Pleasure Island Release Stomping New Track ‘Greek Riot Squad’
Pleasure Island, aka Liverpool based-duo Sean Ekins (vocals & guitar) and Sam Pierpoint (drums) have returned with their hotly anticipated new single, Greek Riot Squad. Released on 1 November, the track follows up from previous single Evangelion released back in January, and forms the second track from their forthcoming EP. Having made their recording debut back in 2020 with Help Me NHS, the duo make kinetic, cerebral post-punk / indie-rock “for bodies and minds in these post-Brexit, post-Covid, whatever’s next times”.
Greek Riot Squad was produced by Loïc Gaillard at Liverpool’s iconic Motor Museum, the studio known for producing works from the likes of The Arctic Monkeys, The 1975 and Bring Me The Horizon. Sonically, the track explores similar territory to the duo’s 2023 track Shallow Grave, yet amps it up a step further, with Ekins’ commanding spoken-word vocal delivery backed by boisterous guitar riffs and thunderous, stomping drums from Pierpoint.
In talking through the creative process for Greek Riot Squad, Ekins discusses; “[It] was written extremely quickly, basically in the studio on the fly based on a few chords and a song title.” Lyrically, the song is a satirical political commentary on the 2008 Greece Riots, as he describes; “The chorus was already written, which was the name of the song repeated over and over again. I then decided to write the verses from the point of view of a police officer in Greece lamenting on how much work he had to do, following the police shooting of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, which triggered the riots. In the third verse he thinks fondly of visiting the UK, where the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes by the Metropolitan police generated no rioting. He was shot as part of Operation Kratos, which is the Greek word for power.”
Pleasure Island recently held their second Penny Lane Weekender festival back in August, which saw 70 local and nationally acclaimed artists play four stages across the iconic Liverpool street. Regarding the festival, Ekins reports; “The first Penny Lane Weekender was supposed to be a Saturday show, which ended up doubling to a 32 act multi venue three day event due to an administrative error. This year the festival has doubled due to demand from the local area and a load of great volunteers who have come on board. If we expand next year we’ll have to make sure not to continue with exponential growth”.
Concerning the duo’s forthcoming new music, Ekins reports; “We’ve held back on the EP to 2025, because the festival was a goliath effort for us. We’ve always been able to put on a few bands with a couple of posters around town and the odd gig out of Liverpool to flesh out a tour. This was on a scale completely beyond what we have done with the band, closer to the effort it would take us to produce an entire album, so I don’t think anyone will judge harshly us for postponing again.”
We’ll be tuned in for the new music whenever it’s ready.
Stream Greek Riot Squad now. Follow @pleasureislandliverpool on Instagram for updates.
Jude Bankier
Photo Credit: @emmashootslife
