Spotlight On... Nü Cros

Glasgow noiseniks Nü Cros are vocalist and guitarist Kevin O’Brien, drummer Jude McWilliams, bassist David Murray and guitarist Dylan Stewart. In a short space of time, the four have already shared stages with a slew of other noise-fuelled artists like Lip Critic, DITZ and Gilla Band. On their debut EP, For me, Before, it’s refreshing to hear the band unafraid to speak their mind through their music, with lyrics tackling predatory behaviour in the music industry bursting furiously through the scuzz,

Ahead of For me, Before’s arrival this Friday, we catch up with Kevin O’Brien to find out more about the band.

Firstly, can you tell us more about Nü Cros – how did you meet, what inspired you to get together and start a band, and what’s the songwriting process like?
Well, me and Jude met in school and we started playing then. It was really all thanks to his mum Emily, a brilliant woman, teaching me chords on guitar and allowing us to play loud in Jude’s room. We played in other bands over the years, and eventually through mutual friends we met David and Dylan and really went for the sound we do now with the collective being complete.

When it comes to songwriting I’ll usually jam some chords, or Dylan will, and we will bring it to practice and take it from there. Sometimes it’s very methodical and precise but others it comes simply to us; the full band has come up with some really cool ideas, so everyone really helps each other with writing.

There are some quite serious topics covered on your debut EP, with your lyrics and vocal delivery often landing somewhere between furious and distraught – can you tell us more about each of the songs and what they’re about?
Every song has a different place and time for me; a lot of them I wrote a good while ago. Dirt is about four/five years old now, sounding nothing like it did originally. It was just written from a place of loneliness, going through some changes and dealing with lockdown birthed that song. Creased was mainly just a jam, I never really put much thought into the lyrics, just let whatever come out of me happen and it stuck. Falling was similar to Dirt, just dealing with the loneliness I feel and trying to navigate my own problems. Dlaw speaks for itself lyrically.

I wanted to talk more about Dlaw and how you've used it to tackle misogyny within the music industry. It’s quite brave to put this fury into a song, but I definitely agree that it’s something more people should be talking about. Why was this one particularly important for you, and are you worried about any potential consequences it might have for you as a band?
Dlaw was important for us to put out to show solidarity for the people that have been victims of sexual assault and or affected by it. We feel it was something we needed to speak about, and if there would be consequences for us showing support and pointing out an issue, then so be it.

What do you think others should and could be doing to help make the music industry a safer space for all?
Be friendly and look out for each other. Everyone wants to have a good night and enjoy themselves, it’s just a sick few that want to hurt. If a strong community can be built around scenes it can stomp out these people and make nights fun for everyone. Great platforms that consist of volunteers exist too, like Safe Gigs For Women, allowing a safe space for people at gigs. 

After the EP comes out, what does the rest of this year and next look like for Nü Cros?
We're going to take the rest of the year to write and come back next year with more songs we've been working on and are passionate about. We want people to connect with us more, and hopefully in the new year we can travel more and enjoy more gigs with our people.

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For me, Before is out on 4 Oct

Follow Nü Cros on Instagram at @nucrosband