Hype List 2020: Eyesore & The Jinx

Merseyside based trio Eyesore & The Jinx have been successfully packing out dive bars and filling basement venues around the country with their gritty, politically charged punk for the last few years.

But 2019 has been kind to them. With the release of a handful of singles under Eggy Records, a plethora of gigs, including one in rural Russia, and finding fans everywhere they go; surely 2020 can only get better.

To find out what is on the horizon for the on the pulse psychobilly band, we sat down with bassist, Josh, to delve into the inner workings of one of Liverpool’s most exciting bands How would you describe Eyesore & The Jinx? It’s sort of abrasive punk. Quite angry. People call us a political band, but I would say we are more observational. The political thing came around through consequence more than anything; we didn’t set out to be political. Musically, it’s a mesh of different styles and genres. We manipulate different genres and turn them into something a bit weird. It’s basically misinterpretations of like disco and funk mashed together in a really abrasive punk style. Where did you get your name from? ‘Eyesore’ was where it started. It summed up the music quite well, it was horrible and obtrusive, and intrusive, as well. Obviously, ‘Eyesore’ on its own conjures quite serious images, which is not what the songs are about. There is a lot of humour in the music, so we wanted something quite childish or silly to go with it; a yin and yang kind of thing. ‘Eyesore’ is quite dark and serious, and ‘Jinx’ is quite childlike in its simplicity. I thought the two complimented each other quite well, it sounds like they should fit together. Who would you say your musical influences are? We all listen to a lot of varied music, but the overarching influence has been The Fall. We borrow a lot of the same sort of observational humour as them and have the same approach to using different genres like the Psychobilly style. Our drummer is a massive DEVO fan, so a lot of the rhythm comes from them, and our guitarist is into angular post-punk stuff like Parquet Courts. You say you aren’t a political band, so where do you get the inspiration for lyrics? They all tend to vary, really. Lately, the newer stuff is more observational, from seeing people being weird and seeing weird things around Liverpool. It writes itself when you live in South Liverpool really. How’s the Liverpool music scene been treating you? It’s pretty good, it’s gone through a purple patch over the last few years. When we first started there wasn’t much of a community, it felt disparaged, but now it’s quite close-knit. People know each other. I don’t really think there’s one Liverpool sound anymore, it’s a mesh of different genres and people hop between styles. It’s a lot more positive. The idea of a Merseysound is a bit retrograde, it’s a lot more forward-thinking now.