British quartet Strayers offer up a nostalgic infatuation of alternative 90s and 2000s sounds and aesthetics that aims to be equal parts tongue-in-cheek fun and emotionally wrought. The band have crafted a deliciously feisty and grungey sound that they describe as “raw, catchy and loud.”
Strayers started out with frontman Christopher J Watts (Wattsy) writing music during lockdown. That grew and developed to the point that the current lineup came together just over a year ago, with Wattsy joining forces with guitarist Sammy Rowles, bassist Tom Oliver-Hawkins and drummer Matt Janke.
And on the sound they’ve crafted, Tom told us to expect: “A punchy nostalgic trip through the 90’s and 00’s with a modern twist that your mum will love!”
Our latest taste of this is ONLY HUMAN, which has been heavily rewritten and reshaped before the band deemed it worthy of being released at the end of last month. And the band intriguingly summarise it as “Picture “Nirvana’s Sliver, but written by The Hives.”
ONLY HUMAN opens up with a fun descending riff that continues over a bending lick and drops into Wattsy’s engaging vocals “Can’t stop thinking, Ego shrinking, Limbs keep shaking, My mind is breaking.” The atmosphere builds before dropping into the catchy chorus “Get off my back, I’m doing the best, I can, Cut me some slack, I’m only human.”
The bendy riff returns and continues through a verse that flows into another catchy chorus, which gives way to faster vocals that end with a big scream. Heavier guitars kick in, dropping into light guitars and vocals to tee up another blast of the chorus. Big driving guitar chords, a cool lick and lively vocals take over, taking us to a raucous conclusion.
On the track, Tom told us: “Only Human is punchy, riff-driven with a foot to the floor energy. The song’s one of our more simple tunes, but it’s taken the most time to perfect. It’s undertaken many a rewrite, we even scrapped an old studio recording of it last year because it wasn’t quite right, so at this point we’re really proud of what the song has become.”
ONLY HUMAN follows on from this year’s single RUBBERNECK, which follows the same vibe of lively guitars and engaging vocals, and the band’s 2023 EP Elsewhere, from which we love the sound of tracks like Table For Two, Go It Alone and the big final track In The Way.
The Strayers sound draws influence from the likes of grungey rock bands like Nirvana, Basement and Foo Fighters, as well as the more pop rock sensibilities of the likes of Oasis, Blur and Jimmy Eat World.
And on what inspires them to write music, Tom tells us: “Life. Anxiety. Hope. Regret. The weird grey area between ambition and burnout… anything really!”
Tom teases us with the possibility of more new music and maybe some new shows… and adds: “Come have a boogie with us soon, everyone is welcome here.”
You can follow Strayers on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud and YouTube.
Listen to Strayers and more new bands on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Grunge and GigRadar Rock
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