The mighty PUPPY return with a brand new single and video “The Kiss”, released through Rude Records today, November 15th. It’s release follows a world exclusive first play last night with the Radio 1 Rock Show, presented by Daniel P Carter (listen back to that whole show – HERE).
Written and produced by the band, singer/guitarist Jock Norton explains a little bit about the song: “‘The Kiss’ actually and came out of songwriting sessions for our first album “The Goat”. For whatever reason it was left by the wayside, but when we started recording new material across the last year or so we decided to try laying down a proper version of it just to see how it would sound (and because we were too lazy to come up with any new songs). What we ended up with sounded way better than the acoustic version Billy had on his phone from 4 years ago, so at a vote of 2 to 1 (sorry Bill) we decided to release the new one. We hope you enjoy it”.
Explaining a bit about the wonderful video for “The Kiss”, drummer Billy Howard says: “We teamed up with Jacek Smarz, a mysterious and enigmatic long term friend of the band, who created the batshit animations that serve as a pretty good visual representation of where our heads were at when we were recording the music. It’s the first time we’ve shared creative duties on a video with someone not in the band, and we are shocked and horrified to find the amazing difference it makes when you hand over control to someone actually knows what they’re doing”.
“The Kiss” follow the bands recent single “Angel”, as well as their three back to back, sold out live shows at the incredible Signature Brewery in East London (in June), in between their time in the studio working on new music. Look out for some 2022 festival announcements soon.
PUPPY formed in 2015 when school friends Jock Norton (vocals, guitar) and Billy Howard (drums) met bass player Will Michael while working in a London bar; the three bonded by playing the soundtrack to cult 80s comedy “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure“ and figuring out that Norton and Michael’s voices worked nicely together on Karaoke versions of Van Halen & Metallica. Later that same year, the band released their eponymous debut EP, a joyful blend of swooning Power Pop and beer-guzzling Heavy Metal, that quickly earned comparisons to acts like The Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr and “Weezer fronted by Papa Emiritus of Ghost” (Noisey). Early tracks “Forever” and “The Great Beyond” were picked up and used in the mammoth video game series Guitar Hero, opening up the fledgling group up to a huge new audience and satisfying their axe wielding inner-children at the same time.
A second EP quickly followed in 2016, and “Vol II” saw the band take their first major steps into the live sphere, with UK festival appearances at Download and 2000 Trees, rounding out a healthy run of tours with acts like Creeper and CKY. In between European tours with Kvelertak and Turbowolf, the band retreated to the studio in England to begin work on their debut album. The result of a lengthy recording process with producers Tom Dalgety (Ghost, Royal Blood), Neil Kennedy (Creeper, Boston Manor) and mixer Adrien Bushby (Placebo, Foo Fighters), “The Goat” was released in January 2019, while the band were midway through an epic European tour with Monster Magnet. The album received rave reviews and cemented Puppy’s status as the oddballs of up & coming Heavy music.
In support of the album, the band recorded a live set at BBC’s iconic Maida Vale studios (their second), and racked up festival appearances everywhere from Glastonbury to Bloodstock Open Air. That year also saw PUPPY travel to the US for the first time, selling out a headline show in Brooklyn’s iconic St Vitus Bar for Revolver Magazine, as well as heading to Texas for that year’s SXSW festival. Without missing a beat, the band saw out the year by releasing a surprise EP, ‘III’, which drew inspiration from their favourite Steve Albini led productions of the 80’s and 90’s, stripping their dense sound back to its rawest components. The band then set out on a lengthy European run with Norwegian stoner-punks Bokassa to promote the record before returning home to begin writing again for their 2nd full length album.
Leave a Reply