Leeds’ Treeboy & Arc release debut album ‘Natural Habitat’ via Clue Records/EMI North.
Listen HERE
UK Tour on-sale now
A DIY ethos is at their core, with the band championing their Northern origins. A project formed off the back of teenage friendship and a New Year’s Eve party, it’s hard to put a finger on exactly how long Treeboy & Arc has existed.
Natural Habitat is their most ambitious release to date. With the opportunity to really experiment in the studio with Matt Peel, 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. Each song has its own story and meaning, from anxiety to the supernatural, whether disguised by cryptic language or told as “matter of fact”, the album discusses the full spectrum of emotions.
Listen to Natural Habitat HERE
Initially writing down-the-line post punk as a four-piece out of bedrooms in North Leeds, the band first entered the public consciousness in 2016 and quickly developed a reputation for their captivating and dynamic live performances. In the year or two that followed, the band did their best to strip the paint from the walls of most of the venues across the city, with relative success.
Often with no stand out lead melody, Treeboy & Arc are a sonic example of “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Made up of meandering, interlocking guitar melodies propped up by a sturdy, yet intricate, rhythm section that often just won’t quit, plus synthesisers will make you wince with dissonant pads before punching you in the stomach with a driving arpeggiator sequence.
The band pits 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. Typically spoken word-esque vocals are spat atop these vivid soundscapes with the vocalists choosing to prioritise lyrics and feeling before melody and harmony. Though 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.
Catch Treeboy & Arc on their UK headline tour this October. Tickets on-sale now HERE.
Treeboy & Arc are:
James Kay – Bass / Vocals
Ben Morgan – Guitar / Vocals
Sammy Robinson – Synths
George Townend – Guitar
Isaac Turner – Drums
TOUR DATES 2023
*Headline Show
10/06 – Bedford, Ceremony at Esquires
22/07 – Cheshire, Bluedot
24/08 – Preston, Glastonferret at The Ferret w/ Bodega
25/08 – Birkenhead, Future Now at Future Yard w/ The Bug Club
27/08 – Leeds, This Must Be The Place at Belgrave Music Hall w/ Bodega
17/10 – Brighton, Prince Albert*
18/10 – London, Moth Club*
19/10 – Margate, Where Else?*
20/10 – Bristol, Rough Trade*
21/10 – Cardiff, Swn Fest
25/10 – Manchester, YES (Basement)*
26/10 – Glasgow, Nice N Sleazy*
28/10 – Nottingham, Karma Weekender at Chameleon
Tickets on-sale now HERE
Tracklisting
1. Midnight Mass
2. Retirement
3. Virtual Reality Check
4. Box Of Frogs
5. Human Catastrophe
6. False Objects
7. Character Building
8. Behind The Curtain
9. Winter Of Existence
Follow Treeboy & Arc:
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp
About Treeboy & Arc:
A project formed off the back of James and George’s teenage friendship, it’s hard to put a finger on exactly how long Treeboy & Arc has existed. The pair met Ben at college, bonding over a mutual disinterest in the course they were supposed to be studying, with Isaac joining a little later after a chance encounter at a New Year’s Eve party. Initially writing down-the-line post punk as a four-piece out of bedrooms in North Leeds, the band first entered the public consciousness in 2016 and quickly developed a reputation for their captivating and dynamic live performances. In the year or two that followed, the band did their best to strip the paint from the walls of most of the venues across the city, with relative success. After the purchase of a pawn shop synthesiser in early 2018 they quickly realised there weren’t enough hands for the job and Sammy joined, making up the current quintet and enabling the band to develop a more complex and expansive sound.
Treeboy & Arc have received praise from BBC6 Music, BBC Radio 1, So Young Magazine, DIY Mag & CLASH + more. In 2022 they played The Great Escape, Left Of The Dial in Rotterdam and toured Europe. 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.
“…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
