Supermaus - If You Don’t Know, Get To Know!
If You Don’t Know, Get to Know! returns as the first instalment of the year, and from now on it will be landing every other Monday as a fortnightly dive into the best rising acts you’ll want to discover before everyone else does. This week, we’re focusing on Leeds alt-rock four-piece Supermaus.
Supermaus by Georgia Zimm
Formed just over a year ago, Supermaus have wasted little time establishing themselves on the Leeds live circuit. The band, consisting of Helen Edgeworth (vocals), Michael Purdie-Abbott (guitar), Tom Cowans (bass) and Rağna Binbay (drums), channel the darker end of ’90s alternative rock, but there’s a contemporary sharpness to what they do. Their debut single ‘Bite’ arrived as a brooding first statement, built around a punchy distorted bassline and held together by taut, slightly off-kilter rhythms. Edgeworth’s restrained vocal delivery adds emotional weight, the track gradually pushing toward a distorted crescendo that feels deliberate rather than dramatic for the sake of it.
Lyrically, ‘Bite’ circles frustration and absence, capturing the slow erosion of connection when someone refuses to meet you halfway. It’s introspective without being masturbatory, tense without collapsing in on itself. Newest single ‘Second Place’, released last week, expands that palette. Starting with stark, finger-picked guitars and a shadowy low end, it steadily builds into a wash of fuzz and delay. There’s patience in how the band structure their songs, allowing tension to sit before releasing it. Thematically, ‘Second Place’ plays with Americana imagery to explore alienation and uneven power dynamics, cutting through with dry humour and vulnerability.
In under a year, Supermaus have already supported the likes of CIEL and Nightswimming, as well as having a support slot lined up with Cruush in March. With their debut EP Out of Body landing on 8th May, they feel like a band laying foundations properly rather than rushing the moment. The atmosphere is there, the discipline is there, and the direction is clear.