Back in June I saw Whoremoan play to a room full of people who were probably still on milk and rusks when the stoner rock quartet started out. While the audience may have graduated to beer and bar snacks, the legendary Canvey four-piece are still churning out their own brand of British stoner rock that they have been honing since 1994. Whoremoan (brothers Jon and Simon Foote, Tim Oliver, and Mark Summers) have ridden out the sweeping changes to the music industry over a near twenty year period, writing, recording, and performing throughout the rise and death of Britpop and indie rock, all the while staying true to their stoner roots. They are a living, breathing, rocking example of the fact that you don’t need a major label behind you to write music that is genuine and timeless. They’ve also got a definition in the online urban dictionary (a legacy that any ‘scene’ band would be proud of), proof if ever it was needed of the impact they have had upon a younger audience.
You don’t come to stoner rock to hear carefully crafted pop melodies and uplifting, insightful lyrics. You come to stoner rock for the groove, and that is what Whoremoan give you in abundance. Their doom-laden industrial sound is driven by monster riffs, trippy bass lines, brutal drums and menacing vocals, leading to comparisons with all the major stoner bands of the mid 90s. But Whoremoan don’t just sit in the pocket of the groove, they dominate the groove, pushing each bar with a raw urgency that is seriously lacking when it comes to big budget recordings. And you’ll be pleased to hear that they won’t be giving it up anytime soon. I caught up with Simon (drummer and one half of the Foote brothers), who was kind enough to answer a few questions about the band, and give his own opinion on the UK rock scene in the process.
‘We have never really gone out of our way to approach record companies.’ Lack of motivation? Lack of ambition? Lack of commitment? Whatever you might think, Whoremoan’s attitude towards being signed certainly doesn’t fit with the current social network style promotion that we see from near enough every semi-talented band out there. Although the guys received considerable support and promotion in the early 2000s from Barry Ratcliffe, who ran the website BURBS.co.uk (at the time the go to place for British underground rock bands) and would later put out the band’s 2004 album Youth Must Dare on his own label, Whoremoan don’t seem to have ever been motivated by the prospect of mainstream success. The Essex rock ‘scene’ that existed during the band’s infancy was less convoluted (although tougher to survive) than the internet-led status circuit that exists today. The advent of myspace (and subsequent sites Facebook, Twitter, and Soundcloud) has offered an entire generation the opportunity to shamelessly self-promote online, signalling an end (for now at least) to the days of sticking handmade posters to lampposts and venue walls. The fact that this review is going out on an electronic blog, rather than in a printed fanzine, seems proof enough of this.
As a result of these changes, the ‘scene’ has lost some reputable venues and promoters over the years. According to Simon, American ‘Grunge’ provided the spark for a lot of the interest in starting as well as watching, new bands. ‘There were some really good venues and promoters around at the time, like the Esplanade in Southend, The Army & Navy in Chelmsford, The Towngate & Roundacre in Basildon, and PopBus promotions (who put a lot of the Southend gigs on) to name a few which have now since shut down or stopped putting on bands.’ And despite their growing reputation, Whoremoan still suffered on occasion at the hands of dodgy promoters, an experience all too common for even the best unsigned bands around. The loss of key ‘scene’ players has also contributed to a gradual change in the attitude and camaraderie among existing Essex bands. Simon points to an unsavoury trend that has crept in over the years; the reluctance of some support acts to stay and watch the night’s headline band. ‘It used to be that headline was the top slot, now you’re better off going on first. What’s that all about?’ Such gestures of respect are what really set unsigned veterans like Whoremoan apart from the hundreds of new upstarts that try to make it every year. Combine this humility with artistic integrity, and its little wonder that the band has preserved its standing on the live circuit since its inception nearly two decades ago.
The pressure to conform and ‘get serious about things’ is often the cause of many band rifts and break-ups. This is even more the case with unsigned bands, due to the lack of financial incentives/rewards on offer, and the external pressures to change style or personnel in order to become more commercially viable. Most young bands split up once it becomes clear that the lucrative offers and label interest are not forthcoming. After all, who in their right mind wants to lug all their gear to some grotty pub in the middle of nowhere, just to play to a hammered token audience for an insult of a fee (which more often than not, barely covers your petrol costs for the night)? Step forward Whoremoan, because they know that for every character building/destroying gig that they play, there will be another, much bigger opportunity waiting just around the corner. Their perseverance has made them the exception to the rule mentioned above, allowing them to uphold band duties despite the pressures of ‘the real world’. And the opportunities that they have created for themselves over the years have led to numerous local festival appearances, as well as support slots for notable acts such as Wurzel (the recently departed former Motorhead guitarist) and Swedish stoner legends Truckfighters (arguably the founding fathers of stoner rock and one of Josh Homme’s favourite bands).
But be under no illusion, Whoremoan do this music thing because they love it. An ideal gig for Simon and co is one where ‘we have played well and there are people there who appreciate what we are doing and show that they are enjoying it.’ And that is an attitude that any serious music fan can get on board with (although the best will in the world means nothing without the goods to back it up). The band’s recorded catalogue stretches back to 1997’s discontinued Tape, and totals six releases to date; Absinthism (1998), Head On (2000), Actonvonskilliant (2002), Youth Must Dare (2004), and 2008’s We Have You Surrounded. Picking standout tracks from this lot isn’t easy, particularly with an EP like Actonvoskilliant, which comes together as a collection of tight, powerful three minute blasts that lurch to a relentless but coherent groove. Strongman is the EP’s unashamed hooligan, intent on giving you a good kicking while you head bang along to its infectious verse accents.
Youth Must Dare is more out and out heavy, with tracks such as Until The Water, Sympathy Crutch, and The Cow Is Now (which grunts and growls like a moody fuzz addict) revealing groove metal tendencies. Fan favourite Killer Gorilla is dark and riff-fuelled, with John’s vocal growl pushing the song into the deepest corner of the album’s darkest room. The sludge is spread less thick on We Have You Surrounded, which showcases the depth of the band’s diverse style and genre influences. Title track We Have You Surrounded is a great example of this, blending hard rock beats with funk riffs and licks to create a sound that flits between the laidback cool of desert cruising and the explosive attack of 90s rap-rock. Jonesy has some funkier flourishes over its solid stoner roots, fitting into the burly family of songs like a slightly eccentric cousin. We Will Survive is a downer anthem, channelling the anger and dislocation of an entire genre as it spits and snarls against the mainstream with lines like ‘We don’t need your dedication…we’ll survive the separation’, while What You After is a tom-heavy dip into the unconventional rhythms of tribal metal. The result? A visceral but intriguing collection of songs that leaves you desperate to hear just how far the band can push their stoner boundaries next time around.
But in pushing those boundaries Whoremoan are presented with the same problem that 99% of independent/unsigned bands face; funding. Having the financial freedom to spend the necessary time and money on recording new material is what really distinguishes the label bands from the rest of us, and although some of the energy and authenticity may get lost as a result of their production heavy output, the lack of ‘real world’ dilemmas and decisions allows for the time and resources to really refine and experiment (albeit at the cost of unwanted label involvement). Where an unsigned band may allow three hours to demo a handful of tracks, a label band could afford to take three days, at which point the material could either be relegated to b-side status, or scrapped altogether. For Whoremoan, the issue is not in the writing, but in the recording. According to Simon the band has several new songs waiting to be recorded. ‘We are still writing new stuff although recording has taken a bit of a setback in that we have no money to pay for it.’ With or without new recorded material, Whoremoan remain a formidable live presence, and it would do a lot of young bands a lot of good to see these guys up close.
The UK stoner scene is approaching the crest of an exciting wave. Simon highlights the recent reformation of Kyuss (under the moniker ‘Kyuss Lives!’) and the work of the guys at desertscene.co.uk (who have started promoting and organising UK shows for some of the top US bands) as important milestones in the restoration of the genre. And with stoner rock thriving once again in the band’s own backyard, Whoremoan won’t be jacking it in anytime soon. At a time when genuine rock fans (particularly younger ones) are looking for music and bands that mean something to them, stoner rock has a role to play. And it is Whoremoan who will no doubt be there, blood, sweat, and riffs, on the frontline of the genre’s UK revival.
http://www.reverbnation.com/whoremoan
