INTERVIEW: ABNORM

Image: Adam Kennedy

Amid the hubbub of newcomers populating the North East music sphere, few acts have established themselves as boldly or colourfully as Abnorm. Formed shortly before the world shut down in 2020, these fresh-faced rockers have made their name in the years since with a string of increasingly impressive singles – an ever-swelling live following and audible rise in assuredness further burnishing their gathering sense of momentum. Now, the trio launch themselves into 2025 with a long-awaited debut EP set to be released on 14th February – and if Giant is anything to go by, ignoring them could prove neigh-on impossible come the year’s end.

“We’ve been working on it for the past year, and it definitely shows our progress since our last single, Red Lines,” says the Ab in Abnorm, vocalist and songwriter Abbie Rose. “I’m a real ‘rage writer,’ and Giant definitely shows that,” she continues: “I’m not a particularly loud or bold person – I’m actually quite sensitive and quiet. As a young woman, you often feel you can’t mouth off when something or someone upsets you. But these songs allow me to tap into something different, and when I’m onstage it’s like BAM! RAGE!”

Supported by guitarist Ryan Brown and drummer Adam Willis, Abbie sources inspiration from great women across rock history; from legends like Joan Jett and Janis Joplin to teenage obsessions Paramore and The Pretty Reckless and recent trailblazers Nova Twins and Black Honey. Imbued with her own effervescent personality and resisting the urge to fall back on previous singles, Giant bolsters the Abnorm arsenal with three brand-new, buffed-up cuts. There’s Gasoline, a song about obsession and loss of faith in religion and society, while heartbreaker Petals tells the story of a doomed relationship where love can’t overcome a lack of true connection.

As a young woman, you often feel you can’t mouth off when something or someone upsets you. But these songs allow me to tap into something different

The focus track, though, is Giant; a beefy, combative riff monster that’s comfortably Abnorm’s loudest, most defiant statement to date. “It’s a concept song about a girl who’s intimidated by a man, and feels a helpless rage that she can’t fight back,” Abbie explains. “Even the first line, ‘Ate, devoured, licked my teeth,’ is about eating up the people who upset you. It’s a big song for me, because it allowed me to express things I couldn’t articulate in day-to-day life.”

That liberation takes a literal turn in their first music video, where Abbie’s bandmates become the focus of her insatiable hunger (“We really enjoyed that – we spent a day in the studio, and I ended it covered in blood!”). Created alongside Kristoff at Sigil Media, it’s another key milestone for an outfit never shy of tailoring their image – one of many on the horizon as they embark on what’s sure to be their biggest year to date. And yet, even with their ‘Anti-Valentine’s’ EP launch and a busy summer festival season in the pipeline, Abbie’s sights are already trained beyond the current cycle. “I’m in the process of writing a new song at the moment, and it’s a lot more upbeat. This EP has been so intense that I want what we do next to be a bit more light-hearted! We’re still learning the ropes, but we want to keep building and upping the ante.”

Abnorm’s debut EP Giant is out on Friday 14th February, which will be launched at Zerox, Newcastle on Saturday 15th February.