The band we now call Soup! began its boil in the adolescent fantasia of South Manchester. Within those grand locales, Matthew Beswick (Vocals/Guitar), Connor Riley (Guitar) and Ben Smith (Drums) nurtured together their mutual love of classic punk: there were gig-pilgrims often to centre of the city; bedroom jams to the hits of Buzzcocks, the Clash and the Cribs. 

Upon splitting for Uni, for work, for the rigmaroles of life, these friends reunited in 2019 - bolstered by Hayden Gouveia on Bass, and Rob Jones on Keys/Percussion - and refocused their creative appetites. Siphoning the aesthetics from Post-Modernist literature, and the efficiency-ethos of Brutalist design - “nothing is wasted and nothing is included unnecessarily” - the quintet too came to identify, most prominently, with the funked-up angularities of our early indie heroes - Postcard, Fast Product, Factory and Zoo. 

The band’s newest serving, “Only Time”, delivers a moreish New Wave nugget true to this vision. Recorded at Airtight Studios in Chorlton with Seadna McPhail (The Orielles/Blanketman), it follows hot on the heels of previous single Acrobat b/w Self Care  - which found airtime on the likes of BBC Radio 1, 6music, and Radio X.

“Every song sounds like a single, especially the actual single, The Acrobat… In future years I will be retelling this tale and you won’t believe that such a small chance meeting sparked a future big band – they are that good.”

John Robb, Louder than War 

Soup!

Events

About the artist

Over 6000 partners