WE ARE OBSESSED: PUNCHBAG on Sibling Dynamics, Dressing Up and Playing Live

Words: Darci Jackson

Photos: Izzi Glover

"I think our sets are quite demanding of energy that I will just shout until they move," jokes Clara Bach, one half of electric pop-punk South-London sibling duo PUNCHBAG. As we sit under the setting Manchester sun in a warm spring breeze before their headline at YES (Basement), Clara (vocals) and Anders (bass, synths) Bach are cool and reserved, a complete contrast to their onstage personas.

Raw, unfiltered and wired. That’s what you can expect at a PUNCHBAG show, almost as if a a spark has been lit and is charging round the room, only dissipating when the light is extinguished (or in this case, when the show comes to an end). You can physically feel the currents racing across your bare skin, as the vocals grow louder and the synths become more high-pitched until it all reaches its pinnacle and comes to a halt and you’re left feeling like you’re in a dream state.

"The decibels go up and the jumping goes up," explained Clara, who’s perfected the art of holding every single note whilst throwing herself around the stage. 

"I think if we were thinking about how the live set would be when we wrote music, [we] wouldn't write songs that were as fast-paced and hard to sing and jump. So I feel like if we wrote like that, we'd be thinking how to do it in a more chill way and I don't think we want to do that."

The duo have previously opened up for bands like Zimmer90 and Panic Shack, but explain how it’s a ‘special' feeling to be doing their own shoes.

"We've been so lucky, to be honest, with the people we've supported. They've had really sick crowds," explained Clara.

"It's nice when you're not trying to, like, frantically prove yourself in 30 minutes," followed Anders.

Their sophomore EP I Am Obsessed, released in Spring, is a blueprint of who the duo are, with Clara’s vocals leading the way through each track. 

"Some of the songs we've had for, like, a couple years and random bits here and there. We wrote some of it in Berlin as well," started Anders. Speaking about the title track, he added:

"I Am Obsessed actually took a year to finish, I think. There's 100 different versions and we couldn't quite get it right. And I feel like normally with songs generally, if it doesn't come after three times, I think that was three trips away, you give up. But I think that song; there's something special, we've got to keep going. And the end result is just, really, really cool."

Smiling insouciantly when asked about the meaning behind the track, Clara followed with:

"I feel like I'm quite all or nothing and I get very obsessed.

"I think you can see that someone who wrote that song isn't totally chill. It can be gross and ugly, and I think that's partly what the song is about, but I think it’s also a part of me, too. Embrace the obsessiveness."

And that’s exactly what PUNCHBAG’s music screams to us, that release of emotion and getting out whatever’s holding you back.

"It's very cathartic and very sweaty, so physically I'm releasing toxins and mentally I'm releasing stress," mentioned Clara. 

"It's very good releasing all that junk, man. Just getting it all out," added Anders.

Part of what makes PUNCHBAG, PUNCHBAG is not only their exceptionally catchy and gravity-defying music, but also their undeniable style.

'I’ve always loved clothes. I regularly sort of cut up clothes. And playing dress-up is just the best thing in the world.I love being a girl!"

"I just kind of wear them, and I just get a nod of the head from Clara."

Growing up together, the pair say they were close, and fell into music unintentionally:

"I think because it was an accident there wasn’t any pressure and it kind of worked," explained Clara. 

"We’re similar but very different, so we’re not bashing heads."

"It’s great. It’s chill. It’s good vibes," added Anders.

Clara spoke about picking up music during lockdown, and wanting to make demos when at the time, Anders was into baking cakes!

"I'd written music for a bit and you were playing guitar, I guess. And basically I was like, I'm going to send my music off to some producers and then I was like, Anders, like, you can make a demo, right? And he'd never made it before."

"I only baked cakes up until that point but I thought I’d put the chef hat down and be like enough is enough, wipe the flour of my fingers and let’s make a band."

Fast forward a few years, and that band is very much real. With two EPs out in the world, and a headline tour in the (punch) bag, the pair are looking ahead to what’s next.

"We’re going to try and write something that sounds like album… The goal is to kind of be on tour all the time, I love it so much. But we need to write songs to play them live so."

As Clara sings "It feels so good to feel alive," on I Love This!, there’s something very refreshing about the duo, like an injection of dopamine every time you hear them. It’s addictive, and we’re very much looking forward to our next fix of PUNCHBAG.