Menace Beach

Emerging from Leeds with a raucous edge, Menace Beach drew widespread notice in 2013 after major U.K. publications lauded their initial EP and the single that followed. Their sprawling style merged gritty indie textures with expansive melodic hooks, prompting a deal with Memphis Industries and further acclaim through the full-length efforts Ratworld in 2015 and the more exploratory Lemon Memory two years later.

Ryan Needham of Komakino and Liza Violet of Department M established the project in 2012, assembling what many viewed as an indie supergroup. A shifting lineup of supporting players—often including Nestor Matthews from Sky Larkin, MJ of Hookworms, and Matt Spalding of You Animals—helped fuse abrasive '90s-inspired indie with catchy pop sensibilities. The outfit first appeared on record that same year via the Dream Out EP for the French imprint Desire, then issued a single the next year on London's Too Pure. Even with just those early releases, outlets such as NME, Drowned in Sound, and The Guardian offered coverage, and the band taped a session for BBC Radio 6. After their second EP, Lowtalker, surfaced in 2014, Memphis Industries stepped in to issue the debut album Ratworld at the start of 2015. Composed in Ibiza and tracked in Sheffield, England, Lemon Memory followed in January 2017. Amid a touring hiatus, Needham and Violet altered their working methods by constructing tracks at home with synths, drum machines, and loops. Once the arrangements were refined in a professional setting, the group enlisted producer Matt Peel of Eagulls alongside the Fall's Brix Smith for the third album, Black Rainbow Sound, which appeared in August 2018.