TOUTS announced themselves to the world as angry teens with their debut 4 track EP Sickening and Deplorable back in 2017. Their anger fuelled rage at the state of society around them led them to generate tirades at everything from Brexit to the Northern Ireland music scene. Two more EPs followed Lit and Analysis Paralysis, and they quickly generated a buzz which resulted in support slots with such big hitters as Paul Weller and Liam Gallagher.
The Derry punk trio are Matthew Crossan (vocals/guitars), Jason Feenan (drums) and Luke McLaughlin (bass) and today they have released their second single of 2022 ‘Can’t Take It Anymore’. The captivating video for the single pulls together the band’s performance through three separate smartphone screens. It was directed by Irish Film and Television Academy-nominated filmmaker, Seán Mullan, recipient of the 2022 Netflix Documentary Talent Fund.
We had a chat with the band to find out their plans for 2022.
Welcome TOUTS! What is the main inspiration behind your music?
Inspiration comes from everywhere and anywhere but you have to be ready when it does. For lyrics it’s important to write them down when they come even if it’s just a phrase you heard someone say. Musically I don’t think there is one single big influence. We all have individual tastes which helps keep our ideas relatively fresh.
Did you find the pandemic difficult and stifling, or did it give you room for creativity?
Obviously the pandemic was difficult for everybody. We didn’t really see the value of doing live streamed gigs because of course it’s not going to compare to the real thing. We made that decision pretty early in the pandemic. So we took stock of what we had and decided to write and demo. We set up a demo studio and because everything had came to a halt it gave us the luxury of time to write songs, tear them apart and put them back together again in a way we hadn’t before.
We recorded an album in 2019 and decided to leave it in favour of writing and recording a new one. Despite the horrendous downsides of the pandemic we benefited from the time to lock ourselves away and hone our craft.
‘Can’t Take It Anymore’ is your second single release in 2022 after the blistering ‘Shane MacGowan’s New Teeth‘. Can we expect more new music this year from TOUTS?
Aye, ‘Can’t Take It Anymore’ and ‘Shane MacGowan’s New Teeth’ are the lead singles from our EP which is also going to be called Shane MacGowan’s New Teeth. It’s tracks from the album we recorded in 2019 that we thought deserved to see a release. The EP will be released on the 25 May.
Are there any plans for live dates?
We’re planning to do a few shows in the UK and Ireland in the coming months
If I looked in your fridge right now what would I find?
Frozen mackerel and squid which is used as bait to catch more mackerel.
