The seeds of Girl Friday were first planted when guitarist Vera Ellen walked into a friend’s house at UCLA and saw Libby Hsieh playing bass on the couch. Drawn by her unique playing style, Ellen introduced herself, and the two musicians immediately bonded. After a year of playing together, they decided to grow their collaboration into a full band. Drummer Virginia Pettis and guitarist Sierra Scott caught wind of the project from friends of friends, and quickly jumped on board. The fledgling group’s chemistry was undeniable; writing and playing together felt generative and thrilling.

A quick chat with catchy AF new band RAMES. Check out their jangly indie pop that has seen them earn comparisons to bands like The Cure and The Night Cafe.

Tell me about you. How and why did RAMES begin?

Hi we’re a new indie pop band from London. We only recently formed in early 2019 when Alan (vocals/guitar) and Oli (lead guitar), who were previously in a band together, wanted to start a new group to showcase the indie pop music they had been writing. We got our mate from school, Joe, on the bass guitar and met our drummer, Fin, towards the back end of last year. We’re all really good mates who make feel good indie pop tunes!

You only formed early in 2019. At a time when record deals are hard to get, bands make no money off streaming, and touring is becoming harder, why did you decide to form a band?

All of us wanted to be in a band from a young age. I suppose you don’t really think of the money side of things when you’re younger and that’s how the love for music started. There’s honestly nothing better than making music with your mates. Whilst we know there’s not a lot of money in it and it’s such a competitive industry, we’re doing what we love at the end of the day and we just want to share our music to as many people as possible.

How would you describe your sound?

Our music showcases jangly, melodic, guitar driven tunes. We take inspiration from a variety of classic bands including the likes of The Cure and The Stone Roses as well as some up and coming indie bands like The Night Cafe and SPINN. Our individual influences and favourite bands all come together to create our own unique RAMES sound. We have a youthful and catchy style that gets people moving!

Guitar music hasn’t been on trend for a while. Why have you chosen to use the instrument to create jangly pop tunes?

Feel good jangly music is what we love to listen to, to write, and play live. We recognise that it’s a genre in decline but we want to bring it back. It’s the type of music that is easy to listen to and can pick up your mood when you’re feeling down or get you dancing when you’re already in a good mood. I feel like the love for guitar music is quietly picking up again and we’re gonna aim to be at the forefront of that.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever played?

The best gig that we’ve played so far is probably The Horn in St Albans back in May. This was our very first gig as a band and the venue had a great sound and an amazing feel to it. Just having all our efforts in preparing for the night come together for the first time was amazing to experience. It was a packed out show and the crowd were incredible. I think we can all agree that it was a really special night.

What’s next for you?

We’ve just been in the studio recording our debut single Easy for You with Gavin Monahan (JAWS, Sherlocks). The song is being released on the 22nd November on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud etc and it’s full of jangly guitars and indie pop goodness. You’ll love it! We’ve also got a couple of shows coming up in London supporting The Manatees on their UK tour at The Grace, Islington and also supporting DECO on their UK tour at The Camden Assembly. We’re also drawing up some big plans for the new year so keep posted!

After meeting at a Kate Bush celebration concert, the pair clicked. They’ve blended their distinct talents and clear styles but created a new voice with rich and intricate compositions, multi layered instruments and beautiful vocal melodies. Simultaneously classically rich in craft and creativity, it feels stylistically contemporary and modern.

You Tell Me live band features Sarah and Peter plus Damo Waters (drums) and Mark Simms (bass). They will be on tour in 2019.

She says of the album, released on PNKSLM Recordings:

‘This Is It was recorded the same way as my earlier music just also inside my Volvo V70. I was inspired by The Strokes while writing it which is how it got it’s name. ‘Is This It’ was one of my favorite albums and I’ve been wanting to sing like Julian Casablancas since I heard it. I tried for this EP but in the end I guess This Is It doesn’t sound like Is This It at all.’