Somewhere beneath the damp brick of Bristol’s The Louisiana, in a basement thick with sweat and history, Wakey Wakey Rise & Shine forged their latest salvo—a track that snarls as much as it sways.
“There’s Less Trouble When You Stay At Home,” released on February 14th via Velvet Echoes, is a splintered shard of real-life exasperation, born from frontman Smudge’s Kafkaesque tangle with law enforcement after a workplace assault.
Mistaken for his own attacker by a bumbling investigator, Smudge didn’t just stew—he turned the absurdity into a new-wave battering ram, laced with jagged riffs and a rhythm that lurches like a drunk on a tightrope.
This is the sound of a band refusing to let the mundane grind them down, instead wielding it as a weapon against a system too broken to bother fixing itself.
The quintet, stitched together since 2020 through chance meetings at college, Green Man festival, Gumtree listings, and Bristol’s gig circuit, have long danced on the edge of irreverence.
Their sophomore EP Rear Meat, teased by this single and slated for April 4th, digs deeper into that ethos—marrying the twitchy spirit of Devo and Talking Heads with the unhinged heft of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
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It’s their heaviest outing yet, a sonic slab that flexes from post-punk’s nervy pulse into math-rock’s angular chaos, all captured raw without a click track. Bassist Duncan and guitarist Cameron helmed the recording, bottling the band’s live-wire energy in a space that’s seen its share of Bristol’s musical marrow. Drummer Seamus sums up their mission: subverting the dullness of everyday life with a smirk and a snarl, a philosophy that threads through every warped chord of Rear Meat.
Our chat with Smudge and Seamus peeled back the layers of this shift. The single’s roots in Smudge’s clash with authority aren’t a soapbox rant but a wry jab at incompetence, a plea for basic decency over bureaucratic farce.
The EP itself, they hint, is a pressure valve—Smudge’s fuzz-drenched catharsis meets Seamus’s instinct to let the music breathe untamed. Bristol’s eclectic scene, a patchwork of techno raves, reggae nights, and punk-soaked pubs, has clearly shaped their refusal to be pinned down. From psychedelic frills to post-punk grit, they’ve distilled a sound that’s as mischievous as it is muscular, a testament to a creative process fueled by dark humor and relentless ribbing.
“There’s Less Trouble When You Stay At Home” lands as both a warning shot and an invitation—an earful of bristling hooks that sets the stage for Rear Meat’s broader assault. Dive into the full interview below for the unfiltered scoop: Smudge’s law enforcement ordeal, the basement recording gamble, the EP’s heavier turn, and what’s brewing for their spring live shows.
Firstly, congratulations on the release of “There’s Less Trouble When You Stay At Home” – how do you feel now the track is out there?
Seamus: Relief!
Smudge: I feel like I want to break out into the world now that this track is out there.
The track was inspired by Smudge’s frustrating encounter with law enforcement. Could you elaborate on how this experience transformed from personal frustration into your most politically charged track to date?
Seamus: Not sure if the song is politically charged as such but I guess the song has an element of challenging authority.
Smudge: If people were a lot nicer the reality is that issues with law enforcement wouldn’t happen. Be nicer to strangers on the street, love thy neighbour.
The new single marks quite an evolution, building from post-punk into what’s been described as a “math-rock explosion.” How did recording without a click track in The Louisiana’s basement help capture this progression?
Seamus: I heard Yannis from Foals describing recording their ‘What Went Down’ album years back in an interview and he said they recorded the whole record without a click so they could try to capture an energy. This was also the old skool way of recording so I thought we should approach this EP in the same way to see if it worked for us. Fucking nightmare for our mixing engineer Alfie though sorry mate.
Smudge: If Seamus messed up the whole thing it could have sounded like a free-jazz night in a New York Jazz bar but I’m glad Seamus did a good job and we didn’t compose a free-jazz EP. I’m proud of how well these tracks sound.
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Your upcoming EP ‘Rear Meat’ is being billed as your heaviest and most ambitious work yet. What pushed you to explore these heavier territories, and how does the lead single set the tone for what’s to come?
Seamus: We have just naturally become a heavier band over the years but for sure this is our heaviest work to date. Not sure why but maybe we have lots of issues going on that we need to share. Should probably get some therapy. Also, if you think this lead single is heavy, wait till the second single. It will blow your socks off!
Smudge: I’m a pretty frustrated bloke and I needed to blow off steam so I kicked the fuzz on and let it out. I should also subscribe to some therapy from time to time.
The EP title ‘Rear Meat’ continues your tradition of not taking yourselves too seriously. How do you balance this playful approach with the more serious political themes in your new material?
Seamus: I’m pretty sure every band would say they don’t take themselves too seriously. It’s an old cliche isn’t it? But as a bunch of mates we are constantly ripping into each other and we all have a very dark sense of humour. I think that massively feeds into when we create music because there have been many times in the practice room where one of us calls out one another for taking things too seriously. First and foremost, it has to be fun for us.
Smudge: Seamus could have definitely said something more exciting than that.
Seamus: There you go! Case in point!
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You’ve cited influences ranging from DEVO and Talking Heads to King Gizzard – how do these inspirations manifest in your sound, particularly on this new EP?
Seamus: Very good question.
Smudge: Definitely the collision of guitars. There’s a lot of that on the EP that falls into that plucked guitar string sound DEVO mastered. Also the range in dynamics we add and take away nods to those bands.
How has Bristol’s music scene evolved since your formation in 2019, and what impact has it had on your development as a band?
Seamus: Both me and Smudge were in separate bands before 2020 so we have been part of the scene for over a decade now and it has changed a lot but the one thing I think that has stayed constant is that any genre of music is welcome in Bristol. Any given night you can have a harcore techno event, a reggae gig, a classic concert in a church or a sweaty punk gig in a pub all on the same night for example. I’m not sure many other cities in the UK offer such variety but more importantly celebrates it like Bristol does.
Smudge: Bristol’s Music scene is why I moved here. Then learning about how music has evolved over the years because of the culture that thrives in Bristol is so inspirational. I definitely feel that Bristol is grumpy at the moment but wouldn’t you all with the work that’s happening to make it great again? #MBGA
What can fans expect from your live shows supporting ‘Rear Meat’ this spring? Will you be touring extensively after the April 4th release?
Seamus: Oh there are shows planned for sure. We will be revealing all in good time but yes to touring, is the short answer!
Smudge: There’s loads of on stage shouting, rock hands in the air, awkward stage banter, hair swooshing and 5 sweaty blokes. I’d buy a ticket for that!
What have been some of your favorite post-punk releases from the local Bristol scene recently, and are there any upcoming releases you’re particularly excited about?
Seamus: Our label mates Dreamwave have just released their latest single and also have an EP coming out so that’s worth checking out!
Smudge: Hypothetics new stuff is sick!
The band came together through various serendipitous encounters – at college, Green Man festival, Gumtree ads. How has this diverse range of backgrounds influenced your collective creative process?
Seamus: Well me and Smudge met when we were at BIMM nearly 13 years ago but we didn’t hang around much together until about 5 or 6 years ago when our previous bands broke up around the same time. Smudge reached out to me for a jam and that was the start of Wakey Wakey Rise & Shine. I remember initially Smudge came to me and said he wanted to make a sort of dreamy melodic band bordering on pop at times. Look how that has turned out!
Smudge: I think everyone adds their prefered genre into our music and I think the wall of sound that we really focused on achieving really comes out in “Rear meat”. My favourite part about what we do is we don’t know what we will all be going into when we create new music.
