As befitting a band all-but born on the road, MOULD’s forte is wresting meaning from the clutches of chaos. Reflecting the unsettling impermanence of the late millennial experience, the Bristol/London-based trio’s new EP, Almost Feels Like Purpose, explores what it’s like to feel adrift in the world, pairing paranoid reflections with fidgety post-punk that’s prone to sudden melodic shifts and rhythmic about turns. They are – as singer/guitarist Joe Sherrin puts it on ‘Temps’ – “as unsettled in our skin as we are our locations,” and, honestly, it’s a thrill to witness.

Anchoring it all is the sort of easy creative chemistry that can only come with familiarity. Sherrin and drummer James Luxton have been collaborating for over a decade, having first played together in slacker indie outfit Let’s Kill Janice. Multi-instrumentalist Kane Eagle became involved three years later, contributing bass alongside Luxton’s drums to Sherrin’s Guided By Voices-esque solo project Slonk, before the three joined forces again as part of alt-folkie Fenne Lily’s backing band.

They cemented their seamless musicianship over five years of on-and-off touring with Fenne, accompanying her on dates across US and Europe. Outside of these commitments, the trio explored other projects individually – from the garage rock of Kane’s outfit Radiators to Sherrin’s adventures in post-hardcore with the Fugazi-influenced Milo’s Planes – but it was in soundchecks on Fenne’s 2022 US tour that the seeds for MOULD were sown. “We were messing around and made all of these little bits,” Sherrin recalls. “So we resolved that after that tour, we’d do a new project.”

Taking their name from a song by Luxton’s previous band Cagework, the three-piece set about consolidating their experience, pouring elements of each of their previous outfits into the new project. Their ferocious debut single ‘Birdsong’ showcased that playful, pick and mix approach, pairing jackhammer drums and sawn-off guitars with Sherrin’s commanding, shout-sung vocal. Released by Nice Swan Recordings (English Teacher, Sprints) in November 2023, it was one of three songs produced by Jon McMullen (Wet Leg and Michael Kiwanuka) to be included on their self-titled EP of 2024, with the final track ‘Glow’ produced by Harri Chambers (L’objectif). For the follow-up, the band brought Dom Mitchison (Heavy Lungs) on board, keen to capture the raw power of their live performances on recent tours with Regal Cheer and Lip Critic.

Recorded in May 2024 at Bristol’s Humm Studios, and due for release in April 2025 via 5dB Records, Almost Feels Like Purpose bristles with pent-up frustration, setting Sherrin’s sardonic reflections to a breakneck punk (‘Frances’), wiry alt-rock (‘Brace’) and Weezer-ish indie (‘Wheeze’, featuring Harry Furniss on cornet). Lead single ‘Chunks’ is a riotous mish-mash, it’s winding, melodic verses, giving away to an unrepentant bludgeon of chorus, all thrashing drums and feral howls. For the lyrics, Sherrin drew on his experiences travelling across America, laying bare his feelings of entitlement as a passive tourist to these “relentless stoic landscapes.”

Counting David Berman and Nick Cave as his big lyrical heroes, Sherrin possesses a similar knack of distilling an entire mood in a few words. ‘Snails’ sees him personifying his dissatisfaction into the helpless character of a baby, conjuring an image of “feeding my malaise by the spoon,” while ‘Temps’ delves deeper into the idea of a rootless existence. Speaking on the latter’s inspirations Sherrin explains, “I wrote that whilst I was away on the

last Fenne tour, feeling directionless and wondering what temp job I’m gonna do when I get back.”

Unquestionably, times are tough for a touring musician in 2025, juggling the discomfort of life on the road with the constant quest for temporary work. But ironically, you could say it’s this very ability to shapeshift that proves MOULD’s main strength as a unit. Certainly, as listeners, witnessing them move fluidly between various punk strains, with an almost panicked sense of urgency, we wouldn’t have it any other way. And neither would Luxton, as he semi-jokes self-deprecatingly: “All we’ve ever wanted to do was go to practice rooms and make horrible songs. The joy of MOULD is to be gross and make noise.”

Civil Villains are an alt-rock/post-hardcore trio from southern England, known for blending intricate, off-kilter structures with raw, honest emotional weight. After early singles recorded at Brighton Electric with Josh Harrison, the band released their debut EP Snake Oil and later their debut album Motion Sick, recorded with Mike Bannard at Shaken Oak Studios.

A forthcoming release marks a shift toward something more open and instinctive. While still rooted in the band’s characteristic contrast — angular guitars, dynamic structures, and unpredictable rhythms — the new material leans into clarity, space, and emotional immediacy