aaamusic | On 15, Feb 2011

“…Wonderfully sad, with huge conviction and emotion” – The Guardian

The single and B-side on soundcloud here:

Grubby Mitts – To A Friends House by Anthonygdli

The Grubby Mitts are a 5-piece band from Bedfordshire, fronted by visual artist Andy Holden; whose recent solo exhibition at the TATE Britain was praised by The Guardian as “Inward-looking and subtly monumental… Holden’s work confirms the seriousness and intelligence of young art at the moment.”

Debut single To a Friends House takes its refrain from a cross-stitching that used to hang by the front door of Holden’s grandmother’s house. The song begins with each member of the band repeating the refrain; “To a friends house the way is never long!”, whilst around it the looping percussion, harmonium, knocks, pots, pans, guitars, string section and brass build towards an epic conclusion.

The accompanying b-side is a clarinet rendition of the Beach Boy’s classic God Only Knows. Stripped to its bare bones and devoid of lyrics the song is given a lonely, reflective quality, providing a counter balance to the density of the a-side.

The band describe their music as, “assembled from scraps and fragments of melody, as if remembered from the night before or heard floating down from a window and taken up as a hum by someone passing by on the street below”.

The Grubby Mitts have slowly established a reputation in the UK, offering elaborate multi-media concerts often in unusual locations, such as the Odeon Cinema in Covent Garden or the room of sublime landscape paintings at the TATE. However, they have also played headline shows at The Luminaire (RIP) and Lexington in London, Islington Mill, Salford, Cube Cinema, Bristol, and other venues across the country.

Early releases from The Grubby Mitts have included hand-painted 12” vinyl records, a white-label record, several tapes and an EP (most of which are now sold out). This will be the first record to be given widespread distribution through Cargo and released on Andy’s own Lost Toys Records (Ice Sea Dead People & Johnny Parry).

To A Friends House is released April 18th 2011 on 7” Vinyl and digital download, with the much-anticipated single launch to take place at Café Oto on 21st April. Further UK dates are yet to be announced.

Links
http://www.myspace.com/thegrubbymitts

http://losttoysrecords.com/artists/thegrubbymitts.php