aaamusic | On 17, Nov 2010



In a world where riffs are king and master, TO THE BONES are essential. Hailing from glamorous Bolton, the four-piece clash together a feral mix of hooks, melody and feedback, like The Pixies covering Motorhead, or Kyuss attempting a ‘pop’ record. A straight ahead nasty mix of dark and angry scuzz rock, the band return to the fray on November 22^nd with their brand new four track ‘Astral Magic’ EP, produced by Sean Genockey (Reuben, The Futureheads, Baddies, Tom McRae).

Having spent the past 4/5 months in deep hibernation writing and recording the EP (coming out every now and again for an incendiary live show here and there), the band drew on a massive range of inspiration and influences for the new material, including Nirvana, QOTSA, Pixies, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, Manic Street Preachers, At The Drive In, Deftones, Weezer, Sonic Youth, Motorhead and Black Sabbath. We really could just keep going though.

Live wise, TO THE BONES will be embarking on a monstrous UK tour in NOV/DEC to support the release of the ‘Astral Magic’ EP. Dates TBA in the coming week, as well as information on European dates in early 2011 as well.

November:

23 – The Boileroom, Guildford

24 – Queen Of Hoxton, London (Artrocker Presents)

25 – The Ruby Lounge, Manchester

27 – The Crauford Arms, Milton Keynes

29 – The Fleece, Bristol

30 – Flapper & Firkin, Birmingham

December:

1 – The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool

2 – Mad Ferret, Preston
A bit about TO THE BONES – Having released a split single through Org Records at the start of 2008, TO THE BONES signed up with new label Medici Records in May. In July, the band released a double A-side made up of the scuzzed-up fuzzed-out melody of ‘Sonic Mammoth’ and the terrifying aural assault of ‘Sharkie’s Bone Symphony’. They received airplays from Zane Lowe (who also invited them down to play at his TV show pilot at Air Studios) and Bruce Dickinson at the BBC and were invited to record an Xfm session for John Kennedy. The NME, Rock Sound and The Fly wrote nice things about them (including a full page NME Radar piece). Even MTV2 noticed what was going on, playing the band’s video on 120 Minutes and Headbanger’s Ball. Having heard about the building buzz, producer Dave Eringa (Manics, Idlewild, Ash) offered his services to the band for free. In 24 hours, the band recorded and mixed their second Medici Records single. Entitled Rex, and released on September 29th, it’s a hypnotic, mesmerising blend of crushing riffs and tribal, chanted melody. It’s a song that demands an immediate re-listen – and then another, and another and another…

In the last year, TO THE BONES have toured and played live with the likes of The Eighties Matchbox B-line disaster, Pulled apart by Horses, Kong, The Eagles of Death Metal, Dinosaur Pile Up, Sebastian Grainger (ex Death from above 1979), Baddies, Selfish C**t, Oceansize, Deerhunter and William Control to name a few. In the last year, the band have also played at Camden Crawl, The Great Escape, Guilfest, Reading and Leeds Festival, Offset, Hungry Pigeon Festival, Live at Leeds, a few Levis Ones To Watch and BBC Introducing showcases and many more.