Getdown Services – The Radiator
Bristol duo Getdown Services — Josh Law and Ben Sadler — have shared “The Radiator”, their first single since last year’s rarities compilation “Crumbs 2”. It follows a run of high-profile shows supporting Viagra Boys across Europe and at London’s Alexandra Palace, and lands alongside news of a headline date at Bristol Beacon in January 2027.
The song’s premise is simply what it sounds like. “This song is about only picking fights that you know you’ll win”, Josh explains. “It came about because the heating wouldn’t come on once and I thought about when we bang things to make them work. Ben once told me that he used to threaten his PlayStation 1 when games wouldn’t load quick enough. The sense of victory you get when you feel like you’ve physically intimidated an inanimate object into doing what you want is bizarre and pathetic and really funny.” That’s the whole pitch, and it works.
Musically, “The Radiator” sits where Getdown Services have always lived: a driving rhythm, sparse electronics, and Josh’s deadpan spoken-word delivery doing most of the heavy lifting. There’s something mechanically satisfying about the track’s momentum: the beat has a clipped, slightly angular pulse that keeps things moving while the vocals stay resolutely flat. It’s the sort of production that sounds superficially simple but holds together because the duo know exactly what to leave out. The track builds toward the end, when they finally let go of the restraint and the entire thing tips into something more frenetic: a brief release that mirrors the song’s own logic.
The band have spoken openly about their approach to production: minimal equipment, gut instinct, lo-fi on purpose. Josh describes their debut album “Crisps” (2023) and everything since as part of one long attempt to figure out what they’re doing — “feeling our way through the darkness and occasionally hitting a wall with our torch”, as Ben puts it. That honest fumbling is probably why their stuff lands. It doesn’t feel calculated.
“The Radiator” comes with a B-side, “Scrub It” — a shorter, darker counterpart built around a heavy bassline and a cowbell, closer to Sleaford Mods than the A-side’s dancefloor energy. The video for “The Radiator” was directed by JJ Jarman and stars Daisy Kennedy and Hannah Mullen. Getdown Services are patrons of the Music Venue Trust and will support CMAT at LIDO Festival in June. Between now and then, they’ve got a full North American run before hitting festival season hard. I’ve been following their trajectory since “Crisps” and this one sounds like a band who know exactly what they’ve got.
Tour Dates:
North America:
- 10 Apr — Minneapolis, MN — 7th Street Entry (Sold Out)
- 11 Apr — Chicago, IL — Lincoln Hall (Sold Out)
- 13 Apr — Toronto, ON — Garrison (Sold Out)
- 15 Apr — Boston, MA — Brighton Music Hall
- 16 Apr — New York, NY — Elsewhere Hall (Sold Out)
- 17 Apr — Philadelphia, PA — Ukie Club
- 18 Apr — Washington, DC — Songbyrd (Sold Out)
- 21 Apr — Seattle, WA — Sunset Tavern (Sold Out)
- 22 Apr — Portland, OR — Polaris Hall (Sold Out)
- 24 Apr — San Francisco, CA — Rickshaw Store (Sold Out)
- 25 Apr — Los Angeles, CA — Roxy
Europe:
- 12 Jun — London, UK — LIDO Festival (supporting CMAT)
- 14 Jun — Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands — Best Kept Secret Festival
- 19–20 Jun — Stavanger, Norway — Mablis Festival
- 24 Jun — Bristol, UK — Bristol Sounds Festival (w/ Super Furry Animals)
- 17–18 Jul — Kent, UK — Spirit of Eden Festival
- 24 Jul — Oxford, UK — Truck Festival
- 25 Jul — Suffolk, UK — Latitude Festival
- 26 Jul — Yorkshire, UK — Deer Shed Festival
- 31 Jul — Kiltarlity, UK — Belladrum Festival
- 07 Aug — Newquay, UK — Boardmasters
- 09 Aug — Katowice, Poland — OFF Festival
- 13 Aug — Paredes, Portugal — Parades de Coura Festival
- 15 Aug — Oslo, Norway — Oya Festival
- 21 Aug — Brecon Beacons, UK — Green Man
- 23 Aug — Belgium — Pukkelpop
- 27 Aug — Torremolinos, Spain — Canela Party
- 29 Aug — Manchester, UK — Wythenshawe Park (w/ The Courteeners)
Ireland:
- 05 May — Dublin — Olympia (w/ Super Furry Animals, Sold Out)
- 02 Aug — Waterford — All Together Now Festival
UK (May support dates w/ Super Furry Animals):
- 06 May — Glasgow — Barrowland Ballroom (Sold Out)
- 09 May — Glasgow — Barrowland Ballroom (Sold Out)
- 14 May — Llandudno — Venue Cymru (Sold Out)
- 15 May — Llandudno — Venue Cymru (Sold Out)
- 16 May — Cardiff — Utilitia Arena (Sold Out)
- 21 May — Manchester — O2 Apollo (Sold Out)
- 22 May — Derbyshire — Bearded Theory Festival
Oceania:
- 27 May — Brisbane, Australia — Brightside (Sold Out)
- 29 May — Sydney, Australia — Oxford Art Bar (Sold Out)
- 30 May — Melbourne, Australia — The Tote (Sold Out)
- 31 May — Melbourne, Australia — The Corner Hotel (Sold Out)
- 02 Jun — Auckland, New Zealand — Double Whammy (Sold Out)
- 03 Jun — Wellington, New Zealand — San Fran
2027:
- 16 Jan — Bristol, UK — Bristol Beacon (headline)
