Credit: Josh Armstrong
Brighton-based four-piece congratulations will release their debut album Join Hands, February 13, 2026 via Bella Union. It is a high-powered, fast-paced 10 track collection of unbridled, intensely groovy indie dance rock and a bright-eyed plea to hang up your worries and let the good times roll. New single “Fought 4 Love” encapsulates the essence of congratulations. Kicking off with a floor-stomping riff that’s as groovy as it is thunderous, the dance rock-meets-new wave pop masterpiece is a Devo-inspired anti-love song. The music video, which is centred around a speed dating called ‘con-shag-u-lations’, supports this sentiment as it sees the band and the rest of the daters end up forgoing the date element and just enjoying each other’s company, ending with a giant party - whether the dates went well or not.
Commenting on the track the band say: “There are so many songs out there about love; falling in love, being in love, but what about falling out of love? No, not a breakup song, there are plenty of those, this is an anti-love song, realising that sometimes letting go of love is the best thing for you, that we all grow up and apart and that’s actually fine - embrace this, celebrate it, move onto the next stage of your life, and enjoy your own company and have a great time.”
Watch / Share “Fought 4 Love” Video
Composed of Jamie Chellar on guitar, Greg Burns on bass, James Gillingham on drums and Leah Stanhope on vocals, the quartet is meticulous in their debauchery, diligently balancing ‘80s pop, ‘00s indie, and a modern-day rock experimentalism into something both deliciously nostalgic and firmly of-the-now. Clad in primary colour uniforms (the sobriquet “punk rock Power Rangers” has been lobbed in their direction on several occasions), and writing songs about delusional millennials, shadowy boogeymen and really good haircuts, congratulations have made a short-yet-dazzling career of never taking themselves too seriously—in fact, they might be the band who take not taking themselves seriously the most seriously ever.
Produced by Luke Phillips (experimental Bella Union pop artist ICEBEING), congratulations bring a youthful modern touch to their deep appreciation of 1980s pop music, citing Prince, Madonna, and Devo as core references. Join Hands is the magical result when four unique individuals with a shared creative vision come together and make something bigger than themselves. It’s like the uniforms—sure, they look great onstage, but in a weird way, they’re also a metaphor for how the band operates, four musicians delighting in finding their common ground. “There's no point in us trying to all wear the same thing because all of us are so different,” says Jamie with a laugh. “It's exactly the same in songwriting, isn't it?,” posits Leah. “We're never going to agree, are we?”
“Yeah,” concludes Jamie, “But somehow, it works.”
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