New Band of the Week: Mad By Mourning

Plymouth trio Mad By Mourning have cooked up a cauldron of twisted stories and nightmarish themes that they’ve term termed Spook-Rock. Inspired by an obsession with gothic art, the band have crafted an edgy and engaging sound that they describe as “dark, energetic and theatrical.”

The band was started by vocalist Alfie Roberts and guitarist Tom Emery, who’ve been inseparable since the age of four and previously toured and released music under the name Vampire Money. But they sought to expand the band by putting an ad online for a drummer and subsequently completed the lineup with Alex Hallett.

And on what people should expect from the sound they’ve honed, Alfie tells us: “I’d tell them to run away! It’s spooky, it’s twisty, there are some beautifully thick guitars, the grooviest of basslines, drums that will punch you in the gut and a little drama queen goth that laments over the top. All for the listener’s pleasure and/or disgust.”

Our latest taste of this is their second single Creature Of Habit, which was released on Friday (8 September). It opens up with a jaunty little sound that drops into chunky guitars. An equally jaunty verse follows with vocals supported by palm-muted guitars, which give way to more of the chunky guitars and a big chorus of “I bite my jet black fingernails, I rip the skin right to the bone, I pull out hair after hair, Until I fall asleep alone.” A second chorus drops into repeats of “I know/you know it’s such a bad habit,” then a cool guitar solo sets up a couple more blasts of the chorus.

Speaking ahead of the release, Alfie said: “We can’t wait for people to hear Creature of Habit, it’s probably the most personal track I’ve written and we’ve worked with some amazing people on it too. It was mixed by Alex Copp (As December Falls/Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes) and mastered by Grant Berry (Hot Milk/Stand Atlantic). Our guitars have never sounded as big and bitey as this so get ready for a lovely riff that may or may not decapitate you as soon as you hear it.” Watch the video here:

That follows the band’s debut single Veins, which was released last year. It begins with a cool driving riff, which feeds into engaging opening vocals supported by a stabbing guitar. The line “That’s why I insist on writing scary songs where we die at the end” leads into a chorus of fast-paced vocals, which drops into a slightly sinister second verse. A second verse gives way to a bumbling guitar, then a cool section of intense instrumentals set up a final chorus. Check it out in the video here:

The Mad By Mourning sound has been inspired by a wide range of bands, including the likes of My Chemical Romance, The Cure, Fall Out Boy, Ramones, Panic at the Disco, Danny Elfman, The Cramps, Sex Pistols, Smashing Pumpkins, David Bowie, Sum-41 and Misfits.

And on what inspires them to write music, Alfie explains: “I don’t want to bring the vibe down but death has such a huge influence on our music. It fascinates me. I love writing stories and I’m massively inspired by gothic authors, so tales of horror, vengeance and tragedy are pretty big mainstays in our lyrics. I like translating the feelings I get from visual art like films, books or drawings into music. It feels like a proper cauldron, mixing loads of influential ingredients!”

Creature of Habit have a tour lined up through November, starting at the Hope & Anchor in London on 3 November then taking in Cheltenham, Brighton, Swindon and Plymouth. More info on their shows is here. And if you see them live, you’ll also be able to get your hands on their upcoming debut EP before it’s released.

Alfie adds: “If you like what you hear with Creature of Habit, welcome on board, get down to one of our shows and bring your dancing shoes, it’s a wonderfully sweaty time! If you don’t like what you hear, well then that is a crying shame and I’m sure someone, somewhere will pray for you.”

You can follow Mad By Mourning on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.