Situationists

Originating in Sheffield, the four-piece Situationists have moved beyond frequent nods to Arctic Monkeys by cultivating a taut, angular strain of guitar pop that echoes Bloc Party far more than Alex Turner’s crew. Assembled in 2006 from the remains of the briefly promising yet fleeting Umlaut, the lineup of vocalist Dan Shamplin-Hall, guitarist Sam Weatherald, bassist Nick Cox, and drummer Ralf Wilson tracked their debut demo inside a basement equipped only with a pair of microphones purchased at Poundland. That resourceful method drew early encouragement from Steve Lamacq, Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, and XFM’s John Kennedy, the last of whom booked the quartet for an X-Posure session in Manchester. The remainder of 2007 was devoted to writing and laying down fresh material inside a makeshift studio of their own. In the following year they issued their debut EP, the limited-edition This City Holds Us All, on Tough Love Records. They also advanced to the final fourteen entrants in Virgin Mobile’s Road to V contest, opened for the Futureheads on home turf, and secured a performance on the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds.