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Index Issue 53 | April 2021 | readdork.com | Down With Boring
Editor’s Letter It can feel a bit weird, at times, referring to an artist on their debut album as Capital Letters Important but there’s no denying that Marie Ulven is capable of touching the deep. dark, mushy stuff inside of her fans in a way few of her peers can. Even from a considerate, pandemic-appropriate distance, it’s plain to see she’s a musician that speaks on a whole different level to
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so many of her peers. Honest to a fault, but without ever being boring or a drag with it, as her debut album ‘if i could make it go quiet’ waits for the lights to go green, we’re delighted to have her back on the cover of Dork. In a month where the green shoots of new beginnings seem to finally be taking hold, she’s not the only one we’re delighted to have back in our pages, either.
A personal hello to Wolf Alice - maybe Dork’s most universally adored band. We’ve missed you. Nature might finally be healing after all.
Stephen
2Ø Hype 26
4Ø Features 56 Incoming
Ø8. The Snuts Come for the interview with the Scottish indie upstarts, leave with the desire to go see a giant owl shaped slide.
‘Editor’ @stephenackroyd
1Ø. For Those I Love Some albums are important, Dear Reader. For Those I Love’s debut is certainly one of them. An essential read for an essential listen.
4Ø.
girl in red
12. Do Nothing Do Nothing’s new EP is “about the inevitable feeling of being thrown onto a big pile of your own rubbish”. Alright lads. Bit close to the bone.
With her debut album ready to go, girl in red’s already stellar ascent may be about to hit hyperspace. Back on the cover of Dork for the second time, she’s an artist potentially on the edge of something huge.
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46.
Alfie Templeman
Danny L Harle
We’ve all heard of music industry puppets, but this is ridiculous, Alf.
Important Influential Pop Bod? Sure. But where else will you read of his love of Madness?
52.
5Ø.
Dry Cleaning
Sorry
Their debut album ‘New Long Leg’ is a masterful record. Also, Flo is a sausage roll.
If Sorry really does seem to be the hardest word, this feature is going to be incredibly awkward to write, eh?
THE MAILBAG
Wall Art
14. Bull Bull’s opening statement ‘Discover Effortless Living’ is gearing up to be one of early-2021’s most charming indie debuts. 2Ø. ELIO Already setting off our up-and-coming top pop bopster alarms, ELIO is now wrangling in some killer names for the odd collab. Time to catch up, yeah? 24. CMAT Oh look. You can take your achingly cool upstarts with their carefully planned out aesthetics. CMAT understands the power of yee-haw, which is why she’s our new fave.
readdork.com Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden
Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young
Scribblers Abigail Firth, Alex Cabré, Blaise Radley, Ciaran Steward, Charlotte Croft, Connor Fenton, Edie McQueen, Finlay Holden, Jasleen Dhindsa, Jay Singh, Jamie MacMillan, Laura Freyaldenhoven, Melissa Darragh, Neive McCarthy, Phoebe De Angelis, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Adrian Vitelleschi Cook, Becca Hamel, Blackksocks, Esme Mai, Faolán Carey, @gazwilliamson, Jordan Hemingway, Kristen Jan Wong, Kristine Wathne, Patrick Gunning, Sam Hiscox, Sarah Doyle, Sarah Louise Bennett, Steve Gullick, Through The Eyes Of Ruby, Vasso Vu
PUBLISHED FROM WELCOMETOTHEBUNKER.COM
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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.
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE! Hedgehogs are disappearing from the UK, and one of the reasons is they can’t roam like they used to. Anyone with a garden, can you cut a little hedgehog hole in your fence, please?
Stuff we’ve been sent this month from ‘the stars’ (or their lovely publicity teams, but let’s pretend etc. etc.) ART!
You know, some artists are just classier than the rest. There’s no promotional stickers or tacky thing someone found on a merch website for Griff. No. There’s art! Art from her Tate Modern livestream. This is second only to a flashy gold disc nobody ever sends us.
PANTS!
Up-and-coming popster MUKI - about whom you’ll read a bit more on page 25 - has sent us these delightful pants, upon which is the name of her new song ‘I Make Boys Cry’. Which suggests she’s saying what is in our pants will make people upset. A bold move, MUKI.
KOMBUCHA!
nothing,nowhere. has been making kombucha. How very ‘hip’ and ‘happening’ of him, right? He’s sent Dork HQ a few bottles. Problem is, kombucha smells a bit vinegary, and we like cups of tea. We’ll be brave enough to try some soon, promise.
THE BEATING HEART OF POP.
ALFIE TEMPLEMAN: MASTER OF PUPPETS 4. DORK
FYI
STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS MONTH...
With a brand new minialbum ‘Forever Isn’t Long Enough’ on the way - his last big release before work on a debut album starts, Dork fave Alfie Templeman stands on the edge of something massive. Words: Jamie Muir. Photo: Blackksocks.
Rostam has announced details of his brand new album, ‘Changephobia’. Set for release on 4th June, it follows-up on debut album ‘Half-Light’ and features the previously released ‘These Kids We Knew’ and ‘Unfold You’, plus new track ‘4Runner’.
Y
our 18th birthday. Fair to say, it’s a pretty significant date in the diary - and it’s a landmark that has landed slap-bang in the middle of a huge time for one Alfie Templeman, the boywonder firmly in the fizzing whirlwind that comes from becoming a pretty big deal. With every day seemingly bringing something new for Alfie, it’s brought a clear-cut vision for what lies ahead. Even if he’s been laying out the blueprint for years now… “It’s crazy, but I’ve never been more anxious and nervous in my life.” It’s a chilly February morning, and Alfie’s latest banger, ‘Everybody’s Gonna Love Somebody’, has been out for less than a week as a new chapter begins. “Now that things have taken off, the last year of my life has just been in this constant fear of people not liking what I’m going to do next! I feel like there’s enough support and attention now that people are going to get a bit more honest and tell me if my song just sucks. The bigger things get and the more support you get, there’s also going to be more criticism, so I was just kinda preparing myself for that.” “I was worried that the minute I turned 18 that I’d have a tonne of like people thirsting over me and a tonne of hate,” he laughs, “but it’s actually been… less than I expected!”
“The last year of my life has just been in this constant fear of people not liking what I’m going to do next” Alfie Templeman Alfie needn’t have worried. With ‘Everybody’s Gonna Love Somebody’, he’s opened a brand new sparkling avenue on his road to becoming the biggest thing going, taking the strands
that have hooked so many already and twisting them into something altogether larger. Gloriously bold pop fizzing with that effortless charm that’s already seen him grace the cover of this here magazine; it’s taking things to new levels. “It’s been just incredible to see the reaction to it because I can see this big difference between what I’m doing before and now. I wrote this track when I was like 14 and just added bits and re-recorded things as I’ve gone along. I like to have things planned out and in the bank in advance, so watching the reaction’ Happiness…’ was getting was amazing but also had me thinking - well, I hope people are going to like what comes next…” As things began to blow up for Alfie, he sat with a plan already set and ready to go. Following up the dizzying step-forward that was ‘Happiness In Liquid Form’ with another defining statement of intent with ‘Forever Isn’t Long Enough’ - he was mapping out the sounds of what’s coming next and watching as the world began to latch on. Praise, tiplists and more followed. “It really was like, okay, so this is all scheduled and basically done - I really hope they like the next things as much as they do this. I’ve got to pray to God that it works because I’ve like prepared myself two years in advance,” he laughs. “I like the risk factor in there of making so much so early, though it’s mainly just in case I get writer’s block, I have something at least! But it kinda left me thinking a lot about it all…” “I was like, okay, I’ve kinda established myself as this pop artist now. So that worry of going towards this more like 80s synthpop sound was something that played on my mind, of maybe rushing things too quickly and jumping so much.” The reaction so far has been anything but, signalling another moment where Alfie doesn’t just continue the thrill-ride that has drawn many into his orbit, but reach out even further. “I’m really excited now for people to hear the rest of the record, because it’s in that same kind of vibe. I think it’s quite a universal
Primavera Sound has been postponed until next year. The Barcelona event will now take place in June 2022 due to “due to the uncertainty surrounding the legal framework for large events on the original dates.”
sound - and everyone on YouTube complains about how they wish music sounded like it did back in the 80s. Hopefully, I’ve kinda solved that for them!” ‘Forever Isn’t Long Enough’, a self-described mini-album, finds him proudly standing as the mostcomplete version of Alfie Templeman to date. Punchy hooks, twisting musical breaks, genre-hopping brilliance all comes together in a neon-glow of effortless confidence - proving once and for all that Alfie sits as a new-pop chef serving up the goods like nobody else can. Taking the influences and realities that have come ever since the release of his ‘Like An Animal’ EP, every step has played its part in leading to this very moment. “It definitely felt like towards the end of 2019 that I grew up artistically very quickly,” he recalls. “Having two EPs out at the time and both being well received, it became quite important to me that I really took this seriously. I left school that year and then was on tour with Sports Team, and I realised every time I stepped on stage, people were here to actually see me. I needed to make sure I was giving the best that I could.” “I was recording a song and looking back on it now, that’s all well and good, but was I really like giving it my best? Was I giving my fans the very best I could? Being on tour with Sports Team, they taught me that it’s all about putting on the best show that you can. About everyone having a good time, not just rushing everything and trying to make songs quickly that you like to listen to. Having fans now, I feel like I owe it to them, and I just want to make sure that I’m basically giving them the best I can. The last two years, I’ve been a lot more focused, and that’s the biggest difference for me. To make sure I’m making the best music possible.” Stepping out front and centre, ‘Forever Isn’t Long Enough’ feels like Alfie taking the limelight and revelling in every single moment. From the spinning title-track’s fuzz of sheer youthful energy, the rest of the record is pure readdork.com 5.
Wall Art
PULL ‘EM OUT, STICK ‘EM UP.
LAUV
LOYLE CARNER
CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS
MARIKA HACKMAN
26. DORK
ST. VINCENT
YUNGBLUD
BASTILLE
JULIEN BAKER
SOCCER MOMMY
DECLAN MCKENNA
Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.
40. DORK
A
Quiet Place
GIRL IN RED MAY JUST BE ABOUT TO RELEASE HER DEBUT ALBUM, BUT IT ALREADY FEELS LIKE IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING IMPORTANT. WITH THE MUCH ANTICIPATED ‘IF I COULD MAKE IT GO QUIET’ IMMINENT, MARIE ULVEN IS READY FOR WHAT COMES NEXT. BY: ALI SHUTLER.
PHOTOS: KRISTINE WATHNE.
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this
HARLE 46. DORK
is
ECORE A vital cog in the PC Music collective machine, Danny L Harle’s new album and immersive digital experience, ‘Harlecore’, is beyond ambitious. Words: Martyn Young. Photo: Vasso Vu.
readdork.com 47.
HIGH AND DRY.
AS THEY DELIVER THEIR REALLY VERY GOOD DEBUT ALBUM ‘NEW LONG LEG’, SUD-CESS BECKONS FOR DRY CLEANING. (SORRY - ED)
WORDS: JAMIE MACMILLAN. PHOTOS: STEVE GULLICK.
“O
H MY GOD! No, I can’t tell you who pissed on my leg in the supermarket!” roars Flo Shaw. “Access denied. ACCESS DENIED!” As the rest of the band fall about in hysterics, the truth behind one of 2021’s most intriguing lyrics evades Dork once more. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Dry Cleaning, a group that is just as happy talking about Absolute Nonsense as they are the music. Our kind of band, then. It’s been a while. The last time we caught up with the
London band at the tail-end of 2019, we were huddled in the dressing room at The Lexington just before they took to the stage for a show that confirmed their impending Greatness. With a setlist taken from just two EPs, there was a real electricity in the air that you find at those gigs where you just know that this is the last chance to see someone play the smaller venues for the last time. The world was theirs for the taking, and as they signed to 4AD a short while later, it seemed that it was coming calling for them. And then, 2020 happened.
Though it didn’t disrupt the band too much (with the exception of tour cancellation), life away from the road meant that they could, however, concentrate on what came next instead. And what comes next, as it turns out, is one exceptional debut record. ‘New Long Leg’ delivers on all the early hype and then some. Its first single, ‘Scratchcard Lanyard’ was the first clue that the band have levelled up, Florence’s trademark witty, monotone vocals and some seriously dazzling guitar work from Tom Dowse seeing the band
“I’M A SAUSAGE ROLL” FLO SHAW