YOWL are Gabriel Byrde (vocals), Ivor Manley (guitar), Mike Wride (guitar), Billy Morris (bass) and Tom Flynn
(drums). They formed in 2016 when they put forward their manifesto on the EP ‘Before the Sleep Sets In’, which
demonstrated a potent ability to channel frustration with mid-city living into a churning marriage of sleazy indie and
post-punk. They have spent the last year entrenching their reputation as a band able to cast a menacing shadow on
record and on stage. The band were named in DIY’s ‘Class Of 2019’, have been supported by NME, Loud & Quiet,
BBC Radio 6Music and have played alongside IDLES and LICE as well as festivals including Picthfork Avant Garde
and London Calling Amsterdam.
Led by the modern-day lyrical wordsmith Gabriel Byrde, Peckham based 5-piece YOWL are set to release their EP
‘Atrophy’ this autumn. Over 6 tracks the band veer from upbeat bouncing basslines, striking falsetto vocals,
country-tinged sadness to furious, frenzied spiky alt-punk. Despite different tones, Atrophy never loses its identity,
pinned down by frontman Gabriel Byrde, who spins poetry on songs about alienation and exhaustion. YOWL are often
viciously loud, but Byrde’s fanciful delivery gives them an edge. Nobody’s happy putting up with poor job prospects and
a city pricing out the poorest, but YOWL capture a frustration of the 9-to-5 London grind like few others.
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