We are very proud of this record and my fellow Tubs. we finally tried quite hard. it’s the most PERSONAL but also the most Rocking we’ve ever been. the former felt arduous at times and, especially on ‘strange’, and sometimes it felt a bit TMI but I’m glad I ‘went there’. but, as the latter hopefully demonstrates, there’s also a lot of fun and joy and lager in there. see you on the road xxx
London group The Tubs released one of 2023’s most underrated albums, “Dead Meat”, which saw the group—featuring the former members of Joanna Gruesome—pairing soaring pop melodies with an immaculate college rock jangle. Their follow-up to that album, “Cotton Crown”, is a more deeply personal affair, featuring songs written about grieving the death of his mother. And while the subject matter’s a bit heavier, their pop songwriting has only grown stronger, as on the harsher punk strum-along “Chain Reaction” or the infectious riffs of “Freak Mode,” which we dubbed the Essential Track. Though it’s an album defined by real pain, it’s nonetheless good for the soul. (We’ll have more on this one soon.)
“It’s quite fun for me to dredge up my most embarrassing or selfish moments,” Tubs frontman Owen Williams admitted. The second Tubs album was emotionally visceral, too, with a full-pelt intensity – think Hüsker Dü meets Richard Thompson – that made them instant favourites.
The Tubs performing live in the KEXP studio. Recorded June 3rd, 2025.
Songs: Freak Mode 00:32 Round The Bend 03:45 Dead Meat 06:00 Narcissist 08:17 Sniveller 12:01 Wretched Lie 16:55 Owen Williams – Guitar, Vocals Devon Murphy – Bass Dan Lucas – Lead Guitar, Vocals Taylor Stewart – Drums
Also essential from 2025: Tubs twin band Ex-Vöid’s “In Love”, where Williams ceded most of the frontperson duties to Lan McArdle, tonally Linda Thompson to his Richard.
The Fat Angel Sings 