Surrounded By Music: Introducing Garage-Rockers Cruel Hearts Club
Monday, 04 May 2020
Written by Milly McMahon
"Artists who are mothers used to be a minority, a novelty and a rarity. It's just not that way anymore. We want to be represented as prevalently as male bands."
Three woman London garage-rock outfit Cruel Hearts Club—sisters Edie and Gita Langley, and Gabi Woo—write and perform riot music, designed to liberate and enthral. Supporting the almighty Sting at his planned London Palladium run in September, with a debut album pencilled in for release later in 2020, they have already played alongside Iggy Pop and recently performed a breakout show at the Lexington pre-lockdown.
Their punchy single Suck It Up has been making waves for a little while, with its video guest starring the band’s kids raising hell to their high octane sounds. The raw honesty of Cruel Hearts Club thumps with attitude, and we caught up with Edie and Gita to discuss their musical heritage prior to the arrival of their new single Blame Me Too later this month.
Your video for Suck It Up featured your children. Are there any plans to bring them out on stage?
Gita: It was amazing to have them in the video but it was so hard to organise. It took about a month to create it. They did amazingly, but there were just so many of them and they were hard to all have in sync. They were just running around and it was a boiling hot day in Margate. We finished at 11pm and were stranded on a beach and then it started to rain and we had all our suitcases and a firepit to deal with. It was pretty epic, but we pulled it off.
When did you first start working on Suck It Up?
Edie: I first started working on it three years ago. It was one of the only ones I've ever written. We write collectively now.
What bands or music are you influenced by?
Edie: When we listen to music together we like old school music like Elastica, the Breeders or Pulp. They really correlate with our music. We've got a jukebox at home and it's such a relief to not sit there flipping through Spotify. In terms of influences, there's a band called Phantogram I'm really into.
How do you manage your stage wardrobes?
Edie: I usually just plan one outfit then mix and match a dirty pair of Dr Martens with the look. I've just raided my wardrobe for a kimono for Gabi. That's the fun part! We love the outfits. I really love fashion. We style ourselves, and I love finding clothes and designing makeup. I know thats a cliché for a girl band but it's exciting for me, that's our identity.
Gita: I love Depop and a last-minute ASOS when I haven't planned anything and I buy clothes for a show at 11pm the night before! I love Portobello market too, it's all about treasure hunting.
You come from a musical family and your partners are also musicians, so music feels embedded in who you are as people.
Gita: Our parents were musical growing up. Our dad played ocarina and we had a family band when we were little. Whether we liked it or not, we used to play shows at little hippy festivals and our husbands are both in bands. We have always been surrounded by music.
Do you collaborate with different songwriters and producers?
Gita: We work with producers, but in terms of songwriting, we find we work better independently as a band. We have worked with Ed Harcourt, my husband, Catherine Marks and Yonaka. They produced Suck It Up and a couple of other songs. They aren't specifically producers but we liked the sound of their music so we got together with them.
Are your influences predominantly musical, or are film and literature also important?
Gita: Very much so. Film noir and movies like Betty Blue and True Romance also inspire us.
Edie: In terms of literature, I was obsessed with the Beat Generation growing up. That kind of escapism.
Had you worked with Iggy Pop before you supported him?
Edie: No, that came about through our booking agent. It was a one-off and it was the best day of our lives. Iggy is an absolute gem and we love him. We hope maybe to perform again with him but if we don't we will still die happy. When we met him we all just snuggled into his sweaty armpit.
Sting Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue September 15 2020 - LONDON London Palladium
Thu September 17 2020 - LONDON London Palladium
Fri September 18 2020 - LONDON London Palladium
Sat September 19 2020 - LONDON London Palladium
Mon September 21 2020 - LONDON London Palladium
Tue September 22 2020 - LONDON London Palladium
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