Wicketkeeper
London/Margate trio Wicketkeeper comprised of brothers Simon and Alex Morley and Ryan Oxley announce debut LP, Shonk, due 16th October via Meritorio Records.
Fourteen tracks of DIY outsider guitar-pop with nods to Pavement and Sebadoh, Shonk was recorded at the Gun Factory in Homerton with producer Lindsay Corstorphine (Sauna Youth, Primitive Parts).
The news is accompanied by new single 'The Side' three minutes of crunchy guitar and sun-flecked power-pop vocal harmonies, rooted in the dizzying sensation of finding a real-life doppelganger of yourself. As Simon describes it, "Have you ever seen someone in a crowd and recognised them, but then realised it’s because they look like you? I have, it probably says something about my ego tbh. One of my favourite songs to play live because it's got a real loose breezy vibe, which suits my, erm 'style' of 'drumming'! The lyrics swing quite erratically from droll arrogance to romantic realism, with a sprinkling of Michael McIntyre-esque observational comedy (facepalm)."
Drawn from a collection of over 50 songs written over the course of a few years, Shonk offers a snapshot of their upbeat indie-rock recorded live in two days with Corstorphine. Including the previous singles 'Spin', 'Feeling', 'OK' and 'Night Night (Whatever)'.
As Oxley explains: "This was always about three friends with no songs, getting into a practice room in North London and seeing what came of it. The only caveat being, it had to make us smile. None of us could play drums, there was no conversation about 'what should we sound like?', this is just how we sounded when we all plugged in and played together. Over a few years we got together when we could, and even played a few gigs here and there, and then came Shonk. Yeah, sure, by the time it comes out it will have been years since some of these songs were written but it’s still those same three friends, those same three smiles, just now with 14 songs (and some). From the practice room to the, well, practice room.”