Dork, July 2023 (Thomas Headon cover)

DOWN WITH BORING.

Thomas Headon

ISSUE 78 · JULY 2023 · READDORK.COM

New Album e 30th

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Issue 78 | July 2023 | readdork.com | Down With Boring

Hiya, Dear Reader.

Warm summer greetings. It's getting a bit sticky out, right? As you pick up this issue, Glastonbury is either imminent or has just happened. Either way, we're firmly into the season of music festivals, open-air concerts and oh-fuck-I-forgot-to-put-onsun-screen. Don't be stupid. Always wear sunscreen.

As we approach the halfway point of 2023, more boring magazines may try to make lists where they vaguely suggest that you probably should have listened to the boygenius album. Not us. We're too busy with looking forwards.

Forwards to the likes of our fave witchytype Maisie Peters, who is about to drop her proper brilliant second album. She's casting the spells and layout out the cards for a bright future.

Then there's The Japanese House - one of the first Dork cover stars back in the day; Amber has only got better with time. Her new album, 'In The End It Always Does', is staggering - a record of the year contender in any era.

And then there's Thomas Headon. We're ecstatic to announce that the charismatic indie alt-popster will be headlining our festival Dork's Day Out on 5th August.

Before then, he's got a new collection of songs he thinks you'll like. We think you'll like it too. We can't both be wrong, can we?

So as we head off into the second half of 2023, here's to a summer filled with good vibes, great music, and unforgettable experiences. Just remember, seriously, sunscreen. Don't forget.

readdork.com Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young Scribblers Abigail Firth, Alex Cabré, Dan Harrison, Jake Hawkes, Jessica Goodman, Melissa Darragh, Neive McCarthy, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Andrew White, Em Marcovecchio, Frances Beach, Jennifer McCord, Mason Poole, Megan McIsaac, Patrick Gunning, Ragan Henderson, Tom Beard

PUBLISHED FROM WELCOMETOTHEBUNKER.COM

UNIT 10, 23 GRANGE ROAD, HASTINGS, TN34 2RL

Intro.

04 10 11 12

FIZZ ROYAL BLOOD A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... GUS DAPPERTON REMI WOLF

Hype.

14 16

KATIE GREGSON MACLEOD CATE

18 19

SPIDER COLE BLEU

Features.

20 28 32 40 42

MAISIE PETERS GENGAHR THOMAS HEADON POOL KIDS THE JAPANESE HOUSE

Incoming.

50 51

REVIEWS YOUTH SECTOR

Get Out. 52 56 58 58 58 59 59 60

THE GREAT ESCAPE BEYONCÉ WIDE AWAKE LIVE AT LEEDS PEACE YARD ACT RED VELVET MÅNESKIN

Backpage.

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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.

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DO NOTHING

‘Editor’ @stephenackroyd

READDORK.COM 3.

INTRO. THE BEATING HEART OF POP NONSENSE.

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buzzy h t i w , e s: E . . Photo e scen h t ail Firth n et FIZZ ig b o e A : e m r a Words m ay am tea um on the w e r d w A ne an alb d n a s t live se chio.

ovec m Marc

→ SCATTERED AROUND BRIGHTON are posters featuring a hypnotic red swirl and the phrase 'A NEW PHASE AWAITS YOU', beckoning you down the rabbit hole of Fizz, a secret band playing at The Great Escape.

Down at Shooshh, a club under the arches on Brighton seafront, the surprise is revealed at 9:30pm, as the four-piece step on stage amongst giant lollipops and toadstools, a graphic behind them – also featured on their posters – giving a clue as to who they are before they arrive.

The group consists of dodie, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown, who, up until now, have largely been known for making introspective, singer-songwriter jams for their individual artist projects. Fizz changes everything. That's immediately obvious when we meet on Thursday afternoon outside Shooshh, when each member of the group emerges from the venue in different twisted-Alice-in-Wonderland style outfits, ready for our photo shoot.

A week later, in dodie, Greta, and Martin's flat, they're considerably more understated as they gather on the sofa at 10am for a chat. It comes at the end of a hectic week where the four launched the band, started promotional shoots, played their first gig, flew to Barcelona to do more photo shoots, flew home and signed their deal (Greta even found time to get her nails done at Gatwick airport).

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INTRO

We're all each other's biggest fan" "We've had our first few rock star days, so we're definitely still recovering," says Orla.

"But we've sat on this music for like, over a year?" dodie adds, "and we've been planning since then, but I think all the real-world stuff is very new."

They've been living in each other's pockets for a while now, with the aforementioned trio sharing a flat and Orla in one just around the corner; she's happy to waltz in whenever she likes.

"We're actually conjoined now that we're contractually obliged to hang out with each other," she says.

The idea for Fizz came around a couple of years ago when Martin found himself feeling deflated about life and how it was affecting his music. An off-the-cuff remark about starting a band to have fun again developed into an actual project when they spent a week at Middle Farm Studios in Devon recording whatever they felt like.

"I definitely felt like I was getting super grown up and starting to think about, like, saving money, long-term career prospects, getting a house, security - all the really unsexy stuff," Martin explains.

"I think all of that filtered its way into my day-to-day with music, and I started compromising on all fronts and just working on loads of things that I wasn't particularly passionate about. I sort of jokingly said to [Greta and dodie] one night, oh, shall we start a band and just have fun again?"

He continues, "We ended up doing the album with Pete Miles at Middle Farm, who's this, like, wizard producer; he's amazing and does literally look a bit like Gandalf, and he's worked with all of us in different capacities. He was like, why don't we have a week, and you guys can all come up and play, and we'll just capture it, and it'll be amazing. And then we did it, and it was the best week of all time."

"It was everything about music that I think we'd all missed so much," says dodie. "It was completely egoless. There was nothing like, what are we trying to say? Who are we? It was like, let's just write this; this song's about strawberry jam and getting high in Brighton; it was just pure play."

The result is 'The Secret to Life', an album that's equal parts psychedelic and ramshackle, merging perfectly nonsensical lyrics with twentysomething existentialism, it ponders our purpose while ultimately declaring there isn't one, and we'd all be a bit better off if we gave in to our inner child. Screaming as therapy is welcome here, as is having a tab of acid by the seaside and turning your brain off for a bit. Overthinking is out, and fun is absolutely in.

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Styling: Rubina Marchiori. Assisted By: Francesca Russo. Assistant Team: Jake Martin, Lily Goddard.

O R L A GA R T L A N D

"Going down to Middle Farm, it was like our experience as people and as friends was enough," says Greta. "We didn't have to pigeonhole it into anything; it was just like…"

"This is what it is," Martin finishes off.

"What Pete loves is just like joyful, real live chemistry between people in a room, and it all happening in the room and not in the computer, basically," Orla says, explaining the recording sessions.

"I also think it was a playground for him because he was let off the reins to do his thing in the most him way possible. No overthinking, there's literally no time to overthink because we're just doing it so quickly and committing to the thing before you even had a chance to think about it."

"I always feel so excited to tell people that basically the whole album is us writing, recording and producing it all at once," adds Greta. "Everything you can hear is literally everything that happened. There's one song on the album called 'The Secret to Life', and as we were writing it, we were recording and producing it, and that's what's on the album."

Letting go of control has been both a crucial aspect of creating this album

and essential for each of the group's personal development. With all four of them feeling like they were taking their solo projects too seriously, going back to basics and altering the intentions behind creating music, almost reverting to just doing it as a hobby, completely changed their outlook. Orla mentions she'd have been happy if it never left their laptops, but there's something to be said for 'The Secret To Life' being as necessary of a release as anything they did take seriously.

"It doesn't even need saying, but music's got so saturated now," says Martin, "and I think everyone approaches artistry in a way that is so considered, and so self-A&R'ed to the nth degree that actually, it's really blindingly obvious when someone's just done something for the pure joy of it. I just think it's refreshing."

"From the start, we were like, regardless of whatever happens, we should do this every year," adds dodie.

"We should come down to Middle Farm and write off the bat. And that's so nice to get that feeling back again."

Recording this album also gave the four a chance to push themselves both artistically and as friends.

"Ultimately, we're all each other's biggest fans," says Orla. "The core ideas are sometimes coming from us, but having the balls to actually commit to it is so much about the other three just being like, GO! Any moment of doubt or like, 'Oh, I'm not so sure. I don't know if I want a song about Rocket League'; it's like, shut up and do it!"

Just because the album was made with fun in mind doesn't mean it's devoid of sincerity, either. Rather than it being rooted in pure childlike ambition, it's grounded in its lived experience of being made by adults finally letting their emotions free.

"There is a wonk to it," says Orla.

"It's not like pure Disney joy; there's something very human and real and not quite perfect about the lyrics that run through it."

"It wouldn't exist without pain," adds Martin. "I think that there's so much pent-up energy; when you're a kid, it is just joy, joy, joy, isn't it? Whereas this is like, joy that sort of been suppressed for 10 years."

"Yeah, coming out through this filter of flawed adults trying to conjure up joy," Greta finishes.

"So much of me is wrapped up in being

INTRO

perceived as cool," Martin continues, "and so much of that, especially within Brit culture, is to be understated and to shrink yourself and be humble. The idea of just being a little kid that's being brash and screaming and banging on your chest is actually so liberating. I feel like I've just never allowed myself to be that."

It's not only the album creation that honours the members' inner child; it's the styling, which feels like they're playing dress up (Greta even has to take her shoes off to walk across the pebbly beach), the illustrated logo, the fact that they picked a band name based on the idea it didn't sound like a band name, the promo for the secret gig being a Fizz-sleeved packet of popping candy.

All of that contributes to the sonic world the album exists in, which pulls from zany 60s and 70s influences – not niche ones either, we mean the big names – Elton John at his campest, The Beatles' Sgt. Peppers era, they even have a bash at their own 'Bohemian Rhapsody' with 'Grand Finale'. "'Grand Finale' is so ludicrously ridiculous," says Martin. "I can't even believe it every time I listen to it.

There's no way I would have done this even two years ago. Even having the vocabulary to dick about to such an extent, psychologically as well as actually musically, being able to be that ambitious, it felt like a pipe dream that people only made music like that in the 70s."

"There's like a theatrical, dramatic, uncompromisingly flamboyant style in that era," adds Greta. "There's a band called Jellyfish that I'm obsessed with that was definitely a huge part of what I

grew up listening to, and it sort of found its way into the references for the album."

"I also wonder if because we're reverting to our first love of music like we're referencing all of the music we heard in our childhood that our parents showed us, maybe that's where our core comes from?" dodie asks herself.

Balancing out the record's childlike wonder is its subject matter, best exemplified in their first release, 'High in Brighton', which also happens to be the first song they wrote.

"We started writing it at that table just behind Martin," Orla points to the kitchen table behind the sofa. "We had a couple of ideas in our pocket when we went down to the studio for the first time, mainly because I was really fucking nervous. There's nothing more nerve-wracking than working with your friends." dodie plays a voice note of the initial recording they'd made before heading to the studio, a high-pitched rendition of the chorus melody.

"I think lyrically with 'High in Brighton', it sets the tone for the beginning of this journey - this quest that we're all going on," Greta says. "It felt so perfect. I love how Beach Boys-esque it is; all of us are singing together, and the chorus feels like this huge explosion; it felt like it was the right song."

Of course, we have to fact-check if they've been high in Brighton before, which prompts an enthusiastic yes, and a recommendation to try it if you've never done it before.

As Greta says, this is just the beginning of an exciting new journey for Fizz, one

'FYI' THE

It was like, let's just write this; this song's about strawberry jam and getting high in Brighton; it was just pure play" DODIE

that officially begins with the release of 'High in Brighton' and their first full band show at Hoxton Hall in June, followed by the festival circuit and a proper tour later down the line with the album release.

But there's just one more thing: what is the secret to life?

"Well, that's what we're trying to find out!" says Greta. "If you could ask your readers what they think the secret to life is, that would be amazing."

"We are really wanting to collect as many answers as possible," says Orla.

Dear Reader, the floor is yours. ■ FIZZ's album 'The Secret To Life' is out 15th September.

NEWS

ALL OUR FAVES ARE HEADING TO STANDON CALLING → Standon Calling is set to take over Standon Lordship, Hertfordshire very soon indeed for a weekend of both top faves and buzzy newcomers.

With headline sets from Years & Years, Self Esteem and Bloc Party - plus an early bill-topper from The Human League on Thursday - it's set to be a stand-out year.

The event will also host sets from Rick Astley, We Are Scientists, The Big Moon, Confidence Man, Dylan, Squid, Bob Vylan, Django Django, Warmduscher, Sad Night Dynamite, Lynks, Stone, Sprints and Flowerovlove, amongst others.

As if that properly packed bill weren't enough, there's a dog show, costume parade, hot tubs, creative workshops, street food and loads more.

Standon Calling will take place from 20th-23rd July; visit standon-calling. com for all the details.

ROMY'S DEBUT IS COMING IN AUTUMN → Romy (from The xx) has announced her debut solo album, ‘Mid Air’. Set for release on 8th September, it features ‘Strong’ and ‘Enjoy Your Life’, plus new drop ‘Loveher’, produced alongside Fred again... “Fred asked me, who could this be for?” Romy says, “and I tentatively said… ‘maybe me?’” Check it out at readdork.com now.

BRING ME ARE HITTING THE ROAD → Bring Me The Horizon have announced a new album and headline run. ‘POST HUMAN: NeX GEn’ will be released on 15th September via Sony/RCA, with the UK & Ireland tour kicking off on 9th January 2024.

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THERE ARE SONGS RECORD THAT ARE

ROYAL BLOOD are back. With their new track, ‘Mountains At Midnight’ – and a fourth album ‘Back To The Water Below’ to follow – they’re out to create a legacy.

Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Tom Beard.

→ "I'M SURE THERE are people out there who think what we do is easy," says Royal Blood's guitarist Mike Kerr.

"Go ahead and try it," he offers with a smirk. "There's nowhere to hide in this band."

The rock'n'roll duo are back with new single 'Mountains At Midnight', taken from their upcoming fourth album 'Back To The Water Below'.

"It feels like the sort of Royal Blood song that should have always existed," says Mike, taking a break from "dusting off the cobwebs" in their rehearsal space ahead of a run of stadium shows supporting Muse, festival headline slots and their own homecoming gig on Brighton beach later this summer.

The new songs already feel "very livefriendly".

'Mountains At Midnight' started taking shape while the band were on the road in support of 2021's 'Typhoons'.

"You're composing in the context in which you want to play, which was so helpful," explains Mike, with 'Mountains At Midnight' feeling "powerful" because of how locked in he and drummer Ben Thatcher were. "We've never had anything this fast before," he continues.

Writing on the road meant that the new songs had to feel exciting because there was already so much going on.

"Testing out new material at big venues reinforces the confidence to do less because it's so loud," says Mike. In the quiet of the studio, there's a temptation to put in too many layers, "but you hear a kick drum in an arena, and it's already monstrous". "'Mountains At Midnight' is a nod to our roots and how and why the band started, but there's something that feels incredibly fresh about it," he adds.

'Back To The Water Below' isn't a throwback record, though. "It's a fucking roller coaster. It's the first album we've ever made that feels like a real journey, that tells a real story," says Mike. "There are a lot of left turns on it."

He goes on to explain that the record features many songs that the band would never have made if it wasn't for the multicoloured disco stomp of 'Typhoons'. "We really gave ourselves permission to do this other thing with that record," says Mike. "This time, we felt really equipped on how to go to those other places, successfully and honestly, and it still feels like Royal Blood."

"The biggest danger of being in a rock band right now is walking out onstage, looking cool as fuck and hiding behind a wall of noise without having any art or meaning to what you're doing. That's the quickest way to get lost," says Mike.

"I want to feel what I'm saying. I want it to come from somewhere that's real," he

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It's the first album we've ever made that feels like a real journey, that tells a real story" MIKE KERR

continues, explaining that 'Back To The Water Below' is the most time he's ever spent writing lyrics for a Royal Blood album, and the pair focused on "good songwriting" over big riffs because that's the thing that lasts.

"I really sweated over every word, and I'm fully aware that I will go out, attempt to explain it and ruin all that hard work," says Mike, hesitant to dive too deeply into the inspiration behind 'Back To The Water Below'.

'Mountains At Midnight' is written from a "dark place", with those themes reappearing across the album. "It feels like I was writing from that place of being somewhere that's very isolated, dark and deep down," says Mike, hence the title.

"Whenever I get to that place, it's not always about trying to escape it," he continues. "It's not about trying to swim for the surface; it's about acknowledging that this is where I'm at and sitting in those feelings. I'll try not to give everything away, though."

'Back To The Water Below' is the first Royal Blood album produced entirely by the band, even if the pair have always been all over their previous records. "For us, capturing energy is so much more important than anything else," says Mike.

For years, he could explain away Royal Blood's success by chalking it up to blind luck. "I'm over that now," he says. "I know people saw Ben and I appear back in 2014 with 'Out Of The Black', and suddenly we're at the BRIT Awards. Don't get me wrong; I felt out of my depth, and it felt like too much too soon - but it didn't come out of fucking nowhere," with the pair playing in countless other bands before forming Royal Blood. "There's nothing sexy about someone slogging it out, failing, then coming back while putting the time in to learn their craft, though."

"We're incredibly fortunate that we got that golden ticket 10 years ago, but the position we're in now is very different," he continues. "It can't just be luck. It's friendship and hard work."

"I feel a real confidence in who we are and what we're trying to do," Mike adds. Not that it makes writing music any easier. "I feel like a better writer and musician, but it feels harder than ever, looking for something new and trying to stay out of your depth."

Now that the band are more comfortable with where they're at, they've started thinking about legacy. "I want to get to the end of my life, look back at the songs we've done together, and know that they were exactly how we wanted them," says Mike. "I want to know I wasn't influenced by trends or led astray by other people's expectations because all of that will disappear." Which is apparently incredibly liberating.

"There are songs on this record that are wild," Mike continues, excited to see the outrage of people asking 'how dare Royal Blood go and do that?' The pair have never written to appease other people, with Mike admitting that even thinking of doing that makes him feel sick. "It's not why we started this band, and it's not how we ended up in this position. We really honour how we got here, and that's by Ben and I both being excited by something, whatever that is. So, of course, we're going to follow through with all these ideas, no matter how mad they might seem from the outside."

"We've got fans who've been with us since day one, and we've got people who only discovered us because of 'Tyhpoons', which was ultimately a very disco, dance-heavy record. Maybe they'll hate this one," he suggests.

"All expectation leads to someone's disappointment. I just see that as more evidence to do what you want to do."

Last year Royal Blood headlined London's O2 Arena, and this summer, they're topping the bill at Kendall Calling, Truck and Y Not. They're also due to support Muse. "Just because we're at this level where we're headlining a festival here and there and we've played some big shows, it doesn't mean that there isn't room for improvement," says Mike.

"I'm no fool. I know that we'll go and play those shows with Muse, and we'll get schooled on how to put on a show.

It's humbling, but it's good. If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room," he adds. "We genuinely want to just be better. We might be successful, but we have a long way to go." ■ Royal Blood’s single ‘Mountains At Midnight’ is out now. Their album ‘Back To The Water Below’ is out 8th September.

ON THIS E WILD

INTRO

A

DAY

IN THE LIFE OF...

GUS DAPPERTON You know what’s easier than following around your fave pop stars, day in, day out, to see what they’re up to right that minute?

Asking them. This month, Gus Dapperton lets us in on what he’s up to.

a couple spots in Griffith Park and took some photos. I did the same thing with my bandmate Tommy (also a great model).

10:37AM → I know it seems late, but we had a show the night before, and I was exhausted. I got down from the top bunk of the bus in an ungraceful manner and made my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Was feeling too lazy to get fully dressed up, so I threw on my bandana, yellow sunglasses, and sandals (a repetitive look of mine).

5:15PM → We start setting up for soundcheck. I set up the computers and MIDI. After we're all set up, we play a couple songs. Usually, it's the new ones, 'Horizons' and 'Don't Let Me Down'.

11:04AM → Now I'm calling a Lyft to my friend Max's house. We planned to meet up for lunch with a few other friends of mine since I haven't seen them in forever.

As I'm calling the Uber, I see a text from my sister Ruby: "Did you wish Mom a happy Mother's Day". Shit, I forgot it's Mother's Day. I therefore texted her, phew.

I get in the Uber and throw my headphones in. Listening to new demos in the car is one of my favourite things in the world. I listen to them over and over and make constant notes to reference later when I have time to work on them.

11:31AM → Finally, I arrive at Max's house.

I'm overjoyed to see him as well as my other friends Greg (of Junior Varsity) and Luigi. We had some delicious Greek food in his yard and caught up on life. We talked about human design and which seltzers are the worst for you. I picked up a ukulele at one point and accidentally started playing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'.

2:52PM → Greg and I carpooled back to The Greek. I wanted him to try on my new merch so I could take pictures of him in it (he's a good model). We found

4:03PM → I warmed up my voice on the bus for a bit. It usually involves some breathing exercises and lots of weird noises. Sometimes I sing Coldplay too.

6:12PM → Now I get ready for the show!

My sister and I do our makeup in the mirror together. Once the band is dressed and ready, we take a few photos together.

We usually call for about 30 minutes of alone time in the green room before we go on to listen to music and get pumped up. I try not to dance too hard before I go on so I don't waste my energy.

7:55PM → The band and I huddle up side stage. I have a quick speech that I do every time we play. It's a tradition. Then we head out onto the stage.

8:41PM → The show was great! I think we played pretty well. I let the adrenaline settle down for a quick moment, then start packing down our equipment.

9:19PM → I go out near the merch table to say hi to some folks. There were some particularly sweet fans at this show I got to meet. Someone gave me a bracelet too.

10:03PM → I take a shower and put on some comfier clothes. Then I gather all my belongings from the green room and head out to the bus.

11:37PM → Finally, I play a couple quick rounds of MarioKart and go to sleep.

Gus Dapperton's album 'Henge' is out 7th July.

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IT’S UNLIKE ANY SONG I’VE MADE BEFORE INTRO

→ SOME POP STARS like to ease

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REMI WOLF might be one of the very best new alt-pop stars on the planet, but with her new track ‘Prescription’, she’s hitting even higher heights.

so much time arranging it. It's very gospel.

We spent a lot of time really building that ending. It really goes somewhere. It's an epic thing. I've never even tried to create something like that, so it was really fun and challenging for me to shape the energy in that way."

With horns, soaring vocals and a skyscraping rousing climax, it's a lifeaffirming piece of music that reflects the powerful emotions of the lyrics. "The song is about being in love and being really, really scared about it," reflects Remi. "It's about being in love and never being in love before and being really anxious and insecure and having all this personal baggage that you're taking into this relationship, but you love this person so much, and they make you feel amazing and tingly, and you want nothing else but to be with them. They're kind of controlling you in that sense but in a good way."

As well as being a killer standalone track, 'Prescription' marks a bridge between the quirky, fluid experimentation of her debut album and the more expansive and ambitious music Remi's currently working on. "I'm working on an album right now; I'm

I love to chop things. I love a big knife on a little pickle" R E M I WO L F

pretty far along in the process. I'm loving it," she says excitedly. "'Prescription' is a pretty good gateway into the sound of the new music. It's going to be raw with real instruments. It's still going to be fun, but it's going to have some weight to it. I'm all about arranging and crafting. It's my bread and butter and what I love to do. I'm so lucky that I get to work with some of the most amazing musicians ever. We're coming together and trying to make something that's really musically there. I'm

trying to make real music. I hope people like it and like this song. I know that it's quite different from the general landscape of music right now."

An artist with a vision like Remi Wolf has a wonderful sense of freedom and a feeling that anything is possible. "I'm very lucky that people trust me with my creativity," she beams. "Hopefully, people have no idea what to expect from me, and hopefully, I've created that dynamic between me and my fans. They don't know what to expect, and they don't know what's coming next, but they trust me, and I trust them to listen to it, and I think that's a very special dynamic. I can do whatever the fuck I want. People are down for it, and that's a special thing."

So, when can we expect to hear a new full-length album from Remi?

Unsurprisingly she isn't giving anything away. "All I will say is that you will definitely hear more new music from me this year," she says with a grin. Exciting times. For now, though, let's celebrate the salvation and glory of a comeback single that truly raises the roof. ■ Remi Wolf's single 'Prescription' is out now.

Words: Martyn Young. Photo: Ragan Henderson

themselves into a new era; come back with something that's a reliable, easy winner.

Remi Wolf, though, is assuredly not just some pop star. A creative visionary for a new generation, Remi's music is genrefluid and full of vivid imagination, but on 'Prescription', her first new music since last year's deluxe reissue of her brilliant debut album 'Juno', Remi returns with a truly jaw-dropping piece of music that marks her best work yet.

"It's unlike any song I've made before," she says excitedly as she spends a little well-earned downtime at home in LA. "I'm trying to chill out and reintegrate into modern society," she laughs as she reflects on a manic two-year stretch of almost constant shows and recording culminating in a killer performance at Coachella. "It's pretty challenging, I'm coming to realise."

One of the things that is helping her exist is chopping things. "I love to cook," she says enthusiastically. "I love to make salads. Not like, leafy salads, but potato salads and egg salads and shit like that. I love to chop things. I love chopping things really small. I love a big knife on a little pickle."

Chopping things and mixing things up, and doing things in an idiosyncratic way is central to Remi's very being as an artist. There's no one else quite like her.

When the director Boots Riley knew he needed a specific piece of music for his new show, I'm A Virgo, he knew that he had to come to Remi, and that's the genesis for 'Prescription'. "For the past year and a half, whenever I would come home from tour, I'd immediately go to the studio," she explains.

"I had this two-week chunk of time in early February where I was working at Electric Lady with some friends. I got a call from the director, Boots Riley, who I've known for a little while. I met him in 2021 at Outside Lands; he and his family were really big fans of mine. I'd always see him and his wife and kids at my shows in San Francisco which is very cute. He gave me a call and was like hey, I'm making this show called I'm A Virgo, and I need a song for this scene. The premise of the scene was very intriguing to me, so I was like fuck it, I'm going to write this song. We wrote the song in like an hour or something. It was a fully fresh new song.

We got a three-and-a-half-minute version of the song and sent it back to Boots, and he was like ok, great, we're going to use it. It was really quick and awesome."

The song was part of a new way of working for Remi. "It was really inspired by Prince and 80s synths and 90s acoustic guitars," she says. "We're breaching a new sound, especially because all of the recording and instrumentation is completely live. Nothing digital. It's my most studio song." So good was the song that Boots required more and insisted he needed a longer version which eventually ended up as a seven-minute transcendent gospel anthem centred around Remi's stunning soulful vocal. "I was throwing it up to God with that one," she laughs. "We were in that studio for 16 hours a day for three days straight," says Remi. "We spent

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YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BEST NEW NAMES.

14. DORK

KATIE GREGSONMACLEOD Since one of her tracks went unexpectedly viral, KATIE GREGSON-MACLEOD has been firmly under the spotlight - and she's excited to show everyone what she can do.

Words: Abigail Firth. Photo: Em Marcovecchio.

→ OUTSIDE HORATIOS AT

the end of Brighton Pier, Katie Gregson-Macleod has just played her first festival show of 2023. It's actually the start of her first proper festival season after a demo of breakout single 'complex' took off over the August Bank Holiday weekend last year; it's safe to say things have changed a bit since.

"Every time I get asked about it, I'm just like, oh, man!" Katie says of the last year, shaking her head in disbelief. It's been a bit of a whirlwind that shows no signs of slowing down yet – take the fact that we couldn't get into Horatios for her Thursday afternoon set, for example, it was too full – but before she takes on this summer, we need to catch up on the last.

Overnight success stories can seem a bit hyperbolic, but for Katie, that's quite literally what happened. After a steady couple of months rising up the indie ranks (she notes she landed her first BBC Radio 1 play that same summer), she posted a clip of a song she'd just written on TikTok. "Within 24 hours, my whole life pretty much changed. It was so quick and so intense. It's like 1000 things that, had they happened in isolation over five years, would have been amazing, but they happened in a weekend, which is a lot to deal with, but it's been amazing. It's been the best, craziest, most overwhelming period of my life since."

The viral clip became 'complex (demo)', which appeared at the top of that week's Spotify New Music Friday playlist, above a collaboration by actual Elton John and Britney Spears. Quite the impact. Of course, the track taking off was a complete accident; in fact, Katie had no plans for it at all when she posted the video.

"I was actually working on a

separate indie rock EP, which was like a zero-budget kind of bedroom thing. And then that song happened. I'd written it three days before in its entirety really quickly. There was no intention to it, and obviously, I put that up at 11 at night, and then I woke up the next morning, and it was like, oh, something's happening. Something crazy is happening. I feel like as an independent songwriter or even as a signed artist, you're used to posting everything that you do, so I wasn't thinking about it, but then suddenly I realised that it wasn't a normal video for me."

From there, the labels came calling. Within a week, Katie had signed to Colombia and was working on an official version of the track. She'd gone from working as a barista to finding a team to take on music fulltime. Until now, Katie's last few summers had consisted of working as a baker in a doughnut shop in between years at Edinburgh University, where she was studying history. Before her breakthrough, she was planning to go back to do her fourth year (although she's deferred and still plans to get her degree one day).

Still adjusting to her life now in London; it's vastly different from her life in Scotland.

Growing up in Inverness and moving to Edinburgh at 18, she learned piano early on, thanks to having one in the house. Her mum ran the school choir, while her dad was an English teacher, both parents influencing her appreciation of music.

"I guess it was never a question for me growing up that it wouldn't be what I was going to do. I mean, the question was, would I be able to do it successfully?" she says of her early ambition.

Obviously, the piano is not

Within 24 hours, my whole life changed.

It was so quick and so intense" K AT I E G R E G S O N M AC L E O D

the most portable instrument, so when she moved into her uni halls, she gravitated towards the guitar. "The folk scene in Edinburgh really influenced me, and it influenced my songwriting a lot. I was writing as a child and as a teenager the whole time, but I think when I got to 18, it really became obsessive - I was really infatuated with it. I played clarinet as well. I literally love it; it's such a good instrument. I don't make it sound good right now, but I need to make it sound good at some point soon."

Katie's come-up meant she pivoted back to the piano for a moment, releasing the EP 'songs written for piano' late last year. She chose to dig into her own archive to release some songs she'd been sitting on for a few years, giving context to

the piano-centred 'complex', plus a new track 'white lies', a collaboration with Matt Maltese.

She's not relegating herself to piano ballads, though; there's something new in the pipeline.

"It's quite funny because piano became my thing with 'complex', but all the stuff I was working on before was band stuff, and then I suddenly was a piano girl. I've had people say to me, 'Oh, you're doing a piano ballads kind of thing'. And I was like, that wasn't what I was doing before. I think that people will be expecting a big switch-up, and that's what they're gonna get. I'm excited to rock out a bit more on stage."

Currently working on a new project based around a recent situationship, she's been previewing the tracks live, hoping to release them 'soon'.

"I play new songs every day because I just kind of make it up as I go along," she says, "but I like playing new ones because they're the ones I'm really attached to. A couple of them that I played in that set were new and will be coming out, but they're all different. I don't want to hammer home an acoustic version of anything too much again because with 'complex' [the response] was like, 'if you breathe differently in the recorded version, I will not be happy'."

Despite how overwhelming all of this could be, Katie says she hasn't felt the pressure to follow up the hype of her breakthrough single; she's happy to see where it takes her in the coming months.

"I would definitely feel way worse [if this happened] now. I think at the time, I was having such a crazy experience, just riding the wave, and I was so calm. There are definitely nerves attached to releasing other stuff when the audience is so much bigger, but I do think that with everything I've done, it's very honest and very me and I just hope that it translates.

"I'm way more intrigued now of the reaction to my new stuff than I was with those piano ballads.

I can't really say too much, but I'm very excited to be sonically having a new chapter." ■

READDORK.COM 15.

CATE

→ "RAT, RAT, FROG. I THINK

YOU COULD BE A HYBRID?" Cate is letting everyone in the Dork studio know if they're a rat or a frog. "Oh, I'm a frog," she assures.

She's just gotten off tour with her bestie and housemate, Maisie Peters, where the pair of them have been given knitted rats as gifts. It's a bit that started in their friend group a few years ago that fans have latched on to: everyone is either a rat or a frog.

"It's not bad; it's just what you are!" says Cate. "So we have all of these rats, and we have like ten of them now. Some of them are really amazing. Maisie got these ones that are actually the size of my head, and I was given

16. DORK

With her gigantic new single, ‘Girlfriend’, CATE‘s ready to join the Big Pop party.

Words: Abigail Firth. Photo: Em Marcovecchio.

could do. And then when I fell in love with Taylor Swift, I started picking up the guitar."

Those influences have carried over way into her adulthood. Cate still covers 'Rock Star' by Hannah Montana on tour (and dons a blonde fringed haircut similar to Miley's wig herself) and says she and Maisie have a Taylor Swift prayer candle at their gaff.

Releasing her debut EP 'Love, The Madness' in 2020, which was made up of DIY tracks she'd CAT E recorded in lockdown, her music evolved into something much and literally playing rodeos at 15 richer by the time this year's 'Tell (her yeehaw tendencies remain, Me Things You Won't Take Back' she shows up today in a jumper came around in February. It pulls with a horse motif and her blonde heavily from the breezy country hair in two braided pigtails). She pop of early Taylor Swift and moved to the UK just before the current girl-powered country of pandemic hit, initially to write for Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves other people, but when COVID and Kelsea Ballerini; her biggest came around, she found herself track 'Groupie' is surprisingly releasing her own music. comparable to 'If We Were A "I wanted to do my own project Movie' from the Hannah Montana once I stopped doing country soundtrack. music in Canada, but I didn't think "I wrote that first EP so quickly, I would do it right away," she and then I didn't really know what explains. "I was writing for other I was gonna release. But then I put people, and I thought I would do out 'Groupie' and all those singles, that for maybe a year or two, then and I met [Ed Sheeran and Maisie start releasing my own stuff, but Peters' producer] Joe Rubel, and because of COVID, I was living we started working together and with another songwriter and a accidentally made this EP." producer, so it kind of worked out She hung onto that EP for a that we wrote a whole bunch of year before releasing it, but now stuff together, and then I put it she's chasing something more out. I'm glad that we did because spontaneous. 'Get Better' came it's a very wholesome way to put out in April and is, in her words, out music." much happier than her previous Although currently living with work. Written with Ines Dunn Maisie and another friend who's (also a hitmaker for Maisie Peters studying for her master's degree and Mimi Webb), 'Get Better' and (and ten knitted rodents), she new single 'Girlfriend' are big moved in with fellow Canadian bops. and one-half of Tommy Lefroy, "'Get Better' was kind of a Tessa Mouzourakis, when she cracky day. We ended up writing first got here. verses to it that were, like, so "I love living in a house with ridiculous. I love that song; it's songwriters. But I find it funny just a bit more exciting than all because everyone's always the sad songs I was putting out like, 'Are you writing together last year." constantly?' And it's like, no, but Foraying drastically into we do write together now, and me sadbanger territory on 'Girlfriend', and Tessa still write together.

But some really cute rats from girlies the average tour – it was a bestie it's the kind of 80s pop that'd do it's nice to have a balance." coming to the shows [who are] fest with the pair's bands already Carly Rae Jepsen proud.

Her household throughout knitting them, crocheting rats." very familiar with one another; "We wrote it in like 20 minutes, her childhood was less musically Unfortunately, none of the she says it felt like a big school and it's just a lot of trauma, it's focused, though.

She describes rats have made it with her to the sleepover – but it wasn't her first such a dance song, but it's just her parents as tone deaf, and studio today, which is our tiny time at the rodeo. like the saddest thing. I only most of her talent came from setup in Brighton amidst The "I'm used to dive bars in wrote 'Girlfriend' in January, so her grandad – who could pick up Great Escape. Cate's making Canada. I used to tour in a it's nice to be able to have it out any instrument and play it – and a quick stop in the city to play country band when I was there, now and feel like it's relevant to Disney Channel. the festival for the first time so I did a lot of touring when I my life."

"He would always put on Dolly before jetting off to Nashville the was younger, but then for this She's going with the flow, Parton songs, and he'd get the following week. Annoyingly for project, because I put out most of instrument that day and play it and we can expect more singles Cate, her set clashes with Maisie's. the music in lockdown, I haven't. from Cate as the year goes on. and then make me learn, which "Illegal," she remarks. "It's The first show that I did for this Right now, she's on her way to was really nice. So he was always the Mecca of country music, actually so wrong. I did see her project was like last year in April. making music. Yeah, that and I set every day. For 14 days. I don't I feel like I've been doing gigs my watched a lot of Hannah Montana. Nashville, Tennessee, hoping to need any more, but I think we're whole life, but not with this music."

"When I grew up, it was literally tick off another childhood goal of visiting Dollywood. Saddle up, gonna try and see, like, half an Born in Canada, Cate grew just Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, hour of it." up in a farm town outside of Dolly Parton. I did musical theatre pop world; there's a new sheriff Touring the UK with Maisie Vancouver and spent her teen in town. ■ Cate’s new single when I was a kid, and choir, you has already warped Cate's idea of years playing in a country band ‘Girlfriend’ is out now. know, all the cringe things that I

We have all of these rats; we have like ten of them now..."

SPIDER

Watch out world, Spider's coming through.

Words: Abigail Firth. Photos: Em Marcovecchio. → WHEN SPIDER STARTED

RELEASING MUSIC, she was thankful that the pandemic had halted live performances. She was terrified of performing and had managed to dodge it for as long as possible. So as festival season kicks in and the hype around Spider grows, the last few weeks have been a bit of a learning curve for her.

Her nervousness comes as a bit of a surprise, considering how brutally honest and often brash her music is, you'd think it was built for stages, but that's not the case. When we meet the morning after her Great Escape show, she's the opposite of shy in person too.

"I was told to keep my expectations like really low," she says of the performance, "then they opened the curtains, and people started coming in. I was like, what the fuck, why are there

18. DORK

people here?"

Now stepping into her live groove, she's perfectly comfortable being herself on stage.

"I called [the audience] out a few times because I was like, if I'm gonna do The Great Escape, I'm gonna call out these boring white industry men. And I was kind of like, you're at a gig; why do you look like you were held here against your will?"

Born and raised in Dublin, Spider (born Jennifer Irabor for those who don't care for the pop star aliases) was particularly outspoken as a child; she recounts her parents having to tell her to pipe down a bit because she was "saying so much shit". It's a trait that's bled through into her artistry today, on her latest EP 'Hell or High Water' more than ever.

"It was all about selfexpression and not being afraid

to just say whatever you want and be authentically yourself.

I also confronted a lot about myself and said a lot of things that were on my chest through making it. It really helped me clarify what type of artist I wanted to be. 'America's Next Top Model' is so like 'fuck you', and then I realised that I did have it in me to make something like that, and to be that type of artist, I can live in that truth because that is me, it's not just an idea."

Growing up as the youngest daughter in a strict Nigerian household, her parents were particularly protective over her, not allowing her to go out much and definitely not to a concert (save for the one occasion she saw 5 Seconds of Summer with a friend, supervised of course, and went to Taylor Swift's 'Reputation' stadium tour just before she moved out). All the

I was really into alternative music; I would listen to Bring Me The Horizon and shit" SPIDER

time inside meant one thing: more time online.

Obsessed with the Tumblr crop of Halsey, Lorde and 5SOS (the latter whom she ran a fan account for, updating followers on the group's whereabouts during class), Spider fell into the alt-pop scene, but struggled to see herself there.

"I remember being so gassed about Halsey because she was half Black. It was the most whitepassing, like, crumbs, but I was like, thank god! Sometimes it was that whole thing of 'alternative music is white people music'; I was really into alternative music, and I would listen to Bring Me The Horizon and shit but keep it to myself in school because the alternative kids, most of them were white."

"In my head, I thought there didn't seem to be a lot of us in the scene, so that really motivated me to be there as a Black woman and make that type of music. I remember going into my dad's room at 1am, like, 'I think I'm gonna make alternative music because there's not enough Black women in it'."

The 'Hell or High Water' EP defines Spider and her sound, a rebellious rock star spirit trapped in her bedroom, pulling together her internet references – Lorde's sparse beats, Halsey's confessional lyrics – with the big pop melodies and vocal layering from the likes of Taylor Swift.

This summer, she'll play an enormous gig supporting K-Pop girl group titans Blackpink at their BST Hyde Park show.

With the debut show jitters long behind her, it should be her breakthrough moment. ■ Spider's new EP 'Hell or High Water' is out now.

THIS

MONTH

IN

NEW MUSIC

STONE HAVE A NEW UK TOUR BOOKED → Liverpool newcomers STONE have booked a new UK tour that'll run throughout autumn - catch them live at Newcastle, University (5th October); Leeds, Stylus (6th); Manchester, Academy 2 (7th); Glasgow, The Garage (8th); London, The Garage (10th). They announced the news alongside their latest single, 'I Gotta Feeling'.

BABY QUEEN IS ABOUT TO DROP HER DEBUT ALBUM → Baby Queen has shared a brand new single. ‘Dream Girl’ is about an unrequited crush on a woman already in a relationship, and marks the first taster from her upcoming debut album. “When I first started making music, I was like, ‘No one can know that I’m bisexual. I have to keep it a secret’,” she says of the track’s theme. “I just don’t give a fuck anymore.”

LOVEJOY GETTING

ARE BIGGER

→ Recent Dork cover stars Lovejoy have upgraded some of the venues on their upcoming (mostly-soldout) headline run. Due to clearly massive demand, they’ve moved their shows in Glasgow, Newcastle and Manchester. The band's ‘Wake Up & It’s Over’ UK tour kicks off in September, and also includes a nights at London's O2 Forum Kentish Town and Brighton's The Dome. Visit readdork.com for details.

COLE BLEU

One half of now-defunct duo The Let Go, Cole Bleu is branching out with a new project that's all her own.

I'm not going to choose success over what I want to do" COLE BLEU

Words: Ali Shutler. Photo: Jennifer McCord.

→ WHEN COLE BLEU first started

making music, she wanted to change the world. Those ambitions haven't changed. In fact, her upcoming 'Crushed!' EP sees her more confident than ever.

We're talking ahead of her first live show of the year at Brighton's Great Escape, and Cole is telling Dork how she wants the show to feel bigger than your typical festival gig. "I want to put on a pop show wherever I'm playing," she continues. Taking to Shoosh nightclub later that day, Cole delivers a sleek, considered set that's also heaps of energetic fun.

"I want to set myself apart because I think I have a lot to offer that goes beyond music," she

explains of her ambitions, with film also a big inspiration. "But the music has to be great as well," Cole adds. Well, what did you expect from someone whose new project is proudly driven by a main character energy?

New single 'YouAreYouAre' is a burst of bubblegum catharsis that sees Cole putting a shitty ex on blast and takes influence from the likes of Dominic Fike and Kevin Abstract. It follows on from the early noughties house party vibes of 'Is It Cool 2 Be Friends', the fuzzy venom of 'Homewrecker' and the giddy rave of 'Heartbreakers'. 'Sad Guy, Gemini' is the fifth and final track from 'Crushed!', adding a jubilant

the end of The Let Go; I just felt like I was supposed to be doing something else," she continues.

Because everything was going so well, Cole says it felt like the universe was asking her, "Is this really what you want?"

"I'm not going to choose success over what I want to do," she adds, knowing that less bold musicians would have stuck with what they knew. She goes on to say the transition from band to solo artist has been daunting "but in a really fun way".

"In The Let Go, I felt like I could hide behind someone else if I needed to. With this, I'm the only one I can fall back on," Cole says.

It was terrifying at first, but over the course of creating debut EP 'Crushed!' she became really secure in herself and her ideas.

"I don't feel like I'm free-falling anymore."

It started with 'Homewrecker'.

"That song has such a pop star energy, which was a left turn from what I'd been used to making, but it just felt right," she explains.

"Before, everything had to fit into this alternative box, but I really am free to do whatever I want to do now."

As well as pulling from alt music of the late-90s and early00s, 'Crushed!' is heavily inspired by films like the iconic 10 Things I Hate About You. In fact, a sample of Julia Stiles saying, "I guess in this society, being male and an asshole makes you worthy of our time", was used as a transition during her set at The Great Escape. That energy can be felt across the lyrics, which finally see Cole deal with her on-again/off-again relationship dollop of aggression into Cole's with the "toxic dude" she was newly polished world. seeing before her current partner.

Cole Bleu first started releasing That relationship started almost music via The Let Go, the alt-rock immediately after her previous band she formed alongside Scout, one ended, meaning Cole "never and things were going well. Debut really processed just how mixtape 'Delete My Feelings' was damaging it was". released in March last year, and "Five years later, and I'm the band were racking up juicy essentially healing through this tour supports and festival slots. A music," she continues, with the EP month later, though, they released tracking highs, lows and eventual a statement announcing The Let growth. "It really does feel like a Go would be moving forward as a coming of age in every way," and Cole Bleu solo project, with Scout despite the emo subject matter, still involved in the writing.

'Crushed!' leaves the listener One year on, it's clear that feeling like everything is going the shift wasn't a simple case of to be ok. rebranding. "This feels like an Cole has been writing songs entirely new thing now," says Cole. since she could hold a pen and "There was nothing negative about grew up with country music and

classic rock playing constantly in the house. Because of that, she has "always wanted to be a storyteller". Still, 'Crushed!' is the first time Cole has been this personal with her songwriting.

"I've written lyrics that are really authentic before, but this really did feel like me on a piece of paper." She was nervous about recording the songs but found the process "incredibly cathartic".

"I'm not great at opening up and talking about my emotions, but writing songs is the way that I cope with my feelings," says Cole. "Music opens up this whole new way for me to figure out my shit." She wants to give others the space to do the same. "It might be pop music, but I still want you to feel something when you listen to it. My biggest goal is to help other people feel better through music."

Cole Bleu is already writing what comes next as well. Pulling inspiration from early Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, TLC and Christina Aguilera, she's really embracing that pop star energy, "but making sure there's a grittiness to it."

"It's going to feel different again, and hopefully, people will come along for the ride," she continues.

"It's all about moving forward and never feeling stagnant."

Cole Bleu still wants to take over the world, though. She watched Ed Sheeran's Disney+ documentary The Sum Of It All recently, and her main takeaway was, "If that guy can sell out Wembley Stadium, anybody can.

You just need to have the drive and the ambition. I would love to take this project to pop spaces like stadiums."

'Crushed!' is apparently the first step towards that lofty goal. "It's really funny; a year ago, I thought I was the most confident person going," she says. Not even close.

"Now, I feel more secure in myself than I've ever felt before, and the new stuff feels even more like me.

I'm really enjoying this experience of learning about myself, pushing myself like never before and then sharing that with everyone."

"It really was scary at first," she admits. "But I know what I want, I know what I'm capable of, and it's not on anyone else but me. I've got the drive back, and I'm ready to hustle to make things happen."

■ Cole Bleu's EP 'CRUSHED!' is out now.

READDORK.COM 19.

COVER STORY

20. DORK

MAISIE PETERS

A melodic diary penned from soul-stirring experiences, MAISIE PETERS' latest album 'The Good Witch' is a tapestry of emotions. Prepare to be cast under her spell once more.

by Neive McCarthy

photography by Em Marcovecchio

styling by Luci Ellis hair & make-up by Elizabeth Rita

READDORK.COM 21.

COVER STORY

SHIFT IS COMING. A new energy, a new era, a new mindset. A chance to feel vindicated, to tell your story, to set your intentions under the moonlight. Clutch your crystals, light your incense, and take a deep breath: the witching hour has begun.

Some of the most intense, powerful magic stems from that hour of strength and heightened senses. It makes sense, then, that some of the most intense, powerful music might stem from an embodiment of that energy.

The second album from Maisie Peters, 'The Good Witch', fits that description perfectly. It's an ascension – a means of getting in touch with a higher vibration and allowing yourself to heal through creation. 'The Good Witch' is that something on the horizon that has lingered under clouds of smoke, simmering with the heat of one woman's anger. That anger has cooled, and from the heat, 'The Good Witch' emerges.

"In a way, that's what being a writer is," explains Maisie, perched on a sofa in

22. DORK

"It's about being the good witch and deciding to use your power for good, not evil" MAISIE PETERS East London. "It's about being the good witch and deciding to use your power for good, not evil. It's important to tell the truth. Music is subjective, and it's my music, so I get to decide. It's interesting when I look back at the album and all the songs that didn't make it as well.

I'm struck by how most, if not all, of the songs that made it, in my opinion, for a breakup album, I don't think it's that mean. There's not a lot of anger, hate, or malice in it. Those types of songs, the petty songs, maybe they don't stand the test of time. Being the good witch is letting those songs stay in my back pocket. It's funny; the songs that do make it tell the right story. That's a story I'm proud to tell, and I think I will be – I think it will age well."

Written over the last year of her life, Maisie's second release tells the story of a fundamental twelve months in her world. It's equally coloured by heartbreak and loss as it is with undiluted joy, unguarded and seeped in sadness, but also a cackling tale of rising above. It's the peaks and troughs of a woman in her early twenties, consumed by emotion and poised with pen in hand.

"With the first album, I was making it arguably my whole life," reflects Maisie.

"Some of those songs I wrote when I was sixteen. It was a flinging of paints on a canvas. It was broader, and I was reaching in lots of different places and saying lots of different things in different ways, sonically and lyrically. I'm really proud of that album, but I don't know if I'd make the same album now. That album addressed the reader, and I think with this album, it's a more truthful album in terms of the way I wrote it and what I wrote it about. It is more vulnerable, and there's more of myself in this album than there was in the first."

Her debut, 'You Signed Up For This', was an ode to growing up, wrapped in bubble-gum pop and synths. It finds an older sister in 'The Good Witch', one that at first glance looks vastly different.

On closer inspection, you see the same nose, the same strip of freckles across cheekbones, the same dimple when they smile. There are the same tendencies; to forgive but not forget, to chronicle everything, to take you directly into the scene of each moment with her. Yet, the Maisie we meet here is wiser, more restrained in a lot of ways, holding her pen slightly differently.

"It's such a cliché, but it always makes me think of Britney Spears," smiles Maisie. "'I'm not a girl, not yet a woman'.

I would argue that I was still very much a girl making 'You Signed Up For This'.

That was my coming-of-age album.

With this album, I feel more and more like a woman, which is such a funny thing to say. I do think there was a switch in the last year in the way I see myself. That energy runs through it."

'The Good Witch' deals with a myriad of complex emotions – raging over an ex who has moved on, cursing yourself for wanting someone back despite how they treated you, feeling like 'the man'.

Yet, it does so in a more poised way. It's an album that is very reactive and firmly planted in the present moment, but she gives herself the space and time to mull things over and dig to the bottom of her feelings. It touches bases and checks in on the self constantly, burrowing closer to an inner truth that is calmly told.

"For me, a lot of writing this album was a means of processing," muses Maisie. "But it was also just a way of chronicling and getting down what I was experiencing and what was happening at the time. The last year was very hectic – I was on tour a lot, and I was constantly travelling; I moved house, and there was so much going on. While doing that, I was experiencing this heartbreak and having to deal with that at the same time.

The process of writing this album – the writing down ideas, the talking about it, the writing sessions – all of those things were ways to centre myself and remind myself of how I was feeling. In writing

MAISIE PETERS

it down, I think it's a way to know that for better or for worse, that's how you felt, that was your experience, and that did happen and was true."

'The Good Witch' is something akin to a musical journal; it's brimming with plane tickets, photobooth strips, and scribbles of thoughts. It's a collection of feelings and moments as they came, in reflection, and as they might be. Meticulously taking stock of things as they happened meant that for a lot of the album, the end of that story was unclear. Maisie had the empty pages, and she was able to write her own narrative.

Songs became objects of her manifestations, packed to bursting with visions of the future and hopes of emerging anew from this heartbreak.

"It's nice to write songs as intentions, even if you don't feel like that," she explains.

"You can write that song and feel like that for the time.

That's what 'Lost The Breakup' was. That's how I was going to feel."

The second single from the album, 'Lost The Breakup' revels in indie-pop glory as it acknowledges how she "might be a mess right now" but will soon have her arm raised as the winner. She fills her songs with mantras for how she might want to feel – 'Run' instructs exactly what to avoid in a boy, while 'Coming of Age' insists that she is running this show. It's something to cling to, both for Maisie herself and her army of fans.

Sometimes, though, those higher states of being are a bit more out of reach. To get to that ideal state of mind, there's some work to be done.

There are feelings to be felt, and Maisie brings them all into the light. As much as one might curse themselves for it, in the thick of heartache, that overthinking and longing and lingering sadness cut through the edges despite all attempts to seal it out.

"There is some part of me that thinks maybe it is easier to be heartbroken than one thinks," Maisie reflects. "That sounds strange, but it's easy to feel sad and wronged. It's easy to write that music and know how you feel. You know what to do with it. You can't have that thing or the person you want. It's obviously really difficult and hard at the time, but at least you know the steps.

READDORK.COM 23.

COVER STORY

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MAISIE PETERS

You know where you're going. Maybe that's easier than being in love; I'm not sure."

"I always think about Florence + the Machine. I love her; she's one of my idols. She wrote about how when she was younger, she thought the best way to make music was to be sad and to be fucked up all the time, but she realised that's not true. It just feels easier to be like, 'I'm sad, I hate this, and I don't know what to do', rather than to be happy. The quiet calm of being happy makes it harder to pick out how you feel and why you feel it. I think that's true.

That's my next challenge. The emotions are right on the surface, and it's easier to work out how you feel. It's almost like you can't stop talking about it. Obviously, there are some examples of great 'lover girl' albums. 'Golden Hour' is amazing.

That's the next plane I must tackle."

'The Good Witch' becomes a world to revel in those dark emotions and emerge stronger. To feel that fury and attempt to heal, to indulge in the ugly side of things and find a new appreciation for the good.

'Body Better' is the perfect example, in a lot of ways. Spiralling in self-doubt and helplessly comparing herself, Maisie acknowledges a kind of truth of human nature. "Was I wrong and is she so right? / Is her body better than mine?" she pleads. We may be fed these Pinterest fitting ideas of how we are all individuals and comparison is a killer, but it's something so many young women have felt despite all good intentions. "I'm not claiming that it's logical or true or a positive way to spend your time," Maisie assures. "But it was a real situation I was in. That's an important thing to write about too."

Though she explores different sonic directions and finds herself taking the reins of the story far more, there's one thing that has remained the same throughout her career. The solidarity she offers her listeners, many of whom are young women like Maisie, is immense.

There's a truth to her writing that is rooted in her experience of girlhood; it's the debriefing of a bad date with your friends, the overthinking and rewriting of a simple message, seeing angel numbers or a too-close-to-home horoscope and texting your best friend 'I think this is a sign' repeatedly. That kinship is stronger than ever on 'The Good Witch'. ''Wendy' and 'History of Man' both do look at gender and the never-ending work of being a woman. It wasn't intentional, and I say woman, but I mean anyone that identifies that, and the same with the femininity of the album.

It's my version of that, which is a more nuanced version than just the divine feminine energy, whatever that is. It's however you choose to channel it. A lot of the songs have that running through.

I did a tarot card reading when I was in New York, and the woman did say I was stepping into my masculine energy, though, which is good to know. Maybe

"There was a switch in the last year in the way I see myself. That energy runs through it" MAISIE PETERS I'm doing both."

There's a kind of guidance found in those mentions of figures in 'Wendy' and 'History of Man' – the stories of women throughout history who have suffered heartbreak and pain and come out on the other side. 'History of Man' recounts familiar tales – of the poets, of Helen of Troy, of Samson and Delilah. It brings them into startling life amidst Maisie's own story, the founding members of this coven.

"I've always read a lot," acknowledges Maisie. "I've always been into books and poetry and fiction and mythology – Greek mythology, Roman mythology.

I think it naturally bled into what I was doing. With 'History of Man', it

naturally became what it was. It was a very easily written song. It was written super quickly. I was writing it with Joe Rubel, and we were playing around with the guitar. I had this text from my friend, Gretta Ray, who's an Australian singersongwriter. We text all the time. We were talking about somebody, and she replied: 'Wow, he must be the most clueless person in the history of man'. I thought that was a good phrase, and it must have been rattling around in my mind because we ended up writing that song."

Those women in her life, like Gretta, continue this sisterhood for Maisie.

There's an army of talented women rallying around her to unpack and revel in this magical year, too. "Cate READDORK.COM 25.

COVER STORY

"It's easy to feel sad and wronged. It's easy to write that music and know how you feel. You know what to do with it" MAISIE PETERS

26. DORK

and Tommy [Lefroy] are some of my closest friends. Laufey, also, she's just announced she's doing a 'Bewitched' tour. We're really good friends. There's a whole group of us. Ines Dunn, a songwriter I work with, Elvira and Tove in Stockholm. I love working with them and being around them. I feel very inspired by them."

Of course, she pays homage to the loved ones in her life, too. A particularly special moment on the album is 'The Band and I', written across continents and tours in a bid to convey the love she has for those in her life. It's a sweet recollection of moments, softly building to absolute anthemic release.

"It's so crazy to me that I have this time capsule of my year last year," Maisie reminisces. "It's the craziest song. Myself and the band listen to it all the time.

Dominique was my videographer, and now she goes to Juilliard, and we're still best friends – she texts me all the time to say, 'I just listened to 'The Band and I' again!'

"It's so weird and cool how that song is going to exist forever. I'll always listen to it and know exactly where I was. It was this long, epic saga of writing in different countries. That was such a huge part of

my last year, it's a huge part of who I am, and the band, the tours, the shows, and the fans are a huge part of my life and what I want to talk about and what I care about.

"That's what this album was – talking about things I care about. It feels important to the story for several different reasons. It's probably one of my favourites on the album."

Partly made in LA, partly in London, partly in Stockholm, the album came together in tandem with those delirious, chaotic experiences she describes on 'The Band and I'. The range on the album reflects that – the feverish intensity and stream-of-consciousness delusions of 'BSC' sits right next to the still, forlorn arrangements of 'Two Weeks Ago'. 'Run' acts as a more grown-up version of her debut's 'Boy' in its scathing assessment of men and their many red flags, citing Britney and Gwen Stefani in its attempt to unapologetically favour boldness.

Towards the end of the album, however, there is a shift. A peacefulness settles over Maisie, as though she's expelled the extremity of those emotions and found a new plane. 'There It Goes' is a crucial point in this journey. Things may not be perfect, and pangs of pain might hit still, but some healing has been done. Into her cauldron, this good witch pours in all different shades of pop, devastating lyricism, and vocals that are more angel than sorceress. The resulting potion is a clearing of the lungs – a deep breath that allows her to let go and move on. "The universe is shifting / and it's all for me", she sings. It's the tentative but trusting first steps into whatever comes next. "'There It Goes' was the last song I wrote for the album. It's definitely a song of clarity and closure and looking at your life from a rear-view mirror. You're a bit further on. When I wrote that song, I was in it exactly – it's verbatim what happened in the last week of my life. I would say that I remember writing those lyrics and that section and feeling very strongly that it was true. It felt like an end. I wrote that song and knew I was done with the album. I knew that was the last page; the book closed."

'The Good Witch' tells a story that is formidable in its resonance. A heart shattered, a single ship tossed in the waves caused by heartbreak's storm.

Comfort found in loved ones who build you up and make memories to be treasured. A realisation that there is more to be found and more deserved; there is a power to be unlocked. Maisie may have begun by idealising about how she might feel when she has moved past these things. Somewhere along the way, it feels as though she has embodied those manifestations. This is Maisie Peters having come into a new kind of magic, a new strength. The tarot cards are in her more than capable hands.

What card does she think she would pull? Hope, renewal, newfound purpose.

It's 'The Star'. ■ Maisie Peters' album

'The Good Witch' is out 23rd June.

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FEATURES

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GENGAHR

Back with their brilliant new album 'Red Sun Titans', GENGAHR are pushing back to hit new heights.

by Steven Loftin photography by Jennifer McCord

READDORK.COM 29.

FEATURES

N THE THREE YEARS since

Gengahr's last album, things have changed.

Regrouping after 2020's 'Sanctuary', the Londonbased four-piece took stock of their standing. "We've had to work incredibly hard just to be here now," Felix Bushe admits. "Having this moment, this is some act of defiance in terms of getting to where we are."

Joyous defiance is the perfect descriptor for Gengahr's return. "I think a lot of saner, more sensible, smarter human beings would have decided to try their hand at something else at this point," the frontman chuckles. "But we believe in what we're doing, and we have a profound love for one another as well. We enjoy making music, so it makes sense to do it."

Luckily, they did keep at it. From the ashes of an album spoiled by COVID, and a stormy time trying to figure out just what they wanted to do, rises 'Red Sun Titans'. It's an expansive, luscioussounding offering. But, most importantly, it's Genghar back to their best and brightest.

"We want the journey of the record to be quite clear," says Felix. "I see the

30. DORK

"We don't feel dependent on anything now; we're just here, and we're doing what we do" FELIX BUSHE songs as symbols and icons, but also little messages, almost mantras for reminding myself - that are also helpful to other people - how to exist."

It's a return to basics; they've figured out how to put the pieces of their past and present together to craft their future. After the regrouping, they began to write and play songs. Admittedly hardly groundbreaking, but with the intricacies and process growing from 2015's 'A Dream Outside' to 2018's 'Where Wilderness Grows' and beyond, Gengahr had deviated from the simplicity. They stripped the noise back to four mates doing what they do best.

Most importantly, 'Red Sun Titans' features some of Felix's most personal offerings, something he emphasises in his attitude toward 'Red Sun Titans'. "I feel very calm. It's been a little while since we've put [an album] out, and it doesn't feel quite as chaotic as normal. I don't know why that is."

It could possibly be because 'Red Sun Titans' is Gengahr's freshest start yet. "In some ways, it feels like the very beginning again," explains Felix. "In terms of our headspace. We've got very good at allowing everyone to have room to have space and do the things they need to do."

Growing up is key to this revelation and the latest chapter. "I don't feel the same pressure that maybe I felt at the beginning," he reckons. "That new young band thing, where every single

waking hour, if you're not driving towards recognition and making something that's going to change the world, then you're not spending your hours correctly."

It's those personal offerings which allowed Felix and co a chance to work through a whole heap of stuff to reach this maturation. "I was surprised looking back at how much of myself was in it," he says. "Because I didn't think I was doing that at the time. I think I was just writing songs, things that sounded right and felt right, and I didn't appreciate how much of myself was being examined."

Indeed, not the lightest of starts, Felix notes that 'Red Sun Titans' began as he was dealing with "questioning my own choices and my own existence." But when the results sound so easy-breezy, it's hard to discern the reckoning it holds - yet it's all hidden in plain sight. From Gengahr's point of view, it takes a certain amount of trust in the rest of your band to bear your weight such as this. Fortunately, they have been together since childhood.

Forming when they were 12, they were even managed at that point. "We were playing and doing stuff in our very early teens, playing club nights when we shouldn't have been in there!" he marvels. "We've seen a lot, we've done a lot, and we're still very good friends, and as close to family as you could be. We have an unbelievable idea about how the inner workings of all of our minds work because we spend too much time together," he chuckles.

The strife that led to 'Red Sun Titans' was a perfect storm; 'Sanctuary' not finding its feet, while also reflecting back upon their dizzying start. Gengahr's debut was an album that poked the dreaded hype hornets' nest. Looking at the musical landscape Gengahr are reemerging into, Felix recognises that he feels "a little bit disconnected" now. "We were one of these bands that had a huge amount of buzz when we first came out, and people wrote amazing things about us… and we probably disappointed most of them. That's the reality," he shrugs.

"And now a lot of them probably think well, why the fuck should we care about this band anymore? They've done four albums. They're not as big as Foals or

GENGAHR

Arctic Monkeys - who gives a shit? But the other side of it is, I think we've made our best record yet, and we're still getting better, so they should care."

There's a childhood innocence that flows throughout like a trundling river. It reflects an easier time, shimmering in the airy weightlessness the band have made for themselves. While it also reckons with the heftier side of life, it never strays too far from its basest idea of just letting the frothy white water glide over you as you pass through.

On late album cut 'Napoleon', Felix softly sings the line "Fear is just a chemical". It's not hard to discern that this is very well the crux of 'Red Sun Titans'.

It's embracing the unknown, doing away with those negative thoughts and realising that Genghar have found an entirely new chapter that is the amalgamation of all of these lessons and sounds. It elegantly folds itself throughout every song, seamlessly playing up to the majesty that it holds for the group.

"I've always felt like Genghar is greater than the sum of its parts," ponders Felix. "And I think it's very difficult for me to be entirely myself all the time because I, to a certain degree, say things that are agreed with by a collective, and that is always going to lead things into a certain direction." He continues, "It does become a collective crusade almost at the end. Everyone has to buy into it, right? They have to believe in what's being said and feel it as well."

Suffice it to say that 'Red Sun Titans' is Gengahr at their strongest. And for all the trouble they had to go through to get here, Felix is the first to admit that it was worth it. "I just feel like there is a weight lifted from us," he nods. "We don't feel dependent on anything now; we're just here, and we're doing what we do. For me, everything starts and finishes with the music, and we've done the album now, and we'll go on to do another one." With this delightful threat hanging in the air, Felix ends: "This is an opportunity for us to show again why people should want to embrace us as a band, and we hope to continue defying the odds as we go." ■ Gengahr's album 'Red Sun Titans' is out now.

READDORK.COM 31.

THOMAS With a brand new collection of six songs he thinks you'll rather like, and a headline slot at Dork's Day Out this August coming up, THOMAS HEADON is just enjoying the vibes.

IS

by Abigail Firth photography by Jennifer McCord

styling by Amy Holden-Brown grooming by Lauren Newman

A TSHIRT: VINTAGE FROM DEPENDABLE DOG BRACELET: STEPHEN WEBSTER

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THOMAS HEADON

HEADON

HAVING READDORK.COM 33.

"I HAD A REALLY BIG YEAR WITHOUT REALISING I HAD A REALLY BIG YEAR" T H O M AS H E A D O N

Thomas Headon is already saying, "we're getting really deep now", and talking about how time isn't real.

Ironically, this is rather philosophical for a pop star who's recently dropped all of the 'deep' stuff and is instead just focusing on having a nice time.

About to release his ridiculously titled new EP 'Six Songs That Thomas Headon Likes And Thinks You Would Like Too', he's clearly in the business of silliness, a sharp pivot from how seriously he was taking himself on last year's 'Victoria'.

The EP comes off the back of a big ol' year for Thomas, where he went on three tours – one solo, one co-headlined with Alfie Templeman and another supporting Sigrid – played the festival circuit, including an appearance at BST Hyde Park on a lineup personally curated by headliner Elton John(?!), and released the 'Victoria' EP, which charted at Number 23 on release and became the highest charting EP of last year.

You might think the poor lad is knackered, but he actually has the boundless energy of an E-numbered-up 7-year-old (he is genuinely more energetic than the golden Labrador that joins us in the studio today) and cannot sit still for the interview, intermittently chomping on a Pret baguette.

But for all of the accomplishments, Thomas is feeling pretty humble about it all.

"Elton John. That was fucking weird," he says. "Was that a highlight of last year?

I think so. I had a really big year without realising I had a really big year. In 2021, if you had told me all those things happened, I would be like, oh shit, that's crazy. But looking back now, I'm just like, yeah, that happened. That's my job."

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He's sort of processing it all as he talks about it, although stepping into this new release cycle and getting asked about it is probably the first time he's been able to think about it properly. This is where he starts to explain that time is going too fast, and he was promised there wouldn't be a lot of touring this year.

"I don't tend to look back on things and be like, wow. I'm just full of gratefulness," he says half-mockingly. "Is that a bad thing? I don't think so. I'm just here to vibe. I think all of these things, I'm so lucky to have

happened, but I'm not looking towards the rest of the year being like, my goals are this and this. I think if you expect too much, you get disappointed. That sounds really negative, but I am enjoying it."

It's been over a year since he released 'Victoria', an EP that was more consciously indie-leaning and lyrically felt uberpersonal, spanning topics from secret love stories through to the death of a friend. At the time, it was a change of pace from the giddiness of his earliest releases, but now he's getting back to himself.

JUMPER: ACNE STUDIOS. JEANS: NEEDLES. BRACLET & RING: STEPHEN WEBSTER.

E'RE ONLY FIVE MINUTES INTO OUR CHAT, and

THOMAS HEADON

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THOMAS HEADON IS HEADLINING DORK'S DAY OUT THIS AUGUST, 'FYI' → WE HOPE YOU'VE BEEN KEEPING YOUR CALENDARS CLEAR AND YOUR EXCITEMENT LEVEL ON HIGH, BECAUSE THE DORK'S DAY OUT 2023 LINE-UP JUST GOT EVEN BIGGER! We're thrilled to announce our Really Very Good headliner, London-slash-Melbourne alt-pop sensation Thomas Headon, and the addition of unmissable new favourites Swim School to our ultimate summer party.

Following last year's breakout moment with his 'Victoria' EP, Thomas Headon is well acquainted with viral success. He already managed to sell out London's huge O2 Forum Kentish Town, and his recent single '2009 Toyota' is taking over the airwaves. He's also on the cover of this month's new issue of Dork, too. Quite the look.

Also joining the bill are Edinburgh's dreamy Swim School, fresh off their second EP, 'Duality'.

Long time Dork faves, they're no strangers to a massive banger, and are quite probably one of the best new live acts in the UK today.

The new additions are joining our already fantastic line-up featuring Courting, Honeyglaze, and Pixey. The day-long extravaganza will take place on Saturday, 5th August at London’s Signature Brew Blackhorse Road. Grab your tickets now from Dice for a very reasonable £17.50 (plus booking fee). A full day of bands, cold drinks, and good times for around twenty quid? We call that a bargain.

And stay tuned, because we've got still more artists and DJs in store to reveal very soon indeed. Head to readdork.com for more.

36. DORK

SHIRT : ARIES JEANS: VINTAGE SHOES: CONVERSE

THOMAS HEADON

"I think because the last one was so personal, I cared so much about the way I put it out and presented myself and all the content around it, I feel like I lost a part of me. If you looked at me during that time, it was very, like, 'I'm so serious', which is just not me at all. With this one, I'm proud of them being my songs more so because I'm like, it just sounds good. I'm not sitting here like, it's a deep story about when I met my cousin Timmy in the mountains; I made this song with people I like, and it sounds good."

The six songs that make up the EP weren't initially intended as such. In the spirit of making music more playfully, rather than it being written on the guitar in his room, he wrote this EP spontaneously with friend and previous collaborator Taka Perry.

Although born in London, Thomas grew up in Melbourne before moving back to the UK capital in 2019 to pursue music. He still calls Melbourne home, though, and when he visits (two weeks is more than enough, he says), he crams some time into work. On this occasion, he travelled home for Christmas and flew up to Sydney to spend a week in the studio with Taka.

He'd finally released 'Georgia' – a track that'd been played live time and time again throughout his rigorous 2022 touring schedule and demanded by fans – in November and didn't have any plans for it beyond the single release, but it found it's way onto an EP by the start of 2023.

"We played it in soundcheck before it was released. Then we played it on live streams, played it here, there, everywhere, and it was never spoken about at all as to be released, but then it came out, and it was one of those things that was a gut feel - like it was meant to come out and be there."

He decided to pull it into a full project shortly before the release of 'I Loved A Boy', which is easily the 'deepest' track here, and his Taylor-Swift-ified sung-fromsomeone-else's-perspective moment.

"It's weird because I like the song, but I don't see it in the same way. I don't personally get really excited by it because I don't relate to it. I wrote that in Australia with Taka one morning after I had a coffee with my friend Emily and she cried to me in a Starbucks. But I'm so shit at giving advice; I can give sympathy, sure, but advice I'm so shit at giving. The worst thing was I think she was asking for advice, and I was like, I don't know, here's the music!"

Also on the EP are the big summer bop 'W4NNA DO' (which opens with the second milk reference on the EP), 'Not Saying Goodbye' which sounds like Busted at their most ballad-y, and 'Wet Tongue', a song that bottles teenage sexual frustration and features the phrase "full throttle right hand" (he does not know what this means).

It's Thomas embracing his pop side – even if he says he'd rather be called a rock star (boooooo). "That's why I'm so excited for this EP because I fucking love pop music.

And we can get into the whole Justin Bieber thing where he's like, 'it's popular music'," he says that part in a bad Canadian accent, "but who cares whether it's Justin Bieber saying that or whether it's fucking John Lennon? I'm not afraid of pop music at all.

My favourite one's 'W4NNA DO', and that one is so pop."

The big star of the show is latest drop, '2009 Toyota'. It's a song that condenses the fun he's been craving into 2 and a half minutes, featuring a pitched-up chorus and nonsense lyrics that flew straight off the top of the dome.

"I don't even drink soy milk," he says, clarifying some of the track's lyrics. "So I don't know what that's all about. I've never stolen a carpet from Target – a carpet is quite a difficult thing to steal; I don't think I'm gonna get a Target sponsorship with that song. There's no truth or deep story about it. My friend Charlie does have a rooftop, though, and it is usually better than a bar."

A known fibber, Thomas' lies have caught up with him on occasion. "It did come back and bite me. I did a TV thing recently, where they were like, 'we've heard you carry a toothpick with you all the time', I was like, I've never done that in my life."

It hasn't deterred him, though. He doesn't even own a 2009 Toyota Camry (the lyric confused his mum quite a bit), but he does have a Holden Cruze (this is a Chevrolet Cruze in the UK) back in Australia. However,

"I'M JUST HERE TO VIBE" T H O M AS H E A D O N

READDORK.COM 37.

COVER STORY

JACKET & JEANS: BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB SHOES: CONVERSE

"DO I GIVE OFF 'I CAN'T DRIVE' ENERGY?" T H O M AS H E A D O N

38. DORK

Thomas does plan on getting his hands on a Toyota for his upcoming June tour – he's playing six dates in far more intimate venues than the Kentish Town Forum he headed up at the end of 2022 – where he'll be driving himself around the country.

It's part of a sort-of bit where Thomas says the label spent too much on touring last year, so he's having to do the promotion himself. It's not limited to driving himself around on tour either; his Instagram shows him putting up promotional posters himself too.

"We went through all the costs of touring last year, and we were just like, fuck no, we're never doing that again," he explains. Ironically it seems the touring funds have gone into getting the actual vehicle instead. "I think the label's buying [the car], which is really funny. I hope I get to keep it afterwards because then, technically, my record label's bought me a car." Now that's a rock star move.

He tells us they've booked him in for a legal driving test, too, to ensure he is road safe before flinging himself down the M40.

This seems to have touched a nerve.

"I can drive! People comment on my shit all the time as well, saying, 'I feel like you can't drive'. Do I just give off 'I can't drive' energy?" Now we're not here

to make assumptions, but Thomas has arrived to our photo shoot with a black eye after dropping a weight on his face the previous day and admits in our chat he's accidentally leaked his own address on a live stream before. Getting behind the wheel for his own tour sounds a bit concerning. "I'm a very capable driver.

I've never been in an accident; I've only had one speeding ticket. I've done all the driving, guys."

We, particularly, are hoping he makes it around the UK in one piece because he'll be pulling up at Signature Brew in August for his headline set at Dork's Day Out. It comes towards the end of a more relaxed festival season for Thomas this year and before he heads off to Europe for another intimate run.

"I'm super excited. And I get free beer thanks to you," he says optimistically. "I would be okay with only getting paid in beer. A lot of other people wouldn't, but I would be very happy with that."

He adds that owning a pub is actually one of his long-term goals. "I go by Thomas in a lot of places, but I'm lucky that I can shorten my name to Tom. Like, Tom's Beer is such a good name; he just sounds like he runs a brewery. Tom's Pub. That's so great, right?"

Despite all of the fun he's currently having, Thomas drops in that he's getting into album mode, and we'll see that serious side pop out again then.

Whatever's coming next, it's sure to be as unpredictable as he is (today, we break the record for most tangents in a one-hour interview, so we can only imagine how his writing sessions go). He's taking every day as it comes – sometimes he wakes up and finds out Elton John wants him to play a show, other times he realises he's doing a shoot, and he's got a shiner – embracing the rollercoaster that's been the last few years for him.

The EP might be six songs Thomas Headon likes and thinks you'd like too, but it's also a glimpse into the joyful chaos of his world. No matter where he's going, with Thomas behind the wheel, it's gonna be a wild ride. ■ Thomas Headon's EP

'Six Songs That Thomas Headon Likes And Thinks You Would Like Too' is out 30th June.

THOMAS HEADON

READDORK.COM 39.

FEATURES

40. DORK

POOL

POOL KIDS

JUMP

IN

THE

Florida-based emo math-rock quartet - and new cult favourites - Pool Kids are making a splash in the UK.

By Ali Shutler. Photography by Jennifer McCord.

→ BACK IN 2020, Hayley Williams

claimed that Pool Kids were exactly the sort of band Paramore "wished they sounded like in the early 2000s". As co-signs go, it was a big one, and a new wave of people quickly discovered the band's twinkling debut album 'Music To Practice Safe Sex Too'. Rather than letting that comparison define them, though, it's fast becoming a footnote in Pool Kids' giddy career.

"Fans respectfully don't give a shit about that first record anymore," explains drummer Caden Clinton. Instead, Pool Kids' second, self-titled album, which came out in 2022 before being re-released in Europe earlier this year via Big Scary Monsters, is now causing all sorts of excitement. "The pressure's on for making that next record already," admits vocalist Christine Goodwyne.

"It seems we beat the sophomore slump, though," adds Caden. "I don't know what people say about a third album; hopefully, that it's usually really good?"

Today, Pool Kids are speaking to Dork in Brighton, ahead of three shows in 24 hours at The Great Escape. Each one is jubilant, chaotic and full of fiery heart. A few days earlier, they played the best show they've ever played as a band at London's Sebright Arms after a run around Europe supporting La Dispute. "It was incredibly special," says guitarist Andy Anaya. "There was just this

feeling of joy in the room."

Pool Kids originally formed in 2017 with the goal of being "a sick local band that everyone was hyped about." They'd been to countless local punk rock shows in Florida and seen how stoked everyone was to be there, how fun the gigs were and how powerful that sense of community was. "We just wanted to be a part of that," says Christine.

Since then, they have been adding new goals and ticking them off almost as quickly. This run of shows is the first time Pool Kids have ever played outside of America, but there's already another international tour set to be announced soon. "Now, we just want to create something that endures," says Andy.

While their debut album blended twinkling emo, math-rock and punk into songs that avoided returning to a chorus at all costs, Pool Kids wanted to try their hand at more traditional song structures on album two. "I knew I had to quit writing songs for house shows," says Caden, with Christine taking influence from the likes of pop mavericks Charli XCX and Caroline Polachek.

"Learning how to write a chorus is the hardest thing this band has done," says Christine, who moments earlier was talking about phoning countless venues across North America trying to get Pool Kids a gig and putting on their own shows in her backyard during the "painful" early years of the band. "It was a fun challenge,

though," she adds.

"We were going for an anthemic, exhilarating, big-sounding album without turning our backs on the root of the band," says Andy. The end result is "melancholic, but it has that glimmer of hope."

Lyrically, 'Pool Kids' follows a similar path, with Christine writing about a "mutual, painful break-up where you still love each other" after her seven-year relationship with her high-school sweetheart came to an end. "Not every break-up is 'I hate you, you suck' or 'I'm sad, I don't want you to leave'," she continues, with the record "going back and forth over the decision, trying to make yourself grow apart but also wanting to get back together."

She really didn't expect it to connect with as many people as it has. "Sometimes, when you write so specifically and honestly about your life, you convince yourself that you're the only one it's going to be relatable to. Turns out I've never had an original experience in my life," she adds with a grin.

Live, the band are noisier and more energetic than their occasionally delicate recorded music might suggest. "We want to make an environment where people who relate to the lyrics can have that release," says Christine.

"That's where the joy comes from, seeing your music connecting with people and acting as a catalyst for them to have fun."

Pool Kids' rise comes as emo music, in general, has undergone something of a resurgence

"Learning how to write a chorus is the hardest thing this band has done"

CHRISTINE GOODWYNE in recent years. The likes of Paramore, Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance have all toured extensively, noughties anthems are regularly blowing up on TikTok, and a new generation of bands are pulling heavily from that era. "It's extremely inspiring.

It seems hopeful like humans are still going to be interested in doing this for a while," says Christine, even if Pool Kids aren't particularly interested in nostalgia.

"You don't want to be reliving your first record for the rest of your life," says Christine, with the group looking to shake things up again with whatever comes next. "There are elements of 'Pool

Kids' that we want to continue with," continues Andy. "But there are new elements that we want to bring along as well."

"We've learned real quick that people are much more interested in new music than what's come before," starts Caden, with Christine adding, "The last record cycle was four years for us. This album's been out for ten months, but people are already starting to ask what's next."

"The amount of anticipatory energy is off the charts right now," says Andy, but the band aren't worried about living up to any hype. "We're just really excited about what's coming up for us." ■ READDORK.COM 41.

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THE JAPANESE HOUSE

THE JAPANESE HOUSE's Amber Bain ventures into a bold journey of self-discovery and healing with her second album 'In The End It Always Does'. Blending melancholy and joy, it's a heart-rending experience that resonates on a profound, human level.

SUNSHINE,

BABY.

by Ali Shutler

photography by Megan McIsaac

READDORK.COM 43.

'VE DEPIGEONHOLED MYSELF AS THAT SAD, SAD INDIEPOP GIRL," says

The Japanese House's Amber Bain. While 2019 debut album 'Good At Falling' was just upbeat enough to stop the lyrics from feeling completely devastating, there are moments of actual joy on upcoming second album 'In The End It Always Does'.

"It's a fun record to listen to," she adds before revealing that it deals with the end of a relationship. However, Amber didn't actually realise she was writing

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"I just wanted to write songs that are really pleasing to listen to" AMBER BAIN a break-up record when she started it.

Recent single 'Sunshine Baby' began during the honeymoon period and was finished when the relationship was basically over. "I was listening back to the chorus, and it sounds like we'd been breaking up for a while," says Amber, who sings lines like "I don't wanna fight anymore" and "Surely someone's gonna save me" over shimmering, escapist pop.

"Love was never the issue. I never wasn't in love," she said in an accompanying press release. "But I realised I wasn't in love with myself." They broke up shortly after the album was finished.

Inspired by folk, country and Fleetwood Mac, there's a warmth to 'In The End It Always Does' alongside an undeniable pop majesty. "There have been times where I felt like I had to prove myself as a clever musician by going through 1000 different key changes, but with this record, I just wanted to write songs that are really pleasing to listen to," she says, with the record also featuring contributions from MUNA's Katie Gavin.

"A lot of the time I was making this album, I was really sad, but I was also ecstatically happy," explains Amber, who had moved back to London after originally leaving the city for Margate and struggled with getting much done during COVID-enforced lockdowns.

"It finally felt like things were moving and grooving again," she says, with the recording coming together over a buzzy six-month period.

"Being in the studio, I felt alive. I felt fulfilled, but my relationship was falling apart. That's two quite dramatic things to be feeling simultaneously," she offers, pouring that euphoria and heartbreak into the record. "In a weird way, it's exciting to be scared and to not know what's going to happen. You can hear that in the music, which has this freedom to it."

Even the title walks that line between optimism and surrender. "It's funny, but it's comforting to hear that 'In The End It Always Does'," says Amber. "Yes, it's sad because it's talking about things always

ending, but there's something comforting in knowing that just because something ends, it doesn't have to be the most tragic thing in the world. Sometimes, it's a really positive thing." As she sings on 'Sunshine Baby', "hold onto this feeling because you won't feel it for long".

That positivity wasn't always easy to find, though. The Japanese House released their debut EP in 2015 and was painted as a mysterious artist, with some people convinced it was a Matty Healy side project. The reality is that Amber just didn't like having her photo taken. Any notions of mystery were quickly broken down with a string of deeply personal, highly emotional songs that didn't hold anything back. Amber released four more EPs over the next five years alongside a full-length album and toured heavily. When the pandemic forced her to stop at the start of 2020, the well was empty. "I honestly felt like I needed to sleep for a year," says Amber.

"I convinced myself I was this lazy person with no drive because all I wanted to do was lie down and watch TV all day, but I think I was a bit depressed," Amber explains, adding that any routine makes her feel bleak. "Everyone thought I was going to write 7000 albums at the beginning of lockdown," but without anything surprising or interesting going on in her life as a "domestic slump", nothing came out. "Why can't I write songs?" she'd ask herself, convinced she'd forgotten how. "That is a really scary feeling, and it only makes things worse," she explains.

Instead of banging her head against the desk or worrying about what to have for dinner the next night ("a harrowing sentence"), Amber started working with a nearby kids charity and opened her home to a Ukrainian family. "I figured I needed to do some things that are a bit more useful to the world," she reasons. "I love doing that stuff, but I always found myself coming back to writing songs."

She wrote a string of tracks that felt like clearing her throat, but the catalyst for 'In The End It Always Does' came

THE JAPANESE HOUSE

when she started working with The 1975's George Daniel and Chloe Kraemer simultaneously.

"I was in a rut, but Chloe made me feel really excited about music again, and when George came in, it was just this explosion of ideas," with the pair co-producing the album.

Getting into the studio together, "it felt like something was really happening," says Amber.

The Japanese House admits it's hard to tell just how different this record is to what's come before, but it does feel like a different beast. "I'm a lot more confident about it," Amber says. She knows she can write undeniably great songs even if they're not what she'd want to listen to personally.

'In The End It Always Does' though, is full of songs that are "really my thing," says Amber.

"It's up there with my favourite records ever."

'In The End It Always Does' comes at a time when the sort of deeply personal, highly emotional quiet indie-rock that The Japanese House has always pulled from is more popular than ever. Taylor Swift teamed up with The National's Aaron Dessner for the critically acclaimed 'Folklore' and 'Evermore' double act; Boygenius topped the charts with their long-awaited debut 'The Record' earlier this year ahead of a string of massive shows, while the likes of Ethel Cain and Gracie Abrams couldn't feel more exciting.

"Anyone can make a really good-sounding electronic record now," explains Amber, with a variety of computer programs able to replicate any number of interesting sounds at the push of a button. "The only thing you can't replicate is the human fallibility and intensity that comes through being close and upfront, which is why people are so drawn to it," she offers. "It's about offering interesting perspectives on things that people can connect with."

At the same time, there's more to 'In The End It Always Does' than a delicate outpouring of deep, dark secrets. "I'm really interested in trying to write good songs and not put limits on myself," says Amber. Every decision in the studio is made based on what sounds better, and she's got no interest in crafting a perfectly cohesive album. "I guess I'm just bored of the whole ultraharmonised vocal thing I've READDORK.COM 45.

COVER STORY

46. DORK

THE JAPANESE HOUSE

been doing since I was 17," she continues.

"I don't know if this album is groundbreaking, but it definitely sounds fresh to me."

As well as the music sounding more colourful, 'In The End It Always Does' allows Amber to put her vocals at the forefront of the record with intense, vulnerable tracks like 'One For Sorrow, Two For Joni Jones'. "There's really no hiding," she starts, with the blatantly raw lyrics alluding to the end of something.

"It almost felt dangerous to write that song," continues Amber, who was still with her partner at the time. "I showed her, and she completely understood, which is very sad."

"All songwriting feels like a cathartic thing because it's often just admittance," continues Amber, who gets a real sense of satisfaction from going with the first thing that comes into her head.

Her music is "usually the first time I've actually said any of these thoughts."

"Over this whole thing, I've realised that when things are brilliant, they're usually on the cusp of being embarrassing or cringey," she continues.

"I did worry that there were moments where the songs felt like I was being a bit too much, but I know that that's the beauty of it."

When she's making music, Amber purposely tries not to think about how it's going to be perceived in a bid to keep things honest. Even after it's finished, it's not something she really considers, explaining that it's "not my circus, not my monkey".

"I'm really proud of this record. I'm genuinely reading all the comments, and any positive reception is amazing, but it's not the reason I write music," she explains. However, across 'In The End It Always Does', Amber uses female pronouns when talking about her partner.

"I remember when I was younger, I didn't have that. It's nice that there's an album talking very explicitly about queer relationships. I hope people can hear that and feel like it's someway normalised for them."

Over the years, Amber has had a steady stream of fans approach her and explain how her music helped them come out to their parents or realise they were gay. "That makes me feel at ease with the job I'm doing," she says.

"Sometimes I ask myself what the fuck am I doing with my silly little life, but that makes it worth it."

She goes on to say how being in any gay space makes her feel emotional because it gives her a sense of belonging she doesn't feel elsewhere. "Over the years, I guess I've created a situation where my shows can offer that," she adds.

"There really aren't that many explicitly gay bands around," she continues, listing off MUNA, Boygenius and Marika Hackman as exceptions.

'Boyhood' started as a song about trauma but grew into something reflecting on the complexities of gender and sexuality. "I still don't really know

what I identify as. I just know that being called a lady makes me want to kill myself," she says today, which is apparently a very Amber turn of phrases.

"I don't like being perceived as any one thing really, and I feel very fluid in my gender, which I guess makes me… I don't know. And that's ok. What really matters is that I've acknowledged it, and I feel at ease with whatever I am," she says today.

"In the beginning, people would always comment on how androgynous I seemed, and I always felt a bit defensive about that," she continues before quoting something her friend, MUNA's Naomi McPherson, said recently. "A lot of being genderqueer is trying so hard to hide from something that is so plainly obvious to everyone else."

She's started talking openly about it because "someone has to", and she hopes others struggling to define how they feel can relate to her journey. She remembers as a young queer kid not hearing any of her favourite artists talk about their sexuality, and even when she started releasing her own music, she felt a pressure to hide her own. "I just didn't feel comfortable talking about it, which seems crazy to me. It's basically all I can talk about now."

"I did worry that there were moments where the songs felt like I was being a bit too much, but I know that that's the beauty of it" AMBER BAIN

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COVER STORY

"Sometimes I ask myself what the fuck am I doing with my silly little life" AMBER BAIN

48. DORK

It gives 'In The End It Always Does' a feeling of celebration, with tracks like 'Friends' and 'Touching Yourself ' comfortably talking about sexualised queer relationships. "Some people might feel like those tracks are dirty, but it's really the same as any straight pop song that talks about sex," reasons Amber, with a lot of the time in the studio spent discussing gender expression and queerness. "That's why it was so important that I had Chloe, a queer woman, working on the record with me because it really opened up that conversation."

Amber goes on to say that writing songs is therapeutic because "it's a really good way of figuring out what the fuck I'm actually thinking about stuff. I feel happier in my life now than I ever have, and this record punctuates the times in my life that have got me to this place of happiness. I've learnt a lot about myself, I've improved a lot, and I've also got a better gauge of what I want out of life. The last few months of making this record made me realise what makes me feel fulfilled."

That sense of comfort can be felt across 'In The End It Always Does'. In the early days, Amber felt like she had

to prove she did everything herself. "If you're a woman, everyone assumes that you can't use a laptop which made me really defensive, so I locked myself in a room and did everything myself," she explains, but still, everyone just wanted to talk about the involvement of The 1975's Matty Healy and George Daniel. "I felt like tearing my hair out," says Amber.

"Now, I'm done fighting that fight. I don't really care if people assume that Matty writes all my songs because, at this point, they're going to think that no matter what I do. I'm less precious about it now and more interested in just making the best songs," with Amber embracing collaboration.

Since finishing 'In The End It Always Does', Amber has kept working. She was meant to go on holiday but ended up working on a friend's record and was recently spotted in the studio with Matty Healy doing what she describes as "session" work. She's also started writing new The Japanese House music, which is driven by a sense of undeniable happiness. "There's nothing melancholic about it, which is a nice thing to experiment with. I just felt so inspired to make 'In The End' that I didn't want that feeling to end just yet. I don't want to fall back asleep like I did last time."

She goes on to say that the songs on 'In The End, It Always Does' have allowed her to open up about what she thinks is possible with The Japanese House. "I used to feel silly when I'd write happy music, but now, I do feel silly because my life is silly in a great way" - so why wouldn't she take inspiration from that? "I always call it my silly little life, so maybe that'll be my next album title. I'm just able to explore so many different things now."

Before that, though, there's the little matter of her first live shows in over three years, including a slot supporting The 1975 at Finsbury Park ahead of her own UK and US headline runs.

"It's hard to keep a crowd alive singing songs that are kind of upbeat but also extremely depressing, but this album is so much more freeing because the songs are actually quite fun," she explains, excited to get back on the road. "I used to worry about putting on a persona or having an act to perform on stage," she admits. "I feel so comfortable with myself now that I don't really feel like I need to do any of that. I'm just really excited, and I don't really have any fear about anything, apparently," she adds with a grin.

Amber Bain is still ambitious about the future of The Japanese House, even if she's trying hard to focus on being content with what she's got. "I don't know how content you can be if you're always chasing the next goalpost," she offers. "I want to be grateful, but ultimately, I do see it growing, and I'm very open for that to happen." She takes a pause. "I feel like it will as well because, in the end, it always does.". ■ The Japanese House's album 'In The End It Always Does' is out 30th June.

THE JAPANESE HOUSE

READDORK.COM 49.

INCOMING. THE NEW RELEASES YOU NEED TO KNOW

WHAT DO THE SCORES MEAN? ★ Rubbish ★★ Not Great ★★★ Fair ★★★★ Good ★★★★★ Amazing

Wallice

Mr Big Shot EP

★★★★ bdrmm

I Don't Know ★★★★

→ With 'I Don't Know', bdrmm have mastered the art of keeping you in their clutches.

Shuddering, relentless beats grip onto you from the get-go, snaking around your arms like tendrils of smoke. Sinking into the album with the pounding 'Alps', there's an immediate sense of a band having levelled up. There's no getting away from this one. NEIVE MCCARTHY

→ 'Mr Big Shot' finds Wallice going for the throat of any doubters and revelling in the aftermath. With an undercurrent of infectious pop laid across ripping grunge turns, it combines the worlds of swooning and explosive fire in a distinctly fresh way. 'Loser At Best' and 'Best Friend' are prime examples, while the psychy edges of 'Quarterlife' and the hypnotic 'disappear' play around with the journey of highs and lows, and 'Why Do You Love Me?' has cinematic ambition front and centre. It's raucous, scrappy and bursting with energy. JAMIE MUIR

Christine & The Queens Gus Dapperton

Henge ★★★★

→ The dramatic tension that grips the opening track on Gus Dapperton's third album 'HENGE' feels as though you've been dropped into the midst of a film at its most pivotal moment. Everything is on the line, heightened and dripping in enough 80s synth to completely transport you into this world of Gus's creation. There's also, it seems, no slowing down.

'HENGE' is a full-pelt rush of melodrama, deliriously good beats and after-hours revelry.

NEIVE MCCARTHY

PARANOIA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE

★★★★

→ Christine and the Queens' fourth album 'Paranoïa, Angels, True Love' is the culmination of Chris' desire to push the boundaries of what pop can do while exploring his deepest emotions through both transcendent highs and heartbreaking lows. It can be a difficult listen at times, but that's the point, and it stands as Christine and the Queens' most powerful work. MARTYN YOUNG

Cole Bleu Crushed! EP

The Japanese House

In The End It Always Does

★★★★★

→ When it comes to The Japanese House, it's never been about adapting alongside the everchanging pace of the world but rather, the world catching up with just how far ahead of the pack

50. DORK

Amber Bain is.

At its core, 'In The End It Always Does' is an album fully sure of itself and revelling in pushing everything The Japanese House is to bigger heights. The electric pluck-andpunch of 'Touching Myself' already feels like a certified pop banger, the sun-kissed 'Friends' and the swooning 'Sad To Breathe' dial up tones to new levels yet are firmly in the DNA that has pulled everyone into the world of The Japanese House.

A record of uplifting joy stemming from life's setbacks, heartbreaks and hurdles, 'Over There' and 'One For Sorrow Two For Joni Jones' may be Amber's greatest turns to date when it comes to nailing that emotional

gut punch. The latter sounds like the sort of classic born from a late evening overlooking the city. Its open door to pure emotional release makes it an album that transcends simply a collection of very good tunes: it's an album waiting to be replayed over and over.

Even with notable collaborators along the ride (MUNA's Katie Gavin serving as a perfect sparring partner on 'Morning Pages', and The 1975's Matty and George thrive on the truly great 'Sunshine Baby'), Amber's sitting firmly at the centre of everything. Distinctly raw and real, 'In The End It Always Does' is The Japanese House entering the era she was always born to headline. World, you better keep up. JAMIE MUIR

★★★★

King Krule

Space Heavy ★★★★

→ With each release, King Krule meticulously crafts a space to step into, and 'Space Heavy' is no different. His ability to play with textures and rapidly changing emotions is inimitable. The sheer brilliance of Archy Marshall's latest is more than enough to cushion your fall.

NEIVE MCCARTHY

→ As half of The Let Go, Cole Bleu showed promise their mixtape 'Delete My Feelings' making an impact in early 2022. A year on, and the decision to move forward as a solo project is far more than just a rebranding exercise. Fizzy, fuzzy and instinctive, 'Heartbreakers' is big, brash pop music, while 'Sad Guy Gemini' skips around the dial before going bombastic for the chorus. 'Is It Cool 2 B Friends' even pulls riffs like prime Avril. It turns out in letting go, Cole Bleu has truly found herself. DAN HARRISON

Maisie Peters The Good Witch

★★★★

→ Dramatics have always underpinned the heart of Maisie Peters' appeal, but with 'The Good Witch' she's casting a new, more spangly spell. Showing a greater maturity than on her whipsmart debut album, her second effort packs a self-assured confidence. Title-track 'The Good Witch' shines like a Broadway star, while 'I'm Just A Boy (And I'm Kinda The Man)' kicks its heels and line-dances to the win. 'Lost The Breakup' punches through the hardest, its challenge of "I'm the best thing that almost happened to you" standing proud. With her chaos magic still as strong as ever, Maisie Peters isn't just a good witch; she's a great one. DAN HARRISON

Olivia Dean

ARTIST’S GUIDE

Messy

YOUTH SECTOR QUARRELS EP

Frontman Nick Tompkins talks us through the band’s new EP, track by track.

★★★★★

→ Olivia Dean’s stunning debut album is a triumph of discovering your artistry, embracing your imperfections and letting your voice flourish in all its exuberant and heartbreaking glory. ‘Messy’ is an exploration of the psyche of an artist who has taken their time to really develop their craft, both as a songwriter and a performer, and throughout you can hear the dynamism and deft subtleties that make Olivia’s work so engaging and resonant.

As the title suggests, it flits from mood to mood with the connecting tissue being Olivia’s crystal clear and beautiful soulful voice. One of our most exciting new pop voices, Olivia Dean’s legacy is just beginning. MARTYN YOUNG

Niall Horan

Killer Mike

★★★★

★★★★★

The Show

→ When Niall Horan released ‘Heartbreak Weather’ in 2020, it was met with considerable acclaim and a lot of cancelled plans as the world shut down. Born out of the period of intense introspection that followed, with ‘The Show’ Niall’s not just at his career best, he’s having the time of his life. “I’m a specialist at overthinkin’ everything,” he sings on ‘Must Be Love’, “I’ll tell you all about it if you have the time.”

Through the ten-track duration of ‘The Show’, that’s what he does.

Learning to trust his instincts isn’t just a song topic on the album closer; it’s an energy that runs throughout and makes this record shine. This is an artist at the top of their game. JESSICA GOODMAN

Do Nothing

Snake Sideways

★★★★

→ The title-track on Do Nothing's debut album, 'Snake Sideways', is charmingly off-kilter; it's a tone that inhabits the entire album. Endearingly earnest but riddled with anxiety and woundup tension, in true serpentine fashion, it winds itself around your arms, up to your neck, tighter and tighter. Each time you think it is about to get too much, they relinquish that hold with a brutally honest quip or a softly strummed guitar. Powerful both when they are personal and also societal-looking, dark themes are aplenty, but Do Nothing find some optimism amongst it all anyway.

Authentic and ambitious, they've crafted a truly impressive debut.

NEIVE MCCARTHY

Michael

Youth Sector

THE BALL This one was written right at the beginning of the Partygate scandal; the "who dropped the ball" lyric was just an ode to the general barrage of scandals and cover-ups that we'd seen from Johnson's premiership already. By the time the demo had gestated and released, we'd just had Truss's catastrophic budget crashing the pound, so the life cycle of this song is evidence of the staying power of Tory sleaze. A fun tune, though, no?

in such a way that rough sleepers can't sleep there or stay there comfortably. Notice how benches at bus stops are super narrow and always sloping downwards. I think this is a really disgusting practice and reveals the very worst of our culture, so this tune was written from the tongue-in-cheek perspective of someone who proudly designs cities in a way that keeps homeless people out and ironically gets paid handsomely for it.

BENIGN FIRE IN A SMALL ROOM This track was written upwards from Josh's bass line - we were both listening to a lot of Cola at the time (the album had just come out, I think?), and although the track doesn't sound like Cola, we were just inspired by the bass-driven sound and simplicity of their sound.

It's about when you're not doing so well, but everyone else notices it before you do.

FREE PARKING This has always been a live favourite for us; it's super easy to play on all our instruments which means you can really dig in on stage. It's been knocking about in different guises for a long time, and we whipped it into its final shape head of the EP.

→ Brighton fivepiece Youth Sector return with their most infectious release to date. Jampacked with explosive energy, upbeat tunes, and just the right amount of humour, 'Quarrels' opens with an addictive energy that's maintained throughout.

Perfecting the 3-minute hit, each track feels as snappy and lively as the previous. Underneath the catchy choruses and irresistible enthusiasm, there's a darker look at modern life in Britain, showing that Youth Sector have both a spring in their step, and fire in their hearts. MELISSA DARRAGH

WON'T STOP THE WHEEL If "grab the bull by the horns" and "carpe diem" are yin, then this song is surely yang. We tried to get the song as jangly and jovial as possible sounding, with that jaunty swung groove, but the lyrics are essentially saying, "people don't change, the world doesn't change, it's all gonna keep on ticking along", and to be quite honest I

think the entire four seasons of Succession are a testament to that logic. I like how there are a lot of feel-good songs that have a 'call to action' chorus ('Born to Run', 'Chandelier' etc.), and this is the most sing-along chorus we've got on the EP, and it's about the sheer hopelessness of it all. Even better that it's the closing number of the EP! ■

A DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO EASY LIVING I live in London, and one thing you can't help but notice once you see it once, is anti-homeless architecture, which is parts of the city (public benches, bus stops etc.) which have been designed

Quarrels EP

★★★★

→ 'Michael', Killer Mike's first solo album in over a decade, is a reflective, autobiographical project; an unvarnished portrait of what growing up in Atlanta was like for the rapper, dealing with the death of his mother and living in an environment where selling drugs was considered unremarkable. Mike is in impressive form throughout, smoothly and seamlessly switching from verses to hooks with the skill of someone who's been rapping longer than some artists have been alive. Run The Jewels may have been what catapulted Mike from the hip-hop scene into the mainstream, but this album will secure his legacy.

JAKE HAWKES

Grian Chatten Chaos for the Fly

★★★★

→ With Fontaines D.C.'s prolific output, it's easy to forget their debut album only came out five years ago. Since then, they've headlined Alexandra Palace, secured a Number 1 album and been nominated for a slew of awards. Now lead singer Grian Chatten has stepped out to release his first solo album. A different beast to anything Fontaines have released, as a vehicle to showcase Grian's lyricism and storytelling abilities 'Chaos for the Fly' goes above and beyond any reasonable expectations. On the sliding scale of solo outings, it's nearer Alex Turner doing the 'Submarine' soundtrack than Lisa Scott-Lee's 'Electric'. JAKE HAWKES

READDORK.COM 51.

GET OUT. LIVE MUSIC, FROM THE FRONT

GREAT

THE

ESCAPE 52. DORK

Maisie Peters

Brighton Dome, Friday

→ The weekend’s most wholesome vibes can be found on Friday night at Brighton Dome, where the first of The Great Escape’s Spotlight shows kicks off with Maisie Peters‘ headline gig.

Thoroughly warmed up after finishing a massive tour of the UK and Europe, the Dome must feel quaint in comparison, but as a Brighton native, it’s a particularly special show for Maisie.

Where the rest of her band chose Colorado’s Red Rocks and New York’s Madison Square Garden as their dream venues, it’s here where Maisie always wanted to play, and she sold it out wit With that in mind, she comes out swinging.

The set is an hour of back-to-back bangers, kicking off with recent hit ‘Body Better’ and rarely dipping in energy from then on. Pulling largely from her 2021 debut ‘You Signed Up For This’, she needn’t worry about her voice getting raspy from all the touring; the crowd fill in all the gaps word for word.

The record plays out far more dynamically live, the full-band production filling out the tracks so they match the ante of her newer material, particularly those standalone singles ‘Cate’s Brother’ and ‘Not Another Rockstar’.

Between the bangers, Maisie recounts Brighton moments from throughout her life – her first date, her first concert, you know the drill – and her connection with her fans runs deep because of moments like this. Down at the front, they’ve queued up for hours to be in those spots, draping banners over the barrier and screaming every lyric.

There are plenty of fans here with parents, this show likely being their first gig, much like Maisie’s was here when she was younger. In the middle of a festival full of industry professionals standing with their arms folded, seeing a crowd of (mostly) young women letting loose to an hour of sadbangers is a welcome change.

Closing the set with latest ‘Lost The Breakup’, and second album ‘The Good Witch’ just a month away, Maisie Peters looks set to be the biggest pop star to come out of Brighton in a long time.

ABIGAIL FIRTH

For three-and-a-bit days every May, Brighton turns into a haven of brilliant music as enthusiasts, festival-goers, and buzz chasers flock to the coast for The Great Escape.

The annual musical pilgrimage showcases the finest emerging talents and established artists, offering a platform for discovery and celebration across diverse genres. From the pulsating beats reverberating through intimate venues to the infectious energy that sweeps across the outdoor stages, The Great Escape 2023 is an unforgettable journey through the forefront of the global music scene – by which we mean, “Did you see Big Wett?”

We sent our intrepid scribblers and snappers down to the seaside to capture all the best of the action.

Words: Abigail Firth, Ali Shutler, Jake Hawkes, Jamie Muir Photos: Em Marcovecchio, Patrick Gunning

THURSDAY

“Spoiler alert, it’s not quite the popping rocking set you might have expected; here’s another sad song,” announces Marika Hackman at the start of her first show back since last year. Ditching the band, Marika opts for a solo acoustic set so delicate you could hear a pin drop in the Old Market Hall. Previewing a couple of new tracks and covering Elliott Smith, it sounds like Marika could be taking a more stripped-back approach for album four. (AF) Late last year, alt-pop duo The Let Go tentatively announced they were going to continue as a Cole Bleu solo project, but tonight’s show at Shoossh feels like an entirely new thing. Audio samples are used throughout the night (including Julia Stiles’ iconic quote, “I guess in this society, being male and an asshole makes you worthy of our time”, from 10 Things I Hate About You) to give this basement club a more theatrical feeling while the songs are pure pop wizardry.

Furious one moment, giddy the next, Cole delivers the shimmering ‘Heartbreakers’ with all the venomous joy it deserves, while a stripped-back ‘Homewrecker’ soon evolves into stomping catharsis before the ridiculously catchy ‘Is It Cool 2 B Friends?’ closes things out in triumphant fashion, taking influence from pure 90s pop and 00s alt-rock. Everything about this new era of Cole Bleu feels comfortable and deliberate.

As Frankie Valli And The Four

Seasons sing “You’re just too good to be true” as she leaves the stage, it’s clear Cole Bleu knows exactly what she’s doing. (AS) Here’s a little peek behind the curtain for you, Dear Reader – the term ‘industry plant’ doesn’t really mean anything. Sure, hype doesn’t necessarily mean a band is going to be incredible, but it also doesn’t usually mean that the band in question are being propped up by a shadowy cabal of famous parents, industry money and Illuminati contacts.

In the case of The Last Dinner Party, it turns out the hype is because they’re really, really, really (really) good. Playing The Great Escape for the first time, they effortlessly fill the 500-capacity venue they’re playing at, with a queue snaking around the block, to boot. If they’re intimidated by the weight of crowd expectations, they don’t show it, chatting between songs and just generally making it seem like they were born to play bangers.

Theatrical and over-the-top, the band are the opposite of the dour post-punk which can dominate so much of the guitar music world.

Vocalist Abigail Morris is twirling around the stage in an extravagant dress as she lays down ABBAinflected harmonies, while the rest of the band follow suit in recreating an image of 1920s ballroom opulence. Debut single ‘Nothing Matters’ is obviously a highlight, as good live as it is on record, but we’d also like to give

an honourable mention to the appearance of a keytar halfway through the set – truly the silliest (and therefore best) instrument around.

We’d predict big things for The Last Dinner Party, but everyone’s already done that, so instead we’ll just say this – believe the hype, and leave snobbish notions of ‘industry plants’ at the door. (JH) Longtime fans of Dork may remember Glaswegian pill-punks VLURE blowing the roof off of our stage at last year’s Great Escape, and we’re happy to say they haven’t lost any of their intensity in the time since. Clad in string vests and shadowboxing at the audience, trance-flecked bangers like ‘Euphoria’ are enough to get even a tired festival crowd screaming along. Newer tracks ‘Cut It’ and ‘This Fantasy’ slot into the set perfectly, bringing a more euphoric flavour to the wall of noise that envelops the venue. If heading to Brighton is a breath of fresh, sea air, then VLURE are the equivalent of getting hit in the face by a tidal wave. (JH) Nestled under the arches at Brighton beach is the worst-kept secret of this year’s Great Escape.

Filling out the aptly-titled Shooshh are dodie, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown coming together as FIZZ for their debut gig. With a setlist made up entirely of material from a top-secret new project they’ve been working on and a mission statement of having fun, that’s exactly what the four-piece and everyone else here are doing.

Perfectly nonsensical lyrics, shouting in unison and tracks about the rollercoaster that is being ‘twenty something’, FIZZ are ushering in a new era completely different to anything the four of them have done individually; it’s about to go bang. (AF) Everyone may be watching to see if The Last Dinner Party can follow up their brilliant debut single ‘Nothing Matters’, but Venbee is facing a similar pressure. Their debut single, ‘Lowdown’, went viral. Follow-up ‘Messy In Heaven’ went even more viral. Latest track, ‘Gutter’, is all over BBC Radio 1. Of course, there are a whole lot of expectations going into their set. Venbee tackles them head-on, opening with a smirking track about being a one-hit wonder and telling the

Seasons change, but the best nights out always come back to us here at Dork, Dear Reader. As the buzziest bands and industry whispers sweep Brighton for The Great Escape, the Dork’s Night Out takeover rolls into town, heading to Horatio’s at the end of the pier.

It may be the opening slot, but Slaney Bay carry themselves with the confidence of a band already set to seize those headline billings in years to come. Blending grunge-tinted goggles with an undeniable knack for soaring pop hooks, it’s a fully-formed realisation of every dreamy riff and late-night US college road trip that takes you on a journey impossible to jump off. Their latest single, ‘Move On’, is a real statement of intent. With all the hints and flavours of glorious ambition, as a kickstart to the evening, there’s no cocktail better. We’ll see you back here when they take on the big leagues.

Already making a name for himself across ‘socials’, Victor Ray is a revelation with the sort of universal heart that ties things together. Going from busking to a big deal in no time, his set is an eye-opening peek at a future world he’s forming in spectacular fashion.

Likewise, the world of HANNES bubbles and twists in a glorious milkshake of joy. With open and raw lyrics meeting jazzy lo-fi takes on pop, R&B and everything in between – it sets the tone nicely for a night that’s just itching to point to the artist you need to keep an eye on.

Shutting down Brighton

Pier. That’s what comes when English Teacher take to the stage, as a go-to sign that things are getting quite big indeed.

As crowds manoeuvre to catch a glimpse, the hype is real for a band whose infectious yet punchy sound has become a go-to home for those looking for their next favourite act. The shutdown is justified, with cuts like ‘Song About Love’, ‘R&B’ and ‘Polyawkward’ lighting a fuse again and again. Coming into their own, it’s a set that flies with ambition and takes every step up as a justified reason to take one more. What’s brilliant is that it feels impossible to predict what they will do next. Now that’s a band worth shutting down a pier over.

The rush and crowds only continue to swell when Lime Garden take to the stage to close out the evening. Brimming with the sort of feverish excitement that comes from being one of the best new bands going, their set tonight is an electric disco ball of everything that makes Lime Garden so special. Putting fun front and centre, the likes of ‘Clockwork’, ‘Bitter’ and ‘Marbles’ bounce and thrive like the greatest club in town, while early track ‘Surf N Turf’ is a fizzing punch of sugartastic energy. Distinctly unique and continuing to bubble with potential, it’s a hometown show that signals just how unstoppable they are. For a moment that defines The Great Escape 2023, there’s no need to look any further than this celebratory party at the top of the pier. (JM)

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crowd they’re about to have a “fucking party”.

Backed by a drummer and a guitarist, every song hits hard, from unreleased cuts like ‘CPR’ and an upcoming collab with Rudimental (‘Die Young’) to a drum and bass reworking of MIA’s ‘Paper Planes’. Venbee dials it back for ‘If Love Could Have Saved You’, another unreleased song that tackles mental health, before a ferocious take on ‘Messy In Heaven’. “This is probably the only song of mine, you know,” she grins.

Even if that were true, no one in this room will forget Venbee’s name anytime soon. (AS) At The Great Escape, it’s all about seizing the time you have and making sure you leave a lasting impression. In Dream Wife‘s case, the 30 minutes they have to play with at midnight on Friday is the sort of daring challenge they turn into an unstoppable celebration with ease and one that has a rammed Chalk crowd hungry for more. Aiming squarely at ripping apart the rules, they pack their set with hit after hit – sweaty intensity and soaring hooks galore that has moshpits and flinging bodies moving from start to finish. Holding nothing back, beloved favourites like ‘Hey Heartbreaker’ and erupting new cuts like ‘Hot (Don’t Date A Musician)’ are welcomed with equal adoration and by the time their set comes to an end, you’re left in no doubt. Dream Wife seize the moment, and what comes next, on tonight’s evidence, is sure to be their greatest chapter of all. (JM)

FRIDAY

Nieve Ella has only played 14 shows with her band before today, and her show at Brighton’s Revenge is plagued by a string of technical issues that would

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derail even the most seasoned of artists. Nieve smashes it, though.

Leading a crowd singalong to Shania Twain’s ‘Man! I Feel Like A Woman’ as way of a warmup, her set starts properly with ‘Blu Shirt Boy’ before ‘Fall 4 U’ and ’19 In A Week’. Nieve’s debut EP ‘Young & Naive’ flirted with rock’n’roll but live, she and the rest of her band embrace scuzzy guitars and big riffs. It turns the introspective heartbreak anthems into energetic, upbeat moments of celebration while recent single ‘Big House’ and upcoming track ‘His Sofa’ continue down that glitzy indie rock path but with even more confidence. (AS) Nell Mescal justifies her own hype at Jubilee Square on Friday afternoon, playing a sublime set of sadbangers, all beefed up so the live versions match her impressive vocals. Despite a few technical hitches, she undoubtedly brightens a dismal day, even if she says she doesn’t really write love songs or happy songs. Any assumptions that she’ll be a twee singer-songwriter or another bedroom pop artist are out the window; she even drops

breakout single ‘Graduating’ from the set list, instead filling it with unreleased material that brings out her true powerhouse potential.

(AF) Watching Caity Baser live is like when a bottle of fizzy pop has been shaken up, and you can’t stop it bubbling everywhere when you open the lid. Bouncing out to a packed tent at the Amazon New Music stage, she delivers viral hits ‘X&Y’ and ‘Pretty Boys’, along with more tracks from her recent EP, with more energy than a full pack of Berocca. Her on-stage candour isn’t far removed from her TikTok videos, introducing her band by asking which Doritos flavour they’d be and updating the crowd on her schedule for that day (she’d even made time for a nail appointment); it’s bestie vibes only. With a full band performance of her newest track and Joel Corry collab ‘Dance Around It’, she levels up to the top tier of the new pop crop. (AF) Sounding like a beefed-up Blood Red Shoes, SNAYX pinball around the stage as they blast through a frenetic twenty-minute set. Menacing synth lines set them apart from the competition, and it’s when the shouting makes room for this electronic touch that everything really clicks. Newest single ‘I’m Deranged’ highlights this perfectly, a step up into something genuinely quite special for a band that have just won themselves a room full of new fans. (JH) Back from the US, STONE take to a packed stage down on the beach with the sort of uncompromising riffs that aims squarely at the big leagues.

Recent single ‘Left Right Forward’ perfectly captures their swaggersoaked presence, with a live show that’s grown and grown since those early days. Jet lag be damned, as lead singer Finn dives across the stage, cuts jokes and delivers powerful speeches that come to define just what STONE is and what they can be.

Slick yet uncontrollable. Thrilling yet assured. It’s everything you want from a modern band already carving their own world and welcoming everyone into it.

Triggering moshpits and handsin-the-air devotion, it’s a searing set. STONE aren’t here to mess around; they’re here to take over.

(JM) Equal parts meticulous and reckless, Jessica Winter has mastered the peaks and valleys of her live show. An icon in waiting,

she emerges in her trademark trench coat and huge glasses, firing through her set of emo dance bangers and fluctuating between carefully choreographed jerky arm movements and wild hair flipping. Her voice is nearly permanently in its higher register, almost hitting whistle notes in the theatrical ‘Funk This Up’ and ‘Choreograph’. It’s a performance that cements her place as one of the most exciting underground pop stars on the rise. (AF) We love a bit of chaos here at Dork. Enter Lambrini Girls, playing a hometown show to a room that’s packed to the rafters.

Lead singer Phoebe Lunny punctuates the set with shouts out to ‘gay legends’ and a demand for any TERFs to leave the gig immediately, all while blasting out a wall of noise so loud that it can probably be heard in the next town over. ‘Help Me I’m Gay’ is a sledgehammer to the brain which has even the most hungover people in the room jumping around. Further down the line, Phoebe is standing on the bar in just her underwear, whipping half the crowd into a mosh pit before crowd-surfing into the middle of it all. If it sounds like A Lot, that’s because it is – in the best possible way. (JH) Anyone for some Ibiza club classics delivered via Kilkenny, Ireland? 49th & Main may have exactly what you’re after. Boosted

Arlo Parks

Brighton Dome, Saturday

→ It’s a Saturday night, and amongst the pomp of Eurovision, the chaos of The Great Escape and the usual weekend partiers is the immediate calm of Arlo Parks‘ spotlight show at Brighton Dome.

A Great Escape graduate herself, this show comes two triumphant years after her debut ‘Collapsed In Sunbeams’, and before her second ‘My Soft Machine’ drops. Stepping out to an unreleased track from the latter, ‘Bruiseless’, her voice is flawless and never falters. With a stage setup minus all the bells and whistles, Arlo’s voice stands front and centre, making for an intimate show despite the size of the venue.

Arlo performs like she’s feeling every lyric she’s ever written; the rest of the room is feeling them too. Before playing the emotional ‘Black Dog’, she encourages the crowd to give into its catharsis, letting them know they should cry if they need to.

It’s almost impossible not to.

Pulling from every corner of her discography, she performs 2019 single ‘Sophie’ and gives her debut performance of Phoebe Bridgers collaboration ‘Pegasus’, showing how far she’s come in the last four years, but reminding us she’s always had something special. Even those really early tracks had that magical ASMR brainmelting quality.

Much like at Maisie Peters’ show the night before, Arlo recounts Brighton moments from her career, noting that this comes as a full circle moment after playing her first festival show here at 17, running from college to make it to the beach stage for her set.

Before she undoubtedly levels up again, it’s really special to see Arlo in a venue like this. After closing the set with one of her boppier singles, ‘Softly’, everyone waits desperately for an encore that never comes. “All I can say is look forward to that one,” Arlo says after playing an unreleased track mid-way through the set. We absolutely will.

ABIGAIL FIRTH

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by a live saxophone, the group have the crowd in the palm of their hand, blasting out euphoric bangers punctuated with snippets of huge floor-filling dance tracks.

Think Boiler Room if it took place on a kid’s TV show. (JH)

Keeping the energy up even though it’s gone 1am, HotWax energise the flagging crowd with driving bass lines and an almost funk-flecked sound which flits between punk, grunge, and something more melodic.

Do you want another one?

That was the question spinning across Brighton as The Great Escape whipped through a final day of buzzing new talent being discovered at a festival weekend unlike any other. And well, it’d be rude not to. Everyone’s favourite Dorks teamed up with beloved friends and label legends Chess Club Records down on the seafront for a showcase celebrating a thrilling roster of talent. Is there any other way to close The Great Escape?

Trout opens the night with a dynamic and hypnotic presence that has everyone sliding into The Arch hooked. Ripped raw with explosive edges, that 90s grunge-meets-US alternative vibe is there for all to see with the sort of touches of magic that the likes of Sorry have turned into stunning cuts. Just the beginning with tonight’s show one of her very first, Trout is already a must-listen: watch this space; a future essential voice has entered the chat.

The perfect tonic for any finalnight tiredness, SOFY is a future indie-pop superstar in waiting. A triumphant celebration (coming just days after signing a record deal with Chess Club), The Arch is turned into a jubilant house party led by an artist who twists indie-pop into a jukebox of sugar-rushing fun, grounded in tales of modern life.

Like going on a night out with your best mate if they could only communicate in indie-pop bangers – it’s a glorious mix of earnestness and dreaming fun in the veins of an Easy Life, Lily Allen or Swim Deep.

‘Egomaniac’ sees crowds getting low (no mean feat on Day 3, btw), ‘Strawberry Milkshake’ is unabashed vibes and the closing punch of ‘Big Talk’ is nothing short of smile-inducing magic.

Yet it’s the stripped raw ‘btw’ that cuts through to new levels, with a level of openness that showcases SOFY’s beating heart of pure, honest emotion Whipping up a frenzy like it’s nobody’s business, Lip Filler are a sugar-rush jolt that revel in turning things up as far as they

can go. Packed onto the stage, they bound with an energy that most bands could only dream of having, calling out that they want to see all the “6 Music dads get lairy”. It’s a glorious meld of ripping licks, infectious grooves, spinning electronics and an all-encompassing show that drags you right to the front of everything they’re doing. Broken guitar strings be damned, Lip Filler leave everything they have on stage, like a box of firecrackers being let off right next to a megaphone. ‘Haircut’ is a ridiculous alt-dance banger, while cuts from their self-titled EP, such as ‘Susie’, are bolting nu-rave stormers. Noting it’s their first-ever show outside of London, this is just the beginning. We’ll see you at the party.

It’s fair to say that we’ve been fans for Coach Party for some time now. With each release, their fizzing rock hooks and unstoppable drive for crunching new steps have become bigger and bolder – taking each stage and opportunity with both hands and refusing to let up.

Yet, tonight as they headline the Chess Club x Dork celebrations as one of the final acts of the weekend, there’s a sense in the air of just how big things are getting. Taking to the stage, it’s a grandstand rip through their journey so far while looking ahead to their debut album ‘KILLJOY’. The likes of ‘Can’t Talk, Won’t’, ‘Shit TV’ and ‘Everybody Hates Me’ sound bolder and more unleashed than ever before, and newer cuts ‘All I Wanna Do Is Hate’ and ‘MicroAggression’ light up pogoing crowds and rowdy moshpits.

When the slow-burning tones of ‘Sweetheart’ truly let rip, The Arch is left in awe of a band thriving, and as ‘FLAG (Feel Like A Girl)’ closes out proceedings, everyone gathered comes away with the same thought: Coach Party are a bonafide force of nature ready to tear up the scene in front of them. It’s a new era now, guys – and it couldn’t be any better. (JM)

The band manage to corral all of these competing influences, seemingly effortlessly churning out huge bangers one after the other. Now, of course, we’re never ones to exaggerate, but we’re willing to leave our oh-so-serious reputation at the door and call it now – HotWax are going to be massive. (JH) The 2am slot at Chalk has become a bit of a Great Escape hallmark. As a day stacked with the most exciting new sounds draws to a close, weary bodies and buzzy energy culminate in one spot for a firework display of the highest order. This year, DEADLETTER put their stamp in the history books with a show and night that can only be described as ‘ridiculous’. With punk energy and swirling melodies, they’re a band born to play live. The likes of ‘Binge’ and new cut ‘The Snitching Hour’ are rabble-rousing bangers of the highest order, and as saxophones ring across the venue, one thing is clear. DEADLETTER are a band evolving and pushing modern punk and guitar music forward as an essential new gang in town. Count attendance to their next show as mandatory. (JM)

SATURDAY

On her fourth show of the weekend, Australia’s Big Wett follows up a chaotic midnight show at Charles Street Tap with a midday offering at the Amazon New Music stage. To a crowd of mostly unassuming tired Saturday punters, she delivers a surreal set of her slut anthems. It’s not often you’ll see an artist waggling a dildo around in the air and shouting about her wet pussy before 3pm, and as outrageous as it is, it’s bags of fun. She proclaims she’s pretty unforgettable, which is absolutely true; good luck thinking about anything else for the rest of the day. (AF) There are certain moments at The Great Escape which make the hairs on the back of your neck stand directly to attention. One of those moments, and potentially THE moment of the festival, is when Picture Parlour take to the stage. Their set sees a packed crowd mush themselves into the downstairs Zahara Bar, eager for a

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peek at a band already becoming the talk of new music circles and venues across London. Turning the club pitch-black with theatrical intro music, they burst through a 30-minute set that pours with ambition and an assured nature that they’re about to take over the whole damn show.

Led by the magnetic presence of lead singer Katherine Parlour, it’s a swagger-filled cocktail that leaves you wanting more. Drenched in ‘AM’ era Arctic Monkeys and gazing upon it all with late-70s kaleidoscope spectacles on, this isn’t a band wishing for your attention but commanding it.

Romantic croons, Vegas glamour and raucous eruptions of sizzling riffs combine – 80s rock epics at one moment, psychedelic spins and punchy lines the next – with a band who put Zahara firmly into a playground of their own creation.

The swooning ‘Moon Tonic’, the stop-in-your-tracks ‘Ronnie’ and the neon-sized ring of ‘Judgement Day’ are but three examples of a set that’s all killer, no filler. (JM) Faroese singer Marianna Winter saunters onto the stage on a sunny Saturday and promptly announces her drummer is “a hungover piece of shit”. Such is life on the last day of a festival.

Despite the sore heads, Marianna and her band effortlessly deliver a slew of polished, catchy pop songs studded with singalong choruses and earworm hooks, which have people singing along as if they’ve known the tracks for years. (JH) Nestled away at the top of Brighton, the Green Door Store plays host to a three-day showcase of Canadian music. From the soulful pop of Storry and the dramatic post-rock of Ellevator through the fiery hip-hop of Mouraine to Yohvn Blvck‘s urgent drill, there’s a whole lot of brilliance on offer. Rebecca Lappa creates

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urgent indie pop that always looks on the bright side of things while Elle Froese‘s gorgeous folk is delicate but full of ambition. (AS) After an early afternoon set on Thursday, Haley Blais returns to Brighton’s One Church on the Saturday for a gloriously beautiful set that’s as moving as it is joyful.

Weaving between tracks from 2020 debut album ‘Below The Salt’ and unreleased new songs, Haley and her band give space for the delicate storytelling to ebb and flow, but they’re not afraid to get noisy either, with big countryrock breakdowns. “You guys are being very attentive,” she says to the mesmerised audience before reminding them that “God is watching” with a grin. Later, she hopes he isn’t because “this next song has a lot of swear words, and I want you to scream them back to me”. Released last year, ‘Coolest Fucking Bitch In Town’ tackles the discomfort of coming of age through heartbreaking lyrics and the occasional Gen-Z quip (“I want my therapist to think I’m cool”). Leading a church full of people singing “coolest fucking bitch in town”, Haley can’t help but crack up before doing it one last

time. (AS) Blusher set out to make escapist pop that feels like a fun night out with friends. The Aussie trio – Jade Ingvarson-Favretto, Lauren Coutts, and Miranda Ward – have clearly put the work in to create a world for people to get lost in, and they’re having fun doing it. Their live show features giddy dance routines, props and a whole lot of euphoria, while their songs channel everyone from Let’s Eat Grandma to ABBA to Charli XCX. This is their first time performing outside of Australia, but both shows (a late-night one in dingy club Zahara and an early afternoon slot on the beach’s New Music Stage) are flawless.

Unreleased track ‘Hurricane Chaser’ ends in an all-out rave, while ‘Softly Spoken’ blends anger and catharsis before a twinkling cover of MGMT. ‘Dead End’ is a dreamy pop banger, and the big finish of ‘Backbone’ combines slick dance moves, electronic breakdowns and undeniable hooks to create the sort of triumphant song that could well see Blusher take over the world. (AS) Pool Kids released their selftitled second album last July and haven’t stopped touring since. In the lead-up to The Great Escape, they played their first-ever international shows via a headline tour of the UK following a trip around Europe with La Dispute. By the time you’re reading this, they’ll be on their way back to America to support PUP and Beach Bunny.

They play their first show in Brighton in the middle of a pub and, less than 24 hours later, take to the Prince Albert for a third. If they’re tired, they don’t let it show.

From the big riffs of ‘Swallow’, Pool Kids throw themselves into every song. On record, the angsty songs of frustration are twinkling and delicate. Live, though, everything is much more robust as Pool Kids set out to unite rooms full of strangers.

There are nods to post-hardcore and math-rock within the big emo anthems, and the whole thing feels wonderfully cathartic. A gorgeous ‘I Hope You’re Right’ channels Jimmy Eat World at their most ambitious, while ‘Arm’s Length’ is reminiscent of gritty early Fall Out Boy. Still, it never feels nostalgic as Pool Kids take the best of that 00s emo scene and make it their own. They’re exactly the sort of band people will, and have, fallen completely head over heels for. If you missed them, don’t make that mistake again. (AS)

REN WELCOME

Photos: Andrew White, Mason Poole

Beyoncé

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London → We’ve all agreed that Beyoncé can do whatever she wants by now, right?

Over the course of a flawless 30-year career, she’s been a member of one of the most influential pop groups of all time before releasing a run of boundary-pushing solo albums alongside game-changing live performances. She’s more than earnt the right for complete creative freedom and she repeatedly does things her own way tonight at the first of five sold-out stadium shows at London’s Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

The big, expected stadium staples like ‘Single Ladies’, Halo’ and ‘Drunk In Love’ are left out of the 33-song set, which also sees Beyoncé play new album ‘Renaissance’ in full.

Instead of the regular partystarting opener of ‘Crazy In Love’, Beyoncé begins the show with soaring ballad ‘Love Me Dangerously’ and the emotional ‘Flaws And All’. Leaning into the calm, Bey takes time to acknowledge a fan’s birthday and point out Beyhive regulars.

“I can’t believe this is my job,” she says, sitting atop a silver piano for ‘1+1’, providing another moment of epic beauty.

“I’m so grateful. You’re the reason I’m living my dream”. It’s as subdued a start as possible when you’ve got 60,000 screaming back every word.

That heartfelt, intimate first portion of the night ends with a roaring tribute to Tina Turner before the first of five costume changes. A video then introduces the stadium to “The Renaissance” as an image of Beyoncé is turned from flesh to

a silver statue while a spoken word message talks about Renaissance being a place of rebirth. Beyoncé then appears from between a pair of giant robot legs to really drive home the metaphor. From here on out, it’s a stadium pop show that only knows maximalism.

Released last year, ‘Renaissance’ pulls heavy influence from the history of Black and queer culture but reworks that legacy to build futuristic pop that continues conversations about personal freedoms, identity and selfexpression. There’s a similar sense of forward-facing liberation tonight, with the stadium turned into a massive club soundtracked by the snarling ‘Cozy’ and ‘Cuff It’’s unrelenting groove. The hammering ‘Energy’ leads into a defiant, celebratory remix of ‘Break My Soul’ that pulls from Madonna’s ‘Vogue’. As dancers flood the various runways, a giant metallic disco horse appears onstage and Beyoncé shouts out the likes of Solange Knowles, Kelly Rowland, Lizzo, Lauryn Hill, Grace Jones and Aretha Franklin.

That energy leads into the empowering ‘Opulence’ section of the show, featuring the glorious ‘Formation’ and the carnival stomp of ‘Run The World’. Her daughter Blue Ivy appears onstage to lead a dance breakdown at the start of ‘My Power’ before marching down the central runway, as Beyoncé follows on top a silver space-buggy for ‘Black Parade’.

Things get more extravagant from here, with a mammoth disco ball appearing during ‘Crazy In Love’ while ‘Love On Top’ ends with an acapella singalong that could have gone on all night. Beyoncé appears in a huge shell to sing ‘Plastic Off

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THE

The Sofa’ before it’s transferred into a prison of microphones for the relentless ‘Heated’ while the closing ‘Summer Renaissance’ sees her ride faithful disco horse Reneigh across the stadium.

As polished and pristine as this stadium spectacle is, there’s a deliberate throughline of being a work in progress.

The show starts with videos of cranes pulling up the visuals and throughout the night, camera crew and stagehands are deliberately on show as they work in matching boilersuits.

At various points, robotic arms from a factory get involved in dance routines and there’s a scifi industrial tinge to everything.

Since the tour started earlier this month, there have been countless conversations about a looming retirement and a change in dancing style due to a rumoured leg injury. Yes, tonight’s show does pull away from what we’ve come to expect from Beyoncé, but there’s a sense of freedom to the entire show rather than an impending sense of finality.

There’s a whole lot of joy, from Queen Bey’s bee-inspired outfit to the snarky clap back at fans demanding music videos for ‘Renaissance’ (“You asked for the visuals, but a Queen moves at her own pace”), but there’s also an important political edge to the show. “Whoever controls the media controls the mind”, reads an onscreen message before the straight-shooting ‘America Has A Problem’.

Instead of a celebration of her own career, tonight’s show pays tribute to what’s come before but knows it has to work to continue pushing things forward. Retire? This show feels like the start of a bold, brave new chapter for Beyoncé.

Welcome to the Renaissance.

ALI SHUTLER

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GET OUT

Brockwell Park, London

→ Sunblock at the ready, Dear Reader.

It’s festival season once again, and London’s Brockwell Park is a sizzler as the latest edition of Wide Awake rolls into action. With an eclectic mix of rock, alt, and dance acts on the bill, it’s a day for everyone to catch old favourites and discover some new ones too.

The day kicks off in the shade of the Moth Club/DMY tent, where Montreal’s Cola are bashing out art-punk jams for the early birds. Frontman Tim and bassist Ben cut their teeth in Ought back in the day, but their new tunes are jumpier and more upbeat, somewhere adjacent to Parquet Courts or ‘Men’s Needs…’ Cribs.

Their leather jackets may not stay on for long, but they’re just as slick as their performance.

A hop over to the Windmill/So Young stage finds newcomer Gretel Hänlyn taking techy diffs in her stride to deliver the first ‘wow’ moment of the afternoon.

The Mura Masa protégée delivers a rougher set than her glossy recordings would have you believe, but in all the right ways – joined by a three-piece band, the frenetic energy from cuts like ‘Drive’ and ‘Motorbike’ is irresistibly joyous.

Her vocal ties the whole thing together, moving from gloomy lows to lofty highs with ease, and as she lurches into glistening love song ‘Today (Can’t Help But Cry)’, stars align: its sugary optimism is the stuff music festivals memories are made of.

The schedule boasts a ton of alumni from the now iconic Brixton Windmill, barely a kilometre away, but the band who come out at the front of the pack is unquestionably Jockstrap. The Moth Club tent is rammed and stifling when the duo arrive to showcase last year’s debut ‘I Love You Jennifer B’, in the day’s most enthralling hometown victory lap. When glitter-clad Georgia Ellery announces, “It’s time to dance”, she’s not kidding; a bombarding remix of Debra has the crowd wrapped around her finger where they remain through pivots to folky anthems (‘Glasgow’) metallic tearjerkers (‘Concrete Over Water’) and back again; when ’50/50' hits its climax, there’s not a body stood still. When they bounce

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joyfully off stage, Taylor Skye giving the front rows a good soak with a water pistol en route, it’s as though a fraction of their 40-minute slot has passed.

With the sun clipping the treeline and those £8 canned mojitos working their magic, who better to usher in silly hour than Viagra Boys, who make light work of turning the main arena into a sea of bouncing mullets and dust? The six Swedes are wickedly tight for a group who look like they met on a night bus and decided to form a band. Breakout hit ‘Sports’ is the highlight, frontman Sebastian Murphy popping his joggers off for some golden hour pushups in his boxers in its closing fold, obviously.

And then it’s time for Caroline Polachek to make her festival headline debut. It’s only been a few months since her Valentine’s Day special at London’s Eventim Apollo, so tonight’s show is much the same, but as Caz welcomes Wide Awake to her island, the sense of occasion is potent. Who else could get an entire festival audience to applaud “the beautiful half moon” hanging in the sky? She twists and turns around the scenery-bedecked stage, the ever-catchy ‘Bunny Is A Rider’ breathing new life into the pink-eared audience; sweeping through chapters of ‘Desire, I Want To Turn Into You’ she has Brockwell Park in the palm of her hand. Sunset brings an apt vigour to the show, ‘Ocean Of Tears’ a lush noise spell, and ‘Fly To You’ echoes of the choppy breakbeats that continue to rumble away in the background of the festival’s other stages. Her illuminated backdrop shifts from desert to jungle to gilded dome in turn with each fold and, while there’s the odd lull, the set is never not impressively choreographed, Caroline’s playful stage demeanour a treat to behold. ‘Smoke’ is the set’s apex – its irresistible na-na-na’s are enough to hook in any passersby for whom this may be their first encounter with our Caz – but the pure pop gem that is ‘So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings’ is the obvious crowd pleaser. When the lights come up, and the bus queues build, it’s the one the masses continue singing down the street, a magical end to a day that’s been honestly So Hot. ALEX CABRÉ

Photo: Jamie MacMillan.

WIDE AWAKE IS THE HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN

BENEATH THE ESTABLISHED NAMES THERE’S A WORLD OF NEW TALENT AT LIVE AT LEEDS IN THE PARK 2023 Words: Ali Shutler, Neive McCarthy. Photos: Frances Beach.

Temple Newsam, Leeds → There’s one really good reason Two Door Cinema Club headline so many festivals – they’re brilliant at it. Tonight at Live At Leeds In The Park, the Northern Irish group swagger out onto the main stage and deliver a set of some of the finest indie anthems written this side of the Britpop wars. From the opening holler of ‘This Is The Life’ through the immediate glee of ‘Undercover Martyn’ to ‘I Can Talk”s delicious disco stomp, they’re a band who always deliver untethered joy. It’s a similar story with The Hives as the Swedish rock’n’rollers close out the Big Top with a greatest hits set that couldn’t be more assured. “It’s not good, it’s great,” is vocalist Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist’s review four songs in. It’s hard to argue. (AS) Despite the urgency, there’s a comfort to bands like Two Door and The Hives.

They’re safe pairs of hands. By comparison, Panic Shack couldn’t feel more wonderfully unpredictable. There’s a crowd of people already loitering by the Dork Presents Right Stage while the group soundchecks, and every line check is met with cheers. By the time the band actually start their set with the snotty rebellion of ‘Baby’, it’s sheer pandemonium. (AS) There's a similar energy for Opus Kink, who kick the day off on the Dork Presents Left Stage (honestly, who comes up with these names?).

There’s a thread of brooding post-punk to their sound, but it’s lifted by bursts of driving keys, electrifying sax and even the occasional flourish of trumpet, giving their midday set a defiant carnival feel. That blending of snarling postpunk with a disco spirit reappears later on in the day when the motley crew behind Deadletter take over the same stage for a party-starting run-through of their brooding but surprisingly upbeat music, while Enola Gay add nu-metal to angular guitars via Rage Against The Machine for a furious performance. (AS) Black Honey take to the main stage and kick straight into the swaggering ‘Charlie Bronson’.

Embracing the raw, vicious energy of new album ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’, the entire set is urgent but delivered with a glint in the eye. Vocalist Izzy dances, stomps and throws herself about

the stage while the rest of the band lock in to deliver flamboyant breakdowns and garage swagger. (AS) After the pure excellence of last year’s ‘Here is Everything’, it comes as no surprise that The Big Moon are greeted by a packed-out tent for their first stop on this year’s festival circuit. They race from pure rock riffs to lighthearted bops for a set that pulls from three albums’ worth of material, and it feels like an act of invigoration for audience and band alike.

Closing the set with ‘Your Light’, The Big Moon invite pure arms-to-the-sky glee that won’t be easily shaken off. (NM) Over at the Dork stage, the sun is beaming down, and there’s no better band for a sunlit set than Prima Queen. The Transatlantic duo are calm and collected through ‘Chew My Cheeks’, and remain a vision of cool as they recount tales of a festival romance gone sour on ‘Ugly’, or impressively combine their immaculate vocals with a dose of violin playing. Their tracks feel even more cut open in a live setting – the spoken word of ‘Butter Knife’ is arresting here.

Prima Queen prove themselves to be beyond a great band: this is a set cementing their sheer talent.

(NM) If chaos, choreography and criminally good bangers are your bag, then you’ll probably adore CMAT. “If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s being a messy bitch,” she cackles after whirling about the stage with

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fervour and drama that immediately places her set as one of the best of the day. Her particular brand of country-pop is nothing short of effervescent; she leaps into the splits, knocks over a mic stand and abandons her guitar in favour of darting about the stage some more. It's a set that brings the anticipation for her second album to an absolute fever pitch. (NM) Rose Gray has transformed the Dork Presents Left Stage into the club, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about it. The release of her second EP, ‘Higher Than The Sun’ earlier this year, has seen Rose Gray step into her true queen-of-the-disco self. Her particular brand of rave-pop sees her pair heavy breakbeats with massive vocals, and that powerhouse quality is on full display here. From a Donna Summer banger to her own FIFA tune ‘Cupid’ to the dancefloor demanding ‘Ecstasy’, Rose Gray’s dance anthems were made for late summer evenings like this one. (NM) Bug Teeth won the Apply To Play competition to play at Live At Leeds. Their dynamic set takes in all shapes of indie, rock and pop but never feels scattergun, as their confident, controlled but powerful vocals hold it all together. Moments of self-assured quiet lead into noisy, cathartic outbursts before big, aching pop songs channel both confidence and vulnerability. It’s a phenomenal showing from an artist you’re definitely going to see more from. Plus, the whole band are wearing matching hats! (AS) If you want pure joy, though, you need Dolores Forever. The pair open with the sleek ‘When I Say So’, which feels like a burst of beaming happiness, and the hits don’t stop coming. ‘Baby Teeth’ is a little bit folk, a little bit Spice Girls, but there’s still a grit to

their pop wizardry. The venomous, dramatic ‘Rothko’ leads into twinkling upcoming single ‘I Love You But You’re Making Me Sad’, which has more than a hint of Radiohead to it. Entering the existential crisis portion of the set, ‘Conversations With Strangers’ was written with festivals in mind and today, it weaves its way through the crowd, uniting everyone in its path before a triumphant ‘Party In My Mind’. “It doesn’t have to be a good time all the time,” sing Dolores Forever, but with them, it’s hard to imagine anything but. (AS) Later, Brooke Combe takes to the Dork Presents Right Stage to close out the festival.

It’s 9pm, and it’s noisy. On the other side of the field, The Hives are talking about how they’re the greatest band in the world while there’s an impatient crowd waiting for Two Door Cinema Club in front of the main stage. A large chunk of people are still trying to pick their jaws off the floor after seeing Panic Shack. Instead of demanding attention, though, Brooke Combe just gets down to business. And that business is lush, indie-infused bangers.

From the swaying ‘A-Game’ to the menacing swagger of ‘Impress You’, there’s nothing but confidence coming from Brooke. ‘Talkin’ Bout Heartaches’ pulls influence from Britpop while an electrifying ‘Are You With Me?’ is soulful, pretty, but still absolutely massive. (AS) The Cavetown fans have come in absolute droves to see the mellow indie-popper close things off. It’s one of the loudest audiences of the day, reciting the words to ‘Lemon Boy’ and ‘Boys Will Be Bugs’ in choir-like fashion. Robin Skinner can’t stop profusely thanking the audience for their kindness, and their devotion is clear: it’s one of the most wholesome moments of the day. It’s all smiles from Cavetown and co. (NM)

PEACE OFFER UP A FIVESTAR EVENING OF ROCK STAR SWAGGER

Colour Factory, London

→ Some bands are simply essential.

Magic has flowed through Peace’s veins from the beginning; each step they’ve taken has been an expectation-defying jump into the new and exciting. Boring simply doesn’t apply in the mind of Harrison Koisser, and it’s what makes their return in 2023 all the more vital.

Now a two-piece and with the sort of wall of technological equipment onstage that would have NASA stumped, it’s a surround-sound takeover that pushes everything Peace is to new levels at London’s Colour Factory tonight.

A warehouse-styled venue more akin to club nights and sweaty DJs, Peace in 2023 run with that and more for a celebratory, emotional night that’s an undeniable statement of their feverish ambition.

One of their first shows in nearly four years (after storming performances in Bristol and Birmingham earlier in the week), any doubts about how a new live set-up featuring just Harry and Sam Koisser will work are thrown away from the very first note. An opening rush of ‘Follow Baby’, ‘Lost On Me’ and ‘Money’ stamp their marker down for a set that pulls at every corner of the technicolour playground they’ve invited everyone into from the very beginning. It perfectly encapsulates that dance-infused spirit that always was there with Peace and leaves the stacked crowd in Colour Factory firmly in their hands.

An extended and spiralling ‘1998’ nails this front and centre – a beloved fan-favourite triggers mosh-pits, sweaty bodies and overflowing scenes, complete with a stadium-epic guitar solo that grabs and refuses to let go, before ‘Bloodshake’ whips another frenzy.

It’s a sharp set that revels in simply being there, led by a frontman who oozes rock star heights with each move. The biggest party in town, whose spirit comes from the flat parties and tiny spaces where Peace first made their name, but dialled up with even more ambition and a history of devotion in their back pocket.

What makes this all even more triumphant is the manner of their return.

New album ‘Utopia’ is both “out” and “not out” – directly given to fans who bought tickets to this three-date tour – and starts the next era of Peace by being as against-the-grain as possible. That rebellious nature covers the set, and with the swinging pop of ‘Darkness On The Dancefloor’, the cinematic campfiremeets-summer vibes of ‘Happy Cars’, the mourning lovesick ode of ‘Polly With The Perfect Hair’ and the pumping ‘Good Jeans’ effortless slotting into a greatest hits night – the openers of ‘Utopia’ makes their next chapter even more unmissable.

It’s a night full of special moments, cathartic for both the band and crowd.

While ‘Float Forever’, ‘From Under Liquid Glass’ and ‘California Daze’ see tears and smiles in equal measure, an erupting ‘Wraith’ and ‘Lovesick’ are met with pogoing masses that revel in every second.

As the baseline of ‘World Pleasure’ brings a blistering set to a close, Peace leave no doubt about where their ambition lies with a five-star evening of rock star swagger. Going against the status quo, revelling in the fun of it all, tearing apart any “standard rules” and throwing them up into the air to use as confetti – it’s grandstand ambition from a band who capture those universal moments of joy, fun and life. There’s nobody quite like them. Thank God that Peace are back. JAMIE MUIR Photo: Patrick Gunning.

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YARD ACT ARE ANYTHING BUT PREDICTABLE

Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Photo: Patrick Gunning.

→ This isn’t your usual Bank Holiday Monday. Then again, Yard Act aren’t your usual band. That leads one to think that what lies ahead may not be your usual gig, either. As the extended weekend draws to a rainy close, the usual dismal feelings are scarce. Instead, it’s the beginning of an exciting week.

Monday marks the first night of Yard Act’s weeklong residency at the Leeds’ beloved Brudenell Social Club. It’s been a slightly crazy last two years for the band, but in a way, it feels like it has all led back to this.

After a particularly special surprise opening set from much-adored stand-up Phill Jupitus, the feverish anticipation becomes stifling. There’s a handful of mannequins adorned in trench coats and silver streamers bedeck the stage.

Bunting strung across the ceiling ensures Brude doesn’t look its usual self. It’s fitting for the unusual night about to unfold, which becomes quickly evident when the band take to the stage and promptly announce that they’ve stuck 20 track names into a tombola and will be choosing their setlist in random bouts of threes. Michelle, an audience member who declares her love for a tombola, is absolutely delighted.

The first trio sees them embark on “crow whipping, a B-side we never bothered recording and some sax requests”. How else would you like a gig to start? The paper mache crows the band have lovingly crafted are destroyed, demands for the Emmerdale theme tune on sax are quickly dismissed and the night is well and truly off to a riotous start.

From there, the band storm through a setlist that seems both random and just right – tracks from their 2022 debut ‘The

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Overload’ like ‘Rich’ provide the chance to send the crowd into disarray, while ‘Witness (Can I Get A?)’ similarly seems to have a choir of fans joining in with every word. ‘Land of the Blind’ marks an especially magical moment, it’s crawling bass allowing frontman James Smith to commandeer the masses as effortlessly as ever.

‘Tall Poppies’, however, shows the extent of how far the band have come.

The album track sprawls over six minutes, and Yard Act give it every second of time it deserves. As James delivers some of the track’s final moments from the floor of the stage, the level of performance seems to elevate.

He howls his way through, with the band right behind – it’s an arresting, pivotal moment.

In many ways, this too is a pivotal night. “It feels good to be back,” James assures. “We put this place in a fucking song it means that much to us – we’ll always come back, as long as Nathan [The Brudenell’s Director] and you will have us.”

It doesn’t seem like anybody in that room will be turning them away. They return for an encore, tombola somewhat abandoned as they dive into a storming new track, ‘The Trench Coat Museum’.

It’s a promising sound of what’s to come, quintessentially Yard Act but more ferocious than ever. ‘Peanuts’ provides a blast from the past that many in attendance absolutely lap up, but the euphoria doesn’t quite end there. Phill Jupitus returns on stage alongside world’s greatest pop star CMAT and fellow comedian Nish Kumar to join James, Ryan, Sam and Jay in launching into a spectacular cover of Chumbawamba’s ‘Tubthumping’, the sheer joy evident on each of their faces.

“They’ve been very good, haven’t they?” asks Phill Jupitus. We couldn’t put it better ourselves. NEIVE MCCARTHY

RED VELVET GET THEIR MUCH OVERDUE FLOWERS

OVO Arena Wembley, London

→ A summer tour feels so right for Red Velvet. Long hailed the Summer Queens of K-pop, they arrive at OVO Arena Wembley following an appearance at Spain’s Primavera Sound in Barcelona. It’s their first performance here since a stop at MIK festival last summer and their first European headline tour ever.

Approaching a decade as a group, it’s about time they made their way to European stages. Still, there’s a lot of love for Red Velvet in London, and with an impressively versatile discography and vocals that rival the best of the best, painting the town Red (Velvet) is no problem.

Splitting the show into two acts, ‘R’ and ‘V’, designed to showcase their prominently pop ‘red’ and R&B leaning ‘velvet’ sides in equal measure, the ‘R’ half kicks off with last year’s ‘Feel My Rhythm’, a track that balances delicate vocals with

a harsh trap beat. Visually, it’s ballet-inspired, seeing the girls appear on stage in pink bedazzled tutus, ushering in a run of sugary sweet early hits (‘Ice Cream Cake’), soulful retro deep cuts (‘Oh Boy’) and classic 90s R&B balladry (‘Eyes Locked, Hands Locked’).

For a group with a relatively ballad-heavy discography, they forgo almost all of them in favour of a hit-loaded bonanza.

The midsection sees the fourpiece (usually five, Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Yeri, completed by the currently absent Joy, who instead appears in flashes on the big screens to rapturous applause every time) do capital-F Fun with those iconic big summer bops ‘Queendom’ and ‘Red Flavour’. Even in the uptempo numbers (which, of course, come with equally bouncy choreography), the girls’ vocals are never compromised; even the confetti and streamer cannons aren’t enough to distract from Wendy’s epic final chorus belting.

Slipping seamlessly into the ‘V’ portion, introduced

by a VT showing the group switching from white outfits into black, they return to the stage in girl-crush-ier black leather and lace attire for the sassy, runway ready ‘Pose’.

Here we’re introduced to their sultry side through cheekier, chantier singles like ‘Peek-aBoo’ and the timeless electropop of ‘Bad Boy’. Closing with ‘Psycho’, it perfectly mirrors the theatricality of the opening number, the darker side of ‘Feel My Rhythm’’s coin.

Since BTS’ hiatus began (yes, we are shoehorning that in), girl groups have been on top. Big Three graduates Blackpink and Twice have had an enormous year, and the new generation crop are set to follow in their footsteps, so Red Velvet getting their flowers on this tour is well overdue. A double encore featuring fan-dedicated ‘My Dear’ and the zany ‘Zimzalabim’ brings a close to a triumphant UK return for a girl group with a remarkable legacy and an indication this cake’s risen just perfectly. ABIGAIL FIRTH

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MÅNESKIN ARE

LEADING

THE

WAY

Photos: Frances Beach.

The O2, London → Since winning Eurovision and saving rock music, Måneskin have only visited London to play a string of intimate gigs, perhaps wanting to stay in touch with their sweaty, chaotic roots. The biggest headline show they’ve managed in the capital is the 800-capacity O2 Academy Islington. Tonight, though, they perform to 20,000 people at London’s O2 Arena and couldn’t look more at home. “This is a big ass venue. Fuck,” says Damiano David, taking a minute before a playful ‘On My Mind’. “Let’s make it memorable.”

The band clearly love the spotlight, playing up to the cameras and the fans on the front row, but they spend the majority of the show making the cavernous O2 feel as small as possible.

Guitarist Vic De Angelis bounces through the audience during an energetic cover of The Four Seasons’ ‘Beggin’’ to create a mobile moshpit, and she crowd-surfs at every opportunity.

Not wanting to be outdone, Thomas Raggi climbs on a security guard's shoulders and is carried into the crowd while playing the snarling ‘LA Fine’. He doesn’t miss a note, even when he’s unceremoniously dumped back onstage.

Continuing the intimacy, midway through the show Damiano and Thomas turn the O2 on its head by appearing at the very back of the venue for gorgeous, acoustic takes on ‘Vent’anni’ and ‘If Not

For You’. Even stripped back, Måneskin are all-powerful. The band takes things one step further by instigating a stage invasion for main set closer, ‘Kool Kids’.

“We’re hated all around the world for this tradition, but we really don’t give a shit,” grins Damiano. It’s carnage throughout the room as the band gleefully hit back at every criticism going with the snotty punk track.

Still, the band never shy away from the scale of the evening either. Third album ‘Rush!’ was written in-between world tours, and its urgency is built for massive gigs like this. The pop-punk smirk of ‘Supermodel’, the brooding ‘Gasoline’ and the stadium-baiting ‘Feel’ only add to the electrifying excitement in the room while slower, more emo songs like ‘Timezone’ unite the crowd.

After another blistering guitar solo kickstarts the encore, Måneskin play ‘The Loneliest’, which is the sort of almighty theatrical anthem designed to close out stadium gigs in lush fashion.

After nearly two hours onstage, most bands would end things there. Måneskin can’t help but seize the opportunity for a touch more chaos with a second airing of ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’, though.

A lot has been said about them taking inspiration from the rock greats that came before them, but tonight, Måneskin are very obviously leading the way. ALI SHUTLER

READDORK.COM 61.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?

Do Nothing

unless it's a free hotel thing, in which case I'll eat as much as possible out of some feeling of free food obligation.

Anywho, I like bagels a lot. I guess I'd have a bagel with some pretend bacon in it, coffee, orange juice, some kind of granola-esque cereal, and a big glass of brandy because this is imaginary, and nobody can say anything.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional Yes, Dear Reader. We enjoy those ‘in depth’ interviews as much as anyone character?

Exclusively! else. But - BUT - we also enjoy the lighter side of music, too. We simply cannot go on any longer without knowing that Chris "Mr Chips" Bailey from If you had to live as an animal for one year, which animal would you pick?

Do Nothing sometimes enjoys holding a red rubber sausage.

My little furry dog, Mabel. She has a pretty easy ride, as far as I can tell.

What did you last dream about?

I generally have super intense dreams, which are often sort of comically horrible. Recently though, I haven't been remembering any of them, which is unusual for me, and also inconvenient in regards to answering this particular question. Sorry!

Let's move on.

What's the stupidest lie you've ever told?

"Sure, I would love to answer some interview questions."

Kidding - not sure; probably just some kind of panic lie to get out of trouble, which was then very quickly and easily proved to be false.

What was the last thing you broke?

I chipped a plate mere moments ago and silently put it back in the cupboard. Other than that, probably a guitar string.

What's one thing you can definitely beat the other members of your band at?

I could probably get them at a game of SKATE (like HORSE in basketball), but only because I don't think any of them have ever set foot on a skateboard.

Have you ever won anything?

Now that you mention it, not really! Or at least nothing significant enough for me to remember it. Maybe in the next life.

What is your earliest memory?

I remember meeting my old best friend on the first day of reception. As I remember it, I was sitting playing with something on the floor, and he waddled over to me and told me a Santa Claus-related joke, and we both fell about giggling for a long time, repeating it over and over. We were best pals from then on until life just sort of happened, and now we don't see each other very often anymore. He did message me yesterday, though.

What was your favourite subject at school?

Probably Art? That one definitely felt the most like, "Hey, this doesn't feel like normal miserable school - are we def allowed to be doing this?"

What strength Nandos sauce do you order?

I think the "hot" one. I haven't been in a long while, but me and my W I F E will occasionally order it at home when we can't put ourselves through another pizza.

I do remember that when I used to go, I'd always fill the table up with bottles of all the other sauces they do. I like sauce a lot.

How punk are you out of ten?

Very un-punk. I remember us being referred to as "punks" in an article and finding the idea funny cause we're really all quite timid regular dudes.

What was the first record you bought?

I'm pretty sure it was a CD, and it was Daniel Powter - the guy who wrote that "so you had a bad day" song. Not cool, but the truth.

If you had to be on a TV gameshow, which would you choose?

This theoretical scenario scares me a lot. I do not perform well under certain kinds of pressure. That being said, Takeshi's Castle.

I was named after the folk singer Christy Moore. I sold out my individuality and shifted to Chris for an easier life, and now I yearn to be called Christy again, but I can't unswitch the switch.

Also, once in a blue moon, our guitarist Kasper will call me "Mr Chips". It's a fun mobster guy style nickname, like Mr Knees or something. As far as I'm aware, it has nothing to do with chips themselves.

If you could be best friends with a celebrity, you do not know, who would you choose?

Bob Mortimer feels like an obvious choice - maybe Kristen Wiig? James Acaster probably already has to deal with a lot of people feeling like they know him because he's so loveable, so I'll spare him on this occasion.

What's the silliest thing you own?

Somewhere in my desk, I have a red rubber sausage that I stole from someone's house cause holding it calmed me down.

What's the best way to cook a potato?

Roasted? Although crisps have been cooked and they're tasty. Probably roasted.

Have you ever had a nickname?

Doesn't really count, but up until the age of around 16, everyone called me Christy.

If you had to get a tattoo today, what would it be of?

I put a picnic bench together today, so I

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guess I'd get one of those on my tummy.

What have you got in your pockets right now?

A scrunched-up page of picnic bench assembly instructions, my phone (duh), and one of those fruity vape things that apparently have dangerous amounts of lead and nickel in them.

If you could learn one skill instantly without needing to practice, what would you pick?

The piano. I can play it a bit; in fact, I played some of it on our upcoming record, but to be able to fully understand it would be insanely helpful.

What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?

No. No no non no non no no no.

You're picking a 5-item breakfast. What's in it?

I don't tend to eat breakfast - I know it's meant to be super important or whatever, but I just don't do it. For some reason, I can't face food for the first chunk of the day

If you could have a super power of your choosing, what would it be?

Surely teleportation of some kind. If anyone ever says flying, they're underestimating how quickly things get old, and they'll probably be sucked into a jet engine.

What is the strangest food combination you enjoy?

I don't mind the sweet-savoury thing; I dipped a burger in a milkshake once and didn't hate it. I guess that's not super crazy, though; people do that with fries all the time. The quirky answer would be "the flesh of my victims with the blood of my…" etc.

What's your biggest fear?

I used to be pretty afraid of heights, but not so much anymore. I actually pretty severely lost it on a fuckin' log flume once, sat next to my previously mentioned best friend when we were kids. He has had the good grace to never mention it since. Nowadays, it's probably being thrust into a situation where I have no way of hiding my secret idiocy.

What do you always have in your refrigerator?

Sauce. Of all kinds. I'm a weird sauce guy; I love sauce.

Do Nothing's debut album' Snake Sideways' is out 30th June.

“Gem of the UK festival scene” THE GUARDIAN

THE INDEPENDENT

“Something for everyone at the friendliest festival around” ELLE

20 -23 JULY 2023 : HER T FOR D SHIR E , UK

YEARS & SELF BLOC YEARS ESTEEM PARTY THE HUMAN LEAGUE . . . .

THURSDAY HEADLINER

RICK ASTLEY ANASTACIA CONFIDENCE MAN SHYGIRL DJANGO DJANGO BEAR’S DEN . DYLAN . SQUID . KT TUNSTALL . MELANIE C . THE BIG MOON WE ARE SCIENTISTS . WARMDUSCHER . SCOUTING FOR GIRLS

BOB VYLAN . CAITY BASER . THOMAS HEADON . THE MURDER CAPITAL . HOUSE GOSPEL CHOIR . SAD NIGHT DYNAMITE . PORIJ THE SHERLOCKS . STONE . LYNKS . SCALPING . AYRTN . LOTTERY WINNERS . SPRINTS . ELLIE DIXON . PVA . KEG . FLOWEROVLOVE WASIA PROJECT . SHAÉ UNIVERSE . GEORGE RILEY . ETTA MARCUS . 49TH & MAIN . ONLY FIRE . MANDY, INDIANA KHAKIKID . NUHA RUBY RA . ZAND . JULY JONES . HANNAH GRAE . HERIOT . MATISSE . THEE MIGHTY SAINT PANCRAS ELECTRONIC

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DJ .

DJ KATY B . .FAITHLESS SET LF SYSTEM GROOVE ARMADA SET . . . .

A-Z: DEFECT DENNIS BOVELL MBE DIGITAL POCHAHONTAS DJ PAULETTE EROL ALKAN GIRLS DON’T SYNC

GIRLS OF THE INTERNET . JAGUAR . JAYDEE . JOE UNKNOWN . THE STICKMEN PROJECT

: HIGH CONTRAST FLAVA D . SOLAH & EMMA B . ANAÏS WINSLOW . IYRE HOSTED BY: DYNAMITE MC & TEXAS Groove garden /

SHOSH

COWSHED FUTUREFLOW

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SAINTÉ. . D DOUBLE E A-Z: CHAMPION LU.RE MATT JAM LAMONT .

P-RALLEL KAM-BU . QUEEN MILLZ . JUICE MENACE OPPIDAN ZED BIAS DARIUS SYROSSIAN . ART OF TONES . PBR STREETGANG . YOUNG PULSE FT.

KID FIESTA . JAEGEROSSA . LONDON DISCO SOCIETY . DJ EMMA . CHRIS MIMO . SI KURRAGE . MR SHIVER . PABLO CONTRABAND . THE SUNCHASERS . RECORDS VS RACISM DON SIMÓN . LEOPOLD . PETE O’CALLAGHAN . TOMMY B . COSMO & FASA . FLOORED CAPRI . MATT LE MOO . ASH DJ . GROOVE GARDEN ALL STARS COMEDY

PARTY

FAMILY

MARK WATSON . RHYS JAMES THE CUBAN BROTHERS . CLUB DE FROMAGE DICK & DOM DJ BATTLE REGINALD D. HUNTER UNCLE FUNK’S DISCO INFERNO . QUEER HOUSE PARTY THE FLYING SEAGULL PROJECT KIRI PRITCHARD-MCLEAN . LOU SANDERS MORTIMER NANNIES DEPTFORD NORTHERN SOUL CLUB . HIP HOP KARAOKE

SPRING DAY . TOM WARD . THANYIA MOORE . ANDREW WHITE AMY WEBBER . TADIWA MAHLUNGE COMPERE: JOSH HOWIE PLUS

ROCKAOKE . FEELING GLOOMY . AGE AGAINST THE MACHINE BOWIE DISCO . FROMAGE JUNIORS

HIP-HOP ACADEMY . STORYTELLERS’ CORNER KIDS RAVE-ON . THE MAGIC LANTERN . PLAY ZONE

DOG SHOW . SWIMMING POOL . COSTUME PARADE . HOT TUBS . WELLBEING IN-CONVERSATIONS . WORKSHOPS . STREET FOOD + MUCH MORE

JOIN THE PARTY : BOOK NOW

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