Spotlight On... Gallus
Following the release of their latest single, Wash Your Wounds, and ahead of their forthcoming Scottish tour, we catch up with Gallus
Named after the Glasgow pub they formed in, Gallus seem to be on an unstoppable roll at the moment. Following last summer's release of their debut album, We Don't Like the People We've Become, and with new band members in tow, new music has quickly followed with the infectious chant-worthy Wash Your Wounds (featuring Tina Sandwich) arriving at the start of this month. With a Scottish tour kicking off today, ahead of dates in mainland Europe, we catch up with guitarist and backing vocalist Eamon Ewins to find out more.
You released your debut album just last summer – how was the rest of your year following its release?
We had a solid year last year after the album dropped. We played Primavera and a bunch of other really fun festivals in Europe around that time, then went on tour with Heavy Lungs in England, and Therapy? in Ireland. The amount of airmiles we racked up was ridiculous, so we're excited to do some shows closer to home this week!
Despite only releasing the album last year, you’re already back with a brand new single; Wash Your Wounds is super catchy, how come it didn’t feature on the record?
It was written after the album, basically. Gian [Bernacchi] and Matt [McGoldrick] are still pretty new to the band (two years and one year, respectively), and we all clicked creatively in a way that was really different and exciting. We wrote Wash Your Wounds and felt like we'd hit a new creative streak and felt like we needed to get it out to show people that we're a new animal now. We're also just restless by nature. If we could write, record and release in a day we probably would.
Can you tell us a bit more about the single? It’s surely not as black and white as the title might suggest?
I'm sure you have read that our generation (millennial/gen Z) is the first generation of people in a long, long time that can expect their living standards to be worse than the generation before. In the face of this, we're fed this narrative about a mental health epidemic sweeping through society like it's a viral infection. It's not. People are depressed and sad because the world is sad and depressing. You're not unwell for feeling anxious about the state of the world and worrying about you and your kid’s future. You can now pay for apps that are designed to help your mental health when really that's papering over the cracks. The problems in our lives need real political change. Capitalism poisons you and then sells you the antidote.
We wanted Wash Your Wounds to rally against all that but also try to be uplifting. The world doesn't need another band singing about how hard their life is. It is hard, it's shit, and it's getting worse, but wash your wounds, get on with it, and face the problems head-on. Try to enact real change, and don't blame yourself for the crises you're being served up.
You’ve got a run of dates coming up this week in Scotland – what can fans expect at the shows?
Lots of new music in the same vein as Wash Your Wounds, lots of sweat, lots of moshing and lots of good times. Edinburgh is sold out; [the others] are heading that way, too. We're really excited to play these shows. The supports we've got are amazing too – the most exciting bands coming out of Scotland right now. We want these shows to be a statement of intent. We haven't done a Scottish tour for four years; the last one was the week before lockdown #1 hit, so the vibes were a bit iffy, to say the least. We want to make up for that with the best shows we've played in every town.
What does the rest of 2024 look like for Gallus?
We've got a lot of new music on the way as well as some pretty exciting festivals to announce. It's hard to say too much at the minute before anything is announced, but we're all really excited about what's next for us. After the Scottish shows we have a European tour we're really excited for. We're not going to rest on our laurels; I can say that much. We're going to be very busy. Just don't expect more of the same from us, though.
Wash Your Wounds is out now; Gallus play The Tunnels, Aberdeen, 15 Feb; The Tooth & Claw, Inverness, 16 Feb; Beat Generator Live!, Dundee, 17 Feb; The Mash House, Edinburgh, 18 Feb