Band that formed while studying music at Milton Keynes College releases debut single
A band who formed while three of its current members were studying music at Milton Keynes College have released their debut single.
Tiebreak began life in 2023, when bassist and backing vocalist Liv West and guitarists Jak Lawrence-Hill and Joe Gait met while studying music at the college.
The band formed into its current line-up in 2024 when vocalist Isaac Tofield, a childhood friend of Jak’s, and drummer Ed Hammond, who studied music at the University of Northampton with Liv, joined the group.
The band have spent the last year writing and recording an album, due to be released in July, and have just released their first single Makeshift.
To celebrate the milestone, the band held a release party at The Kensington pub in Great Holm on Friday March 20.
Liv told the Citizen: "We’ve had a lovely reception from friends and family for the first single and really enjoyed having a release party, spending time with people to have a drink and just celebrate the work we’ve put in."
Music has run through the band from a young age, and this writer can recall going to Isaac’s house to listen to him and his siblings playing the trumpet when they were still of primary school age!
Tiebreak performed their first live gigs together in 2025 and opened the main stage of the Northampton Music Festival, thanks to an opportunity from the University of Northampton, where Ed and Liv studied music.
"As a band, our influences evolve from bands like The Cure, The Smiths and The Police or modern bands like The 1975 and Sam Fender," Liv said.
Last year, the band went to Tilehouse Studios, a vintage recording studio in West London, which was originally built for singer Mike Oldfield in 1980.
"We recorded the first half of our album entirely to tape, and we are very passionate about keeping analogue recording alive, as many bands have left it behind," Liv said.
"This came about due to wanting to capture the raw energy of live performance as much as possible in the recordings."
The band went back there earlier this year to complete work on the album, due to be released on July 24.
A name has not been decided for the album, however the band’s second single, set for release on May 1, is entitled ‘You Can’t Bring That in Here, Our Drummer Has a Peanut Allergy’, and is titled as such because Ed the drummer is allergic to peanuts.
Alongside performing, the band members are all currently studying and working, or working full-time, which Liv added: "Hopefully one day that will change!"
Makeshift is available now across music platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.