Our download-only Xmas single 'NatWest Tower' is out now.
We're giving away a FREE MP3 called 'Sarah and the Great Glass Safety Net', if you'd like one CLICK HERE
The Woe Betides are Grundy le Zimbra and The Late Simon Mastrantone.
The Woe Betides live band is Colonel Sexlife on drums and BVs + the other two fellas doing all the other stuff.
Please direct any band enquiries, booking etc to:
thewoebetides [AT] googlemail.com
Influences
Weezer, The Dead Kennedys, PJ Harvey, David Lynch, Angelo Badalamenti, Alice in Chains, Nick Cave, Electric Light Orchestra, Queen, Tim Buckley, Bad Religion, Manic Street Preachers, Metric, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Ford Pier, The Carpenters, Mansun, Stephen King, Can, PiL, The Academy Morticians, Subhumans, The Mars Volta, The Ramones, At the Drive-in, NOFX, Manics, Noam Chomsky, dEUS, Miles Davis, Hunter S. Thompson, Green Day, Tom Petty, Faith No More, Chet Baker, Nirvana, The Police, Tori Amos, Julee Cruise, Twin Peaks, Shudder to Think, Soundgarden, Vangelis, The Young Knives, Cocteau Twins, Juliana Hatfield, Joanna Newsom, System of a Down, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Clive Barker, Chavez, Suede, Joy Division, Blood Red Shoes, The Beach Boys, ABBA, Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton, David Bowie, Magazine, Fela Kuti, Philip K. Dick, Tom Waits, Chris Isaak, Brian Eno, Pere Ubu, Talk Talk, Blade Runner, Bjork, Talking Heads, John Cale
Sounds Like
"Agreeably grungey and off-kilter folk-pop duo... suggesting both Simon & Garfunkel and Josh Homme's Desert Sessions." (Time Out)
"Four ramshackle tidbits of skronky guitar pop. Resolutely lo-fi, DIY, rough around the edges and all the better for it" (Artrocker)
"Left field English alt/folk flavoured pop... Songs that touch on the social commentary and craft of The Kinks... Songs of heart. Strong songs." (Organ Magazine)
"The Woe Betides spin wonderfully blister like crooked melodies that hush, stir and pounce into animation without warning, lush with 60’s accents and drizzled with noir phraseology." (Losing Today Magazine)
"Blitzing folk grunge. These voices were made for those guitars, those melodies and those handclaps... Woe betide anyone who doesn't play dead." (CMU Music Network)
"Imagine The Earlies trying to cover Queens Of The Stone Age... crunching riffs and supremely arrogant vocals. Woe betide how dark their next EP can end up." (Room Thirteen)
"there's something dark and brooding about The Woe Betides... sweet, fast-paced chorus, heavy guitars and almost New Romantic-esque vocals. Not too shabby at all." (Stool Pigeon)
"A strong sense of drama... asymmetrical folk-pop with unexpected structures and complex arrangements... ‘Boredom is the Killer’ is a fine piece of Brian Eno-style artrock" (SoundsXP)
"a more countrified take on Shadow Puppets' '60s romanticism. They have mischief too... (7/10)" (Teletext)
"Razor sharp Smiths style wit... try your utmost to check them out next time they come to your town" (Mad Dog Magazine)
"...highly intelligent, experimental... littered with dark lyrics, aggressive down-tuned guitars and a periphery of strings and electronica." (Fuse Magazine)
"Sounds like the Beatles and Radiohead are in one band and touring in 1987. Original yet familiar." (theknowbodies.com)
"You'll love their irreverent lo-fi scuzz alt-folk assault." (eARmusic)
"Novel time signatures... great harmonies... I was converted." (Subba-Cultcha)
"The Everly Brothers doing grunge." (Blair Jollands)
Please direct all enquiries to: thewoebetides [AT] googlemail.com
It began on a dark night in the dimly lit upstairs of a London pub. Grundy le Zimbra and The Late Simon Mastrantone gave an impromptu performance at the infamous Songs in the Dark night using merely hand claps and harmonies. Later, there would be fuzzy guitars, out-of-tune violins and organically farmed beats. But on that first night, the room was filled with the simple sounds of man, melody and uneasy applause.
From the mysterious echoes of that sinister evening a band was born, and it stomped and clapped it's way around the country. To fill the gaps they enlisted the help of a mysterious iconoclast calling himself The Colonel and the band took to the road forever more, unleashing an instrument swapping, energy-soaked live mixture of grunge, pop and electronica at whichever haunted house they arrived.
The Woe Betides' debut EP Play Dead is available on CD and download now:
I infected a friend with your music, he bought all your songs on itunes and says he'll buy your album too :) mouhahaha I'm gonna keep spreading the disease ...
To Simon, Grundy and Colonel Sexlife. Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and all the best for the next decade. Hope the album is finished to your liking. should see you all soon in the new year. David
Hello again. Just browsing Woe Betides on youtube at the end of the videos there's a link to thewoebetides.co.uk but this goes to your myspace! (???????????)
How'd you do that? It's often a little embarrassing giving someone who looks important your myspace URL you see.
thanks for the ad had a quick listen and liked what i heard keep up the good work if you ever make it to australia let me know! good luck with everything
Hello, thank you very much for your request. I really like your music, so it's an honour for me to add you as my friends. Kisses and greetings from Germany, Soulbee
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