Today is March 24th, and we’re here with details on The Bug Club’s new long-player, Very Human Features! Out worldwide on Friday, June 13th from Sub Pop, the album, includes the singles “How to Be a Confidante,” “Appropriate Emotions,” and today’s tour de force, “Jealous Boy.” It was produced and mixed by Tom Rees at Rat Trap Studios in Cardiff, Wales, and mastered by Mikey Young.
Very Human Features is available to preorder now on CD/LP/all DSPs from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com in North America, MM2 in the UK + EU, and your local record store, will receive the limited Loser edition on Purple (NA) and Bio Pink (UK/EU) vinyl (all vinyl color editions whilst stock lasts!).
The Bug Club will spend a good deal of time on the road in 2025 performing songs from Very Human Features, along with some from their previous Sub Pop release, 2024’s On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System by Means of Popular Music, or the Contemplation of Pretty Faces, Tinned Bubbles and Strife, as well as some of their older songs.
Their Spring North American tour begins tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 25th in Toronto at Longboat Hall and currently runs through Friday, April 11th in San Diego at the Whistle Stop.
Additional international touring highlights for the Spring and Summer of 2025 include The Bug Club’s European club shows (April 29th-May 15th), and festival appearances (May 15th-August 31st; select dates). Additional live dates will be announced soon.
Please find a complete list of current tour dates below.
North America, Spring 2025
Tue. Mar. 25 - Toronto, ON - Longboat Hall !
Thu. Mar. 27 - Portland, OR - Polaris Hall
Fri. Mar. 28- Seattle, WA - The Vera Project [Sold Out]
Sat. Mar. 29 - Baker City, OR Churchill School
Sun. Mar. 30 - Boise, ID - Treefort Festival
Tue. Apr. 01 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
Thu. Apr. 03 - Oklahoma City, OK - 89th Street
Fri. Apr. 04 - Austin, TX - The Ballroom Texas
Sat. Apr. 05 - Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves
Sun. Apr. 06 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
Wed. Apr. 09 - Las Vegas, NV - Swan Dive
Thu. Apr. 10 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
Fri. Apr. 11 - San Diego, CA - Whistle Stop
! @ the We Are Busy Bodies 20th Anniversary Festival
Europe, Spring 2025
Tue. Apr. 29 - Brugge, BE - Cactus Club
Wed. Apr. 30 - Eindhoven, NL - Altstadt
Thu. May 01 - Nijmegen, NL - Doornroosje
Fri. May 02 - Utrecht, NL - De Nijverheid
Sat. May 03 - Groningen, NL - Vera
Mon. May 05 - Berlin, DE - Privatclub
Tue. May 06 - Hamburg, DE - Molotow Skybar
Wed. May 07 - Köln, DE - Blue Shell
Fri. May 09 - Milan, IT - Arci Bellezza
Sat. May 10 - Ravenna, IT - Bronson
Tue. May 13 - Paris, FR - Supersonic
Wed. May 14 - Lille, FR - L’Aeronef
Thu. May 15 - Brighton, UK - The Great Escape Festival @ Paganini Ballroom (Early)
Thu. May 15 - Brighton, UK - The Great Escape Festival @ The Old Market (Late)
US/UK Summer Festivals / Support Shows 2025
Sat. May 31 - Cheltenham, UK - Wychwood Festival
Fri. Jun 20 - Nelsonville, OH - Nelsonville Art & Music Festival
Sat. Jun. 21 - Nelsonville, OH - Nelsonville Art & Music Festival
Sun. Jun. 22 - Nelsonville, OH - Nelsonville Art & Music Festival
Sat. Jul. 26 - Thirsk, UK - Deer Shed Festival
Wed. Aug. 27 - Sheffield, UK - Don Valley Stadium ^
Sat. Aug. 30 - Dorset, UK - End of the Road Festival
^ w/ Queens of the Stone Age
Last Month, The Bug Club released “Have U Ever Been 2 Wales,” a joyous ode to their beloved home country that features upbeat, regionally referential lyrics like “Have you ever been to Wales? It’s good, it’s goo-ooh-ooh-ooh-hood” and “…every choir from Caldicot to Treorchy will sing it proud.” The spirited song, doubtless soon to be the new ad jingle for Visit Wales, is also out now worldwide (including Wales) on all DSPs from Sub Pop.
The Bug Club has seen support from the likes of NME, BBC, KEXP, Bandcamp Daily, Brooklyn Vegan, PASTE, Stereogum, see/saw, Dusted, The Stranger Rosy Overdrive, Glide, and more. NME said of their 2024 release On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System…., “…its 11 songs crackle with incisive melodies and funny pop culture-addled lyrics – they reference The Great Escape’s Virgil Hilts one minute, and move on to the horror of Lonsdale slip on daps the next – but they’re in and out in under 26 minutes. Zero fat.”
More on The Bug Club’s Very Human Features:
The Bug Club are back, again, for their annual appointment at the garage rock makers’ market, where they’re flogging yet another pedigree record.
LP number four, Very Human Features, arrives June 13th, hot on the heels of the band’s first Sub Pop release, 2024’s On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System. That record saw the band continue their love affair with BBC Radio 6, start up a new one with KEXP thanks to a session with them, and crop up in the pages of the NME. Anything else from the bucket list? Oh yeah, festival slots including packing home ground Green Man’s Walled Garden to its non-existent rafters. Then shows across the US in those venues us Brits tend to hear about and that’s as far as we get. This record gives the band an excuse to continue their never-ending tour and feed their baying fans, engorged and expectant thanks to this band’s relentless record-releasing hot streak, a new batch of typically playful, riff-laden, smart Bug Club Tunes.
But first, a standalone single, because that’s how things are done here. “Have you ever been to Wales?”, asks the band in “Have U Ever Been 2 Wales.” If not, why not? It’s good. A new, discordant national anthem, if they didn’t already have a decent harmonious one. Oh, to be from a country where national pride is something other than the mark of a tosser. Starting as a classic, chugging chantalong, it’s interrupted by what sounds like an alien choir before they let rip. Think Dinosaur Jr. with a job at the tourist board. And Welsh. Definitely Welsh (read more at Sub Pop).
The Bug Club
Very Human Features
Tracklisting:
1. Full Grown Man
2. Twirling in the Middle
3. Jealous Boy
4. Young Reader
5. Beep Boop Computers
6. Muck (Very Human Features)
7. When the Little Choo Choo Train
Toots His Little Horn
8. How to Be a Confidante
9. Living in the Future
10. Tales of a Visionary Teller
11. The Sound of Communism
12. Blame Me
13. Appropriate Emotions |
|
The Bug Club’s On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System is out now worldwide from Sub Pop. The album, which features feel-good ditties “Quality Pints,” “Lonsdale Slipons,” “A Bit Like James Bond,” and “We Don’t Care About That,” was produced and mixed by Tom Rees at Rat Trap Studios in Cardiff, Wales, and mastered by Mikey Young.
The Bug Club is supporting On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System with previously announced 2024 tour dates, as well as a show (or instore performance, as it happens…) on this very night, Friday, August 30th at Brighton, UK’s Psych Fest. Please see a current list of tour dates below.
Fri. Aug. 30 - Brighton, UK - Brighton Psych Fest
Sat. Aug 31 - Hull, UK - The Adelphi
Sun. Sep. 01 - Edinburgh, UK - Edinburgh Psych Fest
Mon. Sep. 02 - Riley & Coe Session, BBC Radio 6 Music
Tue. Sep. 03 - Liverpool, UK - Rough Trade (instore)
Wed. Sep. 04 - Nottingham, UK - Rough Trade (instore)
Thu. Sep. 05 - London, UK - Rough Trade East (instore)
Fri. Sep. 06 - Cardiff, UK - Spillers (instore)
Tue. Oct. 15 - Brooklyn, NY - Baby’s All Right
Sat. Oct. 19 - San Diego, CA - Whistle Stop (5 pm show)
Sun. Oct. 20 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
Mon. Oct. 21 - San Francisco, CA - Kilowatt
Wed. Oct. 23 - Portland, OR - Showbar
Thu. Oct. 24 - Seattle, WA - Black Lodge
Thu. Nov. 07 - Bournemouth, UK - Bear Cave
Fri. Nov. 08 - Margate, UK - Lido
Sat. Nov. 09 - Bedford, UK - Esquires
Wed. Nov. 13 - Newcastle, UK - The Cluny
Thu. Nov. 14 - Hebden Bridge, UK - The Trades Club
Fri. Nov. 15 - Leicester, UK - The SoundHouse
Sat. Nov. 16 - Norwich, UK - Norwich Arts Centre
On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System sees the band serve up a beefy slab of their signature Modern-Lovers-meets-Nuggets garage rock, featuring B-52’s call-and-response fun mixed with AC/DC power chord grunt (read more at Sub Pop).
The Bug Club’s On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System is available on CD/LP/DSPs from Sub Pop. LP orders from the Sub Pop Mega Mart (North America), Mega Mart 2 (UK/EU), independent retailers worldwide, and at the band’s live shows will receive the limited Loser Edition on a mix of Red, Orange and Clear vinyl (US) or an Opaque Orange/Red Marble (UK/EU) (whilst stock lasts!). On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System’s album cover artwork is from UK illustrator and comic book artist Willem Hampson.
What people are saying about The Bug Club:
“On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System… is lean and mean. Recorded with Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard’s Tom Rees at his Rat Trap studio in Cardiff, its 11 songs crackle with incisive melodies and funny pop culture-addled lyrics – they reference The Great Escape’s Virgil Hilts one minute, and move on to the horror of Lonsdale slip on daps the next – but they’re in and out in under 26 minutes. Zero fat.” NME
“All of the singles from On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System are classic Bug Club–we get Willmett ranting and raving (“Quality Pints”), dryly opining (“Lonsdale Slipons”), and cracking a bit of a smirk (“A Bit Like James Bond”) accompanied by Harris racing to catch up, all over catchy, electric rock and roll music.” - Rosy Overdrive
“The Bug Club’s OTIIWOTS blends otherworldly musicianship while filtering their observations of the world around them through a dry sense of humor. It is easy to get lost in the catchy hooks and jovial vocals of this 11-song outing.” GLIDE
“The full title of scrappy Welsh duo The Bug Club’s first album for Sub Pop is On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System By Means of Popular Music Or the Contemplation Of Pretty Faces, Tinned Bubbles and Strife which, as they note, is ‘long as fuck’ even it it doesn’t quite approach Fiona Apple length. It’s definitely the longest thing about the album which, like previous records, delivers two-minute DIY-punk blasts about mundane subjects (this time topics include beer and ‘the worst shoes in the UK.’).” 64 Albums We’re Anticipating For Summer 2024 - BROOKLYN VEGAN
“Throw back a few (and then a few more) to this great record of Modern Lovers meets Nuggets-garage rock…” [On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System] Bandcamp
“‘Quality Pints’ is a wild two-minute rager that reminds me of the Buzzcocks and the Vaselines. It’s all about something the band has surely experienced during all that touring: the search for a decent beer in various cities around the world. In addition to the explosive punk-rock energy, the song has a hip-shaking rock ‘n’ roll element, manifested in a rattling tambourine and occasional outbursts of electric-shock lead guitar” STEREOGUM
“The amped-up punk track is a blast of shout-along energy, and vicious guitar solos following the pair’s journey to secure a solid pint of beer… It’s as ridiculous as it is fun, and Harris and Willmett are bringing their particular flavor of absurdity to Sub Pop’s legendary roster. Cheers, indeed.” [“Quality Pints”] “Best New Songs” - PASTE
“’Quality Pints’ vigorously extols the anticipatory pleasures of searching for good alcohol, but even a teetotaler like your blogger can get inebriated on its speed-demon rock. This is faster, punkier, and more immediately catchy than anything else in the Bug Club’s discography, with manic guitar solos that’ll make you spit out your lager in admiration. One senses that, if he were alive, another BBC DJ, John Peel, would love the Bug Club as much as he did the Fall. Let’s hope an album’s in the works.” The Stranger
“‘Lonsdale Slipons’ is a post-punk supernova with an infectious bassline, satisfying dual vocals, and a great climax as Sam Willmett declares: ‘These drugs are tasty as hell! I think I’ll have another!’ Listen below and slip on your Lonsdale slip ons and sway.” STEREOGUM
“This song is a ridiculous amount of fun and blends art rock and fun in a way that they rarely are. Personally, I hear a little more Strokes style guitar than AC/DC, but regardless ‘Lonsdale Slipons’ is going to insert itself into your brain and have you singing along to ‘These drugs are tasty as hell / I think I’ll have another’ for days to come.” If It’s Too Loud
“‘Lonsdale Slipons’ is a throbbing container of mechanical riffs ready to erupt into chaos. ‘These drugs are tasty as hell!’ Sam Willmett cries out. ‘I think I’ll have another!’ Tilly Harris flicks a bassline that leaps out of the speakers after trading punches with Willmett’s guitar. It’s call-and-response soul music reconfigured into crooked-mouthed English post-punk.” “Best New Songs” - PASTE
The Bug Club
On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System
Tracklisting:
1. War Movies
2. Quality Pints
3. Pop Single
4. Best Looking Strangers in the Cemetery
5. A Bit Like James Bond
6. We Don’t Care About That
7. Lonsdale Slipons
8. Better Than Good
9. Actual Pain
10. Cold. Hard. Love.
11. The Intricate Inner Workings of the System
Today, The Bug Club is sharing “A Bit Like James Bond,” an exciting, debonair new song about everyone’s favorite British spy. The song is from On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System, their forthcoming album. Last week, The Bug Club also announced the addition of US shows to their 2024 tour schedule in support of On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System. These new dates will begin Tuesday, October 15th in Brooklyn, NY at Baby’s All Right and run through Thursday, October 24th in Seattle, WA at The Black Lodge. Their previously announced UK tour dates, which bookend the US dates, continue on Thursday, August 29, with an instore at Brighton, UK’s Resident Records. Please see a current list of tour dates below.
Thu. Aug. 29 - Brighton, Resident Records (instore)
Fri. Aug. 30 - Brighton, UK - Brighton Psych Fest
Sat. Aug 31 - Hull, UK - The Adelphi
Sun. Sep. 01 - Edinburgh, UK - Edinburgh Psych Fest
Mon. Sep. 02 - Riley & Coe Session, BBC Radio 6 Music
Tue. Sep. 03 - Liverpool, UK - Rough Trade (instore)
Wed. Sep. 04 - Nottingham, UK - Rough Trade (instore)
Thu. Sep. 05 - London, UK - Rough Trade East (instore)
Tue. Oct. 15 - Brooklyn, NY - Baby’s All Right
Sat. Oct. 19 - San Diego, CA - Whistle Stop (5pm show)
Sun. Oct. 20 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
Mon. Oct. 21 - San Francisco, CA - Kilowatt
Wed. Oct. 23 - Portland, OR - Showbar
Thu. Oct. 24 - Seattle, WA - Black Lodge
Thu. Nov. 07 - Bournemouth, UK - Bear Cave
Fri. Nov. 08 - Margate, UK - Lido
Sat. Nov. 09 - Bedford, UK - Esquires
Wed. Nov. 13 - Newcastle, UK - The Cluny
Thu. Nov. 14 - Hebden Bridge, UK - The Trades Club
Fri. Nov. 15 - Leicester, UK - The SoundHouse
Sat. Nov. 16 - Norwich, UK - Norwich Arts Centre
Last month, The Bug Club announced release details for On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System, which will be released worldwide on Friday, August 30th, 2024. The album features the aforementioned “A Bit Like James Bond,” and previously released highlights “Quality Pints,” and “Lonsdale Slipons,” along with other feel-good ditties like “War Movies,” and “We Don’t Care About That.”
On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System sees the band serve up a beefy slab of their signature Modern-Lovers-meets-Nuggets garage rock, featuring B-52’s call-and-response fun mixed with AC/DC power chord grunt (read more at Sub Pop).
The Bug Club’s On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System is available to preorder on CD/LP/DSPs from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com (North America), Mega Mart 2 (UK/EU), and independent retailers worldwide will receive the limited Loser edition vinyl on Transparent Grey Smoke (US) and Orange/Red Marble (UK/EU) (whilst stock lasts!). On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System’s album cover artwork is from UK illustrator and comic book artist Willem Hampson. What people are saying about The Bug Club:
“On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System… is lean and mean. Recorded with Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard’s Tom Rees at his Rat Trap studio in Cardiff, its 11 songs crackle with incisive melodies and funny pop culture-addled lyrics – they reference The Great Escape’s Virgil Hilts one minute, and move on to the horror of Lonsdale slip on daps the next – but they’re in and out in under 26 minutes. Zero fat.” - NME
“The full title of scrappy Welsh duo The Bug Club’s first album for Sub Pop is On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System By Means of Popular Music Or the Contemplation Of Pretty Faces, Tinned Bubbles and Strife which, as they note, is ‘long as fuck’ even it it doesn’t quite approach Fiona Apple length. It’s definitely the longest thing about the album which, like previous records, delivers two-minute DIY-punk blasts about mundane subjects (this time topics include beer and ‘the worst shoes in the UK.’).” 64 Albums We’re Anticipating For Summer 2024 - BROOKLYN VEGAN
“Throw back a few (and then a few more) to this great record of Modern Lovers meets Nuggets-garage rock…” [On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System] Bandcamp
“‘Quality Pints’ is a wild two-minute rager that reminds me of the Buzzcocks and the Vaselines. It’s all about something the band has surely experienced during all that touring: the search for a decent beer in various cities around the world. In addition to the explosive punk-rock energy, the song has a hip-shaking rock ‘n’ roll element, manifested in a rattling tambourine and occasional outbursts of electric-shock lead guitar” STEREOGUM
“The amped-up punk track is a blast of shout-along energy, and vicious guitar solos following the pair’s journey to secure a solid pint of beer… It’s as ridiculous as it is fun, and Harris and Willmett are bringing their particular flavor of absurdity to Sub Pop’s legendary roster. Cheers, indeed.” [“Quality Pints”] “Best New Songs” - PASTE
“’Quality Pints’ vigorously extols the anticipatory pleasures of searching for good alcohol, but even a teetotaler like your blogger can get inebriated on its speed-demon rock. This is faster, punkier, and more immediately catchy than anything else in the Bug Club’s discography, with manic guitar solos that’ll make you spit out your lager in admiration. One senses that, if he were alive, another BBC DJ, John Peel, would love the Bug Club as much as he did the Fall. Let’s hope an album’s in the works.” The Stranger
“Lonsdale Slipons” is a post-punk supernova with an infectious bassline, satisfying dual vocals, and a great climax as Sam Willmett declares: “These drugs are tasty as hell! I think I’ll have another!” Listen below and slip on your Lonsdale slip ons and sway.” STEREOGUM
“This song is a ridiculous amount of fun and blends art rock and fun in a way that they rarely are. Personally, I hear a little more Strokes style guitar than AC/DC, but regardless ‘Lonsdale Slipons’ is going to insert itself into your brain and singing along to “These drugs are tasty as hell / I think I’ll have another” for days to come.” If It’s Too Loud
“’Lonsdale Slipons’” is a throbbing container of mechanical riffs ready to erupt into chaos. “These drugs are tasty as hell!” Sam Willmett cries out. “I think I’ll have another!” Tilly Harris flicks a bassline that leaps out of the speakers after trading punches with Willmett’s guitar. It’s call-and-response soul music reconfigured into crooked-mouthed English post-punk.” “Best New Songs” - PASTE
The Bug Club
On The Intricate Inner Workings of the System
Tracklisting:
1. War Movies
2. Quality Pints
3. Pop Single
4. Best Looking Strangers in the Cemetery
5. A Bit Like James Bond
6. We Don’t Care About That
7. Lonsdale Slipons
8. Better Than Good
9. Actual Pain
10. Cold. Hard. Love.
11. The Intricate Inner Workings of the System
Today,
The Bug Club is adding US shows to their 2024 tour schedule in support of
On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System, their forthcoming Sub Pop debut. These new dates will begin Tuesday, October 15th in Brooklyn, NY at Baby’s All Right and run through Thursday, October 24th in Seattle, WA at The Black Lodge.
Their previously announced UK tour dates, which bookend the tour, resume on Thursday, August 1st, with a sold-out show at London’s Shacklewell Arms. Please see a full list of dates below.
Thu. Aug. 01 - London, UK - Shacklewell Arms (SOLD OUT)
Fri. Aug. 02 - Pikehall, UK - Y Not Festival
Thu. Aug. 29 - Brighton, Resident Records (instore)
Fri. Aug. 30 - Brighton, UK - Brighton Psych Fest
Sat. Aug 31 - Hull, UK - The Adelphi
Sun. Sep. 01 - Edinburgh, UK - Edinburgh Psych Fest
Mon. Sep. 02 - Riley & Coe Session, BBC Radio 6 Music
Tue. Sep. 03 - Liverpool, UK - Rough Trade (instore)
Wed. Sep. 04 - Nottingham, UK - Rough Trade (instore)
Thu. Sep. 05 - London, UK - Rough Trade East (instore)
Tue. Oct. 15 - Brooklyn, NY - Baby’s All Right
Sun. Oct. 20 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
Mon. Oct. 21 - San Francisco, CA - Kilowatt
Wed. Oct. 23 - Portland, OR - Showbar
Thu. Oct. 24 - Seattle, WA - Black Lodge
Thu. Nov. 07 - Bournemouth, UK - Bear Cave
Fri. Nov. 08 - Margate, UK - Lido
Sat. Nov. 09 - Bedford, UK - Esquires
Wed. Nov. 13 - Newcastle, UK - The Cluny
Thu. Nov. 14 - Hebden Bridge, UK - The Trades Club
Fri. Nov. 15 - Leicester, UK - The SoundHouse
Sat. Nov. 16 - Norwich, UK - Norwich Arts Centre
Earlier this month, The Bug Club announced release details for
On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System, which will be released worldwide on Friday, August 30th, 2024. The album features the previously released highlights
“Quality Pints,” and
“Lonsdale Slipons,” along with other feel-good ditties like “War Movies,” “A Bit Like James Bond,” “We Don’t Care About That.”
On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System sees the band serve up a beefy slab of their signature Modern-Lovers-meets-Nuggets garage rock, featuring B-52’s call-and-response fun mixed with AC/DC power chord grunt (read more at
Sub Pop).
The Bug Club’s
On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System is available to preorder on CD/LP/DSPs from Sub Pop. LP preorders from
megamart.subpop.com (North America),
Mega Mart 2 (UK/EU), and
independent retailers worldwide will receive the limited Loser edition vinyl on Transparent Grey Smoke (US) and Orange/Red Marble (UK/EU) (whilst stock lasts!).
On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System’s album cover artwork is from UK illustrator and comic book artist
Willem Hampson.
What people are saying about The Bug Club:“‘Quality Pints’ is a wild two-minute rager that reminds me of the Buzzcocks and the Vaselines. It’s all about something the band has surely experienced during all that touring: the search for a decent beer in various cities around the world. In addition to the explosive punk-rock energy, the song has a hip-shaking rock ‘n’ roll element, manifested in a rattling tambourine and occasional outbursts of electric-shock lead guitar” -
STEREOGUM “…the kind of indie punk ripper that feels custom built to send audiences into a shout-along, beer-fueled frenzy.” [“Quality Pints”]
BROOKLYN VEGAN “The amped-up punk track is a blast of shout-along energy, and vicious guitar solos following the pair’s journey to secure a solid pint of beer… It’s as ridiculous as it is fun, and Harris and Willmett are bringing their particular flavor of absurdity to Sub Pop’s legendary roster. Cheers, indeed.” [“Quality Pints”] “
Best New Songs” - PASTE
The Bug Club
On The Intricate Inner Workings of the System
Tracklisting:
1. War Movies
2. Quality Pints
3. Pop Single
4. Best Looking Strangers in the Cemetery
5. A Bit Like James Bond
6. We Don’t Care About That
7. Lonsdale Slipons
8. Better Than Good
9. Actual Pain
10. Cold. Hard. Love.
11. The Intricate Inner Workings of the System
Following The Bug Club’s signing announcement last month, Sub Pop can now share the full details for On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System, the band’s full-length label debut, which will be released worldwide on Friday, August 30th, 2024. The album features the previously released highlight “Quality Pints,” along with other feel-good ditties like “War Movies,” “A Bit Like James Bond,” “We Don’t Care About That” and today’s offering, “Lonsdale Slipons.”
On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System sees the band serve up a beefy slab of their signature Modern-Lovers-meets-Nuggets garage rock, featuring B-52’s call-and-response fun mixed with AC/DC power chord grunt. Leaning towards fast-paced punk, opening double salvo “War Movies” and the previously released “Quality Pints” sets the scene: duel vocal piss taking, surreal takes on everyday topics that go full circle and become profound, riffs all day long and then all the next day too. “Quality Pints” deals with the pressing concerns of any conscientious touring outfit, taking to heart the rule of the three R’s as penned by renowned fellow pints fan Mark E Smith of The Fall. Repetition, repetition, repetition. If it’s that important, which it is, it’s worth saying again. “War Movies” dresses distorted chugging with a comprehensive ‘best of’ list for the genre, with Sam Willmett offering a solo casually chucked out in a way that will make your dad promptly give up any resurgent guitar-playing ambitions.
Melody is still ever-present, with the hilariously meta “Pop Single” channeling Ray Davies at his most self-aware. You ask for a pop single, that’s what you get - The Bug Club don’t mess about. And it’s this confidently silly strain that gives us “Lonsdale Slipons,” which finally sees the UK’s worst-ever shoes paid tribute to in song form, and “We Don’t Care About That,” which tells us all to stop talking about lots of things. Considering attempting a tentative review of what you’re listening to? Well stop. “Better Than Good” has you covered there, too. You’re getting what you’re given, and thankfully everybody seems happy with that - especially this track’s lo-fi production, Violent Femmes bass, and Sterling Morrison solo. Best to leave the hot takes to The Bug Club, we reckon. This record backs us up.
Initially comprising the songwriting core of Sam Willmett (vocals/guitar) and Tilly Harris (vocals/bass) with Dan Matthew (drums), The Bug Club started plying their trade in 2016. They were signed by UK label Bingo Records in Autumn 2020 and first single “We Don’t Need Room For Lovin” was released in February 2021. It quickly established The Bug Club as the tongue-in-cheek and live-focused antidote to the previous year’s penned-in pandemic drudgery. BBC 6 Music’s Marc Riley was an early champion, hammering the single, booking the band in for a session as soon as it was allowed and rightfully praising songwriters capable of singing the whole alphabet in a two-minute song and making it work (read more at Sub Pop).
The Bug Club will support On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System with their previously announced UK tour dates, which resume Saturday, 6th July, in Usk, UK, at The Weekend Rumble and end Saturday, 16th November, in Norwich, UK, at Norwich Arts Centre. International dates will be announced soon.
Sat. Jul. 06 - Usk, UK - The Weekend Rumble
Fri. Jul. 26 - Rock, UK - Rock Oyster Festival
Thu. Aug. 01 - London, UK - Shacklewell Arms (SOLD OUT)
Fri. Aug. 02 - Pikehall, UK - Y Not Festival
Thu. Aug. 29 - Brighton, Resident Records (instore)
Fri. Aug. 30 - Brighton, UK - Brighton Psych Fest
Sat. Aug 31 - Hull, UK - The Adelphi
Sun. Sep. 01 - Edinburgh, UK - Edinburgh Psych Fest
Mon. Sep. 02 - Riley & Coe Session, BBC Radio 6 Music
Tue. Sep. 03 - Liverpool, UK - Rough Trade (instore)
Wed. Sep. 04 - Nottingham, UK - Rough Trade (instore)
Thu. Sep. 05 - London, UK - Rough Trade East, (instore)
Thu. Nov. 07 - Bournemouth, UK - Bear Cave
Fri. Nov. 08 - Margate, UK - Lido
Sat. Nov. 09 - Bedford, UK - Esquires
Wed. Nov. 13 - Newcastle, UK - The Cluny
Thu. Nov. 14 - Hebden Bridge, UK - The Trades Club
Fri. Nov. 15 - Leicester, UK - The SoundHouse
Sat. Nov. 16 - Norwich, UK - Norwich Arts Centre
The Bug Club’s On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System is available to preorder on CD/LP/DSPs from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com (North America), Mega Mart 2 (UK/EU), and independent retailers worldwide will receive the limited Loser edition vinyl on Transparent Grey Smoke (US) and Orange/Red Marble (UK/EU) (whilst stock lasts!). On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System’s album cover artwork is from UK illustrator and comic book artist Willem Hampson.
What people are saying about The Bug Club:
“‘Quality Pints’ is a wild two-minute rager that reminds me of the Buzzcocks and the Vaselines. It’s all about something the band has surely experienced during all that touring: the search for a decent beer in various cities around the world. In addition to the explosive punk-rock energy, the song has a hip-shaking rock ‘n’ roll element, manifested in a rattling tambourine and occasional outbursts of electric-shock lead guitar” - STEREOGUM
“…the kind of indie punk ripper that feels custom built to send audiences into a shout-along, beer-fueled frenzy.” [“Quality Pints”] BROOKLYN VEGAN
“The amped-up punk track is a blast of shout-along energy, and vicious guitar solos following the pair’s journey to secure a solid pint of beer… It’s as ridiculous as it is fun, and Harris and Willmett are bringing their particular flavor of absurdity to Sub Pop’s legendary roster. Cheers, indeed.” [“Quality Pints”] “Best New Songs” - PASTE
The Bug Club
On The Intricate Inner Workings of the System
Tracklisting:
1. War Movies
2. Quality Pints
3. Pop Single
4. Best Looking Strangers in the Cemetery
5. A Bit Like James Bond
6. We Don’t Care About That
7. Lonsdale Slipons
8. Better Than Good
9. Actual Pain
10. Cold. Hard. Love.
11. The Intricate Inner Workings of the System
