Fire Track: The Bug Club – “Lonsdale Slipons”

Following The Bug Club’s signing announcement last month, Sub Pop can now share the full details for On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System, the band’s full-length label debut, which will be released worldwide on Friday, August 30th, 2024. The album features the previously released highlight “Quality Pints,” along with other feel-good ditties like “War Movies,” “A Bit Like James Bond,” “We Don’t Care About That” and today’s offering, “Lonsdale Slipons.”

On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System sees the band serve up a beefy slab of their signature Modern-Lovers-meets-Nuggets garage rock, featuring B-52’s call-and-response fun mixed with AC/DC power chord grunt. Leaning towards fast-paced punk, opening double salvo “War Movies” and the previously released “Quality Pints” sets the scene: duel vocal piss taking, surreal takes on everyday topics that go full circle and become profound, riffs all day long and then all the next day too. “Quality Pints” deals with the pressing concerns of any conscientious touring outfit, taking to heart the rule of the three R’s as penned by renowned fellow pints fan Mark E Smith of The Fall. Repetition, repetition, repetition. If it’s that important, which it is, it’s worth saying again. “War Movies” dresses distorted chugging with a comprehensive ‘best of’ list for the genre, with Sam Willmett offering a solo casually chucked out in a way that will make your dad promptly give up any resurgent guitar-playing ambitions.

Melody is still ever-present, with the hilariously meta “Pop Single” channeling Ray Davies at his most self-aware. You ask for a pop single, that’s what you get – The Bug Club don’t mess about. And it’s this confidently silly strain that gives us “Lonsdale Slipons,” which finally sees the UK’s worst-ever shoes paid tribute to in song form, and “We Don’t Care About That,” which tells us all to stop talking about lots of things. Considering attempting a tentative review of what you’re listening to? Well stop. “Better Than Good” has you covered there, too. You’re getting what you’re given, and thankfully everybody seems happy with that – especially this track’s lo-fi production, Violent Femmes bass, and Sterling Morrison solo. Best to leave the hot takes to The Bug Club, we reckon. This record backs us up.

Initially comprising the songwriting core of Sam Willmett (vocals/guitar) and Tilly Harris (vocals/bass) with Dan Matthew (drums), The Bug Club started plying their trade in 2016. They were signed by UK label Bingo Records in Autumn 2020 and first single “We Don’t Need Room For Lovin” was released in February 2021. It quickly established The Bug Club as the tongue-in-cheek and live-focused antidote to the previous year’s penned-in pandemic drudgery. BBC 6 Music’s Marc Riley was an early champion, hammering the single, booking the band in for a session as soon as it was allowed and rightfully praising songwriters capable of singing the whole alphabet in a two-minute song and making it work (read more at Sub Pop).

The Bug Club will support On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System with their previously announced UK tour dates, which resume Saturday, 6th July, in Usk, UK, at The Weekend Rumble and end Saturday, 16th November, in Norwich, UK, at Norwich Arts Centre. International dates will be announced soon.

Sat. Jul. 06 – Usk, UK – The Weekend Rumble
Fri. Jul. 26 – Rock, UK – Rock Oyster Festival
Thu. Aug. 01 – London, UK – Shacklewell Arms (SOLD OUT)
Fri. Aug. 02 – Pikehall, UK – Y Not Festival
Thu. Aug. 29 – Brighton, Resident Records (instore)
Fri. Aug. 30 – Brighton, UK – Brighton Psych Fest
Sat. Aug 31 – Hull, UK – The Adelphi
Sun. Sep. 01 – Edinburgh, UK – Edinburgh Psych Fest
Mon. Sep. 02 – Riley & Coe Session, BBC Radio 6 Music
Tue. Sep. 03 – Liverpool, UK – Rough Trade (instore)
Wed. Sep. 04 – Nottingham, UK – Rough Trade (instore)
Thu. Sep. 05 – London, UK – Rough Trade East, (instore)
Thu. Nov. 07 – Bournemouth, UK – Bear Cave
Fri. Nov. 08 – Margate, UK – Lido
Sat. Nov. 09 – Bedford, UK – Esquires
Wed. Nov. 13 – Newcastle, UK – The Cluny
Thu. Nov. 14 – Hebden Bridge, UK – The Trades Club
Fri. Nov. 15 – Leicester, UK – The SoundHouse
Sat. Nov. 16 – Norwich, UK – Norwich Arts Centre

The Bug Club’s On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System is available to preorder on CD/LP/DSPs from Sub Pop. LP preorders from megamart.subpop.com (North America), Mega Mart 2 (UK/EU), and independent retailers worldwide will receive the limited Loser edition vinyl on Transparent Grey Smoke (US) and Orange/Red Marble (UK/EU) (whilst stock lasts!). On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System’s album cover artwork is from UK illustrator and comic book artist Willem Hampson.