Biography
With a revved up garage rock sound that adds surf, psych, and harmonies to the mix, the London-based Abjects display deep knowledge of the rock & roll past. Their early singles had the scruffy, lo-fi appeal of long-lost tracks from a Pebbles compilation, but their debut album (2019's Never Give Up) added some studio muscle and ended up in the same paint-peeling, sweat-soaked territory of modern groups like Thee Oh Sees.
The band formed in 2013 when Spanish singer/guitarist Noemi grew tired of playing in other people's bands and decided to write songs for herself. She enlisted her friend Yuki, a former J-pop star who had never played bass but was a quick study, to join the band. They added Italian drummer Alice and began playing shows in London and around the U.K., where their brash style of overloaded garage rock won them a following. The trio released the "Fast Love" single in 2013, then toured Japan, where they opened for Guitar Wolf. Their second record, the Gone EP, was released in 2015 on Stolen Body Records; they followed it up with a single titled "Double Bind" for the Brooklyn label Greenway in 2016. They also played a handful of U.S. shows that year. When they returned to London, the band splintered as Yuki went home to Japan and Noemi relocated to Barcelona. During their hiatus, she kept working on songs for the band, and when they were able to reunite to tour Japan in 2017, they had new material. The trio took these new songs to Ranscombe Studios to record with Jim Riley, someone they admired for his connection to Billy Childish and the Medway garage rock scene as well as his preference for recording on tape. The resulting album, Never Give Up, displayed a newfound power and delved into subjects as diverse as Brexit, broken hearts, and overcoming adversity. It was released by Yippee Ki Yay Records in early 2019.
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