UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY announce new EP, YES, out 26 September 2025 via Transgressive & share new single/video "Bee".

UNIVERSITY, the explosive Crewe-based four-piece formed of Zak Bowker (vocals/guitar), Ewan Barton (bass), drummer Joel Smith and Eddie (mascot), today announce the new three track EP, YES, arriving 26 September 2025 via Transgressive.

YES sees UNIVERSITY push the extremes of their debut to new limits. A three track fever-dream of erupting math-rock (“Bee”), waves of metallic aggression (“Business Secrets Of The Pharaohs”), and a mammoth 11-minute ode to rock (“Stones ‘n Jam”). 

“Bee”, the first single shared today from the new EP, channels the raw intensity of their debut full-length while pushing their sound into a sharper, more experimental territory. Grit-laced vocals and explosive guitar bursts capture the same restless energy of McCartney It’ll Be OK, marrying the band’s signature chaos to a cathartic and volatile climax.

UNIVERSITY’s humour melds into their music. After signing to a label and taking the 'business side of their operation' more seriously, they decided to offset this grown-up attitude by pushing their music to more extreme and more absurdist places.

“It’s a side effect of taking the rest of it more seriously,”

Bowker says,

with the band determined to trust their weirdest, funniest impulses.Released earlier this year to critical acclaim, McCartney, It’ll Be OK is UNIVERSITY’s statement debut piece.

The album was described by MOJO as an “avant-punk iceberg harbours melodic invention and sensitivity beneath”, and by Dork as “seriously impressive stuff”, while DIY praised it as “one to simultaneously blow eardrums and provoke minds.”

While the music can be brutally heavy at times, it’s all cut through with the absurdist humour that is also present at the band’s live shows. On stage, they’re joined by balaclava-clad best friend Eddie, whose entire job is to play video games and hold up signs indicating the (often ridiculous and lengthy) title to the next song his mates will play.

Of his role in creating the album, Smith says, with however many pinches of salt you’d like to take:

“He laid everything down and told us what to record. He’d whip us if we weren’t doing it quickly enough and was pretty horrible to work with to be honest. He was like Frank Zappa, dragging us by the hair back into the studio when we were out having a fag.”

While they might be throwing out gags and urban myths out in all directions, the only thing truly undeniable is the remarkable energy of UNIVERSITY’s music, and the strength of their songwriting.

Across its eight tracks, McCartney, It’ll Be OK travels to a superb amount of sonic landscapes, and is the heaviest album you’ll hear this year that is also this much fun.

Earlier this year, UNIVERSITY announced they will be performing at Dia De Los Deftones, Deftones’ annual festival in San Diego, USA, on 1 November 2025 (tickets on sale here). UNIVERSITY today also announce their first headline shows in New York on 30 October 2025 and Los Angeles on 2 November 2025. The band will also perform a run of UK and European headline dates this September with a show at London’s George Tavern (tickets here) as well as an appearance at Brighton’s Mutations Festival on 7 November 2025. Fans attending the UK/EU shows will also have the chance to pick up a limited-run cassette edition of the EP, with just 10 copies available each night at the merch table.

Live Dates

Fri 05/09/2025 Paradiso (Upstairs), Amsterdam Netherlands

Sat 06/09/2025 Misty Fields Festival, Asten-Heusden (NL) Netherlands

Mon 08/09/2025 La Mécanique Ondulatoire, Paris France

Tue 09/09/2025 Aéronef, Lille, France

Thu 11/09/2025 Schokoladen, Berlin Germany

Sat 13/09/2025 Botanique, Brussels Belgium

Mon 15/09/2025 Louisiana, Bristol United Kingdom

Tue 16/09/2025 Where Else?, Margate United Kingdom

Wed 17/09/2025 George Tavern, London United Kingdom

Fri 19/09/2025 The Castle, Manchester United Kingdom

Sun 21/09/2025 Hug & Pint, Glasgow United Kingdom

Mon 22/09/2025 Brudenell Social Club (Community Room), Leeds United Kingdom

Tue 23/09/2025 Hare & Hounds 2, Birmingham United Kingdom

Thu 30/10/2025 TV Eye, New York, United States

Sat 01/11/2025 Dia De Los Deftones, San Diego, United States

Sun 02/11/2025 The Smell, Los Angeles, United States

Fri 07/11/2025 Mutations Festival, Brighton, United Kingdom