by On the one hand, the internet has never made it easier to get music out there. On the other hand, the internet has never made it harder for bands to be truly heard. Somewhere amidst this knife-edge waltz of pleasing the algorithm while simultaneously creating authentic music, sit a catalogue of truly underrated and under-heard bands. One of them, is The Family Battenberg.
Bursting out of the garages in which their brand of rock got their name and into the pubs of Cardiff’s DIY scene, they drenched every gig venue they played, in psychedelic colour. Building off of the city’s sonic blueprint set out Boy Azooga’s 1,2 Kung Fu and leaning in to the esoterica of bands like King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, The Family Battenberg have found their own voice, that charms and energises with every single track.
“Sonically we pulled a lot from that 70s proto punk vibe, trying to find that happy medium of groovy, and also loud, and also fun” guitarist Ethan Duck explained to Far Out about the essence of the band and their upcoming UP. “There’s loads of more modern examples too, we love Ty Segall, Fat Whites, The White Stripes, all of that more eery garage rock vibe, which has inevitably bled into the EP.”
Way before their upcoming EP Spider Rock Forever, their first record ‘Fuzzy Features’ was a window into the band’s sonically precise but creatively weird world. Fittingly, the band trace the story of a warm hearted arachnid, which seems like an obscure launch point for a debut single, but upon hearing the sonic arrangement of the track, seems surprisingly and brilliantly on the nose.
Music had no idea that it was missing the soundtrack of a gentle spider, until The Family Battenberg delivered. While Eliot Jones’ vocals fluctuate between a quiet hush and blood curdling screams, Ethan Duck’s fuzz laden guitars prowl with menacing fun to create a truly captivating melodic footprint for the band, who on their discography, have proven that they can take the pastiche blueprint of psychedelic 70s sensibilities and make them something unique and captivating for the modern setting.
Now finally, this week, the band are now set to release their debut EP Spider Rock Forever, which for those who have been luckily enough to bear witness to this band’s steady rise, is long overdue. At 6 tracks long, Spider Rock Forever embraces the band’s subtle architecture of the arachnid world, and gives new fans an unfiltered taste of the band’s true essence. Fuzz laden verses, that descend into chaotic chorus lines, all tightly woven together by the band’s outrageously precise instrumentation.
“At its core Spider Rock Forever is just one big time capsule of our earlyish days as a band” guitarist Ethan Duck explained to Far Out. Adding, “Finding our feet musically, and what making a DIY debut EP would look like as a band, but mainly mates. Hopefully you can expect to feel that in the songs. And if not, it’s just 6 tracks of garage rock by a Welsh band who likes that kinda stuff.”
You may think you’ve heard a band like this before, but you haven’t. Sure, they’ve pulled influences from various places in the musical eco-system, but have repackaged it into something original. That originality can be outrightly consumed on this debut EP, but not celebrated. No, that joyous ceremony is reserved only for their live shows, which if you haven’t yet been privy to, is something you need to rectify before the year is out.
