Biography
The Woe Betides, an enigmatic art rock outfit originating in London, assembled in 2008 through the partnership of Grundy le Zimbra and Simon Mastrantone, whom NME dubbed the "deft puppet masters of indie." Occasional associates of Jeremy Warmsley, the pair first presented their work via the Songs in the Dark club night, an event devoted to alternative live music and poetry readings that also presented emerging Hoxton anti-folk acts alongside Jack Peñate, Emmy the Great, Jamie T, and comparable performers.
United by overlapping tastes and enthusiasms, they set about rehearsing and capturing material for their first limited-edition EP, Play Dead, which Songs in the Dark issued in 2009. Ash Gardner co-produced the recording with the House of Strange music collective, securing favorable notices and broadcasts from ArtRocker, the aforementioned NME, XFM, and BBC6 Music. Colonel Sexlife joined as full-time drummer that year, amplifying the group’s already striking and wide-ranging work with rhythm and texture.
Heartened by the EP’s reception, the Woe Betides launched an intensive touring regimen and gradually refined their approach by deepening their embrace of lo-fi experimentalism alongside exuberant pop melodies. Those charged live shows supplied the foundation for their debut full-length album, Never Sleep, which arrived in fall 2010 and artfully highlighted the evident strengths of musicians unafraid to reveal their inspirations, while also containing the 2009 Christmas single "Natwest Tower."
United by overlapping tastes and enthusiasms, they set about rehearsing and capturing material for their first limited-edition EP, Play Dead, which Songs in the Dark issued in 2009. Ash Gardner co-produced the recording with the House of Strange music collective, securing favorable notices and broadcasts from ArtRocker, the aforementioned NME, XFM, and BBC6 Music. Colonel Sexlife joined as full-time drummer that year, amplifying the group’s already striking and wide-ranging work with rhythm and texture.
Heartened by the EP’s reception, the Woe Betides launched an intensive touring regimen and gradually refined their approach by deepening their embrace of lo-fi experimentalism alongside exuberant pop melodies. Those charged live shows supplied the foundation for their debut full-length album, Never Sleep, which arrived in fall 2010 and artfully highlighted the evident strengths of musicians unafraid to reveal their inspirations, while also containing the 2009 Christmas single "Natwest Tower."
Albums
Singles
