Bradford trio Drella combine gritty guitars and acutely politicised lyrics in a catchy punky rock sound that they describe as “powerful, political and energetic.”
Drella is formed of Jonny Whyatt, Toby Mitchell and Alfie Rawlinson, who met at school and have been friends for about 16 years. They’ve played music together on and off throughout that time but only really began performing together more seriously after university. The trio formed Drella in 2022 and aim to use music and activism to fight against the economic struggles facing their hometown.
On the sound they’ve honed since, Jonny told us: “Drella’s sound has been described as somewhere between IDLES and The White Stripes, which I think makes sense. A lot of our songs centre around a crunchy guitar riff with a catchy bass line and a thunderous drumbeat, which we then team with political and confrontational lyrics to deliver our brand of politically inspired alternative rock.”
Our latest taste of this is their delightfully anti-Tory single Guillotine, which was released last month. It opens up with a cool noodling riff that’s joined by drums then drops into engaging vocals “The people want answers so you can explain, ‘Cos you are a politician with an awful lot to say, In a posh Eton voice and with a shiny silver spoon, That you were always fed with so you can’t seem to lose.” That continues with the equally excellent lines “I can hear your lies in the ayes to the right, ‘Cos you can starve the kids and then sleep peacefully at night, In a seven-acre gaff on the family patch, With a portrait of the king and a blow-up Maggie Thatcher.”
A raucous chorus follows with a piercing lick supporting the engaging vocals, which drops into a spinning riff and another verse and chorus. The spinning riff returns alongside wild guitar bursts, then the pace drops in a little bridge that builds up to a few final blasts of the chorus.
On the track, Jonny told us: “The reception has been great so far! It’s our most direct and confrontational song to date and it’s been really nice to see people resonating with the bold nature of the song. The lyrics are straight to the point, taking no prisoners and people seem to like that. If you haven’t heard it, Guillotine is a protest song that satirises British politics and its disconnect from the general population, so expect big guitar riffs with lyrics that tackle a serious issue in a witty and humorous way.
“We also wanted to step away from the serious nature of protest songs and use this video as an opportunity to have a laugh and be really silly, whilst still using it as a tool for activism.” Check out Guillotine in the entertaining video here:
Guillotine follows on from a personal favourite track Nothing To Lose. It opens up with another cool little riff that’s joined by a brief blast of drums and high-pitched guitars. An opening verse builds to a big energetic chorus, which drops into a little bassline and palm-muted guitars supporting through a verse that again builds up to the chorus. A funky little guitar solo comes in and ends with wild noises before slowly building to a final chorus. Check it out here:
And if you like a bit of that, then there’s plenty more to get stuck into. That includes last year’s debut EP Silence, the single Divide, which comes to a particularly rowdy conclusion, and their banging debut track Hypocrisy, which you can check out in the video below.
The Drella sound is influenced by the new wave of punk artists like Lambrini Girls and Bob Vylan. As Jonny explains: “Their music is so passionate and energetic and they always use their platform to empower oppressed groups in society. There is also a real friendliness to their personalities and I love how they fuse fury and kindness in their music. They have shown us that you can be sensitive and angry in the same song and that anger is a perfectly valid emotion for musical expression.”
And on what inspires them to write music, he added: “The bleak political and socioeconomic climate of modern-day Britain is probably the main influence behind our writing. We’re not afraid to call our injustice when we see it, and it seems as though every time you turn on the TV, there is something new we could write a song about. Growing up in Bradford has also had a big influence on our music. Bradford is an amazing place full of wonderful people but it’s often struggled financially. The people of Bradford deserve better and we want our music to make people feel proud of who they are and where they are from.”
There’s plenty more to come from Drella, who fittingly plan to release another single in the run-up to the UK General Election. And Jonny adds: “We’re fiercely passionate about being from Bradford and would like to use this opportunity to shout out some of the other amazing artists coming out of Bradford; such as Wolforna, Red Shakes, Mezcal, Scouge, WINO, Rupcha Farms and Casino Havana. Big up Bradford!”
You can follow Drella on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
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