Treeboy & Arc

Previous praise for Treeboy & Arc:

“...It’s the sound of a band simultaneously treading new ground and never having looked more sure of themselves” - DIY

“...a leading light out of the north” - So Young

“[Treeboy & Arc] could be the next great art-punk outfit. Wildly infectious and brilliantly conceived” - The Revue

“...born out of teen angst in the red brick abodes of the North, Treeboy & Arc have become paragons of punk independence.” - Wax Music

Already releasing tracks ‘Retirement’ and ‘False Objects’, Treeboy & Arc share new single ‘Behind The Curtain’, all taken from debut album Natural Habitat out 7th July 2023 via Clue Records (EMI North Partnership). Pre-order here.

A five-piece formed out of teenage friendships and New Year’s Eve encounters, the Leeds band have received high praise from the likes of BBC6 Music, BBC Radio 1, So Young Magazine, DIY, CLASH, Rough Trade, Under The Radar, and more. They’ve previously shared stages with Parquet Courts, Shame, Ulrika Spacek, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, and toured with Crows and LIFE, as well as being supported by PRS Foundation, and this October the band will take off on a headline tour across the UK.

Speaking on the new single, guitarist and vocalist Ben Morgan says, “This is probably the moodiest, darkest sounding song on the album, which is befitting seeing as the lyrics are about illness and the looming threat of death we all face. This used to be something that kept me up at night but doesn’t so much anymore, I think eventually we all accept the fragility of life. It’s another song that builds throughout, like one big long crescendo constantly building in intensity. Particularly mid way through when the tempo speeds up and the vocals become frantic and anxious. I wanted the people listening to feel stressed and on edge.”

Natural Habitat is Treeboy & Arc’s most ambitious release to date, after the original version was scrapped. With the opportunity to really experiment in the studio, the songs recorded became darker, harsher, and more brutal sounding than any of the original demos the band had recorded themselves. With two singers and two lyricists, the meaning of each song feels completely separate from the last. From anxiety to the supernatural, whether disguised by cryptic language or told as “matter of fact”, the album discusses the full spectrum of emotions.

On debut album Natural Habitat, they pit pop songs against avant-garde, kraut-punk noise to see which elements come out on top, perfectly setting the scene for abstract tales of disillusionment, loss, ill health and the occasional Bob Mortimer obsession. The lyrics often dark and sinister sounding, you don’t need to listen hard to hear the tongue-in-cheek wit and cynicism in their deliveries that is so often associated with the North of England.

The band felt it important to keep things homegrown and chose to work alongside seminal Leeds producer Matt Peel at his studio The Nave, who has worked on the likes of TRAAMS, W.H. LUNG, Eagulls, Pulled Apart By Horses, Heck, and more, helping them create a brand new sound.

Treeboy & Arc are:

James Kay - Bass / Vocals
Ben Morgan - Guitar / Vocals
Sammy Robinson - Synths
George Townend - Guitar
Isaac Turner - Drums