After wowing the crowds with their blistering sets at 2000 Trees and The Great Escape Festival, Brighton DIY band, congratulations, have shared the second single ‘Zeitgeist’ from their upcoming EP Woo Hoo due for release on 8th September via Bella Union. Weaving whip-smart lyrics through funk-laden grooves the band traverse a spectrum of sonic terrains from heavy riffs to soaring choruses, blending gloomy with anthemic motifs. Bassist Greg said, “This is born out of the fact that as a band we have so many different influences. They all show up one way or another.”
Their girl/boy-centred vocals and eccentric fuzzed guitars lie on a bed of breakbeats and thunderous bass. ‘Zeitgeist ‘ is a fierce quirky buzzing track, with timeless futuristic riffs and a soaring upbeat chorus that was made to be sung live. The meticulously crafted track has a narrative all of its own and the colourful quirky vibes of their live shows are echoed in the video below.
congratulations said,
“Our band is essentially built on the idea of high concept / low budget – we have no money! We go really wide and silly on the ideas and then have to figure out how to make them. An alien astronaut searching for their romantic interest through time who happens to be a robot? Ok sure! We spent a week in a papier-mâché, frenzy, making the robot costume and astronaut head, but they came out super well. The video’s success was down to our friend Josh Armstrong who is an absolute wizard with a camera and never says no to any idea. The dance routines and getting the cuts right was difficult to pull off but he made it so much easier. Hopefully, people will learn the dances and do them with us at our shows.”
They added in a post, ‘This is a real favourite of ours, we’ve closed every show we’ve ever played with this song and feels so great to share the recorded version with you. we started recording it as we wrote it back in 2020, and have been tweaking it ever since. hope u love it. ” The multi-coloured video reflects their vibrant presence on stage where they usually don their uniforms of green, blue, red and yellow, delivering blistering, frenetic live performances, dripping with the sweat from their growing audiences.
Greg, with guitarist Jamie, are the two principal songwriters in the band, but it’s only with the contributions of vocalist Leah and drummer James that a song crosses the finish line. “Everyone brings their own unique thing and you get a lot of influences to draw from and combine.”
After stretching their wings at 2000 Trees, congratulations will appear at Y Not Festival on 30th July, before making their EU debut at Epikset in Finland on 3rd August. congratulations headline EP tour begins in September. Tickets are on sale HERE for the below dates:
Live Dates:
SEPTEMBER:
7th: Signature Brew – London
15th: Ramsgate Music Hall – Ramsgate
16th: The Lanes – Bristol
18th: Concorde 2 – Brighton (Freshers Week)
21st: The Loft – Portsmouth
24th: 234 Fest – Brighton
28th: Castle – Manchester
29th: Bobiks – Newcastle
30th: Hug & Pint – Glasgow
