Secret Rivals

Very excited to be bringing Glasgow's Sulka to Oxford! Sulka's last album Take Care is a beautiful mini masterpiece of rocking indie pop, with notes of Dinosaur Jr, Alex G, Elliott Smith and loads more in the sound - and now they're back with new album Distractions, and singles Weekend and Wild Horse point ot it being another wonderful insta-classic. And not only that, but delighted to say that joining them at The Library will be the incredible Secret Rivals! A long lost Oxford band who are back with a bang after more than a decade in the wilderness, we're very excited to finally be bringing their raucous indie pop back home. FFO: Los Campesinos, Huggy Bear, Dananananaykroyd.. Plus sadly Shock Horror have had to pull out, but happily we have the wonderful Gardenback stepping in as emergency sub, who will come off the bench with wondrous tunes to open the show! Some more details on Sulka: Sulka began as the solo songwriting and recording project of Lukas Clasen. Based in Glasgow, Sulka has been putting out self-recorded music since 2017, drawing inspiration from alternative folk and 90s grunge sounds. Hushed intimate vocals, warped lo-fi production and erratic mood changes are blended in the style of Sparklehorse, Elliott Smith and Alex G. In 2021 Sulka joined the Lost Map Records collective with his well received LP ?Take Care?, gaining him a wider listenership and BBC radio play by the likes of Vic Galloway and Steve Lamacq. Snack magazine chose the lead single 'Fear It' as one of their top Scottish singles of the year. Since then, the project has expanded to involve a four-piece band and has enlisted the help of producer Chris McCrory (Catholic Action, Walt Disco) on their latest record Distractions set for release on 29th Sept 2023. This marks a bold departure from the bedroom aesthetic of earlier releases in an effort to capture the dynamics of the live band. The first dreamy single from this collection ?Weekend? arrived in June followed by the upbeat gallop of ?Wild Horse? in July. The gig will be 18+, and the venue has several small flights of stairs.