London noise-rock quartet USA Nails are set to release their ‘Feel Worse’ album on 22nd March 2024, which you can pre-order HERE or HERE. The band have forged a considerable reputation since their formation in 2013 from their South London base, comprising of members of Kong, Future Of The Left, Blacklisters, Death Pedals and Silent Front.
‘Feel Worse’ explores schadenfreude; the pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune. With this, they use new material to attack austerity and UK authoritarianism, consumer culture (particularly the consumption of quick fix reality TV and hyper-capitalist agendas), youth culture and bullying, and more. They do so with their intense and unmistakable brand of abrasive, chaotic post-hardcore. There’s a raw and uncompromising energy to USA Nails, and ‘Feel Worse’ is their most powerful and vital album to date.
These tracks are critical and unrelenting, conveying their message amidst an auditory assault of crushing distortion that adds a palpable weight to the material. ‘Feel Worse’ represents anger as a great motivator, there’s a purging within fury of its delivery. USA Nails astutely scold the culture of divisive, toxic political rhetoric, and working people being turned on each other as a distraction tactic.
Early USA Nails releases were put out by labels like Smalltown America, a DIY label based in Northern Ireland. Later they would work with legendary Midwest experimental rock label SKiN GRAFT Records, champions of Melt Banana, Shellac, Dazzling Killmen, Koenjihyakkei, Brise-Glace, Cheer-Accident, US Maple, Denison/Kimball Trio and more. They’ve contributed to the Too Pure Singles Club, alongside DZ Deathrays, JOHN, Drahla, Paul Draper, and infinitely more. In 2022 they released a split with Psychic Graveyard (ex-Doomsday Student/Chinese Stars) on SKiN GRAFT and Box Records (the label started by Matt Baty, frontman of PigsX7).
The band have toured with Sub-Pop’s Metz and UK noise-rock legends Mclusky. They have completed numerous US and European headline stints, as well as supporting the likes of Future Of The Left, Mission Of Burma, No Age, Cocaine Piss, Viagra Boys, Hey Colossus and Unsane.
Over the years, out of necessity more than anything, USA Nails honed their skills off-stage as well as on. Like many jobbing musicians they learned design, videography, screen-printing and more to keep costs down while promoting their DIY releases. As such, what they’ve mastered on the go has become part of their daily lives. Drummer Tom Brewins has gone on to create music videos for the likes of JOHN, Goat, PETBRICK (ex-Sepultura and Big Lad) and more. Gareth Thomas did the same for the likes of Enablers, as well as appearing as a session guitarist for their friends Los Bitchos. Dan Holloway creates artwork and merch for a number of bands including Pile and Big Lad among others. Matt Reid, the drummer on their first three albums, continues to design all the artwork for the band. All this and more has become as much a part of the creative process for them as making the music.
In support of the new long-player USA Nails have booked a number of forthcoming gigs, these being:
Feb 23 – Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield
Feb 24 – The Peer Hat, Manchester
Mar 23 – Sebright Arms, London
Apr 02- La Source Beer Co, Brussels, Belgium
Apr 03 – Supersonic, Paris, France
Apr 04 – La Grenze, Strasbourg, France
Apr 05 – Kulturfabrik, Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg
Apr 06 – Rockerill, Charleroi, Belgium
May 04 – The Hope and Ruin, Brighton
May 05 – The Jericho Tavern, Oxford
The Brighton concert at The Hope & Ruin is being put on by Love Thy Neighbour promoters and you can purchase your tickets for this 4th May concert HERE and HERE. Some other concert tickets can be found on their linktree below.
Check out USA Nails releases on their Bandcamp page HERE.
