Punk trio Touts are young,loudand not afraid to kick
Young, loud and not afraid to kick where it hurts, no wonder punky Derry trio Touts are a…
Where were you the night before U2 last week? I know where I was. I was at a gig in a house in the west Dublin suburb of Castleknock – the best one I’ve seen this year and there have been quite a few. Otherkin, who recently supported Guns N’ Roses at Slane had invited Derry trio Touts to play before them and the two bands’ sets means July 21, 2017* will forever be accompanied by a mental asterisk.
I will be delighted to talk more about Otherkin when their album drops in the autumn.
However it’s the boys from Derry who are really the must-sees (and hears) right now. They channel The Clash, Dr Feelgood, Stiff Little Fingers and Dead Kennedys and yet they can fire up a teen audience, who may only be familiar with the above bands as a historical reference.
Larger stages await, such as supporting Kasabian at a huge outdoor gig in Belfast next month; Paul Weller in Belfast and Dublin and Liam Gallagher at his show in a hangar at Weston Airport in October. Vocalist/guitarist Matthew Crossan, bass player/vocalist Luke McLaughlin and drummer Jason Feenan are all still teenagers. Somehow, unlike Cavan wunderkinds The Strypes, their youth seems less noteworthy than the explosive nature of their music.
But before Touts there was The Blue Jeans.
‘Touts used to be called The Blue Jeans,’ Matthew says. ‘That was me, Jason and our old bass player Miceal (Sammon). It was kind of bluesy, even jazzy. We liked Cream and the Stones but then I got into Dr Feelgood. There was a logical progression then into punk.’
But because of other commitments Miceal had to leave and Luke stepped into the fray.
Touts is a contentious name anywhere but it has added resonance in the North. To ‘tout’ is to grass someone up, let’s not forget. The graffiti ‘Touts will be shot’ is still a menacing mantra for the present day.
‘When we settled on the name Touts I was s **** ing myself but I think it’s great now,’ Matthew says. ‘It’s good if the word is associated with something good, something positive.’
Luke interjects: ‘I told my granny I joined a new band and she said, “That’s great, son.” Then I told her the name and she was like “What? Touts? With a T? – You’re mental!” The name, the word, and what it means in the North… it’s not a joke.’
The band, they admit, are political people – like the title of the propulsive song from their debut EP. Rather than nailing their party political colours to the mast, the general malaise in the six counties and beyond is what exercises them.
‘We have our own political views but the main thing is that things have to change,’ says Matthew.
‘Fair play to Corbyn in England – he’s approaching the youth vote in a different way,’ drummer Jason says. ‘In the North, most of the parties do the same things. Corbyn is different.’
The band concede that you really have to listen to their lyrics to detect that there might be something more than inanities and ill-formed opinion.
Luke explains: ‘Bands like ourselves and (Manchester band) Cabbage are attracting attention because we are saying something about what’s going on around us. It’s like a boot in the b **** . It’s not, “Ah, wah! I miss my girlfriend.’”
Touts’ Sickening & Deplorable EP is out now on Hometown Records. See their Facebook page Toutsband for details of upcoming shows.
‘Touts is a contentious name, especially in the North’