Self-described as an “international skatepunk band”, BarCreeps’s latest video for new track ‘Calico’ tackles western perceptions of immigration, not least its portrayal on national media.
“We are from, and have families in or have grown up in; Hong Kong, Italy, Sweden, Germany and the UK respectively,” they explain. “We’re four dudes and usually four chords per song in pursuit of the perfect combination of speed, melody, random chugging bits and, wherever possible, a blast beat.”
In keeping with punk’s social commentary ethos, and drawing from their personal dissatisfaction with attitudes towards immigrants, ‘Calico’ opens with a poignant comparison to historic racism. “It’s all consuming in the media and a contentious issue. So it’s a perspective that we offer on this topic. We like the big riffs and the semi-indie chorus, we think it works well. The video is a pictoral accompaniment to the narrative taken from news and stock footage, intercut with shots of us being both victims and aggressors. We snuck into an office to film ourselves with footage being projected over us.”
The band will be supporting the release of ‘Calico’ with a handful of UK live dates, kicking off in London on the 3rd October. “A BarCreeps show aims to contain punk jumps by Hendricks, our guitarist,” they laugh. “If it doesn’t have a Hendricks punk jump it’s not a BarCreeps show. We like our shows to be as loud as possible and we aim to bring energy. The responses from crowds so far have been great, we’ve been a bit of anomaly on the festival line ups this summer and as a result the audiences have really liked having a bit of a skate punk blast to clear the cobwebs of indie and folk stuff.”
“We’re starting to books shows for February next year around another EP or single, to be decided. We’ve a couple of live shows set for November and December and are looking to play more wherever possible. We hope to get in the studio to record and release a debut album next year too. We’d love to play more festies next year, like Pouzza, Rebellion and Punk Rock Holiday – anywhere that will take us we’ll be there. We’d like to do lots.”
Check out the video for new track ‘Calico’ below. You can grab the track, plus b-side ‘Troll’ via Bandcamp.
OCTOBER
03 LONDON The Waiting Room, London w/ Blue States (acoustic performance)
10 LONDON The Brixton Windmill w/ Burnt Tapes and Terrics
12 BRIGHTON The Quadrant w/ DANCEHALL
13 CANTERBURY The Lady Luck Bar