stepbrothers’ new single Bones + Gristle doesn’t just mark the start of their debut album cycle, it feels like the moment the London duo finally step out from the wings and announce themselves as one of the most quietly ambitious DIY bands in the capital. What began as scrappy, lo-fi experiments between two not-actually-related brothers has sharpened into something bigger, stranger, and far more narratively charged. This is the sound of a band levelling up without losing the charm that made them magnetic in the first place.
At its core, Bones + Gristle is a dystopian fable disguised as an indie-rock earworm. The track imagines a future where fossil fuels have run dry and the wealthy literally burn the poor for energy — a grotesque system dubbed “me-othermal power.” It’s the kind of concept that could easily collapse under its own bleakness, but stepbrothers twist it into something unsettlingly bright.
Sam Orman’s verses drift in with a kind of weary resignation, painting a skyline of cranes, high-rises, and polluted swamplands — a vision sparked by his cycle home past a field slowly being swallowed by development. Then the chorus hits: euphoric, catchy, almost celebratory. It’s the sound of the high-rises singing back, selling exploitation as aspiration.
That tension — between horror and hope, cynicism and sweetness — is where the track really lives.
Musically, Bones + Gristle is stepbrothers at their most expansive. The duo’s trademark fuzzed-out guitars and scrappy percussion are still here, but they’re joined by bright synth arpeggios, soaring harmonies, and a sense of scale that feels new.
There’s a rawness that nods to Daniel Johnston, a psychedelic shimmer reminiscent of The Flaming Lips, and a scrappy, heart-on-sleeve sincerity that places them firmly in the lineage of Car Seat Headrest and Wilco. Rodrigo Espiranza’s lead guitar adds extra bite, but the soul of the track is unmistakably Sam and Armando — restless, instinctive, and deeply DIY.
stepbrothers have always embraced the imperfections of home recording, but Bones + Gristle feels like the first time they’ve used that aesthetic as a storytelling tool. The grit becomes part of the world-building; the blown-out edges feel like the sonic equivalent of a city choking on its own ambition.
Everything — recording, mixing, mastering, was handled in their home setup, and you can hear the fingerprints all over it. Not in a rough-around-the-edges way, but in the sense that the track feels lived-in, handmade, and emotionally unfiltered.
Armando puts it best:
“It really feels like the starting pistol is going off this time.”
Since debuting in 2024, stepbrothers have been steadily carving out their place in the London alt-rock ecosystem. Early singles like LATE TO THE PARTY and PINOT NOIR hinted at their potential; later releases such as Never Bothered :D and I ONLY CALLED YOU… became staples of their chaotic, high-energy live sets across venues like Old Blue Last, The Shacklewell Arms, and The Finsbury.
But Bones + Gristle feels like the moment everything clicks. It’s the first glimpse of their upcoming debut album In Love With Everyone, and if this track is the tone-setter, we’re in for something bold, narrative-driven, and emotionally charged.
The duo have also begun curating gigs under the moniker Frankie Boots — a natural extension of their commitment to DIY culture and independent spaces.
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