FEATURE: Spotlight: Warmduscher — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Warmduscher

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I normally reserve this feature…

for artists who are fairly new but, even though Warmduscher have been on the scene for a fair few years, I think they are a band that are still worthy of more followers! Not only do they have a name that stands out – so many artists today choose stupid names or ones you will struggle to find on a search engine -; they have music that is among the most interesting at the moment. I shall get to their latest album soon but, before then, a short introduction. Warmduscher are Clams Baker Jr (Craig Louis Higgins Jr), Lightnin’ Jack Everett (Jack Everett); Quicksand (Adam J Harmer), Mr. Salt Fingers Lovecraft (Ben Romans-Hopcraft) and The Witherer a.k.a. Little Whiskers (Quinn Whalley). It is also cool that they have sobriquets; sort of like the Traveling Wilburys did (they comprised George Harrison, Roy Orbison; Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne; they gave themselves unique forenames and the surname ‘Wilbury’). Also, so many bands have quite boring stories when it comes to their genesis. The coolly-named Warmduscher formed on New Year’s Eve 2014 and were there as a sort of impromptu band at a house party, as the story goes. The line-up has changed since the very start. Higgins was on vocals with Harmer on drums, alongside Saul Adamczewski and Lias Kaci Saoudi of Fat White Family on bass and guitar respectively. The group continued as a quintet and eventually were getting traction in magazines and blogs in the U.K.

They were being dubbed one of the best bands in London and turning many heads! Building on this momentum and heat, the band released Khaki Tears through the Trashmouth Records label in 2015. Far Out Magazine – in addition to many others – were impressed with what they heard:

“Indeed, while the record might well share a similar metaphorical descent in to madness and paranoia to that of Lewis Carroll’s novel, where Carroll’s story drifted in an opiated haze, Khaki Tears sinks deeper in to a K-hole; it’s synthesised psychedelia making post-modern references to the likes of STD’s and George Carlin (‘Roger’s Gills’) in what could only be a product of the 21st century. With singles ‘The Salamander’, and the aforementioned ‘Johnny’s Blue Khaki’ having been premiered previously, those interested in expanding their mind can at least dabble with the gateway tracks before embracing the shamanic intensity of tracks like ‘Gold Teeth’ or the trippy disco of ‘Yolk Buns U.S.A’.

Fans of the Fat Whites will of course find a lot to love about Kahaki Tears, as will fans of the mind-expanding cocktails behind its creation. And it’s almost certainly a record best enjoyed with a weighty joint, at the very least. But, it’s also a record that’s unlikely to find much footing outside of its target audience, though cracking the mainstream was never its intention to begin with. Instead, it’s a record that rattles towards its close with little regard for sanity or convention, reaching its conclusion in under half an hour, before spitting out listeners looking wide-eyed and feeling cerebrally battered”.

Not only were Warmduscher killing at venues around the capital; they were also created a storm with their debut album. Following the release of the single Big Wilma/Neon Tongues (produced by Dan Carey), they released their sophomore album, Whale City, in June 2018 through The Leaf Label. Again, critics wee keen to praise the band who were putting out music like nobody else. This is what CLASH had to say:

“Lead single 'Big Wilma' acts as the perfect sonic manifesto; hard-riffing garage rock blares, as Clams’ words fly out of his mouth, like bullets from a gun. A militarised Beefheart, Warmduscher are a force. On 'Sweet Smell Of Florida', they thrash through a Butthole Surfers-esque sleez jam, that cackles and growls like a saltwater croc.

But oh, it’s ever so reductive to say that Warmduscher are simply a brutish bunch of guitar-wielding hoodlums. 1,000 Whispers wafts through the speakers like a cold breeze after a sweaty afternoon, Clams’ croon a sexy growl atop ba-ba-ba-ing vocal harmonies, whilst closer 'Summertime Tears' fits into the same sonic continuum – like The Flaming Lips without the blurred, soft edges. It gives you chance to breathe after a frankly whirlwind tour of ‘Whale City’.

Warmduscher offer an ultimately imaginative, fun and thrilling take on rock ‘n’ roll, in an era where music of this ilk can feel so suffocating. Never boring, never dull, this is a glowing, fire-breathin’, thunder-clappin’ ghost train of a record. Everything these people do seems to turn to gold, and you can just tell from the album’s typography alone that this is no exception.

I will move onto their latest album in a bit but, firstly, I was interested by interviews Warmduscher provided around the release of Whale City. One can imagine there were few who were not sure of the band’s start and what makes them tic. Although their social media is updated regularly and there is some biographical information out there, there weren’t a huge number of interviews online. I have only really latched onto their music this year with Tainted Lunch, so it has been interesting listening back and finding out more about this incredible band. When they spoke with M Magazine in 2018, they were asked how they have changed since their earliest days:

“What makes Warmduscher work?

We started out as a way of having fun – we were mostly improvised. We got a really good vibe from that and it was a nice break from the normal stuff we were all doing in other bands. There were no strings attached to this. We could do whatever we wanted.

Then we added Ben, who played bass. We all have different music tastes, but also the same. But they’re all really good musicians and we just gelled together. I’m not entirely sure why it works – but I’m glad it does!

How has Warmduscher evolved since the early days?

The first album was 100 percent improvised when we recorded it. Ben wasn’t in the band then, it was just Saul, Jack and myself. So that was how we did it, and we just left things as they were. Then [producer] Dan Carey saw us play at Mica Levi’s going away party at her house. It was really good, and Dan was into it. We asked if he wanted to do our next album and when he said ‘yes’, we thought ‘oh, shoot!’ We better get something together”.

I am casting my mind back to last year and what the band scene was like in London. I went to a few gigs and kept my ears to the ground, but there were very few that really stood out. Maybe I was not looking hard enough. Certainty, Warmduscher were stirring things up and providing a sound that was missing. In another interview, Far Out Magazine got to the bottom of Warmduscher:

“The band, born out of the depths of London with a voice from the United States, penetrate your ears with every sound and rapid-fire lyric they can. Casting a shadow across every genre in their wake, the leader of this rock and roll nightmare is Clams Baker and he’s not what you’d first expect.

When fronting a South London band drenched in a punk ethos and already rendered a danger by many, there’s a certain image one conjures. The band is frenetic and contiguously creative, Baker himself, after being asked to describe them in one sentence, said “a good time gone viral” – and we couldn’t have put it better ourselves. However, Clams is both every part of that rock and roll image and every shadow that it isn’t.

Warmduscher is billed as “fractured rock and roll” and “sleaziest, debauched, filthy” and more. Truth is, there’s so much more to this band than just that. Clams Baker has strived for this moment, he’s done his time in the shitty jobs that nobody wants, he’s pushed himself into creative areas that proved unfruitful and he’s come out the other side wondering what happened.

Scratch beneath the surface of Warmduscher, take a warm shower and wash off all that dirt from the night before and you’ll find the sincerity of a bunch of musicians doing what they’ve always wanted, making music and performing their art.

This year has been an especially busy and successful one for the band. I have been listening to their music on BBC Radio 6 Music and Warmduscher have been captivating the crowds in the live arena. Their latest album, Tainted Lunch (the guys have a knack for awesome titles!), has been scooping big reviews and they are, again, proving themselves to be one of the most original and captivating bands around. I am sure Tainted Lunch will be among many critics’ top-ten when it comes to deciding their favourite albums from this year. Here is what The Line of Best Fit said when they reviewed Tainted Lunch:

“The whole thing feels a bit like a messy acid trip, darker than you're prepared for, like a self-destructive Hunter S. Thompson narrative. But with Iggy Pop growling into your ear on opener "Rules of the Game", you don't really want to be anywhere else.

The first single off the album, "Midnight Dipper" - an instant 6 Music favourite - is punchy, demands your attention, and oozes funk. The newly released creepy stop-motion video for "Disco Peanuts" is so worryingly impossible to avert your eyes from; it is a perfect allegory for the grim almost-fictional existence that is Warmduscher.

Tracks like "Fill It, Don't Spill It", "Grapeface", "Blood Load", fill your mind like a nightmare, screaming; a beast consuming its prey. But eventually the trip has to come to an end. "Tiny Letters" sees Warmduscher signing off, letting it all go, in a painfully beautiful ballad. The range of this band is intelligent and impressive. They do everything to perfection yet so freely it feels effortless.

Tainted Lunch is an irresistible delight; once you taste it you know you can never go without it again. Seductive, inescapable, overpowering, and you might need to take a shower afterwards”.

I am excited to see where the band go next and what they can achieve. You can keep on top of their live dates, and I would recommend you go along and see them if you can. More than anything, they bring something genuinely fascinating and fresh to the stage. Tainted Lunch takes their exceptional music to new heights, and the band are primed for a very long and prosperous future. Warmduscher have come quite a long way since their inception; I wonder whether they thought they would still be around and kicking arse when they were playing their first gigs – maybe they did! They have truly arrived, and this year has been a pretty hot one. After a string of successful dates and a critically acclaimed album, the band can be very proud and satisfied. I was intrigued by Tainted Lunch on its title alone; the fact the album is packed with brilliant tracks and takeaways makes it even more wonderful. I know the gang will be winding down now and plotting their moves for 2020. Given the love that has come their way this year, I believe Warmduscher can expect…