Gaffa Tape Sandy

Brighton garage-punk trio Gaffa Tape Sandy are pleased to reveal their new single ‘Dead To Me’, set for release on 10th April 2024 via all good digital service providers.

The track is the latest to be taken from their forthcoming new album Hold My Hand, God Damn It set for release on 31st May 2024 via Alcopop! Records.

Alongside the new single, the trio have announced they will perform at Latitude Festival this summer, along with a new pair of in-store appearances at Resident Records and Banquet Records (see below for full listings).

Following on from album track ‘Split’ in late 2023 and lead single ‘Scrapbook’ released earlier this year, the new material has so far picked up radio support from BBC 6music, BBC introducing, John Kennedy at Radio X, Total Rock, Amazing Radio, and more, with the band welcomed enthusiastically back by alternative tastemakers at 101 Part Time Jobs, Noizze, The Punk Site, Bring The Noise UK and more, plus Spotify editorial support on the All New Punk and The Punk List playlists.

Commenting on the new single, the band said: “We put this song together in what felt like seconds! Some songwriters would call it a ‘sneeze’. Certain songs come together quickly for Gaffa Tape Sandy, and others take months (or years!) to get right. The song takes lyrical ideas and tone from revenge films… we like to think of this song as a throwback to our first EP called “Spring Killing”, which had similar inspirations. It’s jagged, characteristic and sounds exactly like the slice of garage punk that we’ve tried to carve out for ourselves as a band.”

Gaffa Tape Sandy wrote forthcoming new record Hold My Hand, God Damn It nervously together as the world slowly emerged from the first COVID-19 lockdown. The album writing process proved difficult, as a myriad of anxiety and personal relationship issues plagued the trio. The band was battling post-COVID mental health problems and employment issues, all while Catherine and Kim were trying to navigate recent breakups that coincided with their first UK headline tour in March 2020, just before the pandemic struck.

Thankfully, the band persisted, and adopted a more cooperative writing method that made the songwriting process for Hold My Hand, God Damn It a revitalising experience, rather than a debilitating challenge. Rehearsals that started out as somewhat difficult became more like bonding sessions, and the friendships within the band started to flourish. The theme of the album quickly materialised.

Recorded and produced by George Perks (Wargasm, Enter Shikari, Skindred) at the legendary Vada Studios in the countryside surrounding Birmingham, UK, the album was made by three friends with boundless love and affection towards one another, who pulled together and preserved their musical output and friendship, despite the odds. As such, Hold My Hand, God Damn It is a frustrated-yet-compassionate, cathartic celebration of friendship and reconciliation in difficult times.

With their sights now firmly set on launching a full scale assault on 2024, Gaffa Tape Sandy will be pulling no punches as they reveal further new music over the coming months.

The band will play an extensive run of September/October 2024 UK headline tour dates later this year, with tickets on sale now, plus a special album release show at Rough Trade East, London on 5th June 2024 (see below for listings).

New album Hold My Hand, God Damn It is released 31st May 2024 via Alcopop! Records

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Formed in 2015 by three friends with a simple desire to make loud and exciting music, Gaffa Tape Sandy’s popularity quickly escalated thanks to a series of notoriously incandescent live shows and a seemingly endless hit parade of instantly memorable garage-punk-rock tunes.

Their 2017 debut EP Spring Killing led to them performing at Glastonbury Festival, with their next single ‘Beehive’ gaining much support including Huw Stephens’ BBC Radio 1 Tip Of The Week, before being included in NME’s 100 Essential Acts for 2018.

The Brighton/Bury St Edmunds outfit’s brand of giddily frantic, high-octane hyper rock ‘n’ roll has already landed them support slots with acts including IDLES, Peace, Art Brut, Weakened Friends, SuperGlu, Bloody Knees and UK tours supporting Indoor Pets and Skegss.

Regulars on the UK festival circuit, Gaffa Tape Sandy have appeared at the likes of Live At Leeds, Liverpool Sound City, Latitude and The Great Escape Festival, as well as a number of international festivals across Iceland and Germany. In 2019 they announced their signing with Alcopop! Records, who released their second EP Family Mammal on vinyl and digital platforms.

After successfully weathering The Great Pause of the pandemic—which dramatically cut short their debut UK headline tour and left them pondering the future of the band—as well as a break up between former partners and band members Cat and Kim, the three piece have emerged triumphant, all the better and stronger for their struggles, and raring to show the world how much they’ve grown, both as people and artists.

2023 saw the band kickstarting preparations for their forthcoming new release as they launched into a wave of live activity taking in a full UK tour supporting The Subways and several sold out nights supporting Mom Jeans within the first few weeks, followed up by a packed summer of festival appearances.