Cabbage

The loutish lads of Cabbage -- vocalist Lee Broadbent, guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Joe Martin, guitarist Eoghan Clifford, drummer Asa Morley, and bassist/producer Stephen Evans -- released their first single, "Kevin," a raucous blend of the Clash, the Fall, and early Nirvana. Beneath the jangly riffs and unhinged vocals, Cabbage revealed their clever depths with lyrical poetry about existential dread and man's purpose for existing.

Their debut EP, the D.I.Y. Le Chou (released on Evans' own label, Play & Record), arrived in early 2016. In addition to "Kevin," the five-song effort included the strutting single "Dinner Lady," a gross-out account of lunchroom antics that also served as social class commentary. Their irreverence and musicianship garnered rave reviews and increased local interest, which led to a string of summer festival appearances and support from the Charlatans' Tim Burgess. Riding the buzz wave, Cabbage were picked up for a tour with fellow Mancunians Blossoms and Declan McKenna later that year. Before the start of the trek, they issued another EP, Uber Capitalist Death Trade.

The band returned in 2017 with Young, Dumb and Full Of... -- which collected their early singles and EPs -- and the mid-year release The Extended Play of Cruelty EP. The release was lyrically and thematically focused on the deceit and material fascinations of man, with the lead track, "Celebration of a Disease," particularly inspired by performance artist Cosey Fanny Tutti's essay on the sudden shift from artistic stimulus to pure commoditization in the world of pornography. The group entered Liverpool's Parr Street Studios with James Skelly and Rich Turvey (the Coral, Blossoms) at the end of the year to record their debut album. The resulting Nihilistic Glamour Shots was issued at the beginning of 2018. Featuring the singles "Preach to the Converted" and "Arms of Pleonexia," the album combined the band's penchant for anarchy with political commentary and pop hooks.

Older and wiser, yet unchanged in their mission, Cabbage – made up of Lee Broadbent (vocals), Joe Martin (vocals/guitar), Eoghan Clifford (guitar), Paddy Neville (bass) and Asa Morley (drums) – present Amanita Pantherina as the first album entirely self-produced and recorded in their own Brassica Studios, Mossley. Long-term, technical collaborator, Chris Stockton was on hand for the album sessions to ensure the buttons got pressed.

Having deftly documented the turbulent times of modern Britain since 2017, machine-gunning wry takes on the banal, absurd and cruel – from the Brexit non-anthem of Raus! to the prescient, pharmaceutically-orientated, Medicine - the band aims to remain a vital voice of the times in which we live.  

Since forming in late-2015, Cabbage have occupied provocative territory by promoting progressive politics and supporting charitable causes through their live shows, leading them to be featured the BBC Radio Four documentary ‘The Art of Now: Band Politics’. At the same time as headlining sell-out UK tours, the band played Edgeley Park with Blossoms in 2019 and launched their debut album with a one-off, specially-curated exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery.