester and met through friends around 2016. Did some crap gigs at Zombie Shack and had a slight line up change a year later, and here we are!
Has music always been a driving force in your life?
Yeah, we all spent our teenage years learning to play instruments and going to gigs.
Which artists have been a major influence on you all?
We all have pretty different personal influences. Between us we’re all very into Deftones at the moment but there’s a whole range from Boy Harsher, to Angel Olsen, to Nirvana, to Little Simz. I also had a massive emo phase as a teenager which no doubt influences my musical career.
How has your environment/Manchester influenced your music?
There’s a lot of sick venues which we played in our first few years like Castle, Deaf Institute and Soundcontrol ( ☹️ ). Was cool to have so many venues to get started at.
How would you describe your music? What do you want listeners to take from it?
Usually heavy and angry but sometimes soft and sweet. I want them to take whatever they want from it, whether that be just good vibes or something empowering for them.
How has your sound evolved over the years since your initial formation?
We write songs differently than we used to, we’ve got a lot better at leaving space and playing with dynamics.
What’s the general process when it comes to crafting a song?
We all get in the practice room, usually a riff comes first and away we go. If it doesn’t come together pretty quick, we say we’ll “come back to it.” Amy brings her notebook of lyric ideas. Having played and written together as long as we have now, we’ve developed a bit more of a flow.
Your music is full of social, political, and religious commentary, what would you say has been the biggest influence in shaping your views on those things.
Our own lives and experiences, and seeing the oppression others face in their lives.
Also, what would you like to inspire in your listeners with those messages?
We hope to inspire people to have the strength to fight oppression and feel empowered.
Congrats on the upcoming of your debut album! How does it feel to have your “debut” complete and ready to release to the masses?
It’s very exciting to finally release our first album. As a band we are really proud of the material we have produced and hope people are into it.
What was the experience like crafting the album? Especially since I assume a part of that process was through the middle of the COVID pandemic.
It was sick to work with Sam at Blank Studios. After lockdown it was great to focus all our creative energy into one body of work and have something we love at the end it. We only had two weeks to get it done so there was more of a focus on vibe and energy rather than perfection.
I go back and forth but I think “Bloodlust” might be my favorite song off the album at the moment. Does the band have a favorite song off Congregation? Any songs in particular you’re most excited about performing live?
We’re all excited to perform “Slow Burn” live for the first time. We’re interested to see the reception for a song which is so much softer than our usual set.
Your videos are so well done, who comes up with the ideas and designs for them? Any specific inspiration behind them?
Our friend Sam O’Leary has been the creative force behind our videos since “Reincarnate.” We like to fuck with genre expectations and set what some say are ‘heavy’ lyrics against bright colours and humour.
We like to say to be a creative and put yourself out there to the public eye that you have to be fearless. Do you agree with that?
No, the fear is definitely there!
I think I can safely proclaim that you all have quickly become one of my favorite new bands. Any special plans for the release/post-release? Tour? Shows?
We had some album release shows around the UK: Brighton, London, Leeds and Manchester. It was fun to celebrate the release with people and was the first time playing some of the songs live.
