TRENDИG BANDWIDTH | Marvins Revenge: Nottingham Noise, New York Nights and the Road Towards Their First Album

There are bands that sound good on record, and then there are bands that completely shift the atmosphere of a room the second they step onto a stage. Marvins Revenge fall firmly into the second category.

When TRENDNG caught them live at The Bodega earlier this year, it felt less like watching another local support band and more like seeing a group already operating several levels above where they probably should be at this stage. The room tightened around them immediately. The sound was huge without becoming messy, emotionally heavy without collapsing into self-indulgence, and chaotic in the exact way the best alternative guitar bands should be. One moment it felt abrasive and crushing, the next strangely delicate, before launching straight back into walls of noise again.

That balance is exactly how the band describe themselves.

“Intense and loud but also sweet at times but always a bit dark.”

It is a simple description, but it captures them perfectly. There is a darkness running through the band’s sound, though not in a performative way. Instead, it feels rooted in the same kind of emotional tension that made bands like Nirvana, Pixies and later experimental guitar acts so compelling in the first place. Marvins Revenge clearly understand dynamics. They know when to hold back and when to let everything collapse into noise.

The Nottingham band have been together far longer than most people would probably expect. Their story does not begin through industry networking, social media algorithms or carefully planned projects. It started simply because they were teenagers who wanted to make music and could not find many other people around them who felt the same way.

“We first got together at school when we were 14 and have always played music together since. I think we were just some of the only people we knew who wanted to start a band really.”

That longevity matters. You can hear it in how naturally the band move together on stage. Even when the music sounds chaotic, there is a familiarity underneath it all. The chemistry feels earned rather than manufactured.

The band are currently based in Nottingham, and the city’s underground music culture has clearly shaped who they are. Nottingham has long had a strong ecosystem of alternative venues, DIY spaces and experimental guitar bands, and Marvins Revenge sit comfortably inside that lineage while still sounding distinctly like themselves.

According to the band, the people around them have played a major role in their development.

“I think all of our friends have helped throughout the years by letting us know when we suck or when we do good.”

That honesty probably explains why the band avoid sounding overly polished or artificial. There is still roughness around the edges, but that roughness works in their favour. Their music feels human.

The group also draw from a surprisingly broad range of influences. While Nirvana and Pixies were the gateway bands that initially connected them, the sound has expanded significantly over time. They reference artists like King Krule, Chat Pile and Godspeed You! Black Emperor among the influences currently feeding into the mix, which begins to explain the tension within their music. There are moments that feel deeply atmospheric and cinematic before the band suddenly pivot into something ugly, loud and unstable.

At the centre of it all sits a philosophy borrowed from Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground.

“One chord is plenty.”

That mindset runs throughout the band’s approach to songwriting. They are not interested in overcomplicating things for the sake of appearing technical. Instead, they focus on mood, feeling and impact.

Their writing process reflects that same openness. There is no rigid system in place. Sometimes songs begin as rough skeletons brought into rehearsal. Other times they emerge spontaneously in the room. The band intentionally leave space for unpredictability.

“We try to open the door for anything and see where it goes.”

Right now, much of that creativity is happening inside JT Soar, one of Nottingham’s most respected DIY creative spaces. The venue has become an important hub for underground music in the city, and the band clearly value being surrounded by other artists constantly passing through.

“We see like every band in Nottingham there at one point or another which is nice and it makes for a good atmosphere to create in.”

That sense of community seems central to the band’s identity. Even as they continue growing, there is still a groundedness to the way they speak about music and success. Despite already hitting milestones many local bands never reach, there is very little ego in how they discuss things.

Still, the achievements are significant.

Earlier this year they played Rock City, something the band describe as a major milestone. Their Level show last year pulled around 400 people, becoming their biggest hometown performance so far. Then there is the small matter of playing in New York City, an experience they still sound slightly stunned by.

“We also played in New York last year which was unbelievable.”

For a band that began as teenagers rehearsing together because nobody else around them wanted to start a band, it is quite a trajectory.

Despite those bigger moments, local venues still clearly matter to them. The band mention The Bodega specifically as somewhere they always love returning to, and after seeing them there ourselves, it is easy to understand why. The venue suits them perfectly. Close walls, low ceilings, packed rooms and loud guitars feel like the natural environment for a band like Marvins Revenge.

They also spoke highly of the Leeds scene, specifically mentioning Normal Village, highlighting the strong crossover currently happening between Nottingham and Leeds alternative music communities. That connection between regional scenes feels increasingly important for grassroots music right now, especially for bands operating outside the traditional industry structure.

Of course, being in a band for years is never completely smooth. Marvins Revenge admit they constantly bicker with each other “like we are married”, though they seem to treat it with humour more than bitterness. The biggest difficulty, according to them, is often the uncertainty of what comes next.

That uncertainty is something most independent bands will probably recognise immediately. Touring, recording and trying to sustain momentum while balancing real life pressures is never straightforward. Yet the band’s response to internal disagreements perhaps explains why they have lasted this long.

“We handle things by diplomatic vote in the way of the pirates code.”

Somehow, that answer feels completely on brand.

What is perhaps most interesting about Marvins Revenge is that they still feel like a band in transition. They already sound accomplished live, but there is also the sense that they are only now properly figuring out what the next version of the band looks like.

That next step appears to be their first full album.

“We’ve decided it’s finally time to make an album. It makes sense for us with the songs we are writing and the place we are in.”

They wisely avoid committing themselves to a strict release timeline, joking that doing so would probably guarantee the record takes another five years to finish. Still, the ambition is clearly there now. After years of evolving, experimenting and sharpening their sound through live performance, the timing genuinely does feel right.

Importantly, the band also seem more aligned creatively than ever before.

“I don’t know if we’ve become more organised but we’ve definitely become more like minded.”

That shared vision could end up being the thing that pushes Marvins Revenge from excellent regional band into something much bigger.

For now though, they remain exactly where great alternative music should exist: inside packed venues, loud rehearsal rooms and DIY spaces, building something organically without trying to force it. In an era where many artists seem designed around algorithms first and live performance second, Marvins Revenge feel refreshingly real.

And after witnessing what they can do live at The Bodega, there is every reason to believe their upcoming album could become a serious statement.

Until then, their advice to newer bands remains brilliantly simple.

“Don’t break up.”

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