Demob Happy are "here to wage a war on cultural mediocrity and political complacency."
Since forming in 2008, the Brighton-based Newcastle lads have been fighting back against the apathy of popular music and the increasing gentrification of the music industry, whilst building up a huge fan-base along the way: "I feel like, in the charts currently, there's not enough representation of working class people," says drummer Tom Armstrong. "There's so much economic disparity. If you have that platform, you have the responsibility to represent people."
Once described as "Hanson on crack," their savage, dirty rock sound draws from the early-90s grunge scene and beyond, drawing from a wealth of musical knowledge to create their unique noise: "We've got quite broad inspirations, in terms of what our tastes are. We all had our own ways into it, but we all just really love rocking out and good songs. That was where it started."
The band's avoidance of social media has preserved a shroud of mystery around their debut album, 'Dream Soda', but are they hesitant or relieved for people to hear it? "It feels amazing. Some of the songs are old, some of them are brand new. I feel like you've got your whole life to write your first album, so you'd better make it good, and we love it – we're so proud of it."
A DIY ethic lies at the heart of the band and everything they do, having always created their own videos and artwork. "We've taken it that way from the start, and been behind everything, really. Our label, SO Recordings, have been great – they've let us carry on doing most of it ourselves, and they respect us and love what we do. They're an extension of that DIY ethic – they're an independent label, and they're helping us take the album to people."
The album is the culmination of a long journey for the band – from meeting at college in Newcastle and forming a band, to catching the Brighton bug and moving down on the Megabus, to now, a band on the cusp of success. The trajectory of this new journey, it seems, is onwards and upwards.
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Words: Megan White
Demob Happy's debut album 'Dream Soda' is out now.
