Leeds-based quartet Weirds are pacing full steam ahead with their unadulteratedly psych grunge echoes. With lyrics and song titles depicting twisted, biblical images of a nightmarish landscape through tracks such as their debut single ‘Crocodiles’ which, produced by Hookworms’ frontman MJ, has created a calamity of captivated crowds for Weirds. Influence from Hookworms rings true throughout their growing portfolio of records, with dark sultry tones, injected with an ooze of psychedelia.

The foursome are moving ahead, sharing their edgy, unapologetically raw sound nationwide. Having toured with The Wytches this year, released their debut album Swarmculture and enjoyed a furore of festivals lending an accolade to their fanbase.

We spoke with vocalist Aidan Razzall ahead of their support slot alongside label-mates Tigercub on their upcoming tour. As well as the formation of the band of brothers back in their school days and their plans for the future creative progression of Weirds.

Where did Weirds start from?

We all went to school together originally, so have known each other since we were teenagers. We started playing songs in the practice rooms there. We were rubbish, but we loved it, so kept playing until 2013ish when we first started putting music out under the name ‘Weirds’. There’s no mystery around the name, it was just one that we thought looked good on a poster, and it’s an odd choice of name. I was speaking to someone the other day who thought we had taken our name from this Twitter-speak anagram ‘WEIRDS’ which apparently means ‘Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic.’ That would be cool if we had been trying to make political point, but there’s no deeper meaning in our choice of name.

You’re supporting Tigercub on their upcoming tour. How did you meet?

Fucking great band. They’re on the same label as us (Alcopop) and we’ve met them through that connection really. We’ve played a few of the same festivals this year on the same stages, and I was blown away by them at Truck. Their new EP is just out, and the single ‘Divided States of Us’ is killer. They’re one of those bands you can see really going somewhere. We can’t wait to tour with them.

In an ideal world, who would you love to go on tour/play with? Dead or alive.

There’s too many great artists that I would want to tour with, so this is a really difficult question.

Serious answer: The Black Angels

Actual answer: Toploader

Which acts do you consider your main influences?

We don’t really have a shared main influence, and I think our influences are constantly changing all the time. There are bands that we look up to collectively though, like Sonic Youth and Kyuss.  For me, I love artists like David Lynch, both of his records are amazing, lyrically and sonically. We love all sorts of music.

Which current acts are you fans of?

I saw Nadine Shah at the Brudenell the other night and she blew me away, such a haunting voice and amazing guitar sounds. Check out her song ‘Out the Way’. I also really like the ‘Here Lies Man’ album on Riding Easy Records, it’s this kind of afrobeat meets Sabbath group with loads of echoes and distortion, but with loads of groove too.

Off the back of your recent headlining tour and festival slots, which has been your most memorable gig?

Playing in Leeds is always incredible for us, so the Brudenell is up there. I think we’ve enjoyed the festivals this year too, Truck Festival and 2000 Trees were both amazing shows in sweaty tents. We just played in Europe too, and Amsterdam was another great show. It’s pretty mind blowing how people in another country are turning up to shows and buying records etc. It’s very humbling.

Swarmculture was also released this year. What are your plans for the future?

We’re tentatively writing new stuff. We’ve toured so much this year that we haven’t had much time to really knuckle down with writing, but we’ve got a lot of ideas floating around, and little bits that we’ve recorded. We have the itch to write now though- I think it’s good to keep things bottled up and let them spew out after a long time.

Weirds will be supporting Tigercub on the following dates:

20th October – Crawford Arms, Milton Keynes
21st October – The Flapper, Birmingham
23rd October – The Parish, Huddersfield
24th October – The Cluny, Newcastle
25th October – Mash House, Edinburgh
28th October – 2Q Festival, Lincoln
28th October – The Finsbury, London

Hannah Tinker
@hannahetinker