Sulk just wanna be adored...
Is it too soon for the Britpop revival? Maybe. But with the rose-tinted glasses brigade currently feasting on the bones of the early ‘90s indie craze, it seems like only a matter of time before we see a night dedicated to all things Ocean Colour Scene taking over the Alibi and kids sporting round sunglasses and Adidas Gazelles outside of Camden station. In fact, as far as I can tell the only thing that’s holding it back is that the memory of all the dross is still too fresh in some people’s minds for anyone to go full bore into the realms of Britpop. So you can sleep well in the knowledge that the only place you’ll be hearing ‘Wake Up, Boo’ is on a Radio 2 morning show.
At the moment, the closest thing London can muster to a full-on ‘90s-style indie rock band is a five-piece called Sulk. Led by a guy who looks like the ghost of Tim Burgess circa 1996 and with a love of bowl cuts, delay pedals and reverb-heavy drum beats, they harken back to the days when bands like Suede, The Stone Roses, Ride and The Verve ruled over the music scene like gigantic swaggering gods.
Before you start shuddering and looking for the nearest link, it’s probably best pointing out that these chaps aren’t doing nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. In the same way that the Stone Roses followed the musical twine back to the British psychedelic scene and used it to create their cosmic sounding blend of indie and dance, Sulk are merely following in their footsteps by using the blissful indie rock of the late Madchester-era as a jump-off point for their sonic explorations.
I caught up with lead singer Jonathan Sutcliffe, currently riding high on the back of an Artrocker-sponsored show at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen and with a headline gig at the Shacklewell this month.
I’m guessing that you guys were dead excited when you heard the Stone Roses had reformed?
Yes and no. I’m excited for them, definitely; after all, they’re all super talented people and deserve some money, but I’m also a bit against the idea of all these bands reforming. It’s as if you’re saying “everything new is crap, so here’s some old stuff to keep you going”.
Hmmm, you sound pretty conflicted on this.
Yeah, I am a bit. I mean, on the one hand you’ve got this band whose music pretty much mapped our lives out, but on the other, you kind of want see some new bands getting a chance.
So does it bother you that most of the internet has you pegged as a Britpop revival sort of band?
Honestly? I don’t really mind it. I don’t call us Britpop myself, but there’s no two ways about it: we remind people of all those bands. We aren’t trying to follow any trends or anything; it’s just the music we all grew up listening to.
Well, at least no one can accuse you of being another one of those bands trying to rehash Joy Divison and ending up sounding like Interpol...
Exactly! At least we’re ripping off good music and not post punk for a change...
Lastly, have you got any decent New Year’s resolutions?
Just for Sulk to take over the world really. Simple as...
Sulk play the Shacklewell Arms on the 17th of January
http://www.sulktheband.com
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