With ‘Two Bucks and a Bottle of Ketchup’, UK rabble-rousers The Ovines deliver an unapologetic dose of punk swagger, dub groove, and raw emotional honesty. It’s more than just an EP — it’s a punch-drunk soundtrack to modern disillusionment, streaked with laughter, frustration, and the kind of camaraderie that only grows from surviving the grind together.
Hailing from London (via Kent), the band has carved out a place in the UK underground with their genre-hopping sound and high-octane live shows, supporting heavyweights like The Libertines, The Sherlocks, and King Prawn. But on this five-track offering, they distill that chaos into something that feels intensely personal, political, and wildly alive.
The EP’s lead single “Mind of Mine”, is a track that blends ska-punk rhythms with razor-sharp lyrics about mental health and self-doubt. It’s an anthem for anyone clinging to their sanity in a world that seems hell-bent on testing it. Like much of the EP, it balances humour with heaviness, making the bitter truths easier to swallow.
Working with veteran producer Bill Gautier (Paul McCartney, The Cure, Brian May) at The Albion Rooms in Margate, The Ovines tap into a sonic stew that pulls from punk, dub, indie, and reggae, think Fat Freddy’s Drop meets The Clash, with a side of late-night pub existentialism.
There’s an undeniable working-class defiance to their music, a kind of street poetry dressed in secondhand jackets and soaked in warm lager. Tracks like “Loose Change” and “Two Bucks” don’t just vent; they connect. This is music for the overstretched, the underpaid, and the emotionally overdrawn, but it’s never hopeless.
At the heart of Two Bucks and a Bottle of Ketchup is a spirit of survival. The Ovines aren’t offering clean answers, but they’re raising a pint with you in the mess, and that’s half the battle. With the backing of Gibson London and a reputation growing louder with every release, The Ovines prove that catharsis doesn’t always have to be clean, sometimes it’s a scream from the dancefloor and a smile through the static. And this EP? It’s both.
