If someone was to mention “Nederbeat”, your first thought would probably be of Dutch groups such as Shocking Blue, The Cats, and Tee-Set. However, Cavegirl & The Neandergals perform the real Neanderthal beat with their unique brand of high-octane, primitive rock n’ roll. It’s a sound that has taken them to some far flung places, but now the band return to Northampton for what promises to be a lively gig at The Black Prince venue. Therefore, we had to sit down with Sunshine Cavegirl to get all the latest news…yabba dabba do!

Can you give us a history of the band? How did you meet, and how easy was it to find band members with similar tastes?

So this band has been all of our first real forays into music! I (Cavegirl) only started singing a few years back; the upright bass was just a lockdown distraction initially. I met our original guitarist through a mutual friend and we played together in my flat for a little while. But I’m a get-out-and-do-it kind of gal, so approximately 5 minutes after we’d written our first song, I started booking gigs! Our Suzi literally picked up the sticks for the first time just to be a Neandergal I made some posters – proper old school, me – looking for band members and stuck them around pubs and bars. And she loved the idea of a cavegirl band but couldn’t play an instrument; I told her to join the club! She went out and bought a drum kit and thus, the Neandergals were born.

What are your musical influences? Is there one artist who unites you all?

I would say there is definitely a heavy blues influence for us all but we also bond over lots of subgenres of country, soul, rockabilly, psychobilly, punk, funk and early garage and rock n roll. The result is bedrock n roll, a genre which reflects our stripped-back, rootsy sound – as well as our love of cavelife.

You recently released an EP on Western Star, the doyen of all that’s good. How did you hook up with them?

We did indeed! Our debut, in fact. (Carnal Desires, available to buy on white vinyl 10” from Western Star! Get that plug in early…) Alan (Wilson, owner of WS) heard of us through the grapevine and got in touch. As I mentioned before, we were complete beginners at all this so that was a really proud moment. And the result is a debut EP of which we are very proud; huge thanks to Alan for all his support, he was such a great person to do our first recording with because he’s so full of knowledge but also really kind and patient. We learnt a hell of a lot from that experience! 

How do you feel about Carnal Desires now it has been out in the world? Anything you’d like to go back and change?

With it being our very first recording and also just generally so early in our “career” (we had been together less than a year) we hadn’t quite figured out our sound yet and I am aware of that when I listen to it. In saying that, it really is a marvel that it came out so professional and smooth and we owe a debt of gratitude to Alan for that. I think it is an artist’s prerogative to always want to revisit anything you have created. The trick is learning to accept imperfection as part of your art and move on to the next project. Considering how inexperienced we all were as musicians and songwriters, we are all very proud of that EP. 

What’s your songwriting process?

Our process, we imagine, differs from most bands. I generally write all the lyrics and that’s our starting point. It’s a bit unusual as I’ll then come up with the bass line and then guitar and drums will work around that. This can happen in person or online, it’s quite a balance at the minute. As we become more confident as musicians, we might take more to jamming out new songs altogether. But, as it stands, this method works for us; we think the unconventional method of starting with the bass has added substantially to our primal sound. At least that’s the party line to all the purists out there!

You opened Bedlam last year. How was it? How does it compare with other festivals?

Bedlam was a dream come true for me! As a native Northamptonian, I’ve been going to Bedlam for years and it’s always been my happy place, you can’t beat it. So to be asked to open the Friday was just brilliant, all my family came down and the place was full of friends, it couldn’t have been better. We’ve been lucky enough to play loads of great venues and cities at this point but playing the Roadmender stage was surreal to be honest, my dad looking up at me as we’ve done together at Wilko Johnson, Stiff Little Fingers, Neville Staple. Mental!

You’ll be back in Northampton for a headline show. Looking forward to returning? Are you aware of the support bands?

I am very much looking forward to it! Dragging all my family out of course! The Black Prince is another venue I love so I’m really excited to play there and we have some great support acts in A D Stranik and his unique brand of rockabilly-noir along with our good pals, Gogo Loco for some shake, rattle n rollin’! It will be a cracking night.

What can the uninitiated expect from a Neandergal gig?

Expect to party like it’s One Million Years BC! There are some harsh realities to being cavegirls in what is still a caveman’s world but we like to combat that with our primitive brand of bedrock n roll; soulful vocals meets rockabilly garageband energy, dripping with innuendo and inflatable dinosaurs. Wrap it all up in a big animal print bow and we promise you’ll have a gay old time!

I see the band has taken you some amazing places, such as a gig in NYC. How did that come about? Any other territories you’d like to take the band?

We actually did a full two-week tour of the US East Coast! I have friends over there and we were initially just going over to play for some pals at my favourite bar in NYC, Otto’s Shrunken Head. But as we were going all that way… we thought we’d better make a tour of it! So my good friend Laura Palmer, of Screamin’ Rebel Angels (another brilliant rock n roll band you should check out!), sorted us with dates across New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Connecticut and Rhode Island. What a fantastic time we had. We’d love to go back and do the rest of the States. We’ve also got some European dates on the cards for 2025 but next year we’re hoping to travel Europe more extensively too.

Finally, beyond the Northampton gig. What are your future plans for Cavegirl & The Neandergals?

We are currently working our little rumps off on a new album which promises to be a screaming celebration of cavegirl power! We also have dates booked until the end of 2025 the length and breadth of the country, from Glasgow to Weymouth, Newcastle to Bristol! Along with some overseas dates in Finland and Italy thrown in for good measure. Safe to say, we’re not sitting still!

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