Four-piece, one habit: making a racket you can dance to. Ekowe write big, hook-forward indie pop-rock built for small rooms and loud amps — guitars up front, rhythm section holding it all together.

It started in 2009, when singer/guitarist Harry French met drummer Jack at Barton Peveril College and decided to start a band. The name and the line-up have both changed more than once since — but a few songs written in those early days still make it into the set. Most Ekowe tracks start the same way: a melody Harry's dreamed up in bed or hummed in the shower, brought to the rest of the band and knocked into shape.

Debut EP Creature of Habit is out now — ten tracks about routine, restlessness, and the itch you can't quite reach, recorded at Untapped Talent. Catch the band tearing through it live on the local circuit, octopus mascot firmly in tow.