Biography
Giles Bidder launched Cynics as a solo venture after leaving behind his prior role in a ska group from Brighton, U.K., in order to concentrate on original material. His initial performances under the new name took place in July 2009, when he opened for Dutch performer Tim Vantol. By December a split cassette with U.K. punk band WEGROWBEARDS had appeared, followed six months later by the debut single “Stones I’ve Thrown.” After relocating to London, Bidder became a fixture on the capital’s expanding D.I.Y. punk circuit, delivering energetic sets that blended folk elements with punk drive and landing support slots alongside Against Me! and Paint It Black.
Having amassed enough songs for a full-length by 2011, he booked time with producer Peter Miles—known for his work with We Are the Ocean and the King Blues—yet soon decided the tracks needed a full band. Drummer Bob Barrett joined, while Miles and Iona Cairns handled bass. Once Cairns and Barrett committed full-time, the trio prepared to issue their debut album, only to be asked by the Pittsburgh garage-rock band the Cynics to adopt a different moniker. Rebranded as Great Cynics, they released Don’t Need Much in mid-2011 through Household Name and Kind of Like Records.
Extensive U.K. touring followed, including dates with Crazy Arm, Spraynard, and We Are the Ocean, and the group issued the In the Valley EP at the start of 2012. Returning to the studio with Miles, they tracked the sophomore album Like I Belong, which surfaced in 2013 and earned the band slots at Reading and Leeds Festivals. In 2015 Great Cynics moved to Specialist Subject and Lame-O for their third record, I Feel Weird—again produced by Miles—while also touring Australia with the Smith Street Band and supporting the Sidekicks and Tigers Jaw.
Cairns continued balancing commitments to her own project Shit Present with Great Cynics, and the trio regrouped in 2016 to begin work on a fourth album. Recorded at The Headroom in Philadelphia with Joe Reinhart of Hop Along and Joyce Manor plus Ian Farmer of Modern Baseball, the resulting LP POSI appeared on Specialist Subject and Lame-O in early 2017.
Having amassed enough songs for a full-length by 2011, he booked time with producer Peter Miles—known for his work with We Are the Ocean and the King Blues—yet soon decided the tracks needed a full band. Drummer Bob Barrett joined, while Miles and Iona Cairns handled bass. Once Cairns and Barrett committed full-time, the trio prepared to issue their debut album, only to be asked by the Pittsburgh garage-rock band the Cynics to adopt a different moniker. Rebranded as Great Cynics, they released Don’t Need Much in mid-2011 through Household Name and Kind of Like Records.
Extensive U.K. touring followed, including dates with Crazy Arm, Spraynard, and We Are the Ocean, and the group issued the In the Valley EP at the start of 2012. Returning to the studio with Miles, they tracked the sophomore album Like I Belong, which surfaced in 2013 and earned the band slots at Reading and Leeds Festivals. In 2015 Great Cynics moved to Specialist Subject and Lame-O for their third record, I Feel Weird—again produced by Miles—while also touring Australia with the Smith Street Band and supporting the Sidekicks and Tigers Jaw.
Cairns continued balancing commitments to her own project Shit Present with Great Cynics, and the trio regrouped in 2016 to begin work on a fourth album. Recorded at The Headroom in Philadelphia with Joe Reinhart of Hop Along and Joyce Manor plus Ian Farmer of Modern Baseball, the resulting LP POSI appeared on Specialist Subject and Lame-O in early 2017.
Albums
