The Best of 2016: Muncie Girls

Muncie Girls' 2016 has seen them fulfil years of promise and hard work with their storming debut album, ‘From Caplan to Belsize'. For singer and guitarist Lande Hekt it's been a long and arduous year, but one of immense satisfaction and relief at achieving their ambitions. "The release shows were a real achievement, and we were proud of ourselves," she explains, relaxing in a brief post-winter tour hiatus at home in Exeter. "We waited so long from recording it to putting it out. We were excited to put it out, but it was a relief when we finally did it. Those shows were great." Muncie Girls' rise has been gradual yet all the while they have been reaching out and capturing new audiences and giving voice and hope to idealistic music fans up and down the country. There's something about them that people instantly warm to, yet their success still comes as a shock to the band. "The fact that people seemed to like the record was a surprise," laughs Lande. This year saw the turning point that all musicians wait for when the shows start to fill with actual fans. "Before it was just our friends. People who were in bands were listening to us because they were in bands," says Lande. "Now there are some people who are not in bands listening to us." Despite the influx of new fans and capturing a new audience, the band are still remarkably down to earth. "We’re not trying to be people that we aren’t,” explains Lande. “That’s more of a fault of other bands than us doing that intentionally, though. When other bands are horrifically cringeworthy and think they’re the best thing ever, it’s a gut reaction for us to find that embarrassing."