Interview with The Issues: ‘It’s energetic madness – it’s very scrappy, unkempt and a lot of fun!’

Exeter-based punk band The Issues have released their delightfully infectious debut EP ‘Eat The Pelican’.

The band comprises housemates Joe Jenkins (vocals and rhythm guitar), Tom Ryan-McGrath (guitar), Mike Slack (drums) and Ethan Pearce (bass): ‘We all met in Exeter, the others went to uni and I met them at the music venue where I work, The Cavern,’ Jenkins said. Of their name, he says: ‘We’ve all got a lot of issues, it definitely comes across in my lyrics!’

‘Eat The Pelican’ is energetic, raucous and downright fun indie punk in the vein of Sports Team, The Libertines and The Clash: ‘It’s energetic madness, it’s very scrappy, unkempt and a lot of fun,’ Jenkins said laughing. ‘The album name references a riddle from our bassist, it had us all stumped for six hours. It was so stupid, we thought: “It means nothing, it’s perfect!” Our friend Alice did our artwork, she’s my girlfriend’s housemate. We’ve used her for gig posters as well, when she does them, we always sell more tickets!’

‘I was missing a lot of things, it kind of came out of nowhere’

Every song on ‘Eat The Pelican’ tells a distinct story and each one is told with Jenkins’ uniquely funny, dark wit and insatiable energy. This is particularly true of ‘Snowing Down Under’, which references everything he wants in life from wanting to be friends with actor and food writer Stanley Tucci to starting a cult in Italy: ‘The lyrics came completely randomly. I loved his cooking show, I was watching it with my mum, his whole persona and vibe, I just loved it. Initially, I had random first names like James and Stanley that worked tonally but I thought: “He’s a good guy, let’s put him in a song!”

The standout track for me on the album is ‘Mrs. Jane’ with scrappy, tongue-in-cheek lyrics about a sexy maths teacher, erupting with fuzzy riffs, ebullient drumming and Jenkins’ catchy, manic, Libertines-esque vocals: ‘It was the first song I wrote when lockdown started,’ he said. ‘I was missing a lot of things, it kind of came out of nowhere. There wasn’t an actual Mrs. Jane (laughs) but a lot of teachers I found attractive who embodied her. It started off as a ballad! I play guitar but I’m not the best guitarist, I use the 12 chords I know (laughs). I like to use four chords that move up and down the fretboard. It started with the melody and the lyrics just popped out – certain sounds go together in my head.’

As the track kicks off: “Mrs. Jane, she taught me everything I know. It’s such a shame she had to up her things and go. One sunny day, she’s all that occupies my mind. On every frame, on every picture, every line. Woah oh, woah oh oh.”

As soon as a song is broadly finished, they test it out at a gig: ‘It helps a lot with my actual delivery, I know when I’ll go a bit louder, quieter or more intense,’ he said. ‘I go to spoken word bits, depending on the gig and how much breath I have left! I never thought I’d do that, I was a proper choirboy, people don’t expect it. My breathing comes more naturally because I’ve done that, I’ve learned to put in where I breathe, to give yourself those moments to recover, otherwise you screw yourself over (laughs).’

‘His writing struck a chord with me when I was 14, I was obsessed with him’

One of Jenkins’ biggest inspirations has been former Libertines frontman Pete Doherty: ‘His writing struck a chord with me when I was 14, I was obsessed with him,’ he said. ‘A Pete Doherty song I wish I’d written is ‘Picture Me In A Hospital’. It’s kind of morbidly upbeat, I love that kinda stuff! He can juxtapose his lyricism with his musicality so well. Another one I’ve got to mention is ‘Sheepskin Tearaway’, I wish I could write something that beautiful, it’s such a craft. And Carole King’s Tapestry album, her structure, she’s exquisite. Simon & Garfunkel are great storytellers, they tell the same highs and lows. I really like Blur and Damon Albarn’s lyrics, he’s exquisite. I love Nick Drake and Mac DeMarco is my favourite artist. My parents were very into music growing up, the house was never silent, but they never spoke about the music they liked. My dad got me into Elvis Presley when I was 12 or 13 and he started buying me CDs for my birthday and Christmas like Bombay Bicycle Club and Two Door Cinema Club. I started busking with my best friend when I was 15 but I didn’t play the guitar then. I moved to Exeter and realised if I wanted to sing, I needed to play the guitar!’

If he could write a song with anyone, dead or alive, he picks Beans On Toast (a folk singer from Essex): ‘I feel like we’d get on pretty well and would probably want to write a similar kind of song. I love him so much, he’s so cool.’

The Issues have been gigging and touring non-stop since 2021 and have become known for their erratic, delightfully unhinged and highly entertaining live shows. They’ve sold out the legendary Exeter Cavern for their own headline shows, have played at venues such as the O2 Academy Islington and Bristol Exchange, and have supported  the likes of Courting, The Oozes, Black Foxxes and Pizza Tramp.

‘Charlie’ on the EP captures a similar energy but takes the pace to dizzying new heights, it doesn’t let up for a second during the tight 2.11 minutes, with the drums ramping it up to match Jenkin’s pace and cheekily observant, humorous lyrics: “Charlie’s a dickhead but oh my god he’s just so fucking fit, I don’t know why my stomach’s doing flips. You grab me by the throat, I clench my fist. Shut the fuck up and give me a kiss. Blah, blah, bleurgh.” Essentially, the song is an amalgamation of “Charlies”, according to Jenkins: ‘I’m bisexual, when I started going out and it was the first time I was meeting guys, the guys I were kissing were pricks (laughs). I was bullied in school, I’m reclaiming it with this song, Charlie’s the same kind of attractive guy that bullied me. When I told my boss I was in a band, he booked us to play a gig. We picked two of our favourite local bands to support us, including Clockwork, a band that Tom used to be in. They both did 30 minutes, we just did three songs (laughs), including ‘Charlie’. I’d only ever written soft indie songs, I felt so much like myself writing this. ‘Snowing Down Under’ always gets people moving, you see them starting to sway!’

‘I told her that I wanted it to be mad and a bit cannibalistic’

To tease the EP on social media, they released a black and white Mad Hatter themed video that was delightfully oddball: ‘We had a great photographer called Circe, she’s only 17 but she’s so, so impressive,’ he said. ‘She hadn’t done a live band shoot before, I told her that I wanted it to be mad and a bit cannibalistic (laughs), and she just went with it. She had loads of ideas. It’s me wearing the lampshade on my head. We’re a big fan of stupid hats in this house, we’ve got a big collection! We’ve been housemates for about a year.’

That’s not to say he can’t write a heartfelt love song, which is what ‘Try Guy’ ultimately is. It’s the perfect closer, they’ve dialled it back, it’s almost gentle by their standards, with sweetly poetic lyrics, referencing it “being a rehash not quite Freddie”: ‘I wanted to challenge myself a little bit,’ he said. ‘My girlfriend of three years said I’d written songs about other people but I’d never written one about her. Halfway through, I realised I was writing a song about myself (laughs). I struggle to express myself, I think I need the songs to do that. I didn’t realise how lucky I was to be going out with her until I wrote it. The Freddie reference is in there because I listened to Queen a lot growing up. Where I grew up, it was close to Heathrow where Freddie grew up, so a lot of the pubs had Queen on. We’ve played around with ‘Killer Queen’ in the practice room, if we ever did a Queen cover, I think it would be that one.’

If he could go for a pint with anyone, he picks Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner: ‘I would ask him who ‘Mardy Bum’ is about! It taught me a lot about songwriting and emotion. I’d ask him so many questions, he’d probably go for a fancy signature brew (laughs). I actually had a mental night in Cheltenham after a gig with John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) and his manager, John Rambo. I drank with them both in a hotel bar that my mate works at (laughs). I was drinking with my friend at the bar once it had closed and he’d finished his shift, and they happened to be staying in the hotel and decided to come and join us on the terrace. I was so starstruck, but Lydon turned out to be a bit of a prick. As he was leaving to go to bed, I tried giving him one of my band stickers but he refused it, haha! Then his manager took me and my mate out clubbing ’til 6 a.m., it was amazing!’

They’ve had some funny interviews, some of which have yielded hidden surprises: ‘The funniest moment has got to be the first BBC radio interview we ever did. I managed to accidentally swear twice in the space of about five seconds, and then they played our single ‘Morning Cigarette’ but had to give a full minute-long NHS anti-smoking PSA before playing it. It was such a disaster of an interview but we filmed ourselves for the whole thing and it blew up on TikTok! That little clip on TikTok got us a way bigger new audience than the BBC interview, which is crazy!’

His dream line up would have all of the requisite punky energy: ‘We would open, definitely! I’d go Blur, for sure, they have such a variety of music, a bit of punk and rock ‘n’ roll in there. The Rezillos (a Scottish punk band from the 70’s), they’re punky and would get the crowd raring to go. Bob Vylan, they’re a punk band, they tow the line between grime and punk, they struck a chord. They write very, very angry songs but really funny lyrics at times. To headline, The Wombats, because they’re the band I’ve seen the most. I’ve got their line “Let’s dance to Joy Division and raise our glass to the ceiling” tattooed on my shoulder. That song (‘Let’s Dance To Joy Division’) came on my headphones when I was in the waiting room to get a tattoo. I thought: “It’s good that, why not?!”‘

(Second photo from left to right: Ethan, Mike (top centre), Joe (bottom centre) and Tom. Photo credit: Moments2Media.)