Fresh / Teenage Halloween Co-Headline / Murder Club

Fresh 

We are Fresh. Fresh was started in London by me, Kathryn. It was originally a songwriting project, and it was my first ever band. With the help of friend and then-guitarist James Rowland, we released two EPs called Gewingchum (2015) and These Things Are Not That Fun in (2015). We recorded these EPs mostly at James’ flat in South London, but we tracked drums at the Camden Roundhouse Studios. We played everything ourselves and released them both directly onto bandcamp. Spurred on by positive comments and vocal support online, we began playing diy shows all over London.

In early 2016 George Phillips (bass) and Daniel Goldberg (drums) joined the band and we started touring outside of our hometown; playing shows all around the south in Brighton, Southampton, Exeter and Bristol. We then signed to Specialist Subject Records and began recording our debut album at The Ranch in Southampton. James Rowland left Fresh shortly after recording, and was replaced by Myles McCabe. Our first record Fresh came out soon after in 2017. We toured the UK and Europe extensively and had lots of fun! We built up a small following and released a two-song EP called Daytime/Nighttime in 2018, working with producer Rich Mandell at Resident Studios in London.

We then began working on our second album Withdraw, again with Rich Mandell and again at Resident Studios. Withdraw came out in 2019, and we continued to tour on it: playing all over the UK, Europe and the USA. We played The Fest in Florida and supported adult mom on their south/east coast tour on the same leg. We then returned to the UK and supported PUP on their UK tour. Our last show before coronavirus was on the 6th of March 2020 – a sold-out, headline show at DIYSpace in London.

Since COVID, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes writing and recording. We released our EP The Summer I Got Good At Guitar (produced by Rich Mandell at Resident Studios and Marketstall Studios in London) in Spring 2021, and our third album Raise Hell, in Summer 2022.

Teenage Halloween

Stand by your friends that are hurting.

That’s what New Jersey power punks Teenage Halloween do through soaring arrangements of melodic angst, wracked vocals that insist “I love you so much I would die for you”, and passion-packed two-minute dispatches tackling topics from gender euphoria, to state abuses, and an eternal quest for mental wellbeing. The results are potent punk vistas that document young queer life at the edge of America.

At the heart of vocalist and guitarist Luk Henderiks’ lyrics is an urgent longing for community. Despite their often strikingly personal vulnerability, these songs reach out to the wider world, striving to hold themselves and those around them accountable for their actions and to make space for those that need to be heard.

In 2020, the band released their self-titled debut album via storied Garden State label Don Giovanni and swiftly won over a host of tastemakers. BrooklynVegan placed it at #10 on their Best New Punk Albums Of 2020, while Sterogum hailed them on their 40 Best New Bands Of 2020. American Songwriter, Paste, and KEXP brought further kind words to the table.

Having been unable to tour the album on its release in pre-vaccine times, the band hit the road with abandon in late 2021 and beyond, notching over 140 shows on their belts; including their first national US tour, an invitation to showcase at SXSW, and dates with Algernon Cadwallader, Chris Farren, Good Riddance, Say Anything and many more. These shows invariably deliver a calling card of unrelenting energy, wry wit, and warmth.

In February 2023, the group headed into Headroom Studios in Philadelphia, PA, under the guiding hand of producer Joe Reinhart (Hop Along, Beach Bunny, Joyce Manor), and tracked the 13 dispatches on isolation, uncertainty, and hope for better days, that make up Till You Return. This second full-length outing (due for Oct 20th release via Don Giovanni) finds the band, which operated as a ‘rotating cast’ in it’s early years, now firmly entrenched as an essential four-piece comprised of Henderiks alongside Eli Frank (guitar, vocals), Tricia Marshall (bass, vocals) and Peter Gargano (drums). The quartet maintains the vital energy of their previous incarnations but brings an even more focused punch to the arrangements that leaves greater room for Henderiks’ lyrics. Fans of the band will also have noticed the creative assent of Marshall who takes the vocal lead on multiple songs that have become defining features of the band’s recent live shows and which bring a fresh new viewpoint to the band’s ongoing sonic mission for a more equal and just world. More info: linktr.ee/teenagehalloween

Murder Club

Murder Club are a four piece riot-grrrl-informed indie-pop/rock outfit from Newport, South Wales. Formed in December 2020, the girls got together whenever they could in between lockdown restrictions easing to bash out what would soon become their tight set of crowd pleasing, sugary-sweet punky numbers. Inspired by the likes of Hole and Boygenius, their debut EP ‘Sour Candy’ was released in February 2022, exploring matters of cat-calling, bad boyfriends, and being afraid to stick up for yourself.

As well as a number of headline shows in venues across the south east, including Newport’s Le Pub, Exeter’s The Cavern, and Cardiff’s Porters, the girlies have supported bands such as Shit Present, Adwaith, The Nightmares, The Bug Club, and Algernon Cadwalader. Following a tour with the legendary The Wedding Present, Murder Club, hopped straight into the studio to record their brand new EP with Richard Jackson (The Nightmares, Parcs, The Automatic, Super Furry Animals, Pretty Vicious). The result was ‘The Night Out’ EP: a fizzy, fun, and fresh collection of songs which track the journey of a typical night out, exploring deeper the realities of being a 21st century woman with honesty, humour, and guts. Follow the girls as they get ready for a night on the town in Pictures of Myself, through to the club’s women’s toilets in Shots?! before they can be found stumbling home after the argument of the century in Crybaby. It’s a right mare.

“I can’t remember the last time I played a band for the first time that just seem to have fallen into place so, kind of, perfectly….They make it sound effortless. (It) feels a little bit momentous” - Adam Walton

Murder Club are Ellie Couburn (guitar, vocals), Kristy Cromwell (bass, vocals), Elisha Djan (drums), and Lily Gray (synth, vocals).

Tickets are on sale now, grab yours! 🎟️

👉 https://bit.ly/Fresh-TeenageHalloween-Newport

Wednesday the 27th of March 2024

Co-headline: Fresh X Teenage Halloween

+ Murder Club

Le Pub, Newport

£10 / 7.30 / 16+