"Come together, it's all or nothing now!"
These are the lyrics bellowing over raw and chugging guitar riffs and pounding drum crashes on the new track 'Something Primeval', words seeming inconsequential at the time lead singer, Jack Flynn, wrote them down, but now seem more poignant than ever.
Along with Jack, drummer Lauren Greaves and bassist Joel Hughes make up the rest of the trio known as FloodHounds, a band who have steadily gained a reputation for their raucous live shows as well as their undeniable ability to write blues infused indie rock bangers.
The band's new single, 'Something Primeval', is the second of two tracks recorded with producer, Thomas Mitchener, an occasional member of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, and producer of two Rattlesnakes albums - an influence you can feel throughout. The first track 'Out of Time' was premiered on BBC's Introducing as their Record of The Week.
Check out FloodHounds latest track 'Something Primeval' below:
We had the pleasure of having a very socially distanced chat with lead singer, Jack Flynn, check it out below:
What's the origin story for the band?
Some mates of mine were doing Litter Picking at Glastonbury (great little life hack for guaranteed Glasto tickets) and became friends with Laurenâs mates from Leeds. We were all on a big night out in Leeds together and I was saying how our drummer had escaped to Australia and I couldnât record, when someone said; âLaurenâs a drummer!â She subbed in so I could record a few songs, and never left. After that, weâd been planning to audition a load of bass players, when another Sheffield musician Jamie Heawood introduced us to Joel. He came along and it turned out heâd learnt a whole set of our songs in just a few days and fitted in so well that was it. Job done!
Which artists would you reference as an influence on the band's sound?
I was brought up on Hendrix & The White Stripes, all the classic âguitarâ stuff. For ages I only seemed to like bands that had all split up or died before I had even discovered them, which was annoying. But thatâs all changed, now we pretty much only listen to brand new music, because there are so many incredible bands around right now. Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Kid Kapichi, The Blinders, Saint Agnes, BlackWaters, Strange Bones, Calva Louise, Demob Happy, the list is endless. Joel hops between old school punk like NOFX to Childish Gambino. Lauren loves a bit of everything from the electro swing of Dutty Moonshine to filthy blues rock like Gary Clark Jr.
What was the inspiration behind the new single?
I had come up with this swampy, chugging little guitar riff, which I felt had a kind of sinister tone that could soundtrack some sort of hunter moving through the jungle. I donât know maybe I had some Attenborough on in the background or something but it just sort of set me off with a bunch of animal metaphors basically questioning how deep our primeval instincts run, and whether to trust them or not. Sort of concluding that our advantage compared to the animals is our ability to come together if you want to solve problems and survive. Not literally though! I wrote the âcome together, itâs all or nothing nowâ lyrics way before social distancing was the new normal.
What have the band been up to in quarantine?
Weâve been rearranging our songs for a few live streams, like the one we did one for Jägermeister which is up on their YouTube channel now. Itâs been a great opportunity for songwriting and weâve got some feisty new tracks that Iâm dying to get started on. Weâve also recorded an entire acoustic album at home. I went a bit overboard, adding strings and other instruments weâll never be able to orchestrate in real life. But it sounds mega. Acoustic is fun but weâre a noisy rock band so now weâre recording some electric sessions individually in isolation to compile together for a âliveâ video at some point. Other than that, Lauren is growing an avocado tree in a pint glass on her window sill, and Joel is conducting some very serious experiments combining different flavours of hot sauce for the ultimate taste sensation.
What's one album or artist that you've had on repeat during the lockdown?
Iâve been listening to a lot of Black Futures. Theyâre such a cool hybrid between electronic music and punk rock. It reminds me of The Prodigy. They build the tension like a masterful DJ, but when it gets to the drop itâs not a bleep bloopy synth line, itâs an absolutely filthy guitar riff and a monstrous drum kit with a screeching vocal thrown in for good measure, itâs great. I might even have to download a virtual drum machine and figure out how the hell to make our own remixes. I mean now is the perfect time for that sort of experiment right?
Is there anything fans can do to help support young bands such as yourselves during this time?
Without gigs, itâs pretty hard to raise funds to record new music, so buying a bands merch is probably a straightforward way to do it, and get something back yourself! Even if you already have the T-Shirt, buy it as a gift for someone else, the band will appreciate it big time. Other than that, if a band is releasing anything new, give it a share either publicly or just privately pass the link on to somebody you think might like it.
Have you learnt anything about yourself while being stuck inside? Seems a perfect time for self-reflection.
Thatâs a hard one. Iâve kind of just buried my head into writing, recording and keeping busy rather than stopping and reflecting too much. Maybe those reflections will come out in song form without even realising. I guess Iâve learned to enjoy the little things more, and that you can survive on a lot less than you thought you could as long as you prioritise what is really important.
If you could choose any 3 musicians/artists (dead or alive) to quarantine with, who would they be and why?
Well all drummers are banned. You canât have them scratching their rhythm itch by bashing away on the walls like something out of STOMP every day. Same goes for the Iggy Pops of the world, after a week they would do your head in and I bet heâd leave the flat in a mess. So Iâd probably go for some relaxed jazz or reggae musicians, maybe a couple trip hop producers who arenât too high intensity, so letâs say Charlie Parker, Fat Freddyâs Drop, and Zero 7.
Plans to tour or go back to normality have been put on hold indefinitely but does the band have anything planned going forward?
After weâve released âSomething Primevalâ weâve got a music video filmed in Sheffieldâs gothic looking medieval bear pit in on a freezing Sunday in February to put out, then weâll be doing a few live sessions where we can. But yep once weâre allowed out I think itâll be back to the studio to get the next batch of tunes ready. Weâve got so many songs up our sleeve now so itâll be tough deciding which one makes the cut for recording but thatâs part of the fun.