There’s something contradictory about discovering a punk band because Facebook’s algorithm decided I should. But that’s how I found The Indestructibles.
We did the introductions on Fal-day last week, so I won’t repeat all of that here. A few seconds of noise in my feed turned into a much longer conversation with Fal about what it means to start a punk band now, 50 years after punk was supposedly going to tear everything down. And it turns out there’s more going on here than Mohawks, shades and loud guitars.
A note on language: this conversation, and the band’s lyrics, don’t hold back. Fair warning before you hit play.
Punk in 2026
Fal has a pretty clear idea of what punk is, and what it isn’t. It isn’t the uniform, and it isn’t knowing the right bands, wearing the right T-shirt or being able to name three obscure tracks to prove your credentials. For him it’s still anti-establishment, anti-racist, questioning authority and, importantly, something that should be inclusive rather than guarded by people deciding who is punk enough to be allowed in.
Which inevitably took us to Johnny Rotten. I’d seen John Lydon doing a spoken-word show and came away disappointed by some of what I heard. Fal is considerably less diplomatic: his suggestion that Lydon should stick to selling Country Life butter and leave punk to the people still getting on stage may divide opinion. Good. It would be a fairly disappointing punk interview if everyone agreed with it.
Anger is more interesting when there’s a story behind it
Then we got into the songs. Woman in Black initially sounds like a fairly vicious punk song about a bailiff. Because it is. But ask Fal where it came from and suddenly we’re talking about being 18, getting into debt, having no real financial education, ignoring the problem and watching a relatively small debt become something much bigger through fees and penalties. From there we wandered into vulnerable people, addiction, homelessness and a system that can make life considerably more expensive precisely when you have the least money.
What rhymes with Farage?
Not everything became quite so serious. Fal writes constantly, hundreds of unfinished lyrics sitting on his phone, usually sparked by something that has annoyed, amused or fired him up. At the moment he’s trying to write about Reform, and there’s a significant artistic obstacle: nothing rhymes with Reform. Farage isn’t much easier, unless you’re prepared to get into a lengthy debate about how to pronounce garage. Punk rock has always had its struggles.
The new Top of the Pops
Perhaps my favourite part of the conversation brought us right back to how I discovered them in the first place: algorithms. The Indestructibles have built a sizeable and rapidly growing online audience, helped by Chris understanding how to make short-form video work. And apparently that isn’t punk.
Fal’s comparison is a good one. Punk bands in the 1970s and 80s might not have particularly wanted to appear on Top of the Pops, local radio, the BBC or ITV, but if you wanted people to discover your music, those were some of the tools available. Today one of those tools is a 16-second video appearing repeatedly in somebody’s Facebook or Instagram feed. The band don’t necessarily want to spend their lives making those either, but people see them. Some listen to a song. Some buy a ticket. Some turn up at a gig. Some buy a record or a T-shirt.
As Fal explains it, the music is the product. The videos are the fishing rod, and I was one of the fish.
And what does success look like?
This might be the bit I liked most. The Indestructibles are growing quickly, and Fal talks about riding that wave and seeing where it takes them. Of course he’d like bigger audiences, more gigs and the opportunity to take the band further. But underneath it all is a remarkably grounded ambition: he’d quite like making music to pay his rent and bills. Not fame for the sake of fame, not becoming a celebrity, just reaching the point where playing and writing music can replace working in a pallet yard.
Watch and listen to the full conversation
Fal and I get into Rancid, The Clash, The Ruts, Sex Pistols, stadium gigs versus tiny venues, covers of covers, songwriting, debt collectors, police, politics, Facebook algorithms, why his drummer sometimes causes an hour-long set to finish 15 minutes early, and why Fal really wears those shades. There’s also Seal. Obviously.
Watch Fal and The Indestructibles: The Third Half Musician of the Month Here’s a link to the official video for Don’t Stop.
The Indestructibles are The Third Half’s Musician of the Month.
https://player.captivate.fm/episode/dc7c9388-90b3-4c18-be11-49ab21e11986/