Peterborough Pop Punk Outfit Hound Talks New EP "The Way A Dog Loves Pizza"

"Colourful chaos" sums it up quite well [photo: Hound]

It's easy to mistake them for colourful clad cyclists or a rainbow fun run group, but Hound are instead one of the finest new bands to come out of the Peterborough scene. Bursting onto people's radars with "Ghost in the Grey" last year, they have hit the live circuit and enjoyed over 70,000 streams in the last 12 months. After 11 months with no new music, the guys break the silence with their debut EP, "The Way A Dog Loves Pizza".

I was first introduced to Hound around the time of "Ghost" releasing, I think they were playing a support set somewhere in Peterborough. It didn't take long for their colourful attire and catchy tunes to weasel their way into my brain, and it's been great seeing the guys slip their way into more and more lineups and gigs. With their new EP, Hound make it clear that they are here to stay.

I was keen to chat to the guys about their new EP, and find out a bit more about the pizza-loving dog in question that started it all.

R: Briefly introduce yourself: What is Hound all about?

H: Hound is the result of 5 millennial dudes with vastly different music tastes coming together to create colourful chaos. We sit somewhere in the Venn diagram of easycore, pop punk and post hardcore, and we like to have fun onstage and make our shows as inclusive as possible. You wanna mosh? Great! You wanna stand and nod approvingly? DOPE! You wanna go to the bar? That’s cool too!

"We feel we’ve captured the energy of a Hound live show in this EP"

It's been just under a year and a half since your first release, 'Ghost in the Grey'. How has the band developed since then?

Our sound has really become more refined in that time, 'Ghost' is a track which [guitarist] James had laying around for 10 years or more, it’s been recorded in every genre conceivable until it found its final form in Hound.

We have a had a great 2024 - after [vocalist] Jamie’s lung collapsed last October, we were put back the best part of 9 months while he healed but he has come back stronger and we have been hustling shows since July to build our brand.

Don't look behind you, but ... [photo: Hound]

Your new EP, 'The Way A Dog Loves Pizza' is out now. What tracks are you most excited for people to hear?

The title track ["The Way A Dog Loves Pizza"] is the one we get the most love for at our shows. It has groovy riffs, super catchy hooks and a singalong section which gets even the most stoney-faced spectator bobbing their head.

"You wanna mosh? Great! You wanna go to the bar? That’s cool too!"

Is there a story behind the EP's name? It sounds like there should be.

There is, but it's not too interesting. When James was demoing the song he was dog sitting. He had ordered a Dominos and the dog was looking at it as if he wanted to steal it, which he did. [James] chased him around the garden in his boxers to get it back, and the name was set in stone!

How did Jamie's lung collapse impact the writing and recording process for the EP?

Only 2 of the songs on the EP were written post lung collapse, those being "Katie" and "Wish I was a Kid". If anything, the delay was a blessing as Jamie learnt to use his voice in a healthier way, and it enabled us to gain some more momentum before releasing the EP.

"...it’s more than enough for us to have the EP be a success and have our princes and princesses resonate with it"

What can fans expect from the EP? Are there any surprises?

We feel we’ve captured the energy of a Hound live show in this EP. The lyrical themes are very melancholic, depression, relationship struggles, the trials and tribulations of trying to make it in the music industry and the inability to stay on the straight and narrow in life, yet these are all encased in major key pop punk goodness which we feel polarises the songs really well.

"The Way A Dog Loves Pizza" is out now [photo: Hound]

And lastly, Christmas is coming up. what's at the top of Hound's Christmas list?

A new live rig with MIDI automation would be dope. But if Santa can’t stretch to that it’s more than enough for us to have the EP be a success and have our princes and princesses resonate with it.

"The Way A Dog Loves Pizza" is out now on streaming platforms.

Catch Hound next at the Six Six Bar in Cambridge, on Friday 6th December.