I chatted to a guy called Jacob Banks recently and learned that he’s in a band called Mouthbreathre. We exchanged numerous emails and he asked if I’d be up for helping them to push their new EP which is due to land on July 24th, we took a listen and I got straight back to him to let us know that we’d love to be involved. I suggested an interview feature so we could cover as much information as possible and get it out to people who we hope will become fans of their music in due course.

They recently gained some airplay courtesy of Sarah Gosling via her ‘BBC Intro in the South West show’, if it’s good enough to make her ears prick up, we’re there!

The full interview is below, enjoy!

Hi Jake & Laura, you’re called Mouthbreathre, you’re a Devon based alt pop/punk/noise duo, other than these facts, I know little about you, please tell me a bit more about yourselves

L ** My name is Laura and I do vocals for Mouthbreathre.

 J ** I'm Jacob and I like cats and Nicholas Cage…..a lot. I also write the music.

We’ve been in lockdown since mid-March, what have you been doing to stay sane?

J ** Without trying to sound too edgy, I spent the beginning of the year in self isolation anyway: I thought that I could front a band and do everything myself. I couldn't and I'm glad for it because the songs i am writing with Laura are better for it anyway (my lyrics were originally pretty shocking).

I demoed 5 songs earlier in the year and let's say that I'm pretty confident that I won't be rehashing them as mouthbreathre songs in the future haha.

L: eating a lot of junk food and watching a lot of trash tv. Although I definitely wouldn’t say Ive managed to stay sane.

Have you picked up any interesting hobbies or pastimes during lockdown?

J ** I worked on my tan

L ** Ive been working on my piano skills a bit to hopefully contribute some keys to future projects.

When and where did Mouthbreathre form?

J ** when I left my last band so technically February, but really I consider it to be when Laura joined the band. I don't think the band has taken it's final form yet though...

How did you settle on the name? Did you have any other names in the mix prior to agreeing on this one?

J ** Mouthbreathre was one of many band names I registered on facebook in the hopes of one day starting (there are a lot - Ugly Duckling was plan B).

I listened to a track of yours called ‘Dance of Death’ recently, I understand this is on your debut EP that is due for release soon, tell me about the track, where did the idea stem from?

J ** ‘Dance with Death’ is about someone surrounding themselves with toxic friends/relationships for validation, even when it's making them violently unhappy.

You also had a tattoo done, tell me a bit more about that!

J ** Oh yeah! It's off the ep artwork! A great big skeleton from the 1500s banging a drum. Check out Hans Holbein's woodcut prints. I find the concept of social commentary from the dark ages interesting. 

In another interview, you mentioned that both you and Laura love female fronted bands, if you could collaborate with any of these, which would it be and why

L ** Fleetwood Mac. So that I could try and steal as many tips as possible from Stevie Nicks’ badass witchy persona. 

J ** I'd love to work with Jenny Beth (solo/savages). I feel like I could learn a lot from her.  She just released a solo record with all kinds of guests on it though, so I think our chance have come and gone though. 

What do you carry with you at all times that you CANNOT live without?

J ** Memories of the 'man' I used to be. Before I got therapy and kicked booze, I had past trauma and unaddressed insecurities that I projected onto everyone around me. It's important to always remember how bad things were so that I don't mess up and go back down that road. Maybe that's more of a literal answer than you were looking for though!

L ** Snacks and headphones. 

Whilst chatting to you a while back, you said that you hope to bring more of a punk sound when playing with the ‘full band’, please elaborate as I thought that you were a duo?

J **  You're right we are a duo, but two months ago this was a struggling solo project haha.

I don't think that me and Laura could do the songs justice on our own. Amazingly, one of my favourite drummers has agreed to play drums for us, but I'm still looking for those other important members (DM us). 

We'll probably spend the remainder of the year as a two piece but If we could play as a full band sooner, we would. 

Personally, I consider mouthbreathre a punk band... I don't think anyone else does though! we'll see if that changes when we play some live shows though. 

When I was younger I had a nine inch nails live DVD that I would watch over and over and although they wern't a punk band, they had a raw edge to their music that wasn't there in the album versions. I don't want to hear things played perfectly when I see a band live.

Can we expect any forthcoming live streams / shows / festival bookings for 2021 etc.

L ** We have nothing booked currently but live shows in 2021 will definitely be a thing. Probably starting with something in Bristol (if any promoters are out there). 

Name 3 bands or artists that you’re into that our followers should be checking out….

Molchat Doma are a post punk band from Belarus and it's worth reading into the lyrics if you get a chance. Songs about not being able to dance (and having a fantastic moustache I presume). Check them out on Instagram

Cruelty from Bristol only have two songs out and their singer also sports a fine moustache from time to time. Their music is like being punched in the face (but enjoying every minute). They’re on Instagram too!

Crooked Little Sons are a punk-rock and roll and from Exeter, and like Cruelty and Molchat Doma before them, their singer has a FINE moustache. Their songs are getting better with each release and the last song they demo’d on their Instagram page might be our favourite yet.

Laura introduced me to Ezra Furman last year, and it opened my eyes to alternative pop which I find just as punk rock as anything else. A favourite performance of ours is when she played at Coachella and, mid way through their set, told the crowd all the reasons why they shouldn’t be supporting Coachella and Philip Anschutz ….

No moustaches however Ezra sports a pretty sick red lip.

Let’s imagine that you’ve been washed up on a desert island and there’s a record player, an amp and some speakers but only enough space for 3 records, which 3 would you have in the box to keep you going until you’re rescued? Why these three?

The Fragile - Nine Inch Nails 

This record sounds perfect to me. I could quite happily spend the rest of my days finding new layers to the music and working on my tan

Suck it and See - Arctic Monkeys

Because every song is a banger with a few sadder songs sprinkled in for good measure

Stranger in the Alps - Phoebe Bridgers

I’ve listened to it most days for the past 3 years and have yet to get sick of it, I think I could probably manage to happily listen to it for the rest of my days stranded on a desert island.

Where can people keep up to date with you on social media?

Our Instagram is what we use most.

We have a Facebook page as well:

And you can also find us over at Bandcamp

Lastly, there are MILLIONS of bands/acts/artists out there, why should people be spending the time to check you out?

J ** We want to write songs that make you dance, but feel bad for doing so.  

The Mouthbreathre EP is available to stream from July 24th via Spotify & iTunes, pre-save it HERE

We’d like to with Jake and Laura ALL the very best for the future and look forward to seeing some live dates as and when they’re announced in the near future. In the meantime, go check out their social media, like, share, kiss, suck or whatever you crazy kids do these days and get them noticed by as many people as possible.

Interview by Steve Muscutt