Thee Vicars

Hailing from Bury St. Edmunds, a town in the English county of Suffolk (best-known as the home of the Greene King brewing company), Thee Vicars are a rock & roll combo comprised of four young men who like their music fast, loud, strong, and sounding as if it came from a decade that was over before they were born. Thee Vicars were formed in 2007, when all four members were still teenagers; bassist and lead singer Mike Whittaker was 17, drummer Jasper Kemp was 16, and guitarists Reuben Kemp and Marcus Volkert were just 15. Despite their tender age, Thee Vicars began making a noise on the local club scene, playing a high-energy mixture of garage rock and first-wave punk that showed clear influences of the Buzzcocks, the Mummies, and Billy Childish's various projects. After releasing a pair of 7" EPs on small local labels, the U.K. garage rock label Dirty Water Records took Thee Vicars under their wing, and their first full-length album, Back on the Streets, was released to enthusiastic reviews in 2008. Plenty of touring followed, and the group's next single, "You Lie," found the band easing off on the punk side of their formula and pushing the garage and beat elements higher in the mix, though the combo still sounded tough and energetic. After still more roadwork, a new lineup of Thee Vicars went into the recording studio to work on their second album; Jasper and Reuben Kemp had left the group, and guitarist Chris Langeland and drummer Will Pattenden stepped in to replace them. Thee Vicars' sophomore effort, Psychotic Beat!, was released by Dirty Water in the U.K. and Get Hip in the U.S. in early 2010.