Heads up, music lovers—Birmingham’s latest noise-making duo GANS are officially stepping into the spotlight. Their debut album ‘GOOD FOR THE SOUL’ lands September 19th via Peter Doherty’s Strap Originals, and judging by what we’ve heard so far, it’s going to hit like a northern soul punch to the gut—in the best way.
To warm us up, GANS just dropped their brand-new single IT’S JUST LIFE, and it’s streaming everywhere now. It follows hot on the heels of I THINK I LIKE YOU, which already scored them a spot on the BBC 6 Music playlist. Safe to say, this duo’s momentum is very real.
So, who are GANS?
GANS are made up of Euan Woodman (drums, vocals) and Tom Rhodes (bass, vocals), two mates from the Black Country who grew up with factories, mills, and modest expectations buzzing in the background. But instead of settling, they took the noise and turned it into something bigger. Their music? Raw. Reflective. Restless. Think poetry wrapped in distortion.
And the name? Fun fact: “Gans” is German for goose, and it all started with a painting of a goose puffing on a cig. Darkly hilarious. Unapologetically strange. Kind of like their whole vibe.
About that new single…
IT’S JUST LIFE is a cracked mirror reflection on chasing happiness and still ending up stuck in your own head. “It’s about that eternal feeling that the grass is greener,” Woodman explains. “No matter what we do, it always comes back to the same old sh*t. That’s just life, isn’t it?”
Yeah, it is. And GANS are here to soundtrack it with brutal honesty and big, echoey catharsis.
‘GOOD FOR THE SOUL’: The Album
This album has been bubbling for years—24 of them, actually. The pair holed up in a rural Welsh cottage last December, loaded up with food, music, weed, and wine, and cranked out 15 or so songs in 10 days. Nature vibes, Led Zep fantasy energy, and one very productive writing binge.
Then they hit the studio with Ross Orton (yes, the same guy who’s worked with Arctic Monkeys, Amyl & The Sniffers, The Fall), and over three wild weeks in Sheffield, ‘GOOD FOR THE SOUL’ was born.
It’s a record that wrestles with identity, body image, mental health, and that weird feeling of trying to find meaning in a world that’s always throwing curveballs. Tracks like THIS PRODUCT, OH GEORGE, and A FOOL promise to dig deep into the anxieties of our time, while still sounding like a proper raucous good time.
Here’s the full tracklist for ‘GOOD FOR THE SOUL’:
- A FOOL
- IN TIME
- IT’S JUST LIFE
- NIGHTWALKING
- FAR AND WIDE
- EVERYTHING IN EXTREME
- I THINK I LIKE YOU
- THE KING’S HEAD
- THIS PRODUCT
- OH GEORGE
- WELL DONE
Catch GANS Live (before everyone else does)
This summer and next, GANS are hitting the road hard. From sweaty UK club nights to European festival stages, they’re bringing their blend of intensity and introspection to a venue near you.
2025 Highlights include:
- Sonic Bloom Festival – Gloucester
- Rock Herk Festival – Belgium
- Forum – Tunbridge Wells
- A run of UK dates, many of which will feature GANS opening for The Libertines (nice flex).
2026 sees them supporting BIG SPECIAL across the UK—so if you wanna say you saw them “before they blew up,” now’s the time.
Full list of dates and tickets are available now, and you know what to do: grab ’em before they’re gone.
Where to Find GANS:
Go dive into their world on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube. Watch the IT’S JUST LIFE video now, blast it, and get ready for the full album drop this September.
This one’s good for the soul. Literally.
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