When: 7pm on Wednesday 29 May 2013
Where: Sound Control, 1 New Wakefield Street, Manchester M1 5NP

We’re proud to be presenting a unique show featuring joint headliners – Titus Andronicus and Fucked Up – plus special guests METZ!

Titus Andronicus is a punk rock/indie rock band which formed in Glen Rock, New Jersey in 2005. They consist of Patrick Stickles (vocals, guitar), Julian Veronesi (bass), Liam Betson (guitar) and Eric Harm (drums). The band takes its name from the Shakespeare play Titus Andronicus. Titus Andronicus is known for their energetic punk/indie sound (tinted with hints of New Jersey rock and early rock ‘n’ roll) and their use of lo-fi production.

Their debut album, The Airing Of Grievances, was released on the Troubleman Unlimited record label in 2008 to many positive reviews. The album’s loud, heavily distorted guitars are influenced by shoegaze, while the lyrics and song titles are references to various books and other forms of entertainment (such as the album title, from the Seinfeld episode The Strike about Festivus). The Airing Of Grievances was reissued in 2009 on XL Recordings.

The band’s second album, The Monitor, was released on March 9, 2010 through XL Recordings to wide critical acclaim, and was cited as one of the best indie albums of the year.

Their third album, Local Business, was released on October 23, 2012, through XL Recordings.

While Canadian punk provocateurs Fucked Up play aggressive and incendiary music, that’s hardly where their desire to stir up trouble begins and ends. The group strays far from the standard template of four-four punk stomp, incorporating extended instrumental workouts, unusual arrangements, and lengthy experimental passages along with the furious guitars and ranting vocals. While Fucked Up have paid homage on record to pioneering anarchist movements and creative and political troublemakers of all stripes, they’ve also flirted with fascist images and obscure mysticism in a bid to puzzle and confront their audiences. And despite their fondness for lengthy musical statements, Fucked Up waited until four years into their recording career to record a full-length album.

Fucked Up formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 2001; the group members (all of whom use pseudonyms) were Pink Eyes (aka Father Damien) on lead vocals, 10,000 Marbles on lead guitar, Concentration Camp on rhythm guitar, Mustard Gas on bass, and Mr. Jo (aka Guinea Beat) on drums. In 2002, the band released its first record, a vinyl 7″ called No Parasan distributed by Deranged Records. Over the next four years, Fucked Up would release a steady stream of singles, EPs, and cassettes, most notably the infamous Looking for Gold vinyl 12″, which featured the epic-length title song (which incorporates massive guitar overdubs, extended drum solos, and a whistled coda); rather than deal with the expense of the EP’s elaborate package, the band opted to post the record online rather than go into a third pressing.

In 2006, Fucked Up released their much-anticipated full-length album Hidden World through Jade Tree, a musically ambitious collection that featured 13 songs in 72 minutes, though its release didn’t stop their ongoing parade of singles and EPs, eight of which appeared the same year as the album. By 2008, the band had accumulated nearly 40 records to its name, mostly limited vinyl singles, and a third guitarist had been added to the lineup, going by the name of Young Governor. In March, a chaotic performance on a pedestrian bridge at South by Southwest added to the hype for Year of the Pig, which was released in mid-July that year. Just three months later, the band released their first full-length for Matador, The Chemistry of Common Life, and became the first “hardcore punk” artists to grace the cover of NME.

Completing what promises to be the line-up of the summer are METZ. The Toronto-based Sub Pop band play music that makes ‘a frantic nod to Nation of Ulysses, Shellac, The Pixies, The Jesus Lizard, and Public Image Ltd’.

Book now. Tickets are available from the bar, Common (both no booking fee), Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Exchange, Seetickets.com, WeGotTickets.com and on 0871 220 0260.

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