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H er e c o m es th e n ex t wa ve ...

VA N T B la c k T he Big Moon

Sp r i n g K in g H o n ey

Sh u ra

I N H E AV E N

Honne + lo a d s

mor e

THIS MONTH,

THIS MONTH...

WE’VE BEEN

U P D AT E

M O S T LY

04. THE CRIBS 0 7. P U L L E D A P A R T B Y HORSES 08. BROODS 10. BA N G E RS 12. BLINK-182 14. THE GUIDE

LISTENING TO... Wild Beasts - Boy King Beasts by name, sexy by nature.

Tegan & Sara Love You To Death Basically perfect.

HYPE 1 6 . L E T ’ S E AT GRANDMA 18. DECLAN MCKENNA 1 9. W E AV E S

Little Mix - Get

F E AT U R E S

Weird

20. 25. 26. 2 7. 28. 30.

We love t’Mix. If you want to disagree, we’ll see you outside.

SPRING KING THE BIG MOON DIET CIG CREEPER SHURA B L AC K H O N EY

30. 31. 32. 32. 33. 34. 36. 36. 3 7. 38. 3 9.

T H E M AG I C GA N G MILK TEETH I N H E AV E N FRANCES VA N T HONNE MUNCIE GIRLS C AT H O L I C A C T I O N FICKLE FRIENDS B E AC H BA BY B L A E N AV O N

REVI E WS 4 0. 41. 41. 41. 42. 43. 44.

SPRING KING SHURA T H E G R E AT E S C A P E BLOOD ORANG E METRONOMY B AT F O R L A S H E S K R I S T I N KO N T R O L

20 QUESTIONS WITH... 46. OSCA R

DORK readdork.com

Editor: Stephen Ackroyd stephen@readdork.com Deputy Editor: Victoria Sinden viki@readdork.com Assistant Editor: Ali Shutler ali@readdork.com

Contributors: Corinne Cumming, Heather McDaid, Jamie Muir, Jessica Goodman, Josh Williams, Martyn Young, Phoebe Fox, Sam Taylor, Sammie Maine, Sarah Louise Bennett, Steven Loftin, Tom Hancock 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 The Bunker Publishing Ltd. 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 The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Dork or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally. P U B L I S H E D F RO M

THE BUNKER W E LCO M E TOT H E B U N K E R.CO M

UPDATE

Coming Home

The Cribs are throwing the gig of the summer in their very own Leeds. Words: Jessica Goodman

ake three brothers, mix in six albums worth of success, add some celebrated supports, and sweeten with a just a dash of hero worship. The result? A night unlike any other. Curating their own mini-festival at Millennium Square in Leeds on 22nd July, The Cribs are gearing up for something truly great.

“I guess this is a bit of a childhood dream in some ways, to put on a big outdoor event in your hometown.” Gary Jarman enthuses. “It’s the sort of thing that you fantasised about when you were a kid, y’know?” Talking from their practice room in their hometown of Wakefield, the band couldn’t Thurston Moore be more excited “Thurston was a big influence on to have the city us when we were growing up in flooded with the the 90s. It’s a really great honour sounds of their to have someone like that on the favourite acts. bill. It’s almost like it completes the “Having a heavy circle for us.” band like Pulled Apart By Horses echo around the centre of Leeds, and having it so that anyone who’s in the town centre can hear somebody who’s a hero to us like Thurston Moore doing his Pulled Apart By Horses thing, it makes you omnipresent “We’re good friends. It’s good for in the city a headline band to have someone that day,” Gary on before them who really brings raves. “That’s it - the sort of band who are really something that’s going to try and kick your arse. It really exciting, makes you up your own game.” when you’re really bringing it to people.”

A ls o p la y in g .. .

WE c MENACE B EACH

Menace Beach “They’re just a great band - someone we think Cribs fans would be into as well. It’s a good way to try and turn people on to a band from their area they might not have seen before. The perfect start to the show.”

Terming the event their “Live Aid/Wembley 86/Reading 92/ Spike Island/ Knebworth”, there’s no doubting the sense of occasion as the date edges ever closer. “We put bands on that we really like so that you can get excited,”

they delight. “Having it outside in the summer, you can hang out and watch bands and have a few drinks and get

“This is a bit of a childhood dream.” in the frame of mind where you want to do your thing.” Bringing the music they make and the music they love to the people, for the people, the sense of celebration could not be stronger. “I’m not going to say that it’s been our white whale,” Gary chuckles, “but it’s been something that we’ve really been hoping to be able to put on for a long time.” Initially attempted last year, this “Cribs show to end all Cribs shows” has been a long time in the making. “We’ve been working on the show for months,” Gary recounts. “There’s been a lot of logistical preparations for this show that we wouldn’t normally do for a regular Cribs show. There have been a lot of hoops to jump through.” Now, with permissions granted from the city council, a line up firmly in place, and some exclusive merchandise designs in the works (“we’re going to get scarves and we’re going to get posters made!”), all that’s left to do is ready for the show itself. Despite the extensive groundwork behind the scenes to ensure the event is one to remember, the group are quick to denounce putting any more preparation into this performance than they would any other. “We’ve never wanted to feel that we put any more effort into a big show than we do a small show,” Gary asserts. “We try and see the show through one person’s eyes, rather than many people. We’ve always had the belief that whoever’s there is just an individual. It’s a personal experience for everyone.” Catering to the individual in a forum as large as this might seem like an impossible task, but their ability to connect with a crowd of 10,000 as resolutely as they can a crowd of 100 is part of what makes The Cribs so ardently adored. Inciting free-wheeling chaos and heartfelt sing alongs across a festival field as effortlessly they can in a basement venue, the Jarman trio

UPDATE sure, there is a sense of Mark not letting this Blink baby go down without a fight but can we just sit back and calm the fuck down? ‘Neighborhoods’ really wasn’t that bad you guys; it was actually pretty good. It’s refreshing to see a band that stays true to themselves and evolves without heading into the cliched electronic phase of their careers (hiya Busted).

T his is

HAPPENING

Wild Beasts announce ‘Boy King’ Wild Beasts are set to release their new album ‘Boy King’ on 5th August. It’ll be followed by an autumn tour that includes two nights at London’s Roundhouse - find dates on readdork.com.

k, W h a t I t h in r ig h t .. .

The everlasting appeal of Blink-182

you’ve always wanted.

aka Why we should all be Preoccupations reveal self-titled album The artists formally known as Viet Cong, Preoccupations, have revealed plans for their debut album under their new name. The self-titled effort is due on 16th September.

Låpsley and more join Reading & Leeds A new batch of names has been announced for Reading & Leeds (26th-28th August), including Låpsley, Whitney, Fickle Friends, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Palace, Will Joseph Cook, Deaf Havana and Arcane Roots.

Spring King plot October tour Dork cover stars Spring King have planned a headline tour for October, in support of debut album ‘Tell Me If You Like To’. The run culminates with a show at London’s Koko. Visit readdork.com for dates.

excited about ‘California’, aka Stop moaning about Tom. Words: Sammy Maine.

his month, Blink-oneeadie-twoah will release their seventh studio album. Their seventh. ‘California’ is the epitome of a band unafraid to go down without a fight; the one still shouting for their pals to join them for a shot at 4am. And you’ve got to admire that. First taste ‘Bored to Death’ was way better than any of us had expected, igniting a sense of hope for a new era, an era – cover your ears – without Tom. Blink-182 didn’t get here by just singing about blow jobs and poop the whole time. They know how to write a hook y’know? They know how to make the foreverteenager in you feel validated. And that’s a good thing. You see, Blink-182 have fundamentally

never been cool. “We’ve always existed out of that [cool] reality,” Mark said in a 2010 interview. I truly believe that no one ever feels like they fit in and Blink-182 are the band that whisper “hey it’s okay that you fucked that up” and then tell a fart joke to make you feel better. I don’t want to deter from their creativity though. A band that has both ‘Stay Together for the Kids’ and ‘Fuck A Dog’ on the same album deserves a standing ovation. You see, Blink-182 are pretty average musicians – okay, I’ll give you Travis – but the band as a whole, their package, their output, their entire thing shows three dudes who learnt a few chords writing some of the best pop songs of the past, woah, wait a minute, 20 years? Damn. They’re proof that if you work really hard at something, you may just get that cameo in American Pie that

Perhaps the first glimpse of a “grown-up” Blink-182 was their self-titled record from 2003. It saw a band refine their sound, moving away from producing a couple of hit singles to producing an album as a whole. Granted, it was one of their most successful in terms of hit singles but listen to that album from start to finish and that’s a band who’s telling a story, unafraid to take creative risks. And hello! They got Robert Smith on it. If that’s not endorsement of a good fuckin’ album then I don’t know what is. Just like any band who’s been around for 20ish years, there are of course, the eternal cries of “they were better before” and

And that leaves us here: the first Blink-182 album without Tom. Gasp! I know I’ve pretty much brushed over what this means for the band but can we set aside our butthurtedness for just a sec and stop covering ‘Bored to Death’ with Tom vocals. Seriously, this album isn’t about him. If we don’t stop prodding Blink-182 with our internet fingers of ‘where’s Tom tho’, this record doesn’t stand a chance. ‘California’ is a step in a refreshing, unknown direction that needs its own platform. It’s an album that is both for the fans and also, not for them at all – it’s proof that if a band really want to keep going, they can do it whichever way they want. And hey! If you really can’t get over the whole Tom thing, you don’t have to listen to it. It’s okay, they’ll understand (and not care, no matter how many YouTube comments you leave). If we can treat ‘California’ as its own thing then I guarantee that we – and Blink-182 – will be all the better for it. P

“ S a y it

a in’t s o .. .”

HACKED! Tame Impala start posting bomb threats, but the hacker was only trying to help, ok?

A cheeky Canadian hacked his way into a number of musician’s Twitter accounts recently, including Tame Impala and Bon Iver. But he was only trying to help. “At first I did this for fun, but I never wanted to do this to ruin people’s careers,” the hacker said. “I’m just doing it to prevent that from ever happening in case someone who knows how to do it comes along and possibly does some damage. “ And the bomb threats Tame Impala tweeted while hacked? That was just ‘a friend’. Honest.

“G

”

Ray BLK - My Hood

Alicia Keys - In Common

Ray is so talented. I grew up with her in this hood she sings about (Catford, SE6!). So sick to see her doing her thing and making bangers while at it.

The Afrobeats vibes and lyrics and everything on this is too sick!

Janet Jackson - Empty Honestly one of the most forward thinking pieces of music ever. And Velvet Rope!

Becky Hill & Little Simz Back to My Love Two of my favourite women in music together on a track couldn’t ask for more really!

Yuna - Lanes I love a tune with fun chords and vocals that just sit right in the mix. I heard this song on the radio and my ears instantly pricked up.

Jorja Smith - Blue Lights

INOJ - Love You Down I love the Miami bass elements in this tune and also the juxtaposition of the sad tune with a dance beat.

SG Lewis - Yours This is incredible. Raye is singing on the song but it’s pitched down to sound cool and edgy and it worked; I love it!

from the When bands bugger off on tour we worry about them. Are they eating okay? Has anyone gone missing? They’re not having too many fizzy drinks, are they? To put our minds to rest, we’re insisting they check in and keep us updated from the road. This month: Big Deal.

One of my favourite dance tunes from ‘Dreamland’, my favourite dance album of the 90s. Martha Wash is queen.

Such a talented young girl with a beautiful voice and an amazing spirit.

Postcards frontline

Black Box - Everybody Everybody

dvsn - Too Deep

S GER B A N OY ! AH all sic, we love mu ic, you use of this, in s u m e “I lov beca le ‘At sic! So ew sing love mu on with my n )’, I’ve made u ti c o Y n t re bou conju Think A y ears a Night (I of the stuff m the ‘At Night t ll s a li c y I a pla now g right enjoyin ylist.“ la p ’ z Jam

One of my favourite songs in a while. I loved the 90s R&B choir of vocals around it with this really sensual lead male vocal almost being the conductor of the song. MNEK’s single ‘At Night (I Think About You)’ is out now.

They write... “Dearest Dork, Today we arrived in Edinburgh, which it turns out you say like “Bra”. Like, “Come at me, Edinbra!” Tonight we play at Pete’s, who is sneaky. Really sneaky. Anyway, this hairy cow needs a haircut. And a job. Miss you lots, xx KC” You’ll also notice a nice drawing too. It’s of Sneaky Pete. Obv. “Apparently Sneaky Pete is a cheeky bottle in a paper bag. Who knew?” So there we go. Big Deal’s ace new album ‘Say Yes’ is out now.

MNEK’s At Night Jamz Grammy-nominated MNEK takes time out from working with some of pop’s biggest super stars (Beyonce? Craig David? LITTLE MIX?!!) to curate a playlist of his favourite jamz. You can hear it in full at readdork.com now.

‘FYI’

There’s a new album from Moose Blood out in August called ‘Blush’ and it’s Really Very Good. Thought you should know. Okay, ta. 13

HYPE ESSE NTI AL NEW BANDS

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Let’s Eat Grandma: a place where things may not be quite as they seem.

Words: Jessica Goodman.

eleasing a debut album before they’re old enough to legally buy a pint, the two musicians that make up Let’s Eat Grandma are well ahead of the game, and it’s one they’re playing to nobody’s rules but their own. Switching from haunting vocal harmonies to gritty rap breakdowns, incorporating recorder solos and pop hooks played on glockenspiel, their approach is at once characteristically unconventional and completely enthralling.

Let’s Eat Grandma 16

17 year old Jenny Hollingworth and 16 year old Rosa Walton have been best friends since they were 4 years old. Growing up together, the pair have developed a kinship as strong as any fraternal bond. In fact, the two seem to exist on a wavelength of their own. Dipping in and out of each others sentences, drifting off on tangents that only they understand, and referring to each other in the third person rather than make direct comments about themselves, it’s as if they’re on a plane of existence that no one else can quite reach. “I think quite a lot of the songs have references to food,” Jenny exclaims, matter of factly. “I think that’s because

we were both really into cooking at the time. We used to make up recipes,” Rosa adds, with a smirk. “We’d do things like we’d put them in the microwave then we’d put them in the oven and then we’d put them in the freezer,” Jenny laughs. “Obviously it didn’t work.”

women are abuzz with excitement – which comes as no surprise considering the hype that’s surrounding them at the moment. Not that either of them are phased by the sudden attention. They barely seem to notice it, happy to continue indulging in their favourite project together.

Establishing that a stint on The Great British Bake Off wasn’t likely to be in their future, Jenny and Rosa turned to music. Much like their affinity for cooking, they describe their band as “just one of those projects” they created for themselves to pass the time. Sure, their approach to song writing might be just as off the wall as their approach to baking, but the results are entirely more gratifying. With debut album ‘I, Gemini’, the pair are quick to celebrate how this project “kind of expanded.”

Though the recognition may be sudden, the two friends have been making music together for years. “We wrote the album when we were thirteen or fourteen,” Jenny conveys, “so it’s almost like our lives as kids back then. It’s like a time capsule!” Making music that’s showered with references to fairy tales and fantasy, featuring child-like chants alongside raucously juvenile outbursts, and demonstrating the often erratic trains of thought that adolescent minds race with, the duo are quick to attribute a lot of their sound to what they felt like when they were kids.

Announcing they’d signed to Transgressive in February, Let’s Eat Grandma recorded their debut in the former nuclear bunker that now homes Old School Studios. “It was absolutely surreal,” the duo squeal, scrambling to describe the eerie encounters that happened there. “I felt this cold thing rushing through me, and then I felt myself floating above my own body, and I could look down onto myself…” they trail off, muttering to each other. “I was so freaked out.” Now, with their debut album in tow, Let’s Eat Grandma are ready for whatever may happen next. Sat next to the markets in their hometown of Norwich, the two young

“It gets a bit boring when you listen to an album and every track is the same genre,” Jenny shrugs. Their solution? Play every genre at once. “We’re a bit into

“Quite a lot of the songs have references

“We’re the sort of people who when we listen to music we both see things,” the pair assert. “We associate all music with images. It’s kind of a bit of a synaesthesia thing. We hear music and we associate it with this imagery.” Beginning to label each day of the week with a different colour (“Monday is red!”), the two are once again in their own world.

It’s a world they’re very much at home in. Though everyone else can only glimpse it through their music, the two-piece are eager to speculate what it would be like to really live there. “Well, there wouldn’t be any men in it,” they laugh. “It would be a feminist world. Everybody would be treated equally.” Giggling between themselves as they list what they’d furnish a world of their own with (“apple trees!”), Jenny and Rosa are back on their own plane of existence. It’s an unbreakable bond the pair share. Hidden behind identical hair styles, loosing themselves in the shadowy music they make,

am “ S o d re

to food…”

Pausing to let their words sink in, the duo experience a certain amount of glee in keeping the rest of the world questioning. Is anything they say real? Who knows! From the songs written in childhood through to their identical image, this whole band could be one huge inside joke. With a debut as compelling as ‘I, Gemini,’ long may the laughs keep on coming. P

y”

Dream Wife

On the grapevine Black Honey reveal live video for ‘All My Pride’ Snarling dreamers Black Honey have proven just why they may be the coolest band going, with a smacking live video of ‘All My Pride’. Watch on readdork.com.

Crows reveal UK there’s a mystery and a peculiarity in everything Let’s Eat Grandma do – and that’s part of the fun. “We quite like to create the preconceptions ourselves,” the pair earnestly agree. “By the way you behave, the things you say and the things you do, you can manipulate how people perceive you,” Jenny cautiously explains. “For example, if we said something in this interview, that would get out. Then other journalists might read the interview and write about it…”

tour details One of the most brutal live acts of recent times, Crows have announced their biggest UK tour to date - find details on readdork.com. They follow debut EP ‘Unwelcome Light’, which was released earlier this year.

Joel from Wolf Alice has remixed Let’s Eat Grandma Joel Amey from Wolf Alice has remixed Let’s Eat Grandma’s ‘Eat Shiitake Mushrooms’. “Let’s Eat Grandma are my kind of band,” Joel reveals. “Weird in the most wonderful way. They exist in their own league, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.” Listen on readdork.com.

LANY

P H OTO : P H O E B E FOX

C h e c k o u t .. FISH

“When you’re that age you have really vivid imaginations,” Jenny illustrates. And “vivid” is exactly what their music is. Emanating from the space between consciousness and dreams, ‘I, Gemini’ is an innate nature given form. Dark in places, euphoric in others, and at all times playful, the record carries itself with all the energy and intensity of barely teenage minds gone wild.

everything,” the pair chuckle. Switching from harmonica melodies to saxophone solos in anyone else’s hands could be a complete train wreck, but Let’s Eat Grandma manage to craft their mayhem into magic.

The Parrots announce debut album With their music in short supply online, seeing FISH live is the only way to truly experience their intensely evocative melodic grunge. Luckily for you, the Camden four-piece embark on their first headline tour this month. Oh, and they’ve already supported Wolf Alice.

With the confident strut of The Runaways and the scuffed beauty of The Clash, Dream Wife are the sucker-punch punk trio we’ve been waiting for. Latest EP ‘EPO1’ is a brash and infectious introduction, one that’ll cause riots at their run of UK dates with Black Honey later this year.

LANY may be the perfect evening companion. The LA trio’s potent pop-noir has been grabbing attention for a while now. From a dodgy Dell computer in a bedroom to 12 million Spotify plays and a support run around UK arenas with Ellie Goulding, LANY can definitely be our friends.

Madrid band The Parrots have announced details of their debut album. ‘Los Niños Sin Miedo’ is due on 26th August through Heavenly Recordings, preceded by the track ‘Jame Gumb’.

H ey !

Hey!

Come

ou t

ton i g ht

( A lr ig h t !)

We live in glorious times. Brill, exciting, special bands and artists are cropping

From the minute Spring King found themselves as

up around the

the first band played on ‘a

planet. Over the

thingy’, they’ve been

next few pages we’ll introduce you to some of our faves. Down with boring.

certain online radio heading for the big time. Now, with their debut album out, they’re aiming even higher. Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.

Sp r i n g Wa t c h

Unsprung

ome people just have a way with words. Since the release of single ‘Mumma’ at the start of 2014, Spring King have been publicly toying with their diction, quickly becoming a voice of sanity, comfort and excitement. There’s a reason why when Apple Music’s online radio station Beats 1 launched, they used the band’s ‘City’ as an introduction. There’s a reason why their new home of Island Records didn’t change a single thing about their debut album before releasing it. And there’s a reason why they’re on the cover of the very first Dork. Spring King know their voice, so listen up. “We just want to smash it, basically,” starts Tarek Musa on a rare day off from tour. It’s the start of a long summer of festivals and the band are just finishing off a headline run that’s been “a real eye-opener. We played Guildford last night and it was just non-stop circle pits and people going wild. I just wasn’t expecting it. None of us were.” Visiting cities they’ve never been, let alone played a show in, Pete Darlington, Andy Morton, James Green and Tarek are finding it all a bit crazy. “It’s just nonstop at the moment,” grins Tarek, with Pete adding: “It’s slowly dawning on us that people are hearing our music, which is great.” With the release of album ‘Tell Me If You Like To’, it’s an idea Spring King are going to have to get used to. And fast. Full of character and sure of itself, the debut full-length from Springers is an exercise in conviction. Taking the scrappy energy and hunger from their two EPs (2014’s ‘Demons’ and 2015’s ‘They’re Coming After You’) onto a bigger stage and cutting it with an assertive direction, the record captures a band who know what they want.

l l a s i d n a “This b g n i m a e r about sc ” . o g g n i t t and le 22

As with all the best stories though, it wasn’t always that way. Starting off as a solo project that wasn’t going to leave the studio, Tarek “never wanted to get a band together.” However, once he was a few tracks deep, Pete heard them and thought otherwise. “I forced him to. They were that good.” What followed was a revolving line up until they poached their childhood friend Andy from another band and found James through a Facebook request for a bass player. “He didn’t even play bass but he responded, he came to our first rehearsal and was really into it. Now we’re solid as hell.” The group has always had a belief in Spring King. “When I heard those first demos, straight away I thought that this was going to be a good band,” explains Pete. “I hate watching videos of us playing, but I

was watching old videos of us and even two and a half years ago, we were really taking it quite seriously.” There was a sense that “this can go places”, and the band put everything into making it work. Plus a little extra. Supporting Courtney Barnett on tour at the start of last year, Tarek came down with a chest infection but refused to quit. “We still had to play because it was such a great opportunity,” he explains. “We were all getting really sick because we were in my mum’s car. We borrowed her car, we could barely fit any of the equipment in and we’d just hope that the other bands there would lend us their drums. There was a genuine fear.” Upgrading to a hired van a few months later for a more expansive run supporting Slaves and Spector, because it was the only way to make it work, the band swapped health concerns for money ones. “We took the financial hit. We had to if we were going to carry on and keep going. It’s better to keep going and get in debt than it is to just stop and turn down a really amazing opportunity, because you can cover it somehow. In the past we’ve all had jobs or I had a credit card that we would slam a lot of costs onto. We found our way. Deal with the struggle, the backlash and the financial burden later.” That gruelling trial quickly forged Spring King’s conviction into something permanent and tangible. Ignoring the growing sea of eyes watching them, the band went into the record with one goal in mind. “I try and ignore the pressure because I think it would be debilitating for me. I would freeze like a rabbit in headlights. I know there is an expectation but I think, as long as we’re happy with it, that’s all that matters.” It’s why their eclectic debut album manages to be so cohesive. “When we started making the record it’s the first time that, for me, I really knew what this band was,” admits Pete. “It was the first time I really knew what we were trying to do, because in the past there’s been quite a lot of experimentation.” The band may have started with songs like ‘Avocado City’, full of strange drum grooves, and the left-field ‘Sticks’, but they’ve slowly “turned into this slightly different thing. With the record we’ve

finally captured what we wanted to do. It just took us a little while to get there.” Not only did ‘Tell Me If You Like To’ see the band lock down their intentions, it also saw them leaving their home studio (a converted bathroom in Tarek’s home) for something a little more professional. Spring King had three weeks to record their debut album because that’s all they could afford. Going into the Chapel Studios at the tail end of last year with a bunch of songs ready to go, the band quickly found inspiration from their new-found surroundings and started writing other songs. “Those took precedent over the songs we thought we were going to put on the album. It was a bit unexpected,” which has led to “a few unexpected numbers on the album.” Together with a year’s worth of demos, committed to an iPhone and left to simmer, the band set about systematically compiling ‘Tell Me If You Like To’. “It’s a quick process, we try and not spend too much time perfecting each part.” Working bit-by-bit from the ground up as the band juggled day jobs, Spring King recorded everything in two or three takes and in a deliberate order. “Financially, recording in a studio was a big thing. We got a grant for a couple of grand from the PRS for Music Foundations and we knew this was our only shot with money. We had to make the most of the time.” While some bands have the funds to take their time and experiment, Spring King simply didn’t. Coming off one tour, playing a show with Mac DeMarco and then heading into the studio, the band had these few weeks to get it done, before giving themselves a single day off and then heading back out for two months of solid touring. “Oh god, that was insane,” says Pete, looking back. “We’re idiots.” “Whenever I hear that album or I look at pictures we took from the sessions, I’ll always remember it for what it was and that’s great. The nI “Ca t h e next album will probably r ow ? ” r o b 8 be different. And the one rt m shi

after that will be different as well. For me, I always want to keep it as cheap as possible but as good as it can be,” says Tarek, relishing a challenge. “When you’ve got limitations, you always do weird things to try and get that sound you want. I’m used to that. Of course you have to try out different things, but you’ve got to commit. You have to say ‘Yeah, we’re going this way.’” True to their word, the band controlled the sessions and even turned one of the upstairs rooms of the residential studio into a place to record. Why? Because it’s where they felt comfortable. “But you’ve

“There’s still a lot of old material. There are a lot of songs that never made the album that are great tracks, that we’ll probably put out at some point. Just do some specials, maybe for some shows. If you come to a show, there’s vinyl on sale that you can only get at the show, stuff like that. We don’t have these crazy strategies, there are no rules which is interesting for a major because I thought there’d be loads of rules. Put out whatever we want. It might fail.”

“ Yr b e tte r o ff w it h Osca r on p age 46 t b h .”

got £50,000 worth of mics downstairs?” came the confused cry of the studio’s owner. It was met with little more than a shrug from the band. Spring King do what they want, and they do it well. “That sense of conviction is important, especially in bands,” grins James. “The best bands have always just given so much and that sense of conviction, they almost force you to believe in what they’re doing and proper grab you by the haunches. I like that. I like that about the record. Really aggressive vocal takes and cut up guitar sounds.” “I like to think it’ll inspire them to want to do music themselves,” suggests Andy of the album’s impact, while Tarek expands: “I want people to read the lyrics and, if they go away thinking ‘I’m not the only one who thinks like that’, then that’s brilliant. A lot of the record is about exploring the self. There’s a lot of coming of age, figuring out what you want to be and what you want to do with your life. When I was 16, I was so uncertain of myself and I wanted to write something that basically says it’s alright. You can be whatever you want to be. I want people to go away and think I’m not alone in having these kind of anxieties. But also, I want them to thrash about to it in their bedroom. Put it up to ten.” That realisation of finding your voice is something the band know well. Tarek was brought up on a diet of Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison, Pete was exposed to jazz from an early age and subsequently rebelled, finding solace in Nirvana and a cassette Tarek gave him on the first day of secondary school with NOFX on one side and At The Drive-In on the other - “I remember going home, putting it on and my mind was literally blown. Ever since then, music’s been pretty much everything,” he says. James, on the other hand, started learning piano at the age of six and fell asleep every night with his dad blaring old punk records downstairs before (begrudgingly, at first) finding the likes of Pavement, American Football and The Avalanches through friends at school. And for Andy, the blame falls entirely on Pete and Tarek. “I wouldn’t have played any tunes if it wasn’t for those two. One day Pete asked me to join the first band they were in, just play some rhythm

Hey, Honne! Sit down. Books out.

Words: Martyn Young.

Honne are here to teach us a lesson.

ands can be difficult beasts: sometimes, the fewer people involved the stronger the foundation on which the whole process is built. For London soul pop duo Honne, this is true. Theirs is a relationship based on a close partnership that’s made them one of UK pop’s most exciting, fresh talents. Perhaps the secret to producer James Hatcher and producer/singer Andy Clutterbuck’s burgeoning success has been the strength of their personal and musical bond: one that was formed long before Honne started making waves with their intimate soul pop charms. “We met seven years ago so it’s quite a while,” begins Andy. “We were at uni and James was the first person I met and vice-versa. We started writing songs pretty quickly after that. Obviously, it was just a bit of fun and nothing really serious. “As time went on, we spent the years just learning how to do things, like production and getting better at songwriting. I think there became a point in time where we thought we wanted to do music, why don’t we actually try it and take it a bit more seriously and see if we can make something of it?” In terms of their early desire to simply write music and make it into some sort of career, the duo have wildly

exceeded their expectations. There is a tantalising buzz around Honne that has been present since their first EP releases in 2014, ahead of debut album ‘Warm On A Cold Night’. “The idea was always to let it grow organically, slowly and steadily,” says Andy. “Before we put out our first songs, we already had about 15 of them. So I guess that took off a lot of the pressure. We had a lot of songs ready for the first couple of EPs. That gave us time in between when we were releasing and gigging so we were just writing all the time. The album was not a rushed process.” Like any successful duo, Honne are built around two distinct, yet similar characters. Both musicians work in the same fashion. “We both have a set up in our own houses,” explains Andy. “We live very close to each other and we’ve got identical studio set ups. It’s modest but it does the trick. That allows us to each be working on something.” With both members so close, it allows Honne to experiment in ways that perhaps other bands may find more difficult. “Being in a band is a lot of fun and there’s more people to bounce off, but I think it can be quite a big hindrance,” says James. “Obviously there are a lot of successful bands out there, but in our experience trying to get ideas past four people rather than one other person is difficult and it wears you down.” “When Andy and I are really on

the same page with things we like, in terms of music, visually and artistically it’s just so much easier,” adds James. “If we disagree we know each other well enough to talk it through and not want to kill each other.” Fortunately that level headedness has not only resulted in no fatalities, it’s also allowed them to resolutely focus on developing their sound as Honne and honing it to find tuned perfection on their debut album. Perhaps their background as teachers, James as a guitar teacher and Andy as a music technician, helped to instil that working discipline within them. “It does give you patience,” says Andy. “It gave us time to write music without having to worry about money all the time. It does help in being organised. It makes you not lazy and not be the person who gets up at 11 in the morning. That gives you more time to write music and get on with stuff.” The downtime involved in their favourable working hours also allowed Honne to develop - and the unreliability of those pesky kids helped as well. “Some of our tracks were written at school when kids didn’t turn up,” laughs James. “I wrote the chords and rhythm to ‘All In The Value’ on guitar when a kid in Peckham didn’t turn up. We’re gonna give that kid a writing royalty!” The after school working pattern also established the album’s main theme and sound: the beauty and

stillness of the night. “We wanted it to be nocturnal. The two main themes are built around the night-time and romance,” says Andy. You can hear that dark, evocative city vibe in the album’s deep soul songs and warm atmospherics. It’s a wonderfully lucid collection of songs that sees the duo forgo production tricks and gimmicks. “Like all the soul music that we love,” begins James. “Our goal with Honne was to always be able to strip everything back to basics, just piano and voice and for it still to be a great song. Hopefully we have achieved that.” Throughout Honne’s work and on their debut album there’s a wide eyed charm and naivety to them that makes them instantly relatable. As Andy explains, Honne are two guys that have came from a normal background and are now striving to achieve something extraordinary: “There’s a song on the album called ‘One at a time please’. James and I both grew up in the countryside and we’re both from the south west of England. That song is about us, these two guys from a small town, trying not to be affected by what can happen to you when you become successful in the city.” “I think we’re really proud of that collection of songs and how they work together,” concludes James. “They all sound like Honne. The album means a lot to us.” P Honne’s debut album ’Warm On A Cold Night’ is out 22nd July.

’m t h e “ Ra r g h ! I nster!” o m y e n Hon

“Some of our tracks o. “Mate. N op.” Please st

were written at school when kids didn’t turn up.”

REVIEWS

P H OTO : SA R A H LO U I S E B E N N ET T

NEW E YR IT OUR FAV N D ! BA

Spring King

Tell Me If You Like To eeeee

Do you wanna be in our gang?

n 2016, we’ve got a lot to be thankful for when it comes to our ‘modern’ music scene. Everything on demand, more new acts and fresh meat than we know what to do with, an endless supply of bite-sized tracks to consume or throw away. Any preference or niche concern can be catered for and brought together with a tap of a touch-screen. It’s an exciting digital party bus full of opportunity and wonder. But amongst all this never ending train of sound, it’s easy to miss a vital ingredient. When everything moves so fast - each opinion dragged down to a black or white, amazing or awful choice, judgements made on the basis of a single track time after time - sometimes we lose the greatest joy of all. The magic of a band. Because really, if we think the reason we fall in love with music is all about the sounds, we’re kidding ourselves. Being a fan is more than that. It’s personality, belonging, something to believe in. An

indescribable connection that makes us root for the underdog, elevating strangers on a stage to surrogate mates we’ve never met, weird in-jokes and all. More than most of their peers, Spring King are that kind of band. Like the very best of them, there’s an infectious energy that radiates from leader Tarek Musa, saturating ‘Tell Me If You Like To’ with the kind of sugar-rush lovability that only the really special ones possess. From the word go, it’s obvious. When Zane Lowe plucked them out of the relative left-field as the first band to be played on Apple’s Beats 1 station, there was a damn good reason. Opener ‘City’ doesn’t just kick the door down, it levels the whole block. Both massive and claustrophobically intense, it’s a pocket rocket screaming with frenzied excitement. Get up, we’re here, this is happening. From there, it’s all going off. From ‘Detroit’ through to ‘Who Are You?’, the flurry of light-speed punches come in thick and fast. Where others would over-think, Spring King are all about the immediate. To release a gigantic indie album as a debut has long since ceased to be a safe move - in fact, it could well be one of the riskiest on the table - but

this is a band who know exactly what they are. To pretend anything else simply wouldn’t work. It’s that steelyeyed confidence which makes being recruited to their gang so damn alluring. Twenty years ago, after a youthful debut full of wide-eyed pep and vigour, Supergrass began to tag themselves as ‘everyone’s second favourite band’. Spring King already have that one nailed - in fact, there’s every chance they’ll go one better. Across ten tracks there’s barely a moment - never mind a whole song - that doesn’t demand to be chanted back. ‘Demons’, ‘Rectifier’, ‘The Summer’; there are more stand-outs than not. ‘Tell Me If You Like To’ is a raw, exposed, sadistic nerve demanding overstimulation. Neither brains nor brawn lead its thoughts, every move made on raw instinct. There’s no awkward first steps. Like every band worth a damn, it’s a debut statement. They’ll earn those fence sitting, guardedly positive write ups from the tired establishment who don’t quite remember what it’s all about, but they’ll catch on eventually. This is Spring King. Are you in? Stephen Ackroyd

‘Tell Me If You Like To’ Tracklist: ‘City’ ‘Detroit’ ‘Who Are You?’ ‘It’s So Dark’ ‘Take Me Away’ ‘Demons’ ‘Rectifier’ ‘Tell Me If You Like To’ ‘The Summer’ ‘Heaven’

The Best 5 Bands From

The wait is over.

Shura

Nothing’s Real eeee

The Great Escape 2016 Brighton eeee Milk Teeth Milk Teeth are brilliant and somehow, they keep going from strength to strength.

FES

TIV

2 0 1A L S 6

Dilly Dally Dilly Dally are great at taking vitriol and making it shine. Throwing their all into every scratched vocal and snarling melody, tracks from ‘Sore’ are more powerful than ever.

P H OTO : SA R A H LO U I S E B E N N ET T

Diet Cig It doesn’t matter if it’s the back room of The Green Door Store as the sun sets outside or a basement in the early hours of the morning, Diet Cig are always a whole bunch of fun. Infectious and inescapable, they’re the perfect cure for the blues.

t’s been a few years since Shura made her big mark with ‘Touch’, which to date has racked up over 26 million Youtube views. It set tongues wagging back then: when would there be more? When would there be an album? Well, she took a step back, did the work, and now we the world has an answer in the form of ‘Nothing’s Real’. Well-versed ‘Touch’ and ‘2Shy’ make the cut for her full length debut, a dreamlike haze of a pop album that takes you through the inner tracks of her mind, with relationships and love taking the fore. ‘What’s It Gonna Be’ bounces sweetly in a tale of confusion over feelings, where ‘Kidz & Stuff’ cuts to the core of a break-up story, the pain that comes with picturing one life with someone and it not going that way. Title-track ‘Nothing’s Real’ side-steps these themes with a funk-edge tackles experiences with panic attacks, the feeling that you’ll die versus being told that you’re a-okay and how it doesn’t match up. Some tracks can be fuzzy to separate the further you delve in, but all tread that line of being delightfully catchy and easy-listening all at once. “No, I’m no child but I don’t feel grown up,” Shura muses on ‘What Happened To Us’, taking the relatable and wrapping it up in a hazy package, so free flowing, but with lyrics that hook your own memories. It might have taken a year or two to get the answer once she made that first mark, but it’s an answer that was worth waiting for. Heather McDaid

Black Honey Last year Black Honey were still a mystery. A few great tracks and rumours aplenty, the shows felt like you were being let in on a huge secret via a side door. Following twelve months of heavy touring and their excellent ‘Headspin’ EP, the secret’s out. Black Honey are ace. And they don’t care who knows it.

Partybaby With a set full to the brim of joyful party-ragers, a fully-realised chemistry and a presence screaming out for bigger things, Partybaby aren’t a band just feeling things out. They know exactly what’s next and (with an album finished) we don’t wanna wait either.

A deeper level of brilliant.

ot content with just being one of the bestconnected men in pop, Dev Hynes is serious about establishing his own musical legacy. He struck gold with 2013’s second Blood Orange album ‘Cupid Deluxe’ but follow up ‘Freetown Sound’ is an altogether more expansive, intimate and personal work. The album is a record aware of its own importance. Hynes’ soul bearing, heart felt honesty gives the music a quality that’s both endearing and compelling. You want to hear what he’s got to say. The fact it’s set against

wonderfully luxurious soul and funk jams is a bonus. Dealing in big themes and big issues, Hynes appropriately steps up his game as a songwriter and lyricist, particularly on the deeply affecting ‘Hands Up’ and the inspiring ‘But You’.There might not be as many dance floor fillers or solid gold bangers here but this isn’t an album of quick thrills. Offering up everything about himself, this the first Blood Orange album that is essential listening. Martyn Young

Blood Orange Freetown Sound eeee

Yes. We know this isn’t how 20 questions really works, but STFU, OK? This month, Oscar runs the gauntlet of our random, stupid queries. 1. HELLO. HOW ARE YOU? Good. I’m in Toronto looking for Drake. 2. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO TODAY? Today I wondered around Queens Street West (the hip bit) looking at records (found my own), going through thrift stores to find stage outfits and buying cool socks for people I know! 3. TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF. I’m very empathetic, so much so when I was young I used to cry about stories I’d heard and worry about how waitresses would live if no one gave them tips. I once found an umbrella whilst I was out with my parents and my mum picked it up and I started crying and told her she had to put it back in-case it was someone’s favourite umbrella and they came back to look for it. She did. 4. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT BEING A MUSICIAN? Being able to express myself and have creative freedom with that. Singing and dancing for a living is a pretty good occupation don’t ya think? 5. WHAT SIZE SHOES DO YOU WEAR? I wear a size 11-12. I’m pretty sure my left foot is slightly bigger than the other though. 6. WHAT DID YOU LAST DREAM ABOUT? I dreamt about an Earthquake that happened in someone’s house in LA. I was saved from it by my tour manager telling me to lie underneath a table, but strange things were happening. Trains were ploughing through each corner of the building and the world was shaking like jelly. 7. YOU HAVE TO SUPPORT EITHER U2 OR RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS ON TOUR. WHO DO YOU PICK? Red Hot Chilli Peppers by MILES! My best friend growing up was obsessed

with them and I think it would be a teenage rite of passage to tour with them. They have some pretty wild stories!! And to hear ‘Under The Bridge’ played live every night would be dreamy. 8. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE SMELL? Freshly washed clothes. 9. WHAT’S THE BEST SONG YOU’VE WRITTEN OR PLAYED ON? Hard to say for myself. I do really like ‘Daffodil Days’. I have got songs that I’m really pleased with but they’re not out yet! 10. TEA OR COFFEE? Tea. The last time I drank coffee was in 2015. It was a flat white in Brixton Market, and shortly after that I went into TX Maxx and bought three scarves (that I’ve never worn) and lots of underwear. Coffee does weird things to me and so I can’t drink it. It’s like speed or something. 11. HOW MUCH SLEEP DO YOU NEED? Max 4-5 hours. I can operate on that (and often do). I find myself staying awake sometimes just because I’m bursting with creative energy. But I do love to sleep to. Pretty sure as a teenager I grew 6 inches in a year from all that sleep so I got my fill back then. 12. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BROKE? A pair of really nice Sennheiser headphones. They had this little microphone on them which I got such a great vocal sound from and they were actually my Mum’s. I felt really bad about that. I tweeted about it and then someone sent me free new ones! 13. WHAT’S THE BEST MUSIC FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD?

I’ve probably never been. People rave about Primavera. I’m not really a festival man. I love performing at them but when it comes to camping I feel a bit in over my head. Gimme a caravan any day. 14. WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? Complacency. 15. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE TYPE OF PIE? Lemon Meringue Pie has been my go to for a good few years now. Before that it would have been something ridiculously chocolatey. 16. WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT? Putting a record out! 17. WHO’S YOUR FAVOURITE NEW BAND? Frankie Cosmos. Her lyrics are so poetic and her melodies are so unique. 18. HAVE YOU EVER WON ANYTHING? Yes, when I was younger I won The North London Music Festival two years running. 19. WHICH STRENGTH NANDOS SAUCE DO YOU ORDER? LOVE THIS QUESTION! I’ve got some flack for it but I believe honesty is the best policy, and after sampling every sauce I stuck with ‘Lemon and Herb’. I feel that it compliments all the flavours much more and actually has a hidden more subtle kick. 20. HOW ‘PUNK’ ARE YOU OUT OF TEN? 8/10. My mum was and still is a punk and I have that engrained in me. I hate institutions and I really hate to be told what to do, and don’t do it anyway. I’ll never do it your way.

Q 20

“ Ta r e page k on 23 w as r ig h t ! T h is ja c k e t is far more m e .”

S N O I T U ES ar .. Osc with.

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