From being fed by royal caterers in Belgrade to taking floor drugs to accidentally calling a lost friend while high at a festival, punk trio Other Half reflect on the wild moments that shaped them — and how they’re learning to slow down while keeping the fire alive. In this candid interview, Norwich’s own Other Half talk us through the highs, lows and unexpected turns of life in a DIY punk band. They share reflections on the local music scene, their evolving sound, and the importance of staying true to their roots. Along the way, they open up about strange gig experiences, emotional turning points, and the push and pull between chaos and control — all with the same wry humour and self-awareness that defines their music. This is a portrait of a band still hungry, still honest, and still loud. NMR // Thank you for the interview guys. I feel an instant connection with you as fellow Norwich folk. Give us a quick rundown of the band, and are you all still based locally? And how do you find the Norwich music scene compares to other places you’ve played? // Other Half: Ello, thanks for taking the time to talk to little us! We are Cal, Soapy & Alfie, and we play guitar, bass and drums respectively in Norwich punk band Other Half. We’ve been at this a while, and Norwich has a tendency to ebb & flow scene-wise, mostly dependent on what venues exist at the time. I think we maybe just went through another little fallow patch, but places like The Holloway are doing brilliant things to reignite the weirdo communities of Norwich. NMR // With Alt-RnB, AI-generated music, and auto-tuned hip-hop dominating the global landscape and fewer emerging bands breaking through, how do you see the punk scene shaping up in 2025? // Other Half: I think it depends where you’re looking; punk is selling out big venues in the shape of bands like Lambrini Girls and Amyl & The Sniffers, and they’re bands doing it for all the right reasons, but as ever, punk’s power isn’t necessarily in 2000 cap venues. It’s in tiny rooms, playing to a handful of people that care about it more than anything, and that’s just as important, I reckon. NMR // As a three-piece, do you each bring different musical tastes and writing styles to the table? How does that influence the writing process, or are you mostly aligned creatively? // Other Half: I think a three-piece is maybe the perfect vehicle for making music, at least the kind we make. We all pull from slightly different places, which I think is the key to making something that sounds like ‘us’ as opposed to just ripping someone else off. Make no mistake, that’s all I’m doing when I’m writing the songs, but because Soapy and Alfie end up playing something completely different over the top, it always ends up sounding like Other Half. I think if there were more moving parts, it might just sound a stylistic mess, but there is a leanness to a three-piece, plus, you can do everything in a Citroen Berlingo, so, ya know.. NMR // All your albums pack serious energy, but if I had to compare, Dark Ageism feels a touch more experimental and slightly less high-octane. Do you see that as a natural progression in your sound, and do you see yourselves pushing that evolution further on future releases? // Other Half: I don’t think that was a conscious choice, or necessarily even a good one, but more a product of how quickly that album came together. I really, really love all those songs, but I don’t think restraint is something Other Half do particularly convincingly. I think that probably shows in how select we are playing songs from that record- turns out slow, spindly and singy is much harder, and much duller, to play than the ones that just boot ya in the nose. So, more nose-booters on the next record. NMR // As you grow both personally and as a band, do you feel the angst and raw energy starting to shift? Do you ever feel the urge to tone things down, or is that high-octane fire still burning strong? // Cal: Not a bit maaaan, I think the world at large is doing a great job of making us all angrier and more impassioned about our stupid hobby than ever before. If you’re not playing it like ya mean it, I’m not really sure what the point of it all is. The only thing holding Other Half back is our crumbling bodies. I shit myself a bit at a gig the other day, that’s a new one. NMR // Your Spotify bio mentions that Dark Ageism explores the anxiety of being in a punk band. Can you talk more about that? Where does that anxiety stem from — is it the writing, recording, performing, or the pressure to keep up a certain standard? // Cal: I think I meant more the anxiety induced through choosing to base my life around being in a band, rather than a career, a mortgage, or any of the other things most people use as a measure of being a legitimate human being. Luckily, after mulling it over, over the course of the album, I’ve decided it’s the best thing in the world and everyone else is wrong. This’ll bite me on the arse when I get to 70 and only have 500 quid in my pension, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. NMR // When writing a track, where do your lyrical ideas usually come from? Would you say they’re rooted more in personal expression, observations of the world around you, political or social themes, or something else entirely? // Cal: All of the above, probably. Songs tend to grow out of odd or infantile things I’ve seen, overheard or done myself, that I then try and make sound clever by avoiding the first rhyme on Rhymezone and thumbing in some double-meaning. I think all the songs deal in similar themes, namely my abject fear of responsibility in any form, but I try to thread a narrative through them all so they’re not just a list of my neurosis. NMR // I haven’t seen you perform live yet, what should I expect? // Cal: Sometimes I think we’re the tightest band on the planet, and sometimes the sloppiest, so you’ll find us somewhere across that spectrum, but we are, and always will be loud, punctual and awkward, that is a solemn promise. NMR // From weird venues to wild travel stories, what’s one of the strangest experiences you’ve had while playing live shows? // Cal: In our time playing in bands, we’ve been lucky enough to experience some truly nutty stuff. From getting fed by the royal family’s caterers in Belgrade, to playing in a squatted bank in Germany whilst a couple had sex under a transparent tarpaulin, but nowadays Other Half tend to opt for a speedy exit to watch Naked Attraction in a Travelodge, and an early rise for a Weatherspoons brekkie and a 4 hour walk around a British Heritage site. NMR // Are there any bands right now that you feel are breaking new ground and inspiring your own work? // Cal: Sadly, I think we’re all mainly inspired by stuff that no longer exists anymore; outdated and deeply uncool 90’s/00’s post-hardcore, punk, indie and screamo mostly made by old white men with paunch bellies and grey hair. Nostalgia is a powerful drug. New band-wise, we do all love Problem Patterns, Kulk, Ex-Void, Feeble Little Horse, Vacuous, The Tubs, Guerilla Toss etc, all of which sound a bit like the past, but are at least on the most part, not old white men. NMR // What’s something in your creative process that would surprise people? // Cal: The Hungry Horse opposite our practice space looms very large in our process. Alfie will often get two meals, because one is simply not enough. NMR // Do you write with live performance in mind, or does that come later? //Cal: Always later, when we realise we can’t play half the songs we’ve written because they’re too hard (for us). Keep it simple, stupid. NMR // Are there any instruments, sounds, or bits of production gear you’re currently obsessed with? // Cal:Other Half have a staunch anti-gear stance, but I have crossed the picket line recently and had my friend Jay at Dorn Sound Objects make me a feedback-looper, or as I asked, ‘can ya make me a pedal that makes a horrible squeal when I press it?’. He did just that, and it’s brilliant fun. NMR // What’s next for Other Half, do you have an album coming out soon, any upcoming big gigs or tours you’d like to plug? // Cal: We’re going a bit quiet over the summer to write the 4th record. I think we all wanna take some real time to make this one a grade-A mega-belter, so you’ll have to twiddle yr collective thumbs if you’re wanting to see us live. That, or come see us at 2000 Trees festival in July, Toxic Wotsit in Hastings in August, or Wild Paths in October. NMR // Will you be hanging around Norwich and checking out some other acts at Wild Paths? // Cal: Of course! Plenty of interesting stuff, looking forward to Getdown Services, Y, Humour, The Empty Threats as well as local legends Brown Horse, Kulk, Feasts, Pleasure Inc, Kitty Perrin and Magnolia. Nice. NMR // Have you ever written something that scared you to share? // Cal: Not really. I think I’ve written about everything that most people would rather be kept a sordid secret; STI’s, taking drugs I found on the floor, having two wet dreams in one night in my 30’s. I guess the most ‘difficult’ thing I’ve tried to voice, is about losing my dear friend Jim, who died about 10 years ago now. In the end I just decided to write about the time I accidentally called his number, post-death, whilst I was off my nut on drugs at a festival. Odd feeling, that. I guess I’m just more interested in documenting strange situations like that, than I am in discussing grand emotions. Jim would have hated that, anyway. NMR // What’s the emotion you find hardest to write about, and why? // Cal: Sincerity, I guess. I find that a pretty difficult emotion to express IRL, so most OH songs are dripping wet with sarcasm, scorn and metaphorical eye-rolls. That’s not to say they’re not about stuff I care deeply about, but I don’t think I’d ever be comfortable enough to write something wholly earnest. Leave that to the David Grey’s of the world, I reckon.