This week’s band of the week are the brummie trio of Mark Tromans (vocals, guitar), Craig Taylor (bass), and Mark Sheehan (drums/percussion) also known as Attica State (formerly Sons of Gossamer). Attica State’s sex-soaked guitar riffs, perfect harmonies and cogent songwriting make this young band a powerful contender to be the next hot British band.
Some have compared them to The Beatles, but it would be The Beatles after being bitten, chewed, swallowed and digested by Nirvana. Listening to Attica State’s dirty, sweat-stained, growling sound is a bit like watching the birth of the next alt.rock gods. The way they combine vocal harmonies with grinding guitar riffs and lusty, pity-me-not lyrics is a wonder to behold. And this week they are releasing two new singles “Comes And Goes” and “You Don’t Need It”, both are hooky, dirty, guitar driven tracks.
Drummer Mark Sheehan recently agreed to a chat with me, and this gregarious, lively, outspoken mouthpiece with a strong Birmingham accent was a good laugh. I caught him between football (soccer) and a night out with the boys, and we discussed the new singles, his band mates and getting pissed (British euphemism for drunk) in Birmingham.
How did Attica State become a band?
The lead guitarist and the bass player, Craig and Mark, have been playing together since school. When I was at college I met Craig — when we both worked in ASDA (grocery store chain owned by Walmart) funnily enough. I was singing in a band at the time and they asked me if I could play the drums and I said no but because I got with them so well they asked me to learn and so I did. And we went from strength to strength, from there. We got our own studio in Birmingham city centre, and then we started practising and went from there.
And now you are signed to an indie label?
Yeah, we are signed to Rebellion Records, which is a new label in the Midlands (a region of England) and we’re the first band to sign with them, so it’s all fresh and new. It’s quiet exciting at the moment. We are going to be releasing our first single the on the fifth of May.
Article comments
1 - Robin
I can't count the times when a new band has come on the scene and they've been dubbed the "next Beatles". How ironic is this one though, John Lennon had a song called Attica State. I haven't heard this CD yet but I always make it a point to listen to anyone who gets the honor of being called the "next Beatles". Of course, the world has yet to see another band like them (and probably never will) but I'm sure they're worth a listen.