Spiritual Cramp begin their UK / IRE tour in support of Militarie Gun this weekend, continuing through to the 11th Dec. Full dates are below.
SPIRITUAL CRAMP UK TOUR DATES
03 Dec – Thekla, Bristol $
04 Dec – YES, Manchester $
05 Dec – Tufnell Park Down, London $
06 Dec – Bodega, Nottingham, UK
08 Dec – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds $
09 Dec – Mono, Glasgow $
10 Dec – The Workmans Club, Dublin $
11 Dec – Ulster Sports Club, Belfast
With Militarie Gun $
Tickets available HERE
The band’s debut album Spiritual Cramp is out now via Blue Grape Music and includes singles ‘Herberts On Holiday‘, ‘Talkin’ On The Internet’, and ‘Better Off This Way‘.
The 6-piece have brought back gang vocals as pop, and popping moped wheelies in DIY parking lots from coast to coast. Anyone who has seen the San Francisco band since their inception in 2016, knows that they are stylish and impressively reek of charisma, and following numerous EPs and a Deranged Records released compilation of early 7”s, their debut record Spiritual Cramp sees them take this to new levels.
Even from the band’s beginnings, Spiritual Cramp was about, in part, “acting like loud a**holes, but really you’re just projecting your own insecurities and taking up space because you want to be seen.” The songs on the new album are heavy with this self-interrogation, even when delivered via two and a half minute bounce house thrill rides. When not tunefully raging/ranting about riots, killer cops, and societal decay, singer Michael Bingham is going deep and lacerating on his own sense of inadequacy, complicity, and an overwhelming inclination towards cutting off his own nose to spite every face in the bar. There’s also a gloriously sweet and bracingly lovely song (‘Herbert’s On Holiday’) about how the singer’s sad-sack-of-shit life was saved by his wife.
All together, the album is ten tracks of jagged bubblegum, which sound huge and propulsive, but not in a way that feels forced or even overly intentional. With the added benefit of also feeling true. With the onset popularity of various and sundry tuff-boy guitar rock, it can be difficult to separate the real ones from the next-Turnstile strivers, but Spiritual Cramp’s place within a gritty and sweet rock and roll tradition. The sound is accessible, ready for the big stage, but with a sly sneer befitting the absurdity of modern life, and a casual integrity.
Spiritual Cramp is Michael Bingham (vocals), Michael Fenton (bass), Jose Luna (auxiliary percussionist), Jacob Breeze and Nate Punty (guitars), plus Julian Smith on drums. Spiritual Cramp was produced by Bingham and Fenton, with additional production by Luna and Carlos De La Garza (M83, Paramore, Best Coast, The Linda Linda’s) who also mixed the album. It was mastered by Dave Collins and engineered by longtime friend and collaborator Grace Coleman, at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco.
The band brings fast downstrokes and upstrokes with hip-hop production and reggae inspirations to a Taking Heads meets Big Audio Dynamite meets Clash-styled punk, finding a balance between Molotov protest songs and genuine personal struggle. Both are a product of Bingham and Fenton coming up in San Francisco’s Bay Area. Praised for being a band in their own lane, their well-documented live shows and a handful of EPs have garnered the band a consistent buzz and support from the likes of Iggy Pop, V*gra Boys, Turnstile, Gel, Deavheaven, Turnover, Militarie Gun and many more..
This December, the band will tour in the UK and Ireland with Militarie Gun. Tickets available HERE.
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