Hartlepool’s rising five-piece Marketplace have announced their upcoming EP, Marketplace Mean Business (set for release on June 6th) and release the vibrant new single ‘Contact Sports’.
Produced by Chad Rodgers (Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Cape Cub), ‘Contact Sports’ is an electrifying tribute to the exhilarating uncertainty of budding romance. The track blends dynamic alt-pop and indie-rock aesthetics with irresistibly catchy melodies and an infectious guitar-led backdrop, resulting in a sound that is vibrant, bright, and euphoric.
Vocalist Evie Rhodes elaborates on the song’s meaning: “Contact Sports is about those early stages of a relationship where everything feels touch-and-go. You know you really like someone, but you’re still trying to convince yourself it’s not that serious. We took a lot of inspiration from bands like The Beths, who craft scrappy love songs that are unapologetically sincere without feeling too heavy. The song reads like I’m just crashing out and riding through a train of thought, and I think that balance of lighthearted sincerity was something we really aimed to capture.”
Marketplace’s signature sound is shaped by an eclectic mix of influences, including Alvvays, Declan McKenna, Pulp, and Talking Heads. The band—comprising Evie Rhodes (vocals/guitar), Joel O’Beirne (vocals/bass), Jack Purcell (guitar), Matthew Short (synth/vocals), and Ross Dixon (drums)—combines their distinct musical tastes to create something uniquely their own.
Having supported artists such as Alfie Templeman, Swim Deep, The Lottery Winners, and Abbie Ozard, Marketplace has also sold out shows in Manchester, Leeds, and their hometown of Hartlepool, solidifying their reputation as an exciting live act. With growing support from tastemakers, Marketplace continue to build momentum towards the release of the upcoming EP
You can catch Marketplace on their upcoming UK tour this May.
Listen to the new single below: