8 Y 2 01 JUL OM K.C OR DD REA
Falling into
Let’s Eat Gra n
dma.
PALM CITY DJ SET
July 2018 Issue 23
Ed’s letter.
Index.
Sometimes, an act will make a jump. A leap forward that is so out of step with their peers they suddenly seem unexpectedly shiny and new. That’s what’s happened with Let’s Eat Grandma on their new record, ‘I’m All Ears’. Teaming up with the likes of pop genius SOPHIE and mastermind of reinvention Faris from The Horrors, it’s made an exciting duo full of potential into a prospect which, genuinely, sound like The Future, capital letters and all. That’s why we’re so delighted to welcome Jenny and Rosa to the cover of Dork for the first time. They’ve made one of the records of the year, and yet still there’s a feeling there’s even more to come. Add to that the likes of Pale Waves, Spring King, Matt Maltese, Boy Azooga, Snail Mail, Idles and so many others, and we’re typically stuffed. Enjoy!
S tephen
Editor / @stephenackroyd
“Femininity is such a powerful thing”
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LET’S EAT GRANDMA P.28
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.
UPDATE 4. SPRING KING 8. INDOOR PETS 10. IDLES 12. DUTCH UNCLES 13. BAD SOUNDS 14. PALE WAVES 18. YOU ME AT SIX 19. KING NUN 20. BANGERS
W E LCO M E TOT H E B U N K E R.CO M U N I T 10, 23 G RA N G E RO A D, H A S T I N G S, T N34 2R L
HYPE 22. SNAIL MAIL 24. HATCHIE 25. MELLAH 26. FEET 27. YOWL
P U B L I S H E D F RO M
FEATURES 28. LET’S EAT GRANDMA 36. MATT MALTESE 40. BOY AZOOGA
Cover photo: Jennifer McCord
REVIEWS 44. YEARS & YEARS 46. LYKKE LI 47. LILY ALLEN
BACK PAGE 62. HER’S
Scribblers Ben Jolley, Dillon Eastoe, Eala McAllister, Chris Taylor, Jake Hawkes, Jenessa Williams, Liam Konemann, Rob Mesure, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Dimitris Legakis, Jennifer McCord, Patrick Gunning, Phil Smithies, Poppy Marriott, Sarah Louise Bennett Doodlers Russell Taysom
GET OUT 48. CHVRCHES 50. LIVE AT LEEDS 54. THE GREAT ESCAPE 58. TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB
Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young Events Liam James Ward
On The Stereo Years & Years - Palo Santo
It’s reviewed in full on page 44, but Years & Years’ second album is a genuine pop emergency. So much so, we’ve had to rework our whole scoring system to
account for it. Yep, it’s that good.
they’re ready to demand our attention all over again.
Spring King - A Better Life
No Rome - Do It Again
Tarek and co’s second album is everything we’d hope for immediate, incendiary and up for the fight. Few bands can kick off the way Spring King can. With ‘A Better Life’ 3
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The first taster of a new EP, due next month, No Rome’s first offering for Dirty Hit is nothing short of remarkable. Teaming up with Matty and George from The 1975, it’s another triumph. Obviously.
Arctic Monkeys Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Last month we gave t’Monkeys’ new album a fence-sitting three stars. This month, we’re rethinking our workings. You can find out what we’ve decided on page 46, but let’s just say it’s unheard of.
Update. IF IT’S NOT IN HERE, IT’S NOT HAPPENING.
.Spring King, Live At Leeds, May 2018. S.
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g n i r p S The Big Story
Spring King are here to make summer approximately 4352423 times better with their infectious indie tunes - and their new album’s imminent. Words: Ali Shutler.
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n case you hadn’t noticed, Spring King are back. Their
brilliant debut saw them hurtling forward, held together by gaffer tape, good luck and buckets of hope, as they tried to come to terms with their demons. ‘Animal’, the first taste of new album ‘A Better Life’, sees them moving faster. There’s a streamlined purpose and just as much hope. “’Animal’ takes you two hundred miles an hour, and by the end of it, you’ve got rid of all the demons. You’ve shaken them out,” starts Tarek Musa before adding a smile. “It’s a workout.” “Guitar-wise, it’s inspired by Pantera. Not that it sounds anything like it. I was really getting back into heavy music,” explains Pete Darlington, who set out to write 100 riffs for this record. “The spirit of a lot of that stuff is there. For me, that song was the first time we captured the first step of what we needed to do next. It was the first time we knew where to go. It captures the essence of what the next record. It has the energy of the old stuff, but it sounds bigger; it’s heavier, but it’s super melodic as well. All of those things, they’re the new record.” “The new record feels like one of those shots of ginger. It’s the most concentrated form of what you can get,” adds Tarek. “Every single element of every single song has been carefully looked at and thought about, from a writing perspective, lyrical perspective, production perspective,” Pete continues. “There’s no fat anywhere. It’s super lean the whole way. It’s intense. And we know we’re an intense-sounding band anyway. “Listening back, it feels like you’ve been on a bit of a ride. That’s the dream for me. I want people to listen through it, and feel like they’ve been through something, an emotional experience of some kind. There’s a lot of different vibes on the record. There’s
Riding the wave
6 tracks “We’ve got about
Think of a new band more exciting than Pale Waves. Nope. You can’t. Hurling towards a debut album, we caught up with Heather Baron-Gracie to find out what’s going down. Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.
Hello Heather. We spoke at the very end of last year, and it feels like you just haven’t stopped since.
No, we’ve not. It’s been non-stop for the whole year. It’s been overwhelming at times but the demand’s there so, it’s amazing. We couldn’t ask for a better year so far.
Your live shows have always been great, but it feels like you’ve upped a level recently. What’s changed?
We’ve all got a lot more confident, especially me. That’s where people notice that the most because obviously, the front person is the main entertainer. I’ve watched videos back and thought, fuck, have I actually been that shy? And that scared? And I was. It took me a while to find myself, and I’ve still got a long way to go, but compare how I was five months ago to how I am now, it’s pretty much night and day. It’s weird how just doing your own shows and gaining that confidence off your fans can improve you as a performer. It reassures you at the same time. I’m starting to find myself a lot more. It’s a gradual thing; I’m slowly getting better and better, or more confident.
And the album. Is it done?
It’s not done. It’s in London at the moment, in Wandsworth, asking ‘I thought we were meant to be doing this?’ It’s going well, though. We’re aiming for it to come out in August. We’ve got about six tracks recorded, fully, and obviously, we’ve got way more to record. At the moment, we do have an album tracklist in mind, but I’m writing as much as I can. Then I think it’ll be a last minute thing of this should be on the album, and this shouldn’t be. But
recorded...”
it’s going great.
and connect with them.
Do you have a vision for it? Can you see what it’s going to be?
You just dropped ‘Kiss’. What’s the story behind that song?
I can. I definitely can, but it’s mindblowing to think that we’re going to have an album out. Us. An album.
You’re part of the Dirty Hit Family. Bands like The 1975, Wolf Alice and The Japanese House built worlds with EPs before going for the album. You’re diving straight in.
We’re going to go all the way. It felt like everyone wanted an album so fast, that if we didn’t deliver an album, at this point, then it wouldn’t be the right move for us. Because we already created all this sorta hype, it felt right to release an album so soon. And times are changing. The way people consume music and the way people want music is changing, so it felt like we needed to release the album now.
What can you tell us about the album? We love secrets.
There’s more variation. What people have heard so far has been single after single. We’re not really like that. We love RnB, and I love emotional music and dark emo tracks. This album, it’s got a combination of all of that. I think people are going to listen to this album and understand us. And not expect it. It’s going to be like revealing our true self, that’s what I feel like. I feel like what we’ve released so far is only a part of us and now when we release the album, that’s going to be pretty much all of us on show. This is us; this is how we write, this is what we like. The album obviously has those bangers ‘cos we’re a pop band, but it has some intense, dark moments in there.
Are you excited to share that side of you?
I love that side of things. Everyone in the band jokes about me being this emo because I’m always fighting for the dark tracks and everyone is like, ‘You’re a pop band, come on’, so I can’t wait for people to hear these dark tracks
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‘Kiss’ is one of our older songs. It’s always been a song that’s so great to play live and is always received so well because it’s such a fun song. It’s not too dramatic; it’s quite light-hearted, it’s quite naive. I like how we’re releasing it before the album because you can see how I’ve grown as a songwriter. I wrote ‘Kiss’ when I was 17 or 18; I’m excited for people to hear how I’ve changed. It’s just a really uplifting song, and I’m excited for people to hear it because they’re going to just put it on, on a hot day, or a dark day. It’s just going to make you feel good. It’s basically a drug that makes you feel nice.
Are you trying to release all the old songs and get them out the way before the album?
I never really thought of that, but it seems to be, doesn’t it? We don’t have a lot of old songs that are going on the album. If anything, we only have two so far that people have heard. I’m trying to make the album as new as I possibly can. Nothing frustrates me more than
Banger alert!
Pale Waves Kiss
Things tend to end up following a certain pattern for most new bands lucky enough to capture a whiff of hype. There’s an initial explosion, a few singles, then EPs, a build up to headline tours, more singles – that debut album only arrives at the perfect time, when the buzz has got loud enough that it’s no longer a gamble. And yet here we sit, at the start of 2018’s festival season, just waiting for Pale Waves to announce that first full-length. Whispers suggest it’ll be with us by the end of summer, marking a startling rise for this year’s most likely new superstars. Except there’s nothing ‘likely’ about their elevation to the A list anymore – in
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when a band gives you and album and, ‘Okay, I’ve heard ten of those tracks already, and there are three new ones’. I just want to give Pale Waves fans so much more music than they’re expecting. I want them to be overwhelmed with how much more they’ve got to listen to.
It feels like a lot of this album is about toying with people’s expectations?
I think a lot of people, they see us and judge us off our image rather than really just listening to us, looking at what we’ve done or how hard we’ve worked as a band. People see us and think, ‘Who are these fake goths?’ I didn’t know you could be a fake goth. It’s the twenty-first century; you should be able to dress and look how you want. We’re just trying to really show people who we are, what we’re into and what we like. We’re staying around. This is us. When people chat shit, it just makes me laugh. It doesn’t even get to me anymore. It did at first, because I wasn’t used to it. I wasn’t used to being on show to everyone. When you gain a bit of recognition, you’re seen as this object that people can comment on, they don’t see you as a human, in a way. They comment on your appearance, what you say, what you do, what you create. I’ve met people that have chatted shit about me, I’ve gone up to them and said ‘Hiya’, and nothing. Nothing at all. We’re just trying to create more of a Pale Waves world, and people like that aren’t welcome.
You’d think with an album in the works you’d be taking it easy this summer and focusing on that. But nope, you’re playing pretty much every festival ever.
all truth, they’re already there. And if proof was needed, ‘Kiss’ is happy to provide it. Another of the band’s older songs polished up and sent out to face an eager public, it shimmers in the sparkle of Pale Waves’ 80s pop glitter ball. A band with a strong, instantly recognisable sound, they’re well aware that – at this point – consistency is a strength, but ‘Kiss’ shows development too. With a timeless quality, it’s packing a chorus straight out of the Big Book Of Anthems, its dark heart juxtaposed by a playful desire to lark about in the fast lanes. With that album promising a whole bunch of never before heard material, this could be the point where Pale Waves cash in the last of those potential chips. Next time we hear from them, they’ll be fully grown. They’re ready – are we?
.”Paramore changed everything for me” S.
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Hype. Snail Mail ESSENTIAL NEW MUSIC.
Baltimore newcomer Snail Mail is only 18-years-old, but she already has more experience and songwriting nous than many musicians ten years older. Words: Jenessa Williams.
L
indsey Jordan doesn’t like interviews. She doesn’t
New band news
Get more as it happens, every day at readdork.com
On the grapevine
really like travelling either, and she definitely doesn’t like being rushed. What she does like is making music. As Snail Mail, the 18-year-old has 15 years of playing guitar under her belt, and pairs it with a self-deprecating, painfully honest lyrical depiction of growing up that marks her out as something very special indeed. Not bad for somebody who’s only just out of high school. “I graduated, and we left to LA for tour the next morning,” she explains, working her way through a slice of pizza after a packed-out show in Leeds. “I think things have picked up fast, but not as fast as people think it has. There’s so much work that goes into this, so much learning and adjusting. “Seeing so many places but never really spending any time there has been hard because I like repetition
in my life. A combination of the strong band putting out strong press and the touring has been records that experiment with genre intense, but the hardest bit has so well, I admire that longevity. probably been making the record.” Hayley is a really strong singer and Across ten tracks, forthcoming a talented performer who’s evolved debut album ‘Lush’ is a sneak so much over time – I want that.” peek into Jordan’s life, full of With a similar knack for summer romances and teenage expressing lyrical honesty over boredom. Whether those years are upbeat melodies, it’s not an behind you or not, it’s an instantly outrageous ambition to hold. From relatable listen, and lead single ‘Pristine’ one that builds on the through to the candour that made defiant ‘Speaking + From Baltimore, US her 2016 EP ‘Habit’ Terms’, vulnerability + For fans of Soccer such a buzz-builder. is key to Snail Mail’s Mommy, Diet Cig A self-confessed modus operandi, + Check out ‘Heat Wave’ perfectionist, it’s a and something that + Social @Snailmailband project that Jordan + See them live: Snail Mail Jordan refuses to sees as very much of a will be back in the UK later apologise about. chunk of herself, and “Apathetic rocking this year for Green Man, End of the Road, and a a testament to her bums me out. It’s headliner at The Dome in enduring love of her so boring - get your London on 25th October instrument. feelings out there. “When I write a song, it always I’ve never regretted anything I’ve starts out on the guitar. It’s always written; I don’t name names, and been important to me to have an I try not to get too in my own head. outlet all to myself, and it turned Whatever feels cathartic to write into something I loved. I think about, I just do and then what it’s the challenge of learning happens happens. I have had a something that you can never truly situation where somebody realised perfect; there’s always an uphill that a song was about them, journey.” though.” If an uphill journey is one that Were you bothered? Snail Mail has her sights set on, She pauses, shrugs and takes there is one band that she’s holding another bite of pizza. tight as her inspiration. “Not really. And I’m not worried if “Paramore changed everything it happens again. It would be cool if for me – they’re the best live band, people do have their own personal and everything about them is sick,” relationship with the record, but she enthuses, visibly brightening there’s no real agenda for it other up at their very mention. than it being something I wanted “The fact that they’re still a to make. I would hope that it would
The Facts
It’s tour time for Easy Life as they announce a bunch of dates
Her’s are going to release their debut album this August
Popular new beat combo Easy Life are set to hit the road this November for a run of shows. They’ll kick off in Leeds on the 7th before playing Manchester, Glasgow, Nottingham, Brighton, Birmingham, Newcastle, London, Leicester, Bristol and Oxford. They’re also booked in for 2Q Festival in Lincoln on the 3rd.
Her’s have announced their debut - the appropriately titled ‘Invitation to Her’s’ will be released on 24th August via Heist or Hit, preceded by new track, ‘Low Beam’ which you can hear on readdork.com now. The song is “a commentary on toxic masculinity,” they explain. Her’s are hitting the road for a tour this October, too. 23
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“Apathetic rocking bums me out. It’s so boring” make people excited about writing their own songs and calling back their ex’s.” She smiles, screws up her napkin and dusts down her hands. “If the ex is worthy of the call, that is.” P Snail Mail’s debut
album ‘Lush’ is out now.
Our Girl are hitting the road for a bunch more tour dates
Our Girl are heading out on tour in support of their debut album. ‘Stranger Today’ will be released on 17th August, with the live run kicking off on 12th October in Birmingham, taking them all over the country before winding up with shows in London and Brighton at the end of the month.
FUTURE
SOUND.
On their debut, Let’s Eat Grandma fizzed with potential. On the follow up, ‘I’m All Ears’, they sound like the future. Words: Liam Konemann. Photos: Jennifer McCord.
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f all the bands named for punctuation jokes, Let’s Eat Grandma are probably the best. Childhood friends Jenny Hollingworth and Rosa Walton were barely out of primary school when they first started playing together, booking gigs around Norwich at an age where most other kids were still figuring out what to do in that awkward phase between playing with dolls and getting legless off cheap cider in parks.
Gemini’ and today, the pair have lived out the last of their teenage years, with all the twists and turns that time involves. “I think the couple of years that we wrote the record over was a big time of change for us. Especially being the age that we are.” Rosa agrees. This is probably reflected most in album closer ‘Donnie Darko’, which clocks in at just over eleven minutes and meanders between hazy psych, poetic pop, and Psychedelic Furs’ ‘Love My Way’ style New Wave. Some of the track’s lyrics speak to the confusion of having a mind that’s being pulled in multiple directions at once, with lines like “hear the buzz of the hornet fly trapped inside my orchid mind” and “it’s not real life, I can’t be dialling 999”. In a more literal sense, the record is influenced in no small part by the fact that they are almost constantly on the road. “We’re always travelling,” Jenny says. “Not just touring, but Rosa and I live in Norwich, so we’re always on the train. Literally all the time.” “It’s a running theme in our lives. We always say that we feel most at home when we’re on the train or in a Travelodge,” Rosa laughs. The recording process tends to be a rolling circus, too. Some of the sessions for ‘I’m All Ears’ involved a trip to SOPHIE’s house in LA, to record ‘Hot Pink’ and ‘It’s Not Just Me’. The change of location bled into the tracks, Jenny and Rosa think, bending the music to its will. “I think [‘Hot Pink’] definitely sounds like LA in comparison to the rest of the album. It’s got a much sunnier, brighter feel about it,” Rosa muses. Jenny nods. “Yeah, I think you do get influenced by your surroundings when you’re writing.” It’s not just the music that location has an effect on, though. Between the three of us, we develop a theory, the components falling into place over the course of our chat. The basic principle - okay, the only principle - is that some people are location specific. SOPHIE, for instance, is unequivocally an LA person. “She’s really cool. Like, I know that seems funny to say but often when you meet people they
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“It’s a mindfuck.” Let’s Eat Grandma. London, May 2018.
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S
In 2016, they used the songs they started writing together as a playtime activity to form the basis of their genre-bending debut ‘I, Gemini’. The record was kind of sweet and kind of eerie, made all the more so by Rosa and Jenny’s playground clapping games and childlike voices. Not unreasonably, comparisons to the twins from the Shining surfaced over and over again. That was the way they liked things, too - in promotional shots they were matchy-matchy, hiding behind entwined curtains of long brown hair. Let’s Eat Grandma’s momentum accelerated as they hit the usual high points - Glastonbury, Jools Holland - until the cycle for ‘I Gemini’ wound down and things went quiet. The faux twins disappeared from view. Then, in January of this year, came ‘Hot Pink’, and the pair blew their own game wide open. They ditched their old personas, and happily stepped back out into the public view as individuals. Adults. Written and produced with SOPHIE, ‘Hot Pink’ is something of a warning shot for the rest of their new record. With its fierce vocals and industrial production, the song is a klaxon sounding the alarm of change. Extra, extra; the old Let’s Eat Grandma is gone. On ‘I’m All Ears’, the bubblegum psychedelia of ‘I, Gemini’ has been replaced with glimmering, sharpedged pop. The result is a sprawling pop epic that weaves musings on youth, friendship, and change with light-hearted instrumental interludes. “The sound we had with ‘I, Gemini’ was a better representation of us back then, and this is a better representation of where we’re at now,” Rosa notes. “It’s just inevitable that we’re going to progress and develop our sound and I think that we like going in lots of different directions at once.” That’s true in both a literal and lyrical sense, it seems. The new album spends a lot of time talking about movement and change, seasons shifting and things coming to an end. In the gap between ‘I,
“SOPHIE’s one of the coolest people I’ve ever met”
just seem so much like you, but SOPHIE’s on another plane,” Jenny says. “She’s so composed” adds Rosa. “She’s one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. Just in her persona, she’s so collected. She thinks about everything before she says it.” “Everything has a point,” says Jenny. By this same token their other producer on ‘Hot Pink’ and ‘It’s Not Just Me’, The Horrors’ Faris Badwan, is a London person. “He’s too much of a goth,” Rosa grins. “I think he’d burn in the LA sun.” “He kept saying he wasn’t a goth, but then he was doing a goth documentary,” Jenny says. She ticks off the criteria. “He has a tattoo of some bats, and he wears all black and doesn’t sleep.” Not very goth, then. Still, our theory crumbles a bit when it comes to Let’s Eat Grandma themselves. If everyone is of a particular setting, then what about Jenny and Rosa who are, at this point at least, a little bit of everywhere? Norwich has a particularly tight music scene, but with all their coming and going, it can be difficult to feel totally at home. “I think we never used to feel like we fit into [the Norwich scene] but now when I go home, and I go to a gig in Norwich I feel like I know
Greatest Comedian The The
Londoner Matt Maltese holds a mirror up to everyday life that reflects back love, hope, humour and everything in between via theatrical musings that make you feel like just maybe, everything will be okay.
I
Words: Jamie Muir.
f you turn to track four on Matt Maltese’s debut album ‘Bad Contestant’, you’ll find a song called ‘Like A Fish’. In just over three and a bit minutes, it captures exactly what makes Mr Maltese something undeniably exciting, wistful wide-eyed joy, crippling honesty and a way with words that flick off one another like a modern-day storytelling prince - but even then, you don’t have to look far to find why.
As the swelling number croons into view, all baroque strings and effortless charm - Matt begins. “You said you use chocolate, when you and him take off all your clothes. Why the fuck you tell me that? Can’t drink that image out of my head.” Pulling no punches, let’s say it delves into more than just a Kinder Surprise when it comes to unexpected twists and turns, a mantra that perfectly captures why at only 21 years of age, he has the sound of an unflinchingly raw generation first and foremost pouring out of his mind. As Matt puts it, “I like the truth, and I like songs that put the truth out there regardless of how ridiculous or messy it sounds.” “We all have these experiences or whatever that are too strange to speak out loud about,” he continues. “I like the idea of just writing songs where you aren’t thinking about what someone might think of you because unfortunately, a lot of us do have feelings that are quite pathetic and do things that are quite pathetic.” We’ve all been there, and the awkward realities of growing up in 2018 have never sounded so gorgeous. Dodgy sweet sixteens, crippling jealousy and heartbreak, hopeless romance heading nowhere fast - Mr Maltese is sitting prime and proper with tales to gather around. “What brings out the most emotion in me is when things aren’t sugarcoated” he confesses. “You can still make things sound nice with a great melody and nice lyrics but also, it being a representation of the truth is important to me”. It may sound strikingly serious, but Matt Maltese is embracing the show of it all. Born to Canadian parents but raised in a distinctive
Boy
meets
world
Boy Azooga’s Davey Newington knows how to pen a bloody good tune, and their debut album may just be one of the underground hits of the summer. Words: Ben Jolley.
Get Out. IF IT’S ON STAGE, IT’S IN HERE.
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Chvrches have never looked more alive Dork’s former cover stars, Chvrches shine bright for a smashing album launch show. Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.
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hvrches’ ‘Love Is Dead’ sees the band embrace every corner of their jagged sound.
The latest gig news.
Get more as it happens, every day at readdork.com
Live + amplified.
From the breaking-down-thedoor reflection of ‘Graffiti’ to the out-the-window escape of ‘Wonderland’, the gang are braver, bolder and full of fiery purpose. There’s no time for apologies. Not anymore. Their album launch show at House of Vans London sees them take that energy to the stage. As the curtain drops to the clapping urgency of ‘Get Out’, Chvrches become the band they’ve always flirted with. There’s weight behind every
Machine head
Florence + The Machine are back in style
move forward thanks to the addition of live drummer Jonny Scott. Now, Lauren, Iain and Martin have space to fully lean into every twist and turn. They have time to play. ‘Graffiti’ snaps and grins while the looming ‘God’s Plan’ quickly shifts into an electric storm of promise through menace. The drive forward also breathes new life into the classics. There’s no more rougharound-the-edges rattling as the ‘We Sink’ dances under layers of noise, ‘Under The Tide’ bursts into colour and ‘Never Ending Circles’ marches on, the crunch of gravel underfoot and its horizon glistening. As heavy as this era of Chvrches kicks, the band have also spent time polishing the edges. ‘Miracle’ swirls and sprays, turbulent pop that’s always in control while ‘Never Say Die’ and ‘Forever’ skip, spin and slay with floating agility, despite the fact both are made from solid gold. Pop has never swung so hard. By the time the show comes to a head with the closing onetwo of ‘The Mother We Share’ (still carrying a wide-eyed wonder) and ‘Clearest Blue’ (still beating and blood-soaked) the band have nothing left to prove. This is the best they’ve sounded, attacking the stage but letting the songs lead the charge, there’s a comfort in how the pieces have fallen into place. There’s a resistance in how they’ve done it their way. There’s a pride in how they’re not only still standing, but they’re stronger than they’ve ever been. Love might be dead, but Chvrches have never looked more alive. P
Merry Xmas, everyone! MGMT have announced a few dates for December
Florence and Co. tease what’s to come with an intimate show at London’s Royal Festival Hall. Words: Steven Loftin. Photos: Dimitris Legakis.
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oaring back to life with the promise of a new album, releasing a couple of tracks, and a few intimate - by their standards - shows, it would appear as if Florence + The Machine are getting ready to conquer the world. Again.
And London is the last of three lucky venues to be given a sneaky insight into what they’re bringing into 2018. The Royal Festival Hall stage, decorated head to toe in flowers and greenery, screams of woodland fantasy and transports you into Florence and co’s world. Spirits inside are already high given the scorcher of a day, and the moment Florence Welch steps barefoot upon the stage, the transcendence for all begins. Immediately orchestrating each pounding beat of ‘Between Two Lungs’, Florence demands the crowd’s attention. Every movement is graceful and otherworldly, a presence that you feel
Florence + the Machine are going on a massive tour
Florence + the Machine have confirmed a load of massive arena shows in the UK this winter, supporting new album ‘High As Hope’, which arrives on 29th June. The shows start in Leeds on 15th November and include a night at the O2 in London. The announcement comes just after their slot supporting The Rolling Stones at London Stadium.
MGMT are on their way back to the UK this winter to play a few dates in support of their most recent – and really very good – album ‘Little Dark Age’, with shows at London’s Eventim Apollo (13th December), Glasgow’s SWG3 (15th), Leeds’ O2 Academy (16th) and Manchester’s Albert Hall (17th).
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honoured to witness as she pirouettes left and right. Though the venue is entirely seated, at Florence’s command, the audience rises, fervent for whatever she’ll bestow upon them - which is immediately fuelled by the thunderous sound of ‘Queen of Peace’. ‘Dog Days’ brings out a rapture amongst the audience - a crowning moment in a night that was intended to re-deliver Florence back into the full swing of public consciousness. The new tracks, ‘Hunger’ and ‘Sky Full Of Song’, are received incredibly well, especially the former. Dedicated to the fans that got her from the “swampy home of South London” to this stage, it sounds ever more euphoric with the full might of the live Machine behind it. P
Lizzo is coming back to the UK this August for a date in London Lizzo has announced a new show in the UK; she’ll be heading to our shores for a night at the Omeara in London on 24th August. She hasn’t confirmed any other plans just yet, but it’s the same time as this year’s Reading & Leeds, so perhaps we’ll get a festival set or two too? Lizzo dropped her new single, ‘Fitness’ earlier this year – check it out on readdork.com.