Newcastle, UK’s a trophy wife didn’t start with a grand plan—just a batch of songs sitting on a hard drive, waiting for the right moment.
“Around about two years ago, I had written the majority of the music for the EP, intending on starting a band,” says guitarist and vocalist Samantha. “I was going through a pretty rough time and a load of personal things got in the way, so all the music was just sitting on my computer unreleased.” That changed when she reached out to friends. “I approached Luc and Rumor to see if they were interested in getting something going with my old music. They liked it, so we started rehearsing. We then brought on Seth on bass and played a few shows.”
Samantha drew from a range of influences for a trophy wife, shaping songs that land closest to Midwest screamo but carry their own idiosyncrasies. Luc’s jazz background pushes the drumming into more experimental territory, giving the band a restless edge.
That loose, exploratory approach carries over into their self-titled debut EP. “A lot of the music was written a fairly long time before it was released,” Samantha says. “The main instrumentals were recorded almost a year before its release. It can take me a while to write lyrics.” Rather than rush the process, she handled much of it herself. “I was producing and mixing everything on my own as well, which was quite a fun experience.” The EP finally saw the light of day on March 20, complete with artwork from Rumor’s friend Tom. “I think it’s absolutely beautiful,” she adds.
With the EP finally out, a trophy wife are already looking ahead. “We have a few shows lined up,” Samantha says, pointing to a May 29 date at The Cluny with Weatherday and My Rushmore—“which is huge for me”—as well as a July 19 show with Racetraitor at The Lubber Fiend. “Outside of that, we want to record more, maybe change our sound a bit. I’d like us to just put out as much music as we can and hopefully not take two more years doing it.”
Coming out of the North East, a trophy wife are also part of a smaller but tight-knit pocket of screamo. “There isn’t much active screamo here,” Samantha notes, highlighting yourdeathistheonlycompromise as a standout local band. Beyond the region, she points to a wider UK scene that’s thriving: “Bearhug, My Rushmore, Heaven Knows What—all from Glasgow—are worth your time. Knives Chau Fan Club from Dundee are incredible, and Samizdat from Manchester are great blackened screamo.”
***
a trophy wife on social media: Instagram
Tagged: a trophy wife
