Credit: Leila-Mae Rummery
Brighton UK four-piece congratulations will release their debut album Join Hands, February 13 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. They have already earned acclaim for their 2025 singles “This Life” and “Fought 4 Love” from Punknews.org, Ones To Watch, Jammerzine, The Line Of Best Fit, Our Culture Mag, FEMMUSIC and more. Today, they share the playful new album cut “Dr. Doctor” alongside an official video. Warped, jagged and endlessly danceable, it is a song only congratulations could have written. A sampled foghorn manipulated over monstrous break beat crash into a bouncing bass line drenched in erratic synth, blown-out sax, and elusive flute, laying the foundation for vocalist Leah Stanhope to channel her inner Britney crooning to a lover. The band shares, "When we made this album, one of our main goals was idiosyncrasy - whilst we draw on a lot of influences, I truly believe no one could make this song but us. This song is for everyone trapped inside their own head, spiralling and catastrophising - we feel you. Just avoid this particular Doctor."
Watch / Share “Dr. Doctor” 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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