If you’ve been craving some of that rough-around-the-edges, indie-punk swagger, Bilk are back to quench your thirst with their new single ‘On It’.
Hot on the heels of their last track, ‘F Up’, the boys from Essex are setting the stage for their upcoming album Essex, Drugs and Rock and Roll, out 24th January. And, as you’d expect, it’s all about living for the weekend, getting obliterated, and, well, surviving the hangover.
‘On It’ is a brash, bass-driven anthem that sounds like it was designed for sticky nightclub floors and beer-fueled singalongs. “It’s a song about partying. It doesn’t get more complex than that really,” frontman Sol Abrahams explains. If you’re looking for deeper meaning, you won’t find it here. “Life is short and we’ll all be dead at some point so why not have fun? You wanna have a good time, you know what I mean,” Sol adds, leaving no room for ambiguity.
This track is a perfect preview of Essex, Drugs and Rock and Roll, a record that’s shaping up to be a loud, messy love letter to British youth culture. It’s full of those experiences we all remember (or at least try to), like drunken mistakes, small-town boredom, and the yearning for something bigger. Sure, the band’s sound still channels the raw energy of their indie-punk roots, but there’s a bit more on offer this time: hip-hop beats, acoustic moments, even a touch of the blues. It’s like The Streets met Arctic Monkeys at a party, then woke up the next day with a Nirvana hangover.
As with any great rock band, Bilk’s live shows are where the magic really happens. After smashing festival stages across Europe and selling out venues like Omeara and The 100 Club, they’re gearing up for their biggest headline show to date at the Electric Ballroom in London. And that’s just the start. The trio will be touring all over the UK and Europe early next year, bringing their raucous energy to fans in places like Bristol, Paris, and Milan.
Tour tickets are on sale now, and with Bilk’s reputation for turning gigs into full-blown parties (seriously, they were banned from Rough Trade once), these dates are bound to be as chaotic as the album itself. So, grab a ticket, pre-order the album, and get ready to live vicariously through the wild tales of Essex, Drugs and Rock and Roll: just make sure you have paracetamol on standby.
2025 Tour Dates:
February: 5th – Bristol, Thekla
6th – Cardiff, The Globe
7th – London, Electric Ballroom
13th – Manchester, Academy 2
14th – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
15th – Newcastle, Northumbria Students Union
16th – Glasgow, SWG3 Warehouse
19th – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
20th – Norwich, Arts Centre
21st – Birmingham, O2 Academy 2
22nd – Southampton, Engine Shed
March: 3rd – Paris, La Boule Noire
4th – Antwerp, Kavka Oudaan
5th – Rotterdam, Rotown
7th – Copenhagen, Ideal Bar @ Vega
8th – Hamburg, Hebebuhne
9th – Berlin, Privatclub
11th – Warsaw, Klub Hydrozagadka
12th – Krakow, Klub Gwarek
13th – Prague, Café V lese
14th – Vienna, Chelsea
15th – Munich, Milla
16th – Milan, Circolo Magnolia
26th – Cork, Winthrop Avenue
27th – Galway, Roisin Dubh
28th – Belfast, Oh Yeah Music Centre
29th – Dublin, The Workman’s Club
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- Bilk
- Electric Ballroom
- Essex Drugs And Rock And Roll
- Indie Rock
- new album
- On It
- Scruff Of The Neck
- UK Tour Dates
