GRANDCHILD

Bristol post-rock trio GRANDCHILD have returned early in 2024 to release their latest single, ‘Pendle Hill’ - a longtime live staple of the group that showcases their dynamic versatility and cinematic grandiosity.

Initially formed as a duo, childhood friends Finn Hodgson and Calum Hunt began creating the ambient sound collage tracks that would eventually become their debut EP Pure Drone during the lockdown of 2020. After easing of restrictions, they saw fit to recruit an additional member in Nick Williams with a view to reshape their sound for live performances.  

Citing bands such as Swans, Slint and Moin as major influences and sonic reference points, the band’s current incarnation flits between doomy drone, earth-shattering post-rock and warped sampling, but also takes inspiration from the film scores of Jóhann Jóhannsson [Arrival, Mandy] and Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury [Annihilation, Men].

Since the expansion of their live sound, the band have released a string of singles which have encompassed their myriad styles, such as ‘Semaphore’, ‘Shimmer’ and ‘Great Gama’, and ‘Pendle Hill’ feels like an amalgamation of all their previous work by combining spoken word poetry, walls of noise and field recordings.

With bursts of overdriven guitar and clattering drums, ‘Pendle Hill’ is one of GRANDCHILD’s most punishing tracks to date and takes inspiration from a particularly morbid slice of British folk history. Speaking about the spoken word section in the middle of the track performed by Elle Rustell, Finn Hodgson says “I was thinking a lot about witch trials in Europe, and then came across the ones in Pendle Hill in Lancashire. It’s a particularly horrible case where a daughter condemned her whole family to be hanged, and it left a lasting impression on me.”

Their live shows have been noted for their intensity and have been praised for the way they stitch together their songs into one long, continuous piece, and have seen them share a stage with experimental acts such as TENGGER, Abronia and Coims. The release of ‘Pendle Hill’ is also accompanied by a live session of the track and previous single ‘Semaphore’, performed for Woodbox Sessions.

In addition to the digital release of ‘Pendle Hill’, Bristol-based cassette label Eggy Tapes will be releasing a limited run of cassette tapes in February featuring the single, some sound collage experiments courtesy of the band, and remixes of the track from HAAL, Romxn and Arcadia Planitia Five-a-Side Football Team.

GRANDCHILD are Finn Hodgson (drums, samples), Calum Hunt (keys, samples) and Nick Williams (guitar).

Bristol post-rock trio GRANDCHILD have returned early in 2024 to release their latest single, ‘Pendle Hill’ - a longtime live staple of the group that showcases their dynamic versatility and cinematic grandiosity.

With bursts of overdriven guitar and clattering drums, ‘Pendle Hill’ is one of GRANDCHILD’s most punishing tracks to date and takes inspiration from a particularly morbid slice of British folk history.

Speaking about the spoken word section in the middle of the track performed by Elle Rustell, Finn Hodgson says “I was thinking a lot about witch trials in Europe, and then came across the ones in Pendle Hill in Lancashire. It’s a particularly horrible case where a daughter condemned her whole family to be hanged, and it left a lasting impression on me.”

Cassette tapes on the way via Eggy Tapes, as well as remixes by Haal, Romxn and Arcadia Planitia Five-a-Side Football Team.