Eat Me are the guys you only ever meet at parties. You know the type; the ones who turn up just as everybody begins to flag and somehow reinvigorate proceedings. They’re endearingly obnoxious. In a second they are playing DJ, jumping without a moment’s notice from the most obscure grime track to Reef’s ‘Place Your Hands’. Then as quickly as they bulldozed in, they’ll exit in a blaze of glory, leaving you unwittingly desperate for them to show up next time.
Their music is no different, albeit without grime or Reef.
On ‘Liar’, the opening track from their ‘Melon Enema’ EP, premiering below, they chant: “We are friends. Singing together is the best thing ever.” And it’s that simple. Asked at short notice whether otherwise quiet band member Liam had anything to add to our ongoing conversation, he offers: “Love it. Love it.” Accompanied by finger-guns, of course.
“We are firm believers that if you’re not having fun you’re loosing,” Cam notes. “We like larking about and don’t really like taking anything too seriously. Fortunately for us we have all known each other for many moons and we seem to get along very well indeed so the party is simply unstoppable. I’d definitely say our on-stage antics reflect how we write songs to how we record them and everything in between. We don’t try to be too cool and just do our own silly thing. Hopefully some people find it entertaining?”
Jamie, arguably Eat Me’s front-man but in reality sharing showmanship responsibilities with his fellow band-mates, responds: “I think some do, we keep getting away with it. Shows are kind of a celebration of that fact. Writing, it’s a similar vibe, we’re just getting away with it… It’s hilarious, everyone gets their say, probably too much so… Somebody will play something utterly tasteless whilst the rest of us nod at each other with a smirk that says “that’s staying”.”
Somehow, in the midst of this self-admitted chaos, Eat Me deliver. ‘Melon Enema’ is unquestionably unusual, failing to stick to any self-imposed rules. It’s easy to hear their unapologetic disregard, but just as those guys at the party, they emit insurmountable charm. Rather than pulling their sound together with any distinct style, the sporadic sounds find cohesion simply by being frantic. Their chaos is far from confused.
Hailing from Kent in the south east of England, their liberated attitude is in part due to the close-knit music community sandwiched between London and the English Channel. “I think the scene has been bitten with a contagious sense of creative freedom of late, and that is basically why our new record sounds like it does,” Jamie offers in a half-moment of contemplative thought. “We let go of everything we learned as a kids playing in these strict genre-defined scenes once we realised everyone just wants to have a bloody good laugh most of the time. Especially if you’ve made the effort to come out. I think a lot of bands and fans alike are hanging up the solemn sentiments and starting to get freaky with the end of the world.”
It’s clear that Kent has had a recent spurt of notable bands. As well as obvious success stories Moose Blood and Slaves, the alternative underground celebrates the likes of Drawstring, Weak Nerves and Coloured In. “Things do feel more party,” Jamie adds, returning to his jubilant mantra. “There seems to be a small uprising of decent venues/promoters in Kent right now who are really making a lot of effort, being brave, booking good acts and rekindling the fire. Also, there’s just a lot of really great, different bands about our way at the moment, y’know!?”
“There’s a lot of people experimenting with wild riffs and beats that don’t conform to genres which is cool,” Cam chimes in. “Everyone seems real nice and humble. More and more people seem to be attending shows again.”
Jack puts the scene’s success down to its size, its expansion controlled by London on its doorstep and mainland Europe close by. “If you go to shows regularly you can almost guarantee seeing the same people, everyone knows everyone and at any one point at least a few of them are doing really cool things.”
‘Melon Enema’ is born out of this freedom. By the time the pianos kick in on closer ‘Big Love’, the five tracks have presented a true musical whirlwind as eccentric as Eat Me’s personalities. As brash and confident as it may be, it still makes absolute sense. “I find Eat Me is increasingly becoming an opposite reaction to the rest of my adult life,” Jack concludes. “It’s a chance to piss around and have fun with a positive consequence. I should probably take things more seriously, but I do that all day at work.”
Next time those guys rock up at your party and start messing with the playlist, it’s probably time to whack Eat Me on; a middle finger to convention and the mundane.
SEPTEMBER
11 LONDON Birthdays w/ Larkhill & H_ngm_n
23 CANTERBURY Penny Theatre w/ Get Inuit
OCTOBER
15 SOUTHAMPTON WTFest @ Joiners w/ Puppy, Soroity Noise, Muskets, Woahnows & more
28 BRISTOL Venom Fest @ Stag & Hounds w/ Dearest, Muskets, Drawstring & more