Few music biographies start with a definition of the band’s name, yet that’s exactly how Shybits start theirs: Shybit – a small piece, part, or quantity of something, nervous or timid in the company of other people. “Give the duck a (shy)bit of bread”.  The band consist of a globetrotting trio (drummer Meg joined too recently to make the press shots in case you just thought we couldn’t count) of American, British and South African musicians, who formed in Berlin in 2017, and were signed by Duchess Box Records after playing just one gig. The label released their debut EP, Idiots Like You, earlier this year, and today we’re sharing the video to one of the tracks from it, Bay.

There’s a winning clarity to Shybits’ music, never presented more clearly than on Bay. The production is crisp and keeps things deliciously simple, the jagged guitars are accompanied by a tuneful rumble of bass, an unpolished clattering of drums and fuzzy dual-vocals. The track nods to the intensity of post-punk of bands like Wire or Witching Waves, and adds the fuzzy, feel-good energy of garage rock. It’s not a track of sections so much as tempos; building from loping moments where it threatens to stop entirely, to frenetic unhinged rushes of sound.

The accompanying video is equally unfussy, the band green-screened over swirling floral patterns and just about able to stop themselves laughing long enough to perform the track. Shybits are the sort of band who seem to be truly enjoying themselves, making exciting music which feels like it’s been done for the sheer joy of it, rather than any attempt at commercial gain, which in our eyes is exactly the way it should be.

Idiots Like You is out now via Duchess Box Records. Click HERE for more information on Shybits.