Birmingham duo GANS are keeping us on our toes. After storming onto the scene with the restless energy of I THINK I LIKE YOU and IT’S JUST LIFE (both snatched up by BBC 6 Music), they’ve just dropped a brand-new single, NIGHTWALKING — and it’s another left turn in their ever-expanding sonic world.
The track teases their highly anticipated debut album ‘GOOD FOR THE SOUL,’ out September 19th via Strap Originals, the label founded by none other than Peter Doherty. Produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, Amyl & The Sniffers, The Fall, Working Men’s Club), the record promises grit, beauty, and plenty of unpredictability.
A darker kind of soul
On NIGHTWALKING, GANS drift into the late-night shadows, swapping jagged post-punk urgency for something moodier, smoky, and just a little dangerous. It’s not love songs by candlelight — it’s love songs by streetlight.
Drummer/vocalist Euan Woodman explains: “NIGHTWALKING addresses that space between love, desire and lust… Love doesn’t have to be pure or simple. It can be dark and cruel. We wanted to write our version of a soul track with a dark twist.”
To bring that vision to life, they tapped brass players from Ibibio Sound Machine, layering in warm grooves that Woodman cheekily describes as: “Like a Grand Theft Auto late-night cruise with Marvin Gaye driving through the streets of Digbeth.”
We’ll take that ride.
Born of the Black Country, dreaming beyond
Woodman and bassist/vocalist Tom Rhodes grew up in the working-class landscapes of the Black Country — factory towns, mills, and the weight of expectation. Their music draws from that grounding while reaching far beyond it, balancing uneasy realism with a hunger for escape.
Woodman, who also paints surreal Francis Bacon-esque creatures (including the goose that inspired the band’s name — “GANS” is “goose” in German), is the group’s main lyricist. His words lean into discomfort, strangeness, and the darker shades of modern life.
As Rhodes puts it: “We both come from places where people get locked in by their surroundings… We knew we didn’t want that. We’re proud of where we’re from, but our ambitions are more Copacabana than Costa Del Dudley.”
The making of ‘Good For The Soul’
The album has been a true journey for the pair. In late 2024, they retreated to a cottage in the Welsh countryside armed with food, booze, records, and just enough weed to keep the ideas flowing. Over ten days, they wrote 15–16 songs with a brook babbling outside like a Led Zeppelin cliché.
Fast forward to January 2025: the band hit the studio with Ross Orton in Sheffield, bashing out the album in just three weeks. The result is a raw, urgent debut that tackles acceptance, self-destruction, body image, and modern anxieties — with plenty of noise, sweat, and heart.
Tracklist highlights include the pounding A FOOL, the raw honesty of OH GEORGE, and the satirical THIS PRODUCT, which takes aim at electronic “life improvement” gadgets.
Catch GANS live
The band will be hitting the road hard with a UK headline tour this September, before joining BIG SPECIAL on select European dates. Expect sweaty basements, blown-out amps, and the kind of intensity you’ll want bragging rights for years later.
Upcoming shows include:
- Sep 2 – Brighton, Green Door Store
- Sep 6 – Birmingham, Mama Roux’s
- Sep 9 – London, The Lexington
- Sep 10 – Manchester, YES (Basement)
…and plenty more across Europe and the UK.
Tickets available here.
Listen now
NIGHTWALKING is streaming everywhere now — and you can watch the video on YouTube. Their debut album ‘GOOD FOR THE SOUL’ drops September 19th.
Pre-order the album here
Stream NIGHTWALKING here
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