Hull newcomers Backyard Casino have honed a catchy indie rock sound led by engaging, colloquial vocals that they describe as “raw, electric and charismatic.”
The band began with James McEwen (vocals and guitar) and Gareth Brown (guitar), who used to break into their school’s department to grab acoustic guitars and jam on the playing fields. That started their love for being in a band and, after a couple of lineup changes, they completed the band with Ash Wray (bass) and Danny Steele (drums).
And on the sound they’ve honed, James tells us: “We always identify ourselves as an indie rock band but we kind of have our fingers in loads of different pies and aren’t afraid of breaking out of that formula. There’s a raw punky edge to us but then we have a lot of classic elements that we’ve taken from the bands of the 60s and 70s but put our own modern spin on them, much like Oasis did in the 90s. It’s just in your face, raw, unadulterated rock’n’roll energy.”
Our most recent taste of this is their third single Silver Tongue, which was released in August. It opens up with stabbing guitars that develop into a jaunty riff, which feeds into an engaging opening verse. That builds up to the lines “He said I’ve got the gift of a gab, But it’s a one-way ticket to a slap,” which sees the vocals joined by a cool twisting guitar lick for the chorus.
A funky guitar solo bridges into another engaging verse with dual vocals, before the lines “And it’s another night of shite for the parasite, But he reckons he’ll get lucky when he gets it right” feeds into a second chorus. It drops into heavier guitars under repeats of “He’s got a silver tongue” to bring the track to a lively conclusion.
On the track, James told us: “We’ve been buzzed with the response to Silver Tongue, we feel it’s probably our strongest release yet and it’s been great to see it get so much airtime on the radio with the likes of BBC Introducing, Hive Radio and Future Hits among loads of others all giving it some spins. It’s a real indie disco banger with a little bit of punky flavour in there that smacks you right in the face from the off.
“It’s based on an encounter I had in a bar, whereby this random bloke got chatting to me about how irresistible he was to the ladies and announced to the whole bar ‘I’ve got the gift of the gab me, I’ve got the silver tongue.’ The phrase stuck with me and the song was written a week later.” Check it out in the video here:
That follows the equally engaging Come Through With The Lightning, which gradually builds up to a chorus featuring the line “‘Cos what you see is what I am, And what I am is the masterplan.” It also features a noodling little solo that feeds into a heavier section and returns for the outro. And that followed the catchy debut single Line By Line, which you can check out here:
The band calls out two bands as their biggest influences, Oasis and Arctic Monkeys. As James explains: “Without those two bands there’s probably not a BYC but there are so many influences it’s impossible to name them all. There’s loads of incredible upcoming bands like The Skinner Brothers and Fontaines DC that we’re really into at the moment and we’re big on a lot of the local bands on the scene as well.”
And on what inspires them to write music, James adds: “The influences tend to come from everyday life. We write a lot about going out and having a good time as that’s what we’re all about. But it can also be quite a cathartic process to get a lot of that angst and anger out through a belting tune, which with the way the world is at the moment, there’s a lot needs saying.”
Backyard Casino are keeping themselves busy with plenty of gigs coming up soon, starting with Hull venues The New Adelphi Club and The Sesh at Polar Bear on 20 November and 29 November respectively then The White Bear in Barnsley on 30 November. They’re also heading into Young Thugs studio in York this month to record their next single, which should be out early next year and James promises “is gonna absolutely blow your heads off.” And he adds: “Remember the name! If you want the real BYC experience come see us live and support your local music scene. 2023 we’re coming for you!”
You can follow Backyard Casino on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud and YouTube.
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