Brighton band ‘congratulations’ are four friends who found each other at the right time, fell into each other’s arms and started making music they liked. Boasting an impressive array of different influences, unashamedly intertwined into their songs. Think girl/boy centred vocals and eccentric fuzzed guitars lying on a bed of break beats and thunderous bass.
Fiercely DIY, ‘congratulations’ craft their songs with all four members meticulously involved in every aspect of the recording, production, and artwork. Donning their scrupulously prepared uniforms of orange, blue, red and yellow, the band deliver blistering, frenetic live performances, dripping with the sweat from their growing audiences.
The band will drop their next single and music video ‘Kryptonite’ on 25th July, and the single release show (with support from GURF and Mozkito) will be the next day 26th July at The Hope And Ruin in Brighton – Ticket details HERE.
Hot off the heels of their last track ‘Lucy, Lucy’, congratulations have been hard at work. With an EP in the can, ready to be unveiled later in the year, and an album’s worth of material in the works, the band have been honing their live show, delivering blistering, frenetic performances, dripping with the sweat from their growing audiences. It was in this arena where ‘Kryptonite’ was born.
“With live music finally hitting its stride again, we’ve been able to do what we love and play to people – it’s been magic. It means we’ve looked at all of our songs completely differently and its influenced the way we write”
Taking shape on stages across the south of England, ‘Kryptonite’ feels like different territory for congratulations, relying less on production and placing more emphasis on four people playing their instruments. “Before, we’d write in the studio, and have to learn it all over again to be able to play it live. But this time it came to life in rehearsal rooms and onstage, we were hammering it into shape everytime we played it. I think because of this it’s a much more straightforward song to our others; it’s four people playing very hard”.
Recorded in a matter of days in congratulations’ studio (a shed attached to the back of guitarist Jamie’s house) ‘Kryptonite’ was fully produced and mixed by the band, led by bassist Greg Burns, the in-house producer.
‘Kryptonite’ wastes none of its 3 minute run time, with guitarist Jamie launching into a driving, crushing riff which serves as the glue for drummer James’s immaculately calculated beat and singer Leah’s haunting croon. This hard groove is juxtaposed almost immediately with the hyper frenzy of the chorus, hitting a wall of chanting voices and Greg’s thunderous bass, which finally has its moment and drives the song along at 1000mph.
“The tempo of the chorus has inspired this run on the spot move we all do live, which in turn inspired the music video for the track. We joke that the song is such a workout for us when we play it, we thought wouldn’t it be fun if we did a workout fitness video and people could join in!” explains Leah “I couldn’t do a vocal take in the studio without instinctively doing the run- its part of the song now!”. The music video, revolving around a fitness class shows the band at their most playful, dressing themselves in 80s era specific workout gear, whilst adhering to their trademark member-specific colour scheme.
The track’s name and lyrics drew inspiration from the classic 1978 ‘Superman’. Jamie explains “I always watch that film with my mum and sister, we love the scene where Lois Lane interviews Superman, where she gets so dressed up for him – I mean you would wouldn’t you? – And he ends up dropping her from 1000 feet. Not the best first date!”
The band have always been wary of pigeonholing themselves in genre and subject, eager not to define themselves as set things, and this applies to lyrical content. Jamie continues “I don’t think you’d know it was about him unless I told you. I think we’ve all been excited for a date only for the person to be a bit of a… well not what you expected. I’m never mad keen on explaining a song to the nth degree but hopefully it’ll just make you smile listening again and realising what we were on about”
For fans of Pom Poko, Jockstrap and Sleigh Bells.
Find out more about the band by visiting their linktree HERE.
