Next Wave #672: Coasts

Set to explode in 2016...

Clash is sat chatting with Coasts who met at Bath Spa university, as they autograph copies of their debut album which is out on major label Warner Records but as Liam Willford explains it hasn't always been this comfortable for them: "It's taken us seven years to get a debut album out, the journey to even get a record deal and you have to be so positive all the time as shit’s going to happen."

"There were so many opportunities for us to give up. There was a time when we set up a gig exclusively for a booking agent to come and see us and he didn't make it and on the way home our engine exploded so we got towed back, and wouldn't get back until 5am when our waiting jobs started at 9am the next day," recalls bassist James Gamage, in his subtle Essex accent. "At a certain point you do think: am I even supposed to be in a band?"

Playing these small shows, juggling part time jobs and broken vehicles, and having the drive to keep going when things get tough, has certainly helped the band in the long run. Singer and former acting student Chris Caines, who has a touch of Ian McCulloch's epic delivery, adds: "We’ve grown so much as a band and as for our live performance, we’re proud of it at the moment and it’s only because we’ve just done so many gigs."

Before they did these early gigs, the band started out in a rehearsal room on Bath Spa campus, which is renowned for its music course. "We didn't do music, we were the only band out of everyone who didn't study music," reveals Willford. "Although we used to use their practice room which had all the equipment and instruments we needed in there. There was a code to get in that would always change to keep us out. But since were friends with all the music students they used to give it us. It made it more fun because we weren't supposed to be there."

At this time the band had very little musical understanding between them. "It was like being on the apprentice the whole way," recalls Gamage. They did have the belief, determination, and love for music to make it work.

Currently, the verdant countryside of Bath and ramshackle tours around the UK are firmly behind them – it seems Coasts finally have the lift off they deserve. 'Oceans' is developing into a massive hit on both sides of the pond, while any one of the ten catchy, brooding songs on their debut album could be a single. 2016 will be the year Coasts make their mark.

Words: Cai Trefor

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