| Sharks | |
|---|---|
Left to right: touring member Luke Schwartz, Lister, Mattock, and Bayliss in 2011 |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Leamington Spa, England |
| Genres | Punk rock, alternative rock |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Rise, Velvet Scene |
| Website | Official Website |
| Members | |
| James Mattock Andrew Bayliss Sam Lister Tony Corrales |
|
| Past members | |
| Adam Lovelock Cris O'Reilly |
|
Sharks are an English punk rock band from Leamington Spa, near Birmingham, consisting of James Mattock (lead vocals and guitar), Andrew Bayliss (guitar), Sam Lister (drums), and Tony Corrales (bass).
Contents |
Sharks formed in 2007.[1][2][3][4] Their name is derived from a song by Gallows, "In the Belly of a Shark".[5] In 2008 Sharks released a five track EP, Shallow Waters, and subsequently played with Gallows, The Ghost of a Thousand, Fucked Up, Baby Shambles, The King Blues, Girls, Crime in Stereo, and Lostprophets. They supported The Gaslight Anthem during their 2010 UK and European tours.
Shark's second five track EP, Show of Hands, which was recorded at Fortress Studios in London, was released by Best Before Records in October 2010. The first video from the EP premiered on 5 October 2010.[6] Show of Hands received 4/5 from Kerrang! magazine (#1334, 13 September 2010), which described the album as "impressive [...] shimmering, grass-roots, British Punk" and "a revelation from start to finish". RockSound magazine (#141, November 2010) gave the album 8/10, declaring that "writing with thoughtfulness, maturity and skill belying their youthful status, Sharks have quietly put together perhaps the most charming debut of the year."
Sharks were 'band of the day' on 21 October 2010 in The Guardian, which commented that "Sharks are into preserving the purity of first-album Clash" and "giving the contemporary music scene a good old slap in the face, to wake it out of its current torpor".[7]
As announced on 9 December 2010, The Joys of Living 2008-2010, a 14 track compilation of previously released material (Shallow Waters, Common Grounds, and Show of Hands) plus two brand new songs,[8] was released in the US, Canada, Australia and NZ on 5 April 2011 by Velvet Scene in association with Rise Records (CD, vinyl, and download).[9] As a bonus, the Japanese edition, released on 6 April 2011, also features the three tracks from Sharks' 2009 split with Northern Towns.
The two new songs, 'Sweet Harness' and 'The Joys of Living', were recorded in early December 2010 at Fortress Studios in London.[10] A 7" featuring the two new songs was released as a single by Coffebreath and Heartache.[11][12] 'Sweet Harness' was made available as streaming audio on Sharks' Facebook page on 11 March 2011, as was the whole album on Punknews.org on 1 April.[13]
Alternative Press magazine gave the album 4/5 stars, writing that "[t]hese 14 songs bristle with a wonderful sense of rock 'n' roll heritage that serves as a tribute to fallen heroes such as the Clash while simultaneously molding those influences into something refreshing and contemporary."[14]
Sharks supported Social Distortion during their 2011 US Spring Tour,[15] and played their first ever US headline show on 29 May 2011 at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California.[16] Following a headlining tour of Canada in early June, Cris O'Reilly was dismissed from Sharks, as announced on the band's Facebook page on 28 June 2011. From late June to early August, Sharks toured the USA on the entire Warped Tour 2011[17] with their driver Rob Dempsey as a touring member on bass.[18] Sharks appeared at the Summer Sonic festival in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, in mid-August[19] and played the Reading and Leeds festivals in the UK in late August.[20] Stephen Carter from Gallows played bass on the Japan and UK festival dates. Sharks' original bassist, Adam Lovelock, filled in at their headline show at the Social in London on 31 August 2011.[21] Sharks returned to North America in the autumn for the Alternative Press Tour Fall 2011 (13 October to 26 November), which was headlined by Four Year Strong,[22] and during which Luke Schwartz played bass (as announced on Twitter on 5 October). On 11 November 2011 Sharks made their US television debut, performing 'Sweet Harness' on Fuel TV.[23]
On 6 May 2011 Sharks recorded a Daytrotter Session at Horseshack studio, Rock Island, Illinois, which was released online on 15 October 2011.[24]
Sharks told NME that work on their debut full-length album would start as soon as they have finished all their overseas touring.[25] They also said they had "about sixteen songs" and were "almost wrapped up with the writing process", which they had tried to finish prior to their 2011 North American tour.[26] The album was recorded in Baltimore, MD, from September to early October 2011 and is being produced by Brian McTernan.[27][28][29]
On 16 December 2011 Sharks revealed the album's title, 'No Gods'. The album will feature 11 songs and will be released by Rise Records on 19 March 2012 in the UK and on 20 March 2012 in the US.[30] Sharks also announced on Facebook that Tony Corrales, formerly of The Exposed, has joined the band on bass.
'Arcane Effigies', the first single taken from No Gods, premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 3 January 2012.[31]
Sharks will be promoting No Gods during a headline tour of the UK (25 March to 6 April 2012).[32] Just prior to the album's release, Sharks will once again be supporting Social Distortion in the US (27 January to 18 February 2012).[33]
Shark's musical influences have been described as ranging from "The Buzzcocks, The Clash, Nick Cave, Joy Division, Husker Du, [to] Black Flag",[34] while Dan Martin claims that "the Sharks strain of punk is imbued with a blue-collar longing straight out of Shitsville USA".[35] As James Mattock, Sharks' lead singer explains, "I got into [punk] from digging up old records. It was more of an American thing that I discovered from bands like Green Day and Rancid. Then I dug deeper and found their influences and I got my head around the history of the big punk family tree".[36] Mattock also states that he was heavily influenced by his parents' CD collection.[37] Lyrically, Mattock credits Charles Bukowski's poetry with having "quite a big influence" on his writing.[38] Sharks nevertheless say that they "believe in an uncompromised art to be embraced by any one who wants to listen. We don't seem to fit too comfortably in any particular music scene anyway, and we'll continue take it as a compliment and to be our own".[39]
| Year | Song | Director | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "It All Relates"[40] | Ryan Mackfall | Show of Hands |
| 2011 | "Sweet Harness"[41] | Ryan Mackfall | The Joys of Living 2008–2010 |