Hot Press meets The Bohicas

The shock still hasn’t worn off, confirms The Bohicas’ Dominic McGuinness. “Our second ever gig was supporting Franz Ferdinand at Ibiza Rocks,” says the singer, eyes wide at the memory. “I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Ibiza Rocks. The stage is basically in a courtyard in the middle of a hotel. You have all these holidaymakers hanging off their balconies, waving their drinks at you. It’s crazy.”

McGuinness is slightly out of breath, and not simply because he’s enjoying a crafty cigarette outside the band’s London rehearsal space. Formed just last year, The Bohicas have taken a proper roller-coaster to the top. Alerted to the group’s compulsive mix of garage pop and menacing Krautrock by Dominic’s brother, singer-songwriter Eugene McGuinness, Domino Records pounced for their signature over the summer. Suddenly, here they are: one of the UK’s most “hotly tipped” new acts. Every morning, McGuinness’ first instinct is to pinch himself.

“We are surprised at what's happened,” he admits. “On the other hand, there's definitely a lot of ambition. To be honest, aside from music, there’s not much I’m good at. I do a bit of decorating. Ultimately, I’m a far better musician than decorator.”

While arranging the interview, the lady from Domino casually mentions that McGuinness is of Irish heritage, as the surname strongly suggests. He seems genuinely chuffed when Hot Press mentions this.

“My folks are from Limavady, near Derry. And the family of Brendan, our drummer, is from Mayo and Leitrim. We’re all proper Plastic Paddies! Until I was 16 I would be over every Christmas and summer. We’d have huge family gatherings over by Portstewart and Coleraine. I missed not being there this Christmas.

“My parents are both very proud of being Irish. We sport very Irish names – Dominic Patrick McGuinness. Come on, the Blarney runs thick.”

Raised in Essex, on first inspection McGuinness, Irish background notwithstanding, seems to fully inhabit the stereotype of the English likely lad. However, just under the surface, he’s clearly extremely thoughtful. Certainly there’s lots going on in The Bohicas’ music, which owes more to Can and Sonic Youth than Oasis and The Kinks.

Moreover, it’s clear that they see themselves as an avant-garde project more than a straightforward indie troupe. Accompanying their taster single ‘Xxx’ was a lurid NSFW video, shot during their trek to Ibiza, which includes lots of bizarre eye-popping imagery – try to imagine the scary tunnel sequence from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, re-shot by Sergio Leone with added nudity (actually don’t, it will haunt your dreams).

“The song has quite colourful lyrics and I wanted the video to reflect it as literally as possible,” elaborates McGuinness. “It’s quite like Sin City or something.”

Given that it features exposed flesh and sundry steaminess, was there any fear of a slap-down from YouTube etc?

“No, it was all good. We haven’t had any grief. A few publications have said it’s not safe for work. So far, it’s been well-received.”

Presently, the quartet are gearing up for a run of shows in London. After that, their thoughts will turn to the rest of the UK. Only after they’ve established themselves as a live band will they give consideration to a debut album.

“All of us are buzzing at the minute,” McGuinness enthuses. “We’re working with producers, trying to build up some tracks. I’m not sure what the aim is with an LP yet. At the moment, we’re gigging away. Trying to make a name.”

Speaking of names, The Bohicas’ moniker – yes, we know you were wondering – has its origins in an obscure American military acronym describing an ongoing fuck-up: ‘bend over, here it comes again’.

“It was my brother who suggested it. We were trying to come up with a name. We thought if you put ‘the’ in front, then the word ‘bohica’ acquires some mystery. It’s served us well so far.”