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South Arcade

South Arcade
South Arcade performing in London, 2025
South Arcade performing in London, 2025
Background information
OriginOxford, England
Genres
Years active2021–present
LabelsLAB Records
Members
  • Harmony Cavelle
  • Harry Winks
  • Ollie Green
  • Cody Jones

South Arcade are an English rock band from Oxford. Formed in 2021, the band went viral for videos of their band practices and performed at BBC Radio 1's New Music Live in Halifax, West Yorkshire, in November 2024. Their 2005 EP was inspired by various genres and artists from the 2000s and was received positively by Distorted Sound Magazine. Their works are usually described as pop punk or alternative rock and have been likened to those by Pale Waves, Avril Lavigne, and Bring Me the Horizon.

History

[edit]

South Arcade were formed in 2021[1] and comprise Harmony Cavelle (lead vocals), Harry Winks (guitar), Ollie Green (bass guitar), and Cody Jones (drums).[2] The band formed in Guildford[3] at university and later moved to Cavelle's house in Oxford.[4] They played their earliest gigs in a garage[5] and named themselves after a sign at Westgate Oxford.[6]: 3:45  The band released "Danger" in 2023,[7] followed by "Silverlight" that September[8] and "Nepo Baby" in January 2024.[9] That April, the band released "Riptide" on BKM and LAB Records;[10] the following month, "Danger" exceeded one million streams on Spotify, prompting the band to announce a tour.[7] They then released "Stone Cold Summer" in June[11] and "How 2 Get Away with Murder" in August;[12] the latter was accompanied by a cartoon involving a rivalry between South Arcade and the fictional band North Arcade.[4]

By October 2024, the band had gone viral on Instagram and TikTok[13] for videos of their band practices.[3] That month, they released "Moth Kids", a track they had started shortly after forming but only finished after their first tour.[14] In November,[14] they performed at BBC Radio 1's New Music Live in Halifax, West Yorkshire. The band set up for this with less than a minute to spare as they realised with 34 seconds remaining that a laptop with a click track had not been set up properly, prompting Green to have to transfer files onstage while the presenter was still announcing them.[2]

The band released the six-track EP 2005 in December 2024, which contained all five of the singles they had released that year and a title track[5] and was reviewed positively by Distorted Sound Magazine,[5] followed by a music video for the song the month after.[15] By March 2025, the band had supported Dead Pony, Roxanne Emery, and Yours Truly; that month, they signed a publishing deal with Kobalt Music Group[16] and released the single "Supermodels".[17]

Artistry

[edit]

Reviewing a February 2024 As Everything Unfolds support slot at The Exchange in Bristol, Jack Ridsdale of Distorted Sound Magazine described the band's wares as "snot-nosed pop punk" and likened the melodies of "Unaware" to those of Pale Waves;[18] around the same time, LeftLion's Ben Blissett wrote of a support slot for the same band at Rescue Rooms in Nottingham that South Arcade blended "some metal elements with pop punk" and incorporated "guitar riffs which were reminiscent of Avril Lavigne but basslines that could belong in a much heavier band like Bring Me the Horizon".[19] Writing in October 2024, Chris Attridge of the BBC described them as a "pop/alt rock" band[20] and Isabelle Winter of The Oxford Blue described them as an alternative rock band.[21] That January, Ailsha Davey of ScreenRant described their sound as "retrofuturistic synthwave".[22]

The band have cited inspiration from music of the 2000s including Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park.[6]: 4:33  Their early works were inspired by The 1975,[23] while 2005 was inspired by pop punk, nu metal, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park.[2] The EP's "How 2 Get Away with Murder" was specifically inspired by Dexter, as Cavelle had binge-watched the show shortly before recording,[12] while its video was inspired by Scott Pilgrim.[4]

Members

[edit]

Band members

  • Harmony Cavelle – lead vocals
  • Harry Winks – guitar
  • Ollie Green – bass
  • Cody Jones – drums

Discography

[edit]

Extended plays

[edit]

Singles

[edit]
  • "Bigger Than Anything Ever" (2022)[24]
  • "New Fever" (2022)[24]
  • "Change Your Mind" (2022)[24]
  • "Sound of an Empty Room" (2023)[24]
  • "Danger" (2023)[24]
  • "Unaware" (2023)[24]
  • "Silverlight" (2023)[24]
  • "Nepo Baby" (2024)[24]
  • "Riptide" (2024)[24]
  • "Stone Cold Summer" (2024)[24]
  • "How 2 Get Away with Murder" (2024)[24]
  • "Moth Kids" (2024)[24]
  • "Supermodels" (2025)[24]
  • "Fear of Heights" (2025)[24]

Tours

[edit]

Headlining

[edit]
  • Arc.Angel Tour – UK Tour (2023; six shows)[25]
  • I Was Here First Tour – UK Tour (2024; five shows)[13]
  • The Rematch – UK Tour (2025; two shows)[15]

Supporting

[edit]
  • Yours Truly – Is This What I Look Like? Tour (2023; six shows)[26]
  • Noahfinnce – UK Tour (2024; seven shows)[27]
  • Magnolia Park – The Vamp Tour (2025; twenty-five shows)[28]
  • Bilmuri- European Motor Tour (2025; twelve shows)
  • Bilmuri- Australian Motor Tour (2025; five shows)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "South Arcade". The Grace. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "South Arcade: "We want to be able to provide that nostalgic escapism"". Kerrang!. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b Price, Andy (8 April 2025). ""I had to say 'No, guys I swear we're a real band'": South Arcade on how they became the figureheads of a growing Y2K revival". MusicRadar. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Howell, Maddy (4 February 2025). "South Arcade: "A lot of fun is missing from music now"". Ticketmaster UK. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Vee, Sash (21 December 2024). "EP REVIEW: 2005 - South Arcade". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  6. ^ a b Rock And Roll With It Podcast (1 August 2023). South Arcade Interview | Truck Festival 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2025 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ a b "South Arcade announce I Was Here First three-date tour". Kerrang!. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  8. ^ Brown, Alan (27 March 2024). "LIVE REVIEW: South Arcade, Beren Olivia, Garage Attic, Glasgow, 16/03/2024". Bring the Noise UK. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  9. ^ Weaver, James (13 January 2024). "South Arcade release new song 'Nepo Baby'". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  10. ^ NEWSPOST (6 April 2024). "MUSIC NEWS: South Arcade Release New Single 'Riptide'". Bring the Noise UK. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  11. ^ NEWSPOST (23 June 2024). "MUSIC NEWS: South Arcade Release New Single 'Stone Cold Summer'". Bring the Noise UK. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  12. ^ a b Weaver, James (13 August 2024). "South Arcade release new song 'HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER'". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Live Review: South Arcade - The Dome, London 02/10/2024". When The Horn Blows. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Listen to South Arcade's "angsty, rebellious" new single, MOTH KIDS". Kerrang!. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  15. ^ a b Howell, Maddy (31 January 2025). "South Arcade Share Nostalgia-Packed Video For '2005'". Rock Sound. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  16. ^ "Kobalt signs global publishing deal with rising UK band South Arcade". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  17. ^ "Next Wave #1219: South Arcade | Next Wave". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  18. ^ Ridsdale, Jack (12 February 2024). "LIVE REVIEW: As Everything Unfolds @ The Exchange, Bristol". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  19. ^ "Gig Review: As Everything Unfolds at Rescue Rooms". Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  20. ^ "Mercury winners English Teacher to perform at Radio 1 Halifax gig". BBC News. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  21. ^ Winter, Isabelle (27 October 2024). "Live Review: South Arcade at The Dome, Tufnell Park". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  22. ^ Davey, Ailsha (14 January 2025). "10 Alternative Artists & Bands That Had Breakthroughs In 2024". ScreenRant. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  23. ^ Dunworth, Liberty (12 March 2025). "Meet South Arcade, the Oxford quartet blending Y2K genres into one riotous sound". NME. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "South Arcade - Discography". Spotify. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  25. ^ NEWSPOST (23 October 2023). "MUSIC NEWS: South Arcade Announce Arc.Angel UK Tour". Bring the Noise UK. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  26. ^ "Yours Truly announce first-ever UK headline tour". Kerrang!. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  27. ^ "NOAHFINNCE announces UK tour with Taylor Acorn and South Arcade". Kerrang!. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  28. ^ "Magnolia Park announce 2025 North American tour with Hot Milk". Kerrang!. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2025.