‘Horrorful Heights’ marks a formidable new chapter in The Bevis Frond’s deep and storied catalogue, showcasing the enduring creativity of songwriter, guitarist and frontman Nick Saloman as he moves into yet another decade of recording. Long established as one of the most distinctive voices in British underground rock, Saloman continues to refine the band’s signature blend of melodic psychedelia, wiry guitar epics and sharp, emotionally attuned songwriting. Out April 3rd, ‘Horrorful Heights’ offers one of the most approachable entry points to the band’s world in years: a record that gathers their core strengths into a cohesive, vivid set. It’s released alongside companion release ‘Horrorful Offal’ – a collection of outtakes from the album available as part of a deluxe edition only available via Rough Trade and Fire Records.
I’ve been a firm believer in The Bevis Frond since before I even became a stand-up comedian. And that must be ages ago. Because I’m now regarded, like the Frond’s Nick Saloman himself, as an elder statesman in my chosen field. (When did we grow old?) And Nick is exactly the kind of enduring English artist who – like Mark E Smith, Derek Bailey, and Billy Childish – encouraged me to plough my own furrow ever onward irrespective of the shifting whims of taste and fashion. Empires crumble, music magazines fold, and newfangled formats rot. But The Bevis Frond endures!
In 1988, high in a student flat above the High Street, I heard the 7” of High In A Flat, given away free with issue 21 of the fanzine Bucketful Of Brains, and instantly became a Bevis Frond fan. For life. The track, recorded by a group then two years into its existence, framed knowingly histrionic guitar pyrotechnics in a saturated psychedelic landscape, half Hendrix and half hardcore, that hid layers of irresistible earworm melodies and lyrics that were witty, personal, pointed and profound.
And that’s what, under Nick Saloman’s long term steerage, The Bevis Frond still do today. And if you’re looking for an entry point to the undaunted seventy-three year old Nick Saloman’s vast and intimidating back catalogue, in what is the start of his sixth decade of recording, then Horrorful Heights is it. So trust me. Turn on, tune in, drop all your preconceived notions of what a band with a name like The Bevis Frond might be and prepare, permanently, to befriend The Frond.
In Horrorful Heights, The Bevis Frond somehow, and entirely unselfconsciously, deliver a record that showcases all their trademark modes in an easily digested form that will thrill long term fans and suck new listeners into the forest of Fronds from which they will never be free.
The new single and title track was written by Nick one afternoon whilst watching football on TV with guitar in hand. Nick, his sitar and his multi-layered vocals exhale a cloud of the head shop potpourri pothead pastiche he’s essayed before, but in its most perfect form. Tablas tap as the ghost of George Harrison knocks over a jar of incense sticks on the counter. Nick maintains he invented the word ‘Horrorful’, “but it just sounded better than ‘Horrible’ or ‘Terrible’, so I thought; ‘what the hell, I’m a pretty literate guy, I can invent words if I want to’. My aim is to see ‘HORRORFUL’ appear as a conundrum on ‘Countdown’!”
In essence, Horrorful Heights, has a more defined identity than most of The Bevis Frond’s eclectic albums, but Nick, predictably, shrugs off any ideas of intent and consequence; “As usual, it’s a collection of what I thought were my best songs of the last couple of years. I just sit down and write stuff when the muse hits (which is pretty frequently), but somehow this time I felt there was a slightly different feel to the songs. Nothing very different, you understand, but perhaps just a bit more commercial. It wasn’t intentional, it never is, I just write and what comes out is what you get.”
If you want to muddy the waters, the accompanying out-takes collection Horrorful Offal offers you the opportunity to complicate its parent album’s apparent coherence. For now, The Bevis Frond remain the last master craftsmen still standing in the dismal 3D-printed funfair of post-truth 2025, where AI bands can chart and algorithms drive all sound towards a soulless centre-ground. More than ever, The Bevis Frond are the sonic trepanning your brain didn’t know it needed. It’s been an honour and a privilege to travel with them as a fan for the best part of four decades.
– STEWART LEE, 2025
UK TOUR 2026
04 Jun: Just Dropped In Records, Coventry, UK
05 Jun: YES Basement, Manchester, UK
06 Jun: Room 2, Glasgow, UK
07 Jun: Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, UK
08 Jun: Central Bar, Gateshead, UK
09 Jun: The Attic Bar, Leeds, UK
10 Jun: Portland Arms, Cambridge, UK
11 Jun: The Fickle Pickle, Southend On Sea, UK
12 Jun: Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, UK
19 Jun: The Piper, St Leonards-On-Sea, UK
