About Constant Mongrel
Hometown
Australia
Genre
Punk
Constant Mongrel mix the furious energy of classic punk with the agitated feel of post-punk to come up with a sound that is at once familiar and timeless. They share many sonic attributes with the noisy wave of like-minded bands hatched in Australia in the 2010s, while also fitting nicely into the American lo-fi scene (as evidenced by their 2013 album, Heavy Breathing, being released by Siltbreeze). The band's 2018 album, Living in Excellence, marked their maturation as a band, for the first time fitting all the pieces together and delivering a record that was equal to their influences.
The Melbourne band was formed in 2009 when friends Tom Ridgewell and Hugh Young got together to begin playing songs that were influenced by proto-punk bands like Chrome and post-punk bands like Swell Maps. Ridgewell handled the guitar, Young the drums, and both of them sang. Once they had songs and a sound, they recorded eight songs and released them in 2010 as a self-titled cassette on the Hidiotic label. That same year, they shared a cassette release with Taco Leg for Wuss Tapes. They soon added bassist Amy Hill to become a trio and began work on their first album. Recorded with Alex MacFarlane at the controls, Everything Goes Wrong was a powerful and noisy slab of dark post-punk. It was released in 2012 by R.I.P. Society and featured vocals on one song by Andrew Murray of Taco Leg, who soon joined the band on second guitar.
While still focused on Constant Mongrel, the members of the band were also making time in other groups as well. Ridgewell played in Woollen Kits, Hill in School of Radiant Living, Murray in Taco Leg, Young in Velvet Whip, and both Young and Ridgewell in the synth punk band Nun. They found time to record another record in 2013, Heavy Breathing, which was issued by Siltbreeze. Apart from a single in 2015, "DCM" on R.I.P. Society, the band was fairly quiet as members were busy with other bands -- Hill joined TERRY in 2016 -- and real life as Ridgewell started a cafe and Murray studied architectural history. When they got back together to make another record, they decided to head to a real studio for the first time. Working with longtime collaborator Tom Hardisty as producer, they delved more deeply into their free jazz influences as well as the harsh sounds of early-'80s punk bands like Flux of Pink Indians. Living in Excellence was released in 2018 by the London label La Vida Es un Mus and by Anti Fade in Australia. ~ Tim Sendra
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