SWEET Ignitions are a four-piece from Abergavenny that never met with an overdrive pedal that they didn’t like, but balance their twin-guitar, feedback-drenched sound with melodies that hit just as hard as the riffs.

It’s all in evidence on debut single Holy Scars. Taking the fuzzed-up fury of acts like Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet and Jawbox yet combining them with melodies and harmonies that live long in the memory.

Formed in late 2017, Sweet Ignitions’ history stretches back a bit further.

Matt Phillips (guitar and vox) and Lino Malnati (guitar and backing vox) cut their teeth with the band Ruby Cruiser. Signed to One Little Indian and with a debut album produced by Chris Sheldon (Pixies, Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro), they were poised for big things.

Sadly, the course of rock ‘n’ roll rarely runs smooth and the band fell apart before it could realise its full potential.

Burned by the experience, music took a backseat for Matt and Lino in the following years, until the pair both found themselves living back in their home town and reunited with a rekindled love of songwriting and cranked-up guitars.

They were quickly joined by bassist Huw Thomas, bringing a low-end rumble honed by years on the South Wales scene, before the versatile and hard-hitting drummer Ty Walker completed the picture.

Introducing themselves to the world via Facebook with a video for their crunchy, hook-laden song Sweet Misery, the band went on to a sell out their home town show after playing gigs in and around the South Wales area for the previous three months.

In true DIY style they put the whole thing together themselves, staging the event in the Abergavenny Labour Club (the only venue in town able to hold the 300 audience members who turned up). They also landed the first radio airplay, when Adam Walton played the demo for forthcoming single Holy Scars on his BBC Radio Wales Introducing show and followed that up with another airing of the song and an interview with BGfm radio.

The songs bite hard but soothe with melodies that the listener will need and want to sing along with. Lyrically, the tracks deal with despair, confusion, loneliness and regret, but the feeling is anything but morose. This band believes in catharsis through the purifying effect of noise. Sad songs, played loud. Euphoric misery that moves the heart and the feet.

On stage is where Sweet Ignitions are most at home. With songs written and gigs booked at venues all over South Wales, the next step is to get the Sweet Ignitions sound to a wider audience, both through online activities and good, old-fashioned work out on the road. This is a band that loves the music it plays and wants to take it to as many people as possible. Getting together – for rehearsals, writing sessions or shows – is what all four members look forward to. They’d keep doing it even if no one was listening, but some things are so good they deserve to be shared.

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