BUGS take aim at “Nick Gowland” with their stormy, sharp-tongued debut single

“Anything that begins with a B,” BUGS say, when asked about their influences. Merging the smoky ruminations of the likes of Bob Dylan with the emotionally incisive broodings of Big Thief, BUGS are the rightful heirs to their alphabet lineage.

The South London four-piece - Alice Western, Bridie Rushton, Lucy Rushton and Zhané Gandhi - came together at Goldsmiths University, and champion the joy of doing what you love with your best friends. “Everyone is involved in the process of writing and arranging the songs. Bringing the skeleton of a song I started and having everyone flesh it out into something whole is amazing,” frontwoman Alice Western says.

“Nick Gowland” is the leading A-side of their EP, and is a bold statement of intent. Make no mistake, BUGS are unafraid of sticking it to the man. Western explains, “‘Nick Gowland’ actually started as a joke song I made up on the spot during a rehearsal. A friend was talking to me about being bullied at school, so I made a song up about it (upon reflection this does look quite insensitive, but she found it funny at the time, I promise!) I realised I kind of liked the song so I took it home and worked on it some more, and let the story expand and become something else.

The song started off being about a specific bully I had never met, but as the song moved on. Nick Gowland morphed into more of an idea than a particular person. Nick Gowland is the boy at school who called you ugly and pinged your bra strap; the man in the crowed who says you’re good at guitar for a girl; that guy that takes it upon himself to explain things to you that you already know despite never asking. The song is about assholes everywhere. Fuck Nick Gowland. Fuck all Nick Gowlands! You will end up miserable and alone because you’re a fucking asshole, so fuck off.”