Irish punk band SPRINTS’ new single “The Cheek” hits hard and refreshing, like a gin and tonic to the face.
Stream: “The Cheek” – SPRINTS
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/674826506?secret_token=s-nR9GJ” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=true&visual=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Is there anything better than a Saturday night out with your friends? The drink specials at your favourite bar are blanking another crappy work week from your mind, the banter is harmless and hilarious, and the DJ is just killing it. And yet that person over there won’t leave you alone for five minutes, giving you both the eye and their “best” lines. Sound familiar?
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering SPRINTS’ second single, “The Cheek.” The Irish punk band’s new track calls out these night-ruiners and barroom creeps on behalf of anyone who’s ever had a good time halted by them — and let’s be honest, who hasn’t?
“Whether they think they own the place, or think they own you, we are all too familiar with those dickheads at the bar. Male or female, I know a lot of friends have shared the same experience,” the band’s lead singer Karla Chubb says. “The song is written based on multiple negative encounters I’ve had at bars, situations where I’ve had my sexuality and self-worth questioned because the person hitting on me was clearly so impeccable how could I not want to go home with them?”
Four long-time friends with a similar love of distortion and Dublin, SPRINTS’ raw, energetic sound makes them a rising band to watch. Bursting onto the scene with April’s “Pathetic”, they’re riding the wave of Ireland’s punk revolution, creating songs that sound like the heavy music you love but with a twist. “The Cheek” is no different, carrying the same emotive passion but this time served with a thick layer of sarcasm and a touch of disgust on the side. It’s loud and brash, hitting hard like a gin and tonic to the face—the perfect foil to the bruised heart beating beneath.
He’s got bad news bad news bad news
Pouring from his skin
And I said maybe I wanna,
maybe I wanna, maybe I wanna go sin
He’s got an unshakable confidence
and I’ll give him that and a body
like a statue sculpted by an aristocrat
And I nearly gave him the chance
when he gave me the eye
but I fought the futile feelings
and went to smoke out side
Driven by a fierce bass line that just refuses to relent and drums that rattle the ribcage, it’s a sound you want more of as soon as you hit play. “The driving bass is the constant of these harsh realities, the guitars are the piling on of struggles, and the feedback is the positive trying to cut through the noise,” Chubb says. Add in her powerful voice—equal parts Fontaines DC’s Grian Chatten and Bitch Falcon’s Lizzie Fitzpatrick—and you’re going to wear out your repeat button.
However, it’s the sarcasm dripping from her every word that separates Chubb from her fellow compatriots. It mixes beautifully with her venomous attitude, creating a potent concoction that runs off ever line.
He said baby are you straight
He said baby are you straight
I said bi bye bye
Oh the cheek , oh the cheek, oh the cheek
At least he tries
Oh the cheek, oh the cheek, oh the cheek
Oh god he tries
This shouted delivery is an evolution that suits the band well: “We specifically spoke the lyrics rather than sang them because I wanted it to be as clear as possible. I was talking straight to those dickheads.” She continues: “The boys backed me up on the vocals because they’re basically my second family, my protectors.”
It’s the impact of the words that take this song from good to great. Chubb is as earnest as she is pissed off: Her own personal experience makes each line it’s own uppercut. “I’ve been in situations where my sexuality is over-sexualised, it’s a means of access for someone who wants a three-way,” she explains. “I’ve been in situations where it’s been villainized, it’s a means of sin, it’s a means of disgrace. I’ve been in situations where it has been totally accepted, and those are the safe-places I hope we all have — this song is written from the perspective of the not so safe places.”
Chubb continues: “The places where I’ve been told I couldn’t possibly be straight, look at me. The places where I’ve been told I couldn’t possibly be gay, look at me. The places where I’ve been told I wouldn’t have been kissed if they knew I was bi-sexual. The places where I said no and got called a dyke. The places where I said no and got called a fake. People, of any gender identity, will come across assholes like this in their life. You’re not straight enough, not gay enough, not girl enough, not man enough. This is my way of saying, fuck off.”
Stream “The Cheek” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
Stream: “The Cheek” – SPRINTS
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/674826506?secret_token=s-nR9GJ” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&visual=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]— —
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