Ditz

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Ditz formed in Brighton in 2016. The lineup is made up of Cal Francis (vocals), Caleb Remnant (bass), Sam Evans (drums), and Anton Mocock and Jack Looker on the two guitars. After putting out a couple of EPs, "Ep1" (2016) and "5 Songs" (which in 2020 collected a series of previously released singles), their debut album, "The Great Regression", arrived in 2022. Their sound bears the influence of the recent post-post-punk wave, Idles above all, but with the addition of plenty of disruptive elements and a sonic schizophrenia that brings them closer to Ireland's Gilla Band.

After the live album "On the Bai'ou – Live From the Louisiana" (2023), in January 2025 Ditz cemented their growing reputation with their second album, "Never Exhale", opened by the sound of a car starting up, the Volvo V70 used on their previous tour. Thus begins a hallucinated journey, which in the opening track takes the shape of a sinister, noisy horror soundtrack. Two minutes of terror are then tempered by the dance-punk stride (very much in vogue among the new generation, see Fat Dog and the like) of "Taxi Man", chosen as the lead single. The voice of the androgynous Callum Francis fits perfectly over these sounds, urging the car onward: "So I get back in the car/ And I tell him to keep on driving" is the slogan repeated to the point of exhaustion. Also lively is the following "Space/Smile", another chapter that burns through in a couple of minutes, while the anxious weight keeps building. In "Senor Siniestro" the vocals start out detached, before the explosion that hits around the midpoint, the prelude to which is followed by electric shocks and guitar riffs.

The atmosphere grows ever more fraught as the listen goes on: in "God On A Speed Dial" the unease is palpable, just as it is in the dramatic, claustrophobic crescendo that defines "Smells Like Something Died In Here". The tension doesn't let up even in the closing stretch, between an "18 Wheeler" that borrows from the noise-rock of Sonic Youth, the gothic touch of "The Body As A Structure" and the final detours marked out by the closing "Britney", building to a sonic synthesis that is bound to make a strong impact live as well.

In October 2025 Ditz released a single featuring two new tracks: the long, structured "Don Enzo Magic Carpet Salesman" and the more direct "Kalimba Song", two songs that fully confirm the style the English quintet has pursued so far.