The Rattlebacks Talk New Album, Single And More

Nov 5, 2024 | Interviews

Words by Glenn Sargeant

Photo Credit: Rob Blackham/Blackham Images

Brit hard rockers The Rattlebacks will release their debut album ‘Sidewinder’ on Friday 15th November 2024. Bassist Jack “The Hell” Hollamby chatted to JLTT about the new album, single and more:

Who is in The Rattlebacks, what do they play and how did you meet?

The Rattlebacks has toes back to birth. The founding members are our two guitarists Max and Coxy, their families were friends before they were even born and the two grew up together like brothers. Both finding a fascination with Rock music and having that fire of doing it themselves since they were knee high to a grasshopper.

Seth, our drummer went to school with Coxy and had known about each other since secondary school, and when the time was right, we called in the Big guns! Jack (me,) who holds down the low end was actually introduced to Max and Coxy through a mutual friend who knew that they were looking for a bass player. As I was the only bass player to show up to audition… We were kind of stuck with me.

Now lastly is the main man himself, Josh, what a search we had in order to find him. We searched high and low for 2 years (albeit through lockdown) to find the world’s best singer, which is hard when no one is gigging. However, in November of 2021, we saw a local band we knew had played a show with another band, and their singer was incredible. So we went down to their next gig, brought him a beer, had a chat and made an offer, we we’re glad we bloody did!

When did you begin songwriting?
Song writing has been going for years in our band. Song of the riffs that you can hear are decades old, Max wrote the main Rattleback riff when he was 13!! However, we still have new riffs and songs in the works all the time.
A lot of this album however was written over lockdown as we all had so much time on our hands while the world was on hold that we could just write and write and write.

What is your earliest musical memory?
My earliest musical memory is when I got a toy plastic guitar with an amp that lit up when you played it! I must have been around 5 or 6. My dad would crank “Rocker” by AC/DC as loud as he could through the HiFi while I played my new guitar!

One of your new tracks is the single ‘Dementia Lounge’. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?
Lyrically it’s about a topic that we feel isn’t spoken about enough and it’s the effects of aging and dementia. A few of us in the band have witnessed relatives with dementia and how they deteriorated more each visit. The loneliness that entails, and how the loss of communication can feel isolating.

In addition, you will release your debut album ‘Sidewinder’ on 15thh November 2024. How did you want to approach the making of the album?
We knew we wanted to record as a band rather than layering us on individually as we have done in the past. We wanted a high quality but raw feel to the album and no compromises on quality or performance. We wanted to give it our all to provide the best we could for ourselves and everyone who listens.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?
The incredible Lightship 95 in London!!! Dave Holmes one of the Co-Owners recorded, mixed, mastered and most importantly produced this record with us. He spent so much time with us exploring avenues we didn’t even realize our songs had. He brought our music to the next level and the level after that too, he is an incredibly talented man with the most awesome ship and studio you could get!

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?
Every time the tide came in, the ship would…start to rock, we’d be in the live room with no windows and just a sky light above Seth, so occasionally someone would be feeling a little seasick. There was a point too where we were a few days in and all feeling the toll of recording to the level we wanted, so to cheer everyone up and boost morale, I thought I’d do some a little bit funny, I stripped down and recorded one of the songs near enough naked, I’ll let you guess which one.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?
We plan on leaving! We are all aiming to make this our full time jobs, playing the music we love to people that want to hear it! Hopefully inspiring others along the way to do the same!

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?
We ended up bringing more guitars to the ship than any other session that Dave had worked on before. I believe each song has a completely unique blend of guitars.

But we’re pretty straightforward, guitars into Marshalls and 4x12s
Bass into Orange Amps with 1×15 and 4×10
A few pedals one each pedal board. But we let the expertise of Dave set up the Mics

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?
We each have our cherished guitars! They make appearances at special shows, but recently I picked up a dirt cheap flying V bass that I overly modded! Max plays his own made Backdrop guitars, Coxy plays a custom Partscaster Strat that I helped him build as well as a new found love for his old Telecaster.

Pedals are the same as the studio, same boards and same setup for the most part. We all use the DigiTech Drop to help with different things
But other than that Marshalls on the guitars, or age on the bass, Seth has his snare and cymbals that he loves.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?
Brighton! They love Rock n Roll

Which of the tracks on the new album hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?
A) either Open your mind, or Gods, both hard and fast songs with attitude
B) swing, maybe not angriest, but definitely the darkest song on the record
C) how calm the silence, it’s a reflection on finding inner peace

How do you look after your voices?
Proper singing technique, warming up our voices and a lot of teas, lemon and honey.

 You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?
Mr Strong from the Mr Men collection, we’d dedicate the whole score to Seth

Who designed/created the album artwork?
It was concepted by us all, but Max really spearheaded the artwork, and he took it in an awesome direction. But it was created by Andy Pilkinton

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?
Our influences as a band come from all over! From Alice in Chains, to Guns ‘n’ Roses, to TOOL, to Rival Sons, to Jamiroquai, to Pantera, to Mastodon. We take influences from everywhere and make the music we want to hear. We also take a lot of influence from some of the bands with our friends too, Tailgunner, Bloodhounds, The Treatment, the list goes on. I recommend listening to any of the above as well as The Rattlebacks and Mr Bungle.

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2024/2025?
We’re currently looking to go out around the UK or Europe in April. We also have a few festivals booked in, we’ll be announcing them in due time!

Was it a difficult album to write?
A lot of the songs came naturally through an idea that one of us would have, we’ve really found our rhythm with each other. Dementia Lounge was the hardest to write instrumentally as it was the first time I came to the band with a riff which brought a new form of writing to the table that we had to work with, but I believe we knocked it out the park in the end.

What makes The Rattlebacks happy and what makes you unhappy?
Doing what we’re doing makes us happy! We love the whole creative process, the technical process and the live process of writing, recording and performing music!
One of us is always a little unhappy at rehearsals,.if they’re the loser at darts. But all in all being in a band is stressful and there’s a lot of work behind the scenes, but when it pays off, you get a buzz that makes you happier than anything.

The Rattlebacks

Feature Image Photo Credit: Rob Blackham/Blackham Images

The Rattlebacks latest single ‘Dementia Lounge’ is out now.

Their debut album ‘Sidewinder’ is released on Friday 15th November 2024.

Pre-order the album here: https://www.therattlebacks.co.uk/product-page/the-rattlebacks-sidewinder-12-vinyl 

In addition, The Rattlebacks will embark on a 2024 UK Tour which will visit the following venues:

November 15th – Guildford, The Star

16th – Southampton, The Hobbit

*21st – Reading, Face Bar

*22nd – Brighton, Komedia

*23rd – Bridgewater, Cobblestones

28th – Bath, Burdell’s Yard

29th – Hastings, The Pig

30th – Liverpool, Zanzibar


December 5th – London, The Black Heart

6th – Sheffield, Hallamshire Hotel

7th – Norwich, Voodoo Daddys

12th – Hitchin, Club85

13th – Winchester, The Railway

14th – Newcastle, Little Buildings. (*w/ Tailgunner)

Tickets: https://www.therattlebacks.co.uk/shop-1 

Official LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/TheRattlebacks 

For more information visit their official website here: https://www.therattlebacks.co.uk/