BUNCH OF FIVES: headcage

Having unleashed their brand new EP, under my skin, North East rock quartet headcage top off a successful year which has seen them play sell out shows across the UK and enjoy multiple ‘track of the week’ slots on BBC Radio 1. To celebrate the new EP, the band have chosen to highlight a few of their local favourites…

Creak
We’re starting with a heavy band because we all love heavy music. Creak have something very unique in their sound that’s both beautiful and sinister at the same time. They blend super low tuned guitars with dissonant leads and synths to leave you feeling constantly unsettled. They really lean on the influence of horror in their sound and we love the idea that a band can sound genuinely scary. We watched them at Make A Scene festival in Middlesbrough and there was a moment where every single one of us was swinging limbs in the pit at the same time. So hats off to Creak for getting every single member of headcage to come out of mosh retirement. If you like heavy music, Creak is one artist to absolutely watch, they’ve just released their debut album, go check it.

Drenched
Drenched are a band from Berwick Upon Tweed. We’ve had them on multiple headline shows we’ve played because we enjoy them that much. They’re a very young band but when you watch them and listen to the sounds they’re creating you wouldn’t think that’s the case. Imagine a perfect blend between Deftones and Nirvana, with technical progressive influences moulded in there too. Every band member is insanely talented at their respective instruments and they deserve attention. Because of where they are based it’s quite difficult for them to access the gig circuit in Newcastle etc. But if there’s one thing you can do, it’s go listen to their songs, and get them booked for a show, cause you’ll be glad you did.

noyou
Potentially the best songwriters in the North East. Why they aren’t getting Radio 1 daytime playlisting and booked for every major festival under the sun is beyond us. The levels of musical talent within this band is off the charts, each member is at the top of their game at their craft and they are literally inch perfect live, sound like the recordings. Special shout out to their vocal work, the chorus melodies are next level catchy, and their vocal harmony work is incredibly impressive too. As a side note we’ve heard it’s all recorded and produced by the vocalist at his home studio. If you listen to the mix you would assume that thousands will have been spent at a studio somewhere. Hats off to all the talent involved. They are criminally slept on, we love them all as people, they deserve all the success in the world. Support noyou.

Cortney Dixon
We heard Cortney on the BBC Introducing North East Radio Show. I think it may have been one we were on as well. What she’s doing is so distinctive and really is a next level talent. Her voice is very unique and she totally owns her art. One of the main reasons why we want to shout about her is she clearly works so hard and puts in serious graft. She’s getting regular Radio 1 plays and Spotify Editorial playlist support and she absolutely deserves every bit of it. It’s so good to see someone who has clearly put years of time and effort into every single aspect of herself as an artist. It’s 100% inspiring to us, even though we’re totally different to her musically and every other aspect. She shows everyone how to do it the right way and she’s someone everyone needs to be getting behind because she’s gonna have a successful career in this industry, of that we have no doubt. Big respect to Cortney.

Shower of Teeth
We absolutely love this band. They are the embodiment of pure chaos. They combine relentless pounding drums, crazy technical riffs and unhinged screams into one huge onslaught of carnage. A reason why we love this band so much is because one of our favourite bands collectively was Every Time I Die, that band was one of the best to ever do it and their breakup in 2021 left a huge hole in the heavy music world. Shower of Teeth helps to fill that for us because you can hear the clear influence there but it still stands totally on its own. It feels like they’ve hit a perfect blend of punk, metal and Southern rock ‘n’ roll and they deserve people backing what they do. It’s absolutely enough to bring us all out of mosh retirement. They’ve just released a new album called Eternal Gut Rot, it’s amazing, go listen to it. A stand out track we feel needs an honourable mention is Egyptian Sand. Hope they read this and appreciate that we’re onto the deep cuts from the album.