Looking Back to Look Forward: Inside The Long-Awaited Return of Bloody Knees
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Written by Rishi Shah
“I’ve been waiting for forever,” cries Bradley Griffiths on I Won’t Wait, aptly summarising the feelings of Bloody Knees’ entire fanbase. After the Black Honey-esque single Something Nice dropped in September 2018, the Cambridgeshire indie-punks fell silent, leaving no clues as to if or when they’d ever return. But, after unexpectedly playing a one-off show at London’s Old Blue Last in September, they began 2026 by re-lighting the flame.
In an Instagram post liked by Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell and Theo Ellis, the quartet returned from the dead to announce their debut album ‘What Else’, unleashing its Britpop-laced title track and sending their cult fanbase into raptures. During his lunch break from his day job at a menswear company in Hackney Wick, bassist Sam Conway meets Stereoboard for Bloody Knees’ first interview back from hiatus.
“2018 feels like a long time ago,” he grins, filling us in on the gap. “We are pretty much in four different cities. Our guitarist Christian [Wilkes] lives in Somerset, and then Bradley and Tom [Wilkes, drums] actually both live near the village we’re from, and I’m in London. It’s a bit tricky to navigate, but we were desperate to put it out, so we’re willing to do what we can.”
In actuality, that cloud of desperation has been hanging over Bloody Knees since before the pandemic. “We basically borrowed some money off the banks to record the album with a, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ mentality in March 2020,” continues Sam. “And the worst thing that could have happened did happen. It was funny timing. That year, [we had] that shift [away from being] young and carefree. We’d probably dragged that out a bit too long anyway. Bradley had a child, Christian had a child, everyone was starting to get jobs. It was that time of working on yourself. So, the album kept getting sidetracked, and life was getting in the way.”
Incredibly, the entirety of ‘What Else’, which is set to be released March 13, is identical to what was recorded six years ago. Mixed and mastered throughout lockdown, the record was effectively shelved until the band were able to get their ducks in a row. With shifting priorities, family life to navigate and the fondness they found for reminiscing on what they’d already achieved, they stayed patient until the timing and personnel fell into place.
“I'll be honest with you, there have been a lot of setbacks,” Sam elaborates. “I never want to be a bitter band, but there were a lot of labels that didn’t really want anything to do with it. The introduction to Ditto forced us to get our shit together. Sometimes, it’s very hard to do something on your to-do list when you don’t have to do it, like putting off your homework until the day before. But then we worked with Ditto and Outbreak [on the shows], and a few things aligned. It’s funny, isn’t it? If you do put yourself out there, it aligns and sorts itself out.”
“There's so many things in life where you kick yourself – ‘why didn't I do that sooner?’ – a band is just one of them,” he continues. “When you’re in it, you’re so focused on the next thing all the time. We want to keep doing it because we enjoy doing it, not because we want to be on the front of Kerrang! or relentlessly tour. It can be this thing which just exists. We’ve all got responsibilities, there are gonna be four children within the band. Baby Knees!”
With zero interest in tinkering with the record, Bloody Knees haven’t actually written one note of music together since March 2020. “If you’re happy within your own life, your creativity will always be so much better,” says Sam. “I work in fashion and Bradley works with kids and skates every single day. You can create fulfilment out of other things.”
Rediscovering the joy in the everyday and finding other ways to scratch that creative itch, they’ve reached the point where the release could become the catalyst to get in the studio again. “A big part of this record is looking back to look forward,” Sam says. “And enjoying being an existing band again.”
Unintentionally, the lyrics to the Oasis-esque closing track Right Now exemplify this mindset: “I could never live without / Right here, right now.” At a time when Pulp are active again, Yungblud has pivoted to Britpop and Turnstile are covering The Stone Roses on the same morning as our conversation (“Have you seen it yet?” asks Sam), the release of What Else feels appropriate. Ditching the volatile garage-punk of the 2010s, their debut LP is a life-affirming collection of Brit-rock spearheaded by Bradley’s nasal voice, Sam’s sweeping basslines and the jangle of Christian’s guitar.
“I can’t talk on Bradley’s themes for the album,” laughs Sam, when asked about the circularity of Right Now. “But it’s got a real Sky Sports Soccer Saturday vibe about it.” Ironic, as there is a song on What Else called Super Sunday. “I remember we were listening to loads of DMA’s and The Dandy Warhols at the time. Be More is a ballad with strings. We were trying to do this ‘rock band does Britpop’ thing, and since then, there have been some bands that do that quite efficiently. High Vis have blurred those two worlds quite well.
“What Else is our attempt. I always knew there was such an amazing way of linking rock and grunge with Britpop. I’m not saying in any way that we were the first to do it, but that was definitely in the back of our mind. Rock music is generally quite a lot cooler now, which is definitely working in our favour. Guitar music feels way more credible, doesn’t it? It's a good time to be doing that.”
Although the identity of this comeback isn’t rooted in commercial success, don’t be surprised if the crossover potential of What Else launches Bloody Knees 2.0 back into the mayhem of British guitar music. Since returning to the stage at The Old Blue Last, the four have been “absolutely buzzing”, as have their hardcore fans – and the new ones who have helped propel sleeper hit Not Done to over two million streams. Next up is May’s UK headline tour, before a clean slate where the intention is to carve out time to write music.
“It’ll be quite fun to explore what we want to write now in 2026, and then maybe revisit [older] ones,” suggests Sam. After getting the weight of What Else off their shoulders, the goals are future-facing. “We might have not been able to give everything to [the promotion of] this record, but maybe there’ll be an opportunity for us to put a lot more into another record. This is getting the ball rolling and actually trying to make people aware of the band again.”
Bloody Knees’ ‘What Else’ is out on March 13 through Ditto.
Bloody Knees Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu May 21 2026 - CAMBRIDGE Portland Arms
Sun May 24 2026 - MANCHESTER YES (The Basement)
Mon May 25 2026 - BRISTOL Bristol Strange Brew
Tue May 26 2026 - LONDON Camden Assembly
Wed May 27 2026 - BRIGHTON Hope and Ruin Brighton
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