Getdown Services are enjoying one of those drastic upward surges that rarely happens to new bands. In the past year they’ve toured Australia, New Zealand and America, appeared on Later… With Jools Holland and been booked for two headline nights at London’s Roundhouse. Harry Styles and Harry Hill are both fans. It’s a long way from the youth centres, skittles alleys and village fêtes of their early gigging years in and around Minehead.
“We’ve crammed it in this year,” guitar-playing half Josh Law says. “It’s only July and we’ve spanned continents. We’re like migratory birds.”
“But much, much less beautiful…” co-conspirator/old friend Ben Sadler deadpans.
That self-aware humour (the duo’s Bandcamp page proclaims them to be “Britain’s Best Band”) is key to Getdown Services’ appeal, combined with biting, socially alert lyrics that invite comparisons to Sleaford Mods and Beastie Boys. But it’s not all snark and beats. They’re audibly rockers at heart, in love with the likes of AC/DC, The White Stripes and T.Rex (so many of Law’s guitar parts are pure Bolan). By turns funny and heartbreaking, acerbic and tender, their new LP Massive Champion reflects it all.
“We get away with ripping T.Rex off far too much,” Law says, grinning. “But the Sleadford Mods comparisons, I think that happens because of the way we do it live – it’s a laptop and two English guys swearing.”
Law and Sadler met in middle school, where they played bass and drums in a band with another singer, covering the likes of Blur, White Stripes and Kasabian. Realising the chemistry between them, the pair left to do their own thing. Six years of small gigs, different names and generally feeling out of place followed. Bruised, albeit enthused, they got day jobs and left music for weekends.
“Josh played banjo in a folk trio, I played drums in an indie band,” Sadler says. “But we’d been so crushed by our experience of being absolute freaks when we were younger, we weren’t so arsed about trying to do it properly again for a while.”
Covid changed that. Suddenly with time to spare, they restarted and rebranded, free of the pressure to be successful that marred their teens. In time they toured extensively, prioritising overlooked towns. Things escalated.
For now they’re keeping the guitars ’n’ laptop gig set-up (initially a means to create full sounds on the cheap), filling stages with livewire presence and DIY anthems about real life, everyday insecurities, even love. Music that makes ‘lo-fi’ feel huge.
“We’ve had to think about whether we’re going to go that way,” Josh says, “or are we going to fill the stage with more people or equipment. But there’s something to be said for less is more.”
Massive Champion is out now via Breakfast Records. Getdown Services tour the UK in November and December. For dates, visit Seated.
(LouderSound)
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