What happens when a dusty, already opened bottle of liqueur, long forgotten in a hidden corner of a "grandmother's house," is discovered by a group of friends who didn't buy enough beer for their trip to the village?
TSERRY BRANDY is a four-member punk rock band from Athens, which made its (official) debut in October 2020. Their name is inspired by the bottle of the same name that left them with that... unforgettable taste.
They had already started jamming during the first phase of Covid, looking for a way to escape the confinement, screens, and uncertainty of quarantine. So, with their instruments on their backs, two masks in their pockets, and a "code 6," the two Yiannis (guitar-vocals and bass vocals), Orpheas (drums), and Faidonas (lead guitar) began to discover their common musical identity.
The first few months were full of experimentation: from Kaiser Chiefs to Kítrina Pódilata (elements that can still be discerned in their songs today). However, they felt most comfortable with one song, Green Day's "Basket Case." And from there, they laid the foundation to slowly start trying out their own ideas. A very old demo of "Fthinouses Meres" in one of the well-known rehearsal studios in Agia Paraskevi became the reason for them to look each other in the eyes and say, "What do you think?"
In the beginning, their live performances featured a potpourri of their own works in progress, covers from the Greek punk scene, but also more... inspired covers of Greek art music and rebetiko. With a stage presence full of spontaneity and passion, TSERRY BRANDY began to find their identity in the Greek punk-rock scene. In contrast to the playful style of their live performances, however, TSERRY wanted to write about the experiences hidden behind the smiles and jokes. They were now ready to enter the studio...
In May 2023, after 2.5 years of live performances, experimentation, and recording, they released their first EP, "Kourase i Fasi" (The Phase Got Tired).
The sound of the EP balances between the energy of their foreign influences (such as Green Day and the Offspring) and the authenticity of the Greek underground scene, resulting in a fresh mix of dynamic punk rock and a contemporary DIY aesthetic.
"Kourasia I Fasi" revolves around the concerns of a young adult trying to balance his emotions with his logic, in a city more confusing than himself. Balancing between memories of Athens, the city that raised them, TSERRY wanted to talk about their experiences of post-adolescent life in the capital. They "fit" them into four tracks: Fthinouse Meres – Ekeini i Balanta – Loss – Ocean. In June 2024, they even released a video clip for "Loss" (but how this video clip came about is a story best told by them).
The EP, which surpassed 100,000 streams on Spotify, was presented live at An Club in Exarchia in June 2023. In a lively display of emotion, the audience's response was very warm and led them to make a promise: Whatever life throws at them, they will write and play music.
Almost immediately, they began writing the next ones. The plan? A concept album based on the ideas of "Kourase i Fasi." They entered the studio with enthusiasm, but little time... Reality forced them to travel abroad (each for their own reasons) and live with a horizon of a few months. So there could be no more fitting title for their new work than "The Hourglass is Emptying." ... And why an hourglass? Because it is not an instrument of perpetual linear measurement (like a clock), but a tool of reverse measurement: "as Time passes, Life ends."
They have already presented four singles from their upcoming release:
The special cover of Manos Loizos' "T' Akordeon," which they consistently play at each of their first live shows, "2009 (Cursed From Childhood)," which, as the title suggests, talks about the psychosocial impact of the 2009 crisis on their generation, "O Filos tou Krokodylou" (The Crocodile's Friend), a blend of Psophios Korion and Evgenios Trivizas, and the dry-humored "Patience," which calls on the listener to wake up from the lethargy of an eternal "wait."
Along with these, they also recently shared two-thirds of the project "Lost Time," one of the themes of their upcoming album.
However, while we wait for more information about the upcoming release, TSERRY BRANDY have already started to "leak" hints on their social media profiles...
The band's lineup is:
Guitar – Vocals: Giannis Dellis
Bass – Vocals: Giannis Valadakis
Lead Guitar: Faidon Nousis
Drums: Orpheas Liakopoulos
