Scrounge, Flying Fuzz, Gazillionares

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Joseph Elliott

The two members of Scrounge sitting at a table.

Scrounge

The UK duo Scrounge is on their first U.S. tour behind their debut full-length album, Almost Like You Could, released in April. The guitar-drums combo could be limiting but shifting tempos and dynamics, carefully deployed additional instrumentation, and their sharp and smart lyrics makes for a bracing set of earworms. Be there on time as it's a good triple bill, also featuring Madison metal heroes Flying Fuzz and the Seattle duo Gazillionaires (who just released the genre-destroying, entertainingly crazed album Infinite Money Glitch).

media release: Scrounge’s debut U.S. tour kicks off this fall, beginning November 12 at Brooklyn’s Trans-Pecos. The U.K. punk-rock duo of Lucy Alexander and Luke Cartledge will bring their raw, high-energy sound from coast to coast through early December, with 11 shows confirmed in major cities nationwide. Performing songs with lyrical themes of inequality and identity, concert-goers can expect a show full of emotion, grit, and volume. They will be showcasing songs from their 2025 album Almost Like You Could.

Almost Like You Could ignites its art punk fire with Lucy Alexander proclaiming, “Everyone wants something to talk about/ But not a minute to spare, so be brief.” Not surprising from a song that’s 1:54 (‘Higher’), but the raw honesty in her lyrics ring far after the music ends. Alexander, along with bandmate Luke Cartledge, place the propulsive power of their beliefs at the core of their debut full-length album, and their guiding motivation towards social justice is as fierce as it is welcoming.

“Living as part of the queer community, and being queer myself, leads me towards supporting every person’s truth,” Alexander says. Scrounge’s songs skip to a fast beat, electrifying the entire album with a sense of empowerment. Their approach is OG punk: they make music for their peers and themselves. Only now, with a world of connections possible, they’re able to open arms wide for a far-reaching embrace. Alexander’s rich vocals give their sound its central force, anchoring the songs with confessional lines (“If this is the pinnacle, then I need a miracle/ Cause everyone’s laughing at me,” “There’s not much left/ this corpse I have to keep/ Above board.”). They sing about economic inequality, political corruption, environmental destruction, and collective change. “We’re inspired by those around us, and we write about what we care about. Art has always existed for us as a means of catharsis, a way of expressing something we might not be able to otherwise, and we hope our music can be that for other people too,” says Alexander.

“I think I’ve actually written a filthy banger,” she states while relistening to “Buzz/Cut”, a grunge-honoring hammer of a song that takes a journey from disappointment, to self-realization, to release. Alexander and Cartledge’s gratification in making an album they’re proud of mirrors the empowerment conveyed in their lyrics. 

A follow-up to debut mini-album Sugar, Daddy (Fierce Panda, 2022), Almost Like You Could came together over 18 months, in between “teaching, touring, graduation, and a wedding”, as Lucy explains, for the band always has a handful of shows coming up. It’s a strange outcome for a duo who first bonded over their mutual love of SOPHIE. “She radicalized the structure of sound, and revealed herself through it,” Cartledge explains.  “That was a massive inspiration when we started playing together, stripping everything away to open up new possibilities as artists and as people."

Having already toured Europe and the States, Scrounge is preparing to be on the road throughout 2025. In a world where the idea of true community is ephemeral, Lucy and Luke seek to foster it everywhere they play. And their belief in change is ultimately buoyed by hope. “I know that it’s never been this good,” they sing.