East London’s Cheatahs have gone from zero to sixty in a heartbeat. In the past year, they have put out a couple killer EP’s, linked up with Wichita Recordings, and are now releasing a new full-length, Extended Plays, on May 2nd. The quartet maintains a really clean brand of garage rock that strips away unnecessary doses of reverb and distortion and puts faith in their rousing chord progressions and hooks. On top of their prolific studio work, Cheatahs are currently trekking around America with fellow surf-punk heavy hitters FIDLAR and WAVVES. You can catch them on April 8th at Brighton Music Hall with this studly lineup, in a show brought to us by Fenway Recordings. Until then, check out this conversation we had with Cheatahs’ own Nathan Hewitt.
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Perry Eaton: So upon first listen, I could have sworn you guys were an American band. Do you get this a lot?
Nathan: Well Dean is American and I’m Canadian. We are based in London but I agree our sound isn’t indicative of that.
Tell me a bit about Extended Plays. Was it recorded before or after you guys were signed to Wichita Recordings? I heard that your relationship with the label was sparked when you guys opened a show for Milk Music. Did you have any clue you guys were being scouted at the time?
N: We recorded the EPs ourselves and put the first one out on Marshall Teller Records. We wanted to put the next one out ASAP and just get playing shows when Wichita saw us open for Milk Music. They got in touch the next day and were keen to release our music. So it happened pretty fast relatively speaking and kind of took us by surprise. Then we put the two EPs on one disc for a wider release as the first EP was a limited run of 300. I like how it kind of sums up the first recording year of the band.
A lot of the “garage-rock” type stuff coming out these days has a huge attachment to 90’s post-grunge/alternative styles. To me though, Cheatahs’ brand of it seems very forward-thinking. Perhaps it’s the cleanliness of the recording, less reliance of reverb and stuff. Is this something that you guys took a lot of care in when recording? Was there a particular aesthetic you really strived for?
N: Our policy is if it sounds good to us then that’s what we end up with. I feel like each song kind of needs its own special treatment, and whatever production serves the song, then that’s what works. Lots of bands play it safe and have a distinctive sound on every song, but I like a bit of dynamic when it comes to production.
Let’s talk beer. Are American beers a joke to you guys? Are there any that you’ve tasted in the US that you’ve been quite fond of?
N: Great question. I’m a fan of Anchor Steam right now as we are in the Northwest. I feel like it depends on your environment. I mean, nothing beats a Lone Star with lime in it when you’re in Texas.
You fellas just did the SXSW thing. I can never tell if this is a positive experience for bands or not, especially as of recent. Was it a good time for you guys or did it get old quickly? Did you get to see any shows in your time there, and if so, any new bands you would recommend?
N: It was our first time to SXSW and our first time in America as a band. I think we were a little shell-shocked at first and really jet lagged. I mean, I think it was a good thing to do, I wouldn’t say it was very fun to play, but I feel maybe you have to be a bigger band to really enjoy playing sxsw. There are like 2000 bands there so it’s incredibly saturated. Lots of folks were saying that this year will be their last so I reckon it’s peaked. We did, however, have fun watching bands, especially True Widow and Thee Oh Sees.
You guys are embarking on a tour with Wavves and FIDLAR, and many of the dates are sold out. Any cities you’re particularly excited to hit or activities you’re looking to do?
N: Yeah tour is going great. We are about a week and a half in. We’re actually driving down the Hwy 1 to Santa Barbara right now and it’s amazing. I think places like Denver, Milwaukee, Omaha should be really interesting. I mean the big music cities are great to play but coming from a small town myself I always thought the smaller cities made for the best shows. We’ll see, either they’ll be great or someone will get bored and get arrested or something.