Riding The Low + Joseph Hooligan
Friday, 16 December
7:30pm // £10 // 14+
Riding The Low were formed in 2006 by Paddy Considine, after he had a revelation watching
indie rockers Guided By Voices. The band are named after a quote from a Lee Marvin biography
that Considine had given his father as a gift. Upon reading the book after his father’s death,
Paddy knew instantly that this would be the name of his band. All he needed now was to find
the other musicians.
Richard Eaton had been in bands with Considine since they were teenagers so it was a given
Eaton would play bass. Through Eaton came Chris Baldwin and then Dan Baker on guitars, and
with a revolving seat of drummers Riding The Low was born.
Considine had written the bulk of what became their first EP ‘They Will Rob You Of Your Gifts’
but it was the opening track ‘Easy On Our Own’, punchy power pop with notes of R.E.M., that
kicked off the songwriting partnership between Considine and Baldwin.
‘Easy’ gained airplay on Radio 2 and 6 Music, and culminated in a live Janice Long Session. The
EP was put out on their own label ‘Clinical Finish’.
Their debut album ‘What Happened To The Get To Know Ya?’ Was recorded in a day under a
railway arch in their hometown of Burton On Trent. The band then recruited Chris Slusarenko,
formerly of Guided By Voices and now Eyelids OR, to produce the album. Vocals and overdubs
were done in Portland, Oregon and contributions included members of The Decemberist’s on
strings and percussion. The album combined the bands love of punchy pop anthems with psych
rock songs like ‘The Dizzly Doo Dah Man’ alongside more sprawling and ambitious cuts such as
‘His Love Affair With Americana Is Over’ which explores themes of disillusionment with
working class life and the pointlessness of buying into the idea of ‘the system’. The track ‘Rocky
99’ became a fan favourite, and it’s instant appeal gained the band more radio play.
Their next album ‘Here To Help The Neighbourhood’ was intended to be a step up in terms of
recording. This time the band flew Slusarenko to Wales to the famous ‘Rockfield’ studios,
where they spent more time laying the foundations. The resulting album was indeed a step up
sonically, but the band were still struggling to find their sound, and learning to navigate the
studio. The album produced some fan favourites like ‘Piss Parade’, ‘Bleeding Eyes At Breakfast’
the ode to hope ‘Beer Tears’, and what became a spectacle of their live show, ‘The Greatest
Blast’. But it was the rolling stomp of ‘Heed’ that got the band more attention and more radio
play.
Their latest album titled: ‘The Death Of Gobshite Rambo’ saw the band finding their studio
groove. Produced by Gavin Monaghan at Magic Garden studios. ‘Gobshite Rambo’ is their most
complete work to date. With songs like ‘Black Mass’, and fan favourite ‘Carapace of Glass’, the
band sonically and lyrically explore themes of triumph and loss and have expanded their
repertoire by introducing beautiful string arrangements and punchy brass. The album is
galvanised by huge anthems ‘Wake Me Up When It’s Over’, ‘A Crisis Common Stuck’, and
‘Tommy Hawk’; the latter pays homage to Adam and the Ants with its Native American
chanting on the chorus.
The band’s forthcoming single, ‘End This Attack’ is due for release in November 2022. Riding
The Low are due to head into the studio early in 2023 to record their next album, ‘Of The World
Form Dead Zones’. Paddy: “We have six albums written which are all lined up like movies. Each
has a different theme, but they all seem to link. Lyrically ‘Gobshite Rambo’ spoke a lot about my
childhood, but ‘Dead Zones’ speaks about the world at large. Particularly what has been
happening in the past eighteen months or so.”