“Luton feels like where it all started and now, doing this record with Vandalism Begins at Home, feels like it’s coming full circle with people who believe in us. Everyone is rising together,” says Danny Young, the frontman and one half of garage psyche-rocking hombres, Dois Padres.
The whirling dervish guitar-slinger is talking about his band’s raucous new glam-fuzz delinquent ditty, ‘Know Better’ which is a swaggering, sweat-soaked anthem for devil-may-care lunatics, acting as a call to arms for their forthcoming third album, Swamp Jams.
They’ve teamed up with VBAH Records, which, after two years on the up-and-up as the town’s only music and arts ‘zine, launched a label in April with the single release of ‘Expected’ by local rebel-rousers SOURDOUGH.
“These guys have done a lot for the Luton scene in recent years, so even if it’s just making the Luton scene better than how people say it is, that is going to be a big help in the long run,” says tub-thumping Dois Padres drummer George Cowan.
With a reputation as a frenetic and telepathic twosome, on stage, the Padres have been called, “…the biggest, brashest, most untouchable hombres around” and they teased ‘Know Better’ at a barnstorming VBAH show, supported by JW Paris, Gaylips and Feral Dogs, at Harvey’s on Park Street in March – but then Coronavirus struck.
An expected government announcement last week brought disappointing news for live music fans, as pubs will reopen from July 4, but performances will not yet be permitted, while music venues remain in limbo.
Cowan adds: “When it all kicks back in, people will want to see some great bands, so I think it will show up who’s in it for the right reasons. If you can weather this and you’re still making really good music, you can come straight out of lockdown and smash it.
“We had the plan of doing a release show (for ‘Know Better’), but when everything got cancelled it was just a case of thinking on your feet. I think that’s what you’ve got to do to be a band at the moment and you’ll probably OK.
“If venues start reopening and putting bands on, I think we’ll be in a great position to just jump in there and start playing again.”
As a a whisky-washed, snake-hipped, back-alley ambush on those dancing feet, ‘Know Better‘ perfectly highlights how the Padres’ raw power is poised and ready for a much-craved return of live rock ‘n’ roll.
Rounded on a dirty and distorted rootsy riff, Young, says: “It’s a bop, a foot-stomper, a head-rocker, and we only need to know one thing – where the party’s at!”
And somewhat apt, for a time of turmoil and protest, Cowan adds that the track is “fit for rioting, dancing or driving. Crank it up and let’s go at it.”
Dois Padres unleashed their ferocious fire in 2018, on the back of their debut album ‘Welcome to the Thrillhouse,’ with a rampaging performance at LutonAid catching the attention of Vandalism Begins at Home and the Transmission Indie radio show on Luton’s Diverse FM, which debut the world premiere of Know Better earlier this month.
Then, after a rocket-fuelled show to launch their relentless sophomore mind-blower, ‘The Grind’ in January 2019, the ‘zine team hatched a plan to launch a label.
Real life intervened, but, after a hiatus, they crashed together again at the tail end of last year – and now, ‘Know Better’ is here to fire the starting pistol on summer.
Vandalism Begins at Home have also just released their second ever digital edition of the Vandalism Begins at Home ‘zine, which has been published due to the Coronavirus shutdown of pubs, clubs and other venues that stock the usually strictly physical only bi-monthly mag.
This edition also features, among many exciting reads, a big interview with The Palpatations, another Luton band making a big noise, both in music and in social activism. The Lutonian exclusively revealed their justice campaign against the government over the Coronavirus personal protective equipment (PPE) scandal. The band have today also released their debut EP, ‘Feed the Poor! Eat the Rich!‘.
