12" Blue Vinyl, signed by the band
Keg release new EP Girders on Alcopop! Records / BMG. Lead track Kids strides into the deep lineage of British art-punk songwriting that is both self-referencing and outward-facing - while being consistently innovative. Few singles manage to take aim at both the restaurant chain Itsu and the comedian Michael McIntyre, but Keg somehow pull it off.
Keg are a seven piece. Albert (vocals), Joel (bass) and Will (synth) grew up together around the seaside Yorkshire town of Bridlington; and like many artists growing up in removed quarters of the country, they shared a yearning to leave. Spreading to different parts of the country after leaving school, they found their bandmates in their respective cities and found one another once again on the southern shores of Brighton. Frank (guitar), whose background resides mostly in hip-hop, afforded a unique pulse with a guitar sound which is manic, discordant but firm. Jules (guitar) whose songwriting sensibilities come from a love of cadence and craft of beautiful soul ballads, imbued the band with his structured sense of composition. Both Charlie (trombone and shell) and Johnny (drums) come from classically trained Jazz backgrounds.