Years active 2008–present Genres Rap rock, Indie rock | Albums Better Than Heavy | |
Associated acts Arctic Monkeys
Babyshambles
Reverend and the Makers
Poisonous Poets Origin Sheffield, United Kingdom (2008) Members Lowkey, Matt Helders, Jon McClure, Drew McConnell, Joe Moskow Profiles | ||
Mongrel are a British-Irish band formed in 2008, by former Arctic Monkeys bassist Andy Nicholson. Alongside Nicholson in the band are Jon McClure and Joe Moskow, both of Reverend and the Makers, Babyshambles bassist Drew McConnell and Matt Helders from Arctic Monkeys as well as London rapper Lowkey from the Poisonous Poets.
Contents
Mongrel released their first album Better Than Heavy on 7 March 2009. The content of their music is political, with the majority of their songs having lyrics which challenge government issues. The band have announced they will play a show at London's Boston Arms on 5 November, with a four track digital EP due for release the same day. Released on the Wall of Sound label, the EP feature debut track "The Menace".
For the album, McClure stated "We had Saul Williams come in and do a thing on it and hopefully M.I.A. is going to do something and maybe Pete Doherty. It's got a good flavour... We're really taking a few people to task, kind of like we're Public Enemy or something." In an interview with The Guardian, McClure also expressed a desire to record in Venezuela and work with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez for the band's second album.
Release
Better Than Heavy was released on Saturday 7 March 2009 free in The Independent newspaper. It was the first time a British band had given their début album away free with a national newspaper on release. The full release, 23 March 2009, contains two CDs, Disc 2 is a reworked version of "Better Than Heavy" by Adrian Sherwood at On-U Sound Studios, tracks are re-titled Dub versions.
Discography
Songs
The MenaceBetter Than Heavy · 2009
Alphabet AssassinsBetter Than Heavy · 2009
Act Like ThatBetter Than Heavy · 2009