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Newcastle melodic punk newcomers Wild Spelks are pleased to reveal their new single ‘Take It From A Friend’. The single was produced, mixed, and mastered by songwriter, musician, and producer Jonathon Sabiston throughout 2023 at home in his Newcastle flat, with drum takes recorded at Blank Studios, Newcastle with engineer Chris McManus (Pit Pony, Du Blonde, TV Death).

The perfect introduction to their understated and accomplished lyrical turns of phrase and masterful wielding of soaring melody and classic song structure, this impressively coiled first bite of new material sets out their stall as a serious new contender from the North East.

Mining a rich seam of melodic punk and alt-rock that should resonate with fans of Cold Years, The Menzingers, and Hot Water Music there’s also a tinge of the lo-fi sensibilities of the likes of Grandaddy and They Might Be Giants about their joyfully melancholy sound. As with all Wild Spelks’ material, all instrumentation on the record is performed by Sabiston himself.

Commenting on the track, songwriter and frontman Jonathon Sabiston says: “‘Take It From a Friend’” is quite a departure for us, slightly veering towards Americana as opposed to the comfort of pop rock. The track has a much broader instrumentation than what we're used to, featuring trumpets and acoustic guitars alongside the usual distorted guitars and thumping drums. I was lucky enough to have fellow North East singer Joe Ernest Allan (ernie) join up with a soulful lower octave throughout the verses and gorgeous harmonies in the chorus. Lyrically, there are themes of depression and helping friends through struggles that resonate with your own.”

Formed in 2020, Wild Spelks is the solo material vessel of songwriter, musician, and producer Jonathon Sabiston. What started as a collection of voice notes and demos expanded exponentially upon the release of their debut single, ‘The Happy Places’. When performing live, Wild Spelks are lucky to have had a rotating line-up of North East musicians from such bands as Them Things, Sam Fender, The Welcome Party, Holy Moly & The Crackers and more. The band will be announcing further details of new music and live shows over the coming months.