Step-ping in the right direction

Saddleworth outfit Stepford Wives certainly aren't letting the coronavirus pandemic peg back their undoubted progress as yet another top, local up-and-coming band.

Stepford Wives combine youthful optimism with mercurial wisdom to serve up raucous, intelligent guitar music that packs a punch.

Their distinctive, post-punk vocals, incredible drumming, awesome bass-playing and melodic guitar riffs combine to make a set brimming with raw energy.

A four-piece outfit which spans the generations, Stepford Wives are Niklos Jackson (guitar, lead vocals), Rowan Heywood (bass, backing vocals), Jarrod Ogden (drums) and Dom Wint (lead guitar).

Plenty of bands begin at school, and so did Stepford Wives, but not in the conventional way.

Two ex-Saddleworth School students started jamming with a teacher and discovered a mutual love of loud, blunt music.

Needing some melody in the madness, they brought in fourth member, Dom, and Stepford Wives were born.

Last year the band released their first single, 'Follow This Way', and thanks to this track and their raw, energetic gigs, Stepford Wives quickly caught the attention of radio stations, promoters and the press.

For fans of Joy Division, Talking Heads, the Clash, even Fugazi and Dead Kennedys, Stepford Wives blend post-punk attitude with a 21st century outlook.

After signing a development deal with Salford's A1M Records, the band are now looking forward to releasing their four-track EP shortly, and while not being able to play live recently of course, they have at least enjoyed their first taste of national TV recognition.

Latest single 'All on Me' was featured during an action sequence recently on Sky Sports' massively popular 'Soccer AM' Saturday morning showpiece.

These are clearly exciting times for Stepford Wives, and 2021 looks set to be a real breakthrough year.

However, 2020 isn't over just yet, of course, and there are gigs booked in the diary.

Front-man Niklos said: "We have a couple of live outdoor socially distanced shows lined up.

"On Saturday, August 22, we play the MMTV Festival at Manchester's Irish Heritage Centre with a host of top bands.

"Then we play Oldham Whittles on Saturday, September 19, for Oldham Rocks the Foodbank – an extremely worthy cause we will always support.

"After our national TV success on Soccer AM, our next single, 'Changing For You', is due in September, leading up to the release of our debut EP on A1M Records.

"It shows a different side to our song-writing which is important for us to portray and shows our deeply personal feelings about anxiety and mental health issues.

"Live, we have written a whole batch of new songs and are truly ready to spring out from the stalls like starving greyhounds."

Follow Stepford Wives on Spotify, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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