News

New Video From Various Cruelties

• 14th Dec 2011

Various Cruelties have announced details of a new single, Great Unknown, which will be released on Sunday 1st January 2012 through Hideout Recordings – this follows their debut for the label, Chemicals. Released in October the single received significant support from Radio 1 and 6Music.

Taken from their debut album, which is due in early spring 2012 and recorded with Tony Hoffer (Beck, Goldfrapp, Foster the People), Great Unknown takes O’Donnell’s indie and soul influences and moulds them into thrilling new shapes. “I don’t think I’d ever want to be retro,” says the singer. “I just wanted to use those influences and make a modern, northern soul-feeling record. And we didn’t want it to be too polished. Your debut needs to have that rawness.”

Since forming just under twelve months ago Various Cruelties have played alongside Noah and the Whale, Villagers, The Vaccines, Funeral Party, Fixers, Tribes and at Mumford’s Communion Night. This summer saw them play to packed tents at the Isle of Wight, Bestival and Latitude festivals and most recently they played a number of headline shows across the U.K. They return in January for another run of headline shows.

Various Cruelties also appeared on the current Later with Jools Holland series on the 8th and 11th of November alongside Lou Reed & Metallica, Steve Earle and Aaron Neville.

Their full list of current dates is as follows:

JANUARY

16th – Manchester Deaf Institute
17th – London 100 Club
18th – Birmingham Rainbow
20th – Glasgow King Tut’s
21st – Leeds Cockpit

Formed around the prodigiously talented Liam O’Donnell whose spirit recalls Kevin Rowland at his most soulful, Various Cruelties came together just over 12-months ago. A brace of self-released singles in early 2011, Neon Truth and If It Wasn’t For You, both sold-out of their limited pressings in a matter of days and saw glowing reviews, write ups and support from the likes of the Sunday Times, Radio 1 and 6Music.

Born in London to a Scottish father and an Irish mother (a distant relative of Oscar Wilde), O’Donnell grew up in Leeds where northern soul nights at the West Indian Centre and idle hours spent hanging around with mates on local pirate radio stations all helped shape his musical palate.