Chosen by Monk

My latest selection sees renascent Manchester alt-punk combo The Empty Page ushering us into the company of ‘The Cock Of The Fifth Year, with the lead single from their forthcoming “comeback” album, ‘Imploding’:

It has taken eight years for the duo of Kel Page and Giz to follow up their debut album, ‘Unfolding’. It was never their intention to leave it that long, but founding member and original drummer Jim Cattell left the band during the recording process due to ill health, then there was the pandemic, then life stuff got in the way. Some one-off songs and seven-inch single releases have kept the fire and desire to play burning over the intervening period.

Speaking about the new single, Page told us:

“Cock Of The Fifth Year” is what we called the biggest jock types when I was in high school. Cocky, brash loud and overly confident. Puffed up and swaggering and often quite intimidating. I liked the name for a song and wrote it initially about a cartoonish bloke who unselfconsciously uses up all the space available and makes others feel shoved out of the way.

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of blokes like that I encounter when walking around my home city of Manchester. Swaggering, mouthy bellends who can be pretty intimidating when you’re a woman just trying to get from a to b. I was thinking about the idea that being a big deal in high school is the peak of some people’s lives.

I hated school with a passion and my own Iife has got better and better as my school days have receded in the rearview. Seems a weird flex now to have been a big deal in high school.

For ‘Imploding’ the band – who have now been joined by drummer John Simm (who also serves as percussionist for Stockport indie band Blossoms) – worked with producer Morton Kong and for the first time found themselves with the luxury of not having to rush the recording process and took full advantage of the creative space, utilizing the studios vintage gear and experimenting with sounds and fresh ideas – “we hit massive bells with hammers, dicked around with walkie-talkies, created elaborate bass feedback set ups,” laughs Kel – and generally pushed themselves and their music further than it has ever gone before.

“People often describe our sound as anxious, urgent, angular,” summarizes Kel.

“I think it’s all of those things because that’s what the inside of my brain looks like. But I think it’s lush and beautiful at times too. I hope people can hear the whole gamut of emotions in this record. It’s political, personal, passionate and, I hope, important.”

  • ‘Imploding’ is due to be released on 10 May via Vociferous Records.
  • The Empty Page play The Night Owl in London on 10 May and Yes Basement in Manchester on 16 May.