Getting To know: Attendant

In their unapologetically bold new track "Patriot Parade," Attendant delivers a blistering critique of populist demagoguery and its disciples, with a scathing dedication to figures like Nigel Farage and Laurence Fox, and a nod to the modest audience of GB News. Channeling the spirit of Green Day with a bass-heavy groove and an audacious surplus of cowbell, the song escalates into a relentless surge of energy, blending the raw edge of punk, the attitude of alt-rock, and the melodic sensibility of Britpop. Influences from Blur, Queens of the Stone Age, and Foo Fighters are interwoven, crafting a sound that's both familiar and ferociously original.

As Attendant gears up for the release of their debut album, "State of Disarray," on 21 June 2024, they invite listeners into a rock opera set against the backdrop of a society on the brink of collapse. The album is a narrative journey through a community teetering on the edge, culminating in nuclear armageddon. Each track delves into a subplot populated by a gallery of flawed characters, inspired by the storytelling prowess of Damon Albarn, Billie Joe Armstrong, and Eddie Vedder. Merging the energy of punk, the depth of grunge, and the intensity of post-hardcore, while occasionally veering into unexpected musical territories, Attendant sets the stage for an album that explores the chaos of contemporary life through a diverse sonic landscape.

1. "Patriot Parade" is described as an anti-racist protest song targeting figures like Nigel Farage and Laurence Fox. What motivated you to use satire and humor to address such serious subjects in your music?

I got into satire quite young, reading the political cartoons in my parents’ newspapers and watching Have I Got News For You on TV with my Dad. I like that it draws people into current affairs by making it entertaining. Without the humour, our songs would just be a load of complaining, which isn’t much fun. Music is entertainment, and as a musician you’re in a contract with your listeners to give them something enjoyable. But I reject the idea that music has to be just that. We write about serious, important stuff. We’re not out to minimise the subject matter, but to frame it in a way that encourages people to listen.

2. The sound of "Patriot Parade" combines elements from punk, alt-rock, and Britpop, drawing comparisons to bands like Green Day and Queens of the Stone Age. How did you manage to blend these diverse influences while creating a unique sound for the song?

The key is not being precious about genre labels. Let’s say you’re trying to be a grunge band and you’re ruling out ideas because they’re too punk, or too pop. You’re really limiting your creativity there. If a Britpop verse bleeds into a punk chorus, with a desert rock middle eight, so what? As long as it flows and doesn’t sound like a bunch of different songs welded together. It keeps things interesting.   

3. Your debut album "State of Disarray" is described as a rock soap opera set in a collapsing society. Can you share more about the concept behind the album and how you developed the storyline through each song?

It’s not a concept album in the strictest sense, but a collection of individual stories that take place in a shared universe. It includes tales of unscrupulous tech billionaires, blowhard populists, and bitter old misanthropes. They’re like parallel plots in a soap opera. The characters all exist in a dysfunctional society that ends up being wiped out in nuclear Armageddon.   

4. The album features a mix of punk, grunge, and post-hardcore, along with unexpected influences like blues and mariachi. How do you decide which musical elements to incorporate into your songs, and what's the process like for integrating these diverse styles?

I never really sit down and tell myself, ‘I want to write a song with a blues element,’ or whatever. It’s usually the other way around. I’ll hear a song in a non-rock genre and think, ‘I wonder what that would sound like with distorted guitars and big drums’. For example, I was visiting my wife’s family in the US, driving around North Carolina with a country music station on the radio. There were a couple of Miranda Lambert tracks on rotation: Way Too Pretty For Prison, which lists elaborate ways to bump off a deadbeat husband; and Tequila Does, which draws on those southern and central American musical influences. That planted the seed for a song on our album called Margarita and the Kiss of Death, which is about a woman spiking her abusive husband’s drink and bludgeoning him to death in his sleep. Thing is, you’d never guess its origin, since it’s ended up so far removed from the songs that inspired it.     

5. The artwork for "State of Disarray" was created by Dutch collage artist Toon Joosen. What drew you to his work, and how does his art reflect the themes of your album?

I love his sense of the absurd. He typically combines contrasting images, creating humour through juxtaposition. It’s a bit like how we write fun-sounding songs about really dark topics. The album cover is a clash between an idealised past and chaotic present, with the family in denial about the reality unfolding around them. That’s a consistent theme throughout the album — people caught up in their own trivial conflicts while the world burns.       

6. Attendant's sound is known for drawing from a wide range of influences, including commercial pop and video game soundtracks. How do these less conventional sources inspire your songwriting, and can you give an example of how one of these influences manifested in your music? 

It could be something as simple as a four-note phrase from an old Sonic the Hedgehog game, or a line in a stage musical. There’s a track on the album called Schadenfreude, which has this waltz-oompah thing going on. I’m pretty sure the hook was planted in my brain after watching the musical Oliver! on TV. These ideas can start out annoyingly chirpy, but take on darker undertones as they develop. Less Disney, more Hans Christian Andersen.