Slap Rash Announce New EP Out 10/27 via Open Tab | Listen To Lead Single, "Griefcase"
Coming out of the experimental hub of Manchester, the brother-sister duo SLAP RASH have been building their reputation as a visceral live act since their birth in 2019. Having released a slew of gripping singles that showcase the bands unbridled energy and obvious synergy, they are today sharing 'Griefcase', a masterclass in balancing a punk ethos and carefully employed restraint, taken from their upcoming EP 'Catherine Special' which will be released on Open Tab / Fire Talk Records on 27th October.
On the track, Amelia says: "Griefcase is a criticism of what we see day to day - the constant need for repetition and imitation. Simply, it’s about being bored of seeing, hearing, and watching the same shit endlessly.”
The pair will be embarking on a string of UK dates with shows starting in September in Bristol before they jump in with Mandy, Indiana in October. Full dates below.
SLAP RASH, the brother-sister duo of Amelia and Huw Lloyd, make music that reverberates from the core of the body. Based in the experimental hub of Manchester (where the pair both relocated for university), since forming in 2019 the band has released a slew of gripping singles that reflect their growing reputation as a visceral live act. New EP Catherine Special was recorded in the Warren Studio in Sheffield and harnesses the band’s unbridled energy alongside threadbare industrial experimentations. The first collection of songs they recorded all together in a session, the tracks exude the pair’s obvious synergy, orchestrating an engrossing soundscape while only incorporating bass, drums and minimal electronics. Huw’s bass playing deftly paints in at least one guitarist, while Amelia then grounds the track with her drums and carries it forward with her vocals.
There’s a sense of deeply physical motion throughout the EP: a unified, cohesive sonic barrage that also leaves room for release. "Palm to palm, embalm / give your body,” Amelia ruminates on “This Note Is Useless,” which see-saws through vigorous baselines and a particularly dynamic vocal performance, while the revved-up scrappiness of opener “Photo Fit” details how people’s depiction of their identities online rarely matches the truth (“loopholes and data”). SLAP RASH are their most compelling given their attention to balancing a punk ethos with carefully employed restraint: one moment in the seconds of silence within “Griefcase,” which reflects on cyclical patterns of past destruction, as well as the oscillating tempo that explodes into noise on “Denial.”
It’s this multidimensional ethos that sets the band apart. Huw is an avid chess player in his spare time, and there's a masterful ease in which every bit of the EP fits together. Every rhythm feels succinctly placed, and although it’s a world away from the classical viola that Amelia was trained in from a young age, the two's inherent understanding of how to build a world through noise has already landed them support slots from the likes of Mandy Indiana, Surfbort, Melt Banana and more. The band has found a home in DIY spaces while already sounding larger than life: both disarmingly raw and expressively forceful, Catherine Special marks the debut of a band filled with the ability to claim their place in the world with uttermost intention.
SLAP RASH Tour Dates
- 8th September - The Lanes, Bristol
- 16th September - RockamRiver Festival, Preston
- 22nd September - The Castle Hotel, Manchester
- 27th October - The White Hotel, Manchester *
- 28th October - The Hug & Pint, Glasgow *
- 29th October - Xerox, Newcastle *
- 31st October - Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield *
- 1st November - Dareshack, Bristol *
- 2nd November - The Green Door Store, Brighton *
- 4th November - Bodega Social, Nottingham *
* w/ Mandy, Indiana
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