Coach Party

Emerging from the same late-2010s Isle of Wight indie rock environment that also produced Wet Leg, Lauran Hibberd, and Plastic Mermaids, the quartet fronted by Jess Eastwood specializes in incisive relationship examinations and teasingly blunt dismissals wrapped in memorable hooks.

Bassist Eastwood, drawing influence from Snail Mail and Mac DeMarco, first collaborated with guitarist Steph Norris in 2017 under the name Jeph, formed by blending their first names. Once Joe Perry joined on a second guitar, the group recorded with local producer Guy Page, who initially contributed drums; the sessions proved so successful that Eastwood invited Page to become a full-time member. Three Jeph releases appeared next—“Hey Baby” and “Harry” in 2018, followed by “Lola” in 2019—before the band adopted the name Coach Party. Scouts from London’s Chess Club Records journeyed to the Isle of Wight to catch a live performance and offered a contract in October 2019. That month the group played Manchester’s Neighbourhood Festival, then delivered “Oh Lola,” a reissue of “Lola,” as their first Chess Club single in November. The track featured on the pop-oriented debut EP Party Food in June 2020. Additional singles “Bags,” “Can’t Talk, Won’t,” and “Really OK on My Own” reached a growing audience, capped in December by a deliberately gritty take on Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime.” The companion EP After Party arrived in April 2021, and by year’s end Coach Party had established itself as a tireless touring act.

“FLAG (Feel Like a Girl),” issued in September, preceded high-profile U.K. support slots with Sea Girls and We Are Scientists, while the feedback-heavy “Weird Me Out” in March 2022 coincided with another run of dates alongside Liverpool’s the Mysterines. Both songs later appeared on the third EP, the polished Nothing Is Real, released in April ahead of an extensive U.K. headline tour that included a single interruption for a performance at Paris’ Stade de France opening for Indochine’s Nicola Sirkis. Further headline runs followed in September and February 2023, setting the stage for singles “Micro Aggression,” “All I Wanna Do Is Hate,” and “Born Leader,” which showcased some of the band’s most aggressive material yet. This heavier direction translated effectively to opening appearances for Queens of the Stone Age and a first Glastonbury performance. In September 2023 the debut album Killjoy entered the lower reaches of the U.K. album chart.