Even if your first band doesn’t make it past the college talent show, you’ll always share a bond with your first bandmates. For eight-headed London outfit itoldyouiwouldeatyou, those early collaborations between two of its members have paved the way to their most spirited project yet. “Josh [See, guitars] and I have played together in little pop-punk bands since I was 13 and he was 15,” says frontman Joey Ashworth, now 21. “I’ve never been in a band that Josh wasn’t in!”
“We had a mate who loved Fall Out Boy,” continues Josh. “He was a rich kid with a summerhouse and a cool rehearsal space, and he just picked us to start a band because we were his only two mates who could play instruments.”
Several years and many Fall Out Boy covers later, Joey began to make minimalist beats on his lonesome under the itoldyouiwouleatyou pseudonym. “I used the name just because I thought it was funny to make ambient music but make it sound like a powerviolence band,” Joey laughs.
What has become of the band, who released their dazzling second EP ‘I Am Not Your Fault’ earlier this year, is a considerable distance from a Massive Attack-meets-Nails proposition. Once Joey’s solo venture welcomed more members and richer instrumentation, he knew that it wouldn’t be complete without his long-time collaborator. “It was only really a matter of about three months until I asked Josh if he could make the songs sound good, and he’s been making my shit demos sound good ever since.”
Josh adds: “Joey said to me one day that we were going to make an emo record, and I was like, ‘What the fuck is emo?!’ I spend a lot of time listening to bands like Thrice and Coheed & Cambria, and I think there’s a very slight bit of that in there, but I laid down a basic emo foundation because I knew what Joey wanted.”
That foundation was the driving force of itoldyouiwouldeatyou’s melodically intense ‘Don’t Cheer Up’ EP, which was executed with a distinctly punk sense of urgency. Its follow-up, ‘I Am Not Your Fault’, may be a more patient and serene math-rock affair, but it’s far from being cold and calculated.
For all the noodling intricacies, melancholic undertones and wistful lyricism, there are just as many poignant and air punch-worthy choruses. “I think the difference between EPs was pretty much giving Josh free reign to compose most of the music,” says Joey, a charismatic frontman who brightens the stage with Morrissey-esque gesticulations. “Obviously we jammed it out and bits and pieces were changed, but Josh actually wrote this EP for his dissertation.”
“This EP is definitely more coherent and cohesive than the last one,” Josh chimes in. “It was essentially what we call ‘The Appleseed Cast effect’, where we heard them and went, ‘Well they’re sick, let’s just do that!’’”
There’s an adorable quality of impulsiveness to itoldyouiwouldeatyou. It’s a constantly evolving machine with components coming and going freely, completely disregarding a regimented structure for the better.
It’s a colourful depiction of the boundary-smashing inclusiveness of the UK punk scene, a place that the band have come to feel at home in. “In the scene it’s more about what you care about rather than how you sound,” Joey reflects. “For me it’s also kind of about politics, but it’s not as specific as a political party. It’s especially confusing right now because you don’t want to tie your flag to a particular party.
“Kids are being totally fucking marginalised at the moment, whether they’re trans kids or kids of colour, and I like to think that the punk scene is a safe space for those kids.”
Josh nods along with Joey’s enthusiastic review of the scene. “It’s almost a form of expression. When you see the amount of bands coming through, it is just a way of expressing some sort of discomfort.”
Having already shared stages with Cassels, Hindsights and The Xcerts, itoldyouiwouldeatyou will be taking on their biggest venues yet on a run of UK dates with slacker-punk northerners Beach Head. “We’re super excited to be going out on that tour,” Joey buzzes about his future touring pals. “We’re also writing a lot at the moment. Three of us just went through break-ups, so the emo writing is at its peak!”
Taken from the November issue of Upset, out now – order your copy here. itoldyouiwouldeatyou’s EP ‘I Am Not Your Fault’ is out now.
