Gob Nation Album Reviews (The Tubs, Joanna Gruesome,  Ex-Vöid et al)

Gob Nation are a South London-based group of musicians who live in a former care home and play in different band configurations. The bands trace their origins to the 2010s punk band Joanna Gruesome, whose name plays on indie harpist Joanna Newsom.

I’m planning to fill in the gaps, but what I’ve heard from the collective is excellent – The Tubs play accessible power-pop, while Joanna Gruesome are tougher and more abrasive.

Joanna Gruesome Album Reviews

Weird Sister

2013

Peanut Butter

2015

Ex-Vöid Album Reviews

Ex-Vöid’s name was inspired by The Raincoats‘ song ‘The Void,’ Black Sabbath’s ‘Into The Void,’ and the punk band Void.

Bigger Than Before

In Love Again

2025, 8.5/10
Gruesome leaders Lan McArdle and Owen Williams are back together as Ex-Vöid. On their second album under their new name, they emphasise their harmonies. They’re influenced by Teenage Fanclub, Big Star, and The Lemonheads.

Williams and McArdle endured breakups before recording In Love Again, informing their writing. It’s often punk-infused – my favourite song ‘Sara’ sounds like a punk version of The New Pornographers. But there’s an Americana influence too – they cover Lucinda Williams ‘Lonely Girl’, while closer ‘Outline’ starts gently, a little like Gram and Emmylou. Most of these songs are terrific on this tight ten-track record – ‘Pinhead’ and ‘Swansea’ are other highlights.

I think just because we came from, like, a slightly punk, DIY background. There were pop sounding bands, it wasn’t like all hardcore bands or whatever, but we felt a bit self-conscious about being too poppy I guess. That was always the tension in Joanna Gruesome. Sometimes that’s an interesting tension, but I think we just wanted to finally do an album where we like, let that stuff, let it rip.Owen Williams, Northern Exposure

The Tubs’ recent album was excellent, but In Love Again might be even stronger.

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The Tubs Album Reviews

Dead Meat

2023, 8/10
Lead vocalist Owen ‘O’ Williams continued working with Gruesome guitarist George Nicholls in The Tubs, with Dan Lucas on guitar, Taylor Stewart on drums, and Max Warren on bass. Dead Meat is a tight 26-minute record. The band drop a lot of the punk from Gruesome’s sound, making hooky pop/rock.

It’s hooky enough to qualify as power pop, but there are a few rough edges, with traces of indie and punk. Most notable power pop is American, so it’s a different spin to have a vocalist with a heavy UK accent. Williams lists his influences as Richard and Linda Thompson, The Jam, The 1975, and Felt’s Maurice Deebank, so it’s unsurprising that I like his band’s music.

‘I Don’t Know How It Works’ sounds like a Warren Zevon song, complete with a great riff. The call-and-echo guitar riff of ‘Sniveller’ is the record’s best hook. The alternation between jangly acoustic guitars and noisy shoegaze guitars is a great arrangement idea. ‘Round the Bend’ lifts the tempo, halfway between punk and an Irish pub band.

Dead Meat is an impressive debut. There are enough ideas to suggest The Tubs could break free of power pop’s penchant for one-hit wonders.

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Cotton Crown

2025, 8.5/10
Cotton Crown follows The Tubs’ debut album, Dead Meat, building on their excellent beginning. Lead vocalist Owen ‘O’ Williams was previously a member of Gruesome Williams. He also released an album with Ex-Vöid in 2025. 

Williams lists his influences as Richard and Linda Thompson, The Jam, The 1975, and Felt’s Maurice Deebank, so it’s unsurprising that I like his band’s music. Williams sings like a more vocally agile Richard Thompson.

Cotton Crown is another tight, thoroughly enjoyable record. The best line comes from ‘Fair Enough’ – “when it all just falls apart/you can blame it on my putrid heart.” ‘Chain Reaction’ is fast-paced and hooky, while the calmer, jangly ‘Narcissist’ is another highlight.

The album cover shows Williams with his mother, folk singer and music journalist Charlotte Greig. Greig committed suicide in 2014, and the closing ‘Strange’ is about her. It’s a jarring change in pace after eight tracks of quirky romantic self-analysis. Williams sings:

At the wake, someone took my arm 
Said that you could write a song 
To honour your mum 
Said the band could write a song 
A song about this 
Well whoever the hell you are 
I’m sorry
I guess this is it

The Tubs, Strange

Cotton Crown is an excellent second record from The Tubs, defying the power-pop sophomore slump.

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Porridge Radio Album Reviews

Every Bad

2020, 5/10
Porridge Radio are an indie guitar band from Brighton. Every Bad is their fifth album, but their first for a high-profile label (Secretly Canadian) and their first since 2016. 1990s revival is popular among rock bands at the moment, and Porridge Radio seems to specifically takes its cues from early PJ Harvey – their music shares the same abrasive edge. Front-woman Dana Margolin has a distinctive haughty and austere voice, which suits the approach.

With little in the way of melodic interest or extroverted instrumentation, Every Bad lives or dies on the strength of Margolin’s lyrics and vocals. It’s a mixed bag – for every incisive observation, there’s a painfully obvious line like “Take me back to bed/And shoot me in the head” on ‘Pop Song’. The problem is worsened when Margolin deals in spoken word.

Despite my misgivings, there’s at least one excellent song – ‘Don’t Ask Me Twice’ unexpectedly launches into a genuinely memorable and unexpected melodic chorus. The drumming is fantastic, giving the song a heavy industrial feel in the introduction, before dropping out for the first verse. Margolin’s lyrics also shine ends with the tagline “Oh, I don’t know what I want/But I know what I want.”

The abrasive indie-rock of Every Bad isn’t tuneful enough for my liking, but there’s potential for more enjoyable records from Porridge Radio in the future.