“Elephant” by Obey Robots features on our album “One In A Thousand”, out 24th February 2023 and available here.
Someone said the thumbnail of this video makes me look like I’m in an episode of Doctor Who, and I am here for that.
VIDEO CREDITS Directed, shot and edited by Laura Kidd. Filmed in the corner of Rat’s messy attic in the Midlands and in the middle of Laura’s messy home studio in Bristol. Luna tried to get on camera, but it wasn’t the right time. Can you spot her in this one though?
SONG CREDITS Produced by Laura Kidd in The Launchpad, Bristol. Mixed by Chris Sheldon at Red Cedar, London, mastered by Katie Tavini at Weird Jungle, Brighton. All music by Laura Kidd and Rat. Guitars by Rat. All lyrics, arrangements, vocals, bass and synths by Laura. Drums by Max Saidi.
My new Penfriend album “House Of Stories” is available NOW on super limited vinyl, CDs and KiT hybrid digital albums, with accompanying tees, hoodies and books. Music fans got it to #2 in the Official UK Independent Album Chart in April 2025. Bonkers!
Join The Correspondent’s Clubon Patreon to receive quarterly bundles of art and members-only music plus extra perks + immediate access to my entire digital archive (digital and analogue memberships available)
Taut and propulsive, “Elephant” marries the pop nouse of XTC with the stop-start dynamics of 00’s post-hardcore mainstays Hundred Reasons before opening up into the kind of shimmering chorus that would have shot Obey Robots to MTV stardom had it been the 90’s.
SONG CREDITS Produced by Laura Kidd. Mixed by Chris Sheldon. Mastered by Katie Tavini.
All music by Laura Kidd and Rat, all lyrics and arrangements by Laura Kidd. All vocals and bass by Laura, all guitars by Rat. Drums by Max Saidi.
Rat’s guitars recorded by Dan Austin. All other instruments recorded by Laura in The Launchpad, Bristol.
Single artwork by Laura Kidd, robot illustration by Alex Tillbrook.
LYRICS
Newspaper shouts that we’ve had enough The radio says we’re all out of love Don’t let them take what you worked hard for Slaving away for your family There’s nothing left for the strangers who bleed Hold tight to the things that you value
Thank your lucky stars Look to the future There’s freedom in guitars
We try to get it right Fight the forces on the other side Just a little longer Unbandaging our eyes Count the seconds as they crystallise It’s just a little further
The government says we’re overrun They get a break while you soldier on Cos you don’t have the life that you deserve You’re working hard for your family There’s nothing else, you believe what you read This wasn’t given to you on a plate
Don’t politicise Stick to the music Dance for a little while Always scraping the barrel Parroting lines I’ve never felt so angry
We try to get it right Fight the forces on the other side Just a little longer Unbandaging our eyes Count the seconds as they crystallise It’s just a little further
We’re wasting time Don’t want to feel so bad We’re wasting time And it was all we had
We try to get it right Fight the forces on the other side Just a little longer Unbandaging our eyes Count the seconds as they crystallise It’s just a little further
We try to get it right Fight the forces on the other side Just a little longer Unbandaging our eyes Losing hours as they hypnotise It’s always a little further than we can
My new Penfriend album “House Of Stories” is available NOW on super limited vinyl, CDs and KiT hybrid digital albums, with accompanying tees, hoodies and books. Music fans got it to #2 in the Official UK Independent Album Chart in April 2025. Bonkers!
Join The Correspondent’s Clubon Patreon to receive quarterly bundles of art and members-only music plus extra perks + immediate access to my entire digital archive (digital and analogue memberships available)
“Porcupine” by Obey Robots features on our album “One In A Thousand”, out 24th February 2023 and available here.
The only reviews I care about are from music fans…here are some words on “Porcupine”:
“Damned fine. Catchy, driving tune allied to pleasingly daft day-go visuals” – author Ian Rankin
“90s guitar mated with 80s synth to make a 2023 musical gem of a baby. love it.” – TheHousePanther
“an absolute hoot!” – Jo
“You Robots know how to party!” – Joe
“Awesome riff, hilarious video, cracking song! Love it!!! “ – Gary
“SO FUN! Love this!” – Wendy
“Killer riff, great vocal, and a hugely fun video to go with them. Well played, again. This album is going to be a belter.” – Matt
“Pink wafers for the win.” – PupGeorge
“That was absolutely bonkers and I love it!” – Vince
“What fabulous nonsense! I will practice dance moves for any live performance you put on – even if I’m not attending” – Shane
“every part of this is utterly delightful!” – Dan
“I am a porcupine!” – Jez
THANK YOU
I’d had this video idea in mind for months, and when it came time to make it a reality the timing was perfect.
New Year, new outlook. It was time to throw off the bad bits of 2022 and be as utterly silly as we liked. Who cares?
I’m a porcupine! You’re a porcupine!
The song is about defensiveness (particularly on the internet); our seemingly innate urge to throw up our spikes right away to defend ourselves by caricaturing the opposition, magnified by addictive media.
We’re told “there’s nothing new under the sun”…bring me another song containing the words “erethizontidae” and “hystricidae” accompanied by a video featuring a cardboard robot party in the local village hall and I’ll agree with you!
VIDEO CREDITS Directed and edited by Laura Kidd DOP – Sarah Smither Camera and lighting assistant – Miles McDowell Set photography, porcupine creation and general wonderfulness – Tim Bailey Costumes by Rat & Laura (obviously!) Filmed at Shirehampton Public Hall, Bristol
SONG CREDITS Produced by Laura Kidd in The Launchpad, Bristol. Mixed by Chris Sheldon at Red Cedar, London, mastered by Katie Tavini at Weird Jungle, Brighton. All music by Laura Kidd and Rat. Guitars by Rat. All lyrics, arrangements, vocals, bass and synths by Laura. Drums by Max Saidi.
My new Penfriend album “House Of Stories” is available NOW on super limited vinyl, CDs and KiT hybrid digital albums, with accompanying tees, hoodies and books. Music fans got it to #2 in the Official UK Independent Album Chart in April 2025. Bonkers!
Join The Correspondent’s Clubon Patreon to receive quarterly bundles of art and members-only music plus extra perks + immediate access to my entire digital archive (digital and analogue memberships available)
I found some treasure! My Zoom recorder died, and I nearly formatted the SD card before realising it *might* be pretty full of song ideas… It was, so I listened and talked through some of the snippets that might make it onto the second Penfriend album. Watch this space!
The only way to get access to future Correspondent’s Club releases is to become a member – browse member perks here.
Track listing:
1. Adventures in sound and songwriting 2. Taking small steps 3. I found some treasure
Preview track: “Adventures in sound and songwriting”
Originally released in December 2020, “Let It Snow” wasn’t just the first Obey Robots single, it was the first song we completed (in December 2020!).
It was a test:
-> can we make music together? -> do we love what we made? -> does anyone want to hear it?
If the answer to the first two questions had been “no”, you would never have heard of Obey Robots. And if the answer to the second question was “yes”, the answer to the third question would never stop me anyway.
Happily, the answer to the second question was HELL YES! – and the overwhelmingly positive response from music fans was the icing on the cake. A cake full of riffs!
For this new video, I decided to invite you in to get a sense of what the collaboration process was like for Rat and I.
By December 2020 we’d only met in person twice, so all communication was by email and occasional Zoom calls. We were always speaking from our individual creative spaces, which I think helped us both to feel more confident talking to someone we didn’t know that well.
I got so used to seeing Rat on my computer screen that it still surprises me when we meet up – he’s very tall!
Most of the video was shot using Quicktime player. We’ve all grown perhaps too familiar with the particular quality of footage you get on video calls, so I wanted to retain that to bring you right into the middle of things.
All the footage up to the instrumental was shot individually and separately: me in my home studio, Rat in his. And then – well, I don’t want to ruin the plot twist, you’ll just have to watch!
Being creative doesn’t require fancy equipment or a big team of people. You can achieve a lot with just an idea, some basic gear and the drive to complete something. That’s how our album was made, and how everything else we’re sharing is being made. That’s how I’ve always worked.
This is real people making real music about real things. I hope you enjoy it.
My new Penfriend album “House Of Stories” is available NOW on super limited vinyl, CDs and KiT hybrid digital albums, with accompanying tees, hoodies and books. Music fans got it to #2 in the Official UK Independent Album Chart in April 2025. Bonkers!
Join The Correspondent’s Clubon Patreon to receive quarterly bundles of art and members-only music plus extra perks + immediate access to my entire digital archive (digital and analogue memberships available)
The ninth edition of The Correspondent’s Club quarterly music and zine bundle, a members-only 9-song live performance.
Track listing:
1. Dress rehearsal 2. Olympian 3. Devastate Me 4. Dispensable Body 5. Please Don’t 6. I long ago decided 7. Loving Echoes 8. Paper Thin 9. Seashaken 10. Black Car 11. TOWOIT
A song about the cognitive dissonance of feeling “super connected”: supposedly informed and part of a community via social media, yet deluded if we think typing words into a little box is enough to show empathy to people in very different situations to our own comfort. “If we’re super connected, why aren’t we all floating in the sea?”
VIDEO CREDITS Directed and edited by Laura Kidd. DOP – Sarah Smither. Right-hand woman + set photography – Charlie Romijn Set assistants/extras – Megan Green, Leanne Bond & Kit Crew-Gee Set photographer – Kate Feast
Shot at Boom Satsuma, Bristol. Huge thanks to Freya Billington, Phil Zikking and David Neal.
SONG CREDITS Produced by Laura Kidd in The Launchpad, Bristol. Mixed by Chris Sheldon at Red Cedar, London, mastered by Katie Tavini at Weird Jungle, Brighton.
All music by Laura Kidd and Rat. Guitars by Rat.All lyrics, arrangements, vocals, bass, synths, drum programming and lead guitar by Laura.
LYRICS
I drew a target on the back of my neck Cos some are more equal than others Disaster junkies scrape bottomless feeds As long as their self-satisfaction’s guaranteed
We hold on to life, like everyone tries If we’re super connected Why aren’t we all floating in the sea?
Stuck with myself, I run for my health Cos these pretty flowers can kill you Send bottles downstream in an alkaloid dream Share in this delusion where no-one hears you scream
We hold on to life, like everyone tries If we’re super connected Why aren’t we all floating in the sea?
We hold on to life, like everyone tries If we’re super connected Why aren’t we all floating in the sea?
When I decided to bring my She Makes War project to a close at the end of 2019, I created this eight-track retrospective featuring fan favourites from all four She Makes War albums. These songs were lovingly re-recorded in a stripped-back, intimate fashion in my home studio The Launchpad.
As I wrote at the time of release, “I want to celebrate a decade of independent music-making with the community who have encouraged me throughout the years. I’m so proud of the music I’ve made so far and so thankful for your ears and hearts! I put the choice of songs to a public vote in the summer, and thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend some time creating these new arrangements for you. Thank you x”
I released my debut album “Disarm” under the name She Makes War in September 2010. I’d been collecting the songs together for a couple of years, gradually focusing my mind, building my confidence and getting ever closer to making the music that was playing in my head a reality, a tangible thing others could listen to. Little did I imagine what adventures those songs would take me on, but I’ve enjoyed travelling around the world watching them take on a life of their own ever since.
As the fifth anniversary of Disarm came closer I started making plans to revisit some of the songs, tenderly reworking the tracks that feel the most resonant to my current self, and the ones I felt would benefit from a different sonic approach.
After releasing my third album “Direction Of Travel” I felt it was high time to roll up my sleeves and tackle songs from my debut that never fully realised their potential. It’s about wisdom and hindsight, I suppose.
As Kierkegaard said, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
“Featuring the iconic guitar sound of Rat (Ned’s Atomic Dustbin) and the compassionate melodic arrangements of Laura Kidd (Penfriend / She Makes War), “Not The Quiet Type” implores the listener to stop chasing perfection and step fully into themselves and their perceived imperfections.”
No experience is truly wasted. Try, fail and try again. Be yourself, fall in love, get it all terribly wrong and get back up.
CREDITS Produced by Laura Kidd in The Launchpad, Bristol. Mixed by Chris Sheldon at Red Cedar, London, mastered by Katie Tavini at Weird Jungle, Brighton. All music by Laura Kidd and Rat. All lyrics, arrangements, vocals, bass, and synths by Laura. All guitars by Rat. Drums by Max Saidi.
LYRICS
Goodbye, a little sigh Sticking fingers in my eyes Out of time, out of sight So I’ll try another night
I won’t regret all the hours that I spent I’m not here to make amends I am not the quiet type
Destruction makes us stronger We will always get it wrong So fall to pieces, fall apart We’ll stick it back together
Am I being interesting? Turning cheek and fighting spin? Finding comfort in my skin? Imperfection’s always in
I won’t regret all the hours that I spent I’m not here to make amends No, I’m not the quiet type!
Destruction makes us stronger We will always get it wrong So fall to pieces, fall apart We’ll stick it back together
Destruction makes us stronger We will always get it wrong So fall to pieces, fall apart Then get back up
Destruction makes me stronger I will always do my best So fall to pieces, fall in love We’ll stick it back together