01Profile
A Drug Store Romeos Photo
Drug Store Romeos
Musicians — Hampshire
03Interview
Photo by Neelam Khan Vela
Name, where are you from?
Drug Store Romeos (Charlie, Jonny & Sarah). We’re from the leafy but lifeless commuter town Fleet, in Hampshire. There are more old peoples homes than coffee shops, which is saying something.
Describe your style in three words?
Hypnagogic, purple, sparkly.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
Perhaps the most poignant yet serene live musical experience we’ve ever had was while returning from a King Krule show, sitting on the floor of the walkway in Kingston station at 1 am and listening to the ethereal voice of a stranger with an acoustic guitar echoing around the otherwise empty building. She wasn’t even busking but there "because she felt like it". But existing band wise; seeing Happyness perform at a petting zoo in Vauxhall surrounded by various medium-to-small creatures such as donkeys and tortoises was a highlight.
If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
Miles Davis during his heroin phase would have been an interesting character to meet and then Galaxie 500 just after the release of 'On Fire' when they were all happy, and Dean didn’t hate Damon and Naomi.
Which subcultures have influenced you?
The '90s slowcore thing - the idea of producing music that's focus is on layering and, well, making you feel all floaty. Also their use of space. Bands like Mojave 3, Slowdive, Belly, Cocteau Twins and Galaxie 500. 'Outsider Music' - artists such as The Space Lady have inspired us sonically and aesthetically. With the types of effects that they use but also the slightly cutesy D.I.Y feel. Dub music has been influencing us recently as we've been getting deeper into the production side of music. It's just such a cool and almost ‘punk’ thing that these producers had the idea to strip the conventional reggae tracks that they were working on and add a buttload of delay and reverb to the drums and bass - It's inspired us to be more experimental with our recent productions. Moving slightly away from music, the Surrealist Circle and all that it embodies has been grabbing me recently. Pulling in artists from the Dada movement of the early 20th century, the Surrealist Circle was made up of some of the most defining artists of its kind. These artists were influenced in part by the works of Freud and Jung and the discoveries of the human psyche - which is something I find making its way into our lyrics. Also staring for hours at a Joan Miro piece can make you feel a whole new level of strange and translating what I see in his paintings seems to be an effective lyric writing process. Not sure if this counts as a subculture but I'm just madly in awe of the man, and I feel he deserves a part in this whole thing.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Presuming in this hypothetical world where we are pulling people out of the wind machine of death that language is no barrier and we shall all talk in visual static effervescent rhythm so the issue of whether they are or aren’t dead and may or may not talk Japanese wouldn't be a problem. Then currently it would have to be Harumi as this mystery man thing he/(she?) is keeping up has gone on long enough and we deserve to know the source of this awe-inspiring audible light show of the 60s.
Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
A lot of bands seem to say the Windmill in Brixton, with us being one of them. For some reason, the sound always seems to be great (everything's really loud), everyone is lovely and there only needs to be about ten people watching to make it feel worth travelling two hours and spending 40 big ones on travel to play there.
Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
R. Stevie. Moore. The mad Father Christmas looking genius has released hundreds of albums since 1966 which are best described as “musical brain spewage”. His songs are all recorded by himself on a multitrack tape machine and cover a wide range of genres - from his speciality weirdo pop to psych-rock, funk, dub and so on. The thing that ties them together is great songwriting with the perfect mix of ironic trash, real nice honed sounds and that they all transport you to many different worlds where you can forget your surroundings and self. He should be a household name, sadly R. Stevie is just a little too zany for the masses.
Drug Store Romeos recently released their debut album 'The World Within Our Bedrooms' via Fiction Records. Listen, purchase or stream it via drugstoreromeos.lnk.to/TWWOBSo.
02Playlist
04Playlist Notes
The first track you played on repeat?
C: '12:51' by The Strokes, dancing around in my pants - at five years old.
J: An N-Dubz song - It was purchased when bored in the queue to buy a video game. I looked at the cover and was inspired by Dappys droopy hat which then became popularised, partially by me, mostly by him. The hip-hop pop rap sounds were enough to catch my attention and were then listened to night and day. Until one time I had a nightmare about a tsunami hitting me while listening to the album and couldn't take listening again.
S: As lame as anyone's first obsessed over song is, I remember it to be 'White Cliffs Of Dover' sung by many names over the decades, though this particular rendition was brought back by my Mum on a compilation cd from ‘The 606 Club’. I remember bellowing it around the house in around year 3-4 having no concept of how sad the lyrics were. The song still pops into my head now and again.
A song that defines the teenage you?
'I’ve Had It' by Black Flag. We’re still teens, but in Jonny and I’s first few years of teen-hood, we found solace in the form of locking ourselves in a sweaty room with two other pre-pubescent boys and playing hardcore punk for hours on end and drinking copious amounts of coffee. It’s hard to pick a song that defines maybe one of the most pinnacle stages of someone's life, though one lady who held my hand through this confusing thorny time was Kate Bush. It’s one of the few albums I can listen to and taste, smell, see and feel the rooms and scenes she transports you to. Musky perfume to blue ceiling corners. My Mum showed the album to me which was bought for her by her boyfriend at the time while she was confined to her bed due to illness. Though I must say that it was only her first two albums that touched me like this, especially Lionheart. Songs such as 'Symphony In Blue', 'In The Warm Room' and 'Oh England, My Lionheart'.
One record you would keep forever?
'Forever Dolphin Love' by Connan Mockasin. It’s a record that completely reshaped my taste in music and made me seek out progressively darker and weirder stuff. Definitely a modern classic that I want to creep out my future offspring with. Also one of the first records that we all bonded over.
A song lyric that has inspired you?
C: “Words are just noise”
From 'Beat' by Bowery Electric.
J: “We are crane drivers, and we’re fishing for silver”
From 'Crane Driver' by The Cleaners from Venus.
S: “Water’s all I need”
From 'Water' by Alex G.
A song you wished you had written?
'Words' by Low. Each section drifts into the other perfectly while slowly building to a peak emotional intensity that sounds like a mixture of heartbreak and nostalgia. The whole thing is extremely tense and delicate, and we’re envious of their ability to get the tempo and key so perfect. Production-wise it is a masterpiece, but that’s for another question.
Best song to turn up loud?
C: 'Hippie Hippie Hurroah' by Jacques Dutronc.
J: 'The Clean' by Beatnik.
S: 'No G.D.M.' by Gina X Performance.
A song people wouldn’t expect you to like?
'Freezing Moon' by Mayhem. As it is seemingly the antithesis to our music - black metal bands like ‘mayhem’. Black metal is something we respect because it’s all about creating an atmosphere and intensity. The stage show is almost theatrical with candles, incense, robes and mist. The idea of going to a show and being completely intoxicated by the performance is something that we want to be able to do for people when they come and see us.
Best song to end an all-nighter on?
'Arc Of A Journey' by Broadcast. It consumes you with its dark waves of strangely warming blues, reflected glossy constellations that pour out of any and every speaker that it plays through, slipping you happily in its waters no matter what state you’re in.
Any new bands you are listening to right now?
DUDS, Vinyl Staircase, Ugly, Tanned By The Moon, Barbudo, Dose, Spinning Coin, Looms, Brian Hill and The Noh Starrs and Sumochief are just a few of the multitude of incredible music makers at the moment.
03Interview
Photo by Neelam Khan Vela
Name, where are you from?
Drug Store Romeos (Charlie, Jonny & Sarah). We’re from the leafy but lifeless commuter town Fleet, in Hampshire. There are more old peoples homes than coffee shops, which is saying something.
Describe your style in three words?
Hypnagogic, purple, sparkly.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
Perhaps the most poignant yet serene live musical experience we’ve ever had was while returning from a King Krule show, sitting on the floor of the walkway in Kingston station at 1 am and listening to the ethereal voice of a stranger with an acoustic guitar echoing around the otherwise empty building. She wasn’t even busking but there "because she felt like it". But existing band wise; seeing Happyness perform at a petting zoo in Vauxhall surrounded by various medium-to-small creatures such as donkeys and tortoises was a highlight.
If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
Miles Davis during his heroin phase would have been an interesting character to meet and then Galaxie 500 just after the release of 'On Fire' when they were all happy, and Dean didn’t hate Damon and Naomi.
Which subcultures have influenced you?
The '90s slowcore thing - the idea of producing music that's focus is on layering and, well, making you feel all floaty. Also their use of space. Bands like Mojave 3, Slowdive, Belly, Cocteau Twins and Galaxie 500. 'Outsider Music' - artists such as The Space Lady have inspired us sonically and aesthetically. With the types of effects that they use but also the slightly cutesy D.I.Y feel. Dub music has been influencing us recently as we've been getting deeper into the production side of music. It's just such a cool and almost ‘punk’ thing that these producers had the idea to strip the conventional reggae tracks that they were working on and add a buttload of delay and reverb to the drums and bass - It's inspired us to be more experimental with our recent productions. Moving slightly away from music, the Surrealist Circle and all that it embodies has been grabbing me recently. Pulling in artists from the Dada movement of the early 20th century, the Surrealist Circle was made up of some of the most defining artists of its kind. These artists were influenced in part by the works of Freud and Jung and the discoveries of the human psyche - which is something I find making its way into our lyrics. Also staring for hours at a Joan Miro piece can make you feel a whole new level of strange and translating what I see in his paintings seems to be an effective lyric writing process. Not sure if this counts as a subculture but I'm just madly in awe of the man, and I feel he deserves a part in this whole thing.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Presuming in this hypothetical world where we are pulling people out of the wind machine of death that language is no barrier and we shall all talk in visual static effervescent rhythm so the issue of whether they are or aren’t dead and may or may not talk Japanese wouldn't be a problem. Then currently it would have to be Harumi as this mystery man thing he/(she?) is keeping up has gone on long enough and we deserve to know the source of this awe-inspiring audible light show of the 60s.
Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
A lot of bands seem to say the Windmill in Brixton, with us being one of them. For some reason, the sound always seems to be great (everything's really loud), everyone is lovely and there only needs to be about ten people watching to make it feel worth travelling two hours and spending 40 big ones on travel to play there.
Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
R. Stevie. Moore. The mad Father Christmas looking genius has released hundreds of albums since 1966 which are best described as “musical brain spewage”. His songs are all recorded by himself on a multitrack tape machine and cover a wide range of genres - from his speciality weirdo pop to psych-rock, funk, dub and so on. The thing that ties them together is great songwriting with the perfect mix of ironic trash, real nice honed sounds and that they all transport you to many different worlds where you can forget your surroundings and self. He should be a household name, sadly R. Stevie is just a little too zany for the masses.
Drug Store Romeos recently released their debut album 'The World Within Our Bedrooms' via Fiction Records. Listen, purchase or stream it via drugstoreromeos.lnk.to/TWWOBSo.
04Playlist Notes
The first track you played on repeat?
C: '12:51' by The Strokes, dancing around in my pants - at five years old.
J: An N-Dubz song - It was purchased when bored in the queue to buy a video game. I looked at the cover and was inspired by Dappys droopy hat which then became popularised, partially by me, mostly by him. The hip-hop pop rap sounds were enough to catch my attention and were then listened to night and day. Until one time I had a nightmare about a tsunami hitting me while listening to the album and couldn't take listening again.
S: As lame as anyone's first obsessed over song is, I remember it to be 'White Cliffs Of Dover' sung by many names over the decades, though this particular rendition was brought back by my Mum on a compilation cd from ‘The 606 Club’. I remember bellowing it around the house in around year 3-4 having no concept of how sad the lyrics were. The song still pops into my head now and again.
A song that defines the teenage you?
'I’ve Had It' by Black Flag. We’re still teens, but in Jonny and I’s first few years of teen-hood, we found solace in the form of locking ourselves in a sweaty room with two other pre-pubescent boys and playing hardcore punk for hours on end and drinking copious amounts of coffee. It’s hard to pick a song that defines maybe one of the most pinnacle stages of someone's life, though one lady who held my hand through this confusing thorny time was Kate Bush. It’s one of the few albums I can listen to and taste, smell, see and feel the rooms and scenes she transports you to. Musky perfume to blue ceiling corners. My Mum showed the album to me which was bought for her by her boyfriend at the time while she was confined to her bed due to illness. Though I must say that it was only her first two albums that touched me like this, especially Lionheart. Songs such as 'Symphony In Blue', 'In The Warm Room' and 'Oh England, My Lionheart'.
One record you would keep forever?
'Forever Dolphin Love' by Connan Mockasin. It’s a record that completely reshaped my taste in music and made me seek out progressively darker and weirder stuff. Definitely a modern classic that I want to creep out my future offspring with. Also one of the first records that we all bonded over.
A song lyric that has inspired you?
C: “Words are just noise”
From 'Beat' by Bowery Electric.
J: “We are crane drivers, and we’re fishing for silver”
From 'Crane Driver' by The Cleaners from Venus.
S: “Water’s all I need”
From 'Water' by Alex G.
A song you wished you had written?
'Words' by Low. Each section drifts into the other perfectly while slowly building to a peak emotional intensity that sounds like a mixture of heartbreak and nostalgia. The whole thing is extremely tense and delicate, and we’re envious of their ability to get the tempo and key so perfect. Production-wise it is a masterpiece, but that’s for another question.
Best song to turn up loud?
C: 'Hippie Hippie Hurroah' by Jacques Dutronc.
J: 'The Clean' by Beatnik.
S: 'No G.D.M.' by Gina X Performance.
A song people wouldn’t expect you to like?
'Freezing Moon' by Mayhem. As it is seemingly the antithesis to our music - black metal bands like ‘mayhem’. Black metal is something we respect because it’s all about creating an atmosphere and intensity. The stage show is almost theatrical with candles, incense, robes and mist. The idea of going to a show and being completely intoxicated by the performance is something that we want to be able to do for people when they come and see us.
Best song to end an all-nighter on?
'Arc Of A Journey' by Broadcast. It consumes you with its dark waves of strangely warming blues, reflected glossy constellations that pour out of any and every speaker that it plays through, slipping you happily in its waters no matter what state you’re in.
Any new bands you are listening to right now?
DUDS, Vinyl Staircase, Ugly, Tanned By The Moon, Barbudo, Dose, Spinning Coin, Looms, Brian Hill and The Noh Starrs and Sumochief are just a few of the multitude of incredible music makers at the moment.
Drug Store Romeos | Secret Plan (2021)
Drug Store Romeos | Jim Let's Play (2020)
Drug Store Romeos | Frame Of Reference (2020)
Drug Store Romeos | Now You're Moving (2019)