Humour has found their place in the madhouse. By intertwining personal struggles with a fierce, combative energy, Glasgow's most spirited post-punk/hardcore band is carving their niche with their audacious yet cleverly humorous debut album, ‘Learning Greek’. “The title was an unexpected stroke of luck,” says vocalist Andreas Christodoulidis, speaking to DIY from Greece. “It originated from a throwaway line in a song that didn't make it onto the album. We didn’t put much thought into it - it simply had a nice sound. Afterwards, I considered the themes present in the record: reflecting on the past, nostalgia, the passage of time, and fears of mortality.” Indeed, ‘Learning Greek’ emerges as an eleven-track exploration of Andreas’ innermost concerns, unfolding as tales of deep paranoia (‘Neighbours’), social identity (‘Die Rich’), and a poignant title track that highlights its core theme of personal history. While a debut album often reveals much about the band, Humour avoided the weight of pressure or expectations. They embraced risks, took their time, and showed no mercy.
Throughout the LP, the captivating hardcore components and sharp, metallic elements that characterize the band’s two prior EPs (2022’s ‘pure misery’ and 2023’s ‘A Small Crowd Gathered To Watch Me’) are combined with more melodic guitar riffs and layered pop-punk vocals—a direction not initially intended. “We essentially had a full album's worth of demos that didn’t make it,” admits Andreas. “They weren’t bad tracks, but they lacked the necessary impact; there weren't enough standout songs. We reluctantly opted to record more tracks, and the singles came together quite rapidly, affirming our choice was correct.” “I hope some of those songs can be reimagined, though—I truly love some of those tracks,” adds drummer Ruairidh Smith. “But we could completely change direction for album two—who knows?”
“We aim to blend oddness into songs that are crafted to be well-structured and engaging, rather than just chaotic,” says Andreas Christodoulidis.
Having formed the band during the pandemic, Humour’s initial years presented a chance to explore the wildest aspects of their shared psyche while maintaining their ambition—an approach that Andreas notes has persisted yet evolved. “We’ve kept the intention to be experimental; we still want to explore unconventional ideas,” he remarks. “What’s different now is that, with our first EP, we aimed to shock people—the whole experience was a jolt. Now we focus on integrating oddness into songs that are fundamentally structured and compelling, instead of solely being chaotic.”
“We all have diverse musical preferences,” Ruairidh agrees. “The softer, melodic elements stem from Andreas’ passion for folk music, while my background is in poppier sounds, which guided the album's direction and cohesiveness. We also made a deliberate effort to incorporate hardcore elements.” He continues: “Since we wrote [‘pure misery’] during Covid, we had no one to rein in our eccentricities. This has been vital in shaping our identity, but now we’re striving to create more direct songs that push various elements further. We push the noise, or have Andreas extend his vocal range; [the album] captures everything we’ve done so far while adding something fresh.”
‘Learning Greek’ is set to be released on August 8th via So Young Records.
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