10 Questions
The Domestics
They’ve built a fearsome live reputation and have been getting faster and tighter with every passing year.
Formed in the summer of 2011, THE DOMESTICS played their first gig in December of that year on the day that their debut album was released. That’s probably not how this stuff is supposed to work but they’ve never been ones for doing things in the accepted fashion.
In 2020 the band find themselves standard-bearers of what some have been calling the ‘East Anglian Hardcore’ scene. Fusing fast, aggressive hardcore punk, angry socio-political lyrics and catchy, shout-along choruses, they draw primarily on the U.S., Japanese and Swedish scenes, but with an unmistakable hint of their native UK in the raw London-Essex tones of vocalist, James Domestic.
Biography
The band have been prolific in their time together, having released numerous albums, 7”s, splits, CDs and tapes on labels throughout the world, as well as contributing exclusive tracks to at least half a dozen 7” compilations. This is not to mention their various side-project bands, of which there are many. They’ve toured the UK extensively and have also hit The Netherlands, Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium and Greece.
Taking their cues from such U.S. hardcore luminaries old and new, such as NEGATIVE APPROACH, OFF!, POISON IDEA, GREEN BERET and OUT COLD, Japanese masters of the form such as GAUZE, KREIGSHÖG and WARHEAD, Swedish legends like TOTALITÄR and HERÅTYS and garnering further comparisons to UK scene-legends FUK, THE RESTARTS and VIOLENT REACTION. They’ve built a fearsome live reputation and have been getting faster and tighter with every passing year.
On ‘Ideal’ from the ‘A Gift to Your Masters’ 7” (February 2020) and, especially, on the recent ‘No Life/This is Your Life’ split 12” with PIZZATRAMP (June 2020) the band have stretched themselves far beyond their original blueprint to great effect and an enthusiastic reception, but promise that the next full LP will be the most distilled, short, fast intense version of themselves yet. Keep your eyes peeled in 2021.
Reviews
“If you’re gonna play hardcore, don’t fuck around. THE DOMESTICS got the memo. Stellar” Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll
“Snotty, obnoxious punk rock played at amphetamine speed with a part two-fingers in the air, part political message” Louder Than War
“One of the UK’s finest punk bands” Suspect Device
“Delivered with barbarous, throat-slashing intensity and precision”. Scanner Zine
“…an unambiguously emphatic barbed wire slash across the face”. Ear Nutrition
“The band lashes out furiously – a swirl of strings and snare… James Domestic’s gravelly, inflected vocals at the fore; gobbing out a reflective diatribe. It courses ahead on hails of feedback and rattling drums, as every last vocal cord gets shredded. Devastating.” The Punk Site
