Give us a potted history of the band
Owen: We started sometime in October 2024 because I needed some guys to record ‘Took From You’ with. At the time, we had a different bassist, and Barry hadn’t joined yet. We had no name either, so that wasn’t really HUSK as I see it. As a band we’ve been together since mid January. We’re all from Hartlepool if that interests you at all. We released our first single in December, and our debut EP on February 20th called ‘Inner Perception’ (read our review here)
Who inspired you to start making music
Barry: I was inspired by my dad when I was a kid, and a lot of the 60s and 70s rock bands he used to play around me. I got really into the Beatles when I was 9, so I started practising the guitar, and now I’m here.
Tristan: Elliott Smith, Sonic Youth.
Owen: I was about 13 or something, and my dad bought this £80 guitar with the intention of teaching himself to play. After a couple of months, he hadn’t touched it, so I decided to see if it was any good. At the same time, I was discovering bands like Metallica and Sabbath, so I’d learn riffs from their songs. At about 15, I started writing riffs because I simply liked doing it.
And the one or maybe two records that inspired you artistically
Owen: It’s difficult to say, as I take inspiration from so many bands. I guess Soundgarden – Louder than Love. The noisy section of ‘Promise You Nothing’ is inspired by the middle of ‘Ugly Truth’. I’m also fond of Terry Date’s production style on the album. When recording ‘Took From You’, the bass player on that (Shaun) compared the song to something of ‘Dirt’ – Alice in Chains.
If you’re trying to explain who you sound like to someone who’s never heard you, what do you say
Owen: Tristan’s Dad said early Soundgarden, which was awesome to hear, so I guess early “grunge”—you know, Melvins, Mudhoney, TAD. The ‘Path of Least Resistance’ end section sounds like Slayer or S.O.D. or something, so I guess there’s variety in our sound.
Tristan: There’s a bit of a mix of everyone’s influences, so there are elements of punk and grunge but also definitely some prog aspects in there.
Tell us about your EP
‘Inner Perception’ came out on the 20th of February. It’s completely self-released, as we aren’t signed to a label or anything, and Owen produced the whole thing. It was recorded in the college where 3 of the 4 of us are studying. We had a bass player, Shaun, on ‘Took From You’ and ‘Kills Me’ but he wasn’t on board with the whole band idea. Barry joined halfway through the project, and he definitely influenced the EP. Nathan has been on all the songs since the start, and Tristan joined as the EP was being mastered, so he didn’t end up playing on it. As a result, Owen plays bass on ‘Path of Least Resistance’, ‘Before Grey Eyes’ and ‘Promise You Nothing’.
Owen: The EP really came about as a college project, but I really wanted to make the best music I could. I’m largely fueled by my anger brought about by seeing boring, mediocre, shit bands find success while really great authentic music gets pushed aside. There are so many great indie rock or punk or metal bands no one seems to listen to, so I think I have a duty to try and show people what some of that can sound like.
I think anyone who goes through the trouble of releasing music has to try their best and really try and make a bit of a difference. That and I just like making music I’m really proud of. I really get to express my thoughts with my lyrics ,which feels pretty liberating. As a whole, I’d say there’s a clear DIY ethos
behind the whole thing with it being self-recorded/produced/released.
People really underestimate what can be done by oneself. I also think people don’t value the importance of a raw, real sounding mix. My main criticism of most music released now (especially heavier genres) is that the mixes tend to sound sterile and lifeless. I think the mix should closely represent the sound of the band in a room together. A more raw mix and recording full takes makes the music more energetic and really brings it to life.
Gear used on the EP
Owen:
Epiphone Les Paul Prophecy (Took, PLR, Kills)
Squire Strat (Took) – the whammy dive
Jet Tele copy (Promise)
Danelectro Pastrami OD (Took, PLR, Promise)
Big Muff (PLR, Kills)
Fender Hotrod Deluxe (All electric guitars) Yamaha 12 string (Before)
Fender Acoustic (Before)
Shure SM58 (Vocals)
Vintage “brand” Jazz Bass copy (PLR, Before, Promise)
Big Muff (Promise) only on bass though
Barry:
Epiphone Dot (Kills, Promise)
Donner Fuzz (Kills, Promise)
Fender Hotrod Deluxe (same as Owen)
Shure SM58 (Vocals on PLR, Kills)
Nathan:
Pearl Export 5 piece
Istanbul Mehmet Brilliant (Crash, Ride, Hi-Hats)
Paiste 602 Heavy (Hi-Hats)
Grescth Brordcaster (Snare)
Natal Mappa Burl (Snare)
Where can we get hold of it
As far as I’m aware, it’s on everything under the sun. Definitely Spotify, Apple music and
Youtube at least.
Tell us how you write
Owen: Songs like “Took” and “Promise”, I’d already written before we started recording so the parts in those songs were pretty set in stone. Before was written and recorded in an afternoon when I was pretty bored. “PLR” and “Kills” were written before Barry joined though he plays the solo and the left rhythm guitar? The one that plays the high part. on Kills and does backing vocals on both so he made a pretty big contribution straight away. He’s also written a couple intros on our new songs too. I always tend to write music first as the music informs the lyrics in both substance and structure. The drums and bass tend to be added once a structure is finalised but we’ve been writing songs very recently where the drum and bass parts are written alongside the guitars.
Tell us about your live show What would be your dream gig
Owen: Loud as all hell, I love it. It really inspires me on a deep level, playing the way we do. I also throw my tele at the floor quite a bit too because it’s pretty much indestructible. Honestly, I think the best venue would be a theatre or some medium-sized enclosed space. I’m not a fan of stadiums.
Barry: Our gig, in my opinion, is raw power, loud, reckless and yet precise. When we play, we really try and put our all into what we’re doing. A dream gig for me would be to play to a decent crowd of people who actually enjoy and appreciate the music we play.
What can we expect from you in the near future
Owen: We’re working on a music video that should be out in May to be released alongside a few songs, all self recorded and produced. We’ll be playing a gig sometime in May to celebrate the release of said video. Maybe make some T-shirts too. That’ll be done by us only, so we can sell them pretty cheap.
Tell us your favourite records that are rocking your headphones/tour bus/stereo
Tristan: I’m really liking Earl Sweatshirt’s collaborative album with The Alchemist ‘Voir Deir’ right now, it’s a hip hop release that uses a lot of jazz, reggae and soul samples and it’s sick.
Barry: I’m very into ’60s & ’70s progressive rock, so a few of my favourite records would be King Crimson – Larks Tongues in Aspic, Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats and also Mike Oldfield’s Ommadawn. Other than them, I really dig a lot of 80s music and 90s bands like Mr Bungle and Primus, so another few albums I listen to regularly are Bungles – Disco Volante, California and Primus’ – sailing the Seas of Cheese.
Owen: I’ll just make a list
Punk/Hardcore
Husker Du – Zen Arcade
Black Flag – My War
Minor Threat – Complete Discography
Alt/Punk Rock
Dinosaur Jr – You’re Living All Over Me
Pixies – Surfer Rosa
Big Black – Atomizer
Metal and Grunge
TAD – 8 Way Santa
Alice in Chains – Tripod
Megadeth – Rust in Peace
S.O.D – Speak English or Die
Check out the bands track Took From You, below:
Read our review of the bands EP here
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