Three performances from bands on the Safe Surburban Home record label.

Rural France
Much like the duo’s music, the story of Rural France is both mundane and magical. Tom Brown (also of transatlantic janglepunks Teenage Tom Petties) and Rob Fawkes moved to London in their mid-twenties. Despite living under the same roof, they never picked up a guitar – except for one drunken, failed attempt at writing a Spoon song (“Big Chops” …don’t ask).

It was only after both separately relocating to Wiltshire and starting families that they began assembling songs as a way of meeting up. Tom had amassed a pile of sprightly slacker jams that were calling out for Fawkes’ messily melodic guitar lines. Rural France was born.
After a debut album on their hero, ex-Lemonhead Nic Dalton’s Half-a-Cow Records, they retreated to a garage to record their next two albums: RF (2021) and Exacamondo! (2024), both released on much-respected jangle label Meritorio Records.

Ben Auld
Ben Auld & band will be playing songs from their sophomore record Loserdom, out via Safe Suburban Home and Repeating Cloud in the US.

Loserdom is a louder and more ambitious shift towards blown-out power-pop, with each song squeezing itself under the three minute mark with unhinged feedback, ripping “Bach-inspired” solos and a refreshing degree of unpredictability. FFO Dinosaur Jr, Guided By Voices and Teenage Fanclub.

Sumos
Sumos are a scuzz-pop band from Manchester, UK. They began as a bedroom recording project between Joel Sloan (Guitar, Lead Vocals) and Kyle Tarbuck (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals) after a hiatus from playing together in a previous band. Now a blazing four-piece, adding Kyle's sister Siobhán Tarbuck on Bass and Andy Kilroy on Drums.