“Unpeople have a simple response to anyone telling them what they should be doing to get ahead: They’re not buying it.
That defiance drives the single “Clouds“, a ferocious blast of crushing riffs, huge hooks, harmonies and heavy breakdowns from the British four-piece. Unpeople use the song to push back against trend-chasing and the constant pressure musicians face to shape themselves around somebody else’s idea of success. For frontman Jake Crawford, that pressure became especially noticeable during the band’s early days. “Clouds” is essentially about not letting yourself be influenced by what other people think you should be doing to get ahead artistically, and trusting your own vision and process,” Crawford explains. “I could feel myself being pulled in lots of directions when we started the band and I’m glad we stuck to our guns.”
That philosophy extends beyond the music itself. Crawford says the band’s refusal to chase quick fixes applies equally to how Unpeople sound and how they present themselves as a unit. The result is a song that makes a pretty persuasive argument for following your instincts.
Crawford, Luke Caley, Em Lodge and Richard Rayner have built Unpeople around the collision of powerful lyrics and heavyweight riffs with a melodic accessibility that keeps their songs immediately memorable. “Clouds” captures that balance particularly well, shifting between aggressive instrumentation and hooks designed to be shouted back at the band. There’s also a larger idea embedded in the group’s name.
“Unpeople” refers to those considered politically unimportant or without value, a concept the four musicians have embraced as part of their identity. Their music is intended to speak to people who have felt overlooked or undervalued and give them somewhere to find a sense of connection. That mission has developed quickly. With only one EP behind them, Unpeople have already produced songs like “The Garden” and “Waste”, establishing a sound built around hook-heavy choruses, thick harmonies and bone-crunching breakdowns.
They’ve also had opportunities to test that music on some enormous stages. Unpeople have supported Metallica and Coheed And Cambria, putting their songs in front of audiences accustomed to heavy music on a grand scale. That live experience suits a band whose recordings frequently feel engineered for communal shouting as much as headphone listening.
Unpeople are a band all about inclusivity, and the belief that there are far more things that unite rather than divide us. With their debut album, the band offer 12 songs that will define the start of their career and that aim to bring us all together with their unmistakably unique blend of sound and compositions. We are Unpeople. You are Unpeople. We are all Unpeople.”
