Junior Bill are back with ‘BOYS FROM JUNGLE’, lashing out with wit and riffs against injustice for refugees.
The angular, textured hybrid punk of Junior Bill is set to re-emerge into the spotlight this year. ‘ Boys From Jungle ’ is the first song released from their upcoming debut album ‘Youth Club!’. The track details the bleak fates of asylum seekers after their arrival in the UK. The song’s catchy new wave tunefulness makes for a juxtaposition to the incisive, cynical social comments that spill out as a collage of slogans and thrown away official observations. After airplay on BBC Radio Wales, Adam Walton said that Junior Bill have an “ability to cross pollinate cultures and musical styles but make them entirely their own … they’ve got their own spirit and defiance to them … they’re clearly brilliant”
Cardiff’s Junior Bill is the project of frontman and songwriter Rob Nichols. The band has been thrilling audiences through the small venues, pubs and festivals of the UK & Ireland since 2013. From teenage beginnings rehearsing in Cathays Youth & Community Centre, they have since self-released a string of EPs, singles and an ambitious, award-winning live concert film called 'Above Your Station' in 2017. In the live music scene they’ve made a lasting impression, opening for Supergrass during their reunion shows after a supporting tour with drummer Danny Goffey, then last year making their debut at Glastonbury Festival.
Much of Nichols's writing reaches into the lives of other people with an unusual intellect and an open empathetic spirit. Gigwise said "it's a political maturity set against a childlike honesty that makes Junior Bill so intriguing. " The band are also known for their well crafted concepts with artistic relish surrounding releases. 2017’s self-titled EP saw a guerrilla marketing campaign surrounding the fabled “Wolf In Grangetown” which ended up capturing the imagination through a series of national headlines.
" Boys From Jungle 's jolly sound is a smokescreen for the bleak realities expressed in the lyrics.” says Nichols “It’s a story about the depressing fates that often await those who’ve risked life and limb to make it to the UK. I wrote it years ago after reading a WalesOnline article exposing the grim conditions of an overcrowded hostel for asylum seekers near where I live in Cardiff. The lyrics were intentionally written with bad grammar to evoke a hastily written report."
More singles from their brilliant new album ‘Youth Club!’ are set to follow, culminating in the album’s release later in the year. Pre-save ‘ Boys From Jungle ’ now at
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/juniorbill/boys-from-jungle
LYRICS
Omed said got boys from Jungle
Came through sleet and storm and thunder
Young, black skin and came on boat
Now have found a cold, hard sofa
One boy has got family down here
Waiting for mum to get visa
Paying for sister's education
What about mum well he can't just leave her
One got in a case needing legal aid
Two years now just going in circles
Only three of the boys got papers
Many waiting four years later
Round here people don't believe
Back home he used to be a doctor
Some will have to go to Swindon
Too much people, poor condition
Got to get a wristband if you wanna get fed
Keep your mouth shut for the council inspection
One boy tried to break away
No one else there spoke his lingo
Found him disappeared one day
Smashed the sink and the bathroom window
Omed said got boys from Jungle
Came through sleet and storm and thunder
Young, black skin and came on boat
Now have found a cold, hard sofa
Omed said got boys from Jungle