Get to Know... Weirds

Hailing from Leeds, guttural four-piece Weirds will be bringing the noise to a special gig at Manchester's Deaf Institute on 25 Sep.

Produced by Hookworms' MJ, Weirds' debut single, Crocodile, had all the bite and urgency you'd expect – and was followed up by the equally feral, sellout double A-side Off The Hook/Heavy Rain.

Namechecking Melvins and David Lynch among their influences, it's no surprise that their no-frills sound has both an immediacy and a certain mysticism. 

Ahead of their gig at The Deaf Institute, Manchester on 25 Sep – where they'll be playing alongside clever DIY-ers False Advertising, melodic, fuzzy rockers Fruit Bomb, and Leeds-based grunge pop group Menace Beach – we posed Weirds ten quick questions to find out what makes them tick.

The Skinny: Hi guys! Pray tell: when and how (and why!) did Weirds begin?

Zachary: We’ve all been playing in bands together since we were 15 but we started this band about two years ago. We all met at school and seemed to be the only people interested in the kind of music we were all listening to.

How would you describe your sound in one sentence? (Trick question: sentence can be as long or short as you like...)

Matthew: Progressive dissonance.

Aidan: Amphibious.

What are some records/live experiences that have been really influential on you as a band?

Zachary: Anything by the Melvins for me, but the Stoner Witch era in particular. I love how heavy the guitars sound on that record. On the other end of the scale I saw Foals with these guys when I was about 16, I think it was just before/after Total Life Forever came out, but it was the most fascinating thing ever for a 16-year-old interested in being in bands.

Aidan: ‘There's seven people dead on a South Dakota farm, but somewhere in the distance seven new people are born’ – although I know these aren’t his lyrics, The Ballad of Hollis Brown on The Big Dream by David Lynch stirs something up for me. It’s a great reinterpretation of the Bob Dylan track. That whole record is weird as hell.

David: TV on the Radio’s Return to Cookie Mountain is one of my favourite albums. Feed The Rhino’s aggression live has been really influential to me.

Tell us something people would be surprised to learn about you.

Zachary: Matt once played violin for The Travelling Band, which we still find hilarious. The best part is he never told us about it until we saw him in their press shots.

Your singles so far have had a great reception – we hear Off The Hook/Heavy Rain sold out quick-sharp! What's next for you guys – is there an album in the making?

Aidan: We all live in the same house together in Leeds, where we are writing the record. There’s still a lot of unreleased material from us that will come out before the album though.

We really love your artwork. Can you tell us a bit about the artist(s)?

Aidan: We believe strongly in maintaining a consistent visual aesthetic in tandem with our music. We shoot and edit all of our music videos and get our mates to help us out. The most recent involved our friend Conners, a deer skull and a hand-stitched flag emerging from a lake. Our friend Tritschler creates all the artwork for our record sleeves, and has just been designing for our next release.

Leeds is known for its strong and supportive DIY community. How would you describe your experience of the Leeds music scene, and what it means for you?

Aidan: Leeds is notorious for its history of bands and venues, that’s why we moved here. It’s a vibrant place with new bands and gigs cropping up all the time. There’s obviously the more well known bands like Pulled Apart By Horses, Eagulls, Hookworms and Menace Beach, but also a lot of great smaller bands involved in the scene like Cattle, New Woman and Clenstch, plus great promoters like Karma Leeds, Nath from the Brudenell, Super Friendz and Beacons Metro.

The other thing about Leeds is the raft of gig spaces that are available. We filmed a live session for Record Store Day this year with our friends at Tall Boys Beer Market. There's places like the newly opened Brunswick, Temple of Boom and Wharf Chambers too that are all constantly involved in gigs, exhibitions and events. It’s great to see.

We're really excited to see you play on 25 Sep, and to have four of the most energetic bands in the North right now all on one bill! Which of the other acts are you most looking forward to seeing?

Zachary: We’re excited to see all the bands, but its always ace to see Menace Beach, they’re great songwriters. It will be cool to see them in the Deaf Institute too, I lived in Salford for two years and The Deaf Institute was always my favourite place to see shows. I saw Perfect Pussy there and they smashed it.

What does the rest of the year have in store for Weirds?

Aidan: We’re playing a shit load of shows and recording/releasing new material. We want to keep as busy as possible.

And finally: What do you like to do outside of the band? Any projects we should know about?

David: We’re pretty religiously obsessed with Anvil: The Story of Anvil. We watch it at least once a week.

---

Catch Weirds alongside False Advertising, Fruit Bomb and special guests to be announced at The Deaf Institute, Manchester on 25 Sep. Tickets are just £3 in advance via dice.fm.