Written in snatches of time in hometown Bristol, recorded in London’s 5dB Studios and produced by Sean Oakley (Georgia, Scaler, Sorry), who flew in from L.A. especially for the project, “Hoping As A Coping Mechanism” is the strongest display of Mould’s talents yet. In their own words, it’s “more focussed, paced and thought-out.”
Over 13 tracks that explore the horrors of the outside world and the internal minefield of the brain, Mould’s debut also hits with the thrills of a brilliant live band who’ve distilled that energy to tape. “This has always been the dream, playing with your mates and making good songs and getting to tour and make records,” says Kane Eagle. “But the realities of trying to start a band now, when you’re 30 and also have other goals at the same time are hard. We’d be doing it regardless, but you have to learn a lot.”
This duality runs throughout the record, where tracks like lead single ‘Float’ speak of “strolling through hellscapes” of social media yet surround their frustrations with the sort of barbed, visceral musicality that sounds like if Interpol had grown up in gloomy, rain-soaked Britain. “You’re endlessly doom scrolling, past a funny video of a sausage, and then there’s Farage and then there’s an ad for something,” Joe says of the track. “That mindnumbing flashy distraction turns you into idiots.
Mould is a chunky punk power trio from Bristol, making succinct hits for the short attention spanned. The band members have played together in various forms for over 10+ years in numerous bands within Bristol’s DIY worlds.
Finally, the trio decided to take full advantage of their accrued closeness and tightness as humans and musicians, plunging that into a fresh, new beast. In 2023, “Birdsong” was self-released, marking the birth of Mould. This was followed by a couple of UK tours – first with Portuguese screamers Hetta, then another with Brighton’s Regal Cheer, and finally New York’s Lip Critic.
Drawing inspiration from bands like Fugazi, Pile, and Weezer, Mould, with the help of producer Jon McMullen (Wet Leg, Michael Kiwanuka), has created an exhilarating, unhinged musical joyride.
The Fat Angel Sings 