The Bristol five-piece discuss the appeal of direct songwriting, finding their sound through shared vocals and learning what makes a song work live.

Writing a straightforward pop song can leave you with very little to hide behind. That’s part of the appeal for Jack, who started The Cindys after years making music as Bingo Fury. Drawn to great melodies and direct songwriting, he wanted to make songs that were enjoyable to play with friends and open to anyone who wanted to join in. The Bristol five-piece found a crucial part of their sound when Naima added her voice to the first album recordings, and playing together has helped shape the material since. On ‘Glass Shattered’, the two trade vocals before meeting in harmony, setting fragmented memories and hastily gathered lines against music written to make an immediate connection. With a second album on the way, the band are taking what they’ve learned on stage back into their songwriting.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

We are The Cindys, a power pop band from Bristol.

Jack, The Cindys came together after years of you making music as Bingo Fury. What were you looking for creatively that led you towards starting a completely new band?

The idea of continuing to make more left-field or ‘experimental’ music felt much less creatively daring and stimulating than writing pop songs. If you make music that is referential to other music you open yourself up to more criticism. If you make something abstract you can hide behind a veil of ‘you just don’t get it’ or ‘it’s just not your thing’.

You’ve talked about wanting to rediscover the simple thrill of great melodies and direct songwriting. Was there a particular moment when you realised you wanted to strip things back in that way?

It was less of a rediscovering and more of an acknowledging that those are the things I resonate with most in music. Being direct in songwriting is something that I’ve always been drawn to since I started out. That’s why I don’t like prog.

You’ve described ‘Glass Shattered’ as your ‘baptism into the world of pop songwriting’. What does pop songwriting mean to The Cindys, and why did you want to embrace it now?

Pop songwriting is just a broad term for allowing the listener to be a part of the writing process. I respect people who make their art purely for themselves and their own satisfaction, I do that too with other creative outlets. But the goal of The Cindys is to have a good time together as friends, and invite anyone into that who wants to get involved.

There’s an interesting confidence in saying that there’s ‘nothing challenging about the song, it just wants to hit’. Has learning not to overcomplicate things been difficult for you as songwriters?

It can be hard not to get self-conscious when you’re writing songs and try and add unnecessary flourishes to show you have some ‘chops’ or something. But after a while you can recognise what feels out of character for you and what feels instinctive when you’re putting a song together. Establishing a mission statement of simplicity and conciseness helps with writing for this project too.

‘Glass Shattered’ opens with Jack and Naima trading vocals before coming together in harmony. How important have multiple voices and harmonies become to the identity of The Cindys?

They have been important from the very start. I tried to get this band off the ground for a while before this line-up was configured, in various iterations. The whole thing never quite felt right until Naima sang on it. As soon as she sang on the first album recordings it felt like we had the missing piece. That’s when the band started properly in my book.

The lyrics to ‘Glass Shattered’ are much less straightforward than the music around them, moving through fragmented memories and images from life on the road. Where did those lyrics begin?

These lyrics were quite off the cuff, almost stream of consciousness. I was trying to keep a tight turnaround with the song. I knew if I took ages to write the words I would lose excitement for the song and it would be less enjoyable to make, which would taint the song. I mainly wanted to pick words that fit well with the melody, mixed in with a couple premeditated lines from my chaotic notes app archives.

You’ve said that the primary purpose of your songs is to create joy and excitement when you perform together. Has playing live started to influence the way you write new material?

It certainly influenced the second album that’s coming out this year. We had so much fun playing so much in the first year as a band, we were able to work out what hits live and what doesn’t work so well. A lot of the writing for the next album was consciously trying to put together songs with the intention of them being satisfying to play live.

The band draws from the DIY spirit of ’80s indie while clearly having a strong pop instinct. Which artists or records originally shaped your idea of what The Cindys could sound like?

Would have been some of these:

The Wedding Present - George Best
The Go-Betweens - Send Me a Lullaby
The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
The Necessaries - Event Horizon
Big Star - Third
Beat Happening - self-titled
Television Personalities - And Don’t the Kids Just Love It
The Clean - Anthology
Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque

The Cindys began with Jack but have developed into a five-piece with a really distinct chemistry. How has the sound changed as everyone has brought their own musical personality into the band?

To start with, having Isaac and Ewan holding down the rhythm section has been a game changer for these songs. They are both lifelong best friends, grew up next door to each other and learnt to play music together. These factors are incredibly helpful for a rhythm section in particular, as they have to lock in and create a solid foundation for the push, pull and improvisation of the guitars and vocals over the top. Finlay brings an enthusiasm and excitement in his playing that drives the whole thing along. Naima’s glossy voice and steady presence on stage add a security and satisfaction to the performances that the four of us would not be able to achieve without her. It’s an all-star line-up!

Since the 2025 mixtape you’ve toured with Shame and Getdown Services and played increasingly bigger shows. What have you learned about yourselves as a band over that period?

There was a lot to learn as we’d only been a band for six months. I don’t think we really knew what we were about going into those shows. But I think we came out realising we just really enjoy playing with each other every night, and that we get just as much enjoyment out of smaller shows as bigger ones.

You’ve got Green Man, End of the Road and Breakfest coming up. Do festival shows bring out a different side of The Cindys compared with playing your own shows or smaller rooms?

It’s hard to say as we’re still getting used to playing festivals, and the set times are usually the same as a headline show. I guess there’s more of an expectation to impress, or make the most of the opportunity to win some new fans. To be honest we usually have the same approach of rocking up quite underprepared, trying out a song or two that we haven’t played before and enjoying ourselves.

What do you love right now?

Myer U Clark - Tinderbox LP

What do you hate right now?

English bands putting on American accents

Can you name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and tell us why it’s still important to you?

The Lemonheads - Car Button Cloth. This was an album I remember my dad playing a lot in the car. We mostly listened to Christian folk or soft rock so this was a breath of fresh air. I’ve come back to it and love the earnestness in the songwriting. He has such a great voice on this album too and I like his sense of humour.

Start Listening To: The Cindys