Cambridge-based band Strawberry Lace are going from strength to strength in the UK alternative music scene, and their explosive latest single, When the Dog Bites, was released last Friday (10 January).
The band’s first-ever music video, to accompany the song, is also now available to view on YouTube, and their third UK tour is booked for April this year.
Strawberry Lace performing live. Picture: Robin Thomas
The tour will see them visit eight cities, including a big home town show in Cambridge at The Portland Arms on 24 April.
“We’re planning on an EP release towards the end of the year,” notes singer/bass player Ryan Beynon, speaking to the Cambridge Independent from his home in Shelford.
“But we released our debut album [Quadrafeline] in 2023, and since then the world of streaming has taken quite a turn and singles are sort of the rage at the minute.
“We’re just trying to gain the algorithms and all that stuff – so yeah, plenty of singles coming this year.”
On how Strawberry Lace came to be (the band’s other members are guitarists Joe Bunton and Olly Crannis plus drummer Will Pierpoint), Ryan reflects: “We all met in 2017 on a music course at Cambridge Regional College.
“None of us knew each other beforehand and, after playing together in class, we noticed some musical chemistry, I guess, and about a year later, in 2018, we decided to form a proper band and since then we’ve just been chipping away.
“We have a DIY home studio at Will’s house, the drummer, and we just go there every week without fail, pretty much, and write music, write songs – we record all our stuff there as well.
“Everything we’ve done is fully independent, we’ve done it all ourselves.”
Strawberry Lace. Picture: Robin Thomas
Did the ‘Strawberry’ in the band’s name have anything to do with Cambridge’s Strawberry Fair, as maybe the members regularly attended the event growing up?
“It didn’t actually,” says Ryan, who reveals that one of the band’s “big goals” is to play the Cambridge Junction.
“But we have noticed that it was quite well-suited. We’ve played Strawberry Fair once now and we’ve attended it many times.
“It felt when we played it, it was pretty fitting – but no actual influence on the name.”
Ryan feels that there is a thriving music scene in Cambridge. “I think there’s some really nice pockets for music in Cambridge going on at the minute,” he says.
“There’s definitely a decent scene for bands, with venues like the Six Six and The Portland Arms and the Junction – and obviously there’s the annual Cambridge Band Competition, which I think is really great for bands…
“Also, there’s a really good, thriving hip hop scene in Cambridge at the minute, which I think is really cool. So there’s plenty of stuff going on – a lot of different genres popping up here and there.”
Strawberry Lace’s excellent new single, When the Dog Bites, is available to stream now.
The band held a launch party for it last Friday at the aforementioned Six Six Bar, with “a bit more of a fun vibe than some of our regular shows, which are normally quite intense”.
Strawberry Lace performing live. Picture: Robin Thomas
Keep up to date with the band’s latest shows and news by following them at @strawberrylaceband, or by visiting their Facebook page at facebook.com/Strawberry LaceBand/?locale=en_GB.