DIY, Sept 2021

DIY ISSUE 111 • SEPTEMBER 2021 DIYMAG.COM

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The Killers

NAO

The Vaccines Amyl and the Sniffers

Common

Animal Magnetism

How Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes became rock's inclusive inclusive,, forward-thinking force for good.

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Business at the front, party down below.

HELLO

SEPTEMBER Question!

‘Go Get A Tattoo’ say the Rattlesnakes and Lynks: what would Team DIY get if they had the nerve?

SARAH JAMIESON • Managing Editor As a proud northerner, I would love to get a lil Angel of the North somewhere. Just a shame I am also a proud wimp…

EMMA SWANN • Founding Editor I’ve been trying to work out what I want inked on me next for nearly a decade, so at this point I will consider any and all offers to permanently mark my skin.

LISA WRIGHT • Features Editor Have actually got an appointment next month to finally get “open all the boxes” written on me as a nod to my two great loves: The Cribs and having as much fun as humanly possible.

LOUISE MASON • Art Director I'm already booked in for my full-head spider tattoo in Frank’s honour, plus a few foxes dotted around in yet-to-be-determined locations, for luck.

ELLY WATSON • Digital Editor The trick is to Amazon your own stick and poke kit, have a beer, and then you’re brave enough for any tatt. Hence the regrettable Sports Team ‘Deep Down Happy’ logo on my leg…

Editor's Letter

For the best part of fifteen years now, Frank Carter has been an icon within rock. Best known for his incendiary performances and fiery demeanour, his work with Gallows, Pure Love and, most recently, with the Rattlesnakes has helped cement him as one of modern rock’s most important voices. That’s why this month, ahead of the release of the latter’s fourth album ‘Sticky’, we’re welcoming the Rattlesnakes to the cover.

Elsewhere this month, we visit the fictional world of Love City with The Vaccines, head to Brandon Flowers’ hometown to learn more about The Killers’ latest album, and discover the next chapter in NAO’s story.

Listening Post GORILLAZ - MEANWHILE While the Notting Hill Carnival is postponed once more, Damon Albarn has assembled a motley cast of current fire talents to bring carnival vibes regardless, with Jelani Blackman, AJ Tracey and Barrington Levy among those featured on the three-track EP. POPPY - FLUX Technically, the singles released so far form only a portion of the online icon‘s forthcoming fourth fulllength, but ‘Her’, ‘Flux’ and ‘So Mean’ pack more punches than most whole records. Grunge-pop at its finest.

THE ROLLING STONES GREATEST HITS The music world was in mourning just days before this issue was sent to print as drummer Charlie Watts passed (and we couldn't agree on just one record among us).

ISSUE PLAYLIST

Plus, there’s chats with Sleigh Bells, Amyl and the Sniffers, Katy B and loads more! Go on, dive in…

Scan the Spotify code to listen to our August playlist now.

Sarah Jamieson, Managing Editor

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C O N T E N T S

N EWS 6 NAO 1 0 K ATY B 1 4 H AVE YO U HEARD? 1 6 H ALL O F FAME N EU 1 8 W ET LEG 2 0 W OO ZE 2 2 STILL WOO ZY 2 4 DEB NEVER FEATURES 2 6 FRANK CARTER & TH E R AT T LESN A K ES 3 4 THE VACCINES 3 8 TH E KILLERS 4 2 SLEIGH B ELLS 4 4 CO MM O N 4 8 AMYL AND THE SNIFFER S R EVIEWS 5 2 ALB UM S

Shout out to all at Rose of Mercy, Lynks, William, Bea and all at State51, Adam Hasyim Cranfield, Dan Landsburgh, any patient ticket-holders for the Pixey, Molly Payton and WOOZE show (see you on the 22nd!), and festivals for fully being back.

Founding Editor Emma Swann Managing Editor Sarah Jamieson Features Editor Lisa Wright Digital Editor Elly Watson Art Direction & Design Louise Mason Contributors Alex Cabré, Alisdair Grice, Bella Martin, Ben Bentley, Ben Tipple, Ed Miles, Emma Wilkes, Flo Stroud, Ims Taylor, Joe Goggins, Louis Griffin, Louisa Dixon, Malvika Padin, Max Pilley, Rhian Daly, Sean Kerwick, Tyler Damara Kelly, Varun Govil.

Cover photo and this page: Ben Bentley For DIY editorial: info@diymag.com For DIY sales: advertise@diymag.com For DIY stockist enquiries: stockists@diymag.com

All material copyright (c). All rights reserved.

This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of DIY. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which DIY holds no responsibility.

The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of DIY or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.

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THE NEW ALBUM

OUT 10 TH SEPTEMBER 5

NEWS

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I was coming out of a bumpy period, and I just realised that happiness isn’t a destination.”

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On third LP ‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’, NAO is seeking out the good stuff and keeping her glass half full.

Words: Max Pilley. Photos: Lillie Eiger.

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he last three years have been a time of revelation for NAO. Since taking a break after the success of her 2018 GRAMMY and Mercury Prize-shortlisted second album ‘Saturn’, the East London singer has used the opportunity to reflect on the course of her life so far and, in among the philosophical wrangling, a moment of clarity emerged.

“I was coming out of a bumpy period and into my early thirties,” she begins to explain, “and I just realised that happiness isn’t a destination.”

She pauses, seemingly eager to find the right words. “Happiness is just something that appears momentarily throughout the day, and no matter how life is, whether we’re going through tricky transitions or we’re going through dark moments, people passing away or just whatever it is in our lives, it’s all strangely beautiful.”

It explains the title of her luscious and warm third album ‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’. NAO poured her energy during the empty months of 2020 into translating this newfound contemplative worldview into a body of work that strikes universal notes of calm maturity: an appreciation in album form of life’s enduring ability to provide a restorative sense of meaning.

“When we’re growing up,” she continues, “we’re very much taught that we have to get to A, B and C and then it’s happy ever after. We get the job, we get the family, the man or the woman, and then that’s it. If one really believed that notion then we’re all pretty much fucked. I just stepped back and took everything in as a whole, life so far, and thought: You know what? Some of it’s been really shit, some of it has been great, and a lot of it has just been neutral, but all of it has been beautiful.”

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AO became a mother for the first time during the interim period between albums, although she explains that she largely resisted the temptation to allow that to become the dominant source of her creativity. The one caveat to that is ‘Antidote’ - a collaboration with her friend, the Nigerian highlife singer Adekunle Gold, who is also a recent new parent. “I purposely steered away from singing about motherhood on this album,” she nods. “I feel that it’s a very specific journey, and I always want to make my albums relatable for everyone. And anyway, I find motherhood really difficult and I’m not sure that I could sing about it in a way that wouldn’t put people off!”

She jokes that the artistic upshot of managing a creative life alongside looking after her daughter is that where a song that would once have taken two days to write, she can now get it done in four hours.

In truth though, nothing about the rich, intensely expressive tracks that comprise ‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’ could ever be construed as rushed.

On the contrary, this is NAO’s most complete work to date, an assured confidence radiating out of each song. Like many of the R&B greats, she’s able to imbue her music with an invisible force field of emotional poignancy. “I think that’s just the frequency I’m drawn to,” she says with typical modesty. “I very much love Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Marvin Gaye, and a lot of their music is really heartfelt and has this really beautiful warmth

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NEWS that comes through it. You feel what they’re singing and that’s how I want to sing and write too.”

Songs such as ‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’’s title track justify such heightened comparisons, with NAO’s slinky, sumptuous vocals multi-tracked into a chorus, spinning and diving like a flock of birds in formation around the song’s warmly inviting arrangement. There is depth to her music, not just in the subject matter but also in the sheer volume of expression that she’s able to convey; on the plaintive, piano-led album centrepiece ‘Wait’, she communicates its message of perseverance as much through the timbre of her voice as through the words that she sings.

“I’m taking what I’ve learned from looking back - giving myself a little less stress and a little more grace.”

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ince studying vocal jazz at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and making her first moves in music as part of the a cappella group The Boxettes in the early 2010s, the singer born Neo Joshua rose to early prominence by securing early collaborations with Jarvis Cocker, Disclosure and Kwabs, then placing high in the BBC’s Sound of 2016 list, suggesting the arrival of a major new talent. From the outside, these would seem to have been heady days, although the singer now reflects on that period a little differently. “I look back on my earlier self as an artist and I realise how hard I was on myself,” she says. “On so many levels - on a physical level, about the way I looked, and in how I felt I was perceived by the public and how my music was doing at the time.”

Her first solo EPs and her slyly subversive 2016 debut album ‘For All We Know’ earned her a BRIT nomination and further collaboration spots with Jamie Lidell and Mura Masa - even if it’s somewhat telling that her internal version of events is markedly more tempered. “In the music industry, you do kind of always feel that this single is your last single before you completely fade away, so I think that played into it,” she says now. “With hindsight I think, ‘Actually you were doing just fine, you weren’t completely bombing it’. Coming into this album, I’m just taking what I’ve learned from looking back and giving myself a little less stress and a little more grace.”

If the calibre of musicians queuing up to work with her has been at a high from the off, then there’s no sense of that tailing off any time soon. ‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’ includes features from Lianne La Havas on the song ‘Woman’ - which NAO poignantly chose to record with her daughter strapped to her chest - the New Orleans singer Lucky Daye who connected with her when they met at the 2020 GRAMMYs, and serpentwithfeet, the prodigiously talented soul experimentalist who had previously opened for NAO on one of her first shows in New York City. The two are good friends now, and as well as his appearance on ‘Postcards’ here, NAO also makes an appearance on his much lauded 2021 album ‘Deacon’ in the form of the song ‘Heart Storm’. An open-heartedness and emotional directness unites every one of these artists, with NAO’s vocal dexterity easily able to accommodate the different energies that each guest brings.

With plans in place for significant tour dates in 2022, the realities of bringing a toddler on the road are sure to present a new set of challenges, but if these three years have taught NAO anything, it’s that there’s no struggle that won’t contain its own inherent value. The NAO of today seems capable of taking life’s best shots in her stride, a young artist quietly blossoming into a confident, mature musical auteur. If the beauty truly is around us at all times, then NAO has an uncanny knack of capturing it for posterity.

‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’ is out 24th September via Little Tokyo / RCA. DIY

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NAO: Musician, mother, table lamp.

Chintzy Stetson George O’Hanlon

St Lundi

Ryan McMullan

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

Tue 21 September Sebright Arms London

September/October 2021 UK Tour

Tue 28 September Laylow London

September 2021 UK Tour

Lanterns on the Lake

GOOSE

Matilda Mann The Ninth Wave

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

Wed 06 October Lafayette London

Fri 08 October Omeara London

Autumn 2021 UK Tour

Thu 14 October Colours London

Walt Disco

NOISY

Ferris & Sylvester

The Wytches

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

Fri 29 October Moth Club London

October 2021 UK Tour

October/November 2021 UK Tour

October 2021 UK Tour

Grandmas House

Finn Askew

Josie Proto

Ajimal

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

+ Special Guests

Wed 03 November The Windmill Brixton

November 2021 UK Tour

Tue 23 November The Courtyard Theatre London

Thu 25 November The Waiting Room London

Get Your Tickets at

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Next

Mission Ten years on from her thrilling debut, Katy B has returned with new single ‘Under My Skin’, ready to explore a new chapter. Words: Elly Watson.

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in terms of being on my own, so when I get to do a collaboration or have a journey with someone, it’s a really special moment because you get to share it with someone. We’re both singing about being heartbroken on this song and there’s this kind of sisterhood in it.

In lockdown, me and my friend lived together and it reminds me of living with her and just complaining about boys!”

“It’s been really nice,” Katy herself beams, hyped by the fans’ reactions. “We had a little YouTube unveiling chat room thing and there were loads of people from all over the world, which is mad.”

While looking forward to the future and excited for her new step, lockdown also gave Katy a chance to reflect, with the tenth anniversary of her seminal debut ‘On A Mission’ arriving in April.

Returning with dance-ready R&B-tinged jam ‘Under My Skin’ last month, it marked her first solo release since the arrival of 2016 album ‘Honey'. Teaming up with prolific producer - and fellow South Londoner P2J for the track, he may be best known for his work in the funky house world, but Katy has a slightly closer connection with him. “He actually went to school with my brother,” she smiles. “And he was saying how my brother was always coming in like, ‘You’ve got to work with my sister!’”

A thrilling listen - the album scoring a Number Two spot on the UK charts and a Mercury nod to boot - its lead single ‘Katy On A Mission’ still has the power to make a crowd lose their shit even a decade later.

“When I first performed it at Matter there was a Rinse rave and I came out on Benga’s set and they picked me up and tried to make me crowd surf,” she laughs.

“Then at Reading & Leeds people were going crazy, I’d never performed to a crowd like that. The energy, I will never forget that feeling. ‘On A Mission’ was a bit mental really. I remember being in Leicester and they went crazy and snapped the bar in half. I don’t know what it is about that song but it turns people a bit loopy!”

Eventually coming true on her brother’s wish, ‘Under My Skin’ marks the first glimpse into what Katy has been working on for the last few years. Wanting to take a break after touring so much, she built a studio in her basement with some friends, with ‘Under My Skin’ being the first song written there, before the pandemic hit and halted plans. Now she’s gearing up to kick things off all over again, and she’s got even more surprises up her sleeve.

“Especially with the pandemic and life before, this project is less in the club but it’s still got club clues to it, if you know what I mean?” she explains. “It’s just deconstructing what I’ve done before, but in maybe a bit more of a chilled-out way. But to be fair, I don’t see myself just making really chilled music for the rest of my life. I still love writing songs for the clubs, so it’s not like I’m going to be singing really slow songs forever, but this is a bit more chilled.”

Working with producers Mike Brainchild, David Stanforth, Jake Edwards-Wood (who she was in a band with at school) and ‘Lights On’ collaborator Geeneeus for the project, she describes the process of crafting her upcoming music as being as chilled as the songs themselves.

“It’s the opposite to how in the industry sometimes you go into sessions and it can feel really contrived, but it’s so natural,” she notes. “It’s nice when you have that safe space with people.”

Although not giving away too much, she does tease that a collaboration with a female artist is also set to appear. “I think growing up and being in bands and doing projects or being behind the scenes as a featured artist is quite nice because you just get to be in the background and just do music,” she explains. “I kind of get a bit self-conscious

“It feels good to kind of start again,” she continues. “I think it’s a positive thing rather than a negative thing. I don’t know if I do see the new music as a continuation because it actually has been quite a while… Maybe a next chapter, maybe not a whole new book.” DIY

“I still love writing songs for the clubs, but this is a bit more chilled..”

NEWS

ropping your first new material in five years could be a daunting move, but when you’ve got the kind of backing Katy B has, it’s no sweat. “POP EMERGENCY,” one Twitter user proclaimed in excitement. “The prospect of a new Katy B record gives me enough serotonin to make it through this lockdown,” another noted.

‘Gram on the

These days, even yer gran is posting selfies on Instagram.

Instagran, more like. Everyone has it now, including all our fave bands. Here’s a brief catch-up on music’s finest photo-taking action as of late.

Smashing R&L? Bin there, done that. (@wolfaliceband)

COVID test, but make it chic. (@lizzobeeating)

Ronaldo who? (@ johcooperclarke)

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LAST MONTH, WE KICKED OFF OUR NEW LIVE SERIES DIY IRL WITH A SHOW AT WALTHAMSTOW’S SIGNATURE BREW - A CELEBRATORY INAUGURAL OUTING WITH KATY J PEARSON. OUR NEXT DIY IRL OUTING - WITH PIXEY, WOOZE AND MOLLY PAYTON - IS NOW TAKING PLACE ON 22ND SEPTEMBER, AND WE’LL BE ANNOUNCING MORE SHOWS IN THE COMING MONTHS, SO KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED…

Kat y J Pearson

The evening begins with York boys Bull, who deliver cuts from recent debut ‘Discover Effortless Living’ with the sort of pleasingly ramshackle (yet secretly rather proficient) attitude that Pavement wouldn’t sniff at.

Parping a fetching green trumpet between sweetened melodies (‘Green’) and more pacey, indie-leaning fare (‘Shiny Bowl’), they’re a warmly charming opener for Katy - whose songs are already far, far too big for this intimate room.

Drug Store Romeos

With last year’s ‘Return’ LP snowballing in popularity, it’s easy to see why so many people are falling for the Bristolian’s wares. ‘Take Back The Radio’ is a propulsive, soaring smash, while ‘Something Real’ puts the singer’s immediately-recognisable vocal to the fore, yearning for tangibility in this mad old world. It’s a set full of heart and guts - as all the best country ones are - but imbued with influences that audibly crib from a far wider pool than just one genre. Katy, of course, is more than worth the wait.

UP NEXT!

The evening concludes with Drug Store Romeos, who bring an even more eclectic musical sensibility to their DJ set as they did to recent debut ‘The world within our bedrooms’. Hyper-speed glitch pop interspersed with classic bangers? Why the hell not, eh.

PIXEY, MOLLY PAYTON, WOOZE 22ND SEPTEMBER SIGNATURE BREW, LONDON Delayed from its original late-August date, this triple header is one to put in your diaries - RIGHT NOW.

Pixey

The Liverpool-based singer, songwriter and producer will keep the summer vibes going deep into September, with the aptly-named ‘90s-indebted banger ‘Sunshine State’ the title track of a new EP set to follow on 29th October.

Molly Payton

The New Zealander has a sweet line in loose-limbed indie-pop, with latest single ‘You Cut Me So Much Slack’ a standout. Her mini-album ‘Slack’ is set for release on 1st October.

WOOZE

The London-based duo’s oddball pop (see p24 for a full interview with the pair) has already been winning over fans worldwide - now catch them closer to home this month.

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THIS MON TH:

‘SMILE’

Katy J Pearson / Bull / Drug Store Romeos DJs The first instalment of DIY IRL might be happening a couple of months later than planned due to our headliner getting pinged about some nasty little bug that’s been going around (not sure if you’ve heard of it?), but in the balmier climes of early August, Katy J Pearson’s modern take on country is an even more perfect soundtrack.

Bull

SONG WARS! Wolf Alice VS Lily Allen Of all the words in all the world, sometimes artists just plump for exactly the same ones. But which of these identically-titled songs is technically, objectively the winner? Ready, set, FIGHT!

WOLF ALICE Year released: 2021 How has it aged? On one hand, being that it’s mere months old, who could tell? On the other, it’s such an immediate stone-cold banger, the peak of a Number One album, that how could it possibly do so badly?

What’s it saying? Ellie Rowsell’s done with your bullshit, and who you think she is, or who you think she should be: and is on blistering form as a result. Also it's “unhinged,” not “on Hinge,” but we can see where you’re coming from.

Banger rating out of 10: 10, obviously.

LILY ALLEN Year released: 2006 How has it aged? Back at the time of its release, you couldn’t avoid the song, and while countless lesser numbers have suffered from such overexposure, ‘Smile’ still sounds as fresh now as it did then.

What’s it saying? Lily’s man did her wrong, he’s tearily begging her to come back, while she’s over him, revelling in his misery. Tale as old as time.

Banger rating out of 10: 9

RESULT:

Wolf Alice’s relative newbie edges this one, purely for the indie dancefloor-filling, festival-crowd-shouting factor.

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LIZZO FEAT CARD B - ‘RUMORS’

Having ascended into the stratosphere off the back of 2019’s ‘Cuz I Love You’, Lizzo’s brand of affirmative, body positive, grab-life-bythe-balls confidence has gained her exactly as many trolls as you’d grimly predict from that description. Her reply? A cheeky, hilarious female anthem of a comeback single that confirms that yes, she is undeniably still 100% that bitch. “They say I should watch the shit I post, oh, goddamn / Say I'm turnin’ big girls into hoes, oh, goddamn,” she teases before unleashing the punchline: “All the rumors are true.” Recruiting Cardi B - herself no stranger to a healthy splash of online controversy - the following three minutes is a gleeful lyrical kiss-off over wobbling basslines and triumphant brass. There are so many killer lines, it would be rude to isolate one from the others.

Just be reassured that THIS is how you do it. (Lisa Wright)

COURTNEY BARNETT Before You Gotta Go

Taken from her upcoming album ‘Things Take Time, Take Time’, Courtney Barnett’s mellow new track showcases a subtle, guitar-led instrumentation, underpinned by the songwriter’s bold vocals and poignant lyricism. “If something were to happen my dear / I wouldn’t want the last words you hear to be unkind,” she weaves a heartfelt farewell message.

Co-produced with Stella Mozgawa, ‘Before You Gotta Go’ is a minimalistic production that gives listeners a glimpse of the depth that can be expected from her first record in three years. (Malvika Padin)

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THE CRIBS Swinging At Shadows

An unreleased offering from the band’s recent ‘Night Network’ sessions - and the first track in a forthcoming series of four Sonic Blew Singles Club releases - ‘Swinging At Shadows’ is proof that it’s often worth returning to the cutting room floor. With only a guitar scratch by way of introduction, the Jarmans’ latest bursts in with the kind of no nonsense melodic clout that The Cribs are masters of: immediately satisfying, with an ‘80s sheen to its chorus that perhaps makes more explicit sense of their previous work with Orange Juice frontman Edwyn Collins than the pairing did at the time. (Lisa Wright)

CHARLI XCX Good Ones Back with a banger, Charli XCX has dropped your new go-to club number just in time to fill the dancefloors as they reopen. The first taste of XCX5 - allegedly set to arrive on 15th March as a tombstone teased (you read that right) - ‘Good One’ thrills with a Eurthymics ‘Sweet Dreams’-esque thumping beat and soaring ‘80s synths as Charli delivers a hook that’ll be stuck in your head for weeks. Another masterclass in how to write a pop bop, did you ever doubt Charli would let a good one go? (Elly Watson)

PARQUET COURTS Walking At A Downtown Pace

‘Walking at a Downtown Pace’ could (and should) sub out the word ‘walking’ for ‘swaggering’. The latest from Parquet Courts is totally saturated with cool - but what did you expect?

The tempo is a suitably nonchalant strut, but nestled in the blasé beat is enough of a funky bassline and frantic guitar melody to keep the buzz up beneath the vocals.

Despite being penned pre-pandemic, the lyrics are almost prophetic - “I’m making plans for the day all of this is done” is the opening line, and now Parquet Courts have provided a fitting soundtrack to our tentative step into that imagined future. (Ims Taylor)

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NEWS

of Lana Del Rey - ‘Born To Die’ Nearly a decade on from the album that first introduced us to Lana Del Rey, ‘Born To Die’’s inimitable palette sounds even more iconic with time. Words: Lisa Wright.

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o familiar are we now with all the hallmarks of Lana Del Rey - swooning romantic; warped mirror to The American Dream; slightly problematic social media ranter - that it’s easy to forget just how intoxicating and drama-inducing a trail the singer otherwise known as Lizzy Grant left when she first wafted into view back in 2011.

Immediately alerting the online authenticity police with her carefully cultivated persona, as soon as ‘Video Games’ went from viral YouTube hit to the start of a huge major label campaign, the backlash started rolling in with a vengeance. Lana had released a previous, not very successful album under her own name - scandal! She tanked her first TV performance on SNL, looking (understandably) terrified and missing notes - fake! Does she even write her own songs? What’s with all the studied nostalgia? For every young fan getting swept up in Lana’s heady atmosphere, was an old man complaining that the singer wasn’t REAL. Now, eight albums and a forthcoming imminent ninth later, it’s a path of questioning that’s all-but-redundant: Lana is as authentic as Prince, or Madonna, or any other pop legend well-versed in the ways to create the mystique and magic of an icon. Now, far removed from the context into which it was released - one full of impossibly inflated hype and a

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need for the singer to prove herself constantly - ‘Born To Die’ feels like a musical artefact, the immersive first steps into a singular vision.

Indeed, possibly only Billie Eilish since has managed to create as instantly recognisable a sonic pop palette as Del Rey. From the opening string flourishes of its title track, ‘Born To Die’ introduced a star playing with the past and the present in a different way to anyone else. While her vocals were all doe-eyed starlet, lamenting mournfully on ‘Dark Paradise’ and lending a slow, sad meditation to the still-perfect ‘Video Games’, ‘Born To Die’ equally revelled in hip hop tropes, the likes of ‘Off To The Races’ and ‘Diet Mountain Dew’ swaggering with confidence and bravado.

It’s a duality that Lana has leant in and out of over the years, amping up the melodrama and embracing theatricality to create a canon of work that’s prompted a legion of pretenders to her throne. ‘Born To Die’ is not her most accomplished work; in comparison to 2019 opus ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell!’ or even 2014’s ‘Ultraviolence’, much of her LDR debut sounds young and not quite fully formed yet. But it has all the hallmarks there of what would go on to be a history book-cementing career.

Lana might still often fan the flames of controversy, but there’s no denying that her success is as real as it comes. DIY

Released: 27th January 2012 Key tracks: ‘Video Games’, ‘Blue Jeans’, ‘Born To Die’ Tell your mates: Slightly bizarrely, Lana’s highest ever US charting single is a remix of ‘Summertime Sadness’ by French DJ Cedric Gervais.

This year’s (much-delayed) festival season is now very much in full swing, with a handful of inner-city bashes returning in the coming weeks. Here’s your chance to reunite with some familiar faces, and make some new favourites…

The Mysterines’ run of autumn festivals takes in home turf, appearing at Liverpool’s Sound City, and comes ahead of a string of UK dates dubbed the ‘Life’s A Bitch’ tour. Vocalist Lia Metcalfe talks returning to the live stage, and where’s the best place to grab a pint when on Merseyside for the weekend..

Hello! The last time we saw you, you were performing for SXSW back at the start of the year. What has the rest of 2021 thrown at you so far?

A lot of old drinking habits that I thought had finally been securely confined to the grave during lockdown. Alas something called live music and festivals started again and here we are with our Alka Seltzers and empty bank accounts. Haha, here’s to 2021, gigs and Stella Artois.

How rusty did you feel when preparing for returning to ‘proper’ gigs?

I think it’s actually part of the camaraderie of live music returning that we are all naively throwing ourselves into something that was once familiar but feels slightly alien now - both for the musicians and the audience. I wouldn’t be surprised if people have some of their best live moments happen due to this.

What are you looking forward to most about the return to festival stages in particular?

We’ve had the pleasure of already playing some festivals this summer, Boardmasters being one of them. It’s funny because

we’ve all literally just come out of one of the most distressing, impactful and important moments of our lifetime, that will be written into history forever, but you’ll still be given six warm beers on a rider. Even the apocalypse isn’t getting rid of that fact and I can’t deny that it (ironically) put a smile on my face. …and what do you think you’ll like most about doing so on home turf?

We’re definitely looking forward to playing all our new stuff back home... and watching everyone slowly leave.

Which artists do you think you’ll try and catch over the weekend?

Lanterns on The Lake have some great songs that I love, The Murder Capital, The Snuts will be great to catch too.

Tell us some of your favourite off-the-beaten-track places to visit while in the area...

A lot of the coolest, off the beaten track places are actually on the Wirral, it’s sort of what the Wirral is best at, which is why me and George [Favager, bass] look like we’ve stepped out of 2004.

There’s actually a pub in town that I love called The Swan, pretty otherworldly for reasons that you can only witness with your own eyes. Highly recommended.

Sound City takes place between 1st - 3rd October in venues across Liverpool city centre. DIY

Festival

NEWS IN BRIEF

Updates from more live music shenanigans planned for 2021 - all together everyone, fingers crossed...

MUTANT HEROES

Working Men’s Club, Yard Act, Anna Meredith, PVA, Bill Ryder-Jones and SCALPING are among the acts confirmed for this year’s Mutations Festival (4th - 7th November).

The Brighton-based event, returning for its third time, will take over 11 grassroots venues in the city across its four nights.

PARKLIFE

George Ezra is set to host a massive show at London’s Finsbury Park on 17th July - so far he’s got Holly Humberstone and Blossoms in tow.

STAGE RIGHT

Serbian festival EXIT (7th 10th July) has confirmed its first headliner, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. The event will coincide with Novi Sad’s turn as European Capital of Culture, with festival founder Dušan Kovačević saying, “We believe that there is no better way to announce such an important edition of the festival than with one of the greatest rock and roll artists ever.”

DUE SOUTH

Photo: Katy Cummings

696 Festival (until 24th October) continues its residency at London’s Horniman Museum & Gardens, celebrating Black British music.

Events come from femme-led anti-racist collective Skin Deep, and Dance Can’t Nice, an exhibition highlighting the South London music scene.

DO THE TWIST

Fatherson and Bored At My Grandma’s House have been added to Middlesbrough event Twisterella (9th October), joining Lauran Hibberd, Dream Nails, The Howl & The Hum and more.

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Wet Leg

NEWS

“Pretty early on we came up with the ethos of, ‘Feel the fear, and do it anyway’.” - Rhian Teasdale 18 DIYMAG.COM

They’ve only got one song currently out in the world, but Isle of Wight’s Wet Leg are riding their ‘Chaise Longue’ to the top of 2021’s buzz list. Words: Lisa Wright. Photo: Holly Whitaker.

“I found myself Googling ‘imposter syndrome’ and one of the things that Google told me is that it’s if you’re having trouble internalising your success,” muses Wet Leg singer Rhian Teasdale. “It’s definitely that. It’s so intangible…”

Having formed in the summer of 2019 following a seminal, plot-making trip on a ferris wheel at End of the Road festival (“We’d just finished watching IDLES and were trying to persuade them to come with us - they were like, ‘No, you weirdos…”), it’s unsurprising that Rhian and bandmate Hester Chambers might be finding the events of the last few months a little hard to compute.

Until June, the pair were entirely unknown. They’d played a grand total of four gigs - “three in the Isle of Wight to our mums,” notes Rhian - and then been plunged into the pandemic. During the amorphous timeline of 2020, however, they were signed to Domino. “That was just a real kick up the butt to finish a load of stuff that we’d started making,” says the singer. “We were bumbling around the Isle of Wight trying to fill our time doing fun stuff, and then suddenly getting management and label support put the wind in our sails.”

Then came ‘Chaise Longue’. An irrepressibly infectious earworm full of deadpan lyrics, Mean Girls references and a general vibe we’ll call ‘if postpunk had a sense of humour’, Wet Leg’s debut immediately began resonating in ways that felt different to your standard indie band’s first single. It crashed into BBC 6 Music’s A-List and landed on the cover of Spotify’s Hot New Bands, earning them over 300,000 monthly listeners off the bat. Playing London’s Lexington last month, Steve Lamacq introduced the pair and their live band with audible excitement: “My producer only sent me two pictures from the whole of Latitude festival - one was the queue in front of him to get into Wet Leg, and the second was the queue behind him.”

“Latitude was pretty wild,” Rhian grins. “There’s been all this hype on the internet and people saying nice things on Twitter, but we haven’t really left the house for two years so we didn’t know what to expect.” “I think we were quite worried about the fact that ‘Chaise Longue’ is the only thing people have to go off, and we were wondering if they were gonna walk out,” picks up Hester, still somehow looking nervous several weeks later. “There was one guy who was like, ‘Play that song we know!’ And we were just like, ‘We’re getting there but we’ve got to fill half an hour!’”

As those recent shows have attested, however, Wet Leg have more than enough material up their sleeves to keep a crowd on side. More exciting than the initial thrill of their first offering is that ‘Chaise Longue’ isn’t even their best track. Buoyed by the endearing dynamic between their leaders - friends for a decade since college - Wet Leg’s songs are full of playful quirks and giddy kicks; for all that they describe themselves as “painfully polite” people in real life, musically there are moments during their live set that align them more with a British take on Yeah Yeah Yeahs, packed with exuberance and screams.

“Pretty early on we came up with the ethos of, ‘Feel the fear, and do it anyway’.

Be scared, that’s fine, you’re always gonna be scared, but don’t let it get on top of you,” says Rhian of their mindset. “And also we shout at each other: ‘THIS IS A SAFE SPACE!!’”

“When we started the band we were listening to The Garden, Big Thief and IDLES,” continues Hester. “Things where there’s something fun in the music and there are no rules, and it’s free.” Even their name, explains Rhian, acts as “a good reminder to not take yourself too seriously”. “And also,” she caveats, “I think it came round because I saw Squid had a little squid emoji and I was so jealous, so we smashed at our phones to see what combinations came up.

There were some ridiculous ones but to be safe we went with Wet Leg.”

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It could have been a lot worse… “Yeah, Wet Aubergine… Aubergine Donut…”

With the music world waiting on tenterhooks for their next moves (and a second single out later this month), Wet Leg are remaining coy about exactly what else they’ve got up their sleeves but explain, via cheery giggles, that the band offers them an outlet for their naughtier sides. “I guess sometimes it’s nice being able to lyrically say all the things you wanna say but wouldn’t because they’re not necessarily the kindest things,” Rhian hesitantly offers.

For example? “Well, there’s one called ‘Piece of Shit’ which is about a past relationship,” she chuckles. “I know it’s the old cliche of writing songs being cathartic, but that was a good one. It’s SASSY,” she declares, with a wiggle of the shoulders.

And it’s a recipe that’s already paying dividends. Don’t believe us and every other music source vehemently proclaiming Wet Leg’s status as the definitive ones to watch? Just ask Paramore’s Hayley Williams. “She DMed us and I DIED. We all just DIED,” squeaks Hester.

“It was just beyond our capabilities to think that the song would be listened to by anyone, so the fact that people are really excited has blown our minds,” she continues with a grin. “I sound so gushy, but if I told 17-year-old me that we’d be here right now she’d say, ‘No way’. But now this band is all I think about.”

DIY

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WOOZE

The British / Korean duo taking an intergalactic trip through pop’s weird side. Words: Malvika Padin.

“I would say our sound is evolving much like the evolution tree of the Pokémon Bulbasaur. At the time of speaking it resembles the next level, Ivysaur, a fair deal. Perhaps one day we shall see Venusaur,” says Theo Spark - one half of British-Korean duo WOOZE - describing the journey that their enigmatic brand of avant-garde pop has been on since the formation of the project in 2017. Just in case his point is unclear, the duo’s other half, Jamie She, hammers it home: “It's got bigger, bolder, badder.”

If these quirky cartoon analogies act as an attention-grabbing introduction to WOOZE, it’s the duo’s “bombastic and heavy” soundscape that really sets them apart.

Next month they’ll release second EP ‘Get Me To A Nunnery’ - a wild trip through technicolour synths and eclectic alternative pop - which they’ve been teasing with a steady release of singles. The new project is as frenetic and hyperactive as the duo themselves, but shows a distinct development from 2019’s debut EP ‘what’s on your mind?’, equipped with a new dash of maturity to their sound which the pair attribute to their natural progression as artists and people.

“We’ve always been into heavier sounds,

Our sound is evolving much like the evolution tree of the Pokémon Bulbasaur.” - Theo Spark 20 DIYMAG.COM

it’s just that we hadn’t showcased that in our songwriting before. Especially because the songs we released before were some of the first songs we’d ever written, so we were still figuring things out,” says Theo.

Growing with their music yet staying true to their personalities, WOOZE strike a perfect balance between thoughtful pearls of wisdom and an offbeat sense of humour. It’s evident not only in their artistry, but in their sometimes bizarre, yet always amusing, conversational ticks.

In some moments they’ll delve into their creative processes and lyricism with utmost seriousness. “Some of our lyrics are taken from personal experiences and others are plucked out of the air,” says Jamie. “For instance, the track ‘Family Picture’ may seem personal and quaint, but it can also be imagined as a scenario of being trapped in a painting and wanting to be immortalised with someone in it.” At other points, however, they’ll merrily go off on tangents, supplying charming anecdotes of memorable moments such as “once meeting Dame Judi Dench in the toilets of a restaurant”.

Eccentric and enamoring in equal parts, WOOZE have been steadily growing across the London live circuit after meeting and bonding over their passion for creativity at art school. Kindred spirits, the pair have always been inspired by each other and others around them.

And while their debut EP laid solid groundwork, the heavier sound WOOZE are bringing in on their upcoming second is only set to cement that idea. DIY WOOZE play DIY IRL on 22nd September at Signature Brew alongside Pixey and Molly Payton.

Visit diymag.com for details.

BLEACH LAB

WUNDERHORSE Dylan-inflected solo venture from the former Dead Pretties frontman.

RECOMMENDED

Back in 2017, South London trio Dead Pretties burst onto the scene in a whirlwind of (probably a little too much) hedonism, swiftly self-combusting as quickly as they arrived with a grand total of three singles to their name. A rest and a readjustment later, and wild-eyed singer Jacob Slater is back under the solo guise of Wunderhorse. His first track ‘Teal’, released via YALA! in July, suggests he’s tempered some of the youthful carnage into something still cathartically passionate, but a little more grown up. Saddle up for Round Two. LISTEN: ‘Teal’ is your only taste of this wondrous equine so far.

SIMILAR TO: Rambling inflections over tumbling Americana guitars.

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GEESE Brooklyn teens writing their own sonic rulebook

Fuzzy but delicate dream-pop that’s already caught the ear of a rather famous producer.

With their debut EP - last year’s ‘A Calm Sense of Surrounding’ - South London’s Bleach Lab explored grief in a delicate but overwhelming manner; their fuzzy brand of dream-pop becoming the perfect vehicle for such bittersweet reflection. And there’s more to come: the quartet are now gearing up to release a follow-up in the form of ‘Nothing Feels Real’, a new five-track EP produced by none other than Stephen Street. Now, if that doesn’t sound like a match made in heaven…

LISTEN: ‘A Calm Sense…’ opener ‘Old Ways’ is enchanting from the off.

SIMILAR TO: A serene - and strangely fulfilling - sense of existentialism.

Geese may only have one song out in the world - hugely exciting June debut ‘Disco’ - but they’ve managed to pack enough ideas in it to fill an album. Across its nearly-seven-minute length, the 18-year-old gaggle dance between moody Interpol-isms, jaunty finger-picked twangs, fuzzy grumpy noise and more besides. It’s a disorienting ride that pays no mind to traditional song structures or reaching a ‘proper’ chorus. Instead, the new Partisan signings sound boundary-less, and very very promising indeed.

LISTEN: John Travolta might not be down for this ‘Disco’, but we very much are.

SIMILAR TO: Five bands all fighting for airspace and uniting in a supergroup.

NAYANA IZ

The latest NINE8 collective member flexing their solo skills.

When you’re part of the same collective as big names Lava La Rue and Biig Piig, you’ve got to be able to hold your own, and London-via-India’s Nayana Iz can do just that. Raised on a healthy diet of MF DOOM, A Tribe Called Quest and Tupac, she uses rap to express herself over an ever-changing backing that can swerve from airy melodies to hard beats, maintaining her grittiness and originality throughout.

LISTEN: Latest track ‘RANI’ is a mesmerizing slice of electronic-infused rap.

SIMILAR TO: That new fiery heart emoji in sonic form.

SPILL TAB

The French-Korean-American artist shaking up bedroom-pop music.

Starting off as the tour manager for DIY fave Gus Dapperton, spill tab - aka Claire Chicha - is now carving out her own name in the alt-pop sphere. Pairing shapeshifting textures and captivating sonic licks to craft her unique take on bedroom pop, often flitting between lyrics in both English and French, her colourful and playful storytelling and songwriting makes her stand out as one not to sleep on.

LISTEN: Recent drop ‘Indecisive’ sees her team-up with rapper Tommy Genesis to form an unstoppable collab.

SIMILAR TO: If Beabadoobee had favoured electronic beats over grunge.

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After years of dripfeeding singles, the self-sufficient Portland musician’s long-awaited debut cements the arrival of a prodigious talent.

Words: Lisa Wright.

“I never planned on making an album because I was in projects before, and we’d labour so long working on albums, and then the first three songs would get all the attention and the second half of the album would be neglected,” explains Portland musician Sven Gamsky, candidly. “It felt like at least half of the work we did didn’t get the attention it deserved, so [this time] I didn’t want to release an album before I had a following. I wanted to give every song its day.”

served to show Sven what he didn’t really want to be doing anymore. “[That was] very calculated and heavy, with different time signatures and that’s not really what I like in music. I want to connect with it emotionally and that’s hopefully what I’m trying to do [now],” he says. “I just want to make pop music. It always has to satisfy the heart; the buck stops with the heart. If it doesn’t work emotionally then it doesn’t feel good, and no matter how good of an idea it is, it’s not gonna work with me.”

You can understand why Gamsky who now operates under the moniker Still Woozy - wants to make sure his work gets its dues. A record full of lush, melodically-rich, innovative pop, last month’s debut ‘If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is’ was a labour of love written, played, produced and recorded entirely by the multi-hyphenate talent, with the input of friend and co-producer Lars Stalford primarily there to “organise [his] brain”.

‘If This Isn’t Nice…’, thankfully then, is an album that shoots straight to the heart. With the aim of creating a “360 degree encapsulating experience”, its 13 songs are light yet full of warmth, layering sweet pop melodies, subtle intricacies and Sven’s inviting vocal to enticing effect. Building on years of steadily-released singles, collectively with hundreds of millions of Spotify streams, it’s also set to come good on his hope of reaching the audience it deserves.

“When I was in the band before there was a lot of compromise, so when I started this project I thought, ‘Fuck that - I’m just gonna make every decision’,” he nods. “That’s why it’s taken me so long to finish an album! That’s the whole reason!”

That band was a math rock outfit which

“I just hope that it can be whatever [people] need it to be - if they want it to help them emotionally process, or they just want to have a good time, whatever they need,” he decides.

Whatever the desired outcome, Still Woozy’s debut should be on a needto-listen list regardless. DIY

It always has to satisfy the heart; the buck stops with the heart.”

STILL WOOZY Still Woozy - he’s gonna bury the competition.

22 DIYMAG.COM

All the buzziest new music happenings, in one place.

PLAYLIST

Every week on Spotify, we update DIY’s Neu Discoveries playlist with the buzziest, freshest faces. Here’s our pick of the best new tracks:

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+,+-%."%(**"* Two years since the release of their ‘Guild Two: Forever’ EP, Dirty Hit signed hip hop collective 404 Guild are set to release its follow up - ‘Guild Three: Open Water’. The EP will arrive on 14th October, with lead single ‘Substation’ available to stream now head to diymag.com.

“Writing these songs we were seeking direction and found the opposite. We were feeling lost at sea, exposed and vulnerable,” they say of the release, also noting that their third EP is “collectively influenced by (and featuring some of) Limp Bizkit, Sam Akpro, [black midi’s] Cameron Picton, Geordie Greep, and Morgan Simpson, and storm-chasing videos”.

THE

BUZZ FEED

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It’s a strong claim to label your sound “umami for the ears”, but there’s a certain intangible deliciousness to Miso Extra’s debut that justifies the statement. Born of English-Japanese heritage, ‘Adventures of Tricky ‘N’ Duke’ fully embraces the musical input of both countries - at some points singing in Japanese and leaning into pillowy, Yaeji-esque beats; at others, rapping in English and nodding to British hip hop. Tasty? You bet.

/0##%1"2*%.0..0 Bristol punk trio Grandmas House will be dropping their self-titled debut EP on 15th October. Following on from this year’s buzzy breakthrough ‘Always Happy’ (and a slot at DIY’s Big Bank Holiday Weekender back in May), the EP is led by snarling new track ‘Golden’.

“We wrote Golden about the government and other big powerful organizations ruling the show and getting richer from each other, whilst literally destroying the world,” they say of the single. Fair point!

!"#$%#&'(%)(* Following last year’s bright and brilliant ‘I’m Allergic To Dogs!’ EP, technicolour pop renegade Remi Wolf has finally announced news of her debut album. ‘Juno’ will land on 15th October via Island, and comes preceded by the double-header single of ‘Grumpy Old Man’ and the bonkers MIA-on-acid trip of ‘Quiet On Set’. Anyone who can reference The Human Centipede and Two Girls, One Cup in the same sentence is already a legend in the game.

“Every song on this record is a vivid snapshot into what was going on in my life and mindset the day I wrote each one,” she says. “The album is named ‘Juno’ after my beautiful dog I adopted during lockdown. He ended up being in every single writing session for this album and I consider him my partner, witness, and support in the making of this record.”

;*((.%;0*7(.4 &%'((<%(06&.;% 314(#$ Inspired by a “Bill Brandt photo of a man sheltering in a crypt during the blitz”, Leeds’ Green Gardens' latest will instantly draw you in. ‘I Keep Eating Myself’ dazzles with rawly emotive vocals, Jacob Cracknell intoning over shimmering and shapeshifting art-rock backing.

Speaking on the song, the four-piece add, “Hands aren’t just for holding, coffins aren't necessarily just for being dead inside. Life is good and don’t let the chewing overwhelm you.”

3"7(*.%!"30. =2.&<(* End of the Road Records’ first signings, Modern Woman’s debut ‘Offerings’ set them up as an intriguingly unclassifiable entity. On second single ‘Juniper’, the London quartet continue down similarly offkilter paths, nodding to a PJ Harvey-esque sense of gothic drama, replete with sweeping strings, twitchy tension and singer Sophie Harris’ dextrous vocal. Completely out of step with 2021, their eccentricity only makes them more appealing.

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We all know that people can be dicks online and that trolls - sadly - have become a usual occurrence, so what do you do when you’re faced with internet haters? Write a ridiculously infectious pop song with some cuttingly hilarious one-liners like Willow Kayne, of course. Sharing new banger ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’ after facing some hate on TikTok, the vibrant new track is an empowering middle finger up to all those who chat shit online.

Want to stream our Neu playlist while you’re reading? Scan the code now and get listening.

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DEB NEVER With the effortless style of new EP ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’ landing this month, meet LA’s coolest new kid.

Words: Elly Watson.

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There are a couple of landmarks that you can use to gauge your journey to musical coolness. Fronting loads of hype lists? That’s one. A critically acclaimed EP and 100 gecs’ Dylan Brady on speed dial? That’ll do it for most. But back it up by being one of BROCKHAMPTON’s first ever collabs (2019’s ‘No Halo’), with universal praise for your fresh take on hip hop-infused altpop, and you’re almost on the level of LA-based Deb Never. Not that she thinks it.

“I never really thought I was good enough until recently. Like literally, a year ago,” she laughs. “I mean, you’re always your own worst enemy, so I was still getting over the hump of like, ‘Fuck - is this good?!’”

Though the resounding answer to that question is a deafening “Yes”, Deb has taken a longer route to owning her undeniable star quality. First falling in love with music after stealing a “janky little guitar” from church as a kid, she dreamt of being in bands growing up, drawn to louder music and groups that looked like “they’re just really fucking rocking it on stage”.

Safe to say there was a Deb Never teenage emo phase, then? “Yes! I had the bangs that started from the back of my head and went all the way round,” she smiles. “I wanted those snake bite and dimple piercings so bad! I was fucking like, 11 years old, like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna get pierced!’”

But while she was in a few bands - “I’m not gonna say what though because I don’t want anyone finding it...” - her shyness meant she was often a lot more comfortable creating music alone in her bedroom. “I think, inherently, maybe that’s where the softer sombre tone comes from, because that’s how I learned - playing quietly in my room,” she notes.

These solitary beginnings would go on to form her characteristic musical style, which sees Deb fusing elements of pop and hip hop into a mesmerising, vibe-fuelled soundscape. “I think it’s just something that comes subconsciously,” she says of her sound. “I like that everything that I make comes from my own taste, like certain 24 DIYMAG.COM

sound selections, certain guitar riffs. I like to mix and match based on what I like and not because I’m trying to be like this or this. I think by doing that, it just naturally develops my own sound because it’s me, it’s literally my taste.”

Evident on dazzling upcoming EP ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’, the project was refined over lockdown. During that period, Deb would spend her time inside being more selective about which songs made the final cut as her thoughts and feelings changed. “Songs are kind of like clothes or style in the way where it’s like, once you’re over it, it’s kind of hard to go back. It’s like, you want to put [on] where you’re at now, mentally,” she explains. “With this EP, I just wanted to be able to give something with more life, that’s sonically bigger. I feel like, timing-wise, a lot of people are getting over being sad. Everyone wants to be lifted up in this type of way.

Even though I feel like a lot of my songs, even if I’m like ‘Oh it’s a happy song’, for some reason it always sounds sad... But this is my attempt at it!”

Using the EP to explore and try new skills out, the project sees Deb once again embracing her production talents: something she hopes inspires other women to go out and try it. “The amount of times I’ve been in a room and it’s always just a bunch of dudes. We’re all sweating, shoes come off at some point, there’s dust in there, and I’m like, ‘Where are the girls?!’” she laughs. “I’m sure female artists in general struggle with this, finding a voice within a room when you’re in a male-dominated industry.

Sometimes it’s tough because you can feel isolated or doubt yourself even more because it’s just you against all these dudes, but I think it’s just about dominating that room and being unapologetic about it. You don’t have to be a dick about it, but you can just be like, ‘Yo, I know what I want’.”

Now with her vision focussed on the future, Deb’s already thinking about her eagerly-anticipated debut full-length. “I definitely want to be able to put out an album and I know the route I want to go with it and the sound that I want with it, so it’ll be fun,” she beams. “I just like to keep everyone guessing and keep everyone on their toes.

It’s always gonna sound like me, but I like that every project is gonna be a refreshing sound and not the same thing over and over again.” DIY

SOMETIMES IT’S TOUGH FINDING A VOICE IN A MALEDOMINATED INDUSTRY, BUT IT’S JUST ABOUT BEING UNAPOLOGETIC ABOUT IT.”

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ak es kic ke d of f th Fr an k Ca rt er & Th e Ratt le sn

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e su mm er as th e fir st fe st iva

l

headliners in a changed world. With hedonistic fourth album

‘S ti ck y’, th e ru le-b re ak in

g, po si ti ve pu nk s ar e ri di ng

th e pa rt y in to th e ni gh t.

Wo rd s: Ty le r Da ma ra Ke lly. Ph

ot os : Be n Be nt le y.

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Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have always been pitted as the underdogs.

However, what was intended as a solo venture for one of punk’s most visceral performers after a decade-long career in an unforgiving scene has evolved into an entirely new beast. With his do-or-die approach to music, and a do-it-yourself attitude to all aspects of life, it’s no surprise that the heavilytattooed frontman is now at the pinnacle of his career. At the heart of everything that Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes throw themselves into, there is one very clear motivation: do more.

At the backbone of punk, there has always been a refusal to conform - to reject overbearing political ideologies and go against the grain in order to facilitate a space for the outsiders. Punk was born out of necessity, and it’s a genre that remains in flux: one dominated by voices using their platform to enact change and provide a form of escapism from a world that increasingly feels dystopian.

“Someone said to us, ‘This will be the one you remember’ and that’s getting more and more significant as the day goes on,” guitarist Dean Richardson tells DIY from a cosy dressing room at Download Pilot. While revellers get their bearings on the hallowed festival grounds, we’re seeking respite from Drownload’s intermittent showers and catching up with the band ahead of their performance. “This is such a big moment for me personally, and it’s a historic moment for a world trying to get gigs back,” Frank says, echoing his partner-in-crime. “There are so many things hitting at once and it’s a bit overwhelming to think about.”

The band had originally been billed on the festival’s 2020 lineup after the success of their sold-out Alexandra Palace gig in support of third album ‘End of Suffering’.

It’s difficult to use the word serendipity to summarise a period of time in which the world was turned on its head, but in this instance, it rings true. Within 12 months they had gone from gearing up to make their main stage debut to actually headlining the festival.

Frank has always been a pioneer for promoting inclusivity - not just in the music scene but in all aspects of life. It’s something that’s been ingrained in him from years of being on the punk circuit: if you have a platform, you must use it for good and share it if you can. When Download Pilot released its lineup, there was a strong focus on fresh UK talent and, to much surprise, a prevalence in acts who are women and part of the LGBTQIA+ community for the first time in the festival’s near two-decade history.

“It's really fucking important that the Pilot’s focus was on inclusivity across the board.

I hope that we set an example on stage with the people we’re bringing out. It’s not just the festival - it's the least the festival can do. Every band [should have] a platform,” the frontman notes.

“You can meet other artists from different backgrounds, different cultures, and you can come together. What we're trying to do tonight is to set the bar from day one. Not only have we been trying to be progressive and inclusive from the beginning, now we're going to talk about it even more because we've just lost 15 months of it.”

“Life can be gone tomorrow, yesterday

is already gone, so we should be able to find some enjoyment in every day." Frank Carter 29

How It Went Down(load)

“You're looking at the culmination of a lifetime of not just playing gigs, but also going to them," Frank Carter says with a Cheshire Cat grin creeping over his face, in anticipation for the band's debut festival headline slot. Blistering through a set that focuses heavily on their 2015 debut 'Blossom' and 2019's critically acclaimed 'End of Suffering', Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes are ravenous from the word go. The band, who are known for their incendiary live performances, were the ultimate party starters who raised hell and allowed festival goers to release the pent up energy they'd had after being locked indoors for 15 months.

When the band wrapped up their touring cycle for ‘End of Suffering’ at the start of 2020, they took the extended period of downtime they were given as a result of lockdown to truly appreciate all that they’d done over the past five years of being a band. Self-reflection was in abundance for most people, but for Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, it became a period of self-affirmation.

“We’re doing things that we’ve never really done before as The Rattlesnakes. Some bands have kind of gone in on themselves in the past 15 months. We’ve done the opposite and relaxed into who we are,” Frank says with a resolute air.

“We’ve always had confidence, but as a sort of bravado - you have to have it as a young punk band because you’re underdogs naturally and you feel like the world is against you.” It’s telling then, that despite having just four weeks to prepare, they felt more than able to soundtrack the first party of the summer.

But, as we meet again a few weeks later in a quaint allotment nestled in a hidden corner of Shoreditch, Dean attests that some things are often out of your control. “When we went on stage, we had so much confidence because we were like, ‘This is what we know we're good at’. But then as soon as the show started, I felt a bit like a bomb had gone off in a war movie,” he recalls. “It had all gone silent [in my head]. I was shell-shocked. I don't remember a lot of the show, and that’s more what the big moments felt like in the earlier days; like the first time we played Reading’s Main Stage.”

Despite this shock to the system, both Frank and Dean are wellaware that their response was an incredibly human reaction that came from going from 0-100.

on someone’s shoulders. “We were excited to be playing a gig,” he grins. “It felt really normal until I got there and then I was just eating cake on the bouncy castle and puking… It all went out the window.

I completely lost control of myself and everything.”

C

ontrol is seemingly something Frank has been working on for a while. Known for creating absolute carnage when he burst onto the scene in 2005 with incendiary hardcore outfit Gallows, it was a shock to many when he decided to leave the band in 2011 to pursue a more radio-friendly route with Pure Love.

“I’m so sick of singing about hate,” he intoned on the first line of their debut single ‘Bury My Bones’, by way of an explanation. But the band were short-lived, announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2014 before he and the Rattlesnakes released their debut album ‘Blossom’ in 2015. Sitting somewhere between both Gallows and Pure Love, ‘Blossom’ encapsulated a feeling of uncertainty.

“When I made the decision to move on from those bands, or move forward with my life, I made those choices myself - that was my choice to make. In every instance, I probably made it too late. It’s a lesson that I keep failing to learn - [that] I'm the mastermind of my destiny and I control my life. Too often, I give a lot of control to people around me,” Frank says.

“This is ours to lose. You can let the universe do it for you or you can take chances, but what you have to be aware of is that the universe gives you these little moments to get out over and over again.”

Now, however, as they gear up to the release of next month’s fourth album ‘Sticky’, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes are taking full rein of their lives. Carter has always been vocal about The Rattlesnakes being the band that he’s always wanted to be in. And, with Dean at the production helm for the first time, they’re releasing their most approachable album to date.

Where 2017’s ‘Modern Ruin’ was comprised of straight-up, melodic rock‘n’roll that explored existentialism and reclamation of the self, and 2019’s ‘End of Suffering’ saw the band dig into the depths of introspection, unravelling who they are and their place in the world, ‘Sticky’ explores new territory. It’s the result of a band being given enough time and space to experiment with new sounds as opposed to being moulded into whatever they’re expected to be, the output an expulsion of pent up energy that seeks to be set free in a post-pandemic society.

“Life can be gone tomorrow, yesterday is already gone, so we should be able to find some enjoyment in every day.” Frank Carter “It's like when you tell kids that they're going to a party on the weekend, and they get excited, but they also just go about their day until you take them to the party. Then the minute they're free they just become feral and they're unhinged. They’re eating cake on a bouncy castle, they're puking, and then they're straight back on the bouncy castle. It's just mental,” Frank adds, perhaps in reference to jumping straight into the crowd during the opening moments of their set and doing a handstand

30 DIYMAG.COM

“When we initially spoke about it, there were discussions about how everyone is in the middle

“Not only have we been trying to be progressive and inclusive from the beginning, now we're going to talk about it even more.”

- Frank Carter

No leopards were harmed in the making of this shot.

31

of a hard time, and what people need is something to collectively join together and enjoy,” Dean reveals.

From the industrial-punk panic attack undertones of ‘Take It To The Brink’ to the atmospheric and rapturous synth bed of ‘Original Sin’, on ‘Sticky’ the band play further into the wars that rage within themselves and choose simply to live a life fuelled by the need to have a good time.

Frank Carter: A Timeline

Now aged 37, Frank Carter’s already had a long career full of twists and turns. Here’s how it’s gone so far…

2005 Gallows form

2006

The band release their debut ‘Orchestra of Wolves’

2009

Gallows’ second LP ‘Grey Britain’ debuts at Number 20

2011

Frank departs from Gallows, and shortly after announces new band Pure Love

2013

Pure Love’s only album ‘Anthems’ comes out in February

2014

Almost exactly a year later, the band announce an indefinite hiatus

2015

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes are born, their debut ‘Blossom’ is released in September

2017

The Rattlesnakes’ second album ‘Modern Ruin’ becomes Frank’s first Top 10 record

2019

Third LP ‘End of Suffering’ does one better, entering at Number Four

2020

In the middle of a pandemic, Frank opens tattoo shop Rose of Mercy in Hoxton

2021

The Rattlesnakes headline Download Pilot, release ‘Sticky’, take over the world! (Or at least the cover of DIY)

32 DIYMAG.COM

“What this album says about our lives right now is that we were missing energy. Everyone was fucking locked in a cell,” Frank enthuses. “Life wasn't about that before, it was blossoming and blooming. There are dark moments in this record but it’s delivered with energy - with fun and excitement. I talk a lot about bin foxes and that kind of atmosphere because we should be serious about survival, but it's also playfulness.

That’s what life is supposed to be about.

All we have is today. Life can be gone tomorrow, yesterday is already gone, so we should be able to find some enjoyment in every day.”

“I

go where the monsters dwell / Dancing like a madman through a personal hell,” Frank sings on the title track - a riotous offering that encapsulates the feeling of wandering around drunk at 3am, feeling displaced in the chaos that unfolds around you. The album plays around a character getting lost in wonderland, falling down a rabbit hole and adapting to a world in limbo. The paths you choose in that moment are the only things that matter; they’re the only things that can provide temporary escapism.

‘Rat Race’ is perhaps the epitome of this. With an undercurrent of nu-wave jazz created by a saxophone wailing in the distance, the song builds in intensity before exploding into a guitar solo that provides rapture. Frank describes it as being “the feel of a metropolis crushed down into two and a half minutes of fury”, and it reads like a direct response to the shit show of the past year and a half: “We’ve all lost a year to the doldrums / You say you give them too much / They say it’s never enough”.

For long-time fans of The Rattlesnakes, ‘Sticky’ will feel like a departure from the hardcore roots that were honoured in their debut, but the pair have never been the kind of people to stay in one lane. “This is the first time that we

were both flat-out, ruthlessly critical about each other’s performance and work. It was the first chance for us to be properly unfiltered,” says Frank.

“That’s why I can categorically say that these are the best Rattlesnakes songs because we are the only ones who have something to lose.”

‘Sticky’ is amplified by its vocal collaborators - a first for the band.

Joe Talbot of IDLES lends his seething tongue to lead single ‘My Town’, while Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream adds a saintly and sanctified air to ‘Original Sin’. Electronic pop provocateur Lynks brings their tongue-in-cheek lyricism to ‘Bang Bang’ and ‘Go Get A Tattoo’, while nu-metal newcomer Cassyette’s sumptuous and raspy vocals perfectly blend with Frank’s in ‘Off With His Head’. Each collaboration feels like an extension of the artist’s own musical style rather than merely trying to fit into The Rattlesnakes’ world.

Using their platform as headliners of Download Pilot, the band brought out Lynks and Cassyette to debut their newest songs. During the latter’s performance on Sunday afternoon, there was apprehension from the crowd of middle-aged metal dads in response to her blend of nu-metal and pop, right up until she started screaming and proved that her vocals were just as good - if not better - than some of the male acts on the lineup…

“A cynical person would look at us and say, ‘Why her?’ and the only answer I have is because she's a better singer than me!” Frank shrugs. “I definitely think metal is going to have its moment where [female vocalists] flip into the mainstream, and I think that it will be really strong independent rock stars like Cassyette leading a revolution that’s flooded with girls who want to be involved because that’s the music they like and they’re not going to be told that they can’t be.”

Throughout ‘Sticky’ is the narrative that life should be a party when things feel rough and you’re in need of an escape, but the band know that a life lived in excess can also take its toll. “With ‘End of Suffering’, there's a lot in that record about the problems I had with drugs for vertigo. It can really amplify your depression when you come off it because you’re basically having a prolonged come down. Where am I with it now? We’re at the tail end of a pandemic and I think if there was ever a time to allow yourself some freedom to get blitzed every now and again, it’s now. We haven't really been living in reality - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. I'm still an excellent father and I get all my work done, but every now and again I like to blow off some steam,” he says with a diplomatic smile.

“Secular Buddhism is somewhere I've ended up,” Dean begins. “You

“Some bands have gone in on themselves in the past 15 months.We’ve done the

opposite and relaxed into who we are.”Frank Carter

don't worship anyone, and you don't expect anyone to do anything for you.

I think you have to engage in the idea of interpreting life in a way that makes it easier to live in, and therefore more enjoyable.” As the conversation goes off on a tangent about Buddhist ideologies and how the pair keep themselves grounded amid the chaos, they stumble onto a topic that they’ve been trying to make more awareness of through their music - toxic masculinity.

“I don’t think men are even really taught to feel spiritual,” Dean contemplates.

“It’s just not something that aligns with what you feel like you're supposed to be as a man. Everything I do comes from the idea of what I'm supposed to be as a man. My interpretation of spiritualism was blocked by that until more recently.” “If you look at it top-down from the eyes of society, it’s because masculinity is so intrinsically linked to violence and spirituality is intrinsically linked to peace,” Frank agrees. “Take femininity itself - we link that more to peace than we would violence. How can you be a man through the eyes of society?”

Which takes us back to their earlier comments on confidence and bravado.

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have constantly trodden their own path sticking with the underdog title until they felt truly assured and justified as something bigger. Every album they’ve released has climbed higher in the charts (‘Blossom’ debuted in the Top 20, ‘Modern Ruin’ in the Top 10 and ‘End of Suffering’ reached the Top 5) so, it begs the question: with all of the success that rock bands have had in the charts over the past year, are they aiming for a Number One, fourth time around?

“Aiming for it is awesome, but we have to be aware that we’re releasing it as all of those sleeping pop stars who are cyborgs that get put to bed and brought back when Sony needs more money are coming in as well,” Dean says jokingly before continuing: “I think it’s healthy to aim for it but you can’t control this kind of stuff, you just put your best thing forward and see what happens.”

“The universe is energy, right?” Frank interjects. “All you can do is put the right kind of energy out constantly, and that’s what we’re doing.” “I heard a rumour that Coldplay were going to put out the right sort of energy that week as well,” Dean jests, as Frank humbly decides: “If we come second to Coldplay it’s OK because everyone can understand that. Coldplay are one of the biggest bands in the world - who the fuck are Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes compared to Coldplay!?”

They might not have Chris Martin and co’s way with the mums, but Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have created their own world that’s thriving just fine.

‘Sticky’ is out 15th October via International Death Cult. DIY

33

YOUNG A decade into the game, The Vaccines are rallying together stronger than ever as they journey through the fictional terrains of Love City… Words: Elly Watson. Photos: Ed Miles.

34 DIYMAG.COM

“I

’m not sure if I’m allowed to say this, but there’s a rumour that Quentin Tarantino based Bill from Kill Bill on him,” Justin Young says, scrolling through his phone to find a picture of Tony Rancich, the owner of Texas studio Sonic Ranch where The Vaccines have just finished putting together their fifth studio album.

“And he drives a bright blue Lamborghini!”

If working with people who have inspired iconic movie

characters isn’t evidence of how you’re still killing it in the game after a decade, then the ability to still draw in scores of fans for a simple livestream should provide the extra kicker.

Flash back a few months to mid-July, with the temperature hitting 30 degrees outside and the sale of portable fans across the UK sky-rocketing. On a boiling Sunday, 22,000 people neglected the cooler outside air in favour of watching their favourite band on a small laptop screen. “I felt guilty,” Justin laughs a few weeks later. “But it was awesome. Before we went on and after coming off stage, I really felt that camaraderie that I’ve missed, and that brotherhood. It felt

35

really nice to have it back.”

The virtual gig, streamed via Twitch from London’s Lafayette as part of the There is Light series, was The Vaccines’ first semi-proper gig back in nearly two years, and is likely the longest time that the group haven’t played together since forming back in 2010.

The arena-sized online crowd, then, is a testament to the band’s longevity.

Having just this past March ushered in the 10 year anniversary of their electrifying debut ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?’ nobody, it seems, is more surprised than the band themselves. “If you’d have told me that people still wanted to talk to us about our music 10 years later, I would definitely be pretty happy,” Justin smiles. “Shocked as well.

“But I suppose when it happened it was all quite unexpected as well. It was obviously something we always wanted; I mean, I moved to London to make music when I was 18 - that’s all I ever wanted to do. You know, with every year that goes by, I pinch myself more that we’re still able to do it.”

Metaphorically now covered in bruises, the band have managed to stay at the forefront of the indie scene since that opening manifesto, with four albums under their belt (their debut joined by 2012’s ‘Come of Age’, 2015’s ‘English

“I think even from day one, we were sort of outliers, slightly.”

- Justin Young Graffiti’ and 2018’s ‘Combat Sports’) that have now cemented their status as indie legends. But what’s their secret?

“I think even from day one, we were sort of outliers slightly,” Justin notes.

“There are plenty of bands from that era who are probably as big if not bigger than The Vaccines, like Foals and Two Door [Cinema Club]. But I don’t know… I like to think it’s because we keep releasing good music!” And

Nuts About It

Not only possibly inspiring the titular Bill in Tarantino’s Kill Bill, studio owner Tony Rancich has another claim to fame…

“The [Sonic Ranch] studio is amazing! And it’s, like, the US’ largest pecan farm. And they’re damn good actually. He brings in these fucking huge bags of pecans every day, and the guys even went to the pecan factory with him. He now just basically spends all of his money on French wine, art and studio gear.”

36 DIYMAG.COM

You've heard of Golden Balls, here's Disco Balls.

armed with LP5, ‘Back In Love City’, they’re ready to continue doing just that.

A

concept album surrounding the titular Love City, where people go in search of feelings rather than for commodities and experiences, Justin has a solid mental image of the dystopia that they’ve crafted. Picture somewhere similar to Borderlands, situated in a place like Tijuana, but looking more like Shibuya in Tokyo, and you’re on the right track.

“The idea was that everyone had run out of natural feelings and they were these finite properties,” he explains. “And so you could go and plug in essentially, and remember how to feel again. Feel love, hate, fear. But then actually go one step further and the protagonists aren’t as serious as that and believe that real love can be found anywhere, but you just have to know where to look for it.”

“It was like a punk rock summer camp.

Every day was just the best fucking time.” Justin Young

While the creation of their fictitious utopia allowed the group the opportunity to explore creatively, it also helped in streamlining their ideas too. “I think that sometimes endless possibilities can be quite exhausting and fear inducing, because you could go anywhere!” Justin laughs. “If you think about listening habits as a fan, they’ve completely changed in the last five-to-ten years, and I think that’s the same with writing music. On any given day, it’s quite hard to focus one’s attention onto a certain sound or certain direction, and so having this loose concept of this place and world we were trying to create definitely helped. Like, ‘Oh this exists in that world.

This doesn’t, so let’s put it to the side.’”

Writing for the first time in their current formation as a fivepiece - Justin is joined by OG Vaccines guitarist Freddie Cowan and bassist Arni Arnason, as well as keyboard player Timothy Lanham and drummer Yoann Intonti who entered the band in 2017 - the creation of ‘Back In Love City’ marked a stark contrast to their previous output.

“It was the complete antithesis to the last record, which we called ‘Combat Sports’ for a reason,” Justin says. “It was a very brutal headspace we were all in and we were really questioning whether or not we still wanted to do it.

We got to the end and felt like we’d triumphed. Whereas with this, it was like a punk rock summer camp the whole time. Every day was just the best fucking time.”

Decamping to Texas, it wasn’t just the music that was whetting Justin’s appetite. “Every day we’d drive two miles from our studio up to breakfast, lunch and dinner, where these amazing Mexican ladies who came over across the border every day were making these incredible tacos,” he reminisces, “It was just really surreal. Like, here we are doing these things for work.”

And is Wahaca ruined for him now? “Yeah, exactly,” he laughs. “I’ve become one of those guys now like, ‘Oh yeah there’s no good Mexican food in London, you have to go and make a record on the border of Chihuahua.

That’s the only way to eat Mexican food.’”

P

rimarily, however, their time in El Paso was a pivotal one for inter-band relations, allowing the quintet the opportunity to reconnect, while simultaneously embracing the journey that they’ve been on to get there. “We’ve really fallen back in love with being in a band and touring and playing shows and seeing the world, going to new places and meeting new people. And I think, for a while, we were quite resentful of that,” says Justin, “particularly when we first started and we were in the eye of the storm.”

He continues: “Suddenly, we were doing this thing that we’d always dreamed of doing, but it happened so quickly, and in such a way that we weren’t always enjoying it. We came out the other side, and the dust settled and the storm moved on and rained over someone else’s heads, and we were able to just enjoy being in a

band without the eyes of the world on us and find that we love the majority of what comes with being in a band, and increasingly as well.

“And I also think, every time we make a record, [we get] to the end of it being like, ‘I think we could do better next time’. I think we’re still finding new ways to stay inspired and stay interested, as well as interesting. I still think we’re getting better, I think we all do.”

Now ready to unleash their euphoric new offering onto the world, ‘Back In Love City’ thrills with each exhilarating moment, from the pop banger of its title track, to the instantly infectious ‘Headphones Baby’ and ‘Jump Off The Top’’s mosh pit-ready riffs. Produced by Daniel Ledinsky, who had worked on 2018’s stand-alone single ‘All My Friends Are Falling In Love’, the record has that inherent spark of fun at the core of every Vaccines LP, with Justin noting that his Halloweens side project with Tim allowed him to “scratch an itch” before diving headfirst into the band’s next album.

“It reminded me how important it is to follow your heart and just do what you find interesting, and fun, and inspiring, rather than playing to the crowd,” he explains before pausing: “You know, I do think that often people think we are playing to the crowd, because we are quite poppy at times. But that comes from a genuine place; we’re just really drawn to that and we love that.”

While in the past, the band felt like the “approach was better than the execution” in regards to their balance of pop and indie, on their fifth offering Justin is adamant that it’s all killer, no filler this time around. And though he’s still trying to convince people on Twitter that some of their heaviest moments are still set to come, he’s hoping die-hard Vaccines fans will continue to get on board with their pop flair.

“I think there’s a group of our fans for whom ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?’ really represented something for them - this visceral, very raw, very straight ahead rock and roll, which I suppose we’ve never truly broken free from, and those people are perhaps not always that happy when we flirt with colour and production and pop. But, ‘If You Wanna’ is a cheesy pop song! To me, it’s no different to ‘Headphones Baby’. It’s still just as fun.

“I just think it’s a great record, and not just a great Vaccines record,” he smiles. “And it’s definitely us at our best, and at times it’s like the band I always hoped we could be. We’re getting closer to that. We’re not done, but we’re getting closer.”

Looks like, 10 years on, you still should never secondguess what to expect from The Vaccines.

‘Back In Love City’ is out 10th September via Super Easy. DIY

37

small

town Boy On eighth album ‘Pressure Machine’, The Killers are shaking off Las Vegas’ seedy glitz and taking us into the heart of Brandon Flowers’ former Utah hometown.

Words: Rhian Daly.

F

our years ago, Brandon Flowers left the neon lights of Las Vegas behind and moved some 400 miles northwest to Utah. He and The Killers - drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr, bassist Mark Stoermer and guitarist Dave Keuning - had always been associated with the seedy glitz of Sin City, but leaving it in the desert dust opened up a new chapter for the band. Over the course of 2017’s ‘Wonderful Wonderful’ and last year’s ‘Imploding The Mirage’, their leader began to expand his storytelling into something much more personal.

Their eighth album ‘Pressure Machine’ delves even further into that new territory, marrying Brandon’s recent introspection with his knack for building 3D characters that bring their songs vividly to life. It documents Nephi, the 5,300-person Utah town he lived in between the ages of 10 and 16, and the people and stories that make up some of its layered history. Although he didn’t move back to Nephi itself when he and his family left Vegas - they now live 80 minutes up the road - being in a similar environment was enough to get the frontman travelling mentally back in time.

“I was immersed in the seasons again, and in the geography and the mountains and the accent,” he explains over the phone, the day before ‘Pressure Machine’’s release. “It was almost unavoidable - whenever I went to write, I was [in Nephi]. I just decided to go with it, and so we really went all the way.”

That they did. The record crafts an in-depth look at life in the town, from its tragedies (a young couple who got hit by a train and killed; the opioid epidemic’s grip on locals) to tales of young love (the sad acoustic swoon of ‘Runaway Horses’) and chasing the American Dream (‘The Getting By’’s chiming slowbuild). The stories are sewn together by soundbites from current Nephi locals, while Flowers’ words all have at least a grain of truth to them (though some of their endings are more fictionalised), representing the people he grew up with and around.

38 DIYMAG.COM

He describes Nephi at that time as “[like] the ‘50s - had it not been for advancements in the automotive industry”: a place that had stagnated and where “you wouldn’t be surprised if the TVs were black and white”. While some might view that as a negative, the musician saw another side.

“There’s something beautiful about it,” he says fondly. “The people hold to their traditions and their values and their way of life, and they stick to it. That localness and that tradition, I think, is beautiful.”

W

e might know Brandon now as a stadium, or festival-headlining conductor, lifting our moods with every punch of the air behind his glittery K-adorned synths: a man prone to dazzling outfits, from Dior feather jackets to his more recent head-to-toe gold look. Back then, though, The Man says he was a little different. “There’s quite a bit of difference in age between me and my siblings - I’m the youngest - so I was always around adults,” he shares. “I never really felt at ease with kids that were my age. My friends tended to be a little bit older, but I kept to myself for the most part.”

While, for Brandon, harking back to his small town days might be natural, the frontman is aware of how the rest of the world sees him and his bandmates boys from the big city, a place that commands your eyes to widen just to take in as much of its sensory overload as possible. “We are ambassadors for Las Vegas,” he acknowledges. “We waved the flag and it’s very much associated with The Killers - we don’t shy away from it.” But ‘Pressure Machine’ is about more

‟

Opioids have affected my family and America at large. It’s a tragedy and we have not turned the corner on it yet.” -

Brandon Flowers 39

than just revisiting the past; it’s a chance for the frontman to process part of his youth and make peace with some of the stories he’s unknowingly spent the last two decades carrying around.

“There’s been so much made about me leaving this place and going to Las Vegas, I had neglected how much of a mark that town had left on me,” he explains. “I was really surprised once I started to dig in just how much love I still have for it, and respect. It was an enlightening experience.”

He points to that couple who were killed by a train, mentioned on the Springsteen surge of ‘Quiet Town’, as an example of something he hadn’t realised was still affecting him. The pair were seniors at Flowers’ high school when he was in eighth grade and, although he didn’t really know them well, he had seen them hours before the accident. “When I went to write about that, I was struck by how emotional it made me 25 years later,” he says with a slight sigh. The intervening time since, he explains, has given him “more compassion” towards all the locals he used to know.

“With more understanding and more years under my belt, I’m able to look at them through different lenses. So writing through these stories and working out these characters with this new wisdom was really powerful for me.”

M

any of ‘Pressure Machine’’s stories are pulled from the ‘90s, but its frequent references to “hillbilly heroin pills” (‘West Hills’) and “opioid stories” (‘Quiet Town’) are something that shattered Nephi after Brandon left town. While the record is very specific to the people and happenings of his former home, those instances could sadly be transposed to numerous other places - big and small - in the US. “Opioids have affected my family and the town and America at large,” Brandon says sombrely. “It’s basically just a tragedy and we have not turned the corner on it yet. In 2020, we had more opioid overdose deaths than in any other year.” According to the CDC, 93,331 fatal overdoses occurred in the States last year, a statistic that points to just how cataclysmic the crisis has become in the country.

It’s an epidemic that has affected people from all walks of life, not just the addicts that society demonises. “People are getting these things from their doctors so they feel it’s OK,” he notes. “It’s just so sad. Kids that I went to school with have been victims and it’s been a part of our families, so it was an unavoidable part of this record.”

Telling such stories with The Killers’ usual bombast probably would have been jarring, but ‘Pressure Machine’ is not your typical Killers record.

Their jubilant hooks and the familiar buzz of Brandon’s synths have been replaced by harmonicas and pedal steel guitars, fiddles and strings.

“There’s been so much made about me leaving Nephi and going to Las Vegas, I

had neglected how much of a mark that town had left on me.” - Brandon Flowers

40 DIYMAG.COM

“When I hear them, I think about the fields and the mountains, the canyons and the fairgrounds,” Brandon reasons.

Going down such a starkly different path to what the world associates with the band didn’t come without its concerns though. “We’re in the business of big-time; there’s a certain amount of pressure to fill the arenas,” he admits. “I don’t want to go to a gig and look at empty seats. We have this machine that we’ve created ourselves where there’s a lot expected, so this was quite a risky album. But the payoff is the way I felt when it was complete - I just feel really satisfied.”

Getting to the level that The Killers are at is something that the band don’t take for granted, but their frontman does concede it can be restricting when it comes to making creative strides. “It can, it can,” he says with a chuckle. “When people associate you with this, and they want this and they expect this, it can definitely restrict you. But if you have a little courage and imagination, you can find your way out of that box. That’s where people that have inspired us - like U2 and David Bowie, those shapeshifting people - almost give you permission to try different things. I don’t know that we would have been able to go this far out on a whim had it not been for some of those trailblazers.”

As different as they may be, Brandon doesn’t rule out us hearing some of these much quieter, stiller new songs when The Killers return to forge their sparkling path through the world’s cavernous venues

once again. “‘The Getting By’ could be played in an arena, and ‘In The Car Outside’ could actually work, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get back into the rehearsal studio,” he says. A deluxe edition of ‘Pressure Machine’, meanwhile, will contain reimagined versions of each track, although he’s keeping shtum on what exactly we can expect from them.

Building Bridge(r)s

In a very rare move for a release in the streaming era, ‘Pressure Machine’ arrived in August with no singles to preview it. “We didn’t want to let one song do all the talking for this record,” Brandon reasons. “If you go back to ‘Day And Age’, we were very happy with ‘Human’ being the face of that record. If you had chosen ‘Sleepwalker’ [to represent this album], people might think it may just be a typical Killers record and we really didn’t want to risk that. It’s a conceptually strong album from front to back and we wanted it to be devoured that way.”

While fans are busy digesting the band’s beautiful curveball, The Killers themselves have already been hard at work cooking up their next album. “I think it’s just trying to get the four of us to do what we do best, find that purity and try to shut out the noise of the outside world,” Brandon says. “If we can do that, we could do something great.” Whether they return to what we expect from them or continue traversing new ground, ‘Pressure Machine’ puts that statement in little doubt.

‘Pressure Machine’ is out now via EMI. DIY

BRANDON ON TWO OF THE RECORD’S PIVOTAL PLAYERS. The return of in-again-outagain guitarist Dave Keuning “It was good [to have him back].

He started ‘Pressure Machine’ and ‘In The Car Outside’, and he plays on a couple of other songs. He’s also got the loudest solo in Killers history on ‘Cody’.”

Introducing Phoebe Bridgers “I was driving in the mountains and I heard ‘Funeral’ on a college radio station in Utah.

I hadn’t heard her before, but I knew it was her because I’d read about her. The song was so good - it was so beautiful and so sad. It’s one of the few times where I knew it was that person before I had confirmation. I found out she’s a Killers fan and so it was wonderful to be able to have this full-circle moment with her [on ‘Runaway Horses’].”

Brandon and the boys finally began to realise they don’t have Uber in deepest, darkest Utah.

41

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basic instinct 42 DIYMAG.COM

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Last year, Sleigh Bells were due to celebrate the tenth anniversary of incredible debut ‘Treats’ with a handful of live shows in New York; unsurprisingly - due to we-all-know-what - those shows are now happening this month, and they’re set to be rather special...

at h w

I just wanted to get back to making music without any self-consciousness and to find an identity.” Derek Miller

t a e r t a

Derek: I think I appreciate [‘Treats’] now more than ever! As excited as I am about our new records, you’re never in a position to say, ‘Our new record’s the best one and blows everything out of the water’. I’ve done that in the past and it’s just ridiculous; I am really at a point now - and I’m certain this does come with age - where I truly am just happy that anyone cares about any of it. We did an interview with Rolling Stone for the ‘Treats’ ten year [anniversary] and I loved looking back and talking about it. That record makes people happy and it’s an incredible privilege to be part of something like that.

deviate from what they thought of as “Sleigh Bells’ sound” (“We basically made a list of everything that was recognisable as Sleigh Bells and removed those options from the menu,” says Derek).

It was only “after years” of experimenting that Derek finally grew tired of trying to push against his natural instincts. “I didn’t wanna think about it anymore,” he says, of where the writing process for ‘TEXIS’ began back in 2018. “I threw away my Oblique Strategies, the Brian Eno prompts to help you leave your comfort zone, all that shit. I just wanted to get back to making music without any self-consciousness and to find an identity. I was really trying to find a space where it felt cohesive and more focused, and I feel like we did that on this record.”

Alexis: I was able to reflect on that album and the months leading up to it, and the beautiful but very chaotic periods of our lives that followed it. Everything happened so fast and sometimes I’ll just have these moments; I didn’t even really realise what was happening when it was happening. I didn’t even really understand how to appreciate it - and that’s not to say that we didn’t appreciate it! It was like, ‘Wow, we’re playing shows, we’re travelling the world and going to Australia!’ But I have these moments where I’m like, ‘Wait, we did that?!’ It’s kind of mindboggling. When I really reflect on what ‘Treats’ did for us and afforded us, it’s pretty humbling. The album really did change our lives in so many ways.

The result is a startling new version of Sleigh Bells. Channelling the same euphoric energy of their debut, but without ever straying too close to repetition, there’s a playfulness to ‘TEXIS’ that’s addictive and boisterous. The juxtaposition of pummelling synths and squalling guitars on opener ‘SWEET75’ set the tone perfectly, while the likes of ‘Justine Go Genesis’ and ‘Locust Laced’ come packed with the deliciously dark attitude that the band first built their name on.

“It doesn’t sound like ‘Treats’,” he adds, before anyone gets too eager to make comparisons, “which is still by far the fan favourite. Frankly, I’m just happy anybody cares about any of [our music]!” This isn’t “a corny ‘return to form’ narrative,” he laughs, “but it does sound like a return to us sounding like our band, and I’m really excited about that.”

‘TEXIS’ is out 10th September via Lucky Number. DIY

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Musician, actor, activist: across a 30 year career, Common has established himself as a creative and political force to be reckoned with. On new record ‘A Beautiful Revolution (Pt. 2)’ he’s pooling it all together and seeking change. Words: Joe Goggins. Photos: Sean Glover.

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ate last August, amid the glowing embers of the most politically incendiary summer in recent memory, Common got to work.

As he began to write what would become October EP ‘A Beautiful Revolution (Pt. 1)’, he knew the clock was ticking. “I wanted to get it out before the election,” he recalls. “This was movement music, and I needed it out there in time for it to soundtrack people standing in line to vote, for it to energise and fuel people politically.”

The project, released four days before America went to the polls on 3rd November 2020, sounded every bit as urgent as you’d imagine. Its nine tracks didn’t seek to passively reflect on last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests, or trap them in contextual amber; ‘...

Pt. 1’ instead channeled their intensity into a state-ofthe-nation address that was entirely forward-facing, searching for practical paths to a better tomorrow.

Common’s foot remained firmly on the gas.

You’d expect nothing less from one of the most consistently vital conscious artists of his generation.

He talks with a childlike joy about collaborating with the likes of Stevie Wonder and Chuck D on that album but, in truth, he has long been a member of the same socially-aware lineage ever since he made his commercial breakthrough in 2000 with the politically perspicacious ‘Like Water for Chocolate’. That record introduced him to a mainstream audience as an artist not just determined to face down inequality, but one who did so with composure, nuance and incision, even as he was evoking such firebrands as Fela Kuti and Assata Shakur.

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If we knew then he was an intellectual, we know now he’s a renaissance man. His work over the past two decades amounts to one of the most colourful CVs

in showbusiness. Musically, another eight albums followed, as well as countless collaborations; his most fruitful working relationships included those with his ex-partner Erykah Badu, and fellow Chicagoan Kanye West. He won a GRAMMY with each.

As an actor, you might have seen him in anything from bona fide blockbusters (John Wick: Chapter 2, Suicide Squad) to acclaimed indie fare (The Tale, All About Nina). He brought the disciplines together in 2014, when he both appeared in Ava DuVernay’s civil rights opus Selma and contributed the stirring protest anthem ‘Glory’ to the soundtrack. The latter earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

Not that awards should be the currency by which we measure Common’s prerogative to address the world he sees around him; he’s been putting in the hard yards for nearly thirty years now, both as an artist and as a community organiser and activist. The second part to ‘A Beautiful Revolution’, which now arrives eleven months after the first, is at once a counterpoint and a continuation - still political, but palpably more personal; still realistic, but pointedly more optimistic.

“Between last summer and the pandemic, I was asking myself, ‘OK, we’ve come through this really trying time.

What does a beautiful revolution look like to me, right now?’” he explains. “And I thought about how much joy music has brought me over the last 18 months, and I found myself in a headspace to make something inspiring, and joyful, and geared towards self-empowerment.” here was a delicate balance to strike; he wanted to celebrate the escapist power of music without turning a blind eye to the present climate, and empathise with the plight of those less fortunate whilst still offering them some emotional relief. Buoyant lead single ‘Imagine’, grounded in the difficult present but striving for a brighter future, is a case in point.

People Power Common’s political activism encompasses both the Common Ground Foundation - set up to empower underprivileged youth in his native Chicago - and the Imagine Justice project, which fights for criminal justice reform in the U.S. The latter was inspired by a tour of California prisons he undertook in 2017.

“I was hearing from people who have truly been overlooked by society,” he explains. “Those prisons were some of the darkest places I’ve ever walked through. To talk with people who have committed really tough crimes, but who are seeking forgiveness and trying to change theirsituation for the better - that’s powerful. That automatically affects my mmusic.”

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recalls a time the latter joined him on a visit to a California prison, as part of his long-standing campaign against mass incarceration and its evisceration of Black communities.

At the core of ‘A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2’, though, remains the man himself. Tracks like the profoundly personal ‘A Beautiful Chicago Kid’ suggest that Common may have turned another new corner in relation to lyrical candour, something he credits to his unflinching 2019 memoir, ‘Let Love Have the Last Word’. “I think back to something like [1997 album] ‘One Day It’ll All Make Sense’; I thought I was expressing myself in the most honest way. I was talking about being a father, and my girlfriend at the time having an abortion, and me finding God - those kind of things.

min

“I want to take the pandemic seriously, but I don’t want to see every single commercial be about the pandemic, you know? And it’s the same thing: I do my best to speak to issues, but I don’t want to beat people who are living in these situations over the head with them,” he explains. “You have to stay grounded and acknowledge what’s going on, but also envision the world in a better place, and provide people with the chance to get away from it all for a little while.”

That attitude, he says, has shaped his response to the tumult of the past 18 months; acknowledging the negative, then accentuating the positive. “I was having conversations that felt so dire, so hopeless. Everybody had seen the video of George Floyd being murdered - a human being, killed in front of their eyes. How do we react to that? For me, we ask ourselves what we’re working towards, what it is we want to see happen now, how we can effect positive change. So, inevitably, I think about what I’ve seen that makes me hopeful that a better day is right before us.”

He was not short of experiences to mine. As Common walked amid last summer’s protests, and as he knocked on doors from Houston to Jacksonville to Greensboro, North Carolina to encourage people to vote, he saw all walks of life reflect his razor-sharp political savvy back at him. “The young people who took to the streets…” He steadies himself. “Man, they’re addressing things I didn’t know about at that age, and things I still didn’t know about at this age! My mother was saying recently, ‘It’s important that they know the history, but more than that, they’re already writing their own history’. What I’ve seen with my own eyes this last year is how much humanity is out there.

I was speaking to people who were engaged everywhere I went, whether it was standing in the middle of those protests or sitting in living rooms in some of the poorest parts of the country, as we were canvassing. People care. That, to me, is hope.”

He’s upbeat, too, about the future of the sub-genre he’s done so much to shape; conscious hip hop is in good hands, he says, because young artists are so involved, whether that’s musically or personally. Respectively, he nods to Noname (“She refuses to succumb to the corporate world”) and YG (“He’ll rap about LA hood stuff, but then talk about his mother”). He

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“But fast forward to writing that book, and I never knew I could be that open. I went to hurtful, dark places. I was facing up to not always being the best father, facing up to being sexually molested, confronting my imperfections and my fears. Out of that, I’ve gained a confidence I’ve never had in my life, and of course that’s informing my music now. I’m stronger, and I’m more spiritual - I know who I am as a human being.”

'A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2' is out 10th September via Loma Vista. DIY

"

Debut album

Modern Tricks for Living 17 September Order the 12” vinyl at www.lowhummer.com

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keeping 48 DIYMAG.COM

On their second record ‘Comfort To Me’, Amyl and the Sniffers ’ firecracker frontwoman is going “pure 100% concentrated Amy”.

A

Words: Louis Griffin.

my Taylor has been living a double life. On the one hand, she’s frontwoman to Amyl and the Sniffers, an ARIA-winning punk band, shadow-boxing on sweaty stages the world over. And on the other, she’s a model for Gucci, in demand for catwalks and fashion shoots, gracing the cover of magazines. What’s it like squaring those two disparate worlds?

“It's pretty bizarre”, Amy explains, “especially if you zoom in to all the Gucci stuff. It’s a whole different world for all of us. It's made me very aware that life is full of bizarre opportunities and occurrences, and exciting things happen constantly.”

Exciting and bizarre things seem to happen to the Sniffers more than most. Until recently, there was no overarching mission, just four friends having as good a time as possible while playing music: a band with a self-appointed “vibe technician”. “That’s my contribution within songwriting”, Gus Romer, their bassist, laughs. “Just vibes.”

However, like the rest of the world, their vibes were then swiftly checked. The quartet went from relentless touring in 2019 to enforced silence in 2020, with a bleak hometown precursor to the pandemic happening mere months before. From November 2019 to January 2020 (the height of Australian summer), Melbourne was subjected to “really gnarly bushfires”. “We were wearing masks because of the smoke before COVID was even a thing,” Amy explains. “We spent summer having to wear masks outdoors sometimes, thinking that that was the end of the world - and then the end of the world came, in March.”

The band moved in together, locking down in a house with “sick-green walls”. It’s a picture that you can imagine rattling between boisterous fun and a pack of caged tigers. “Ah, a bit of both,” drummer Bryce Wilson answers. “Hated it, loved it.” “We’re pretty comfortable with each other,” Amy explains. “We’re like a family: we love each other and feel nothing at the same time.”

The enforced solitude meant that the band had nothing to do but write, and Amy found herself with the time to really consider lyrics for the first time. “The first two EPs were very spontaneous. The first one was written just on the day we recorded it,” she laughs. “I guess I've just grown up a lot over the last year. Learning a lot about the world and how fucking dumb it is.”

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ou get the sense that this period has affected more of Amy than just her writing style. She seems to have a purpose, a confidence in what she’s saying, that wasn’t there before. “[It’s] not that I've ever not been confident, but I’ve found a different kind of confidence. I understand myself and how I think a bit better, so I can express myself a bit better,” she starts to explain.

“I struggle to articulate myself in conversation, but in a song I can get across a feeling or a thought better.”

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After climbing the walls for three months, the band broke out of solitude to hammer the album into shape at somewhere called ‘Nasho’... “National Storage!” Amy hoots.

“It’s just a big warehouse where we practice, where we [finished] the album.” The Sniffers teamed up with Nick Launay on production this time, fresh from producing IDLES’ ‘Ultra Mono’. There was only one problem: he was isolating in LA. “It was hard, just navigating communication [with] someone overseas,” Bryce recalls. “Particularly in America; that's drastically different daylight hours to us.”

Were the band staying up late into the night on call to Launay? “It was like, put your suggestions in at the end of the night. Then read them first thing in the morning to see what he's done to them, and listen again.” Sounds like a nightmare. “Nah. Compared to the last album, which we recorded in Sheffield in a pretty frantic two weeks, this was a breeze.”

The lyrical content of ‘Comfort To Me’, meanwhile, feels like a marked step up for Amy. In the past, she’s rarely strayed from typical punk fare, but the Sniffers’ second for Rough Trade is far more autobiographical than before. “Any time I've written lyrics, I've always tried to keep it authentic to who I am at that time. And so [previous albums were] equally as authentic, but [I was] finding my feet,” she says. “Whereas this time, it's just straight up. Pure 100% concentrated Amy.” She relays details of her childhood, most notably on closer ‘Snakes’ where she recalls working at “the IGA” - a reference lost outside of the southern hemisphere. The band argue as to the acronym (“International Grocers Association! Wait, not International.

What’s the ‘I’ stand for?”) before deciding on Independent Grocers of Australia.

“It’s just a chain of supermarkets,” Bryce caveats. Amy grins: “That was one of my first jobs. So it's just a nod of my hat, because I feel if people have context into that, they'll understand me more.” She pauses for a second. “Also, I just like representing.

Like fuck yeah, if I wasn't doing this for a job, I'd probably just be working at a supermarket, and that's dope too!”

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my’s spirited defence of an unshowy background that some stars might brush under the carpet is indicative of her other new preoccupation as a lyricist: politics. The lyrics to ‘Capital’ don’t land far off the mark of, well, Marx. “I sent the album to Jason from Sleaford Mods, because he’s one of the only people I trust in the music world. I sent it to him and Joey from [King] Gizzard [and the Lizard Wizard], and that was pretty much it,” she enthuses. “Jason was like, ‘Sounds like early Marxism’, which was huge.”

The singer’s newfound embrace of politics is one she’s had to wrangle with internally.

“I was talking to somebody about it, and I said, ‘I don't know if I should try and make a political song, because I'm not that educated and shit. I don't want to say the wrong thing’,” she recalls. “I felt all those things. And then he was like, ‘Well, your opinion matters too. Because you're not wrong, you’re just delivering it differently. That’s valuable. If politics is only left for the highly intelligent and highly educated, then that's when we'll get fucked over.’”

Amy interrupts her train of thought when she notices her bandmate has drifted off screen. “Are you OK, Declan? You look fucking passed out!” Declan sits up. “Yeah?

I’m just playing my guitar.” Amy sighs. “Put it down. You’re on mushrooms again aren’t you?”

“Dec did an interview last week on mushrooms, and told some lady that we’re the best band in the world,” Amy eye-rolls, as Declan interjects: “I’m not on mushrooms now actually. And you forgot that I said with a lighting person and some pyrotechnics, THEN we’d be the best live band in the world. You ignored all that!” he laughs, getting into gear. “Amy, I'm only going to be able to grow as big as the lid that you put on me.

When I’m on the top, I’m gonna be pulling you up.”

‘Comfort To Me’ may well be the album that sends Amyl and the Sniffers careening into the mainstream, and if it does, you can be sure that they’ll be pulling all of us up with them.

‘Comfort To Me’ is out 10th September via Rough Trade. DIY

TIED UP IN

“We’re like a family: we love each other and feel nothing at the same time.” - Amy Taylor

NOTTS Amy Taylor has a particular affection for Robin Hood’s hometown.

ON ‘NUDGE IT’, AMY’S COLLABORATION WITH SLEAFORD MODS “They reached out to me! I’m a big fan of both of them in a very intense way. I remember [seeing] them for the first time, I was walking around a festival and I could hear this music, and I was like, ‘What is that? That’s so dope!’. I was by myself and I was like, ‘Fuck, this is the sickest thing ever!’. Jason told me later, ‘Yeah, I remember seeing some weird fluffy blonde person going ham on the front row’.”

ON JASON’S WILLINGNESS TO SAY IT LIKE IT IS “I feel like they’re lovely, but I also strongly believe that if Jason didn’t like you, he would let you bloody know. Which is the perfect person to be, he’s just honest. The fact that he looks at shit and goes, ‘That’s fucked’, is so dope. Judgment’s a good thing, because if you don’t get judged, then you don’t get better. And he makes people better.”

ON NOTTINGHAM DRUM & BASS MC BRU-C “You know who else is from Nottingham? Bru-C! I know all of the lyrics to ‘Inhaler’, part one and part two, off the top of my head! Off the top.

All those crews - slowthai, Bru-C - they’re just fucking wordsmiths.

They’re literally like geniuses to me. That’s what I listen to.”

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revi A heady trip that prances around greatness but settles for pretty good.

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iews LORDE Solar Power

referential as she draws from her own 2017 tearjerker ‘Liability’.

(Universal New Zealand / EMI)

A lot has changed for Lorde in the four years since her second effort ‘Melodrama’, a record which distilled the anguish of adolescence into glistening oil-on-water electropop. That record revelled in the visceral chaos of coming of age, elevating the intensity of teenage feelings to more ethereal places, as the unlikely star took the hype of gold teeth and Grey Goose and crafted it into a defining document for legions of 21st Century youth. Nowadays Lorde, real name Ella Yelich-O'Connor, is calmer, more self-assured. In her teeth, where once sat liquor-wet lime, now rests a spliff. She’s home in Aotearoa, New Zealand, by the beach, sticky floors swapped for soft sand. Sterile 808s for acoustic guitars. Strobes for sunlight.

This newfound appreciation for the natural world, for the simple things in life, is the crux of what ‘Solar Power’ is about.

For the most part, the record is a heady trip that prances around greatness but settles for pretty good. Opener ‘The Path’ is an inquisitive start; like finding your feet on the yellow brick road, its airy flutes seem to invite you along to something special, while proudly heralding an era of radiance. It’s the title track’s brilliant chorus that introduces the New And Improved Lorde in all her glory. “Blink three times when you feel it kicking in”, she commands, uncorking a bottle of zingy harmonies. Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.

The record’s clearest switch up since its predecessor is the instrumentation.

Woozy guitars and sweet-sounding keys, mostly plucked from the toybox of ubiquitous producer and serial collaborator Jack Antonoff, are a universe away from ‘Melodrama’’s electronic sprawl. The minimal arrangements serve some tracks to perfection; ‘Dominoes’ is percussive and cheeky and despite its subject matter (the song is a pithy takedown of an unnamed industry man accused of misconduct) feels like the duo at their most carefree. 'Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen It All)’, meanwhile, is easily a highlight, richly layered in warping guitars and percussion that jitters as though caffeinated. ‘Big Star’ too is lush and romantic, Lorde’s vocals at their most tender, her words most cutting and self-

Swathes of ‘Solar Power’ feel ropey and unfinished, though, as if these were demos of fuller productions left on some forgotten hard drive. On ‘California’, Lorde muses on her experiences with fame and fortune: “I've spent thousands on you darling / All the hotels and the jets / And I'd pay it all again / To have your golden body back in my bed”. It’s an abrasively unhumble brag for a song whose message is anti-Hollywood, a point its melodically sterile chorus fails to hammer home. Likewise, ‘Leader of a New Regime’ is a 90-second sketch of a song which boasts about escaping the pandemic “on the last of the outbound planes,” and adds nothing to the album.

The biggest offender by a mile, though, is ‘Mood Ring’. On it she derides wellness culture - houseplants, horoscopes, celebrity gossip - by way of a caricature persona, but its satire falls flat, and the cliched flourish that bejewels the lyric “Let's fly somewhere eastern, they'll have what I need” is reason enough to fast forward.

JAMES BLAKE

Friends That Break Your Heart (Polydor) Laid over his trademark minimalist production, James Blake battles with his insecurities on the tentatively optimistic ‘Funeral’. “I feel invisible in every city,” he remarks on this familiar feeling. “Don’t give up on me,” he pleads, before promising that “I’ll be the best I can be”. It’s this journey through selfdoubt that underpins his fifth studio album, one that ultimately looks to celebrate the self regardless of wider influence. It’s a mantra that reaches its fittingly melancholic climax on the painfully retrospective title track. “In the end it was friends who broke my heart,” he offers in his distinct tone. Yet there’s freedom in James's realisations, unfolding on a record that simultaneously expands on his delicate production and sees him fully embrace his singer-songwriter alter ego. The SZA-featuring ‘Coming Back’ sits alongside ‘Frozen’ as his most assured foray into new genres. The latter part of the record elevates his vocal delivery, as ever paired with considered electronic flourishes. ‘Show Me’, featuring Monica Martin, is among his most beautiful work to date. His shifts in sound are as delicate as his music, continuing to showcase his ability to blur styles with unparalleled precision. It provides the space for him to take on these insecurities head on. The tellingly titled ‘If I’m Insecure’ finds salvation in love. It lands on both resignation and acceptance, that it’s OK to be lost and found at the same time. This blissful resignation runs throughout ‘Friends That Break your Heart’. “I know I’ll be replaced,” he laments at the album’s midpoint before cementing the record’s driving force. “I put my best foot forward,” he affirms, “what else can I do?”. (Ben Tipple) LISTEN: ‘Show Me’

The mythology surrounding ‘Solar Power’ has been perhaps its own enemy. Since ‘Melodrama’, Lorde’s communication with fans by way of sporadic email updates stoked the appetite for something bigger or better than her last effort. She spoke about climate change after visiting Antarctica, described her “feral” new persona, and suggested a level of splendour was to come which, across most of ‘Solar Power’, it actually doesn't. However, if there’s one moment where Lorde’s true intentions for ‘Solar Power’ are felt, it’s ‘Oceanic Feeling’.

Bookending the record with ‘The Path’ by way of the same crunchy drum cadence, it’s one of her finest compositions ever.

You can picture her, or almost imagine yourself in her place, suspended midleap from a cliff, the water below the same resplendent blue as the sky. As the cicadas sizzle in the ether, she plunges under, and in that moment, the bullshit of Hollywood, social media, climate change and Covid-19 all mean nothing. It’s the point Lorde’s clumsily been nagging at over these twelve songs. Turn off your phone, go outside, feel the sun on your face. “Was enlightenment found? / No, but I'm tryin', takin' it one year at a time,” she asserts in its closing fold. (Alex Cabré) LISTEN: ‘Oceanic Feeling’

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reviews

THE KILLERS

Pressure Machine (EMI) For most out there, The Killers will always be a band who’ve come to mirror the pomp and circumstance of their formative Las Vegas; their hits packed with boundless choruses and just the right amount of chintz. But it’s on their latest, ‘Pressure Machine’, that Brandon Flowers gives a more personal insight into his Utah hometown; ’Imploding The Mirage’ mk ii this is not. Born - much like most recent albums - after the pandemic put a stop to all of the band’s plans, it’s on their seventh record that Flowers et al seem to slow down and ruminate more introspectively than before. Comparisons to Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’ are unsurprising - after all, The Boss himself did just appear on their ‘Dustland’ reworking just a few months previous - and his fingerprints are very much present on ‘Pressure Machine’; from the forlorn harmonica of ‘Terrible Thing’ to the intricate detail of the album’s lyrics, the record seems to pick up Springsteen’s darker mantle and run with it. More stripped back and classic-sounding than the likes of their recent material, ‘Pressure Machine’ instead quietly unearths the stories of small town, working class America, in all their tragic glory. Fictionalised tales of the devastating opioid crisis (‘Quiet Town’, 'In Another Life'), struggling with homophobia (‘Terrible Thing’), domestic violence and vengeance (‘Desperate Things’) are all woven together by our narrator, while recorded radio clips of real life residents help to illustrate both the simplicity and complications of life in such a place. And while, perhaps, this more reflective musing on American life wasn’t quite what we’d come to expect from The Killers, ‘Pressure Machine’ does prove that not all escapism arrives with a hook-laden chorus. This is an album which invites you to dig a little deeper. (Sarah Jamieson) LISTEN: ‘West Hills’

SLEIGH BELLS

TEXIS (Lucky Number) When Sleigh Bells burst forth around the turn of the last decade, their curious mix of over-the-top thrashy riffs and playground-chant style vocals was a tornado of fresh air. ‘Treats’, the pair’s 2010 debut is, and remains a stellar collection of pop-tinged noise, and they’ve never quite since repeated that level of glorious din. 2013’s ‘Bitter Rivals’ was almost its opposite, even, Alexis Krauss pushing her vocal melodies to almost saccharine levels while guitar-wielding bandmate and producer Derek Miller fully embraced hip hop-style beats. An experiment that paid off - it does possess their most immediate pop moments - but if there was ever a time for the gnarliest of six-strings to return, it’s the frustration of now. And it takes just seconds of opener ‘SWEET75’ to provide the goods. At its heaviest, ‘TEXIS’ is blistering, ‘Justine Go Genesis’ as mindbendingly intense as it gets, with closer ‘Hummingbird Bomb’ and single ‘Locust Laced’ not far behind. And when synths do take centre stage, no impact is lost: ‘True Seekers’ and ‘I’m Not Down’ are akin to a more in-your-face Chvrches, Alexis’ vocal sitting juxtaposed with expansive electronics. It’s the best of both worlds. (Emma Swann) LISTEN: ‘Justine Go Genesis’

DEB NEVER

Where Have All The Flowers Gone? (Moonlanding) Continuing her ever-building buzz and expanding on her trademark sound of slightly moody lo-fi alt-pop, if you were unsure about Deb Never’s star quality, newest EP ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’ Will push away any doubts. Building on the captivating emo-rap-esque sound evident on 2019 EP ‘House on Wheels’, this project feels bigger and bolder than before, with Deb feeling more confident and firm in her footing this time around. From her drawling vocals on soaring opener ‘Stupid’ which - like all the classic anthems - flows from an acoustic chilled beginning to a thunderous climax, it’s clear Deb means business, and she continues to dazzle across the eight tracks. More delicate moments like ‘Someone Else’ which seems crafted for a coming-of-age indie flick still pack a punch, but ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’ blossoms in its vibefuelled moments. Jim-E Stack-featuring ‘Sweet & Spice’ glistens with its sun-soaked backing, while ‘Funky’ does what it says on the tin, and ‘Coca Cola’’s pulsing beat will have you instantly moving along. Propelled by Deb’s magnetically cool smooth vocals throughout ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’ finds the LA artist in full bloom. (Elly Watson) LISTEN: ‘Stupid’

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COMMON

A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2 (Loma Vista)

THE VACCINES

Back In Love City (Super Easy) Still possessing the immediacy they’ve always evoked, The Vaccines build a world to dive into on ‘Back In Love City’. On 2018’s ‘Combat Sports’, the group went back to basics with their expanded line-up. Here, they ramp up the bombast, from the concept – which imagines a fictional city where love and emotions are a fruitful commodity – to the sheer energy that rarely lets up across its 13 tracks. The riff-heavy ‘Wanderlust’ is an irresistible glamstomper, ‘Jump Off The Top’ is the sort of fun throwaway The Vaccines have become so well attuned to writing.

Justin played with the lyrical form in his side project Halloweens and brings its teachings into the frame of this record.

“I drink to drown my sorrows / but they always learn to swim,” he sings on the title track. Freddie Cowan’s guitar-play spiders like a one-man Morricone soundtracking a space-age Western on highlight ‘Paranormal Romance’ which explodes with a synthesised choir and galloping drum pattern. There’s room for experimentation too, ‘XCT’ features a heavy slithering synth-bass and the ‘Peoples Republic Of Desire’ dials Justin’s voice to that space between singing and screaming. The Vaccines allow their unashamed love for pop to soar on ‘Back In Love City’. Against Young’s increasingly interesting way with words, it feels like the purest Vaccines album yet. (Sean Kerwick) LISTEN: ‘Paranormal Romance’

Few artists’ creative responses to the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests were ever going to feel more vital than Common’s; his track record of using his music to speak to issues of racial and societal division is one that stretches to nearly three decades, which is why last October’s ‘A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 1’ (an EP or a minialbum, depending on who you ask) was so timely. Released just four days before the US presidential election, it was a fists-in-the-air rallying cry, one that featured heavyweight, politically astute collaborators like Stevie Wonder and Chuck D. If ‘…Pt. 1’ felt like a look at the progress we made last year, then this followup stares down the road ahead - not with trepidation, but with boundless optimism. This is true both of the new cast of featured artists, one representative of a new generation of conscious musicians, and of the infectiously upbeat nature of these songs, as Common channels the positivity that last year’s summer of engagement imbued him with into eleven tracks that sonically take their cues from ‘90s hip hop and R&B. Among the standouts are the Brittany Howard hook-up ‘Saving Grace’, which invokes the spirit of D’Angelo and Lauryn Hill, and lead single ‘Imagine’, on which Common paints a picture of his own personal utopia over a beat that recalls J Dilla. ‘A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2’ is a sweet paean to music’s mood-boosting properties, as well as it capacity to effect meaningful change. (Joe Goggins) LISTEN: ‘Saving Grace’

ALEXIS TAYLOR Silence (AWAL)

Tapping into his relationship with religion, Alexis Taylor's ‘Silence’ offers a window into faith from the perspective of the 'non-religious’ on his 6th solo album. Conflating his graceful vocal delivery with a stark sense of isolation, this record is for those who seek peace in their everyday life. From the tranquillity of the nursery rhyme-esque ‘Look To Heaven’ to the momentum provided by ‘House Of Truth’, the breadth of Alexis’s musicality is not stretched, but honed into a cohesive performance throughout the record. Lucid realisations paired with piano driven, melancholy soaked ballads are a mainstay of ‘Silence’, dialling back from his usual repetitive delivery as the primary vocal component of electro-jivers Hot Chip. Removing the textural quirks and dance cadence of previous releases may lead to a less colourful final product, however 'Silence's newfound maturity is still pleasingly contemplative.

Alexis Taylor's discovery and consequent understanding of the importance of religion and its expansive scriptures are well captured in this reflective release.

(Alisdair Grice) LISTEN: ‘House Of Truth’

reviews

BILLIE EILISH

Happier Than Ever (Darkroom / Interscope / Polydor) It’s almost incomprehensible to imagine being Billie Eilish.

Following the universal acclaim of record-breaking 2019 debut ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’ - an album not only meteorically commercially successful, but whose artistry earned her awards across the board, making its author only the second person in history to win all four main categories at the GRAMMYs - Eilish has become de facto public property. Seven of Instagram’s Top 20 most-liked posts of all time are hers; the simple act of dying her hair blonde literally broke the internet.

But for all the adoration, there’s been a flipside, the judgemental microscope put upon the 19-year-old’s choices expanding by the day as she attempts to navigate the minefield of growing up in public. It’s a situation that’s sent many young stars before her down dark and troubled paths, but somehow Billie seems to be coping with it masterfully. And it’s this refusal to pander or be beaten by the more insidious sides of fame that is ‘Happier Than Ever’’s defiant takeaway. Across the record, not only is she persistently one step ahead of the trolls, she’s also brilliantly in control at all times, offering up withering put-downs and cheeky glimpses into her life that dangle the carrot but always keep you guessing.

Take the killer one-two of previous singles ‘NDA’ and ‘Therefore I Am’, which segue seamlessly into each other here. The former pulses along, drip-feeding tidbits about Billie’s inner world (“Had a pretty boy over but he couldn’t stay / On his way out, made him sign an NDA”), while the latter one of the record’s more swaggering bangers - is utterly cutthroat towards a pretender to her throne (“I don’t want press to put your name next to mine / We’re on different lines…”). They mark two frequent lyrical avenues in Eilish’s second: a celebratory embrace of her sexuality and a refusal to let her life be dictated by negative forces weighing in on her.

A lesson in how to own your reality with confidence and class.

Opener ‘Getting Older’ sets out her stead for an album that never shies away from addressing the singer’s increasingly singular situation.

The only people who could make a subtly whomping beat anything aside from an oxymoron, it immediately transports you back into Billie and Finneas’ sonic world, thematically noting that it’s not all roses before actively choosing joy: “I'm happier than ever, at least, that's my endeavor / To keep myself together and prioritise my pleasure.” Then there’s ‘I Didn’t Change My Number’, the spiritual successor to ‘Bad Guy’ (“Maybe you should leave before I get too mean?”), that instead swaps hushed menace for a vocal tone that’s seductive and powerful.

Indeed, as a whole ‘Happier Than Ever’ is a far warmer, more tactile record than its predecessor. Where the aesthetics of her debut were steeped in the macabre, Billie’s second is softer - musically and visually. Single ‘my future’ is a heavenly thing, a heart-swellingly gorgeous piano offering that begs to be played in a low-lit jazz bar, while ‘Halley’s Comet’ rings with the same soaring sensibilities that made Lana Del Rey’s ‘The Greatest’ such a success. The familiar, Latin beat on ‘Billie Bossa Nova’, meanwhile, makes the hot-under-the-collar content of its lyrics even steamier.

Two of the album’s highlights come in starkly different packages. ‘Oxytocin’’s juddering beats and disorientating vocals are the kind of strange, prickly track that noone else in the world could come up with right now: a combination that’s technically jarring, but that somehow coalesces into a banger that will absolutely kick off on the live stage. Album midpoint ‘Not My Responsibility’, meanwhile, is a spoken word rumination on the scrutiny Eilish faces daily - a stark, unadorned speech that forces the listener to look it in the eye.

‘Happier Than Ever’, then, is not just a triumph in progressing a signature sound into new territories, but a lesson in how to own your reality with confidence and class. Billie Eilish had already cemented herself as a once-in-ageneration young talent - turns out watching her grow is just as thrilling a journey. (Lisa Wright) LISTEN: ‘Oxytocin’

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MANIC STREET PREACHERS The Ultra Vivid Lament (Columbia)

Perhaps more than ever over the past decade or so, Manic Street Preachers have been defined by their contradictions.

Once the intense heat of their provocative early years was in the rear-view mirror - along with their mid-to-late ‘90s commercial heyday - they seemed to settle down into the peculiar role of a band considered part of the rock establishment’s old guard while, if you scratched beneath the surface, remaining politically cutting in their lyrics and, on records like 2014’s expansive ‘Futurology’, ambitious in their songwriting. Every one of their late stages albums encapsulates this dynamic in one way or another and ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’ is no different. The three years since 2018’s raw, confrontational ‘Resistance Is Futile’ have provided Nicky Wire with no shortage of real-world material to mine for lyrical inspiration, but instead, that last album’s rancour has given way to reflection; on melancholy tracks like opener ‘Snowing in Sapporo’ and ‘Blank Diary Entry’, the album feels like an elegy for what’s been lost in recent months. Musically, too, there’s a sense of the trio reaching for a comfort blanket, turning back towards the intellectual pop that inspired them as youngsters in the ‘80s; the bright melodies of ‘Quest For Ancient Colour’ and ‘The Secret He Had Missed’ recall the likes of Roxy Music and Simple Minds. Such an approach helps sugar the pill on the avowedly topical ‘Orwellian’ and ‘Don’t Let The Night Divide Us’, bringing home just how accurate the record’s title is; ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’ is a requiem, but one that looks for sonic positivity in the thematic darkness. (Joe Goggins) LISTEN: ‘Quest For Ancient Colour’

TOMMY GENESIS goldilocks x (Downtown)

Hot girl summer is not over yet: Tommy Genesis makes sure of it with ‘goldilocks x’. Dancefloor-ready, Tommy delivers her first full-length since 2018’s self-titled record in style. The collection is self-assured and totally saturated with what Tommy is about, despite being some of her most varied so far. From hypnotic house-pop (‘a woman is a god’) to rapid-fire rap that positively bubbles (‘wet’) to reflective punk-pop (cropping up as the album takes a moody turn towards the end, on the likes of ‘fuck u u can’t make me cry’ and ‘hurricane’), she tries it all on. The buzz of ‘goldilocks x’ comes from the fault-lines between genres that she isn’t afraid of diving into. ‘manifesto’ is as forceful a mission statement as its name suggests, soaked in attitude, one of the most deliciously, rightfully arrogant moments on the record.

Tommy’s aware of her strengths, and she’s not afraid to brandish them: ‘goldilocks x’ is a little weird, a little dark, and it’s just right. (Ims Taylor) LISTEN: ‘manifesto'

박혜진 PARK HYE JIN Before I Die (Ninja Tune)

‘Before I Die’, is a curious evolution of Park Hye Jin's sound. The South Korean producer’s 2020 EP ‘How can I’ cemented her as a new talent, with warm vintage beats unfurling underneath her careful, understated delivery. Her own vocals sat in the mix as a drum loop would, anchoring tracks and providing a through line for her explorations of electronica. ‘Before I Die’ pulls away from the coziness of some of those early tracks. Here we find icy drum machines and swooping synths, and Hye Jin's intimate delivery is lent now to repeated mantras, as on album opener ‘Let’s Sing Let’s Dance’. They're simple phrases, repeated over and over, but as the tracks evolve, a line with apparently clear meaning at the start of a song can mutate into something else entirely by the end - the initial detachment of ‘Can I Get Your Number’, for example, morphing into pleading. This delivery doesn’t always do Hye Jin favours, though. Her detached, precise narration leaves little to hold onto, and over 15 tracks, you begin to long for a little more emotion. Still, these productions are dark, atmospheric - she knows exactly how to conjure up a mood. It’s just that it’s slightly too forbidding to ever fully feel at home. (Louis Griffin) LISTEN: ‘Let’s Sing Let’s Dance’

Q&A The self-described “fetish rapper” and certified bop-maker talks returning after three years, and the stories behind ‘goldilocks x’. Interview: Elly Watson. ‘goldilocks x’ is your first record in three years! How does it feel to be back?

It feels so fucking good. Like I'm finally able to share with everyone what I've been up to. I tend to just hibernate so it's good for me cause I leave my house, I become alive in the world - not just in my world.

the fact but this one I named midcreation. For me it's a sweet spot.

It's just right. That's why I used the Goldilocks concept, the “x” is the punk, experimental element. I just like to be alone inside my thoughts and feelings and I pull from that. Like I'm pulling out a newborn, I just have to nurture it a touch.

What makes this album different to your previous offerings?

This album is an entire person. I touched a new space in my own personal methodology of creation. For me I took more risks sonically but also let go more, tried less in a lot of ways.

In the best ways. I've always been a conceptual artist so sometimes music feels like finger painting to me. But I just finger painted the fuck out of this album.

What are some of the stories that informed the record?

For ‘men’ I texted my group chat asking everyone to tell me what they hated about men. I literally paraphrased it and got in the studio. Each song has a different story.

Where did you find inspiration?

Honestly, I always name projects after

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What do you hope people take away from this album?

Honestly I just want this album to be the soundtrack to your life. I want people to relate to it, turn up to it, cry to it, fuck to it and just fucking live to it.

Q&A Frontwoman Justine Jones discusses the statement of intent that is Employed To Serve’s fourth album, ‘Conquering'. Interview: Emma Wilkes.

How and when did ‘Conquering’ start to materialise?

We had two demos written prior, like in 2019, just rough things on our hard drives. It wasn't until summer 2020 that pretty much the whole album got written because everything was obviously on shutdown and there was nothing else you could do. We were still very enthusiastic because we had just come back from a headline tour, and we had such a great time. It was in that optimistic lockdown.

I think, where everyone was like ‘Oh, we can get stuff done’, you know?

Did that have an influence over the more positive lyrical stance you went for this time around?

Yeah it did, but I think we always sort of wanted to go in a more positive direction.

I still listen to those bands who have a lot of really downtrodden lyrics about all the horrible things that are going on in the world, and they do that well, but we really wanted to be an antidote to that, because no one wants to listen to sad things at the minute.

I've always liked albums, like Hatebreed’s ‘Perseverance' - I put that on anytime I need a pick-me-up. Music is a form of therapy and I find that when I write negative lyrics, it perpetuates my mood. If I really don’t want to feel down in the dumps, the last thing I want to do is write negative lyrics. Plus with the pandemic, we were in such a fortunate situation. I was able to work through the whole thing with a roof over my head and food on the table and I was lucky enough to live near my loved ones. I know a lot of people who had a really bad time and I think sometimes it’s so easy to concentrate on the negative. I was bummed out about not going to shows but at the end of the day, I’m still breathing.

How did you find recording during winter 2020? It must have coincided with another lockdown, or at least the threat of it.

We made a bubble and did lateral flow tests and stuff like that, and we managed to sort of get around it quite easily, but it was a bit weird. It's quite apocalyptic. Driving when

there’s nobody there, especially on the M3 as it’s always packed. Yeah. So yeah, it was quite a nice distraction to be honest because most people struggle with winter as it is because of the lack of sunshine, and obviously we're effectively evolved plants. It was quite nice to have something productive to do really.

Why did you shift towards more of a straight-up metal sound for this album?

We've always kind of had it in mind that we sort of wanted to go into this direction, because that was what made sense for us. All of our songs that are more metal orientated, and have more of a verse-chorus structure were the most fun to play live, and they always got the best feedback from fans as well. We wanted to make this record a statement record which would be completely different to our other albums, while still retaining our original sound. We've also got a whole new lineup. Our new drummer Casey [Mc Hale] is more geared up to metal drumming, like he likes using the double kick and things like that, our new guitarist David [Porter] is also in a death metal band and Nathan [Pryor], who's been in the band for a couple years now is sort of more metal minded as well. It just kind of made sense.

You’ve said that you wanted to push your musical capabilities more on this record.

How did you try and do that?

We spent a lot of time on each song, trying to really pull it apart. How we usually work is that Sammy [Urwin, guitarist] will demo a song, I programme some basic drums over it and then send it over a WhatsApp group and then everyone has their own input either over the internet or at practice. There was a lot of that going on. We also tried to work out how to structure songs better. And I feel like we have quite a good way of sort of working but we are quite self critical. Sometimes, we pull a song apart and use bits of it to make another song. It was just about taking our time and we had a lot of that over the lockdown.

EMPLOYED TO SERVE

Conquering (Spinefarm) Metal quintet Employed To Serve have had a steady but strong climb since they first broke through with 2015 debut ‘Greyer Than You Remember’ - earning themselves a fair share of rock accolades along the way - but it’s on new album ‘Conquering’ that they’re stepping things up another gear entirely. While with their previous records, their technical talent was unquestionable, it also, at times, became challenging for the more casual listener.

With ‘Conquering’, however, the band have hit on a sweet spot. Calling upon influences from their younger years from early Slipknot, to ‘Burn Your Eyes’-era Machine Head - those fingerprints are very much present here, but they’ve been melded into a new, fresh vision of what metal can sound like in 2021.

Guided by the scorched vocals of frontwoman Justine Jones and intricate guitars of Sammy Urwin, the band remain a fierce force to be reckoned with, but now their vision feels more honed, more refined. From the punishing storm that’s whipped up within the introduction of ‘Universal Chokehold’ through to the unflinching frenetics of ‘Set In Stone’, there’s a real sense of confidence that runs throughout the record’s 11 tracks. This is a band at the top of their game. (Sarah Jamieson) LISTEN 'Mark Of The Grave'

RECO MMEN DED Missed the boat on some the best albums from the last couple of months? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

CHVRCHES

Screen Violence The group’s fourth marries visceral anger and empowerment to create their most euphoric rallying cry to date.

MEET ME @ THE ALTAR Model Citizen An EP that showcases the trio’s unashamed love of pop-punk, it’s as boisterous as it is infectious.

SUPERSTATE Superstate

Graham Coxon’s naturally antsy pen lends just the right amount of discomfort to the atmosphere.

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AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS

Comfort To Me (Rough Trade) On ‘Comfort To Me’, Amyl and the Sniffers realise the most widescreen vision of their particular brand of punk to date. The moment that opening salvo ‘Guided By Angels’ sprints into view, something clicks. All the elements of the band’s sound up until now are present and correct, but subtly different. They’ve found their purpose. Amy Taylor is still possessed of an instantly-familiar drawl, but it’s now in the service of her self-realisation. She speaks of “protect[ing] my energy” and “never hold[ing] on to the misery”. Never before would mindfulness be high on the list of likely topics for Amy and co. to turn their minds to, but somehow the music and message work in perfect tandem with one another. Album closer ‘Snakes’ is the perfect example. What begins as a window into Amy’s childhood segues into a manifesto for the album as a whole: “I submit to change”.

Coming in at thirteen tracks, ‘Comfort To Me’ feels slightly overwrought - there’s a track or two that don’t add much to the album’s direction, ‘Maggot’ being one of them. But on the whole, this feels like Amyl and the Sniffers finding their purpose. It’s something to behold. (Louis Griffin) LISTEN: ‘Snakes’

SPENCER.

Are U Down (4AD) Although he’s only got a handful of songs online, self-taught musician, producer, and general multihyphenate Spencer. has been buzzing about for a while. Hailed for his experimental R&B-leaning jams, now he’s concocted a debut album that not only adds to his discography but also finds him pulling from a wide-range of genres and continuing his shapeshifting sonic path. Inspired by his long-distance relationship, ‘Are U Down?’ - his first full-length - centres around themes of loneliness and miscommunication, told through Spencer.’s sleek and rich lyrical flow. A duet with Thea of Becky and The Birds on record midpoint ‘After The Show’ displays this most evidently, with Thea and Spencer.’s lyrical back-and-forth mirroring a phone call between distant partners over the smooth bass-heavy backing, and it’s musical techniques like these that make the album such a captivating listen.

Self-described as “a producer first”, ‘Are U Down’ Is full of impressive flairs, showing his passion and comfort in playing with genres as he flows from R&B-leaning ballads (‘Heart Freestyle’) to pop-tinged bops (‘Lonely As I Ever Was’) to indie-inspired tracks (‘Drop’). An impressive first outing, Spencer.’s skills as a producer and songwriter have never been more evident. Period.

(Elly Watson) LISTEN: ‘Lonely As I Ever Was’

And Then Life Was Beautiful (Little Tokyo / Sony)

It’s probably easier for someone

That You’re Gone’

PRIYA RAGU

damnshestamil (Warner) Blending elements of Tamil folk music, hip hop, R&B and pop, Priya Ragu’s self-described ‘Ragu Wavy’ sound is instantly recognisable. This unique approach to making music is laced throughout ‘damnshestamil’, a kaleidoscopic mixtape. Triumphant singles signified what to expect early on, such as the infectiously joyous ‘Chicken Lemon Rice’. A new must-listen is the earworm ‘Lighthouse’, where a poppy chorus meets traditional instrumentation as Priya sings, “And if it's dark outside baby / Your love is in the lighthouse.” The song then closes with her calling out “Edukondala Vada Venkataramana Govinda Govinda,” referencing an image of the Hindu god Vishnu. Created with her brother and long-time collaborator Japhna Gold, the 10-song collection glides between genres without any sense of disjointedness. It’s this effortless mixing of cultures, textures and styles that make Priya an exciting and unstoppable force. (Georgia Evans) LISTEN: ‘Lighthouse’

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Access Denied (Island) That it’s been some wait for Ray BLK to release a debut album is some understatement: the Nigerian-born South Londoner came top of the BBC’s annual buzz rankings in early 2017, ahead of the likes of Dave, Anderson .Paak, and Jorja Smith, and it’s nearly five years later that she follows up with ‘Access Denied’. The record is a snapshot of an artist brimming with confidence, an album jam-packed with bops. Top of the pile is impossibly infectious closer ‘Over You’ with its earworm of a chorus, though the joyously bold ‘Go-Go Girl’, with its buoyant refrain of “Sexy and independent / Don’t matter if they offended” doesn’t fall far behind. Giggs makes a star turn on the bouncy ‘Games’, while interlude ‘Lauren’s Skit’ - a to-the-point voicemail message - builds on the singer’s lyrical wit and matter-of-fact nature. Multi-faceted in both personality and musical style, ‘Access Denied’ has proven itself every bit worth the wait. (Bella Martin) LISTEN: ‘Over You’

BABY QUEEN

The Yearbook (Polydor)

NAO

who became a new parent over lockdown than most others to conjure up a title like ‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’. But what NAO - who gave birth to her daughter in Spring 2020 - does a very good job at across this, her third full-length, is imbuing the whole thing with that same sense of positivity as its name. Take ‘Woman’, a funky collaboration with Lianne La Havas. Or ‘Burn Out’, a track which tackles the stasis associated with the condition impeccably lyrically, but still holds hope musically. The serpentwithfeet-featuring ‘Postcards’ is as slinky as it comes, meanwhile, and then there's the earwormy ‘Glad That You’re Gone’, somehow a wholly positive break-up song without hints of irony or bitterness. And if ‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’ wasn’t the radiant, joyous record that it is, then that alone would be an achievement, surely? (Bella Martin) LISTEN: ‘Glad

RAY BLK

Art Attack

Baby Queen has been drip-feeding ‘The Yearbook’ mixtape since the start of the year, and so much of this 10-track release will be familiar to those in her rapidly expanding, selfnamed Baby Kingdom. Collected together, however, Bella Latham’s niche of ultra-timely, self-lacerating pop becomes even more streamlined; doubling down on themes of mental health, social media and the general Problems Of Youth Today, there’s such a strong and cohesive point of view here, you can’t help but invest. The songwriting is clever, too: shimmering, slightly ‘80s pop (‘Raw Thoughts’) lining up against spoken word monologues (‘Narcissist’, ‘Baby Kingdom’) and introverted balladry (‘These Drugs’).

Hyper polished, it would be an even greater window into her lyrical themes to see her make something a little more rough around the edges, but ‘The Yearbook’ is more than good enough to graduate to the next round. (Lisa Wright) LISTEN: ‘Raw Thoughts’

Spencer. on why Maryland painter Ismael Oates was the choice for his 'Are U Down' artwork.

“Atticus, one of my best friends I’ve known since 4th grade, has done every one of my covers since I started putting out music. He did the text on this one, but the artwork is done by our mutual friend Ismael Oates, a Black painter from Maryland with whom Atticus went to Pratt Institute.

“I’ve known about Izzy’s artwork for a couple years just through knowing him and it’s always come off to me as extremely unique. I had always been a fan but the album felt like the right time to collaborate.

“With the album art, I basically prompted Izzy to do whatever he wanted. When I see his artwork, the word 'Afrofuturism' always comes to mind. It feels like it fits the aesthetic of my music just through the style he paints in. We went through a few drafts, some became single covers and the main one stuck as the album cover.

“I love this cover because it reflects the vast world of the album I tried to create. I reference Afrofuturism because of the way it places Black people in fictional situations that historically didn’t happen; like Solange’s theming of Black cowboys. I often feel like being a Black artist in indie, a predominantly white genre, feels like I’m creating my own genre, or making up something that didn’t exist before, much like the Black cowboy.”

ANGELS & AIRWAVES Lifeforms (My Products / Rise) For a frontman so interested in the universe outside our little blue and green ball of rock, Tom DeLonge is hardly exploring new dimensions on Angels & Airwaves’ first album in seven years. What he deals with instead is steadfast - yet no less fun - pop rock laced with sparkly electronics. He navigates the sonic territory he is more familiar with decently. ‘Euphoria’ and ‘Kiss And Tell’ pack some satisfying guitar-driven crunch, while ‘No More Guns’ and ‘Losing My Mind’ bury barbed political lyricism under seemingly playful pop melodies and pleasing, earworm-worthy hooks. That said, plenty of bands have peppered their guitar tunes with bleeps and bloops in recent years, and AVA doesn’t always handle them with care, or with the intent to innovate. The flourish of EDM that kicks off opening track ‘Timebomb’ is a little jarring and feels somewhat generic, while the synthy harmonics of ‘A Fire In A Nameless Town’ smacks of the ‘80s (as this album frequently does) in a way that isn’t nostalgia-inducing but uncomfortable. There’s enough for fans to enjoy across ‘Lifeforms’, but it is not as lofty as it perhaps thinks itself to be. (Emma Wilkes) LISTEN: ‘Euphoria’

LITTLE SIMZ

Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (Age 101)

When Little Simz dropped the sublime ‘GREY Area’ in 2019, a tight 10-track LP jam-packed with smart bars and instrumentals that soothed and snapped in equal grace, she carved out a sacred space on the UK hip hop scene. Chatting to DIY earlier this year, Simz spoke about studying classic albums in preparation for its follow-up. “Why is ‘Off The Wall’ a classic?” she asked. “I just wanted to tell a story within it and make a classic record that people can keep going back to.” It’s fair to say, Simz’s ambitions were crawling as high as the expectation surrounding her next move.

‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’ is mammoth in scope, 19-tracks that take you on a whirlwind journey that zips you through various genres, moods and stories - interludes interweave to animate the tale that takes the listener deep within herself; the title stands for her name after all - SIMBI. Things kick off with the dramatic ‘Introvert’ before being soothed by ‘Woman’ and the luxurious sonics of ‘Two Worlds Apart’ which pours over like caramel as a soul sample is underpinned by rich percussion.

It’s cinematic in its ambition with Inflo (Michael Kiwanuka, Sault) at the production helm casting the perfect light for Simz’s storytelling to bathe in. Strings, choirs and live instrumentation shimmer throughout giving the album a timeless quality. ‘Standing Ovation’ has a gorgeous motif with its structure twisting at every turn. Highlight ‘Protect My Energy’ shimmers with a ‘Thriller’-era MJ quality as it’s pinned down by its slinky synth-bass and vintage drum machine. Later ‘Point and Kill’ and ‘Fear No Man’ dance around a thrilling stomp.

By the same token, Simz’s storytelling brushes against these instrumentals with similar scope. There’s love - “Looking at you, I know God took his time” she raps in a doe-eyed cadence on the swampy bass-shuffling ‘I See You’. The orchestral licks of ‘I Love You, I Hate You’ whips around her taking stock of the complex relationship with her father: “Is you a sperm donor or a Dad to me?” she asks unabashedly. There’s something of a narrative switch halfway through on ‘The Rapper That Came To Tea’ interlude which glimmers with dream-like harps, choirs and a well-spoken voice who warns Simz of “the extroverts” who “like to be entertained”. ‘Rollin Stone’ sees a character of sorts step into frame following this turn; “Can't believe it's Simbi here that's had you listenin' / Well, fuck that bitch for now, you didn't know she had a twin”.

It’s the sort of album that takes you back once its final bars fade out. Although it hits on first listen with countless highlights, the widescreen scope of the record suggests many of its gems linger upon returning to the LP. “Do you want 15 years or 15 minutes?” the voice asks on ‘Gems’ as Simz wrestles with anxiety. “Pressure makes diamonds,” it assures. If ‘GREY Area’ saw Simz come-of-age as a rapper, ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’ is Simz making her first long-lasting artistic stamp on the zeitgeist. (Sean Kerwick) LISTEN: ‘Protect My Energy’

SIMZ ON... ...INFLUENCES “I wanted to make a classic record that people can keep going back to. That’s what I got with ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’, that’s what I got with Biggie Smalls’ ‘Ready To Die’, that’s what I got with ‘College Dropout’ - I wanted to have that same thing.”

...THE IMPACT OF COVID

A whirlwind journey that zips you through various genres, moods and stories.

“When I was stationary, it forced me to hone in on my writing. I pushed myself, I wasn’t settling for good, I wanted my pen to be amazing on this record, I wanted to surprise myself. It takes being really honest with yourself and really hard on yourself but not in a way that’s disencouraging, it’s just I want to always take it up a level, in order to do that I have to push myself. When I look back at all my projects, I do see growth within myself - I feel like each project is better than the last which is a good thing, it means I’m getting better and stepping up which I want to continue.”

...MUSIC AND ACTING “I try and keep them separate. I’m in different bags when I’m in actor mode, and when I’m Little Simz, I’m Little Simz. I think they do require different things from me, I just want to always fully commit to both - that only works if I give them all the space that they need.”

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reviews

LAZARUS KANE

Psychobabble (So Young) A reinvention is one of life’s biggest gambles. While some may suffer from growing pains, others rise like a blazing phoenix. One such act caught in the crossfire of rebirth is larger-than-life disco-pop sensations Lazarus Kane. Once known for frontman Ben Jakes’s sleazed-out persona synthesizing the worst of American maximalism, Lazarus Kane have since turned to new, simpler pretenses as a six-piece band after accepting the fact that we live on a planet where fact is stranger than fiction. Now sans the persona but still with a love for funky opulence, the sextet have brought out their debut four-track EP ‘Psychobabble’ complete with an undeniably imposing charisma. As opening track ‘Milk At My Door’ bops and moves in a manner befitting of the finest dance floors, it becomes quickly apparent that Lazarus Kane have refined their wit to combat the growing surrealism of real life. While both snarky ‘Whole Foods’ and charged ‘Williston, ND’ suffer from rigidity at times, the fiery aplomb of ‘Mps’ more than compensates. With Ben’s voice standing tall atop a soapbox of disorienting synths on the closer, ‘Psychobabble’ proves that Lazarus Kane never needed to don any costumes to be at their best. (Varun Govil) LISTEN: ‘mps’

CARO♡

Heartbeats/ Heartbreaks (PC Music) Originally fronting French synth-pop band Planet 1999, vocalist caro♡ has stepped out on her own, armed with a debut album that takes the group’s gauzy pop mentality and makes it 1000% more dreamy. From instrumental opener ‘le grand bleu’’s cinematic and soaring soundscapes, full of twinkles and breathy melodies, caro♡ invites us into ‘Heartbreaks/Heartbeats’’ beautiful experimental pop world. Shining with the flourishes characteristic of PC Music - Planet 1999 were actually the first group signed to the label - the record finds caro♡ flexing her production muscles as she crafts these mystical melodies, especially prevalent in hypnotising instrumentals like ‘drop in the ocean’. Elsewhere, more upbeat moments like ‘over U’, ‘sad song 33’, ‘heart in 2’ and ‘hide me here’ prove that caro♡ has the power to stand up there with PC Music adjacent glitch-pop girls like Charli XCX, Caroline Polachek and Hannah Diamond. Though she may still have a way to go to reach that level, ‘Heartbreaks/Heartbeats’ offers a mesmerising introduction into Caro♡’s world of smooth and sleek pop, propelled by her crystalline lyrics and gorgeous production flair. (Elly Watson) LISTEN: ‘heart in 2’

ABSOLUTE (BEHIND THE) SCENES!

A snapshot of what went down when Lazarus Kane recorded ‘Psychobabble’.

“If you could eat the members of Lazarus Kane, how would you cook them? I (Louis) would lightly batter and fry Harry and then chomp through his body in one like a baby whitebait fish. I’d smother Nick in icing like a sweet bun. He’d be called Yum Yum Berthoud.”

“Lazarus’ resident synth queen surveys her weapons of choice - ‘the number of flashing lights you already have, plus one more will do nicely’.”

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

“Golden hour in Studio Bort. Several Cocchi Americano Spritzes were consumed. The trick is to always start by chilling the highball. Decent glassware is essential to the Laz K process.”

Bright Magic (Play It Again Sam)

What begins as a brooding cinematic facade for the ever-conceptual Public Service Broadcasting soon opens up into an intense profile of one of the largest cultural hubs in Europe: Berlin. ‘Bright Magic’ encompasses the historic rollercoaster of the city, capturing each moment in fleeting noise and blossoming into an expansive library of club beats, symphonic stirs, and curious spoken word. Eternalised by J. Willgoose's intricate obsessivity, and tying in the milieu of Berlin's historic troughs and peaks, ‘Bright Magic’ paints a city in constant motion, showcased by the pulsating groove of ‘Der Rhythmus Der Maschinen’ and the electrofanfare of ‘Lichtspiel I’. It exhibits the modern bright talent, with the presence of Berlin-based EERA lending a soft tangibility to both ‘People, Let's Dance’ and ‘Gib mir das Licht’. As a natural expansion of Willgoose’s artistic habits, ‘Bright Magic’ chronicles the ephemeral musing of Berlin, not dissimilar from 2017’s ‘Every Valley’, that highlighted the downfall of the Welsh coal industry and its modern repercussions.

‘Bright Magic’ flourishes at its most calm and erupts at its most fervent, lending itself neatly to a state of anxious tension, sonically chronicling the faded walk back from the club, when dawn and dusk blur into irrelevance. (Alisdair Grice) LISTEN: ‘Der Rhythmus Der Maschinen’

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“This photo shows the Lazarus Kane extended family. It was taken on the decking outside Studio Bort. We had just finished the outro to ‘Whole Foods’ - my fave song on the EP. I drank seven cans of Guinness in about 12 minutes and kissed Bernard on the lips all evening long.”

“It’s important after music making in summer that a band find time for some R&R. A gaggle of Soleros, one Watermelon Hot Rod and a loyal Fruit Pastille! After all is said and done, eating ice creams with friends is what life is all about.”

Photos: Seren Carys.

FLOSSING

Coming Up

Queen of the Mall (Brace Yourself)

PARQUET COURTS SYMPATHY FOR LIFE The New Yorkers’ seventh was apparently inspired by indie-rock’s previous forays into dance music.

It’s out 22nd October.

JOY CROOKES - SKIN The Londoner’s debut full-length, “an autobiographical body of work,” arrives on 15th October.

MATT MALTESE GOOD MORNING, IT’S NOW TOMORROW Doja Cat’s new favourite sentimental singersongwriter releases Album Three on 8th October.

SPECTOR - NOW OR WHENEVER The Londoners’ third, and first studio album in six years, is released 1st October.

Much like her other outfit The Wants, there’s an icy new wave heart to much of Flossing - the solo project of New York’s Heather Elle - that feels out of step with 2021. Full of hard beats and uncompromising metallic crunches, it takes your ears a couple of plays through to relinquish to the cold, leather-clad underground lair that the singer is seemingly operating out of. But once you’re there, ‘Queen of the Mall’ offers a Jehnny Beth-like sense of harsh pleasure. Opener ‘Switch’ throbs along on an industrial bass pulse, its opening line - “I am both scared of and intrigued by the deviant nature of man” - immediately going for the jugular, whilst ‘TRAP’’s punishing drums are not for the faint hearted. Centre-point ‘Add To Cart’’s icy dancefloor strut doesn’t land quite as well as what comes either side, but overall Flossing’s debut is a bold and unapologetic one. (Lisa Wright) LISTEN: ‘TRAP’

WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS

Enjoy The View (Big Scary Monsters) We Were Promised Jetpacks have built a rep as purveyors of trustworthy indie-rock with a good slew of anthems and festival appearances at some of the UK’s best-loved events. And now, through the haze of the pandemic comes their fifth full-length – recorded between the beginning of it all last March and now, We Were Promised Jetpacks are still developing in keeping with the demands of an audience who’s always been able to rely on them, even if it means setting aside the bangers for a bit. ‘Enjoy The View’ is a slice of escapism ready to transport you straight to a slightly new world than the carefree one We Were Promised Jetpacks have conjured up across their discography so far. The instrumentals are less head-on, giving way to subtleties that are new for WWPJ as intricate guitar lines meander alongside the vocal melodies, the touchpoint with the rest of the band’s back catalogue.

The less dense sound swings between lightening the tone and turning it far more melancholy, an apt balance between the year we’ve just had and the uplift we’re in need of - but we’re left after just a little more. (Ims Taylor) LISTEN: ‘Fat Chance’

LIZ LAWRENCE

PORIJ

If Liz Lawrence’s last record, 2019’s ‘Pity Party’ saw the singer-songwriter deemed still a patchy work-in-progress, then follow-up ‘The Avalanche’ at least shows she’s built on it (quite literally: the record was self-produced in a studio she constructed with her carpenter father). On one hand, Liz’s vocal is possessed of a sense of gravitas, its deep, occasionally breathy tones evoking something soothing about the whole endeavour, especially on ‘Violent Speed’, or the closing title track. On the flip side, however, the squishy synths, and sporadic, disjointed spoken-word vocal of ‘Babies’ (on the face of it, at least, an attempt at satirising days spent in lockdown) does quite the opposite and not in an altogether pleasing way.

It's just confusing. In short, second solo time around it’s still a mixed bag from Liz. (Louisa Dixon) LISTEN: ‘Violent Speed’

There’s a lightness of touch to Manchester quartet Porij’s latest EP the follow up to last year’s ‘Breakfast’ - that feels like the work of a band in complete control. Five tracks that dance between the lines of Everything Everything-esque alternative experimentalism and something altogether more indebted to the club, ‘Baby Face’ isn’t just exciting, it’s audibly excited: music made by people clearly having a hoot doing it, that shows all across the bloopy rave of ‘Can’t Stop’ or the airy falsetto and giddy synth of ‘Divine’. Though singer Eggy’s vocals are tentative at times, the opening bars of ‘Nobody Scared’ embracing them in a gentle calypso, the Foals-like mathy guitars of ‘Ego’ acting as a bolder foil, you can already hear the hallmarks of a distinctive sound all there. ‘Baby Face’ it might be, but Porij aren’t playing around.

(Lisa Wright) LISTEN: ‘Can’t Stop’

ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND

COLLEEN GREEN

The Avalanche (Second Breakfast)

Is It Light Where You Are

Baby Face (Oat Gang)

Cool (Hardly Art)

(Fiction)

The last time Colleen Green put Clocking in at an immersive 43 minutes, ‘Is It Light Where You Are’ is a wholly atmospheric synth-driven debut album doused in heartbreak.

Throughout its ten tracks, Polly Mackey - under her stage moniker Art School Girlfriend - sings in a low, drowsy vocal of grieving an ex-partner and feeling empty and alone in the wake of a breakup, all the while wondering if her ex feels the same as she asks, “Is there light where you are?” With more beat drops than chord changes, the accompanying instrumental is dark and gritty, Polly’s new wave and ‘90s shoegaze influences cutting through the cacophonous sonic soundscapes with razor-sharp precision. While progressing through the motions of heartbreak across the album, standout ‘Softer Side’ sees the singer toying with the feelings of becoming infatuated with someone you’ve projected an ideal onto, searching for something in them which was never there (relatable, much?). Bringing the album to a close, ‘Eyes On You’ with its lamenting vocals caps off ‘Is It Light Where You Are’ with a perfect new-found clarity. (Flo Stroud) LISTEN: ‘Softer Side’

a record out, she was facing up to turning thirty, and it showed. ‘I Want to Grow Up’ was an album that was superficially in the image she'd crafted on previous albums ‘Milo Goes to Compton’ and ‘Sock It to Me’ - sardonic lyricism, ironic detachment - but beneath the surface, there was genuine angst. What was she doing with her life? Where was all of this leading? Over the course of an extended lay-off - this is her first new album in six years - she seems to have found some answers. ‘Cool’ is a gorgeously breezy collection that drills down into life’s fundamentals on the upbeat, handsomely melodic likes of ‘Posi Vibes’ and ‘It’s Nice to Be Nice’. Opener ‘Someone Else’, meanwhile, might be the standout, pairing nineties college rock guitars with languid, almost conversational vocals that have Colleen letting go of constant self-comparison. Hints of her last album’s emotional tumult remain ‘Highway’ is a case in point - but in the main, ‘Cool’’s sharp pop unfolds with a satisfying lightness of touch. Colleen Green has always been cool. It’s just that she seems content now, too. (Joe Goggins) LISTEN: ‘Someone Else’

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IT’S YOUR ROUND

A big inter-band pub quiz of sorts, we’ll be grilling your faves one by one. now brought to you via zoom!

THIS MONTH:

BABY QUEEN

Where: Her flat, West London.

Drink: Water, Vitamin C and tea. Price: Free.

Specialist Subject: Pokémon

General Knowledge

Q1. What is the first Pokémon in Pokédex?

I think it’s Bulbasaur…

Correct.

YAAAAAY! Let’s fucking go!

Q6. Alektorophobia is the fear of what?

Being electrocuted?

No, it’s the fear of chickens.

What the fuck!

population - Paris or Berlin?

Berlin.

Correct, they’ve got 3.5 million while Paris has 2.2 million.

Q7. What was the most downloaded app of 2020?

It’s got to be TikTok. You’re right.

Q10. What was the biggest selling single in the UK last year?

Surely it would’ve been ‘Drivers License’

by Olivia Rodrigo?

It was actually ‘Blinding Lights’ by The Weeknd.

Oh. Maybe ‘Drivers License’ will be more of a this year thing.

‘Drivers License’ will be an every year thing…

Exactly!

Q2. What Pokémon type is Pikachu?

Electric.

Yes! Q3. What is Pokémon short for?

Whaaaat?! Oh, I have no idea. What’s the answer?

It’s short for pocket monster.

Oh my god, it is. Fuck me.

Q4. How many different types of Pokémon are there?

OK, let’s figure this out. Fire, water, ice, electric, fighting, water. Did we do water already? Hang on I’m going to make a list…

Give me one second.

OK I think that is it. I’ve got 15 but I think it’s wrong…

It’s 18.

Fuck!

Q5. What are the names of Team Rocket?

Jessie and James!

Yes. Let’s gooooo.

Q8. What country won the most gold medals at the Olympics?

You never know where to go with these…

America?

That’s right!

Q9. Which city has the greater

3/5

3/5 FINAL SCORE:

6/10

Verdict: “I am also hungover so my quiz result is by no means a reflection of my genius.”

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T I C K E T S AVA I L A B L E F R O M :

SEETICKETS.COM - GIGANTIC.COM - TICKETWEB.UK - TICKETMASTER.CO.UK 63

OUT NOW 64 DIYMAG.COM