Today marks the return of Welsh-born, Bristol rockers The Pleasure Dome. Following the release of their critically acclaimed debut album Equinox, the band share details from their forthcoming EP Liminal Space and present their first single “The Duke Part II (Friends and Enemies)”.
A liminal space is representative of a transitional setting, a period between point A and point B, a well-suited title for a body of work to succeed the release of the band’s debut album Equinox and proceed a future project. This title however is about more than just the transition between first album and second, but captures a particularly difficult moment in time for the band. Directly after a successful tour, and a strongly received album came the departure of both the band’s drummer and the band’s bassist. Adding insult to injury, the remaining member of the band, songwriter, vocalist and guitar player Bobby Spender then had a romantic relationship come to an end, finally the nail in the coffin was getting evicted from his home, all within the space of a few months.
Instead of losing himself in thoughts of what could have been, Spender wasted no time in putting his emotions into his craft, creating a selection of songs illustrative of this particularly torturous time in life. “The songs on the EP felt like they belonged together. It didn’t feel right to save them for our next album” says Spender, and hence Liminal Space was born.
The band was reformed with a fresh line-up, recruiting Loz Fancourt (bass and backing vocals) and Harry Flowers (Drums) and hit the studio in January 2024 bringing the therapeutic creation to life. Wanting to build on the foundations of the first record while still intending to make something challenging and new, the band recorded this EP with former collaborator, and producer of their debut record Equinox; James Trevascus. Trevascus’ former credentials include Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Billy Nomates, Beak>, RVG, and The KVB. Combining Trevascus’ wealth of experience with a repertoire formed of the most burdensome of confessions, The Pleasure Dome have created what could be their most emotive and ambitious project to date.
Speaking on the single The Duke Part II (Friends and Enemies), vocalist and songwriter Bobby Spender had this to say: I work in a pub alongside doing the band, sometimes it gets me down. You see people you like, people you don’t like and they’re all getting drunk and it’s easy to feel lost if you’re going through a hard time. The song has a message of hope, sometimes where you are is exactly where you need to be.
The Pleasure Dome are a three-piece band formed in Bristol, UK in July 2019. Known for their high-intensity live set, they mix a lively punk sound with grunge and indie rock. In the lyrics, Bobby Spender discusses themes of love, drug addiction and recovery, his struggles with mental health, therapy and issues in society such as austerity and social media. “We’re three friends who love to play music really. I write these songs about moments in life, things I’ve learned or don’t understand. We’re loud but we also like the delicate moments too, the calm and the thunder”.
The band name came in a dream to frontman Bobby Spender, “I had a dream of this enormous amusements arcade in the future, and above its doors in neon lights ‘The Pleasure Dome’ was written. The next day I learnt romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge was the first person to speak of a pleasure dome in his opium-induced poem Kubla Khan. The name stuck”.
The band have enjoyed a busy live schedule, playing multiple festivals around the UK, these include dates with the likes of DITZ, The Magic Gang, Frauds, CLT DRP, Yawners, multiple headline tours in France, Belgium The Netherlands and numerous festival appearances across Europe.
The band’s previous work has already netted them a host of fans in UK press, with a solid bundle of radio airplay at BBC R1 (Jack Saunders’ Rock Show, BBC Introducing), BBC 6Music (Lauren Laverne, Tom Robinson, Craig Charles), BBC Radio Wales (Adam Walton), and BBC Bristol (Introducing).
The Pleasure Dome have their foot to the floor, and show zero signs of slowing down anytime soon.
THOUGHTS WORDS ACTION 