What’s in a name? This Falkirk-born quartet certainly took their name from a seminal Birthday Party album, but while they could be filed under ‘post punk’, the comparisons end there. Well, energetic and guitar-driven, yes, but could Nick Cave have written a song as swaggering yet radio-friendly as new single ‘Cosmopolis‘? We may never know, but let’s see what we can find out, from frontman Euan Purves…

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Who?

Euan Purves (vocals, guitar)
Ross Coulter (lead guitar)
Alan Sharp (bass)
Lewis Jaoui (drums)

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Where?

We’re from Falkirk, East Kilbride and Cumbernauld respectively, but as musicians, we’ve always gravitated towards Glasgow. Our first gigs (with an actual crowd anyway) were all played in venues on Sauchiehall Street and we’ve received so much love and support from the city over the years. The range and quality of the local scene is unparalleled, so to be fully embraced by its ranks is a real privilege.

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When?

Myself and Ross started playing together when we were high school, bonding over our mutual love of Motown, the Stranglers and big dirty guitar solos. Growing up in a small-ish town hemmed between Edinburgh and Glasgow, music definitely became our main source of entertainment and distraction. We started gigging properly in 2016, and over the last couple of years, we recruited Alan and Lewis to form the tight unit we have today.

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How?

Our writing process is very much a collaborative effort. One of us (usually Ross) will come up with the initial germ, then we’ll all throw our ideas into the pot to grow that into a fully formed song. When we’re at the studio, it’s just the case of ironing out any creases and making sure the hooks and metaphors hit the mark.

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What?

We’re a pop band at heart, taking the introspection of post punk and intensity of rock’n’roll to form danceable tunes worth thinking about.

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Why?

The reason we play music is because we all believe in the magic of live performance, it’s the ultimate vehicle of self expression. There really is no greater feeling felt than when sharing your art with the world, one sweaty dimly-lit basement at a time. People can lose themselves at gigs and forget about everything apart from the here and now, something I myself experience whenever I’m standing on a stage. The idea of our songs resonating with an audience is truly the thing that keeps us going.

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Pleasure Heads’ single ‘Cosmopolis’ is out now via 7 West Music. More at www.facebook.com/PlsrHds