Swindon band Drag Me Down offer up an aggressive and fast-paced combination of pop punk and melodic hardcore that they’ve termed “whatevercore.”
The band is formed of vocalist and guitarist Oscar and lead guitarist Charlie, who attended the same music course at Surrey University in Guildford, and bassist James, plus whoever they can get on drums. They first started out in 2016, when Oscar was still at school in a rural area where it was difficult to find people to play in punk bands. Oscar and James met in the same community cover band and jammed on and off for a few years before making Drag Me Down their focus.
On the sound they’ve honed since, Oscar told us: “If you took Neck Deep, Strung Out and Saosin on a heavy night out in a run-down horrible town, then forced them (at gunpoint) to write a song the next day, that’s probably a good way of describing our sound.
“Charlie is really into progressive metalcore stuff like Erra, Invent Animate and Polyphia so on our upcoming singles we’re gonna start sprinkling some really technical and mind-bending shreddy guitar solos into the mix, so look out for that!”
We first discovered the band around the release of their latest single Invincible, which came out in August. It opens up with light synth sounds that give way to a cool twisting riff that continues over lively driving drums. Engaging vocals are supported by stabs of guitar chord as it builds up to a catchy chorus. Heavy guitars and drums return and a more melodic verse builds up to another big chorus, which returns for a final time to bring the track to a lively conclusion.
On the track, Oscar told us: “The reception’s been great, and we really like that our fans who started listening to us ages ago are still sticking around and digging what we put out after all this time. We’re not on any sort of label or management so it’s great that people are really getting into us for the same reason we got into our favourite bands- because of the music.
“If you haven’t listened yet, it’s more of the same stuff we always do! Which means fast and heavy drums, crunchy guitars and lyrics about believing in yourself and persevering to achieve your goals. I’m not a fan of bands who randomly change musical direction; I prefer it when they slowly grow their sound over time in a natural way. So that’s what we’re doing with our music: getting slowly better at what we do with every release while not changing the core of our sound.”
If you like the sound of that then the good news is Drag Me Down have a sizeable back catalogue of lively punk to get stuck into, including an impressive two albums and four EPs! For example, Fast Times delivers exactly that, fast-paced vocals and lively guitars and vocals in a catchy punk anthem. While Survive opens up with light vocals that flow into an energetic verse and a big catchy chorus. Check it out in the video below:
The trio bring a bunch of different musical tastes to the table. Oscar grew up as a pop-punk kid listening to the likes of Neck Deep, The Story So Far, and Zebrahead and is also into newer hardcore punk like Counterparts, Stray From The Path and Emmure. James has a well-rounded taste but shares a mutual favourite band with Oscar in Limp Bizkit, who they dream of supporting one day. While Charlie is more into bands like Architects, Erra, Northlane, Polyphia and Foo Fighters.
And on what inspires them to write music, Oscar explains: “I’ve been writing music ever since I was about 12 years old and I haven’t found a reason to stop yet. It’s an amazing outlet for all the emotions that build up inside you, both positive and negative. It also forces you to improve your musical ability by finding your own sound and expanding on it over time.
“For me, I enjoy writing lyrics about society, politics and mental health. In the South West UK, there’s a very wide class divide and sometimes the only way to accurately convey how you really feel is to write about it. If you read the lyrics to most of our songs you’ll find a lot of stuff about rising up to show the world what you’re made of, against all expectations. Not because I care what the average person thinks of our music, but because we’re constantly challenging ourselves to get better at writing and recording songs.”
There’s plenty more to come from Drag Me Down, with several singles ready to mix and release soon and live shows on the horizon, including a gig at The Holroyd Arms in Guildford on 26 November. And Oscar adds: “Don’t listen to us if you hate fun.”
You can follow Drag Me Down on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
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