Muncie Girls is a British punk rock band, formed in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

in 2010. It is made up of Lande Hekt (bass, rhythm guitar, vocals), Dean McMullen (lead guitar), and Luke Ellis (drums). The band released two studio albums, ''From Caplan to Belsize'' (2016) and ''Fixed Ideals'' (2018), on hometown label

Specialist Subject Records Specialist Subject Records is an English independent record label initially founded in Leeds in 2007, but based largely in Exeter since being revived in 2009. They have been described as a "powerhouse" of DIY Indie Rock. History Specialist Subj ...

and have toured internationally.

History

Lande Hekt and Dean McMullen formed Muncie Girls in 2010 while attending Exeter College. They played their first gigs at the Cavern Club, their local rock venue, and became very involved in the underground DIY Punk scene. The band put on their own shows, as well as fundraising events, and Hekt started a music workshop for women under the name 'School of Frock'. Ellis joined in 2012, solidifying the lineup. After releasing two EPs on hometown label

in 2012 and 2013, the label released their debut album ''From Caplan To Belsize'' on 4 March 2016, recorded at The Ranch in Southampton. The title of the album is a reference to ''

The Bell Jar ''The Bell Jar'' is the only novel written by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. Originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963, the novel is semi-autobiographical with the names of places and people changed. The book ...

'' by

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, ''The ...

. It references the two asylums the book's protagonist is kept in, and is used to represent the idea of the album being a journey. The album was received well including 5/5 reviews in

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

, Upset and 9/10 in

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, e ...

. The band was also nominated for 'Best British Newcomer' at the

Awards 2016. Following the album, the band toured internationally including support slots with

Taking Back Sunday Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. The band was formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes and bassist Jesse Lacey in 1999. The band's members currently are Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keybo ...

, Frank Iero and the Cellabration,

Los Campesinos! Los Campesinos! are a seven-piece indie pop band from Cardiff, Wales, formed in early 2006 at Cardiff University. Though the band formed in Wales, none of the members are Welsh. The band has gone through several lineup changes during their car ...

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age story, coming-of-age situation comedy, comedy/Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol L. Black, Carol Black. It ran on American Broadcasting Company ...

, and

Such Gold Such Gold is an American punk rock band from Rochester, New York, United States, currently consisting of Ben Kotin on guitar and vocals, Nate Derby on guitar, Jon Markson on bass and vocals and Matt Covey on drums. History Such Gold formed off ...

. They also played

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

that year, appearing with

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

on the Left Field Stage, as well as

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

Groezrock Groezrock was an annual music festival that took place in Meerhout, Belgium. It started as a small rock and pop festival with one stage and a few hundred people attending, but evolved into a large punk rock/hardcore punk festival, with attendan ...

and

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

. On 13 June 2018, the band announced their second LP ''Fixed Ideals'' (another Plath reference, this time a line from the poem "To Eva") with a video for lead single "Picture of Health". Hekt described the new collection as some of the most personal songs she'd written, with a diverse range of influences, such as The Replacements,

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

The Popguns The Popguns are an English indie rock band, which played a part in the British Indie pop scene. Originally from Brighton, East Sussex, they formed in 1986 by vocalist Wendy Morgan, guitarists Simon Pickles and Greg Dixon plus bassist Pat Walkin ...

and

The Pastels The Pastels are an indie rock group from Glasgow formed in 1981. They were a key act of the Scottish and British independent music scenes of the 1980s, and are specifically credited for the development of an independent and confident music scen ...

. The album was released on 31 August 2018. On 15 November 2019 Hekt self-released her first solo record, ''Gigantic Disappointment'', to positive reviews. A full-length follow up, ''Going to Hell'', was released 22 January 2021 on

Get Better Records Get Better Records is an American independent record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History and background The label was founded by Alex Lichtenauer and Nick King in 2009 in Keene, New Hampshire. King left the label in 2010; Get Bet ...

On 14 January 2022 McMullen released his first solo single, "Clouds Hold Up The Sun", on

Fierce Panda Records Fierce Panda Records is a London-based independent record label, with its first release in February 1994. It also produced a small number of releases that year by now famous artists such as Ash, The Bluetones, Baby Bird and Supergrass. Fierc ...

. A debut EP, ''Part One'', followed that September. In August 2023, the band announced that they would be breaking up following a final run of UK shows in December 2023.

Discography

Albums

*''From Caplan To Belsize'' -

(UK) / Uncle M Music (EU) / Animal Style Records (US) 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2016) *'' Fixed Ideals'' -

(UK) /

Buzz Records Buzz Records is a Canadian-based independent record label with headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. The label evolved out of the underground performance space, The Garage. In 2011, the first releases from the Buzz Records collective were live record ...

(Canada) / Lost Boy (AUS) 12" LP, CD, MP3 (2018)

EPS

*''Revolution Summer'' -

, 12" EP, CD, MP3 (2012) *''Sleepless'' -

, 12" EP, CD, MP3 (2013) *''B-Sides the Point-

,'' 12" EP, MP3 (2020)

Split Releases

*''Split with Great Cynics'' -

, 12" EP, MP3 (2014) *''Split with Sandlotkids'' - Uncle M Music, 7", MP3 (2013) *''Split with The Hard Aches'' - Anchorhead Records, 7" (2017) - "Respect" from ''From Caplan to Belsize'' released as B-side single.

Singles

*"Picture of Health" -

, 7", MP3 (2018)

References

External links

Official Website

Muncie Girls Spotify

Specialist Subject Records
{{Authority control Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom Musical groups established in 2010 English indie rock groups English punk rock groups Specialist Subject Records artists 2010 establishments in England