“Grimsby grit” indie pop newcomers Indigo Bay are delighted to announce that they have signed to Heist or Hit (Her’s, Pizzagirl, Brad Stank) and will release their debut EP After Dark on 9th November 2022.

To celebrate the news, the quartet have released a video for the caffeinated fizz of stellar lead single ‘Bats’, which positively froths with auditory stimuli. Blocky drums pillar the track as sleazoid distortion rushes from the persisting rhythm guitar, flooding the song with snarl and vim.

Commenting on the track, the band say: “‘Bats’ is about our attempt to try and create a name for ourselves in Grimsby. There’s a drive to make it because of the negative reputation the town has been given.”

It’s a boisterous, bratty call to arms and the anthem of a band positioning themselves for success—the apathy of their surroundings countered in the line: “Give it a little life, give it some hype!” a rally cry against those frustrating teenage days spent struggling against a stubborn suburban environment.

Meeting at college, Callum, George, Amias and Alex, were all in different bands put together by tutors. Bored by the insipid nature of group projects, Indigo Bay became a place they collectively escaped to. “Alex and I were jamming some Mac DeMarco songs in a room with Amias,” says vocalist Callum. “George walked by so we told him to grab a bass and plug in. We couldn’t stop grinning at how good it sounded. After that we would rehearse in that small room any chance we could. Sometimes we like to think that room is Indigo Bay.”

The room in question can actually be seen in the music video for ‘Bats’.

Newly signed to tastemaker giants Heist or Hit, the four-piece decamped to Bam Bam Studios within the cultural shrine of Leeds to record forthcoming debut EP After Dark with label mates Harry Jordan and Dan Clifford-Smith of Eades, and the results are scintillating.

Indigo Bay radiate the kind of airtight, low-stakes, high-serotonin indie-pop that bumps the nervous system. Addictive melodies and gigantic pop hooks that deliver the same blue-sky-whiplash as the first day of spring.

“Coming from Grimsby gave us an unnatural energy to be creative. We originally wanted to be the band in town that could get people up dancing, but the scene is overwhelmed by metal and hard rock. Supporting metal bands locally isn’t what we had in mind. We’ve coined this term ‘Grimsby Grit’ and that’s an element that’s in our sound.”

Are they aspirational? Sure. Motivated? You bet. Arrogant? Nah: “We’ve played with so many ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’ bands on the circuit that won’t talk to you or have a laugh because they think they’re rock gods.”

It’s a conceit Indigo Bay reject outright, especially when all are riding the same highway. It’s time to put foot to gas and daydream big or go home.

Debut EP After Dark is released on 9th November 2022 via Heist or Hit