NME’s latest stars of The Cover, Getdown Services, have created an exclusive playlist to accompany the story’s launch – check it out below.
- READ MORE: The wild, sweaty rise of Getdown Services: “We started off unhinged. Now, we’re a bit more refined”
The Bristol band are on this week’s (May 25) edition of The Cover, a manifestation of NME’s commitment to supporting emerging talent across the globe on a weekly basis. Every week, a rising artist will feature on The Cover – you can read Getdown Services’ profile here, written by Joe Goggins and featuring photography by Siôn Marshall-Waters.
Alongside their Cover story, Getdown Services have taken the opportunity to shine a light on their wider discography. The pair have curated a playlist titled ‘13 Underrated Getdown Services Songs’, which features some of the band’s lesser-known tracks, including ‘Every Day Is Fun Day’, ‘Loosen Your Belt’, and new single ‘I Can’t Die Like That’. Listen to the full playlist on Spotify below and on Apple Music.
On their upcoming second album, ‘Massive Champion’, Getdown Services have evolved into a more refined version of the duo that first incited word-of-mouth success. Their gigs, though, remain rambunctious to the point of being feral. It’s typical to see Josh Law and Ben Sadler fist-pumping and bouncing across the stage shirtless – an approach that has led some observers to suggest their sweaty shows might, on some level, be satirising toxic masculinity, by lacing their inherent silliness with the implied aggression of call-and-response terrace chants.
“I think there’s less irony to what we do than people think,” says Sadler, who references past descriptions of the band as “a pissed-up dad doing karaoke at a wedding with his top off”. ”That’s fine, but there’s a perception that if we’re taking our tops off despite not having the bodies of athletes, and shouting ‘oggy oggy oggy’, that we must be sneering at blokiness, that it must be some clever, nudge-wink thing.”
Elsewhere in The Cover, Getdown Services discuss their come up, ‘Massive Champion’, and getting booked for Harry Styles’ Meltdown festival. “It’s just mental to us that we’d be considered, really,” says Law of the latter. “The lineup is insane.”
Read Getdown Services’ full Cover story here and find out who else has been on The Cover here.
Every year, NME produces 50 Cover stories, showcasing the future of music via in-depth profiles and exclusive photoshoots. Check out our coffee table book NME The Cover 2024-2025, which features the likes of Kneecap, Lola Young, Amaarae, LE SSERAFIM, Oklou and many more.