Attendant

Infectious genre-bending Brit rock since 2020.

No musical influence is too obscure for London-based Attendant. The band's sound is rooted in alternative rock, but songwriter Andy Walker draws inspiration from commercial pop, film scores, video game soundtracks, TV adverts — anything that plants the seed of a hook. The formula combines energy and melody with incisive lyrical wit, weaving satirical tales around society's ills.

The band has just released the debut album, State of Disarray. It is a rock soap opera set in a collapsing society, beginning with an invitation into the dysfunctional community and ending in nuclear armageddon. Each song is a subplot, featuring a cast of mostly unpleasant people.

This storytelling approach to songwriting was inspired by lyricists like Damon Albarn (Blur), Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day), and Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), who create troubled characters and inhabit their worlds.

The songs are all based in punk, grunge, and post-hardcore - but often throw in curveball influences like blues, waltz, mariachi, and disco.

The artwork is by Dutch collage artist Toon Joosen. His dry observational wit and eye for the absurd match the themes of the album perfectly.

Previous singles have received airplay from Daniel P Carter, Alyx Holcombe, and Nels Hylton on BBC Radio 1; Alex Baker on Kerrang! Radio; and Brian Foss on Seattle’s KEXP.