Get To Know... Thee MVPs • Neu • DIY Magazine

Hello and welcome to DIY’s introducing feature, Get To Know… getting you a little bit closer to the buzziest new acts that have been catching our eye as of late, and working out what makes them tick.

Recently we’ve met pop superstar in the making Remi Wolf, Oxford-based songwriter Rhys Lewis, indie songwriter Taylor Janzen, genre-blending NYC collective MICHELLE, and now we’re meeting Leeds-based punk trio Thee MVPs.

Sharing their blistering new song ‘Song For Councillor’ out now, frontman Charlie Wyatt says, “A song about how we should probably get together more often. Sardonic verses, a damn catchy chorus (even if it is wordless) a shreddy middle 8, a motown bassline followed by a heavy chug riff in the bridge, a little bit of everything this record offers all in one tune, something the psych heads can shake it too, the dads with a night off can crowdsurf too, goths can throw shapes too and the skaters and crust punks can throw fists too. I think this tune is ringing through a bit clearer during this pandemic if you ask me, everyone really should talk to each other more. In memory of Uncle Will, who served in the Desert Rats in WW2, who we all called Councillor when he arrived at the pub after he’d ridden his bike two miles into town and put his bets on for the day, he passed at 96, he only packed in the cycling 6 months prior. Gravesend’s Harry Dean Stanton.”

Lifted from their debut album ‘Science Fiction’, out 29th May, the band explain, “the album ties in references and homages to Sci Fi with the modern millennial difficulties all of us face as we move away from our youth. Some themes include always having your crew to count on in the face of any dire straits, how being contactable 24/7 probably isn’t best for any of us and how really we’re not any more different/cooler/better/worse/charming/narcissistic than anyone else because we’re in a band.”

We sent them over some questions to get to know them a little better.

Describe your music to us in the form of a Tinder bio.
The only size we ain’t lying about is how big these riffs are.

What’s your earliest musical memory?
Edd’s first gig was Jamiroquai, that’s enough of a musical memory for the whole band if you ask me.

Who were some artists that inspired you when you were just starting out (and why)?
In the beginning God created the John Dwyer and the Ty Segall. Thus the rock and the roll were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he put his feet up on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because he’d been caning work all week and fancied a beer and listening to his Nuggets LPs after all his work which God created and made. These are the generations of the rock and of the roll when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the Dwyer and the Segall, And every big amp of the stage before it was in the earth, and every fuzz pedal of the big amp before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain riffs upon the earth, and there was not a band to till the ground. But there went up a purple haze from the earth, and soaked the whole face of the ground with gallons upon gallons of the cheapest beer. And the Lord God formed Thee MVPs of the dust of the ground, and breathed into it’s nostrils the breath of life; and Thee MVPs became a living soul.

You’re from Leeds! What do you think of the music scene there at the moment?
The Brudenell is the best venue in all the land, where else in the world can you get a pie and a pint for 10 quid and then walk in the other room and watch Shellac? Pandemic aside, there’s plenty of creative people right now in and outside of music continuing to be creative in the face of all this. DIY af without ever feeling like it needs to tell anyone it’s DIY.

Are there any other artists breaking through at the same time that you take inspiration from?
Shakamoto Investigation from Leeds/Barnsley do the best weird 80s hardcore like Minutemen you’ll have heard since… Minutemen. SUCK from Germany are also pretty shreddy and scary. Cannibal Animal from Hull for successfuly capturing the sound of a punch up at a football riot… I like that new Bananagun track too! Anything from Australia the past 60 years has been pretty amazing across the board to be honest.

Who would be your dream collaborator?
I wouldn’t mind joining Jeff Goldblum and Biz Markie in anther rendition of ‘just a friend’.

Musically or otherwise, what are you most looking forward to this year?
Much like yourselves, I just wanna go to the pub and see all my friends again. Musically releasing this record!

If people could take away one thing from your music, what would it be?
“wow these guys sure love Thin Lizzy”

Tags: Thee MVPs, Features, Interviews, Neu, Get to Know