Colchester four-piece PET NEEDS kick off the new year with the release of their fourth studio album ‘Elbows Out! This Is Capitalism’ on Xtra Mile Recordings, 27th March 2026.
Written throughout 2025 in a busy year that saw them zig zag across the UK, US and Europe in a relentless schedule of headline tours, support tours and festivals. PET NEEDS never stay still for long, driven by their enduring pursuit of being creative, the pull of playing music and connecting with fans. But touring is also a financial necessity. Being a punk band building things up from the bottom is hard graft in an industry dominated by streaming, social media saturation and big marketing budgets.
It is fitting then that their new album tackles some of these themes head-on - a satirical look at the pitfalls of trying to make it as a DIY punk band. The album charts the exploits of the band buying a second-hand punk rock career at auction and trying (and failing) to make it work. Over the course of the genre-spanning 12 tracks, the story unfolds with a mix of frenetic punk rock defiance; reflective melodic introspection and beat heavy party anthems alongside guest appearances by CJ Ramone, legendary auctioneer Eric Olson and friends The Whops and Jess Guise whose interludes help the story develop.
Johnny Marriott (vocalist) explains further:
“There has to be a reason why people continue to pursue creative careers when on paper the industry is built to break them. The power of the present - the writing, the shows, and the human connection - supersedes it all. Being a musician right now is an act of defiance. Even with artificial intelligence and late capitalism doing everything they can to force our hands, we won't stop.
With this album we wanted to take ourselves into a new space where nothing was off the table. We doubled down on the things we’re well-honed at - the big choruses, huge solos and intricate storytelling lyrics - pushing them further than ever before, then also brought in new influences from areas other than punk. We wanted to make an album that people would love to listen to all the way through, so we decided to tell a story.
Each member brought their own flair to this record. It feels vital. We're really proud of it.”
It is their most creative and bold album so far. Recorded by George Perks (Enter Shikari, You Me At Six, Mogwai, Skindred) it follows the release of their Top 20 album ‘Intermittent Fast Living’ in February 2024.
The release will mark a decade in the life of the band. The first 5 years were more a part-time affair, with a handful of single releases and gigs in the back rooms of pubs and clubs as well as house shows and anywhere else that they could play. They signed to Xtra Mile Recordings to release their debut album ‘Fractured Party Music’ in 2021 and were catapulted into a dizzying touring schedule that took them across the UK, Europe and United States. And their feet haven’t touched the ground since. Second album ‘Primetime Entertainment’ quickly followed in 2022 and third album ‘Intermittent Fast Living’ in 2024 which entered the UK Official Album Chart at Number 17. They’ve garnered plays from Steve Lamacq on 6Music, John Kennedy on Radio X, Kerrang! Radio, BBC Introducing Essex and Total Rock as well as performing live on The Chris McCausland Show on ITV.
Having attracted attention with their relentless live shows, PET NEEDS have toured extensively supporting Frank Turner, The Lottery Winners, The Bouncing Souls, Flogging Molly, Skinny Lister, The Hives, Art Brut, NOFX, The Levellers, Spike & The Gimmie and Gimmies and Laura Jane Grace. Their own headline tours in the UK have previously sold out including their annual Fractured Party Festival which took place in May 2025 at The Garage in London and The Old Church in Stoke Newington. They’ve played the Main Stage at Beautiful Days and Bearded Theory Festivals and won over fans at 2000Trees, Dot To Dot, The Salty Dog Cruise and many more.
PET NEEDS are:
Johnny Marriott (vocals)
George Marriott (guitar)
Jules Marrison (drums)
Ryan Sharman (bass)
"Scrunchy melodic rock n roll... right up my street!" - Steve Lamacq, BBC 6 Music.
“Hard, energetic, spiky songs, stuffed with attitude” - THE DAILY MIRROR
Album Review
“the four-piece provide a masterclass on how to commit a high-octane atmosphere to record, with screeching guitars and high-energy vocals bringing that classic punk rock style to life.” DORK Album Review
“confirms Pet Needs as a band with real potential” – NARC Album Review - 4.5/5
“Shows enormous prescience for ones so young, and proves they’re so much more than an average punk band.” - IPA MUSIC Album Review - 9/10 -
“Their superpower comes from channelling their normality and repurposing the magic they experience in their everyday lives as insightful, honest rock… this can only be the record that keeps them on their whirlwind of touring success.” – PUNKTASTIC Album Review
Discography:
Fractured Party Music – album (2021)
Fractured Party Music – deluxe album (2021)
The Fractured Party EP - Vol 1 (2022)
Primetime Entertainment – album (2022)
Intermittent Fast Living – album (2024)
Kind Of Acoustic – acoustic album (2025)
Awards:
The 2022 Powered By Rock Music Awards - #Breakthrough Artist of the Year.
SBTM Awards 2024 – Album Of The Year for Intermittent Fast Living – WINNER
SBTM Awards 2024 – Live Artist Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Group Of The Year - NOMINEES
You may also like the following events from The Swale Assembly, Sittingbourne:
Also check out other
Music events in Sittingbourne,
Entertainment events in Sittingbourne,
Festivals in Sittingbourne.
