In the picturesque village of Castleton, Rory and Eoin Loveless, were creating a brainchild of boredom, they named it Drenge (Danish for boys). What they had created, completely contrasted with the view of the quiet small-town; heavy and punk-infused. This August they released their self-titled LP, Drenge, via Infectious records; a label renowned for unveiling calming records from bands such as Alt-J and The Temper Trap. One thing’s for sure, the record label’s name sure sums Drenge’s sound right up.
Despite being a favourite of former Labour MP, Tom Watson, who mentioned the band in his open resignation letter to Ed Miliband and was probably not quite the kind of fan they were searching for, they have gained copious amounts of enthusiasts, consisting of metal heads and indie teens. Plus my mum and dad approve. The admiration was down to singles ‘Bloodsports’ ‘Backwaters’ and ‘Face like a skull’.
The album kicks off with ‘People In Love Make Me Feel Yuck’, already involving you in their teen-like angst. In comparison to the rest of the album, the track is somewhat passive-aggressive. This is when you compare it to tracks such as ‘I Want To Break You In Half’, where Eoin audaciously yells lyrics such as “If you have a soul, I’d like to meet it”, “Can I have a minute of your time? I’d like to waste it” and “Make you piss your pants; I want to break you in half”. Or ‘Face Like A Skull’, which demonstrates their frivolous nature, whilst snarling at the rest of the world.
In an interview with Sheffield mag Toast, Rory claimed “I think we have quite a lot of differences.” He then went on to say “When we look at each other it’s easy to think ‘I might not be related to this person’, so I can look at him as a mate and it’s easy to get songs done.” Well they sure get “songs done”. In fact, Drenge’s music flows with such ease it’s fair to say their execution is impeccable.
More well known tracks, ‘Bloodsports’ and ‘Backwaters’, show the duo’s bitter and cynical outlook. On ‘Bloodsports’ Eoin’s gruffly blues-rock guitar pulses throughout the track, whilst Rory’s drumming builds up until it reaches the chorus and just goes fully mental. This is honestly the one track live where I have seen the most amounts of people lose their shit. During their set at Reading last August, I honestly saw at least nine people being hauled out in this one song alone. ‘Backwaters’ uses just pure violent imagery: ‘I saw a lamb and it was choking on death’. They demonstrate such brutality through their lyrics and the way they viciously play their instruments. They are clearly leading the rejuvenation of garage punk. It’s nitty and gritty and totally addictive. In fact, it’s so addictive I spent this whole week head banging to it in my bedroom, and now have become a victim of ‘Nirvana neck’.
Throughout the album, you can hear sources of influence from many guitar-rock dominated bands. For instance, ‘Fuckabout’ is totally the kind of track Alex Turner could have written in the earlier “couldn’t give two shits” days of Arctic Monkeys. Whilst ‘Nothing’ echoes like a product of Jack White’s White Lies.
Two of my faves have to be ‘Gun Crazy’ which complete reeks of stadium rock, with an unearthly riff and Matt Helders-esk drumming. When listening to it, you can just imagine Eoin strutting across the stage, clapping and shouting ‘ARE YOU READY?!’ at the crowd. The other ‘I Don’t Want To Make Love To You’. It’s full of tongue-and-cheek lyrics like ‘I don’t want you to bake my bread, cos I don’t want to put you in bed’. This kind of sarcastic humour is the kind that recent British bands have been lacking. The track shows a rejection of any kind of intimacy, but whilst taking the piss, you can’t help but think it’s somewhat defensive.
The truth is, Drenge say things that everyone thinks, but doesn’t have the balls to say. It’s unruly, untamed; it’s the epitome of punk-rock revivalism.
In the past year, Drenge have shared the stage with female rock duo – Deap Vally, California crack heads – Fidlar and are now set to support Peace on their headline tour this December.
Drenge’s Hefty Amount of Tour Dates
9/9 iTunes Festival, The Roundhouse, London
12/9 Moles, Bath
13/9 The Forum, Tunbridge Wells
16/9 The Boileroom, Guildford
17/9 South Street Arts Centre, Reading
18/9 New Inn, Tywardreath
19/9 The Studio Bar, Penzance
20/9 Bunters Bar, Truro
21/9 The Crauford Arms, Milton Keynes
1/10 Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
2/10 The Brickyard, Carlisle
3/10 The Cluny & The Cluny , Newcastle upon Tyne
4/10 King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow. (With Radkey)
5/10 Non Zero’s, Dundee. (With Radkey)
7/10 East Village Arts Club, Liverpool
8/10 The Cavern, Exeter. (With Radkey)
9/10 The Green Door Store, Brighton
12/10 Bodega, Nottingham
14/10 Portland Arms, Cambridge
15/10 The Roadhouse, Manchester
16/10 The Sugarmill, Stoke on Trent
17/10 Swn Festival, Various Venues, Cardiff
24/10 Pj Molloys, Dunfermline
29/11 Peace/Drenge: Rock City, Nottingham
30/11 Peace/Drenge: Queen Margaret Union, Glasglow
1/12 Peace/Drenge: Hoults Yard – Warehouse 34 & Think Tank, Newcastle upon Tyne
2/12 Peace/Drenge: Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds
3/12 Peace/Drenge: East Village Arts Club, Liverpool
5/12 Peace/Drenge: 02 Academy, Oxford
6/12 Peace/Drenge/Superfood: 02 Shepherds Bush Empire, London
8/12 Peace/Drenge: Pyramids Centre, Portsmouth
10/12 Peace/Drenge: The Waterfront, Norwich
11/12 Peace/Drenge: The Ritz, Manchester
12/12 Peace/Drenge: Anson Rooms, Bristol
13/12 Peace/Drenge/Superfood: 02 Academy, Birmingham
