The wonderfully named duo concoct a glorious racket to soundtrack contemporary angst.

JOHN may seem like a band of pure simplicity on the surface: Two members, a one syllable name… Yet the duo are the architects of a glorious racket that is arguably more potent than that of outfits with even triple the number of band members. 

The Crystal Palace pair, comprising of John Newton (drums and vocals) and Johnny Healey (guitar) (hence the origins of the incredible name JOHN) are back with the colossal sonic cauldron of ‘The Common Cold’, taken from their upcoming fourth album ‘A Life Diagrammatic’. The album is set to be unleashed on 20^th of September by Pets Care in collaboration with Brace Yourself.

The single is a sound of pure angst, suggesting the sensation of being thrown into a spacious leaden enclosure. It speaks to a brutal hopelessness brought on by the grim times of dystopian British life under Tory rule. The beautiful cacophony that is The Common Cold’ delves between eerie industrial gothic-rock and explosive punk, cross-fading between Metz, Gilla Band and fellow Londoners Crows. This is, of course, a great thing.

Of the lyrical subject matter, the band fill us in:

“It’s a well beaten statement, but networks [developed through mobile phones and internet access] have monopolised as a central focus point, where the individual is often indirectly coerced into feeling inadequate when operating within these systems. It’s no wonder mental health has become an ever-increasing battle, a common cold that doesn’t necessarily display its symptoms externally. I often think about the quote from Burial (paraphrased by the late Mark Fisher) whereby we think we have free will when operating these networks, but it’s easy to flip this, and see the interface as a kind of Ouija board that directs our hands with consumerist intention.”