Start Listening To: The Kidney Flowers

We caught up with the Glasgow garage-punks ahead of their upcoming single release.

Photography by Mark Anthony Gillies

The Kidney Flowers are Grant Canyon, Abigail A. and Tog Miller. The trio's live shows are nothing short of electrifying and have earned them the title of one of Scotland's must-see live acts. Thanks to their unique sound and explosive energy, The Kidney Flowers have gained a loyal following, earning the praise of notable music publications like Louder Than War and The Herald. They've already toured the UK twice in 2022, and now they're gearing up for their first European tour in 2023. The Kidney Flowers are also set to release their sophomore album Burn Your Furniture, later this year.

For those unfamiliar with your music can you tell us who you are, where you’re from, and something about the music you make?

The Kidney Flowers are: Abigail A. on Drums + Vocals, Grant Canyon on Guitar + Vocals and Tog Miller on Bass + Vocals. We’re all from the Southside of Glasgow, Scotland. I suppose we’d describe the music we make as quite loud and aggressive, which isn’t really intentional, it just sort of comes out that way.

Can you describe your songwriting process?

Usually Grant will come in with an idea and we’ll all work on it together, but our process is quite fluid, we all contribute ideas and build the songs as a unit. The lyrics are written by Grant separately.

What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your music?

I think we’d hope that people take something positive away from our music. There is plenty in the world to be angry about, but it’s best to try and have fun as much as you can while you’re here. People seem to really cut loose at our shows, which is fun to watch.

Can you tell us how The Kidney Flowers got started as a band?

Grant and Abby started the band a number of years ago. Grant was in another band and had been bugging Abby to start a band with him for a while, until she finally agreed. We recorded the first album with our friend Sean on bass, but during the pandemic he then decided it was time to move on. Tog used to come and see us play a lot, and when we needed a new bass player he was the first person to get in touch. It was really great luck as he’s got a completely different style to Sean, which has helped us develop a heavier, more aggressive sound, which people seem to like.

How did you come up with the name The Kidney Flowers?

Grant seen it on a Chinese takeaway menu. It sounded horrible (look it up…) but we liked it as a name.

Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind your latest release, Laces?

Laces is about the rise of far-right propaganda on social media, and how it’s sometimes able to politicise vulnerable people and put them on a dangerous path.

We can’t wait for your upcoming album, Burn Your Furniture, Can you tell us more about how it was produced?

Burn Your Furniture was recorded pretty much all live during a single day of studio time. Our friend Robbie (of excellent band The Kundalini Genie) had set up a recording studio in a disused function room just outside of Glasgow. We decided to record live as we wanted to record it as quickly as possible and try not to overthink things. There are a few overdubs here and there, but for the most part it’s a live album, for better or worse.

How has Glasgow influenced your sound?

Glasgow is a weird place. It’s simultaneously very forward thinking and yet incredibly backwards. There’s a lot of affluence and culture, as well as a lot of poverty and crime. I think the nature of Glasgow being this way has definitely influenced how our music comes out. There’s a lot of bleakness in our music, as well as a lot of positivity.

What has been the most difficult challenge you have faced as a band?

The biggest challenge we have faced is dealing with things breaking while we’re on tour. We have broken, on average, two bass amps on each tour we’ve gone on, and had to run around the middle of nowhere trying to get them fixed, while simultaneously dealing with flat tyres and road closures. Fun anecdote: We once got caught in a traffic jam in the Cotswolds and witnessed some sort of weird cult ritual thing going on in a field. We tried to get involved but unfortunately were already two hours late for soundcheck.

Name an artist you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why?

I think we all still love The Beatles. They really are the gold standard of songwriting and musicianship. If you disagree then you are wrong.

What do you love right now?

Touring and meeting like-minded people who enjoy our music.

What do you hate right now?

People who have strong opinions about things they know very little about.

Are there any particular artists or bands that have influenced your music?

In no particular order: Pixies, Wanda Jackson, Black Sabbath, The Fall, Tom Waits, The Gun Club, John Coltrane, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, The Beatles.

What’s next in for The Kidney Flowers?

We plan on continuing to tour the UK this year, and hopefully make it over to Europe for the first time (Brexit hasn’t made this easy…) We are also releasing our second album ‘Burn Your Furniture’ in September through Never Found Records, as well as going in to record some new material at some point.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians just starting out?

Get out of your home city.

Thanks for speaking with us! Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

You can stream ‘Laces’ on Spotify (and all the other streaming services) as of April 14th. If you’d like to support us a bit more than that, you can download the track from Bandcamp for £1, which would be greatly appreciated. Also! Burn Your Furniture will be released on Vinyl and all streaming services in September, so look out for that. Bye!