Tired of bands calling themselves post-punk but sounding like they listened to too much Artic Monkeys? Are you sick of the renaissance of the new-musik that just sounds like a trite, soulless exercise in trying to ride what’s cool at the moment? Look no further - Beige Banquet will restore your faith in the genre. With dissonant sounds, nervous lyrical repetitions and an overall sense of urgency, the quintet is a breath of fresh air in a somewhat saturated scene.

“I think the first record was really kind of ‘extraspective’, the second EP was more introspective, and this new stuff I’m not really sure what it sounds like. I think it’s a mix of the two, we’re still playing around with it,” said Tom Brierley, who bought a drum machine during lockdown and composed the first two releases of Beige Banquet at home, on his own. “I’m still not sure how I want to record the new material, I want to produce it myself and experiment, maybe bring even more musicians in to play other instruments. It’s great to have a band again. We had rehearsed once at the beginning of 2020 and then… well, everything happened.”
Tom still composes most of the material, but now that they’re playing live, the quintet is enjoying throwing ideas around the room and seeing what sticks.

“What happens a lot of the time is that the first demo is the one that works,” said Danny Gillies (bass). “You listen to the first take and you’re like ‘actually, you know, I think that one wasn’t half bad’.”



Talking about the visual style of the band’s artworks and posters, Joe Munsay (guitar, vocals, and artwork design) said: “There’s definitely a lot of influence from analog-style designs and visuals and old-school punk and rave posters. I think it’s nice that the music goes hand to hand with the visual identity of the band, it just sort of makes sense.”

Angsty, anxious and abrasive, Beige Banquet will remind you of Crack Cloud and Gang of Four with a touch of krautrock. The concept is simple, not making it sound like re-heated soup is skill.