Let's Wrestle are an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 indie rock band based in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The band consists of Wesley Patrick Gonzalez (vocals and guitar), Sam Pillay (bass), and Darkus Bishop (drums).

History

Gonzalez, bassist Mike Hankin (also known as Mike Lightning) and drummer Darkus Bishop formed the band in 2005. Their debut 7" single "Song for ABBA Tribute Band" was releasen only two years later on Marquis Cha Cha Records. According to AllMusic, "it gained them fans in the British music scene, including Art Brut's Eddie Argos, to whom Gonzalez (whose stepfather is musician Pete Astor) was often compared". In 2008 the band signed to Stolen Recordings

Stolen Recordings

Stolen Recordings is an independent record label founded by two musicians and one artist based in Tottenham, London. Stolen's first release was in May 2005 and in 2009 they founded a publishing company in association with Beggars Music called Stolen Publishing.-Current artists:* Pete And The...

 which released their EP In Loving Memory Of, followed by the full-length In the Court of the Wrestling Let's

In the Court of the Wrestling Let's

In the Court of the Wrestling Let's is the debut studio album by British indie rock band Let's Wrestle. It was released on June 29, 2009 through Stolen Recordings....

(2009), recorded in a basement. It was warmly received by critics and earned them comparisons to The Fall and early Wedding Present among others. "They do a first-rate job blending humor, emotion, and energy on In the Court; it's a tricky routine to master but they've done it impressively right out of the gate", AllMusic's Tim Sendra wrote. The second album, Nursing Home, was produced by Steve Albini

Steve Albini

Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...

 and released on June 1, 2011 by Merge Records

Merge Records

Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as a way to release music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world and records...

.

Musical style

The band claims that their musical influences include The Beatles, Neil Young, Pavement, Nirvana, Swell Maps, Pixies, The Raincoats, Bowie, Beach Boys, Fugazi, ELO, Dinosaur Jr, Buddy Holly, Black Sabbath, The Clean, Denim, Grandaddy, Husker Du, Wire, Yo La Tengo, and Phil Spector.
They have also said that they are "ultimately trying to be as raw as possible and they try to write songs that make your soul crumble as well as making you smile, sing along and clap your hands".

Critical reception

The band was described by the NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

 as "a charming, funny and utterly real trio". Drowned in Sound

Drowned in Sound

DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...

 gave their track "Song For Abba Tribute Record" an 8/10 describing it as a "downtrodden plea from a self-absorbed man with issues" by a "captivating and cutting band" of "ham-fisted gentlemen". The song was also described by the BBC Collective

Collective (BBC)

Collective was an "interactive culture magazine" hosted by the BBC's website, bbc.co.uk. Collective was launched in May 2002, becoming interactive in September of the same year. Collective editors included Rowan Kerek, Jonathan Carter, Alastair Lee, James Cowdery and Matt Walton who had the...

 as "the accidental 4am lovechild of eight bottles of £2.99 Merlot and a wheelbarrow full of Cutter’s Choice"

Cutters Choice

Cutters Choice is a fine-cut hand rolling tobacco manufactured in Holland by John Sinclair Ltd.It Comes in a variety of 12.5g, 25g, 50g, and 100g pouches and used to come in 50g tins sometimes in the past....

. Clash magazine described their album 'Nursing Home' as "brittle scuzzed-up grunge guitars...around a chirpy indie pop recital".

Singles

• "Song For Abba Tribute Record" (2007)
• "I Wont Lie To You" (2007)
• "Let's Wrestle/I'm in Fighting Mode" (2008)
• "We Are The Men You'll Grow to Love Soon" (2009)
• "In Dreams Part II" (2011}
• "If I Keep On Loving You" (2011)

EPs

• In Loving Memory Of... (2008)
• Let's Wrestle Stolen Cover's CDR (2008)

Albums

• In the Court of the Wrestling Let's
  In the Court of the Wrestling Let's
  In the Court of the Wrestling Let's is the debut studio album by British indie rock band Let's Wrestle. It was released on June 29, 2009 through Stolen Recordings....
  
  (2009)
• Nursing Home (2011)

External links

• NME Artist page
• Let's Wrestle at Stolen Recordings
• Let's Wrestle at Last.fm
  Last.fm
  Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....