Thu, Mar 6. The Reverb, 651 Queen W. 9:30pm; also The Bovine Sex Club, 542 Queen W. 2am.
1. These lads are from Brighton, but they do not play fun-in-the-sun music. Although hailing from the seaside UK city, Johnny Truant would probably eat Jimmy Buffett if they saw him, as their brand of heavy, guttural metal sounds like it emanates from factories, not piers. Singer Olly Mitchell concurs. “It’s kind of a holiday town. We have a stony beach. If you’re around that holiday vibe for long, it’s going to drive you insane.”
2. They hang out with Canadian bands, which has resulted in deliberate scarring. Performing in Canada alongside Distort labelmates Cancer Bats as well as Attack In Black and Alexisonfire has resulted in deep friendships as well as some tattoos. In fact, Mitchell offered to get an Adrian Mole tattoo at Tattoo Rock Bar if I agreed to as well.
Mitchell also has a special place in his heart for chanteuse Leslie Feist. “I’m in love with her. If she’s reading this — I’m a nice dude, I can cook, I can clean the house. I can go on long walks. We can have a lunch date. I want the Constantines to play at my wedding, and Feist will be my bride.”
3. They have a new album due out this spring. It’s called In The Library of Horrific Events, and with songs like “The Bloodening,” “I Love You Even Though You’re A Zombie Now” and “Dirty Vampire Feeding Frenzy,” it’s dark, pounding and abrasive. “The record is disgusting,” says Mitchell. “It’s mean, pissed off and gory. It’s what we want to be. We’re a bunch of dirty, fucking filthy dudes.”
4. They think “wanker” is an abused term. “People throw that ‘wanker’ term around like it’s going out of fashion, but everyone’s a wanker. If some dude came up to me and said ‘you’re a wanker’ I’d say ‘if you’re not a wanker, you’re weird.’ I’m going to go ahead and condone wanking. We do have some crazy terms here in England. My favourite is ‘wind your fucking neck in,’ which is basically ‘stop talking like a dickhead’.”
5. Where you can see them play. Thu, Mar 6. The Reverb, 651 Queen W. 9:30pm; also The Bovine Sex Club, 542 Queen W. 2am.