Stranger No More: The Debut of thistle.

Photo by Briony Graham Rudd

Northampton trio thistle. make music that cuts and soothes in equal measure. Fronted by Cameron Godfrey, with Judwyn Rushton on bass and vocals and Lewis O’Grady on drums, the band blend lo-fi melancholy, chaotic guitars, and gut-punch intimacy into songs that feel both bruised and strangely comforting. Their debut EP, It’s Nice to See You, Stranger – written across late 2023 and released this July – captures the band coming of age: navigating longing, rejection, and self-inflicted mess with a wry grin and a dose of catharsis. Raised in Northampton’s tight-knit music community, thistle. have drawn support from the bands and venues that shaped them, while carving a sound influenced as much by Pavement’s slacker bite as Caroline Polachek’s art-pop shimmer. Now, fresh from their first release and having finished touring across the UK and Europe supporting Cryogeyser, the band are looking toward what’s next. We sat down with thistle. to talk beginnings, vulnerability, humour, and the storms still ahead.

How did thistle. first come together, and what made you feel like you had something worth building on?

Judwyn: Cameron and Lewis have known each other since school. I ended up meeting them in 2022, playing the Monster Energy stage at the Moto Grand Prix. High octane stuff. When we eventually started the band, it was really driven by the want to do something new and interesting for ourselves. That's been a focus – to not be bored. We also drive each other to be better, more explorative writers, and musicians in general, which helps.

The name ‘thistle’ refers to the flower known for its prickly leaves. How much of that do you think reflects your sound or even your personality as a band?  Lewis: I think if you were trying to pull out meaning of it, you could say that our heavier and aggressive side of our sound could be represented by the pricks on a thistle, whilst the beauty of the flower could show the quieter and more affectionate side of our songs. We also just picked it because the name sounded cool.

Northampton doesn’t always get the spotlight in music. How did the local scene and that sense of community shape who you are as a band?

Cameron: Northampton may be small but it has a surprising range of music. It's full of kind, talented people who we've been very lucky to be friends with. Growing up being surrounded by all this music has inspired us a tonne.

Photo by Briony Graham Rudd

Your debut EP It’s Nice to See You, Stranger just dropped last month but you started writing it in late 2023. What do you think carried through those first demos to the finished songs? 

Judwyn: It was just something that we felt out over a couple years of playing live. In hindsight, the ones that ended up on the record were clearly the most direct songs we had. They feel concise, and they weren't trying to fit into a certain structure or form. We scrapped a lot of tracks on the way but we now also have a thirty-two deluxe double EP dropping.

You’ve cited influences that stretch from Pavement to Caroline Polachek. How do you balance those raw indie textures with more experimental, pop-driven ideas?

Lewis: I think in a lot of our songs, it is as simple as using an abrasive violent rhythm section while poppy, catchy vocal melodies and harmonies are sprinkled over the top. This is similar to a lot of tracks from acts like Wheezer, Ovlov, and Nirvana. We are, however, writing songs that blend the two different genres in a more interesting way... that's very exciting to me. On top of this, there are lots of synth and textural sounds all over the EP, courtesy of Judwyn, that add something important to the music that you couldn't achieve with just a band setup.

Cameron, you’ve spoken about shifting from anger to something more vulnerable in your lyrics. Was there a specific song on the EP where you felt that transition most clearly?

Cameron: Probably 'Fleur Rouge,' as I feel like this song is a lot more gentle and soft compared to anything we've done prior.

Your songs wrestle with longing, rejection and growing pains, but there’s also a wry sense of humour in how you frame it. How important is it for you to balance that heaviness with a bit of lightness?

Cameron: As much as a lot of the subjects in the songs are pretty upsetting, I think it's more interesting to add contrast, humour, or joyful memories into the mix of gloom.

If this EP is making it out of the whirlwind of adolescence, what’s the next storm you’re looking to chase down as a band?

Judwyn: Right now we're all unemployed so possibly something about that...

Listen to thistle. on Spotify, Apple Music, and follow them on Instagram.