Catching Up with The Criticals: Why They Are About to Take Over, And We’re Here for It

On October 9th, we had the chance to catch The Criticals at Mercury Lounge for their sold-out show, where they gave the crowd an early listen to their upcoming record. If you aren’t familiar, The Criticals are a Nashville-based rock band formed by Parker Forbes and Cole Shugart, with Michael Meadows, Henry Henson, Augustus Carroll, and Caleb Hughes joining them. They dropped their first EP, Mimosa Hygiene, in 2019, and followed it up with Sour Grapes in 2020. Now they are signed with Fantasy Records this time around. 

We got to hang out with the guys at a bar before the show to chat about their return to the city and catch up since the last time they played here. A lot has changed since we first saw them back in February 2022. We were genuinely excited when they agreed to this, not just because we’re massive fans, but because it was a full-circle moment for us. That first show sparked the idea that we needed to be in the music industry somehow. But here's the thing, groupies, we can’t sing. I mean, Roma still believes she’s got a Grammy in her future, but we all know better. And instruments? I (Mishel) have tried violin, guitar, flute, and each one met a tragic end.

But, that show is what sparked the idea for this blog. Funny enough, we came up with the name "Your Favorite Groupies" the second time we saw them in New York. Meeting the band before the show this time around was a bit surreal, and it felt like things had come full circle.

YFG: How does it feel to be back performing in NYC?

Parker: Amazing every time, favorite city ever.

Cole: New York is the best place ever, it’s the best place to play in America.

YFG: Do you have a favorite pre-show ritual?

Parker: Honestly, today’s been awesome because we loaded in early, so we’ve all gotten to just walk around, hang out, get some food, and chill for a bit. That’s always the best. Then, right before the show, we do a little vocal warm-up, huddle up, and get ready. After that, we just fucking send it.

YFG: When you're in a new city or one you’ve been to before, do you find yourself going back to certain places, or do you like trying out new spots?

Cole: Every city is different. I keep a list on my phone of amazing restaurants we find, and I add them to our U.S. tour catalog.

We told the guys that if they ever end up in Stamford, CT, they should check out Little Buddha—it’s hands down the best Thai food around. And honestly, it’d be great to see them play in Connecticut, maybe even explore the music scenes in New Haven or Norwalk.

YFG: How did you come up with the band name “The Criticals”?

Parker: It took months of trying to come up with a band name. I saw an ad on TV for one of those Life Alert-type services, but it was, a poor man's life alert. I thought, "What if we just put 'The' in front of that?" I’ve always liked band names that start with "The."

YFG: What has been your favorite venue to perform at?

Parker: No joke, Mercury Lounge is in my top three favorite venues. It feels so good to be back. We walked in today for the first time in two years. I haven’t been to a show there since we played last, and just loading in today, I was like, yeah, this place is still great.

YFG: You guys opened for Nickelback? How was that? We were so excited when we saw the news.

Parker: There were a ton of people, but we couldn’t see most of them because the venue at Foxwoods was this massive bowl-shaped theater. It was awesome, though, and they treated us really well. But it was such a quick trip—just in and out. We didn’t even get much of a soundcheck. The stage was huge, and we were kind of just thrown into it. I remember stepping on stage, and it was pitch black in the audience except for the first few rows. All the lights were on us, and it felt like we were playing in a planetarium or something. Definitely one of the biggest crowds we’ve played for.

Cole: Yeah, I remember we were looking at a spreadsheet showing where we’d been and how many tickets we’d sold throughout the year. We did about 60 shows, mostly in 200-cap rooms. Then we got the Nickelback gig at the end of the year, and it hit me—the total number of tickets we sold all year was nearly the exact capacity of that one show. It was eerie. After traveling all year in a van, playing all over the country, suddenly all those people were in one room—and we couldn’t even see them. It was surreal.

YFG: Speaking of opening for iconic bands, we were so surprised to see that you’re opening for Houndmouth! That was definitely not on our bingo card. How did that come about? Are you excited?

Parker: Yeah, those shows just kind of came out of nowhere. One day we got the offer and were like, "Oh yeah, let's do it!" It’s going to be a lot of fun for sure.

YFG: After a show, how do you guys wind down?

Parker: Honestly, there’s not a lot of relaxing, especially after our headline shows. The opening sets are a bit easier, but headlining? That’s when the real work starts. We hang out for a bit, then it’s time to load out, talk to people, and sometimes head out to do more. There are usually four, five, maybe six hours after we’re off stage where we’re still in work mode.

YFG: Do you have any funny or crazy experiences that have happened while on tour or at a show?

Parker: One or two random asks for threesomes, like, I’m good.

Cole: Yeah, people hand us books with pages of drawings of us and them together.

Parker: Or just some wild fan art.

Cole: There was this guy we called "Doodle Nut Boy." He disappeared for about a year, but he used to only post photos we had shared of The Criticals, and he would Photoshop his face over Parker’s. It was weird. Then he started posting pictures of himself holding babies, and he’d Photoshop my face onto the babies! He did this for a year and would DM me almost every day. Eventually, I got a little scared. It was intense. He only ever used that "mommy’s milk" sound on TikTok, and one day, he just messaged me, apologized, said he had autism, and then disappeared.

Cole: We have this one girl who would scream at me over Instagram Messenger and say, "I need to cut your hair right now. Pay me money to cut your hair!" She would do this every day for about six months.

I wish I could say we have that level of motivation, but the truth is, we don't. I suppose it comes with the territory of rising in this industry. What never fails to surprise me, though, is the variety of responses we get when we ask bands this question. This one really took the cake.

YFG: How has the transition been from producing your own music independently to now being part of Fantasy Records? What have been the biggest differences or changes you've experienced with having a team along the way?

Cole: There’s definitely less pressure now that we don’t have to handle everything ourselves. Honestly, it’s just about having more people involved. When you first start a band, you have to manage every aspect on your own. Then, as you grow, others come in to help out. But it never really stops. The bigger you get, the more you need. You might start playing 250-capacity rooms, and then move up to 500, and suddenly you need an LD. It’s an ongoing process, but having more people to support you makes a big difference.

YFG: Did someone come to you guys? Or is it like an application?

Cole: No, usually like an A&R, which is like, the role of the labels. The people who sign bands, they will come to a show, and then you talk for a long time and they say, okay, maybe we could do this. And then you end up signing, or you don't end up. We went through a lot of that for over a year before we ended up choosing Fantasy.

YFG: I didn’t connect the dots until I slid into the DMs and you guys asked if we could email this person. You hadn’t done that before, so I decided to check if you had a record label. When I found out, I thought, “That’s so cool!”

Cole: There’s a fun story about when we caught the attention of the A&R guy. He came to our first show in LA at this tiny venue called Gold Diggers, which we ended up selling out before even arriving. We didn’t know if he actually showed up, just heard a rumor that he might. We didn’t talk to him for months, but then he messaged us saying he was coming to Nashville and wanted to meet us with the president of the label. We thought, “Okay, cool.” 

So, we went to dinner with them, but about ten minutes before we were supposed to meet, they told us the restaurant they were going to was closed and that we needed to go to a different place. We walked into this new spot right after we had just played Live on the Green, our hometown festival. As we went up to order, the fry cook in the kitchen suddenly said, “What the fuck! This is The Criticals? Dude, your food is on me! You guys are the coolest band in Nashville!”. It looked totally fake. We went back outside, and they were like, “Did you plant that guy? What the fuck was that?” We were like, “No, we had no idea who this guy was.” It was such a magical experience, almost like the universe was giving us a wink.

Photo by Isabella Angel

We're really excited about all the growth we’ve seen, and tonight’s show gave us a glimpse of the band’s new era. Everyone was buzzing about hearing the new tracks for their upcoming album.

They opened with "Good Lookin'" and followed up with fan favorites like "High Life Clinic" and "Treat Ya Better." Then came the new tracks, and while we can’t reveal too much, we will say this: if you love the sounds of The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, and Fontaines D.C., you’re going to love this album. That’s your only clue – and trust us, it’s a big one – so get ready to dance when these songs drop. The energy was infectious, and it’s clear the band is evolving while staying true to their rock roots. You could feel the crowd feeding off the excitement for what’s coming next.

We’re not sure if we can officially claim the title of being The Criticals' #1 fan in the New England area, but you can bet we’ll be front and center, hyping them up at every NY show. Whether it’s singing every lyric or dancing to every beat, we’re ready to bring the energy. The band's stage presence just pulls you in, and honestly, how could we not be their biggest cheerleaders when they’re delivering hit after hit? Count us in as their ultimate hype crew for every show.

Photo by Isabella Angel

YFG: Correct us if we're wrong, but we saw that the majority of the album was recorded in the UK. How did that come about? Was that always the vision for this album?

Parker: We got really lucky with how everything fell into place. We had about 25-30 songs ready to go and started working with Mike Crossey, who ended up mixing the record. He was supposed to produce the entire thing, and when we played in LA, he came out to see us. We hit it off, visited his studio, and everything seemed lined up. But a few weeks later, we found out our schedules didn’t align to get the record done in time. Thankfully, Mike still wanted to be involved, so he introduced us to his former engineer, Jonathan Gilmore, who’s based in the UK. We gave him a call, and that’s how we ended up recording in a tiny studio in Eastbourne, a quiet coastal town about two and a half hours south of London. We went in December and January—cold, rainy, classic England—and it turned out to be the perfect setting for the record.

YFG: We are a big Arctic Monkeys fan, and I noticed you mentioned them in your new single, "Adoringly Drunk." So I have to ask—what's your favorite song or album of theirs?

Parker: Potion Approaching is my favorite Arctic Monkey’s song. I know it's kind of a deep cut. Humbug is my favorite album.

Cole: My favorite album is Favorite Worst Nightmare and Fluorescent Adolescent is my favorite song.

YFG: You recently played at Austin City Limits, and since we’ve never worked a festival, we’re curious—what’s the backstage experience like for artists and staff? Do people typically hang out together, or are you mostly in your trailer throughout the day?

Cole: It’s very communal. There are generally big artist areas where, unless you’re the headliner, like Dua Lipa or someone, who comes in a black car 30 minutes before their set and heads right out, everybody hangs out.

Parker: ACL is actually my favorite layout of all the festivals we’ve done this year. It’s cozy, and it’s easy to walk around. It’s not massive like Lollapalooza, where you need a golf cart just to get anywhere. It was fucking great.

YFG: Okay, last question, and you probably can't give us anything, but what can we expect from the new album?

Parker: We re-recorded a couple of the old songs and everything else is brand new. That’s all I will say.

Cole: We never had the privilege of spending as much time on a piece of music as we did with this record. Getting the opportunity to spend three days on a song instead of pumping it out in six hours made a huge difference. We didn't leave anything on the table with this one—no stone was left unturned.

Parker: I will say that we're playing all the new records tonight.

It was great catching up with the guys before their show, and we seriously can’t wait to hear more of the upcoming album. We did joke that if they start playing arenas, they owe us tickets for being part of the OG New York fan base—they agreed! But honestly, we weren’t entirely joking, because after hearing the new album, we can totally see them selling out concerts left and right.

If this is your first time hearing about The Criticals, do yourself a favor and check out their discography. And if you get the chance to see them live, don’t miss it. Their music takes on a whole new life on stage. We’ll proudly be their #1 groupies (respectfully) till the very end, so hop on board groupies!

All our love,

Your Favorite Groupies