Welsh outfit The Bug Club were my favourite new find of last year, their mini-album Pure Particles and EP, Launching Moondream One were, and still are, outstanding.
From the little-known rock n’ roll hotbed of Caldicot, Monmouthshire, the creative trio of Sam Willmett (guitar/vocals), Tilly Harris (bass/vocals) and Dan Matthew (drums) craft tight-knit, catchy and memorable tunes; sometimes blistering, fiery and fierce and other times, melodic and playfully addictive, and always fizzing with humour and riffs-a-plenty. And the good news is; The Bug Club are back with new single ‘Intelectuals’. But it is a single with a difference. ‘Intelectuals’ is actually five new tracks, recorded in one take.
During the Intelectuals sessions the band wrote five tracks. They recorded the whole lot back-to-back in one take and whacked that entire session out as the a-side with the ‘Money Version’ – a single of sorts – sitting on the proverbial reverse.
Over the 10 minutes we are treated to the gamut of The Bug Club’s endearing brilliance. Opening with a gentle melodic, meandering and tender pop air allowing Willmet & Harris brilliant dual vocals to thrive before fizzing into a blistering, fiery and excitable garage-rock foray, leading to crunching anthemic territory and concluding with hyperactive guitar driven brilliance. Phew! It is a whirlwind of electrifying energy.
Tune into both full and ‘money version’ below:
