‘Umbra,’ the title track of Bristol’s Bible Club’s upcoming sophomore EP, is a stark indictment of societal monotony, weaving together politically charged spoken word with layered guitars that shift between jarring asymmetry and moments of unified force. Slated for release on March 7 via Velvet Echoes, the single serves as a prelude to the full five-track EP, which follows on April 11.
“This EP feels like there is more of a cohesive meaning behind the tracks than ‘AD,'” guitarist Seth notes. “Rather than piecing some new songs together to showcase where we were taking things, this record definitely had more focus on the EP we wanted to make whilst writing the tracks.” That focus has resulted in a release that zeroes in on the stagnation and absurdities of late-stage capitalism, a system that Bible Club observes with an unflinching gaze.
“We’re living in a time where attention spans are low and there’s a lot of extraneous faff constantly thrown in our faces,” James explains. “You start to think too deep into everything and recognize it’s all quite monotonous.” This sentiment underpins the broader critique woven throughout ‘Umbra’ and its accompanying tracks—a world where consumption no longer needs to be material, where people pay for subscriptions they don’t own, and where the act of purchasing is reduced to an empty compulsion.
Bible Club’s sonic palette mirrors this tension. The guitars oscillate between discordant, jagged structures and moments of synchronized intensity, a dynamic they intentionally developed for this release. “Me and James will bounce off of each other a lot, occupying the space that the others leave and then end up syncing up to hammer it home when we need to,” Seth explains. That interplay shapes the EP’s sound, pushing beyond the framework of their debut while remaining true to their exploratory spirit.
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Working with producer Dom Mitchison was a turning point for the band. “Dom is the king, a Bristol legend,” Seth says. “There was a seamless workflow that felt incredibly creative and efficient at the same time. We only had three days to record, and we were all shocked at how smooth it all went.” This urgency lends ‘Umbra’ a rawness that carries into their live performances, where their setlist moves from slow-burning tension to explosive catharsis.
The band frames the concept of ‘Umbra’ as “the darkest shadow of our times,” a force cast by a history of unchecked greed and political negligence. “A lot seems to be going wrong around the world with very little being done to sort it out—it’s always been the case, but I feel like now, for the first time, we actually know where things will end up if we persist,” James explains. “There’s no more naivety. That’s why we see ourselves in this dark shadow now, cast by the last century of human development and the cost it has taken to achieve this. Enough of us are asking for a better way out, but it seems like we are ignored and overshadowed by the same power-hungry, farcical forces that have led us here.”
Despite Bristol’s reputation for a distinct “trip-hop”-influenced sound, Bible Club has deliberately avoided falling into that mold. “There’s a lot of bands doing that, and we enjoy all that stuff, but we’ve always wanted to stay true to our sound,” Seth says. Instead, they pull from a wide array of influences—Can, Electrelane, Spacemen 3—without attempting to replicate any one of them. “The bands were kind of what we selected as big influences in general,” James adds. “We like to think bits of them are recognizable in everything we play, but there’s just so much more that we also draw from.”
Their approach to translating ‘Umbra‘ to the stage is straightforward: they play it as it is. “It is pretty much all done live with very little overdubs,” Seth says. “We didn’t have the budget to spend weeks recording random stuff and hoping it works, so what you hear is basically us all in the room together playing. We didn’t add much after, so I think our live shows end up sounding pretty spot on with the record.”
With a string of performances, including two standout shows in Paris, the band is eager to expand beyond the UK. “Would love to get out to Europe more,” James admits. “You get treated way better out there than when you tour the UK.” And with the backing of Velvet Echoes for ‘Umbra,’ they’re in a stronger position to make that happen.
Their upcoming EP is a bleak but necessary reflection of the times, pushing past nostalgia to confront the unease that lingers in the background of daily life.
Read the full interview below, where the band expands on their songwriting process, the role of political critique in their work, and how Bristol’s open music scene continues to shape their evolution.
Congratulations on the upcoming release of “Umbra” – how are you feeling as you prepare to share this first glimpse of your sophomore EP?
James: Pretty excited!
Seth: This EP feels like there is more of a cohesive meaning behind the tracks than AD.
James: Rather than piecing some new songs together to showcase where we were taking things, this record definitely had more focus on the EP we wanted to make whilst writing the tracks. Hoping it comes across that way to those listening.
You describe “Umbra” as “a condemnation of societal monotony.” Could you elaborate on how this concept developed and why this particular theme resonates with the band right now?
James: We are definitely instrumentalists at heart, so a lot of the themes for Umbra developed through the lyricism written for it. This theme is particularly resonant to everyone I would think, we’re living in a time where attention spans are low and there’s a lot of extraneous faff constantly thrown in our faces. You start to think too deep into everything and recognise it’s all quite monotonous.
The press release mentions your guitars range from “stark and asymmetrical” to “unified and powerful.” How did you approach the sonic architecture of this track differently from your debut EP?
Seth: Me and James will bounce off of each other a lot, occupying the space that the others leave and then end up syncing up to hammer it home when we need to.
James: Yeah, I think we’ve always had that in some way, but it was definitely a particular focus of ours when writing this EP.
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Your upcoming EP tackles themes of late-stage capitalism and post-consumerist decay. What prompted you to explore these particular social critiques, and how do they manifest throughout the five tracks?
James: Reflecting on the state of the world we live in now, it’s like all these we’ve got all these new problems that have grown out of the old ones. Consumerism is so deeply entrenched in life now that it’s barely even noticeable, and we’re all just mindlessly buying pointless things all the time.
It’s not even just materialistic anymore, we’re signing up to subscriptions where we don’t even attain a physical ownership over things. These are just some of the topics the record explores, with a wider perspective on our times being expressed across the tracks.
Working with Dom Mitchison seems to have been transformative for the band. How did his production influence your creative process, and what was different about this studio experience?
Seth: Dom is the king, a Bristol legend. Working with him was great, there was a seamless workflow that felt incredibly creative and efficient at the same time. We only had 3 days to record and we were all shocked how smooth it all went.
You describe the EP’s concept as exploring “the darkest shadow of our times – the umbra – a shadow cast by a force that overpowers.” Could you unpack this metaphor and explain how it ties the record together?
James: The EP focuses on the strange new time we are living in. A lot seems to be going wrong around the world with very little being done to sort it out – which has always been the case, but I feel like now for the first time we are actually aware of where things will end up if we persist; there’s no more naivety.
That’s why we see us in this dark shadow now, cast by the last century of human development and the cost it has taken to achieve this. Enough of us are asking for a better way out, but it seems like we are ignored and overshadowed by the same power hungry, farcical forces that have led us here.
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How has Bristol’s music scene evolved since your formation in 2021, and how has it shaped Bible Club’s development?
James: Bristol has a very open scene that is very accepting of all types of sounds to nurture here. There’s also a lot of breathing space, you never feel like you need to keep up with any particular scene or trend in this city. Everyone’s always just so up for a bit of everything!
Seth: We try to stay away from the common Bristol sound, sort of avoiding the “trip-hop” side of things as there’s a lot of bands doing that. We enjoy all that stuff, but we’ve always wanted to stay true to our sound.
You cite influences like CAN, Electrelane, and Spacemen 3. How do these inspirations manifest in your sound, particularly on this new EP?
Seth: I think we subliminally take ideas from all kinds of stuff, it’s rare we ever set out to try to replicate one specific thing. It’s what ends up causing our stuff to be ever changing, as our tastes and what we enjoy listening to is always changing.
James: The bands were kind of what we selected as big influences in general. We like to think bits of them are recognisable in everything we play, but there’s just so much more that we also draw from.
Your live performances are described as taking audiences “through contemplative soundscapes to visceral chaos.” How do you approach translating the complex layers of “Umbra” to the stage?
Seth: Umbra is actually not complex at all,. it is pretty much all done live with very little overdubs. We didn’t have the budget to spend weeks recording random stuff and hoping it works, so what you hear is basically us all in the room together playing, we didn’t add much after so I think our live shows end up sounding pretty spot on with the record.
Since forming in 2021, you’ve established yourselves in Bristol’s growing music scene. What have been some pivotal moments in your journey as a band, and what are your aspirations following the EP release in April?
Seth: We managed to play 2 shows in Paris last year, that was sweet.
James: Yeah, would love to get out to Europe more. You get treated way better out there than when you tour the UK. The release of our first EP was also a pretty big standout moment for us. It was a very accomplishing feeling to release that EP independently, however we’re really looking releasing Umbra with the backing of Velvet Echoes.
