Pop punk is a crowded community of late. Every Mark, Tom and Travis hates his home town, loves his friends, has been through a heartbreak or six and dispensing their angst by forming a band and shouting about their feelings is the best antidote. With the ongoing success of Neck Deep overseas and fellows brits Roam and As It Is collecting record deals in reward for their efforts recently, a considerable amount of pressure has falling on the British Isles for what’s next and all the eyes are watching and judging. Though with so many bands trying to claim the spotlight, what can you do to set your music apart from the rest of the pack?

Bristol’s Montrose find themselves in this very position and vocalist Jason Bishop knows firsthand how hard it is to get your name out there. “It’s harder than ever to break out as a band now” he sighs. “If you don’t have inside contacts or a wedge of cash to pay for a huge PR campaign it seems almost impossible. We just gotta do what we do and plug on.” Plug on is exactly what they have done though. While their peers may have been more concerned with new merch designs and the perfecting their  ‘Punk Goes Pop’ cover, the band completed by guitarist Sam Chard, bassist Ben Curd and drummer Jake Matthews have been picking and toying with the high intensity sound they forged on last year’s debut EP ‘If Only You Knew’ to create something genuinely and wholeheartedly ‘them’. The result is ‘Monster Under Your Bed’ a 6-track blast of bouncing riffs, deep set harmonies and most importantly balls. 

“As much as we love it, we didn’t want to be just another pop punk band that gets lost in the crowd.” Jason continues. “I love the current wave but we wanted to just have some subtle differences and a really big sound. We wanted bigger riffs and more in your face choruses.” You only have to look at lead single ‘Underperformer’ to see that they have more than excelled this original intention to create a much cleaner, more relevant and ultimately heftier style than most bands trying to find their feet within the scene right now. Chunky riff? Check. Unfairly infectious hooks and chorus? Check. Smile inducing ‘woaaaaah’ and mosh break? You bet your sweet ass. As punk as it is pop, and it doesn’t get simpler and better than that. 

Though below the meat and muscle of the music, there’s still a heart that’s more than prone to breaking. Lyrically ‘Monster Under Your Bed’ exorcises demons both born from personal battles as well as those manufactured from other experiences and annoyances. Though according to Jason he’s not singing to get a one up on the subjects that he croons about. “I don’t really care either way if certain people think or know [songs are] about them” he smirks. “They’re more of a personal vindication if anything. I guess it’s pretty selfish but the songs  are for my own peace of mind, and not to get at anybody.”

 Aside from the new EP, the boys are also prepping for a string of dates to show off their work to an audience that isn’t just directly on their doorstep. Jason is hoping that people will actually give them a chance to show what they are made of.  “I think touring is the only way we’re going to get noticed. It seems that less and less people are going to shows and just save themselves for festival season. For me, nothing beats going to see a band you’ve never heard of and not knowing if they’re going to blow you away or be terrible.” Here’s hoping the former will be the resounding opinion.

 With everything finally starting to come up Millhouse, the future is looking distinctly positive for this west country quartet. They aren’t planning on slowing down anytime soon either. “We’re working harder than we ever have and aim to keep that up.” Jason concludes. “If we can manage a big support slot or two and take it from there and see if we can pick up any attention, we can look back on [this year] and pat ourselves on the back.” 

‘Monster Under Your Bed’ is released March 29th. You can listen to the band’s debut ‘If Only You Knew’ HERE

You can catch Montrose smashing it at these dates:

MARCH

10th BRISTOL Louisiana

11th CARDIFF Fuel Bar

12th CANTERBURY TBA

13th BRIGHTON The Hope

14th PORTSMOUTH The Fesiting 

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