Start Listening To: Cucamaras

We spoke with new Post-Punk foot stompers Cucamaras about band origins and comparisons to Parquet Courts and Car Seat Headrest.

For those unfamiliar, could you tell us a little bit about who you are, where you’re from, and what kind of music you make?

We’re Cucamaras, from Nottingham, and we make music that sounds a bit post-punky, sometimes a bit indie, sometimes more alternative. That kinda vibe.

You’ve been likened to Car Seat Headrest or Parquet Courts for your latest track — are you happy with these comparisons?

We’re definitely happy with that yeah, we’d actually never listened to Car Seat Headrest when someone said we sounded like them, so that made me listen, and ever since I’ve been in love with them. I love what they’re all about, they push their creativity as far as it goes and they’re constantly evolving; I think Will Toledo kinda gave me the confidence to start being braver as a songwriter. Parquet Courts are great too, their first record is impeccable.

For the lyrics, we understand that these were written to reflect the unease of navigating complex social relationships in a university setting. Do you have any advice for people navigating that situation right now?

Not really, I certainly don’t want to act like some sort of life guru just because I’ve written a song about it. I think that period of your life is a part of life that you have to navigate yourself, that’s all part of it. I made way too many mistakes then to give anyone advice!

What do you love right now?

Down time. I think when stuff started getting back to some sort of normality, I kinda jumped into everything a bit too fast, spread myself too thin, that sorta thing. I burnt out pretty quickly socially and musically. But of late I’ve made a conscious effort to give myself some down time, a detox and time to write new stuff for the band.

What do you hate right now?

Uncertainty. To a certain extent, I think all four of us are a bit lost at the minute, we don’t even know where we’ll be living in a month and stuff. We’re talking to some cool people about band stuff and that’s all exciting but the uncertainty of it, and waiting for the right person or the right deal right now is a bit mentally draining for us, we’d love to settle down and just focus on music. But we’ll get there.  

How did you guys get into music?

I think I have Olly to thank for my love of guitar music. I remember being sat in Maths with him at school and he was showing me videos of this ‘Pete Doherty dude’ and I was like ‘hmm he seems kinda odd but I’m interested’. A month or so later, him and his dad, Stew, took me to see The Libertines at Hyde Park. That gig kinda changed my life and I bought a guitar the next day. That’s how I got into the sorta music we make anyway.

How did you guys form and what’s the origin story behind the name “Cucamaras”?

I was in a band with Joe, our drummer, before Cucamaras. That fizzled out when we all went to university but in truth, I’d always wanted to be in a band with Olly, he was the guy that got me hooked after all, so it always felt right. Me and Olly started making demos together in my old flat and it just went from there. Joe was re-hired and Dan came a bit later.

Now that things have opened up, you guys got any live shows you’re keen to play?

It’s been great to start playing live again. We played Tramlines Fringe in Sheffield, and a show with Billy Nomates in Isle of Wight, they were both great. We’ve got shows coming up like Deaf Institute in Manchester and Bodega in Notts which we’re buzzed for. I guess we’re really keen to play London. We’ve had a couple shows all but sorted but COVID kept getting in the way. We’ll make it down there soon though I’m sure.

How do you think your local Nottingham scene has influenced you, whether musically or personally?

Great question, I think quite a lot. Olly works behind the bar at Bodega in Nottingham, which feels like a bit of a cultural hub for our kind of scene so we’ve kind of immersed ourselves in that a bit and bands like Do Nothing and Sheafs have pushed us to improve and jump up to the same level as those guys.

What can we expect next from Cucamaras?

Hopefully we’re heading off to the studio to record a 5 track EP soon. I’m not sure when it will arrive just yet but the track listing is done and it’s our next mission that’s for sure.

Before this comes to an end, do you have any final thoughts to share with the readers?

I’d just say keep an eye out for us, we’re heading to a load of cities like Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and so on before the years out so if you like what you hear, grab a ticket, we’d love to see ya there!