NEWS: Be Quiet. Shout Loud! reveal new tracks ahead of Twisterella show

Teesside’s disco punk pop kings Be Quiet. Shout Loud! have been absent from the music scene since Covid; life has a habit of getting in the way, as lead singer Ste Allen explains. “In the years immediately prior to the pandemic we’d earned a reputation for being fun. Everything has been a bit of a struggle since the pandemic. It’s been difficult to get all of the band together in the four and a half years since our last show, and to be honest I’ve had a really shitty time personally (with a few exceptions) too, so I’ve found writing fun pop songs a little at odds with how I’m feeling personally, so I gave up trying to do that.”

Ste admits that “getting our shit together collectively” has been a frustration, but there’s nothing like an impending deadline to encourage you to shift up a gear. “Earlier this year Henry Carden from Twisterella approached us and asked us to play as part of the festival’s 10th anniversary. That seemed like a great opportunity for us to commit to return to playing live.”

To accompany the live show, a couple of new tracks – Sneak and Tiny Victories – have been unleashed. Sneak in particular has the paranoia and upset of the pandemic stamped all over it. “Sneak is about dedicating a lot of your life to something and getting hurt by it.” Ste says of the track. While Ste’s vocals are as strong as ever, a new anger and frustration has crept in; the track’s propulsive guitar lines and plinking synth notes drive the track, and the band’s typical toe-tapping rhythms are all present and correct.

Massive riffs and chunky basslines propel Tiny Victories, which veers wildly between ska rhythms and distorted vocals, and it’s got live favourite stamped all over it. “I decided to write about things like my age catching up with me and being utterly rubbish in social situations and that’s where Tiny Victories comes from.”

What the future holds for Be Quiet. Shout Loud! is unclear, but when it comes in living in the moment, producing raucous and gloriously fun music, BQSL are certain to be on fine form.

“We have to repay the faith that Twisterella and the people who’ve bought tickets have shown in us. We have committed to playing, we have to put on a show and we have to be good enough to be worthy of the spot we have on the line up. So to answer the question ‘why are you returning to the live scene for Twisterella?’ in short form, the answer is definitely ‘social obligation’ and we are very fucking excited about it!”

Be Quiet. Shout Loud! play Twisterella Festival in Middlesbrough on Saturday 12^th October.