Drenge Drenches A Self-Titled Debut

Some people might expect a bigger blues influence to come out of the tiny village of Castleton in Derbyshire, England. But they would be wrong. What the Loveless brothers decided to do instead was lean on grungy guitar riffs and distorted psychedelic rhythms to produce their post-grunge sound.

Then, after picking up a small following last year, the band gained some surprise attention when Tom Watson, a member of parliament, endorsed them in his resignation letter. "...And if you want to see an awesome band," he concluded. "I recommend Drenge."

The plug earned them an early listen, even if Eoin Loveless (vocals/guitar) and his brother Rory (drums) were already well on their way with a five-track set slated for iTunes Festival: London 2013. Along with the festival, their label had already queued up a two-track teaser, Bloodsports/Dogmeat.

The self-titlted debut Drenge ignites some post-grunge interest.  

As Bloodsports and Dogmeat were both released stateside (and reviewed) in January, either track makes for a great place to start the album. The first is a post-breakup monotony song that languishes on the idea that she either needs to come back or someone better come along before the trance is broken. Dogmeat is a cleverly callous attack on being underestimated.

Not surprisingly, Bloodsports and Dogmeat are two of the strongest tracks but they are far from being the only tracks. Backwaters is a loss of innocence track, laced with quiet desperation to hold on to those few things in life that don't require wrecking something else. (The video doesn't do it much justice.)


It also uncovers the band's predisposition to balance the beauty, brutality, and sense of being trapped in a small town. The album opener, People In Love Make Me Feel Yuck, does the same. Aside from being a languishing garage rocker that hints at not wanting to give up on pre-adolescence, it touches on the expectation to fall along with everyone else.

It's pretty clear that the Loveless brothers have no intention of following along. They are more likely to head in the opposite direction of everything. Sure, Gun Crazy might allude to allowing someone to like them, but other tracks lean more toward rejection than attention. I Don't Want To Make Love To You amplifies an uncensored push off that borders on revulsion.

There is also some unbridled aggression on the crackling racket of I Wanna Break You In Half. The angst is rock solid, even if the internal fuming here doesn't sound like anything literal. I Wanna Break You In Half feels much more in line with stomping your feet on the inside, not outside.

Face Like A Skull resurrects grunge in all its glory. Nothing is one part rage and one part temptation. The under covered and somber Let's Pretend will roll around in your head for more than eight minutes. All of them, Eoin says, were written when he was unemployed and bored out of his mind.

The album closes with Fuckabout, which remains one of my favorite tracks on the album. It opens with a brilliantly subtle melodic open before the band crushes its ability to quietly contemplate self-doubt and existence. The track might still be about small town boredom and being a slacker of sorts, and it touches a nerve for anyone who has felt momentarily dazed by life.

Self-Titled By Drenge Drenches 8.6 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

The initial Bloodsports and Dogmeat release was a solid pairing from a band that has a very real potential to go places and the album reinforces that notion. Drenge is the real deal among post-grunge bands that occasionally entertain a garage rock sound from the nineties.

You can find the self-titled album Drenge on Amazon. You can also download any of the tracks from iTunes or find the vinyl issue of Drenge at Barnes & Noble. For concert dates, find the band on Facebook.

Drenge Likes To Play At Bloodsports

Since 2011, the two-piece grunge/post-grunge band Drenge has been touring the UK countryside. They already put out a 12-track debut there, one that is still finding its way stateside.

Their break on this side of the pond came about late last year. Drenge had locked in spots opening for breakout bands like Radkey and Deap Vally and then played the iTunes Festival 2013 in London. Shortly after, their single Bloodsports was featured on advertisements for the television series Misfits.

Although the release has been lagging behind several months, the single Bloodsports and its accompanying B-side Dogmeat have finally come ashore. If either track sounds familiar, it's only because both were mastered as part of a live iTunes Festival outtakes EP with five of the band's best aggressively crude and sometimes brooding songs.

Bloodsports has given Drenge an auspicious entrance.

Consisting of Eoin Loveless (vocals/guitar) and his younger brother Rory Loveless (drums), Drenge originates from Castleton in Derbyshire but had more or less taken up residence in Sheffield. Like many two-piece bands, they aim to surprise people with a riotous stage presence that can be felt through the speakers.

They like to deliver almost everything they play relentless and raw, without any redeeming qualities whatsoever. It's who they are and they make you believe it, with studio sessions that are as stark as their live sets.

But it's not just the unbridled passion that makes the music they produce memorable. Drenge brings together grunge, blues, and sludge to make their own post-grunge sound.


Bloodsports comes across like a post-breakup monotony song with the breakup lasting for a mere two lines. Then the track descends into a backup trance of sorts, filling time until she comes back or something better comes along. Who are you going to bet on?

The verse is ferociously cold before drifting into its frenzied riffs. The lyrics are crisp and uncluttered, the instruments drone on and then explode. It makes for a great introduction of what is yet to come.

The B-side (second on their debut alum) Dogmeat is equally callous. Although some people describe the sound as harsh, the music just rolls along. The angst is in the writing more than the delivery.


Both Bloodsports and Dogmeat are among the earliest tracks laid down by the band. They wrote most of their material over a year and a half and recorded it chronologically. So the debut, due out in the States later this year, includes a self-contained evolution. The last tracks are newer.

In listening to the entire album, there is a richness that grows out of the rawness. You can even hear some of it in the live  iTunes exclusive. Those tracks include Dogmeat, Bloodsports, Nothing, Backwaters, and Fuckabout. (Backwaters was written before Nothing).

The last track, Fuckabout, is surprisingly subdued, one of the best yet from the Loveless brothers. The lyrics are as sharp as anything they had written previously, but the composition captures the depth of their talent. It's one of my favorite songs and ensures a revisit when the debut LP is rereleased in the United States.

Bloodsports/Dogmeat By Drenge Fire Up 8.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

Drenge keeps the surge of duo rock acts alive with two biting tracks from their debut album already out in the UK. With the band already in the studio laying down more material, expect a promising career from these uncompromising artists who were never looking for a career in music.

Bloodsports/Dogmeat by Drenge can be downloaded on iTunes. The 5-track live session from last year's iTunes can also be downloaded there. You can also pick up a debut import from Amazon. They have a few shows lined up in the US before heading home the long way via Australia. Tour dates are listed on Facebook.