Brian has a lovely, big talk with Alastair (vocals), Bruce (drums), Gareth (bass) and Silas (guitar) from noisy-noise band, LICE in his goth kitchen this week!
So please get to know the band, hear how they got together by grooming Alastair, their influences, quickly getting ready for their first gig, mixed-reactions to the band’s name, outrageous outfits, fans doing roly poly’s, recording their first album, Balley records, working with Joe Talbot, touring with IDLES, their album, Wasteland: What Ails Our People is Clear, COVID-19, future plans and the infamous QUICK-FIRE ROUND!
Art-punk group LICE formed in Bristol in 2015 after guitarist Silas Dilkes advertised for band members on Bristol University’s social media page.
Alastair Shuttleworth joined on vocals and Gareth Johnson on bass before Bruce Bardsley replaced the original drummer. Although they started the band while still at university, the quartet soon began working on original material, influenced by post-punk bands like the Fall and the Birthday Party.
In 2016, LICE released an EP, Nutmilk: The Basement Demos, via Wintermute Tapes, and they went on to open for the Fall and Fat White Family. The group share a similar grubby garage aesthetic with the latter band and a tendency toward the anarchic punk of fellow Bristol band IDLES; they later signed to singer Joe Talbot’s label Balley Records, which put out It All Worked Out Great. The album was released as a two-part EP collecting their early works and later released as a single long-player.
This year they released their second album, WASTELAND: What Ails Our People is Clear to critical acclaim. Unlike any other band out there, hints of Psychic TV, perhaps, but really, LICE have a sound entirely their own. These guys are intelligent, visual futurists, and my bet is we’ll be talking about their genius for decades, if not centuries to come.