Rats-Tails
Words by Yuki Shevi Photographs by Isa Hess
I meet Rats-Tails on a gloomy Sunday afternoon roaming the colourful streets of Peckham accompanied by my good friend and talented photographer, Isa Hess. Their look is very vibrant, especially the lead singer Courtney, her hair dyed bright yellow, and wearing a pink slip dress with lots of vibrant, eye-catching accessories and make-up. We head to Peckham Rye Park to shoot some more photos. Whilst shooting, out of nowhere, rain starts to pour down from the sky. It almost feels like we are in a movie or a crazy alternate universe. We ran to the nearest pub to shield ourselves from this terrifyingly drenching storm.
Rats-Tails are a four-piece band consisting of Courtney; singer- songwriter and guitarist from South East London, Chris; Guitarist from South East London, Max; Drummer from South West London and Sam; Bassist from Nottingham. The band were intentionally influenced to make reverb 90’s dream pop music taking reference from bands like The Cranberries and The Cure, but within the evolution of their music, they drifted into a more dream rock sound. Although this is the primary genre, Rats-Tails always look for ways to combine and crossover different genres in their songs. For example, in their song ‘This way up’ they introduce a reggae section in the middle. Their song ‘All I ask’ has a punky feel, ending in a more sinister dream pop closure. The structure of their songs can sound as if there are two songs in one, for example, in ‘Coke in the 70’s’ and ‘Flowers’ [starts slow and gets more groovy and up paced]. Their experimentation is unique. Everyone follows the intuition of the track and keeps the songwriting process open and fluid. Courtney also runs a night at the George tavern called ‘worm club’ which is an incorporation of live shows and a book club!
Courtney tells me that she and Chris met in 2019 in a venue in East London and started chatting and becoming acquaintances. The band formed after Courtney participated in a David Bowie tribute night, which was the first time Courtney had performed since she quit music a few years back. This was also the first time Chris heard Courtney sing, and he proposed to her to start a band together. They worked a lot on their music through the COVID lockdown, with Courtney sending Chris demos of newly written songs. This gave them a different perspective on their songwriting process; instead of playing the songs live right away, they invested more time into perfecting the songs and patiently working on them, seeing it as a comprehensive process. As for the other bandmates, they joined the band after the pandemic lifted. Max saw Rats-Tails playing a show at the Cavendish Arms, and they proclaimed to the crowd that they were looking for a drummer, and if anyone in the crowd was interested, they should make themselves known at the end of the show. And that’s exactly what Max did. Sam was making music on his own and was looking for a band to join. After trying to form many bands that didn’t seem to stick, he posted an Instagram story saying he was looking for a band to play in. A mutual friend of Courtney’s connected them, and Sam was invited to Chris’ house, where they all ate a home-cooked meal the band’s chef cooked (Chris), and they all felt an immediate connection and comfort. Then Sam proceeded to learn all of their songs and play his first live gig.
As you were saying about making music and officially forming during the pandemic, I could imagine the difficulties in making music under these circumstances, not having any live shows, audience or community to motivate you. What drove you through the pandemic to continue to make music? In a reality where you never know when you could perform live?
Courtney: The pandemic basically gave me a chance to return to music after formally quitting music and pursuing Theatre at Goldsmiths. When I was younger, I was making music, and somehow with the years and insecurity in my musical abilities, I decided to quit. During the pandemic, I repeatedly listened to the album ‘Titanic Rising’ by Weyes Blood and became obsessed with it. Her album inspired me to pick up my guitar and write some songs. The first song I wrote was ‘Song to Saturn’ which is heavily inspired by my love for astrology.
Now that I know that you like astrology, what are your signs?
Courtney: Sagittarius sun, Leo moon & Libra rising. Chris: Leo sun, Scorpio moon & Cancer rising. Max: Libra sun.
Sam: Gemini sun.
What are your personal musical inspirations?
Max: music that inspires my style of playing the drums is soul, motown- groove orientated.
Sam: In terms of bass playing, I’m inspired by the bassist Jacko Pastorius. I like Jazz; I find it constantly impressive. And obviously, I appreciate Paul McCartney as a bass player. I love midwest emo, Alex G and Joni Mitchell. Chris: My most inspirational artists are Nile Rodgers and David Bowie, among many more.
Courtney: I grew up listening to lots of emo music like My Chemical Romance and Paramore. Growing up being inspired by such intense vocalists made me mimic them. That’s how I learnt to sing. More vocalists that influence me are Weyes Blood, Karen Carpenter, Courtney Love and Japanese Breakfast. Artists that inspire me writing-wise are David Bowie and Tyler the Creator.
Where does the name Rats-Tails come from?
Courtney: The name ‘Rats-Tails’ was a nickname I had as a child. I was called that name insultingly by a family member, but I remember as a kid, I never found it insulting and found it cool instead. The name Rats-Tails always lived there with me, and at some point, I thought it could make a perfect band name. So when Chris and I formed the band, I knew it was bound for that. Also, rats are cute, I mean, I never personally met one, but you know.
Do you see yourself as rats?
“we are quite ratty”
Chris: by the Chinese zodiac, I was born in the year of the rat
Sam: Something I like about Rats-Tails and being ratty in general is that I feel like I’m just bored of bands who take themselves too seriously and call themselves ‘the french photograph’ and they have super sad songs and are all miserable in their band photos. There’s something about being ratty that is more honest and open.
Courtney, what’s it like being a woman in a band in the rock music scene?
Courtney: first thing, I fucking love it there are so many women non-binary and queer people taking space on stage now, which is exciting. It’s great that I can be who I needed to see as a young child and teenager. In my early 20s, I needed to see myself now making music and know I could do it despite the sea of men and just not giving a fuck and not letting myself quit only because I thought I wasn’t good enough. There were times I experienced sexism and objectification in the music scene. For example, during a date, this guy told me people only come to Rats-Tails shows because I’m hot, and I was appalled by this comment. You shouldn’t treat people this way. I remember I spoke about it in one of our gigs at the George Tavern. I spoke out into the crowd about how we shouldn’t objectify people and about the experience of being objectified during a date.
Is the bar set higher for you as a front woman rather than a fronting man?
Courtney: Definitely, I feel like blokes can get away with so many things that if women did, they would get harshly judged.
What advice would you give to people who want to start a band in London?
Courtney: Just go for it! Find people who you trust or who have similar music tastes. Don’t put other people on a pedestal and try being like them. Think about what you want to achieve, and don’t let insecurity get in the way. Don’t doubt yourself! Your ability doesn’t matter; just pick up an instrument or a microphone, write some fucking words down, and you’ll be surprised at yourself and what you’re actually capable of doing.
Chris: keep an open mind and be open to surprises. When you play in a band, it’s not only about your journey but also about the collaboration of those around you. The songs Courtney and I wrote at the start are entirely different to how they sound now. You influence your band as much as they influence you. For example, I was dying to play in a band a few years back, and I ended up playing bass (which is an instrument I didn’t play) in a funk band (which is a genre I didn’t listen to), and now these are my favourite things! When you start, it just keeps evolving.
Max: The best advice I could think of is to accept that failure will happen, especially in the beginning. For instance, you can release a single that doesn’t go as well as you wished it would, put on a show and not sell as many tickets. It’s important to stick with what you’re doing and believe in it, even through the hard times and failure, because that’s the only way something could come out of it. Out of 100 people, 99 could not like your music, but that one person who does most likely would stick around for the rest of your career.