Photo by Chiara Gambuto
You can count the total number of releases from Brighton’s Public Body on one hand, and still, they’ve managed to acquire my full attention without breaking a sweat. Since their debut not too long ago, the four-piece — composed of members Seb Gilmore (guitar, vocals), Theo Verney (guitar), Joe Stevens (bass), Thom Mills (drums) — has gained recognition for their strong post-punk inclination and utilization of bold, innovative instrumentation and utterly infectious hooks, exhibited via their previous singles, “Presenteeism” and “Naughty on My Bike.” That said, despite the group’s infancy, Public Body quickly caught the eye of Great Britain at large, leading them to tour alongside stellar acts such as Squid, The Coathangers, and Public Practice, just before the pandemic put their future travel plans on hold.
In spite of the slew of limitations that quarantine have placed on the group, they’ve remained as occupied as ever over the past few months, having churned out one final in-studio single before the world came crashing down, their most recent release, “Ask Me Later” (released August 26).
“Ask Me Later” was produced by the band’s guitarist Theo Verney (who has worked with the likes of TRAAMS, Egyptian Blue, Home Counties, and Lazarus Kane, to name a few). The single is an amalgamation of synths, heavy bass, and roaring percussion; a continuation of the infectious repertoire they’ve created thus far. Aside from its toe-tapping, shoulder-rolling ability, it also contains a relevant discussion on the way our world works, or rather, how the world works for the everyday working class — it discusses the oftentimes tiring-ly boring motions of the 9-to-5 work day, from interacting with coworkers (who engage in horrible table etiquette) to poorly budgeting to fruitlessly trying to figure out how to make one’s job less headache-inducing.
As its material suggests, “Ask Me Later” was written and recorded before the concept of the “work day” massively changed due to the pandemic, rendering many without jobs or working from home, on dining room tables or holed up in their bedrooms with computers on their laps. Despite the change that has occurred, the single’s work-related material isn’t any less painfully accurate: at the time it was written, being part of the working machine was an exhausting, emotionally and physically taxing endeavor, and it still is, even if we’re working from home. As the single’s cover artwork suggests, the system, no matter what form it takes, warrants a grimace and a constantly furrowed brow.
Emil Mniszko, the graphic designer and artist behind the single’s cover, listed the thoughts he has ruminated on in relation to the track: “Labour-oppressive wellness initiatives; mechanic lubricants. Half a decade of unprocessed bitterness, constricted by social norms as corporate structures. The Program fails through successive firmware updates while, in the background, slideshow graphics show that rage tends towards infinity. The face of a destabilized workforce in a society that secretes symbolic concessions as a defense reflex against meaningful change. Your positive attitude is keeping us all in line.”
Regardless of how tedious and frustrating the capitalist scheme we’re forced to deal with is, one thing’s for sure: we’ve got Public Body’s brief body of work to soundtrack our daily turmoil, whether it takes place at home or not.
Recently, we had the chance to catch up with the band over email, where they took us through the conception of “Ask Me Later” (pre-COVID), their personal pet peeves, quarantine delusions, and the seeming commonality of being topless among their friend circle.
Hey guys! So, for anyone who has yet to know Public Body, what should they know first?
Theo: Please don’t take us too seriously.
Thom: We are all gods of thunder.
To begin, “Ask Me Later” sort of sounds like something that might soundtrack a high-octane, high-speed chase, or some kind of chaotic crime spree, noting its use of keys, quick-paced riffing, and blaring synths. Regarding this track’s instrumentation, how did everything come to be, especially since it’s been difficult to work in person as of late?
Theo: Seb wrote the basis of the song but, during a slightly traumatic mixing process, we decided to keep adding synths, percussion, and vocal parts. Near the end of the process, we found we had the most ridiculously intense and busy song which we sent off to mastering before we could add anything else.
Seb: Luckily, we recorded this one pre-COVID, but mixing was done during lockdown. We had loads of spare time I guess, so [we] ended up going a bit mad on this track.
Thom: Nothing more to add, apart from, yes, it could be in the soundtrack to F-Zero on the SNES.
In relation to Public Body’s sound, you guys recently released a cover of a Kraftwerk track, in commemoration of the late Florian Schneider. Among acts like Kraftwerk, have any other major acts inspired you guys in regard to the direction you’ve gone down musically?
Theo: For me, bands like Uranium Club and Devo are a big influence on my approach to music as they appear to completely disregard any need to be commercially viable.
Thom: DEVO.
Seb: I concur.
Lyrically, what place did this track come from? Its material seems to greatly contrast the brash aggression of the music, as it describes something so mundane and tedious!
Seb: I wanted to contrast these mundane subjects with the frantic vibe of this song because it reflects the contrast between how we are at work and how we are at home. You might have a work personality, pretending to be interested in something you’re bored by and/or trying to not draw attention to yourself and being introverted. But, outside of work, you don’t have the anxiety of having bosses/coworkers around you. You can just be normal.
In relation to this track’s discussion of workplace etiquette and the sorts of bland, mundane things you might engage with when going about the every day…since life has sort of shifted in a weird, distorted way recently, what has your day-to-day routine looked like lately? What little things have you noticed/ begun getting tired of/ bitter about?
Theo: I’m back to work recording now which is really nice; it is extremely weird having everyone wearing masks though. I have noticed that it’s hard to realise when someone is smiling when you’re wearing a mask. Therefore, I’m trying to learn to emote more with my eyes.
Thom: Now, being at home all the time and working from home, I hear every sound that happens in and around my house. Our neighbours have installed a ‘seagull alarm’ which goes off every 10 minutes throughout the day and sounds like an evil mechanical bird eating all the other birds alive. We used to have lots of birds in the garden and now there are none 
Seb: I actually got a new job just before lockdown and have been working from home everyday. Working from home has made me realise just how quickly my body passes liquid and it’s annoying how much I need to use the toilet. Sorry, that’s probably an overshare.
Joe: I’ve been working from home since lockdown—it’s got to the point where I don’t set an alarm, just wake up at about 9 and work horizontally from bed with my laptop on my bare chest. It’s a disgrace.
Speaking of these little things, eating with one’s mouth wide open, as the chorus mentions, can certainly tick the box as a huge pet peeve for some. What would you say are some of your biggest pet peeves?
Theo: I get extremely angry when people are late which is certainly more my problem than theirs.
Thom: Only thing worse is speaking at the same time.
Seb: All of the above.
Joe: Poor pavement etiquette.
Your previous release, “Naughty on My Bike,” isn’t any less earworm-inducing than this, your most recent single. In quarantine, it seems like the only thing we can do is go for a bike ride, take a walk, and just get out of the house. Is this something you guys have been participating in or has that, too, gotten as tiring as the track mentions?
Theo: I was running regularly for about a month but then descended into just playing Counter Strike for hours on end. I’m up to 250 hours now and I’m playing mostly with semi-pro Russian dudes.
Thom: I’ve got into Yoga big time, love it. Always thought it was a bit too hippy for me, but it’s basically just stretching your body in all the possible permutations so you are a well oiled machine. Thoroughly recommend! Obviously I’m super late to the party as usual.
Seb: I started lifting weights for the first time, but i was doing it on zoom with friends, topless, listening to classic rock… but yeh, it got old and people started going back to work… very upset that it ended to be honest.
Joe: I don’t really remember April or May but I’m pretty sure that’s when I started having full blown conversations with my cat.
Is there anything that you particularly miss about how life once was (pre-COVID), or, have you found that you’ve adjusted at this point? At the same time, what are you looking forward to most, as we adjust to how life is now, both in regard to Public Body and otherwise?
Theo: I miss being well rehearsed. We had our first rehearsal a few weeks back and my chops were well and truly gone. Playing in Public Body is a work out.
Thom: Playing live is obvious but it is a big thing we all miss; we were just getting cooking and then all this happened, so, again, obv looking forward to doing that again. But when? Who knows, but we will be ready and able to melt faces.
Seb: I think I’ve started to miss Brexit being on the news. Up for rockin out a bunch and curious to see how much COVID changes things socially and economically.
Joe: Obvious answer but I miss not worrying about interacting with people. I hope I can see some live music soon.
Word on the street is that you guys also have an EP in the works — for anybody who’s curious about what to expect with the future in mind, can you give any hints?
Theo: We have a second single recorded which we did before lockdown which is going to be released before the end of the year. It’s the slowest song we’ve done and my personal favourite.
Thom: It’s gonna be full of stone cold bangers, that’s for certain.
Seb: More repeated lyrics.
Joe: More repeated lyrics.
Make sure to check out Public Body on their socials (Instagram, Twitter) and listen to “Ask Me Later” on your favorite streaming platforms now.