Photos: Rhiannon Jones
Tantrums’ music is a natty jumble of sounds and styles incorporating indie, dubstep, prog and math. They wear their diversity on their sleeves, dressing almost exclusively in the kind of nutty knitwear predominantly favoured by pensioners and the mentally handicapped. The band have been trawling the suburbs of Birmingham searching through vintage stores and charity shops to bring you nothing but the whackiest woollen, so you to can bask in the glory of these radical cardigans and awesome sweaters without the risk of being drawled on by junkies or shanked by teenage gangs.
Here is a collection of the band’s favourites.
“I got this one at Top Banana in Kings Heath, quite cheap, about £8 which isn’t much for a jumper really. It’s quite big, and I wore it once and someone at [Brum clubnight] Rag and Bone told me I looked like a peadophile.”
“This is my English pride one because its got the big rose on, even though I’m Scottish. It’s quite small for me, but this is gonna sound really weird, I really don’t let size let down a good pattern. It may look too small for me… but if the pattern’s good I’m still going to wear it, because its awesome. Even if it comes up to like my elbow.”
“Bought this at Bernardos in Rubery for 99p. It’s very Noel Edmunds circa ‘93, and if I met him I’m pretty sure he’d approve.”
“This is from a charity shop in Ironbridge. My Nan bought it for me, it was only 50p. Well it was supposed to be a pound but she got half-off because she knew the woman there.”
“Bought it off that weird eastern European guy in the Bullring market and it just sums up eastern European. You look like a Czechoslovakian immigrant in it and I quite like that look.”
“A specially made Christmas jumper, once again from the eastern European man. It’s got some little dogs on the front and at Christmas time I always wear it when I’m having my dinner during the daytime.”
“Here’s my lucky plaid shirt. Again I bought it from the Bullring market and it cost me 50p off the rack and there was a five pound note in the pocket. Also, my nan knitted this cardigan and it use to belong to my mum but I nicked it. If you want some cool clothes kids, check your mum’s wardrobe.”
You can listen to Tantrums at their MySpace page, and hold tight for their forthcoming single on Bigger Than Barry records; Birmingham’s heaviest imprint.