Square Wild are a hard band to describe. Defining their eclectic, diverse sound is a task that is overwhelming even for them.
“We i think we’re progressive rock, if we had to specify.” vocalist Lucy Shevchuk told MM.
“We’re definitely anchored to heavy rock, but we just play what comes out. Ska, funk, metal, manush jazz; nothing is on the table!’
Launching onto the scene in 2022 with a self-promoting festival and an impressive debut EP, Square Wild turned many heads with their progressive mish-mash of styles and electric live shows.
They were named the best unsigned band of 2022 by Prog magazine, and Shevchuk made the magazine’s list of the top ten female vocalists.
It’s a dizzying rise that has seen the band go from strength to strength and they can barely contain it.
The band have already won the Manchester Metal2TheMasses competition and will therefore play at the prestigious Bloodstock festival.
“It’s pretty amazing. We really didn’t think we had it, not because of our self-belief, but more because so many people told us we weren’t metal enough. Just goes to show how diverse Bloodstock really is! We got some crazy comments from the judge in the final. It still hasn’t sunk in that we’re playing it.
When asked about the significance of competitions like Metal2TheMasses, Shevchuk said the band was initially cautious about entering the competition.
“We were cautious at first. Battle of the Bands-style competitions are always the focus, but this was completely different,” she said.
“It did so much for us in terms of getting us into a heavier scene, exposing us to a whole new set of people.”
Shevchuk also emphasized the sense of community at the competition.
“It was worth it just for the community spirit, never mind actually getting to Bloodstock. The stress and strain of passing the round aside, it was literally the most fun few months of our lives. M2TM is essential for all rock and metal lovers!”
Bloodstock is a diverse festival, but is mainly known for its dedicated metaller following. Although Square Wild are certainly influenced by metal, they don’t have the usual Bloodstock sound.
This was certainly not a problem in Manchester; the band won praise for their performance in the competition from organisers, 0161 Manchester Underground Metal Community, who said they were “blown away” by the band.
They’ve won plaudits throughout the underground music scene everywhere, metalheads included, with this M2TM win the latest jewel in their growing crown.
However, we asked Lucy how the band felt about playing to a Bloodstock audience that could potentially expect something different from what they’re offering.
“We try not to think about it. We’ll go up there and do everything, and people can take it or leave it. Hopefully, if the music isn’t something they’d expect when they go to Bloodstock, our performance will help draw them in.
“We think some people will love that we might be a little different than usual, others might hate it and that’s absolutely fine. We’re playing Bloodstock!”
Now that they’re gearing up for their Bloodstock run, I asked Lucy about her personal memories of the festival.
“I have attended several times as a journalist and bettor. I absolutely love this festival. One of my favorite memories from Bloodstock was probably fronting for Devin Townsend and seeing my friend Ste play guitar for him.
“I bawled my eyes out and saw the crowd singing along to this rather loud dramatic music.”
And what’s the progress on their upcoming debut album?
“It’s coming, but not fast. Oh my god, that hurts. We work remotely so we have to work with communication, getting us all to agree on the mixed notes takes a lot of time. Also, doing it ourselves meant we had to write all the drum tracks in such a short amount of time because our practice room was destroyed, which was soul-destroying.”
“We really want to get into more mainstream festivals next year, we’ve done a lot of the smaller rock circuits and we want to branch out. However, we think we’ll struggle with just one EP out as it doesn’t represent us unfortunately. Once the album is out, I think the promoters will see a lot more of what we can actually do.
“It seems to be getting heavier and more proggy with the new lyrics, except for another new one that sounds like a Disney villain song. So who knows what’s next.”
You can buy tickets for Bloodstock here and catch Square Wild on stage at New Blood.
Concert photos from the Metal2TheMasses final in Manchester, used with permission from Rich Price Photography.