Dork, May 2021

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Index Issue 54 | May 2021 | readdork.com | Down With Boring

Editor’s Letter Some bands are just special.

Many are decent, a few are great, but the very top tier is reserved for those who have that certain something about them. It’s nothing so crass as the much commercially flaunted ‘x factor’. It’s far more organic and less showy than that, a form of quiet confidence that sits beneath what they do, allowing them to be themselves rather than spin off with any passing trend. Though they may

Ø4 Intro

be wracked with the same self-doubt and imposter syndrome as the rest of us, somehow, they’re incapable of being anything else but their brilliant selves.

That’s a pretty long-winded way of introducing this month’s cover stars, Wolf Alice. Of all the acts you’ll find in these pages, there’s a more than convincing argument that they’re one of the very, very best - both in their quality as a band, but

also their ability as individuals to stand for something more than just a lovely tune. New album ‘Blue Weekend’ is - and I hope I’m not breaking any embargos saying this - a true work of art. Special, basically.

Who expected anything less?

Stephen

2Ø Hype 28

42 Features

6Ø Incoming Ø6. The Night Café Liverpool’s The Night Café are back with a new EP, and a promise of much more.

‘Editor’ @stephenackroyd

Ø8. Dreamer Boy With a second album on the blocks, Dreamer Boy - aka Zach Taylor - is embracing the cowboy pop yee-haw.

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Wolf Alice With the famed ‘difficult second album’ both behind them, and proving a triumph in itself, Wolf Alice are returning with a new opus right at the time we need them most. Head away for a ‘Blue Weekend’ with one of the very best bands on the planet.

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Coach Party

Squid

Fresh from their appearance on Dork’s 2021 Hype List, Coach Party are back with a brand new EP

A weird, winding, tooting troupe - Squid aren’t your standard bunch of lads in a band.

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Chloe Moriondo

Lava La Rue

From teen with a ‘uke’ to bubblegum pop rock brilliance.

THE MAILBAG

Wall Art

12. Wonho K-pop sensation Wonho has with the help of his fans - risen to new heights.

14. Kero Kero Bonito As Kero Kero Bonito offer up their new EP ‘Civilisation II’, we’re more than up for checking out their alternate-reality.

2Ø. Courting Introducing your next big band crush Courting - who refuse to stick to the tired old clichés.

readdork.com Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden

Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young

Scribblers Abigail Firth, Aleksandra Brzezicka, Alexander Bradley, Blaise Radley, Connor Fenton, Edie McQue, Felicity Newton, Finlay Holden, Jake Hawkes, Jamie MacMillan, Jasleen Dhindsa, Jay Singh, Laura Freyaldenhoven, Melissa Darragh, Neive McCarthy, Phoebe De Angelis, Steven Loftin Snappers Adam Alonzo, Charlotte Patmore, Fraser Taylor, Marieke Macklon, Matilda Hill-Jenkins, Phil Smithies, Phoebe Fox, Sarah Louise Bennett, Xenia Owens

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All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility.

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

#HELPTHEHEDGEHOGS

When it comes to exciting new talents, few come close to Lava La Rue.

26. Deb Never With her intimate take on lo-fi grunge, Deb Never is shaping the sound of the future.

Hedgehogs can become trapped in ponds if there’s no easy way out. If you do have a pond, ensure it has a sloping edge or a log at one end which can act as a ladder for any hedgehogs who have taken the plunge

Stuff we’ve been sent this month from ‘the stars’ (or their lovely publicity teams, but let’s pretend etc. etc.)

AIR FRESHENER!

The problem with these promotional gifts, if we’re honest, is they’ll often have a subtext that’s unintentional to them. Take this - a fish shaped air freshener from Easy Life sent around the announce of their debut album. Are they trying to tell us the band smell fishy?

BUTTERFLIES!

Now Sody, she knows how to do it. A lovely ‘zine, a nice plant to grow in order to attract butterflies, AND some chocolate fluttery things. Honestly, ‘the bands’, the best thing you can do is just send us things to eat.

That’ll get you at least an extra star (shhh! - Ed).

A MIXTAPE!

Those lovely types Dad Sports made us a mixtape! Isn’t that lovely? It’s not even one of those ‘mixtapes’ either - it’s proper. The only problem, we’re embarassed to admit, is - erm - we don’t actually own a cassette player.

Sorry. We’re not anywhere near as retro cool as you think. readdork.com 3.

THE BEATING HEART OF POP.

FYI AFTER THE AFTER PARTY Dry Cleaning have booked in a new headline tour. Hitting the road in support of their brand new album ‘New Long Leg’, they’ll play the shows in February and March of 2022. You can find the dates in full on readdork.com now.

STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS MONTH...

Years & Years – formerly Olly Alexander, Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen – is now a solo vehicle for Olly, with new music due in spring.

“The three of us are still good friends,” they explain in a statement. “Mikey will be part of the Y&Y family and play with us live and Emre will focus on being a writer producer.”

Fresh from their appearance on Dork’s 2021 Hype List, Coach Party are back with a brand new EP and a request that we help them buy their own boat. These pop stars, huh?

Words: Laura Freyaldenhoven. Photo: Phoebe Fox.

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ialling in after a long day working at her very own vegan café, Coach Party guitarist Steph Norris is just about ready to wind down with a cup of delicious hot chocolate. Joined by lead singer and bassist Jess Eastwood, the two give a little glimpse behind the scenes of their second EP, ‘After Party’.

Following last year’s debut EP ‘Party Food’, ‘After Party’ sees the band refine their voice and sound: dark thoughts wrapped into bright, guitarheavy illusions. “I guess that’s kind of our style now,” Steph says. “With ‘Party Food’, it was younger lyrics because that was our age at the time we were writing them. The second EP has become more like real life and what most people go through, just singing about personal experiences. I think we’re more comfortable writing about our feelings and writing songs that people can really relate to. It’s really important to write about truths.”

Anthemic single ‘Everybody Hates Me’ paints a vivid picture of what those truths sound and feel like. To a chorus of infectious rhythms, Jess gives free rein to the shadows of her insecurity. But where does a song like that come from? How do those nasty thoughts weasel their way into the spotlight? “We wrote the chorus all together,” Jess says of the process. “We were in the studio, and it was really fun. We coined ‘Everybody Hates Me’ thinking, what could everyone hate us for? Lack of affection, that’s good! Jealous and controlling. I think everyone can relate to that, whether it’s plans, a person - anything.”

Talking about the importance of honesty in their songwriting, Steph and Jess quickly agree

that getting up close and personal with their feelings and being upfront about their struggles is a priority, even if, sometimes, it might be a little intimidating. “It’s different every time,” Steph muses. “There’s some stuff that Jess will write, and it’s a bit of a release for her, and sometimes it can be difficult, but you have to overcome that.

If it is personal, then that’s a good thing because that’s where songs should come from. They should be true and come from personal experiences.”

“I think there is more longevity in lyrics you can relate to on a deeper level for sure,” Jess adds. “I know that’s what I relate to with the songs I listen to. The more in-depth they are, and the deeper they go, I stick with them all the time. I think that’s what the end goal would be: for someone to put a song on at any point in their life and still have it with them 20 years later.”

‘After Party’ more so than ‘Party Food’ hones in on that vulnerability. Talking about the recording process, Jess reveals: “There were a few songs that just happened, and they sounded good. Less was better.

But there were more tracks than not that were quite hard to match them instrumentally with their emotional lyric lines.”

That’s when it’s time for the band to shine. “In terms of the music side, it’s definitely more Guy and Joe,” Steph admits.

“Obviously, Guy produces all of our songs as well, and he just has a vision of where he thinks it should go, and the same with Joe. More often than not, the song starts off a ballad and ends up being this like high energy screaming mosh pit kind of song.

It’s really fun to watch it evolve.”

Does that ever lead to arguments? “When you’re a

band, you’ve just got to be open-minded,” Jess considers.

“For me, sometimes, I’ve had that feeling where I’m like… if I’ve written a song all the way through and you take it to the recording studio, and everyone wants to make changes to it, that’s been a real lesson for me to be like, we’re a band.”

Steph agrees: “It’s a compromise, isn’t it?

Compromise and being completely honest. If one of us doesn’t like it, then it doesn’t happen. If it’s not a four-way agreement, it tends to not go any further than that, and we change direction. But we’re quite open with what our opinions are.

When we don’t like something, we say it; when we love something, we say it; and when there’s a tie, I guess sometimes we carry on with both directions and end up seeing what’s best.”

Perhaps the best example of such a change of direction is the journey from EP1 to EP2. Moving from sun-kissed indie to raw alt-rock and switching breezy melodies for swelling urgency, Coach Party have no doubt elevated their sound. A direct result of revisiting their old one and realising, hey, that’s not us anymore.

“It’s always the case that with your first baby, you don’t really know what to do with it. You kind of learn as you go,” Steph explains. “And with this one, we were like, right, we know how to raise this child now. Let’s raise it how we want it to be raised. We knew what we wanted to sound like, so we did that. I’m really proud of it. I think it sounds amazing.”

Now that they have their feet firmly planted on the road to superstardom, Coach Party find themselves in a position where they are expected to

“We just hope for personal tragedy” Jess Eastwood

deliver. There are deadlines now.

Unfortunately, emotions don’t work to a deadline; they come and go as they please.

“I think we just hope for personal tragedy,” Jess laughs, “It’s really weird because there are obviously things that will happen, and it’s true; you can write from emotion. But it’s also… I’ve found this cool way of writing - maybe just like a title – it could be as vague as a red chair and then having the inspiration of being like, I’m going to write a whole song about a red chair. Just having that title is a good start.”

Reflecting on Jess’s lyrical prowess, Steph continues: “Jess does the majority of the writing, and it amazes me. Especially with EP two, the lyrics are so mature. Sometimes it makes me think I should check in on her, make sure she’s alright.”

But what Steph doesn’t tell you, and what Jess very helpfully throws into the conversation, is that she has recently joined the songwriter ranks herself, and quite successfully so. “It’s a beautiful song,” Jess assures.

“I just had one of my friends die, and I’ve never written a song in my life, but I just sat down and it just kind of came,” Steph reveals. “I picked up my guitar and was just playing and writing

these words, and I was like, holy shit, I’ve written a song! I showed it to Dan, and he helped me with the chorus because I didn’t really know which direction to go in, and then it was a song. Just goes to show that when you’re in the moment, you can do it.”

As the conversation turns towards how it feels to release an EP when you can’t actually tour it, both Jess and Steph are surprisingly relaxed. “I’d say there’s always pressure with a release, but we’ve always been in a position where we haven’t really had the opportunity to go out and play many shows,” Steph explains. “I think as Coach Party, we’ve done only five, maybe four. So, in a way, we’ve always been an internet band.

With the Covid situation, I guess there is a little bit more pressure, but more people are actually listening because there’s nothing else to do. They’re interacting more, and it’s really lovely to hear and see.”

“If there is any pressure, it’s internalised,” Jess adds. “We don’t have anything else to be like, oh, there’s lots of people coming. Instead of judging how many people come to your show, it’s how many people buy your record.”

On that note, here is a PSA to all of you lovely Dork readers to get online and buy the ‘After Party’ EP. If not for the music, then to fund their dreams of buying a band boat so our four islanders can come and go to the Isle of Wight as they please.

Goodbye, annoying ferries; hello “Not Poor Anymore” (Jess’s brilliant name suggestion). We’re already on board. P Coach Party’s EP ‘After Party’ is out 20th April. readdork.com 5.

mxmtoon has shared a cover of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’. The song appears on the soundtrack for the upcoming Life Is Strange: True Colors game, in which she voices central character Alex Chen.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich has announced his new album, ‘To Carry A Whale’. His fourth full-length, the record’s set for release on 18th June via Dirty Hit, preceded by lead single and album opener ‘Cherry In Tacoma’.

Dream Wife have announced rescheduled dates for their tour. “Live music is finally coming back,” the band exclaim, “but we’ve had to move our UK tour to the start of 2022. New European dates TBA.” Now happening in March and April 2022, you can find the dates on readdork.com now.

“WE’VE MADE CHARLI XCX-LEVEL POP TUNES, DRILL BEATS, EVEN EMO-TRAP MUSIC” Liverpool’s The Night Café are back with a new EP, and a promise of much more from where that came from.

Words: Finlay Holden. Photo: Charlotte Patmore.

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couse indie-alternative quartet The Night Café have seemingly been in hiding since their 2019 debut LP ‘0151’ laid out their chilled, jangly guitar sounds over a sprawling 18-track record. Despite the lack of live appearances, the group are now making their return with a new EP, ‘For Better Days’.

Speaking on the apparent disappearance of the band after their first record, frontman Sean Martin exclaims: “It’s mad. The album came out, and we were meant to tour it in 2019, but I suffered a vocal injury and literally couldn’t speak for more than 10 minutes without pain. I’m still rehabilitating from it now, but at least I can sing again!”

The COVID situation only exacerbated things, and, after two years away from the stage, the group are craving that euphoric feeling of performing to a live crowd. “Touring can sometimes get stressful – you don’t get much sleep and live off shit food – but having so much time away from gigging has made me really miss it,” he reveals.

The four lads have been friends since school and have gone on to play huge venues like Wembley Arena and Alexandra Palace alongside fellow Liverpudlians The Wombats.

These indie-rock giants took the boys under their wing right from their modest beginnings in the city.

“The first time we toured with them, we were 17 years old, and we were not ready for it;

6. DORK

we’d never even thought about touring! We didn’t speak to them at all; we were so nervous,” Sean reminisces. “There’s a great scene starting here in Liverpool now with some cool local bands rising up - since COVID, we’ve actually been interacting with other artists a lot more.”

Lately, the foursome have been working hard to push themselves. “While in lockdown, we’ve not had much else to do than make music, so we’ve experimented a lot. I’ve written loads of songs over the last year, but I can usually tell straight away if they’re a fit for the band.

We’ve made Charli XCX-level pop tunes, drill beats, even emotrap music.

“People listen to your band and expect a certain sound, but that shouldn’t limit the type of music you make. You build up a fan base who want to hear your established sound; they want to hear that evolve over time, sure, but then again, they don’t want to hear an indie band come out with a drill tune.”

The Night Café are clear that fan reaction will not define their careers. “If I like what I’m doing, I don’t care if anyone else likes it. That’s just a good mindset to have when you’re a creative because doubt is the cyanide of creativity – if you allow yourself to doubt your own work, it’s just never going to be good enough for you. Those thoughts can creep in, but you need to remind yourself that you’re excited about what you’re doing; that’s all that matters.”

With these insecurities out of

mind, new music is finally being unleashed in the form of a fourtrack EP, ‘For Better Days’. On the timing of this release, Sean imparts that “this is a bridge to a different sound; some of the songs were written for the second album, but they give the same feeling as ‘0151’ did, so an EP seemed like a good idea to ease the transition. The title came from the fact that, at the time, I was feeling down and

away from.

“Previously, I have written a lot about relationships, not because it’s easy but because it’s something that so many people experience and can relate to. ‘Addicted’ was actually written about my girlfriend, and so was truly based on my personal life. Now, though, I’m trying to grow more rather than doing stuff that I’m used to doing. I’ve changed the way I

“Doubt is the cyanide of creativity” Sean Martin

hoped that this music would help me see those happier times which were always coming.”

Opening track and lead single ‘Isn’t’ describes “a bad relationship where both people end up disliking each other, but the feeling of love is still hard to lose.” When asked whether this theme comes from personal experience, he answers: “I’ve been with my girlfriend for 7 years, so no. Writing about that type of thing… even if you’ve never been through it, it’s easy to put yourself in those shoes.

This song isn’t about me, but I know for a fact that it’s about several thousand other people in the world.”

Guitar-pop and romantic lyricism is a classic combination, but this is a cliché that The Night Café are steadily leaning

write by listening to descriptive songwriting; the story unfolds as you go along. I’m experimenting further with that, but it is a tricky thing to get right.”

If this unfamiliar approach is the new normal for the group, then the EP certainly does provide a bridge from those appealing romanticisms to deeper, broader meanings. The second serving here, ‘Think It Over’, “is about questioning – am I at where I want to be at this point in my life? The whole point of the song is that you really need to consider those choices because sometimes your initial thoughts don’t reflect how you really feel. It’s tied into relationships, about being with someone for so long while being so young, but the theme is also much broader than that.”

Existential crises are concealed by chilled acoustic guitars, harmonious riffs and a fast chorus, which is a technique that Sean relishes. “I find writing lyrics is very cathartic. Even my happiest tunes are me putting my feelings out there, but hiding moody lyrics under happy guitars is something I like.

When you listen to music, you react to pure emotional feeling; you don’t rationalise the lyrics and meaning when you first experience a song; what you truly remember is how it makes you feel.”

The obvious evaluation and persistent revaluation of his own thoughts shows that Sean is a man who spends a lot of time in his own head; fortunately, he balances this fine line with a sense of humour. “I’m quite introverted, even more so as I’ve got older, and I never desperately wanted to be a frontman… I never wanted to be the face of something; I just wanted to make music with my mates. I didn’t even want to sing at first; I only started because we needed a singer but didn’t want anyone else to join the group!”

As for where they go from here? “It’ll sound like, us but more mature and evolved definitely a step forward, not a step back. Everyone should keep their eyes peeled because there will be a lot more music from us soon.” P The Night Café’s EP ‘For Better Days’ is out 22nd April.

Fryars has confirmed the release date for his forthcoming album ‘God Melodies’. Set to arrive on 16th July via Fiction Records, he’s also previewed a new track, ‘Orange Juice’. You can stream that on readdork.com now.

FEET have announced they’ve signed to the Really Very Good Nice Swan Records, who will release a new EP from the band early this summer. With the first single – ‘Peace & Quiet’ – set to arrive on 20th April, they’ve also revealed some new tour dates for 2021.

Foals have rescheduled their UK shows again due to the current coronavirus restrictions. The band will now play two huge outdoor shows at Cardiff Castle and Swansea’s Singleton Park this August, with the rest of their shows shifting to 2022. Find all the dates on readdork.com now.

DREAMBOAT

With a second album on the blocks, Dreamer Boy - aka Zach Taylor - is embracing the cowboy pop yee-haw.

Words: Finlay Holden. Photo: Adam Alonzo.

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wo years on from establishing himself in the US alt-pop scene with debut LP ‘Love, Nostalgia’, Zach Taylor, aka Dreamer Boy, returns with a new full-length project that he hopes will birth collaboration between young creatives across the globe and expand his journey to share his deep-rooted optimism.

Zach knew he’d be a performer from a young age, but adopting the Dreamer Boy persona was a transformative moment for the 24-year-old. “The first Dreamer Boy show felt like nothing else I’d ever done,” he reminisces. “I was finally playing the music that represented me so clearly and had this fun energy that I could bring out of myself using that moniker. It felt to me, I was finally free.”

This omnipresent joy is something he revels in sharing with his fans, particularly when he’s unleashed on stage. “This wasn’t pre-meditated, but I started asking the crowd to chant ‘yee-haw’ with me. It’s a bit gimmicky, but we’re having fun!” he grins. The Nashvilleborn artist is clearly not afraid to embrace his roots, and his sound has been described as ‘cowboy pop’; a term he coined himself. “It’s a tongue in cheek way of describing pop music form Nashville, Tennessee. I enjoy playing off of that fact instead of running from it, so that’s the label that I landed on. After that, we brought in the cowboy hats and thought; let’s just go all in.”

Cowboy pop pulsates with an almost excessively fresh and modern sound direction, but Zach still draws upon older influences.

“I love singer-songwriters like James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, John Prine, George Harrison… these are my Mount Rushmore figures.

I feel that in today’s day and age, music is made in such a different way, but I still romanticise the 60s process and mindset, and just the slow soulful nature of it. The sound I’m working towards has that backbone of these classic songwriters but intertwined with really interesting textures and genres while keeping the spirit of

that music as the guiding light.”

Utilising those sonic textures gives the Dreamer Boy project its unique voice, and voicing emotion is the focus of the creative process here. As Zach explains, “I’m a very wordsfirst person, but music to me is the perfect backdrop to support those words. When I’m making music, neither lyrics nor instrumentation comes first; it’s the song that comes first. I create a vibe and figure out a way to exist in the middle of it; I’ll chase the way the music feels.

It’s an exciting adventure; I’m this narrator using my friends to help paint illustrations around the words.”

At a point where many artists are chasing listeners’ abbreviated attention spans as viral sensations, the auditory experience compressed into a 10-second make-it-or-break-it clip to represent the artist’s entire message, Dreamer Boy does not succumb to this. This second album once again delivers a long, atmospheric escapade.

“I come from a segment of my generation that fell in love with ‘Man on the Moon’ by Kid Cudi, ‘Channel Orange’ by Frank Ocean, ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ by Bon Iver. These were world-building albums, so I’m so drawn to that album experience as a whole.

That’s always the goal when I’m making music; the album comes first - I’m never working on a song and not thinking about its context in the record. I’m developing this bigger piece of music, and on the day-to-day, I’m just in the weeds working on specific parts of that, which are the singles.”

Zach and his team have maintained a clear vision for where they want to focus their output, which is building an expansive body of work, and the collaborative aspect has other concealed advantages. “Dreamer Boy as a collaborative project is why it is what it is; I work on all sides of the albums alongside my friends,” Zach clarifies. “We keep each other accountable; we’re constantly pushing each other, and it’s hard to even answer

what it’d be if I was doing it alone because I have no idea. I’m so grateful for my friends; they’ve definitely kept me sane through this ‘slow’ year - having others around to lock arms with and go through this time together has been amazing.”

Having benefited from surrounding himself with fellow creatives, Zach wants to share similar opportunities with others, using ‘All The Ways That We Are Together’ as a delivery mechanism for this communitybuilding.

“If my goal is to build a community and bring people together, I need to find every little way possible to do that. I’m starting small and hoping this record will generate a network that keeps growing beyond just

because other people build us up.

That’s a great practice, not even for just this project; I always try to be honest and open myself up for learning.”

It may seem that he can spin anything into a happy soundbite message, but Zach of course has those sad moments himself, and he utilises them very deliberately.

“I try to keep hopelessness out of my music unless I’m specifically writing about that feeling. There is a song ‘Mesa’ on this album which explores not feeling seen, experiencing some abandonment in a relationship, but in that hook, it turns around into this sonic oasis; even in this terrible, heartbreaking moment, with this person by your side, life’s still beautiful. I try to maintain that feeling of hope.”

“Ditch expectations of what you think you’re supposed to be and get busy being yourself” Dreamer Boy

this album cycle. I want to help people meet each other to help inspire that next collaborative project by giving people fellow artists to work with, or even just a friend.”

Alongside this influential position as a figurehead for the project comes a level of pressure to maintain this positive image and message – ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ and all that. Zach professes, “You have to acknowledge that you’re not a perfect person every day, and you can’t facilitate that positivity as easily every day. I’m learning to put less pressure on myself. We all have great days, we all have bad days; it’s ok for me to show up on a bad day sharing those feelings can help instead of burying it deep inside

Reshaping these more melancholic circumstances into the vital ingredients of Dreamer Boy’s journey required a lot of growth. “’Love, Nostalgia’ was mainly about past loves and me naively experiencing feelings, but this album was written while making that first album; that time of community and friendship, and feeling true love and connection for the first time. This is the part where it becomes real!

Experiencing all this growth is what the album is all about; it’s about love, but not necessarily the romantic gushy kind – more the real, earthy type. The soil in which you grow something pure.

It came from feeling connected to personal, spiritual experiences that guided me along the way.”

Touring the first record

around the globe alongside his talented contemporaries like Clairo enabled this perspective.

“Every time I’ve been on tour with someone, I’ve learned a bit more just by being around them – I’ve grown as a musician, artist and touring act just through conversations and the experience,” Zach reflects.

“If you’re a doctor, you go into a residency and learn from other doctors - it’s the same for musicians.”

Existing in the public eye with a published body of work gives artists a clear point of comparison to benchmark their own success against, constantly challenging themselves to push themselves further, which is one facet of this adventure Zach enjoys the most.

“It’s interesting to have these albums as chapter marks for my own growth. When I listen to ‘Love, Nostalgia’ it feels like I’m turning back the pages in a book. I’m still the same character; I know why I wrote those words and how I was feeling at that time - but it is beautiful to have those as big journal entries to put a bookend on moments in your life.

I’m still learning and growing as I go, but I think that starts as soon as you can ditch expectations of what you think you’re supposed to be and get busy being yourself; that’s what I wish I did sooner.”

Romanticising growth is the overarching theme with which ‘All The Ways We Are Together’ hits hardest, and the record itself explores its own journey.

“I wanted the arc of it to be having feelings for someone.

Not knowing if you should tell them, having told them and feeling chaotic, then arriving at a serene place not without its own questions. I don’t want to put people in a box and dictate how you should feel when you listen to it, though. My goals is to have it be a wishful, hopeful album that you can get lost in, and I hope by the end you feel renewed and can sense a new life chapter starting.”

P Dreamer Boy’s album ‘All The Ways We Are Together’ is out 22nd April. readdork.com 9.

Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Dublin football club Bohemians for a new strip. The team will wear the band’s name as sponsor on their away shirt for the 2021 season, in support of Focus Ireland – a national body that works on tackling homelessness.

Glass Animals have announced a rescheduled tour for later this year.

Kicking off on 8th November in Glasgow, the run will culminate with a night at London’s Ally Pally on the 19th. You can find all the dates on readdork.com now.

Grouplove have released a surprise album. Titled ‘This Is This’, the band explain: “We hope this album gives people the permission to fucking scream. It’s important to stay emotional. The whole rainbow is important. If we just live in the light blues, are we really alive?”

“I’M TRYING TO WRITE SONGS HERE, WHO CARES IF I DON’T SLEEP?!”

Dork fave Lauran Hibberd has teamed up with fellow Dork fave Lydia Night from The Regrettes for a brand new song, and has a second EP on the way. Good excuse for a check in, then.

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auran Hibberd is returning this July for her second EP ‘Goober’, which follows 2019’s ‘Everything is Dogs’. The announcement follows the fresh pop-punk-esque single ‘How Am I Still Alive?’, a collab with Lydia Night of fellow rockers The Regrettes. Lauran chats about artist team-ups, staying sane while living with your parents, and her infamous façade of dry wit.

How’s it been living at home with your parents?

You know, same old. Mum’s fine, dad’s fine, they just keep telling me to stop making noise past 10pm. Rock’n’roll!

Has chatting to fellow musicians kept you sane in lockdown (number three)?

Definitely, I think it’s super easy to fall into the trap of thinking you’re the only one feeling a certain way, and it’s really comforting to know that everyone else is also in loads of pain and struggling; I weirdly find comfort in that. Me and Zuzu gas each other up a lot, so it’s good for both of us.

When did you first meet Lydia Night?

We first met on The Regrettes’ tour in November 2019, and we hit it off - well, I hit it off with the whole band really; they’re all so nice. Musically we work together very well too. When I was writing this song, it just weirdly reminded me of her, so I dropped her a message like ‘do you like this, shall we do it together?’ And she

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Words: Finlay Holden. Photo: Fraser Taylor.

said yeah! This is our first try collaborating, so I’m glad it was a success.

What’s your favourite collab track?

I’m going to say the collab between Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus with their band Boygenius. It’s just crazy good, they did an EP together, and it’s sick, deffo my fave.

Moving on to the EP, what does ‘Goober’ mean?

It’s a slang word that I stole from Spongebob Squarepants; when he sings “I’m a goofy goober”. I love Spongebob, but also, my friends always call people Goobers, so it’s stuck with me, and it’s a cool word. It’s an affectionate word for a fool. To me, this EP feels better structured and written than ‘Everything is Dogs’, and I really know where I’m at and what I’m doing with it, so I thought that was a funny contradiction of a title. I want to maintain my stupid façade that I’ve got going on. That way, people can only be pleasantly surprised. That’s how I go about life; really undersell myself and then hope for the best.

And what is the significance of the accompanying artwork?

I want to imply that I’ve only just started growing and realised what I’m doing, so I thought a good way of showing that would literally be my head in a cabbage patch. I had a cool green screen, and a table cut to the size of my fat neck and had soil around me and stuff – a good day at the office!

Do you enjoy all your wacky artwork shoots?

They are fun; I always have quite a strong vision for these things.

It’s a nightmare at the same time because you normally end up wrecking something. I always think next time I’ll do something simple and make it easy for myself, then I get there and I want to do a skydive or something.

Do your ideas often come from your dreams?

There’s a lot that happens in my dreams which I take influence from, for sure. Lots of imagery, like when people’s heads are on fire, I think wow that looks cool; I’ll write about that. I normally watch really weird videos, shark attacks and stuff like that before bed to promote these thoughts. I’m trying to write songs here; who cares if I don’t sleep?!

What is the overarching theme here?

I think it’s about being comfortable with where I am in my life right now. The first EP was me fumbling around, having no idea what I was doing, and that was how I decided to sell it – talking about sugar daddies and stuff. This time it’s a little bit more intellectual because I’ve thought a bit more about how I hide things, but there’s obviously the same dry humour in there.

I think it’s just me being a bit more comfortable in the present moment.

Are you ever afraid to focus too

much on romanticisms within your song themes and lyrics?

Potentially, there’s always got to be a good blend. When I write a song about a relationship, I never go down the cliché of being like ‘I love you, you love me, let’s get together’ – there’s always a funny story that I hone in on, which then becomes the theme of that song. The stories are masked in romantic situations because that’s how most people relate to things. When I think about the album coming up, there’s really not much about relationships on there, so maybe I’m just getting it out of my system.

How do you classify your sound, and has it changed a lot since the last EP? I definitely think my sound has definitely evolved from ‘Everything is Dogs’. That was very indie-rock; I had just got into Weezer and was in love with my electric guitar. Now I think I sit down and think about stuff more… it’s more riff-based, and I think the overall theme is more mature. I kinda do call it slacker-pop; I like that. It’s pop music for people who don’t want to declare that they love Taylor Swift but secretly still do, so they just listen to me instead then.

Is Avril Lavigne someone you also aspire to be like?

I grew up listening to Avril, so for me, it’s like being 12, putting eyeliner on wrong and dancing in the mirror – that’s sort of what it makes me feel like. I get a warm feeling inside whenever I

hear her music. I’ve always loved Green Day too, and all of those influences are subconsciously playing into my every day.

Do you see that child as someone who would listen to your music now?

I think it is for kids like me when I was 13 and didn’t really know what was going on, but I still thought I was cool. I think my audience should think they’re cool, but also absolutely not be cool. Don’t tell them I said that!

How has fan interaction in lockdown been over social media – your weekly pub quizzes have kept us entertained!

I was trying to find new ways of interacting, and I didn’t want to be posting ‘oooh look, today I’ve been writing all day again!’

People know that I’m doing that.

So I thought, what can I do that’s funny and real? We were just about over the pub quiz hump; everyone had done the Zoom quiz phase and was sick of it, so I thought now would be a really good time to come out of the gate and capitalise on that ‘nostalgia’.

What’s the overall impression you want to leave listeners with after hearing ‘Goober’ for the first time?

I want them to be like, ‘what was that?! I don’t know what this is, but it’s cool, and I think I want to listen again’. P Lauran Hibberd’s EP ‘Goober’ is out 30th July.

Sports Team have rescheduled dates for their forthcoming tour. The run – which finishes up with a headline stop at London’s O2 Academy Brixton – will now take place this October and November.

There’s a bunch of festivals too - check out the lot on readdork.com now.

Crystal Palace Bowl will host a new open-air concert series this August.

South Facing Festival will take over the park’s amphitheatre from 5th-31st August. The first wave of artists features Dizzee Rascal, The Streets, Max Richter, Supergrass and more.

Dutch festival Lowlands has announced it intends to take place from 20 to 22 August this year. Acts playing include the likes of Liam Gallagher, The Chemical Brothers, Yungblud, Arlo Parks, Declan McKenna, Biig Piig, Dry Cleaning, Cavetown, Georgia, shame and Working Men’s Club.

“I WAS EXCITED TO SEE HOW THE FANS WOULD REACT” K-pop sensation Wonho has - with the help of his fans - risen to new heights.

Words: Abigail Firth.

W

onho had a turbulent end to 2019. After his departure from group Monsta X in late October, fans were left reeling, and for a minute, it seemed like everything was falling apart.

But, like a phoenix, the South Korean singer/songwriter/producer/ performer/king of the gym selfie emerged from the flames just a few months later, freshly signed to a subsidiary of his former company Starship Entertainment, ready to unleash some bangers – and some tearjerkers – on his fans.

The unwavering support of his fans throughout the ordeal has helped carry Wonho through, and by the time his first EP ‘Love Synonym #1: Right for Me’ came around in September, he was stronger than ever. First dropping the pre-release single ‘Losing You’, an English dedication to his fans (dubbed ‘Wenee’), followed shortly after by the deliciously camp and groovy number ‘Open Mind’, quickly establishing himself as fearless, honest and versatile.

When we catch up with Wonho, he’s just released his second EP, ‘Love Synonym #2: Right for Us’, led by sultry and theatrical single ‘Lose’ and building on his solo debut’s strengths to deliver something darker and moodier. Outside of music, his online presence since going solo has propelled him further into the spotlight, picking up fans with every Instagram post and garnering him one of the more diverse fanbases in K-Pop. Since initially debuting in 2015 to rebooting as a solo artist last year, it’s already been a long road, and certainly one with a few twists, turns and bumps, but it’s far from ending yet. So put your seatbelts on and enjoy the ride, as Wonho enters the most exciting phase of his career yet.

Hi Wonho! What have you been up to?

Hi Dork Magazine readers! I’ve

been busy promoting my new album. I’m so excited to say hello to you all.

What can you tell us about your new album ‘Right for Us’?

This album is the second series of ‘Love Synonym’, and it provides a new definition of love that restores freedom through loss and hope.

The most important message is “Let’s be together for a long time” to my fans.

What’s the difference between ‘Love Synonym’ 1 and 2?

In the last series ‘Part. 1’, I announced that I would come back to my fans and introduce Wonho to the world. It was a process of finding my own colour, while ‘Part.

2’ seems to show a more solid and mature worldview. I’ve expressed my ambition and passion to share more things with my fans.

The tracks on this album are a lot darker sounding than on ‘Part 1’, how were you feeling when creating these songs?

I tried to include my message that I wanted to send to all the fans on each track. I was excited to see how the fans would react. If you listen to the songs on the album from the first to the last track, you can feel that I’ve tried to put in a variety of dark to bright colours!

Are you inspired by other art forms outside of music?

Yes, I often get inspired by watching movies.

Is there a link between ‘Losing You’ on ‘Part 1’ and ‘Lose’ on ‘Part 2’?

The album itself is a continuation in a way that ‘Part 1’ is more like finding what’s right for me, and ‘Part 2’ is figuring out what’s right for us, but the two songs do not have a direct link. ‘Lose’ is the track where I try to focus more on the performance itself to show an intense, strong stage, whereas

‘Losing You’ was my sincere letter for my fans WENEE. Is there a reason the songs dedicated to your fans – ‘Losing You’ and ‘WENEED’ – are both in English?

I hope it will be a song that fans all over the world can listen to and sympathise with, so I decided to write in English, which is the language used in most countries.

There’s a collaboration with Kiiara on this album, how did that come about?

After listening to ‘Ain’t About You’, I was wondering if I could find a suitable vocalist for this song. It’s my first solo collaboration, so it’s a very meaningful track. While listening to various vocals, I heard Kiiara’s voice and thought, “OK, this is the voice that I’ve been looking for,” so we made it happen.

You’ve written on a lot of these tracks, when did you start writing songs?

Ever since I was a trainee, I’ve always been interested in writing lyrics/composing. Since my debut, I’ve been working on them steadily until now.

Did you feel like you had to prove yourself when you debuted as a solo artist? Are there any expectations you’d set for yourself?

I actually wanted to quickly convey the message of gratitude and what I really wanted to say to my fans, who’ve been waiting for and supporting me a lot through music.

I would be grateful if my fans could feel my sincerity through my music. Making pleasant and happy memories with WENEE for a long time, is the most meaningful goal for me.

Has your approach to work and being an idol changed at all since debuting solo?

I would say I feel a sense of

responsibility when creating music and performing on stage as a solo artist, but it always motivates me to try my best to execute various sides well, for my fans.

You’ve always been confident on stage, and you’ve definitely shown yourself to be confident on social media, but is there a difference between the Wonho we see as an idol and the person you are in your personal life?

I don’t think there’s a big difference between me as an artist and the person in my daily life. I start my days waking up, exercising, eating well, and taking good care of myself. I would say the difference would be that I invest more time in my album preparations as an artist.

Your fanbase is super diverse, how do you feel being seen as a representative for so many people?

Thank you very much for sending me your love and attention. Thanks to my fans, I am able to create and perform my music, which means a lot to me. I will continue to work hard to repay the love I’ve received.

Similarly, you’re seen as quite (forgive the pun) an open-minded person, you’ve got a lot of male fans and your concepts are seen as pretty gender-fluid, were you aware of that? How do you feel about it?

I am very thankful to be loved by a lot of people all over the world.

I think that my music is more valuable and meaningful, because it is loved and not limited to any age, gender, religion, or culture. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who supports me.

Could you describe the artist you aspire to be?

I want to be an artist who loves fans the most. It isn’t easy to meet all of my fans in person, but if I could be someone who gives them the greatest love and strength in their

lives, there would be nothing more meaningful to me than that.

When it comes to creative direction – the music videos, performances, album concepts – do you have a hand in that?

I try to actively share my ideas and opinions when it comes to being part of these creative processes.

I truly enjoy being a part of this, since it feels great to think about which messages or concepts will be shown to my fans, and to imagine how they would react to them.

What else can we expect from Wonho in the future?

I’m sure you will be able to see me with more mature and deeper colours of my music in the future. I will continuously show my fans my sincere message and love through my music, and always sing songs that are for my fans. I will “promise to hold you so tight and I’ll never let go”. Love you so much, WENEE! Are there any particular genres or concepts you’d like to try out?

It would be great if I could try disco, future, or retro genre one day.

There will be many more things to come in the future, so please keep an eye out for me!

What music/artists are you listening to these days?

Since I enjoy listening to all kinds of songs of different genres and moods these days, I usually listen to random playlists that are automatically recommended to me each day.

Finally, which is your favourite track on the new album?

I would say ‘Outro : And’ and ‘Ain’t About You (Feat. Kiiara)’ are my favourite songs from this album.

You will find each track has different charms and attractive points. P Wonho’s album ‘Love Synonym Part 2: Right for Us’ is out now. readdork.com 13.

black midi have announced details of a new album - ‘Cavalcade’. The follow-up to 2019’s ‘Schlagenheim’ will arrive on 28th May via Rough Trade. You can check out the lead single from the record, ‘John L’, now.

Easy Life have announced their debut album will be released on 4th June. It’s called ‘life’s a beach’ and is previewed by lead single ‘a message to myself’, which you can check out on readdork.com now.

Manchester’s Parklife Festival has revealed its 2021 lineup, featuring the likes of Dave, Disclosure, Jamie xx, AJ Tracey, Megan Thee Stallion, Skepta, DaBaby and more. It takes place in Heaton Park from 11th-12th September.

BONITO APPETIT!

Everything has been ‘a lot’ of late. As Kero Kero Bonito offer up their new EP ‘Civilisation II’, we’re more than up for checking out their alternate-reality.

Words: Felicity Newton. Photo: Matilda Hill-Jenkins.

K

ero Kero Bonito are in the midst of a pretty ambitious project: a one-two of EPs - 2019’s ‘Civilisation I’ and this spring’s ‘Civilisation II’ - that see them explore an alternate-reality of their own making. The trio, Sarah Bonito, Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled, introduce their latest foray into slightly bonkers alt-pop.

Your new EP is fun, continuing your alternate-reality theme can you tell us a bit about how it develops that concept?

Gus: The “alternate reality” aspect of ‘Civilisation’ relates to Svetlana Boym’s theory of offmodernism, which posits that if we retrace our cultural history and find avenues that were possible or suggested, but never truly investigated, we can create parallel timelines of cultural development by exploring them now. We implemented the concept on ‘Civilisation’ by attempting to make fantastical, progressive modern pop music using only old hardware synths; the result is something feasible decades ago, but realised for the first time today. It’s an interesting concept because it interrogates our assumptions about history, creativity and cultural values.

Where do you draw inspiration from when it comes to storytelling? Are you into books, TV, film? Do you consume a lot of fiction?

Gus: I try to keep my antennae switched onto whatever media I come across, though video games (especially the ones I grew up with and internalised)

14. DORK

definitely have to be included, and I own way, way more music than anything else. I probably read more non-fiction actually; fiction is great obviously but learning unfamiliar raw concepts is like finding new tools to make stuff with.

Jamie: I’m a big fan of Douglas Coupland, and over the years, I have realised that our work shares a lot of similar elements, ie mundanity vs world-defining events.

Sarah: I love science fiction. I like thinking about how our future might look like if we go down a particular path.

How do you approach turning your story ideas into song, is the process similar to when you’re writing about other themes, or an entirely different beast?

Gus: It’s not entirely different, but it is a distinct genre and possibly the hardest to pull off. Coolsounding platitudes relevant to a specific theme (or not!) work well for most songs, but narrative songs have to be very tightly wound to communicate a story without compromising the music itself. For example, you’ll probably need to describe a series of events to move the plot along without the language becoming boring, all while maintaining metre and performability. This makes fitting a story into a song really difficult. A successful narrative song, as with so many things, should feel natural enough that you can’t hear the work that went into crafting it.

Are there parallels between the narratives going on here

“It interrogates our assumptions about history, creativity and cultural values” Gus Lobban

and what’s going on in your own life?

Gus: The songs on ‘Civilisation’ lie on a spectrum encompassing our real, even mundane everyday lives and an existential, mystical framing of those experiences.

‘When the Fires Come’ recounts the wildfires we literally witnessed in the USA in 2018, but also places that within the context of the climate change society faces as a whole. The idea is to break down and copy the methods of historical cultural artefacts so we can express ourselves in the same paradigm, staking our place within the history of civilisation.

It feels a bit like we’ve been living in an alternate reality over the past year doesn’t it, how have all the pandemic restrictions impacted you guys?

Gus: Boringly in that we could no longer record together and had to work from separate recording setups, and that it made concentrating extremely difficult.

There was an interesting moment at the very start of lockdown where the enforced return to DIY invention opened the floor up to any ridiculous, interesting ideas

people could come up with. That was really exciting, and I felt it putting KKB’s SPF420 live stream set together. I think that’s long since dissipated now though, and that instead, we’re all trying to jump back on the culture train where we left off in the hope that it’ll be moving again by the time we’re ready for action.

Jamie: I’m starting to feel that pre-2020 was the ‘alternate reality’. Regarding the restrictions, I really miss bouncing off each other in a room.

Sarah: My perception of time has changed. It feels like we are living in double time, and it’s been strange not seeing Gus and Jamie.

If you could go live in an alternate reality of your own design, what would it be like?

Gus: In my alternate reality, all pop music is as close to original expression as possible, and that aspect is appreciated on a mass mainstream scale.

Jamie: Croydon in 2000 but where I’m not 8 years old, or Croydon in 2500 where I’m not dead.

Sarah: I want humans to have wings and animals to talk.

Are there any other artists working on similarly highconcept ideas that you’re particularly into at the moment?

Gus: If we’re talking concepts specifically, I think Yves Tumor occupies a really interesting space that no-one else is exploring. Their last record updated the lineage of Black crossover artists like Jimi Hendrix, George Clinton and Prince, but in a way that feels more vital than almost anything else I can think of, without compromising the considerable musicianship required to make those records.

Jamie: Iglooghost’s world is really cool.

Sarah: SOPHIE. What else are you working on at the moment? What’s your next project?

Gus: We’re doing a few fun bits and pieces that should appear soon. We have to preserve some surprise for our next album, but you won’t be waiting another two years for it.

Sarah: I’ve been playing Zelda on Twitch.

Do you have any predictions for later this year?

Gus: I predict that people will continue to make hopelessly inaccurate predictions.

Jamie: Christmas!

Sarah: My wisdom teeth will finally finish growing and not hurt anymore. P Kero Kero Bonito’s EP ‘Civilisation II’ is out 21st April.

AJ Tracey has announced his second album, ‘Flu Game’. Due for release on 16th April, the announcement saw AJ take on the role of a rising basketball player holding a press conference to reveal his next move. Like you do.

Laura Marling has announced a new UK tour. The shows kick off in Birmingham on 4th October. The run marks her first shows proper in support of latest album ‘Song For Our Daughter’. Get all the info on readdork.com now.

Jungle are set to release their third album ‘Loving In Stereo’ on 13th August. They’ve already previewed a first song from it in the form of the typically dancefloor-tastic ‘Keep Moving’, which you can stream on readdork.com now.

COLUMN

A Day In The Life

Biig Piig

YOU KNOW WHAT’S EASIER THAN FOLLOWING AROUND YOUR FAVE UP-ANDCOMING INDIE-STROKEPOP STARS, DAY IN, DAY OUT, TO SEE WHAT THEY’RE UP TO? ASKING THEM.

9:00AM I put on the laundry on a fast spin; I run out of socks every four days. I don’t know if that’s normal or not, but it’s the bane of my life. I usually call with management around this time; they live in London, so the time difference means that we usually get everything talked about and scheduled at 9/10am PST which is actually very convenient, I think because it means I can switch my phone off after that.

10:00AM Laundry’s done, and I love my fresh socks. I’ve got a PR shoot today, so I put my dungarees, fav top and my mask on and get ready to go.

16. DORK

WITH MEZ GREEN FROM LIFE

from a place nearby and an iced coffee.

7:00PM Wrapped up, we made some cool stuff. Lyrics didn’t come so easily today, but it’s alright; it happens sometimes. It’s important to remember that not every time is gonna be your best, but you keep working on it until you make something that feels authentic and honest, even if it makes you cringe sometimes. On the car journey home, it’s sunset.

The sky is blushing, and I feel sleepy, but the city looks so beautiful when the sun sets.

7:30AM I wake up and make myself a pot of coffee in my super cool coffee machine. God, I love that thing. Whilst that’s brewing, I take a shower; I only usually take like three mins in the shower. I brush my teeth and put on my Big Thief record (‘Masterpiece’) and start my face routine, rub in a tiny dab of extra virgin olive oil on my face, then just simple foundation and eyeliner ‘cause it’s cute and IDK how to use makeup like an adult. I then put my joggers on and roll a cig, grab my coffee and go outside and sit on my balcony that overlooks this beautiful view of LA and smoke my cig and really think about how crazy life is.

LIFE LESSONS

7:40PM Home, I make myself some pasta and try my best not to drink. Sometimes I call my friend Ben, and we talk about our day. It’s nice having new friends out here.

All my friends in London are asleep now ‘cause of the time difference.

I usually forget to eat in the mornings. Bad habit. So I’ll try to grab a piece of fruit on the way to the shoot.

10:40AM At the shoot trying on clothes that look so much better than anything I own.

I really need to start looking after myself more and dressing better; it feels great.

We get some quick shots at two different locations, and then I’m stressed ‘cause I’ve got the studio, and I’m late. I order an Uber.

12:45PM In the Uber. I love car journeys so much; this might just be my favourite part of the day. When you’re just passing through traffic

and listening to music, and everything feels like it’s paused. Sometimes I’ll listen to stuff I’ve worked on recently and decide on what I want to do with it, try envisioning music videos or listen to hear if it needs reworking.

1:20PM I arrive at the studio. Working in music in LA compared to London is pretty different.

People start work a lot later and are usually pretty chilled out. I feel there’s less pressure in the process too, maybe it’s the sun.

5:00PM I’ve got to eat; I can forget to eat a lot on days where it’s busy. I order a poké bowl

9:30PM I’m reading Saeed Jones ‘How We Fight For Our Lives’.

I’ve nearly finished it, but it’s one of the best reads I think I’ve ever had. Time flies with it; it’s a very good book.

10:20PM I’m gonna get ready for bed, put my slip on and wash my face off. Brush my teeth and get a glass of water. I get into bed with my toy cow Ickle.

I got her on tour two years ago and can’t sleep alone without her. Set my alarm for tomorrow and label it “good morning I love you” so that I hear that every morning and feel loved lol, and make a rough plan for the day in my notes. Turn off the light and sleep. P

THIS MONTH

Ain’t Milk Brilliant; Namaste Bloom…

Breakfasts; I’ve not tried them all, but I’ve had a few. I like to earn them. So, I start my day with the Namaste salute. It feels better than doing yoga in a shit-laden ten-foot. I roll the rug back in my front room and lay on my 5G lizard mat. It makes me smell like lemon juice and vinegar. The cult told me it’s better than smelling like fish. Laying on the mat, I spark two straights in quick succession and wonder where babies come from. If I’m lucky, a fat seagull flies past my skylight and takes a shit. I’m not vegan, but the squirt those birds can do looks a lot like the oat milk in my fridge. Ain’t milk brilliant? It’s breakfast.

Namaste.

Throughout my day, I spend a lot of my time dreaming about how Spotify won’t rip off artists anymore. I also like to think of different blends of salt I could put on my chips. I often tell ‘the lads’ in the virtual pub about pairing table salt with rosemary, basil or soil. My pairings often fall flat; the lads just nod or freeze and most of the time tell me I should get a job with Amazon and focus on speaking on behalf of minorities and / or women. Ain’t milk brilliant? It’s breakfast.

Namaste.

I had this remarkable opening chapter to my career, for which I thought I was going to make it in the music industry. Without my terribly low wage and rate of pay, I could have come off the rails, but unfortunately, I can only afford cocaine if it’s offered to me for free. And fuck, at least when I look in the mirror, I can clearly say I am the driver of myself. I am a visionary city tram. A microdose of joy. Oh Namaste. Oh life, I’m yours. P Listen to Mez’s Sunday Lunch - every second Sunday of the month on Dork Radio with Jake Hawkes. Grab the podcast by searching DorkCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or other major platforms.

→

Bangers THE BEST NEW TRACKS

single. Upon hearing ‘On The Ground’ it makes far more sense, though. A shiny, acousto-pop-rock gem with verses that are choruses and choruses that are solid vibes, it’s one of the best tracks of the year so far.

but leaves with the doors hanging off their hinges - just the way it should. A shot of adrenaline with a wicked grin.

DE’WAYNE and Awsten Knight Perfume

A team up with exciting newcomer DE’WAYNE and pop-punk enfant terrible Awsten from Waterparks, ‘Perfume’ is the kind of bratty can’t-have-a-partyyet anthem that nobody was expecting but everyone needs. A concentrated injection of attitude, it’s delivered in a way which demands the widest of grins. Here for a good time not a long time, it clocks in under three minutes

Beabadoobee Last Day On Earth

Things you will know about the new single from beabadoobee by the end of the second verse without us having to tell you.

1. It was co-written with Matty Healy and George Daniel from The 1975.

2. It’s really good.

Yep, while ‘Last Day On Earth’ might have that verbose, lackadaisical vocal flow all over it, it’s also Really Bloody Lovely - and quite possibly one of the best things Bea has put out to date. The first taster of a full EP to follow this summer created in collaboration with the dynamic duo, it’s a gratefully received new twist on an already brilliant new voice.

Rosé

On The Ground Let us tell you, Dear Reader, while Dork does have a weak spot for a shot of the ol’ K-pop, in this month of exciting releases and intriguing inbox deliveries of future 5 star records to come, we didn’t expect the one track we’d be spinning on a never ending repeat loop would be Rosé from BLACKPINK’s debut solo

Drug Store Romeos

What’s On Your Mind Drug Store Romeos are lovely. The three piece -

alumni of our 2021 Hype List, no less - have been on ‘the radar’ for a while now. With the announce of their debut album ‘The world within our bedrooms’ comes this, lead single ‘What’s On Your Mind’ - a dreamy, hazy oasis in a sea of loud, demanding nonsense. “The album is a journey of emotions and colour schemes,” the band explain. “A lot of bands have a consistent emotion across their whole album but we wanted to reflect the ever changing nature of someone’s mental state over a period of time. We always wanted to create our own world, and as a three we have this force field around us. The world within our bedrooms is like a kaleidoscopic exploration from the heart of middle England.”

Inhaler Cheer Up Baby

This pandemic thingy has really put the breaks on our unreasonable band-related expectations. If we’re honest, Dear Reader, we expected Irish indie popsters Inhaler to be delivering us a freshly wrapped debut album back in 2020. Still, with entirely understandable delays, it seems it will be worth the wait. ‘Cheer Up Baby’ is exactly the kind of anthemic, arms aloft future classic that befits Inhaler’s - cough-don’tmention-it-cough - legacy.

The first taster of first full length ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’, frontman Elijah Hewson calls it a “classic pop song” that “really takes us back to our roots as a band”.

He’s not wrong either. With that debut record due to land in July (16th, to be exact) and reworked from original intentions due to the covid sponsored break to include five new songs - it seems all those lofty expectations for the former Dork cover stars might prove to have been entirely reasonable after all.

There’s plenty to be cheerful about here.

readdork.com 17.

Top 10 MARTYN YOUNG’s

Everyone loves a good list, right? Well, Dear Reader, not compared to Dork’s Listmaster General Martyn Young you don’t. The thing about Martyn, you see, is he’s not swayed by your safe, sanitised opinions.

He’s living his best life, loving what he loves, unconcerned by your boring, identikit truths. Each month, we’ll give him a new musical category to rank, then you can send in your rage-filled missives about just how wrong he is. It’s all good fun.

THIS MONTH, GIVEN THERE HAVE BEEN SOME ‘QUITE GOOD’ ONES OF LATE AND ALL THAT, IT’S...

‘COLLABS’ PLEASE NOTE: All opinions are those of Martyn Young and in no way represent Dork as a whole. We’re very sorry.

2. Calvin Harris and Dizzee Rascal Dance Wiv Me Calvin Harris has had so many legendary pop moments. There was his banger with Rihanna! Florence! Ellie! Rita! (this one is really good, don’t shout at me, go and listen to it now) and the time he jumped about on the X-Factor stage with a pineapple, but perhaps his best moment was his collaboration with Dizzee Rascal. It’s silly, it’s stupidly addictive, and it’s a pop banger of the highest order.

1. Kylie and Jason Especially For You Think of the best example of the most perfect pops tar in history. You might be thinking of Kylie Minogue. You might just be right. Then think of Jason Donovan.

Admittedly, not quite so perfect. For a couple of fleeting years in the long lost past, though, Jason was perfect. Consider him as the Harry Styles of the late 80s.

Anyway, ‘Especially For You’ is their crowning moment, and it is the greatest collaboration of all time. It’s unashamed joyous, tender exuberance about a couple deeply in love lives on eternally. When it comes to collaborations, all the love I have is especially for you.

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3. Lady Gaga and Beyonce Telephone There was a time in the late noughties when Lady Gaga was the ultimate best pop star of all time. ‘The Fame Monster’ was a pop behemoth spinning off hit after hit, and this one features another ultimate best pop star of all time. Yeah, I know; I just said Gaga was the best. Give me a break; there are too many amazing pop stars. Beyonce’s bit arrives at 1 min 35 seconds and might just be the best 14 seconds in pop history.

‘Telephone’ is also a contender for best song about a phone, a genre of which there are many contenders, but we’ll save that one for later.

7. Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion

4. Beyonce and Alexandra Burke

WAP The new school of rap legends are taking over, and they’re filthier than ever, just the way we like it. ‘WAP’ has obviously been everywhere and for good reason, as it’s amazing and is already a modern-day classic.

Listen Here comes Queen Bey again with one of the most iconic moments in music television history. Back in the days when The X Factor was the biggest thing going, they would get a massive star to duet with the finalists. Normally it would be Robbie Williams who was waiting around in reception, but this time, Beyonce graced us with her presence to duet with the beautiful voice of eventual winner Alexandra on her classic ballad ‘Listen’.

A true WTF moment, it was a wholesome moment of fleeting pop joy that you can never recreate.

WTF? Okay, so we don’t all agree. Here’s some official challenges to this month’s list.

True Steppers. Dane Bowers.

Victoria Beckham. Where is it?

He’s out of his mind. Also; Klaxons and Rihanna at the Brits, Linkin Park and Jay-Z, Ellis-Bextor and Groovejet. Stephen Ackroyd, ‘Editor’ Few things can get me riled up like doing a list like this and then putting a 100% pure pop banger in the metaphorical corner of life, but here we are. Martyn’s only ever watched 43 movies and it shows. WHERE IS THE DIRTY DANCING SONG MARTYN? WHERE IS IT? ‘(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life’ is everything you need, for all occasions. Bill Medley, Jennifer Warnes, a little dance, Jennifer jumps up into Patrick’s loving arms, a bit of a twizzle round, it’s a triumph, Baby’s not in the corner any more, not a dry eye in the house.

He won’t have a clue what I’m on about. Jamie MacMillan, writer and photographer

5. Disclosure and AlunaGeorge White Noise Poppers are good, aren’t they?

6. Lil Kim, Mya, Christina Aguilera and Pink!

Lady Marmalade Did you know that ‘Voulez-Vous coucher avec moi, ce soir’ actually translates as “what an incredible banger can you believe that we got all these pop icons on one song”? Of course it doesn’t, but these four stars helped take this already legendary song to another level with an all-star extravaganza of epic proportions. My favourite is Mya, btw.

I’ll be fair, it’s a pretty formidable list of duets right here on Martyn’s list - but sweet heavens are there some notable admissions. We’ve all screamed along to Lady Gaga and ‘that one off The Hangover’ doing ‘Shallow’, and we’ve all attempted to throw some sort of shapes outside in a car park to Bruno Mars and Cardi B’s double-team on ‘Finesse’. AND WHAT ABOUT JUST THE ENTIRE FILM GREASE! Maybe that’s just what I’m looking for in a duet.

Songs I can sing incredibly out-oftune right in my friends’ faces. No wonder why I sit here alone with a bag of Maltesers... Jamie Muir, Contributing Editor and Down With Boring ‘host’ Disagree? Email your own suggestions, or abuse to us at toptens@readdork.com. We’ll include the best ones in next month’s issue.

Last month’s feedback on... the top 10 debut singles since January 2000.

“I’m so, so, so gutted that Chewing Gum by Annie failed to make the list. How dare you!” @KirklandCiccone, Twitter A true classic. This is Martyn we’re on about, though. It probably comes just under Fast Food Rockers’ ‘Fast Food Song’ for him.

Sigh, etc etc.

8. Sugababes and Richard X Freak Like Me Sugababes are one of the greatest pop groups of all time. Everyone knows this. This song is their first number one and an example of how they took Richard X’s mastering of the classic ‘Mash Up’ into a piece of pop genius. It still sounds incredibly fresh today. Oh, I do wish Sugababes would come back. I need to add that to my great big list of pop requests.

9. Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers Islands in the Stream You don’t get more legendary than Dolly Parton.

Dolly is still going strong. Maybe you saw her the last time Glastonbury took place; I’ll bet it was ace.

I’ll bet you sang along to this at the top of your voice, and I’ll bet it warmed your heart with joy. Go on, you can do it again now. It’s my treat. Promise it will cheer your day up.

10. Charli XCX and Troye Sivan 1999 Charli is the queen of collaborations, and there are about 241 amazing ones to choose from. I’m going for ‘1999’ though, with the very lovely Troye Sivan. 1999 was a good year, wasn’t it? There was a great big solar eclipse in 1999. Fitting for Charli and Troye as they regularly eclipse the pop competition. Except for here because they are at Number 10. I haven’t thought this through, have I? readdork.com 19.

Hype ESSENTIAL NEW MUSIC

Blanketman have got a new tour on the books for August 2021. Following up on their recent debut EP ‘National Trust’, they’ll play shows in Birmingham, Brighton, London, Bristol, Liverpool, Hebden Bridge and Manchester. Find the full details on readdork.com now.

Your friend and ours Alfie Templeman is hitting the road next March for a huge tour.. Taking place in March of 2022, the run includes a huge night at London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire. Get all the lowdown on readdork.com now.

Griff has beat out Rina Sawayama and Pa Salieu to win the BRITs Rising Star award. She’s also got a new mixtape ‘One Foot In Front Of The Other’ out on June 11th, and a fresh batch of tour dates coming this October. Busy busy.

COURTING Introducing your next big band crush Courting, who refuse to stick to the tired old clichés.

Words: Jamie MacMillan. Photo: Marieke Macklon.

“A

re we responsible for Kanye’s divorce?” asks Courting’s Sean Murphy-O’Neill precisely three minutes into our chat. “I’m not sure? I hope we’re not actually cursed…”

Never mind David Byrne then, it seems like it might be Courting’s badside that you want to avoid, after a string of “unfortunate incidents” that seem to be following any Twitter mention or lyrical namedrop from the band. “I’m not sure that’s the best angle we wanna run with,” he laughs in a whirlwind chat that takes in perfect potatoes and pancakes, indie beefs and chart battles.

As well as some actual music.

Welcome to Courting then.

Coming from a fine tradition of Indie Twitter nonsense purveyors, the Liverpool band have been talking a good game for a while. But good chat only goes so far, and they’ve been backing it up with the hottest of hot streaks when it comes to this run of singles. You’ll have likely heard ‘Grand National’ by now of course, a blast of frenetic indie-pop that is a reference to 100gecs as well as being a close runner and rider to the chaos of Sports Team. Arriving so soon after ‘Popshop!’ and ‘David Byrne’s Badside’, it tells us pretty much everything we need to get properly excited and smashes the myth that bands can’t break out in these times of not being able to play shows.

“It’s been kind of a blessing and a curse,” admits Sean.

“Because on one side, we don’t get to do the fun bit, which is play shows and see what our hard work is doing. But on the other side, it’s given us time to refine what we were doing and finish the EP. It was a nice respite to focus on what actually mattered.”

Describing the EP as a I’m not making music to drag “mission statement”, Sean sees you in, but I’m not consciously ‘Grand National’ as being “a pushing people away, which logical conclusion to the type I feel a lot of others do,” he of music we’ve been writing for explains. “They purposely make the last two years” but expects things weird to get cultural ‘Crass’ to be the transition cool points, trying to look a lot point into their first record. cooler than they actually are.”

With that and ‘Slow Talk turns to Burner’ signalling a nonsense and DORK’S NOW more overtly postcurse of TRADITIONAL ‘the punk sound, albeit Courting’ soon BIT WHERE one with a million enough. Kanye’s WE ASK WHO and one references namechecking in SOMEONE chucked in for ‘Crass’, right before WOULD HAVE good measure, news of his divorce IN THEIR the band are at ANIMAL BAND with Kim, follows that exciting point a pattern. Pontins If you could make a when they could getting caught band out of animals, go anywhere next. banning Irish names what would they be?

It’s textbook music right after their See, that’s interesting. of 2021, taken from ‘Popshop!’ mention?

I feel like a giraffe would make a good a love for music Check. Daft Punk bass player. as diverse as the announcing their likes of SOPHIE, retirement the day Would it hold the Charli XCX, Beastie after Sean bigged bass up really high or Boys, 100gecs and them up on Twitter? wear a long strap?

Black Country, Yup. Worrying Well, that’s a debate, New Road. In other times for 100gecs isn’t it? Up high. I feel like a panda on drums. words, begone then, one of the with your tired inspirations for references to The ‘Grand National’.

That’s a shout.

Fall.

“There’s a Yeah, maybe a “Yeah, we problem there, isn’t comically small insect for the frontman. But pull from a lot there?” admits Sean. no other instruments. of things,” Sean “But if my career Just the drums and agrees. “Our choices lead to the bass, I’ll take that. whole ethos is to end of 100gecs, take from what then I’m going to Okay, no guitar. interests us and dissolve the band Yeah, that’s it. Maybe make it available immediately. At that just like tape samples. to people who point, our actions I feel like Animal wouldn’t usually are irreversible.”

Collective have look for them. I Everybody loves already nailed this. think it’s a case of a bit of indie Twitter not wanting what chaos, and we’re Yeah, that’s true. we do to get stale; no exception. From Yeah, I don’t know if I’m fearful of being Sports Team getting we can one-up them. pushed into a box, set upon by a pack I suppose.” As of angry Gaga stans, happy to be in the pop world as to Alfie’s irrational hatred any other, there’s a refreshing of cucumbers, it is the wind honesty about the band and beneath our wings. And it is who they want to appeal to. something that Courting excel “My opinions of what our music at. Three-minute-long listening is, is so far disconnected from parties, pancake flipping what other people clearly think. live streams, roast potato

“If my career choices lead to the end of 100gecs, I’m going to dissolve the band immediately”

Sean Murphy-O’Neill

competitions with Circa Waves, it’s all going on.

“I worry whenever anyone asks about Twitter,” he laughs.

“Because I’ve often forgotten what I said. I see a lot of bands who are really miserable on social media, and I think my god. There’s no need. We try to just take the piss.”

We interrogate Sean about his cooking tips, and he delivers the goods. “Perfect roast potatoes? Rapeseed oil and cover them in flour; that’s standard. I don’t think I’m breaking the book here, but I am good at it; I’ll tell you that,” he explains modestly. “It’s my goal to teach every single person who likes our music how to do a proper roast.” He moves onto pancakes. “I think they deserve more attention than they get; it’s surprising how many people are bad at making them,” he says, plainly having seen some of the attempts from Dork’s finest. “But when you perfect it, it’s almost an art form. Vanilla extract, that’s the one there. I’ve always said, if the band fails, then I could start an entrepreneurial cheffing business. I can only cook three things, though. Roasts, pancakes and good muffins.

Main course, breakfast and dinner. That’s it.”

After a recent thwarted attempt to generate a bit of

indie beef, who would Sean most like to beef with if given a choice? His answer is immediate. “Oasis, the entirety of Oasis. If Liam Gallagher wants to argue with me, then it’s on,” he says. “But I think Liam would like us, and Noel would hate us; I don’t think he’d be into it. But if Noel Gallagher wants to be our biggest fan, then I’m all for it. It’s like a litmus test, like in the way they dislike Blur, and they’re very good. So if being disliked by Oasis makes you a good band, then I can’t lose. I either end up with Oasis as my fans, or they call me bad, which means I’m actually good.”

He promises that there’s logic there. Somewhere. Hoping to avoid any of the big guns in a chart battle when the album gets released, “I want to stay out of the territory of anyone with annoying fans, I can’t deal with the stress,” he laughs, though knowing their cursed luck, the chances are that it’ll be Kanye. With plans in place for tours now that gigs look to be back on the horizon, we bid our fond farewells. An hour later, they are slagging The Stone Roses off on Twitter.

Ian Brown is next for the curse then, but this one’s fine. Just leave 100gecs out of it, yeah?

P Courting’s debut EP ‘Grand National’ is out now. readdork.com 21.

HAUSKEY Fast rising Aussie alt-popster Hauskey is making a name for himself, one snapshot at a time.

Words: Finlay Holden.

A

ustralian singer, songwriter and producer Andy Hopkins kicked off his Hauskey project last year, dropping debut EP ‘Slow’ in November. Fortunately, he’s been able to thrive in his own studio, working diligently on his bedroom pop tunes from the comfort of his own home. In fact, Hauskey hasn’t actually missed going into real studios to record at all, as he explains.

“I hate studios. They’re usually just dark, dingy, soul-sucking rooms – when I walk in, I don’t feel like I want to write a story there. At home, I have sunlight, can setup however I want. I can even sit here in my underpants and work all day, every day, as early or as late as I want. I’ve got my fridge stacked. What more could I want? Something about the pressure of studios thinking you have to do something while you’re there doesn’t feel inspiring.

I like my own space where I’m not on someone else’s clock.”

Self-production is quite a steep learning curve, but Andy believes this growth is part of the fun. “[I’ve become] miles better since the start, but each song is a snapshot of who I was at the time, so I try not to be too hard on myself. It makes for a cool arc if people can follow your progression, your improvement and your story. The production, the melodies, rhymes, or the way I’m singing, the way I’m vibing.

It all evolves and changes, and that’s the joy of it.”

The level of experimentation encouraged by this approach is something that is changing the music industry drastically, giving rising artists the chance to establish a unique sonic fingerprint that defies established conventions. As Hauskey says, “If one producer

makes five records for five different artists, they’re all going to sound in some way similar because they have their own standard style and methods. If those five artists all produce their songs differently on their own, you’ll have an insane mix of not only production quality, but also of different sounds and vibes.

“That’s the way it’s going to be in 20 years; everyone will produce and mix their own shit.

You can already go on YouTube or TikTok and learn everything you need to know. That’ll be great because it’ll lead to so

TOP OF THE BOPS Sarah Kinsley Karma

New York newcomer Sarah Kinsley has a lovely line in organic, brilliant alt-pop.

‘Karma’ has tinges of Maggie Rogers’ timeless ear for a tune, but with an individual twist. Really Very Good.

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much variety, whereas now the whole industry is dominated by a few white male producers at the very top. Some things may not sound like a perfect record, but the sounds are perfect for that record.”

It’s birthed a plethora of new music genres, too. Hauskey’s tunes broadly fit into the ‘bedroom pop’ category, and this is a label which he is comfortable with – he clarifies that “there’s an element to bedroom pop that feels more genuine and real than mainstream pop. I love that stuff, and it certainly has its place,

“If you enjoy how you spend your days, that’s the ultimate win”

Andy Hopkins

but for me personally, I feel like I connect more with bedroom pop because it feels less polished.

“I like music that has that human element of imperfection, for better or worse. But I do like aspects of pop songs – strong chords, melodies and lyrics. So when you can combine that with something that production-wise feels a bit more human, then that’s my dream ticket.”

These layers of production can create some wild sounds, but as with any music, the songwriting at the heart of it all has to lay the groundwork for the experience to work. “It’s the campfire test; if you can sing it on a guitar and it sounds good there, then that’s a strong foundation for whatever you do next. If I can flesh out a sick hook alongside a lyrical subject I’m passionate about, only then will I start feeling around in logic.”

Replicating soundscapes in a live setting can be difficult, especially as a solo artist, but even through this pandemic, Hauskey has been able to bring his tunes to life in front of a live crowd with a series of reduced capacity shows. This is something he finds undeniable joy in.

“There’s no better ecstasy than having people sing your songs back to you and knowing all the words; it’s mental and the best thing ever. I’m just trying to have fun, and I think it comes across in the music as opposed

5 songs from new artists you need to hear this month

Home Counties

L’objectif

Spoort

Allison Ponthier

Home Counties are quickly making a name for themselves as wonky-pop geniuses. Beeping, blooping and bopping all the way, this is Officially Ace.

Leeds newcomers L’objectif certainly know how to ride the zeitgeist. Mixing dark indie brooding with oh-sonow shards of pop-punk, it’s a track of undoubted promise.

Spoort made big fans at Dork HQ when they delivered a ‘someone’s put the effort in’ set for last year’s Homeschool online fest. Back with a new track, they’re still brilliant.

Occasionally a new artist will come along that screams star power from the word go. That’s Allison Ponthier for you. Debut track ‘Cowboy’ drips with potential. Simply fantastic.

White Shirt/Clean Shirt

Drive In Mind

Charm & the Strange

Cowboy

to being jittery and nervous because people hear that in the performance too.

“Even if you fuck up, if you make fun of yourself, it almost makes it into a comedy night.

Take it in your stride, make a joke, it makes it even more enjoyable. As soon as people realise artists are just humans and you can relate to them, it builds a connection with the audience. I’m making music, you wanna enjoy it, let’s vibe.”

Andy finds great enjoyment in his artistic career. “The main win is just being able to do this every day; cool stuff happens or doesn’t happen, that’s life, but being able to spend my days in the studio working on songs... if you enjoy how you spend your days, that is the ultimate win. Getting to do that is better than any one specific event.”

Music truly gives people a release, a way to splurge their feelings into your ears, and this project is a great example showcasing huge potential. In terms of what you can dig into right now, though, we ask Andy to recommend one song to use a jumping-off point. His answer? “’Slow’. It’s a singalong and easy to catch hold of with the chanty chorus. It’s got a good bass groove, the drums are kickin’, so it’s probably the best intro. I think in terms of what I want Hauskey to be, that has all the elements.”

P Hauskey’s new EP is due this spring.

Meet Me @ The Altar have shared a new track, ‘Hit Like A Girl’. Created in celebration of Women’s History Month, it’s a first new song of the year from the buzzy pop punk three piece, who signed to Fueled By Ramen last year.

Dirty Hit’s latest signing Kasai has announced her debut EP, and dropped a brand new track. ‘Drunk Diary, Weed & Liquor’ is about the bullshit of drunk boys. It’s taken from ‘Not That Normal Pt. 1’, which is set to drop this May.

Leodensians Eades have announced they’re dropping a brand new EP. Titled ‘Abstract Education’, it follows up on debut collection ‘Microcosmic Things’, and will be released on 30th April via Heist or Hit. A new track from it, ‘Present In The Moment’, is streaming now.

BOYS WORLD Boys World aren’t just the latest poptastic girl band on ‘the block’ - they’re also the most now.

Words: Abigail Firth.

Debut single ‘Girlfriends’ mirrors ‘Wannabe’ with a new twist (“You know girls stan girlfriends over boyfriends,” goes the chorus), while ‘Wingman’ embraces independence and latest ‘Tip Toe’ describes a cheating other half who gets caught out.

Speaking about their personal favourite groups, Elena says: “I do listen to more back in the day attempts to get his daughter Destiny’s Child kinda stuff, but I on board (“He tried to sign me think Little Mix up for the Battle are really great, of the Bands, but I because you can GET TO KNOW was incredibly shy just genuinely tell so I just sat in the they’re friends. corner,” she says), I think that’s but it’s news to the MAKHYLI inspiring, but also Age: 17 group that Makhyli when they get up From: Grand Rapids, Michigan was also in a band on a stage, they Star sign: Aries growing up.

Boys World is… Global can really work.”

“I was in a band Last song I listened to was…

As for the as well, but it didn’t ‘Peaches’ by Justin Bieber others, Olivia work out because is long time they didn’t like me, ELANA boyband stan and I didn’t like Age: 18 (One Direction From: Queens, New York them. I mean, it’s 4eva), while Star sign: Leo about chemistry at Queenie was Boys World is… Beautiful the end of the day,” Last song I listened to was… inspired by girl says Makhyli, and in ‘Leave The Door Open’ by power cartoons their disbelief, the Bruno Mars and Anderson like Powerpuff girls veer off into a Paak Girls, Winx Club conversation of their and Totally QUEENIE own.

Spies, Lillian Age: 19 “You learn loved Disney From: Manila, Philippines something newand raised in the Bay Area, groups like the Oh I forgot we California Cheetah Girls were doing this! I Star sign: Taurus and theatre kid Boys World is… Motivational apologise. That’s Makhyli plumped Last song I listened to was… an exclusive right?” for fictional group says Olivia. Later on, ‘Hold On’ by Justin Bieber the Schuyler they’re distracted Sisters from LILLIAN again as Queenie musical Hamilton.

Age: 19 accidentally spits From: Boise, Idaho It’s clear that, across a table when Star sign: Pisces even during our talking, and they’re Boys World is…

Empowering interview, the girls Last song I listened to was… in fits of laughter. are still learning my takeover playlist for BW’s “Don’t call me out on new things about Spotify this big interview!” one another she screams. every day. When OLIVIA We also ask some Age: 20 we start chatting quickfire questions, From: Columbus, Ohio about their which they try to Star sign: Aquarius backgrounds, answer in unison Boys World is…

Chaotic they’re well Last song I listened to was… and end up blurting familiar with out completely ‘Up’ by Cardi B Queenie’s different answers, mother’s musical leaving them influence on her, and Lillian’s confused as to who said they father’s past in a band and most want to go to Disneyland

“We’re like little sponges, babies in the industry”

BOYS WORLD

I

t takes a lot to break Dork.

We’re rarely out-nonsensed, but on a regular Monday evening, new It girl group Boys World give it a good go.

“We just had the most chaotic interview of all time,” youngest member Makhyli tweets shortly after our chat ends, which is quite the honour to bestow upon us.

Maybe the most Gen Z group yet, the five girls – Elana Caceres, Olivia Ruby, Queenie Mae, Lillian Kay and Makhyli – were scouted online and recruited via Instagram DM before being whisked off to Los Angeles to live together. From there, they climbed the ranks of the for you page in 2020, amassing 30.5 MILLION TikTok likes and eventually making their debut as a girl group in October.

Obviously, when we sit down

on Zoom, the five-piece have just finished up filming TikToks, and are sitting together at the coffee table of their shared house in LA, where they’ve been living for two years, building relationships with one another and releasing content online while secretly working on music.

“The first year was just all development, and the second year was kind of getting into the music and growing the fan base on TikTok and stuff like that,” says Queenie.

For all their Gen Z-ness, it’s their 90s flavour that’s put them in the spotlight. Drawing comparisons to groups like the Spice Girls and TLC, who hit their peak before Boys World were even born, they merge 90s and early 00s quirkiness with modern pop beats and very 2021 lyricism.

Olivia Ruby

after lockdown and who said they most want to meet the fans and tour.

Olivia also mentions her interest in songwriting, particularly looking up to artists like Lorde, Julia Michaels and Benny Blanco, and it’s something that she’s recently been working on with other members of the group. “Me and Lillian just wrote a song, some of our songs are being sent to Tayla [Parx]’s team so they can level it up, because you know, we’re still new at this, we’re like little sponges, babies in the industry, but we have an amazing team to help us learn.”

“We’re very fortunate that our team is so collaborative with us,” adds Lillian. “They’re always telling us ideas; we come up with ideas for them, you know, switching things around if we get something else.”

Their latest release ‘Tiptoe’ was co-written by Tayla Parx (famously part of Ariana’s 7 rings bestie group), who seems to have had a hand in more Boys World releases than we know, as the girls effortlessly flex how they shared cupcakes with her in a studio session to celebrate Tayla’s Grammy nomination.

The singles already out – ‘Girlfriends’, ‘Wingman’ and ‘Tiptoe’ – make up three of the tracks on their upcoming EP, titled ‘While You Were Out’.

“Track four will make you cry,” says Lillian. “And track five will get you hyped up,” adds Queenie.

Olivia jumps in, “So after that, we’re not done here, oh no.”

“Little do you know we already working on something as we speak,” Queenie says. P Boys World’s single ‘Tiptoe’ is out now.

readdork.com 23.

A bunch of new acts are playing the digital edition of The Great Escape festival, set to take place on 13th-14th May. The likes of PVA, Yard Act, Goan Dogs, Bleach Lab, Hanya and more will all perform online.

Sons of Raphael have announced their debut album. The oddball duo – brothers Loral and Ronnel Raphael – will release ‘Full-Throated Messianic Homage’ on 21st May via Because Music, preceded by their new single and video ‘Revolution’.

Police Car Collective are set to release a new EP ‘1980’ on 18th June.

They’ve also recently dropped a new track ‘I THINK I THINK TOO MUCH’, following up on their first two efforts ‘ALLTHETIME’ and ‘MINE’. You can check it out on readdork.com now.

Here’s 10 of the best new acts we saw at

SXSW Twelve months ago, SXSW was the first big festival to be cancelled as COVID-19 took over the planet.

This year, as the green shoots of recovery start to sprout, it’s back - but in virtual form. So does the world’s biggest new music festival work away from the packed venues? Here’s some of the best stuff we saw across the five days.

Baby Queen With Baby Queen constantly pacing around the stage like someone trying to get in the last of their 10,000 steps, ‘Raw Thoughts’ may have all the surface sparkle of a playlist-friendly unit shifter, but those loose ends and moments of self-doubt still poke through. ‘Want Me’ ditches any notion of playing it cool in favour of the chase, while ‘These Drugs’ is a wide-open book – an often painfully honest account that chooses to pull tight rather than push away. Leaving every flicker of reality and glorious imperfection on display, Baby Queen may not stick to the established rulebooks of old, but times change. Arriving in the middle of ‘these unprecedented times’, those picture-perfect projections of a flawless life seem hokey at best. In being her true self, Baby Queen is telling us that it’ll all be alright, even if it’s never quite okay. Stephen Ackroyd

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TV Priest With only one show under their belt, TV Priest still feel like something of an enigma. The kind of band that you could imagine not recognising at their own show, first impressions here are a raw and visceral take on post-punk that shows just why everyone has gotten a bit giddy. With a sound full of rough edges that hits like a landslide, frontman Charlie Drinkwater stalks the stage like a man who’s been locked up for a year waiting for a second gig. Which y’know… At one point he even gets so excited that he has a little boogie, something that can’t help but feel relatable now that summer and pints and gigs and stuff are all in sight. Gig 2 will be a belter. Jamie MacMillan

Do Nothing We love Do Nothing here at Dork. Just check the latest issue of the mag if you don’t believe us. But why do we love them? Anyone watching their set at SXSW would have that question swiftly answered. ‘Lebron James’ is still a track for the ages, but here it’s dropped in mid-set as just one of a slew of tight, focused bangers, bolstered by offerings from their new ‘Glueland’ EP. Lockdown has been a difficult time for bands in Do Nothing’s position, but the set on show here is head and shoulders above where they were before all ‘this’ happened. When they fade out and we finally have time to take stock, we’re more excited for the return of live music than ever.

Jake Hawkes

PLUS ALL OF THIS...

PVA

Sofia Valdes Sometimes you catch an artist live for the first time and know they’re going to be a big deal.

Sofia Valdes trades in a vulnerability that has you subconsciously dropping your guard and being one with every word and note. Giving the seeds of Motown and 60s pop a distinctly modern twist, ‘Handful Of Water’ and ‘Little Did I Know’ showcase a voice of immeasurable power.

Jump aboard fast. Jamie Muir

PVA feel like a band reborn, oozing with sharp confidence.

That bubbling late-night city vibe remains, but with a sharper focus that feels towering and formidable on tracks like ‘Exhaust/ Surroundings’ and ‘Divine Intervention’. Truly engulfing, their live show is direct and mysterious – never knowing which road they’ll turn down next. Jamie Muir

Tayo Sound Every bite of Tayo Sound has us dizzy in all the best ways. Seeing him bring it all into a live setting is even better – taking that carefree charm and plugging it directly into the mains. Rex Orange County vibes ring out, with latest sizzler ‘Runaway’ and ‘Hide & Seek’ just two brilliant schemes in a playbook already written to take over the big time. Jamie Muir

Sinead O’Brien Sinead O’Brien is fast becoming something more than a bit special.

On the surface, a meeting of poetry and post-punk isn’t exactly new.

Under her impeccable gaze, though, it’s starting to feel revelatory. With confident poise but a determined disposition, it’s clear that Sinead is an artist who is meticulous in her control of every aspect of her performance. From the persona she projects – a lightning rod stood in the middle of a thunderstorm of clattering riffs and pinging strings – to the twisting, emotive way she delivers her words, the star power is evident. Emerging in a scene that’s increasingly starting to feel like the same old moves pulled by indistinguishable, identikit faces, Sinead O’Brien is more than compelling. Stephen Ackroyd

Alien Tango

Yard Act Yard Act open with ‘Fixer Upper’, kicking the doors in with snarled lyrics about doing up a house. ‘Dark Days’ follows, James Smith spitting out the words as the band smashes out angular post-punk around him. ‘The Trapper’s Pelts’ and ‘Peanuts’ offer more of the same, but when it’s this good, who can complain about getting an extra-large portion? Jake Hawkes

Walt Disco

Alien Tango is living in his own weird and wonderful world.

Grabbing every bizarre sound and power move in sight, whacking it into the mixer and cracking a smile as it blends, the result is a glorious cocktail of indietronic psych delights. Complete with a trippy green-screen backdrop, he revels in the ridiculous. We couldn’t approve more. Jamie Muir

It’s that time of the night where you need a bit of a pick-me-up – a little razzle-dazzle if you will. And right on cue, here comes Walter Discotheque to wake things up. The delicious glam of ‘Hey Boy (You’re One Of Us)’ is instantly intoxicating, James Potter looking every inch the megastar even while guitarist Lewis joins them on a live link-up from his grandad’s house. Full of bops from the ‘Young Hard And Handsome’ EP, this is one of the most impressive sets all night, and easily the most fun. They did synchronised dancing and everything. The real deal.

Jamie MacMillan

404 Guild From the moment 404 Guild kick off their set with ‘Fearful’ and its familiar refrain of “see it, say it, sorted”, the whole concept of SXSW is flipped well and truly on its head. Never compromising or playing it safe, they rip through a snarling but incredibly raw performance with intensity and confidence. Jamie Muir

The Goa Express

Drug Store Romeos Arriving on stage fresh from hanging out at the bottom of the garden like the mystical indie creatures that they surely are, so ethereal and wispy are Drug Store Romeos here that you worry that they might float away altogether. By the time ‘Now You’re Moving’ arrives in all its trippy hoppy trip-hop splendour, we are properly addicted to this trio. Jamie MacMillan

Olivia Dean With Olivia Dean on stage, you’re immediately at ease. Reaching through the screen with effortlessly warm smooth-pop vibes, her performance already feels like the real deal.

‘Echo’, ‘The Hardest Part’ and closer ‘Reason To Stay’ practically bubble with pure joy, and by the time Olivia’s set ends we’re left with one request. More please Olivia, more please. Jamie Muir

If you’ve only paid attention to the two tracks The Goa Express have released onto streaming services, you might be forgiven for being a tad shocked by the first part of their set. Classicly melodic, jangly guitar pop, there’s even time for both a tambourine and a harmonica. Once they hit the end, though, they’re a different band. ‘The Day’ is a bright, bold, determined blast. Both aspects of The Goa Express are great – put together they’re very exciting indeed. Stephen Ackroyd

Phoebe Green When it comes to Dork faves, SXSW feels like the first get-together we’ve had in a long time. Seeing what’s new, how things have been, where they are now. Enter Phoebe Green.

After two singles, you could say we felt we had an idea of who Phoebe was as an artist. Well, think again.

Debut EP ‘I Can’t Cry For You’ leads the way tonight in a grunge-leaning set that gets its claws in from the very start. A true powerhouse display, it finds Phoebe coming into her own – opener ‘Grit’ managing to breathe life into what can so easily become a flat atmosphere over a virtual stream, while closer ‘Reinvent’ is as glorious as ever.

Turning things up to 11, exploring those darker corners has seen Phoebe Green reinvent herself into something undeniable. Jamie Muir readdork.com 25.

DEB NEVER

FIRST ON Check out these new names

With her intimate take on lo-fi grunge, Deb Never is shaping the sound of the future.

Words: Laura Freyaldenhoven.

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low-moving beats, delicate riffs, and a blanket of mellow vibes: that’s the irresistible sound of LA singersongwriter Deb Never, who burst onto the scene in 2018 with her atmospheric debut single ‘mr nobody’. Three years on, she can not only boast a BROCKHAMPTON collab and a support slot on slowthai’s upcoming tour; she’s winning hearts across the globe with her relaxed charm and laid-back rhythms. Calling in on a sunny Thursday, ahead of a busy day in the studio, she gives us a little peek into the inner workings of her mind.

Deb Never started her musical journey early. At 11, she taught herself how to play the guitar; at 15, she was already making music - all in the comfort of her own bedroom.

No audience, no prying eyes. or ears. “It was like a secret to me,” she reveals. “No one knew because, to me, it was like a diary. It was like therapy. I’m not really good at playing guitar but, with what I do know, I love just being able to make something and get my feelings out.”

It’s this genuine approach to songwriting, the ‘I’m not trying to be perfect; I’m just trying to make good music’ attitude that makes Deb Never’s sound stand out in a world of polished production and clean-cut mastering. That and her unbeatable lyricism: with an abundance of attentiongrabbing one-liners, Deb always hits the mark. Take breakthrough single ‘Ugly’, for example. The honesty and vulnerability behind emotionsoaked moments like “Am I that desperate to feel the way that we used to? When you don’t want me, but I need you” is undeniable, making her music not only extremely accessible but wonderfully relatable. Not least because she excels at being impressively specific and conveying each emotion spot-on.

“For me, it’s so important to come at it in a way where the perspective is interesting, and it’s not just ‘I feel terrible’,” Deb explains. “I’m not saying that’s wrong; it’s just sometimes I get in my own head where I’m like I want to be able to put this

concise and correct. For me to be happy with it, feeling like I got what I want to say across without feeling cringy about it, that’s the hardest part.”

Songwriting is a tricky thing, a skill that we’re not sure you can actually learn if you’re born without the Lennon-McCartney gene, but what certainly helps is a working connection with your emotions; being able to pull from the darkest corners of your mind palace without being afraid of judgement.

“All music is, is just feeling. It’s instinct” Deb Never

“Sometimes I have to push myself,” Deb says, talking about dropping all of her walls within the safe space of her music.

“Only because, in my real life, I’m so happy and easygoing.

I’m able to cut that emotional part out in a way. In reallife situations, if something happens, I’m like, ‘ah shit, I don’t care.’ But then, when it comes to music… Music is a representation of who I am on the inside, and I’m super sensitive, like could break easily kind of sensitive. When I’m making music, that’s when I release my emotions.”

Deb Never is the perfect example of a little thing called layers. She proves that people are not just one thing, but three-dimensional. Meeting Deb feels like standing in sunlight - calm and cosy. It’s hard to imagine that she would ever be fazed by anything. But when you listen to her music, she allows you to see a whole different side of her –one that is raw and emotionaland maybe that perceived dissonance makes it even more special, like being shown to a secret backroom reserved for members only.

But even then, there are different levels to her depths, and not all of them are meant

for a broad audience. Her most intimate work to date is her ‘Intermissions’ EP, a collection of pure, unfiltered acousticdriven tracks, all recorded in quarantine and released only on Bandcamp and SoundCloud.

“I purposely didn’t put ‘Intermissions’ on any big streaming platforms,” Deb reveals. “I actually hadn’t planned on putting it out at all.

It was just a bunch of songs I made over quarantine because I was feeling restless. It was all a certain type of music - very intimate, acoustic-driven - and I told my manager: ‘I don’t know where to put this. I don’t know if I want this to be the next EP’.”

So, they found a way to get it out by raising money for essential workers, with 100% of the EP’s proceeds being donated to Direct Relief to support healthcare providers working on the coronavirus’s frontline. Deb summarises: “It was a win-win with that one because it was an outlet for me, but it was also a way to contribute.”

Talking more about the inspiration behind the EP, she explains: “It was how I was feeling at the time, which is also why all the songs sound super intimate: because it was in a time where like you look outside, and the streets were completely quiet during traffic hours. It’s this bizarre, weird, isolating feeling. Everyone’s in their homes, there’s no noise outside, and you don’t feel any energy.”

An eerie mood snakes through the entire record.

Dressed in broody soundscapes and reverb-coated vocals, Deb allows you to drown in your feels for 20 minutes as she soundtracks the end of the world as we know it.

Even though ‘Intermissions’ strays from the typical Deb Never sound of muted chords layered over booming bass drums, they do share one very vital quality: it’s Deb following her intuition and gravitating towards sounds that feel good to her in the moment instead of being guided by trends or other people’s opinions. “That’s the thing with music - there’s no formula, there is no answer, right or wrong,” she muses.

“All music is, is just feeling. It’s

instinct. You gotta learn what makes you feel something or trust your gut. If there was a perfect way to write a song, everyone would follow that structure.” She adds: “I don’t ever want to consciously chase something. I don’t want to chase another sound; I just want to get better for me and make what I want to make.”

Deb Never has come a long way from making music in her bedroom, and almost bailing on her first live performance (she was too nervous), to gearing up for her first ever UK tour next year. At this point in time, she may just be one of the most authentic artists in the game, not just in the way she refuses to be chained to a single genre but in her passion for uplifting others.

“When I first started, I was making music for me because it was my way of getting things out. But, more recently, I was thinking about it, and I love that people can listen to my music and feel like they’re not alone.

Never in a million years did I think I would make music, and people were gonna listen and relate. But now, I want to be that person!” Deb describes her fresh intentions. “Or develop a sound that paves the way for other people, especially females.

It’s so hard for women in any type of industry but also to be able to make music and be like ‘fuck it, I’m gonna do whatever the fuck I want’. I want to be that for other girls who listen to my music.”

A defiant role-model, Deb Never is definitely not one to shy away from conflict when it comes to standing up for herself and for her art. There is no holding her back or confining her sound to a neat little box.

She adds: “I think just being a girl, naturally we’ll always experience that in some way, but I’ve always been headstrong - the more you tell me to do something, the more I’m gonna try to not do it.”

A character trait that, as Deb admits, does sometimes get her in trouble, but in a world as problematic as ours, a little backlash is a small price to pay for equality. Her message? “Do whatever you want. Don’t feel pressured or that you can’t just because you’re a girl.” P

VLURE

A buzzy Glasgow fivepiece, VLURE have just dropped their debut single ‘Shattered Faith’, and it’s Really Quite Good. Consisting of Hamish Hutcheson (vocals), brothers Conor Goldie (guitar) and Niall Goldie (bass), Alex Pearson (keys) and Carlo Kriekaard (drums), they’re playing a run of socially distanced shows this June - including one at Brixton’s The Windmill.

REGRESSIVE LEFT

Trying to ‘make it’ as a new act in the middle of a pandemic, without live shows to build a name, is somewhat of a challenge.

With their first two tracks, though, three piece Regressive Left have certainly given it a good go. Debut single ‘Eternal Returns’ was good, and latest ‘Take The Hit’ could be even better.

Think those classic ohso-cool 00s DFA records with a twist, and you’re pretty much there.

WAX WORKS

Leeds newcomer Wax Works has a great set of influences - think Easy Life, Wallows or Arlo Parks - and also a Really Very Good new track ‘out’ in the form of ‘will you remember me?’. An alt pop gem ‘FFO’ Alfie Templeman, it follows up on first offering ‘sleeping in the dark’. Worth keeping a close eye on.

readdork.com 27.

Wall Art

PULL ‘EM OUT, STICK ‘EM UP.

DUA LIPA

HEATHER BARON-GRACIE, PALE WAVES

CARLY RAE JEPSEN

SIGRID

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MATT THOMSON, THE AMAZONS

ALEX RICE, SPORTS TEAM

THE WOMBATS

GEORGE EZRA

DREAM WIFE

PEACE

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

Photo: Phil Smithies.

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

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42. DORK

With the famed ‘difficult second album’ both behind them, and proving a triumph in itself, Wolf Alice are returning with a new opus right at the time we need them most. Head away for a ‘Blue Weekend’ with one of the very best bands on the planet.

Words: Ali Shutler.

Photos: Jono White, Sarah Louise Bennett.

readdork.com 43.

W

olf Alice are one of the most beloved bands in the country. A couple of impressive early EPs saw them flirt with different genres and establish themselves as a ferocious live force, which meant 2015 debut album ‘My Love Is Cool’ had a lot of hype to live up to. From the anthemic indie of ‘Bros’, through the guitarwrangling snarl of ‘Giant Peach’ to the aching shoegaze beauty of ‘Swallowtail’, the four-piece vocalist Ellie Rowsell, guitarist Joff Oddie, bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey smashed every expectation laid at their door. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize and saw them sell out three back-to-back shows at London’s Kentish Town Forum. The follow-up, 2017’s ‘Visions Of A Life’, changed things up again as the band got bolder, the venues got bigger, and this time around they deservedly won that Mercury Prize.

After an 18-month break from

“Fingers crossed we don’t fuck it on the fourth album” Theo Ellis

playing live and four years on from their last studio release, the band are back with new album, ‘Blue Weekend’. It’s a visual record, with every track also soundtracking a video that’ll form part of a bigger narrative. On the record itself, “some people will find narratives, some people won’t. There are little things you could find, but it won’t be detrimental if you don’t,” explains Ellie.

First single ‘The Last Man On Earth’ is a fiery slow-burner that sees them indulge in soaring cinema. “It was a nice step in a new direction for us,” says Theo.

“We have a pattern of surprising people with the first thing back.” So far, it’s always been a success. “Fingers crossed we don’t fuck it on the fourth album, where we foray into a genre we shouldn’t have done.”

Elsewhere, second single ‘Smile’ blends the call of the mosh pit with a fierce lyrical rage. “I am what I am, and I’m good at it,” smirks Ellie. “If you don’t like me, then it isn’t

44. DORK

fucking relevant.” Across the record, it feels like Wolf Alice are done trying to live up to the expectations of others. They’ve never sounded better, and demand clearly hasn’t wavered.

A day after their 2022 UK headline tour went on sale, most dates were sold out despite the additional nights and venue upgrades.

When asked how they managed to become one of the few guitar bands to go from the Old Blue Last to sub-headlining Latitude, closing the BBC Radio 1 stage at Reading & Leeds, and selling out Alexandra Palace without ever looking out of their depth, they have a variety of explanations.

“A mixture of luck and decisions,” says Ellie.

“The songs have made a great impact on people,” Joel adds. “We rehearsed our arses off to try and get good at playing live, which is something people found really compelling.”

“We found our feet in the public eye, and people like to watch that progression,” Theo contributes, while Joff puts it down to “blackmail.”

So not because you’re a great band, then?

“Even if you sometimes feel it, you do a couple of interviews and say that, then you have to read that back…” starts Joel, making a face.

“The pubs aren’t open for me to avoid that,” adds Theo.

“Maybe I can start saying it when I’m a bit looser of tongue.”

We promise to check back in on 21st June.

Right now, the UK scene is full of big bands with big egos.

“Fuck yeah we’re important” Matty Healy, The 1975; “We’re better than all the other bands” - Alex Rice, Sports Team; “All I care about is stadiums and culture” - YUNGBLUD. But Wolf Alice refuse to carry themselves with even a hint of arrogance.

“I understand that it’s fun, especially when you’re a fan of a group that has that kind of energy,” says Theo. “I just don’t think the four of us have ever engaged with that.”

“I don’t think we like conflict, do we?” asks Ellie. “I had anxiety for five years after Fat White Family said we sound like drivel for angry nine-year-olds and we said fuck off.”

Whichever road we go down, Wolf Alice seem to only care about the music and the live show. “Well, what else does come with being a band?” asks Theo. “Tell me, and I’ll see if I want it. We’ve got a few more albums until we start worrying about legacy, and we weren’t cool in the beginning, so I don’t have to worry now.”

“You’re making me feel like we’ve been doing it wrong,” starts Joff. “Maybe we need to

“If you’re not trying to better yourself, then what are you doing?”

Joff Oddie

sell out… how do we sell out?”

There aren’t many bands like Wolf Alice who are unafraid to speak their minds but never doing it to chase clout. “Look at us,” starts Theo. Joel “doesn’t have it in [him] to be rebellious at anything,” he says, while Ellie explains she’s “far too much of a pussy. I think there are a lot of bands doing what we’re doing; it’s just that not many of them are getting much media spotlight.”

“We do make decisions honestly, and people can relate to that,” offers Joel. “It can be quite refreshing to just be like, ‘Oh, they’re just a band’.”

But what a band they are.

Third album ‘Blue Weekend’ is full of confidence. “I still feel like it’s a secret. I keep forgetting that people know it’s coming out, then telling them the wrong day,” admits Theo.

Instead of 11th June, he’s telling people it’s 21st June, the date of the potential lifting of lockdown.

The band know they need to do something to celebrate their album’s release, but “foresight is not really anyone’s friend at the moment,” explains Theo. “You’re both really anxious and really present at the same time. We’ll probably just do cans in the park with everyone who brought the album.”

“Why are you laughing?” asks Joel. “That sounds like something we’d do.”

“It’s proper exciting because it’s been ages since we released an album,” Joff starts, admitting the four-year gap between records is a mix of choice and circumstance. After the touring for ‘Visions’ was wrapped up, the band took a much-needed six-month break from Wolf Alice.

It wasn’t a conscious separation, “but we didn’t rehearse, so that was quite nice.”

That holiday was needed to piece their brains back together.

After releasing their debut, the band hit the road hard, took three months to write and record ‘Visions’, then returned to the stage. “There wasn’t a gap between the first album and the second album,” explains Theo.

“We didn’t give anyone a break from Wolf Alice.”

Time away wasn’t all that relaxing for Ellie, who hadn’t really written anything new since ‘Visions’. “There was this nagging thought, ‘you haven’t written any new songs’, which was quite daunting.” It didn’t get any easier once the band reconvened in an Airbnb to start sketching out the record.

“We never have a conscious direction. We just started playing music with zero judgement to see what would come out.”

“Lyrically, I was trying to capture what some of these songs felt like when we were writing them,” Ellie says.

“Trying to recreate a feeling is sometimes impossible, and it’s really annoying to base your success on that. No one can really tell you how to succeed.

It’s just how we work, though.”

“There’s always a certain amount of pressure,” considers Joff. “If you’re not trying to better yourself, then what are you doing? You’re just kind of going through the motions, which is not fair on yourselves or the people that are buying the music.”

Writing ‘Blue Weekend’ took ages. According to Theo, “this one was the hardest one to get to the right place, ready for us to record it.” In January last year, they headed into the studio with producer Markus Dravs.

Rather than chasing whatever felt exciting, Dravs made the band question the purpose of readdork.com 45.

every moment of the record.

Lockdown meant they had all the time in the world. “It would have been hard regardless, but we were isolating because of COVID, and there were zero distractions apart from the news.”

By August, ‘Blue Weekend’ was completely finished. “It felt like fucking years, though,” remarks Joff. “When you go that deep, you definitely need to give yourself some space afterwards.

There were times after we’d finished the tracking where I just didn’t know if it was awful or not.

I was trying to be positive, but inside I was worrying, ‘fuck, what if this is really shit?’”

There’s always a little bit of doubt after finishing an album but not to this extent. Having revisited it after some distance, Joff’s upgraded his opinion from “awful” to “really good”.

“When I heard a lot of the

demos Ellie was sending over, there was this new maturity in the songwriting. It gave the record a glue, and I felt like there was more of a spine running through it. I doubted that for the next six months, but now I think the album is fucking great again,” explains Theo, before a brief pause. “I think. Help?”

A

ccording to Ellie, ‘Blue Weekend’ doesn’t feel like a departure, but it is different. “We haven’t really changed how we do things or the values we place on things, so I don’t hear it as different, but maybe some fans will?” The whole record does sound more cinematic and lush than previous releases. “That’s cool,” continues Ellie. “I like both of those worlds.”

‘Blue Weekend’ feels like the logical step to ‘Visions’ cut ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’, which

has slowly become their biggest song. “When we made that song, we knew it was different. Maybe we were a bit scared by it?” offers Ellie.

“We’re an indie band, and it’s almost like we didn’t want to let it be the pop song it became.

We had so many different versions of it,” says Theo. “If you don’t come from that world, then it’s not natural, so we tried to make it worse until we figured, ‘fuck it, let’s just make that song good’.”

“It’s weird to think we make pop music. In our souls, maybe we didn’t feel that we’re a pop band,” Ellie says. Despite the accolades, Wolf Alice still don’t feel like a pop band.

“I bet pop stars are always warm and have sushi,” reasons Theo.

“You’re cold and have peanut butter in your ears,” adds Joff.

We don’t ask why.

“There’s always someone to disappoint”

Ellie Rowsell

T

he band aren’t too worried about the expectations of others because, as Theo explains, “I don’t really know what’s expected of us, to be fair. We’ve managed to put out broad strokes in terms of what genres we’ve played around with, so we can get away with doing quite a bit.”

“There are certain people who listen to us for certain things,” says Ellie, and while that’s not at the forefront of why the band make the decisions they have, “we do care. There’s always someone to disappoint.”

She’s more comfortable with her voice across ‘Blue Weekend’, both in what she’s saying and how she says it. “I just wanted to have a bit more fun with it.

I don’t want to listen back to my records and hear that I was holding myself back. I would regret that more than anything I could possibly say in a song.”

“When I was younger, I didn’t want to write love songs because I was trying to go against what perhaps people expect of a 21-year-old girl writing songs in her bedroom.

Now I don’t care really,” Ellie continues. “I don’t write songs a lot, so when I do, I feel like they need to be truthful, to some extent.”

That’s not to say every track on ‘Blue Weekend’ is some confessional diary entry, but the emotion behind them is always authentic. “I’m always going to choose writing about something that means something to me over something that might be cooler or more interesting.”

Joel has already shown the record to friends and family who have seen the band since their Old Blue Last days and heard every bad demo they’ve ever done. “This is the record

46. DORK

that’s moved them the most emotionally. I’ve seen this set of songs affect them in a different way.”

Like the title suggests, ‘Blue Weekend’ feels aspirational, angry and emotional. “There is hope in this record. We could fucking do with some of that right now,” starts Joel, with Theo adding: “With everything that’s happened, I latched onto that hope more when I was listening back. It felt important.”

‘Smile’ is partly inspired by the reaction ‘Yuk Foo’ got (“I feel like I’m always trying to defend it”), but the track is also “about people building their own narrative about you and that being frustrating,” says Ellie, “whether that’s someone making their mind up about you before they’ve got to know you or someone placing stereotypes on you.” Across the track, she makes it clear she’s sensitive, not cute. Angry, not mad or unhinged. “I have power,” she promises. “Wind me up, and this honeybee stings.” Elsewhere, the brooding ‘Feeling Myself’ sees Ellie take influence from the growing number of nonmale musicians writing about self-love and their experiences.

It’s more open than she’s ever been before, but Ellie says she still finds it hard to talk about being a woman in the industry.

“A lot of my experiences seem quite similar to that of these guys. It is not always clear when something is because of who you are, your circumstance or your gender. I’m still figuring all that stuff out. I remember seeing a headline from an interview I did which was like, ‘I’ve never felt like a girl before, I don’t even know what it means, I’m just me’. And yeah, once I would want to try and be the same as everyone else, but actually, I am a woman, and I’m

in my life, though. It’s being a part of the collective that is Wolf Alice that actually makes me a better person.”

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proud of that. It has informed a lot of my life, and I understand that it makes an impact. I don’t shy away from it now.”

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olf Alice have never shied away from speaking their mind about the state of the world, but every hashtag has come alongside real-world action. They curated a night of cover sets in aid of Bands 4 Refugees and contributed their cover of The Only Ones’ ‘Another Girl, Another Planet’ for the charity vinyl ‘Songs For The National Health Service’. Last year, Joff released a solo album with all the proceeds going to The Trussell Trust, and in 2019, the band joined a boycott of Eurovision over host country

Israel’s history of human rights violations.

With bands now being called out as often for not speaking up about a cause as they do for getting political, “it’s tricky,” explains Ellie. “Once you’ve said one thing, does it make you look like you don’t care if you don’t join in with every conversation?

You’ve still got your opinions, even if you haven’t put them online.”

“There’s a pressure to post stuff on social media, but there isn’t the same pressure to actually go and do things in the real world,” continues Joff, who feels like there’s “an odd disconnect at the moment.

It’s one thing speaking on the internet, and that’s great, but it is what it is. I would encourage

“I was trying to be positive, but inside I was worrying ‘fuck, what if this is really shit?’”

Joff Oddie

people to get involved in their own communities and participate. it’s a bit sad when activism purely lives online.”

“I do understand the trepidation and the potential anxiety it can cause because the climate we’re living in at the moment is very unregulated,”

considers Theo. “It’s amazing, but also really dangerous. Sometimes silence is being complicit, but that’s not the same for everything.”

Despite all the shit they get for speaking out, he doesn’t “regret anything we’ve done. I regret shitloads of stuff I’ve done

urprisingly, it wasn’t that six-month break that allowed Ellie to reflect on everything the band has achieved. “It’s this weird time that’s made me reflect more because everything has been taken away from you.”

She’s surprised by how much she’s missed touring, a stark contrast to Theo who “always misses it a bit, even when we’re doing it.”

“Not that I wasn’t grateful before, but because I was so immersed in it, I didn’t really see it for what it was. When we lost it, I adapted my psyche to accept that maybe we won’t be able to do it again. It’ll be almost like being reborn,” she continues before cracking up, knowing she’s taken it too far. “I’ve just got an appreciation for it that I haven’t had since we first started touring. It’ll be a dream come true again when it comes back.”

“That kind of intense connection you feel on stage is something that I’ve not really found anywhere else in life,” adds Joff. “We’re so lucky to be able to do it that it does feel like there’s a bit missing at the moment.”

And despite all the successes of the past, the band aren’t moving forward with lofty expectations. “We’re ambitious,” promises Theo. “But I wouldn’t be pissed off if something didn’t happen because of what’s happened before.”

“It’s about being able to do what you feel ready to do,” continues Ellie. “You mentioned headlining The O2 and I *sharp intake of breath*. You don’t know what your goalposts are going to be in five years.”

“I was just happy to play Old Blue Last at one point,” grins Joel, as Ellie explains that right now, “my goal is to play Old Blue Last again.”

After making it two for two regarding Mercury Prize nominations (an exclusive club featuring the likes of Stormzy, Oasis and Amy Winehouse), does it matter if ‘Blue Weekend’ doesn’t get the nod once more?

“Let’s not talk about that,” starts Ellie.

“This record doesn’t have to do anything,” continues Theo.

“It’s already a success for us because we like it enough to release it. It’s done something good for the four of us, so whatever happens happens,” he continues, modest to the last, before breaking into a grin. “But if we don’t win a fucking BRIT...”

P Wolf Alice’s album ‘Blue Weekend’ is out 11th June. readdork.com 47.

A weird, winding, tooting troupe Squid aren’t your standard bunch of lads in a band.

With their debut album ‘Bright Green Field’ delivering on their undoubted potential, your friends at Dork are here to ask them about - erm *checks notes* Jaffa Cakes?

Words: Martyn Young. Photos: Xenia Owens.

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I

t’s been the eternal question facing all bands in this cursed year. How do you function as an active working band when your main way of communicating, eg playing live, has been knocked on the head?

Well the answer is gardening.

Gardening is the secret to a happy and functioning state of mind for post punk pop experimentalists Squid. “We were lucky in the summer to get an allotment and spend a lot of time in the greenhouse putting vegetables in the ground and harvesting,” says guitarist Louie Borlase, while multi-instrumentalist bass wizard Laurie Nankivell explains, “It’s been proper nice like. Our Red Russian Kale is still going strong.” “Our Garlic is bulbous and ready to burst out the soil,” adds Louis with all the confidence of a man beautifully at peace with life. And so he should be. From harvesting giant garlic to harvesting giant

readdork.com 49.

“Some songs are long because you don’t really want to stop a good thing” Laurie Nankivell

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tunes, Squid are at the point of fulfilling years of promise with their stunning debut album ‘Bright Green Field’.

Squid are the kind of band who can do it all. The five friends from Brighton have established a reputation since they formed five years ago as a band capable of exciting and shocking in equal measure. You never quite know what you’re going to get, and that sense of uncertainty and ambition makes them a thrilling proposition.

Their two previous EPs ‘LINO’ and ‘Town Centre’ set the scene for an idiosyncratic band forging their own path, but the longawaited debut album arrives in the middle of an altogether unique set of circumstances.

“It’s the record we wanted to make, and it’s a big thing for us,” begins Louis excitedly.

Despite the sense of excitement surrounding the release of the album, it’s tinged with a bittersweetness as a band so formidable on stage with a reputation founded on some incendiary live shows wistfully dream of what these songs could be like live. A dream that hopefully is now tantalisingly close. “We just can’t wait to play

it to people,” says Laurie. “We did a session last week, and it was so much fun playing a couple of tracks, and that was just to a camera, so who knows what’s going to happen when there’s thousands of people there.”

In something akin to losing a leg, the band were forced to subtly change their creative dynamic as they embarked on making an album in which precious few of the songs were tried and tested live.

It’s a challenge that they met head-on. “We did a bit of experimenting with different techniques,” says Laurie. “We had to do it just track by track.

It was probably good to have space between us, but as soon as we could meet up again, we did. We met up in a pub in Chippenham, and they very kindly let us use their function room to write the remaining material.”

Despite the album being conceived smack bang in the middle of that most tumultuous year, it’s not defined by its circumstances. “It’s really important to note that it’s not a lockdown album,” stresses Louis. “A lot of the music was

written before we knew there was a big old pandemic ready to swing around the corner.

We were lucky in a way as a lot of the music on the album we wouldn’t have been able to dwell on as much if it wasn’t for the time we had to take it idea by idea and track by track in a whole summer of not touring.”

The album ‘Bright Green Field’ contains 11 brand new recordings with no old singles or anything tacked on. It’s all freshly squeezed Squid. “Get it from your wanky coffee shop!” laughs Laurie. It’s indicative, though, of a band constantly driving forward. “There’s no drive from any of us to look back and regurgitate a style or revisit stuff,” says Louis.

Propulsive ambition is at the heart of Squid’s music, and while it can be disorienting as it hops from one extreme of sound to the other, it comes from a place of innate creativity and a melting pot of influences from the five members. There’s a whole lot at work in the Squid sound, and you hear it all on ‘Bright Green Field’. “There’s never been a conscious decision to do something different,” Louis ponders. “Because we each listen to such a different variety of music and we love experimenting, then naturally the music that comes out is in that vein. That’s been a running theme since we started making music five years ago. What’s changed is it’s got a lot quicker and a bit more aggressive on the whole.” “We still make softer and slightly jazzier things as well,” chips in Laurie.

While Squid’s music is sonically shape-shifting and dynamic, the album’s primary influence is perhaps the state of the world and our response to the last half-decade of global upheaval. Rather than explicit political polemic Squid deal with the modern age in their own oblique way. “We’ve been through lots of different phases both as a group of friends but also as people living in this country we’ve been through many distinct phases in the last five years,” explains Louis.

“Our music isn’t necessarily a reaction to what’s going on around us, but we definitely take observations from these shifting times and different times on an individual and personal level. We’ve all lived together and separately, and we’re now at that point where we’re in between that, and it all goes into it.”

You can hear the joyous coming of age tempered with just a slight ominous creeping anxiety on the album’s ecstatic and frantic funk rock pop punk, allsorts jams like the careering electro of ‘Paddling’ or ‘Narrator’s’ insane noise rock

*HRRRRNK* IT’S THE MOST REVEALING QUESTION IN POP SCRIBBLING...

If you - Squid - had to make a band of animals, what animals would be in said band?

“FOR NON-MUSICAL REASONS, ANTON WOULD BE A HEN...”

Did you really think we could talk to Squid without asking them for their animal band?

Especially when they are the first artists named after an actual animal?

Consider this a meta animal band special.

Lawrie: Arthur could be an octopus as they have eight tentacles, so he could play synth and all the percussion instruments.

crescendo. The world may seem a terrible place, but Squid want to emphasise all the possibilities it can hold. “Coming to an age of understanding and coming to terms with things within that time frame is an interesting concept,” continues Louis.

“There’s massive social and political change taking place in this country and changes with our environment as well.

As you become older and gain an understanding of what’s happening, your relationship to it changes as quickly as on a weekly basis as you take steps to familiarise yourself with what’s going on and respond in the best way you can. It’s shifting at a different micro and macro level.”

These are big themes, but at their core, it’s the relationship between the five friends that form their bond and hold their principles. “We don’t talk about issues explicitly in the music or the lyrics, but we definitely talk about them with each other as a group of friends. Subconsciously that dictates the piece of music we make at the time,” says Laurie. “I’d like to think the music is reflective of the times around us on some level.”

So what was the vision for the album then? “The thing we

The Science Bit Squid have a lot of long songs.

That’s ok. They have a lot to say, and the songs are super fun. It does raise an important question, though. An important question that we’ve been pondering for a while at Dork HQ. That question is: How many jaffa cakes can Squid eat in the 8 minutes and 29 second duration of their longest song, ‘Narrator’? Louis seems quietly confident. “I really like jaffa cakes, so I think I could eat a good one and a half packets.

Two would be pushing it.” Laurie, though, takes things to another level and raises the stakes. “If it was a life or death scenario, I think I could do six.” Feel free, Dear Reader, to test this out next time Squid can take to the stage.

Maybe not the life or death part though, eh?

Louis: or purely non-musical reasons, Anton [Pearson, guitars and vocals] would be a hen. He really likes chickens.

He always talks about them.

Ollie [Judge, drums and lead vocals] would be a wildebeest with a really good grunt.

Laurie: Louis, you can be an otter.

“GRUNT!”

were always aware of was if you are writing music at whatever level you’re at, there was always going to be the question of is it cohesive and is there cohesion between the music?” says Laurie. “Some songs we write come out really quickly, and on some, we’re still working on them. We put the structure in place when we’re recording, and we’re still thinking of how we can improve these when we play them live. We wanted it to feel like nothing was tacked on.

It was really important to have a piece of music that serves a purpose and becomes part of a system. We focused on that quite a lot. That contributed a bit to the length. Some songs are long because you don’t really want to stop a good thing.”

Another thing that took a long time was finding the right album title before they settled on the evocative ‘Bright Green Field”. “It always seems to be titles that we spend most time on,” laments Louis

“DO YOU HAVE A SECOND TO TALK ABOUT CHICKENS?”

with a chuckle. “It came from a reference in a book we were all interested in. It ironically denotes this godforsaken island we find ourselves on and a pastoral self-awareness and self memory. The record and title feel hopeful.”

“We had a list of about 50 titles,” adds Laurie. “At one point, the album was called ‘On Demand’. We were talking about this theme of the uncanny valley where you have this sense of a field in England that denotes something positive in childhood memories, but there’s a brightness to it which makes it seem slightly strange. That fit the mood of the pandemic and a lot of things that happen today that you can’t explain why, like the rise of the far-right. Things that you’re slightly confused about.”

Some of Squid’s sonic explorations can be head mangling journeys, but the band deny that they get their kicks out of messing with your head.

Louis: Laurie, you’re there with your trumpet and your bass, so you could be a bullfrog.

“We’ve adopted a willingness to roll with an idea that feels funny” Laurie Nankivell

“I don’t think it’s as conscious to be thrilled at putting someone in a certain environment musically and dumping them in another,” responds Louis. I’d say we don’t have any interest in writing music to make people feel inherently situated in one zone.

It’s not a case of we shouldn’t do this because it’s too obvious, more that we write music in a way that once an idea has been established, we have an impulsive tendency to test each other to see how much we can drive it away. It’s an innate tendency to want to explore as much as possibly. It happens instinctively.”

One thing that undoubtedly runs through all Squid’s music is how riotously fun it is. There’s a playful quality to their songs that make them wickedly subversive.

It’s something the band revels in. “We want people to have fun. We want to have fun playing and hope that translates to the people listening,” proclaims Laurie.

“We’ve adopted a willingness to roll with an idea that feels funny and clunky as opposed to something that feels quite refined.

We have a lot of fun and spend a lot of time in the studio being quite stupid,” laughs Louis. “You don’t want to spend a whole afternoon discussing things in a serious manner. Sometimes those jokes come along with us into the music.”

Some of that playful nature was aided and

abetted by their producer and confidante Dan Carey, who is known for playing about with lasers, lights and just, well, being a bit of a ‘character’. “Dan has a playful persona and has been such a good companion to have and really complements our sound. We have a relationship as a friend with him now, so we can be really open about the music, and that’s resulted in us using some really cool recording techniques,” says Laurie.

The process of forming the album while working with Dan Carey came concurrently for signing with esteemed label Warp Records, something the band are very excited about. “Although Warp is seen predominantly as an electronic music label, it’s more an experimental music label in a broader sense,” says Laurie.

“That’s what drew us to them.

We wanted a home where we could experiment, to our hearts’ desires.”

The release of Squid’s debut album feels like a real moment for the band. The moment where they look out on the vista of a vast mountain range and feel that anything is possible.

For Squid, though, it’s never straight forward. “We’ve been quite plaintive with our melody writing,” says Louis for what they’re up to now. “We’ve been enjoying sparsity. Maybe that’s just for now, and we’re going to be even more raucous than before.”

Laurie, though, has different plans: “You say that, but I’ve just been writing a piece of music for a tuba, two french horns, two violins and a double bass,” he laughs. Typical Squid. Keeping you guessing every step of the way as they continue down their own singularly bonkers brilliant path. P Squid’s album ‘Bright Green Field’ is out 7th May.

readdork.com 51.

From teen with a ‘uke’ to bubblegum pop rock brilliance, Chloe Moriondo’s new album is a vital signpost to just how far she’s come.

Words: Martyn Young.

“M

y rock chick evolution is going strong,” exclaims Chloe Moriondo as she talks about her transformation from sweet ukulele playing 13-year-old to a full-blown amazing pop star. She’s preparing to release her maybe, arguably, possibly debut album proper, but don’t worry, we’ll get to that later.

For now, Chloe is on the crest of a wave with ‘Blood Bunny’.

It’s certainly been a steep rise for one of indie pop’s brightest new talents.

“It’s crazy. I never expected it to get so big so fast,” Chloe explains from her bedroom in Detroit. Her bedroom is where all her best creative output comes from, see - most of Chloe’s passions can be traced back to these four walls. There are no superstar predilections with Chloe, no desire to turn herself into a character or concept. She knows what she likes, and she cherishes it dearly. “I have a lot of weird little hobbies that I get into

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“I have a pet tarantula, and a gecko, and a puppy. I would die for them” Chloe Moriondo

and hyper fixate on,” she says exuberantly. “I’m big into video games. I’m on my Nintendo Switch every single day.” The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, Stardew Valley and Resident Evil 4, to be precise.

She also has a passion dear to Dork’s heart. “I’m also obsessed with animals,” she says. “I’m a huge animal person. I have a pet tarantula, and a gecko, and a puppy. I love them with everything inside of me. I would die for them.”

So, that’s a bit about Chloe, but what about that ace new album and the whirlwind year she’s just had? Passionate about everything she does,

she’s poured everything into a collection of songs that show a real step up from bedroom pop naivety to pristine power-pop perfection. “This is my first big kid album,” she explains about ‘Blood Bunny’. “I released my own independent one previously. I called it an EP, though, as I didn’t understand the difference between an album and an EP. I made it all myself. It was very 13-year-old me.”

‘Blood Bunny’ is a whole world away from the youthful charm of her previous releases, though her earliest recordings and relationship with her nascent youtube community

readdork.com 53.

back in 2015 firmly established the platform for her musical evolution today. “I’m very proud of this one,” she exclaims. “I got such a lovely start on youtube with so many fantastic, cool young people supporting me.

I didn’t realise how big my music could be with the help of other people. I could make music that sounds exactly what I always wanted. I’ve been experimenting with different stuff, and I feel that this album is a product of that.”

The songs on the album are the first that Chloe has written in conjunction with other people, and the ability to call on different perspectives has certainly helped drive her music in a progressive direction. Some of the people she has worked with include Pete Robertson - formerly of The Vaccines - who has worked with Beabadoobee, and Steph Jones, who has worked with the likes of Panic! At The Disco, BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez.

Chloe also worked with several other producers and writers in a real collaborative effort, but ultimately the vision is all her. Chloe’s attitude seeps through every note of the album. “I’ve definitely grown a lot in the past year when it comes to music and writing,” she ponders. “I just recently started working with other people on music. I’ve gotten a lot of different perspectives on songwriting.”

As she moved into working differently, it was important for Chloe to get in the right mindset for change, which was a challenge at first. “I had to get over some nerves and some weird mental roadblocks when it came to writing new music in a style that I wasn’t writing in before,” she says. “I did get nervous that there would be people who listened and would be like, “I wish you could go back to the ukulele!” I started writing in a lot of different ways. With new people, new perspectives, new words. There was a lot of change.”

“I wanted people to see my music as a little heavier, more pop rock-influenced,” she continues. “I’ve always been obsessed with Avril Lavigne and Paramore. They are such big inspirations for me. I was hoping that people would hear that.” Despite opening herself up to writing with other people, the core of Chloe’s songwriting remained the same as it was when she started out. “Songwriting is a different process for everyone,” she explains. “There are some people who do it in a very technical and set way, but personally, I feel I can only write good stuff when I’m least expecting it. I’ll be in bed just

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CHLOE MORIONDO: GHOST HUNTER We’ve already detailed some of Chloe’s passions, but one of them deserves a bit more probing - her love of ghosts. We know all about it because of her 2020 song ‘Ghost Adventure Spirit Orb’, so we decided we’d give her a gentle spooky scenario.

Picture the scene, Chloe. You’re tucked up asleep in bed but wake up feeling a little peckish so decide to head downstairs for a snack and see a ghost rummaging through your fridge! What would you say to the ghost, and what do you think they’d be taking from the fridge?

I would be like, dude!

Where have you been?

I’ve been looking for you. I’ve been trying to find a ghost in this house for the whole 18 years I’ve lived here. I have a feeling the ghost would be taking my uncrustables. Those are really good. They are basically these little pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches without the crusts.

They are circular and pre-wrapped and are fantastic.”

Do you think ghosts are misunderstood?

“I think so. I believe in ghosts so thoroughly, but I’ve never been able to have an experience with one myself. I think they are misunderstood, cos there are shows about them being all grrrr and messing with videos and stuff, but I think if ghosts are real, they don’t give a shit about us. They’re just vibing. Ghosts just want to have fun.

JUST ONE MORIONDO THING Chloe, you love fruits, don’t you, so what’s the best fruit in the world?

Oh, the best fruit in the world is a controversial question. I feel like I’ll get rocks through my window for this, but I’m going to say watermelon. I’ve always been a watermelon kid.

It’s also a fruit that could potentially kill someone if you hit them in the head with it.

Exactly! A weapon and a fruit.

about to go to sleep, and I’ll think of a really sick chorus idea that will be a concept for a new song, so I’ll open my voice memo really quick, record it, and then pass out.

It’s always in the middle of a super inconvenient time. That’s usually when I start a song, and later on, I’ll be in my room alone and think maybe I’ll finish that one.”

Lyrically, the album finds Chloe in a state of emotional flux as she rides a rollercoaster of emotions. “There are lots of

experienced growing up with teenage boys, and the part of the male population that can be a little shitty. I like to vent out my frustrations in that way. I want to sing about eating these gross, scummy boys.”

Challenging gross boys and tackling issues head-on is central to Chloe’s whole approach. She’s fearless and deeply committed to what matters. “It’s more important than ever for artists and people who have big platforms to speak up about things

“I want to sing about eating these gross, scummy boys”

Chloe Moriondo

underlying themes of teenage angst in all of my songs,” she says. “Especially on this album as I’m building up to the end of teenagehood. It’s a weird time as I’m 18 now, and I started making music when I was 13.

I’m really proud of the changes in my music. I want people to listen to it and go, oh, she’s a little rock chick who’s singing about eating boys and stuff.”

Ah yes, eating boys. Another one of Chloe Moriondo’s passions, it’s also the title of her turbo banger single that leads off the album. “’I Eat Boys’ was such a fun song to write,” she laughs. “It was very heavily influenced by the movie Jennifer’s Body, which is about Megan Fox as a hot teenage cheerleader who just eats a bunch of gross boys, and that’s it. It comes from a lot of real frustration that I and many other feminine people have

that are important,” she says confidently, as she mentions her vocal support for issues like the Black Lives Matter movement. “As a teenager and someone who has grown up on the internet, I’ve found that it’s important to listen before you make any definitive statements.

The best way that I’ve found to support causes that I care about is to listen and provide as much support as I can in that way, rather than speaking over people.”

Listening is essential to Chloe, but another important thing is using humour to get her point across. ‘Blood Bunny’ is frequently laugh-out-loud funny in a playful and hugely exuberant way. For Chloe, it’s just a case of natural expression. “It’s important to remain honest,” she says.

“There’s no way that I could make anything good unless I

can say every single lyric in my songs with my mouth. As weird as my lyrics are sometimes, the more gross and silly and fun they are, the more willing I am to sing it.”

Chloe has many passions in her life, but one that has remained constant, certainly musically, has been her love of Paramore. She brings that to life on the album with the witty and tender ‘Favourite Band’.

“Everything about that entire era of music was so important to me growing up,” she remembers. “I wanted to write that song about a relationship I was reminiscing about being in. Where you’re with someone and like damn! Your music taste is NOT GOOD. I wanted to write a song where I could hide all these little easter eggs about my favourite bands but also about that annoying ass feeling you get when you’re in the car with someone you’re supposed to be liking, and they’re playing shit that you’re just not into.”

And has Hayley Williams been in touch and heard the song yet? “I wish,” laughs Chloe. “The thought of her hearing any of my music or even knowing I exist makes me want to pass out,” she adds.

Despite her excitement about the forthcoming album, there’s one major cloud that hangs over everything in the musical world at the moment, and that’s the inability to play shows. “I feel like I’m 100% more excited to tour next year than anything else,” she yearns as she contemplates the prospect of properly rocking out on stage for the first time. “Things have gotten so much bigger and crazier than I expected them to get. I’m overwhelmed in every good way possible.” P Chloe Moriondo’s album ‘Blood Bunny’ is out 7th May. readdork.com 55.

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collective, her recent EP ‘ButterFly’ blazed a trail that’s worth getting in a bit of a flap over.

Words: Aleksandra Brzezicka.

When it comes to exciting new talents, few come close to Lava La Rue. Part of the fast rising NiNE8

H

ope lies in communities, and Lava La Rue is a living example that you can build and stand your musical ground on shared creative soil. They’ve been on the way to shake things up since childhood when writing songs as a kid brought up by Jamaican grandma and, later on, as a young teenager in foster care.

Early on, Ava Laurel (Lava is a stage anagram) has decided to push past lack of connections and an underprivileged position in the art world, driven by an earth-shattering determination and cultural affairs played out on

58. DORK

Ladbroke Grove.

“As some people know, West London is a very diverse area, and there’s a lot of different communities of people. A lot of subcultures, a lot of Rastafarians, punks and there are fusions.

When you grew up around that, that comes into your work,” says 22-year-old Lava.

Not wasting a drop of that exalting essence, they’ve smartly used it all up to elevate their persona. Making a criticallyacclaimed debut with ‘Stitches’, a hip-hop mixtape with R&B infusions, Lava set themselves

up for inevitable success.

After all, like a modern-age renaissance visionary, they do it all. From co-founding one of London’s coolest collectives in NiNE8 (home to some of the hottest names on the scene like Biig Piig), LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter activism, creating visual art and flashy garms, to only recently putting out new EP ‘Butter-Fly’, they make sure we’re always gonna get a whole package; one that’s overflowing with eclectic influences from Prince and Grace Jones to Tame Impala.

“The first-ever album I bought as a kid was Gorillaz’ debut,” Lava shares.

Just like Gorillaz, they pickpocket bits and bobs of diverse sounds and images to incorporate them into the Lavaland’s landscape. That’s what they’ve done in a video for ‘Magpie’ that represents the timeline of London’s alternative cultural history and is a moving call for unity and action in tribute to the past.

“It made a lot of sense for it to be placed in an underground train because it’s all about underground movements. It specifically focused on the Caribbean culture that came to the UK and black parts like rhyme and different music that started from these communities, and how that would affect the rest of the contemporary music industry. Both in Britain and the rest of the world,” Lava elaborates.

Appreciating that musical heritage, their exploration won’t stop there. Lava finds a comfort zone in a state of flux, constantly searching and taking in stuff needed at a current moment.

That’s why they struggle when trying to define their sound.

“It’s funny. I feel like I could have a long answer, but I just make the music based on how I’m feeling and my moods. I suppose, recently, I have been feeling more of a psychedelic sort of vibe, just because that’s mentally where I am at in my head.”

Newly released EP ‘ButterFly’ mirrors that headspace with its sun-drenched psych-rap and raw, heart-on-sleeve lyrics.

It’s Lava’s best record yet. “I definitely wanted to push myself as an artist in terms of my songwriting, my lyrics and my singing. I feel like my first goal every time I was in the studio was to make something that sounded even better than the last song I made. I think that was a part of it, and I just wanted to create the feeling or the mood of a very transitional time in my life,

whether that was about love or my area. That’s why it was called ‘Butter-Fly’, because it’s all about growing and transitioning.”

Though while listening to tracks like ‘Goofy Hearts Club’ or ‘G.O.Y.D.’ (a collaboration with Clairo and response to her ‘B.O.Y.D.’), you can’t miss the EP’s recurring motif: love.

As a non-binary person, Lava has opened up like never before and contributed to the terribly under-represented, across all genres and decades, theme of queer relationships and dating.

Always coming from a place of honesty about their experiences and sexual orientation to avoid complication down the line, and simply because they want to keep it real 100% of the time, Lava also recognises that everybody deserves their own process of coming to terms with who they are.

“If an artist is secretly queer or gay and they get really, really big in their career, and then they come out as gay, it’s so much more controversial and a big deal than if you just start from the beginning being like, ‘this is me, take it or leave it’. Obviously, everyone has their reasons for it, for sure, but I mostly did it for my own sanity because I want to be able to talk about who I am.

If you start off saying that, then the right kind of people will be drawn to you.”

Fashion is an important part of Lava’s stage image and constructing an everyday identity that echoes in their music; it goes well beyond playing with extravagant looks (they’ve got that nailed, though) or letting the inner weirdo loose. “It’s really funny because sometimes I’ll see maybe on TikTok, people being like, ‘Oh this is a new fashion choice, we’ll put our chain on a belt or whatever’. But in lesbian culture, if you wear your keys on the loop of your, belt that’s like a signal to show that you’re gay to other people. Just in case if you’re in a place where you can’t talk about it. This is just an example of how

fashion for certain communities was almost like a uniform, so if there were other people who are like you, you could see that.”

There is power and freedom in belonging to a community, especially if mainstream society forces you into performing the role of an outcast. Lava, well aware of this strange magic and its flourishing properties, uses it to its fullest, whether it’s a collaboration with similarminded musicians like Deb Never on ‘Angel’, an outstanding queer love story fuelled on 80s acid rock and raw emotions, or just jamming with mates.

“I find that you have more fun when you are achieving your goals with people that you care about. There’s something

about it that I think is more fulfilling. I can appreciate and respect people who wanna do it themselves and are the lone wolf, but I believe you can still have your own individuality without doing everything alone.

You can be individual and still care about the people around you and want them to be equally successful and collaborate. It’s more wholesome,” they share.

Longing for that kind of wholesomeness has built bases for what has started out as a bunch of school friends chilling and partying together and quickly evolved into a DIY collective and a creative network, NiNE8. “[That] all came from positivity because I feel like there can be a lot of negativity

“This is me, take it or leave it”

or elitism with some artists when things come to, I don’t know, being performative or whatever.

We weren’t really caring about that. We just wanted to make good music with good people.”

A few years passed, and teenagers grew up into artists in their near-mid 20s with an impressive repertoire that gained recognition in the UK’s alternative scene, made charts and stole hearts of devoted followers who found role models and representation in this extraordinary crew of once social outcasts. “It’s really cool. It’s surreal. Even over the past two years, I’ve had people messaging me, or messaging NiNE8, saying how much the music has really helped them navigate their own identity. I remember when I was younger, and I would send those messages to the people I admired. I remember when I was 16, and I discovered the rapper Noname, and I remember trying to message her. I’m sure she never saw my message being like, ‘Your music changed my life; I love you so much’. It’s weird

having the roles kind of reversed and have people do that with me,” shares still-astonished Lava.

Both NiNE8 and Lava La Rue’s prolific engines have been working like crazy over the lockdown period, perfecting and putting out new exciting projects. Though fresh from giving the world their last musical lovechild ‘Butter-Fly’, and enjoying the buzz and applause it’s received so far, Lava won’t rest on the laurels.

They’re already planning on releasing remixes, marketing visuals for tracks of the EP and, obviously, constantly writing more music. Enthusiastic about the mad amount of support they’ve received over last year, Lava is too humble to take it for granted until seeing it with their own eyes. Preferably at a gig. “Right now we’re seeing a lot of love, but it’s all online, so it doesn’t really feel real.”

While waiting for the 2021 version of Summer of Love, fingers crossed, this June, Lava invites us to take a peek at their vision of the future. They want to facilitate more in reallife spaces, creating pop-ups and community-driven spots in West London where people can get merch and socialise. The main mission, though, remains unchanged: to continue to make music, videos and go on tours on a bigger scale. Bloomed on the rebellious grounds of Ladbroke Grove, the same ones that sheltered 1960s counterculture and saw the birth of The Clash, Lava’s ambition has always been bigger than their surroundings.

“I really feel like I’ve only just begun, and I still feel like I’ll very much be on that journey in five years too,” they admit.

It’s only a matter of time before our favourite playlists will be flooded with Lava La Rue’s burning-hot and hazy musical mixture that we would indulge in every restless night. “Like a fever dream,” Lava defines it at last. P Lava La Rue’s EP ‘Butter-Fly’ is out now.

LAVA LA RUE

readdork.com 59.

ALL THE NEW RELEASES YOU NEED TO KNOW (AND SOME YOU DEFINITELY DON’T)

Deep breaths out, everyone. ‘if i could make it go quiet’ delivers and then some

girl in red

if i could make it go quiet

eeeee A debut album worth the wait.

60. DORK

A lot is riding on the debut album from two-time former Dork cover star girl in red. While many musicians might find themselves shackled by the expectations of enormous advances, pre-game hype or ridiculous demands from the suits upstairs, Marie Ulven has something all-together more important with which to contend. Namely, the hopes and expectations of thousands of young, devoted fans. Deep breaths out, everyone - ‘if i could make it go quiet’ delivers and then some.

It’s fair to say that girl in red isn’t the kind of icon that always exists easily in the always-on, razzledazzle, like-and-subscribe zeitgeist.

Battling with the same insecurities,

self-doubts and imperfect actions as the rest of us, it’s Marie’s humanity that shines through on a first fulllength that proves more than worth a sensibly prolonged gestation period.

Open, raw and honest - ‘if i could make it go quiet’ is also, perhaps, a subtly different album to the one many might have expected. Unafraid to go in big and bold, it mixes Marie’s different emotional speeds with a quiet swagger. Opener ‘Serotonin’ might claim to be running low, but it’s more than bright enough to charge up those Vitamin D levels.

‘Did You Come’ does mean what you think it might, while ‘You Stupid Bitch’ is ingrained with petulant frustration. But while the front half

of the record may often be turned to full volume, the second, generally, is more subtle. Previous single ‘Rue’ remains a delicate delight, while ‘Apartment 402’ is intricate and contemplative.

In laying it all out on show, ‘if i could make it go quiet’ is a debut album without airs and graces, delivered with an unquestionable flourish. Swirling in the complicated, often contradictory emotions of everyday life, it’s relatable, affirming and more than occasionally profoundly affecting. Marie Ulven might not have set out to be someone to look up to, but by being nothing but her true self, girl in red certainly is. Stephen Ackroyd

Chloe Moriondo Blood Bunny eeeee

Weezer

Julia Stone

While that accepted line on Weezer (first two albums good, everything after bad) may be repeated as a universal truth, it’s also wrong. ‘Van Weezer’ knows this. A record saturated with the bright energy of those albums that followed the band’s earliest phase, it’s got the melody of green, the crunch of ‘Maladroit’ and the nonsense of red.

Its front-half is textbook Weezer - shiny and sunkissed, but it’s the later stages which get properly weird. Big, 80s metal riffs delivered with panache, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of ridiculousness.

Stephen Ackroyd

It’s been nearly ten years since the last Julia Stone solo outing, and in that time, she’s discovered the dancefloor, opting for an alt-pop of sorts. With numerous references to cars and highways, along with being free and exuberant, on ‘Sixty Summers’ the itch for grabbing life reigns supreme. While it succeeds in sweeping you away in its momentum, though, with a smattering of recycled moments and at a few songs too long, once the night drags on, you’ll wish you were at home in your PJs watching Netflix instead. Steven Loftin

Van Weezer eeeef

Sprints

Manifesto EP eeeee This is exciting. Dublin’s Sprints continue their burst out of the starter blocks (wahey - puns Ed) with their debut EP, ‘Manifesto’. Produced

by Girl Band’s Daniel Fox, it’s a thrilling ride that more than lives up to the band’s name and threatens to rip up the new punk landscape.

The more opening track ‘Drones’ builds and builds in rage and self-doubt, the more it is inescapable. Packed full of interesting textures, the Girl Band influence is strong with clangs, and yes, drones dropped in throughout, but that

Sixty Summers eeeff

is to take nothing away from Sprints themselves.

“You’re getting better, and I’m getting bitter”, spits Karla Chubb from the depths of imposter syndrome. Pumped up and bristling with rage, ‘Swimming’ flirts with IDLES’ thunderstorm style before soaring off in a different direction, while the previously unheard ‘Ashley’ roars along an untethered Marmozets.

It’s a thrilling, exciting glimpse into the future.

Every time it feels like saturation point has been reached within the scene, someone new comes along to tear all that up. Sure, we’ve heard three-quarters of this EP already, but when you slot it together like this, Sprints feel like they could very well be the next band that reshapes the landscape. If this is their manifesto, sign us up. Jamie MacMillan

Squid

Bright Green Field

eeeee More turns than a roundabout.

Brighton five-piece Squid may have built their brand on postpunk belters, but with their debut album, ‘Bright Green Fields’, they’re trying their hands as architects. “This album has created an imaginary cityscape,” explains drummer and singer Ollie Judge, “A kind of dystopian British cityscape.” Only around 5% of the UK is urbanised, but in the hyperreality of modern Britain, most of us are more likely to see the rolling green hills of a Windows background than we are that other 95%.

‘Bright Green Fields’ sees Squid stepping through that looking glass.

Having ditched all prior material for this album, Squid have crafted a vision of reality where everything we hear is either agenda-driven or a load of bollocks. If that all sounds a bit morose for a lively young bunch, there’s spades of oddball character, from the monotonous vocal dis-harmonies of ‘2010’, to the broken printer bassline of ‘Peel St.’. Flecks of ambient

distortion creep in everywhere.

And while there’s certainly nothing on here that’s as much of an earworm as 2019’s omnipresent ‘Houseplants’, the trade-off is a record that feels cohesive in intention.

In hindsight, lead single ‘Narrator’ was a telling sign of things to come — a fable of lost self and self-indulgent masculinity structured in the mode of a po-faced post-rock epic, despite the jiving rhythms binding it together. There are shades of early Foals, and certainly more than a little David Byrne, but Squid are always their own (aquatic) beast.

The result? A project where each track has more turns than a roundabout, and where you’re as likely to find a grooving bassline at the four-minute mark as you are an abrupt crash into bedlam.

It’s a little pretentious, and definitely an album that requires your full attention, but it’s a deceptively good time too. If this is the sound of our dystopian future, sign us up. Blaise Radley

Chloe Moriondo’s ‘Blood Bunny’ is the perfect example of a significant step up. From the opening power pop blast of ‘Rly Don’t Care’ it’s obvious that this is a big deal. Rippling with energy and vitality, it’s insistent and urgent. The pace carries on through whipsmart rockers like ‘Take Your Time’ and the hilarious playful macabre romp of ‘I Eat Boys’. There’s tenderness too, as Chloe ponders matters of the heart and all the anxieties of modern life on songs like ‘Strawberry Blonde’ and closing track ‘What If It Doesn’t End Well’.

The sound is far more developed and dynamic than what we’ve previously heard from Chloe, as she worked for the first time with some outside producers harnessing her songwriting skills into a far more powerful proposition. You can hear it as her songs swell to fill the room, while quieter moments have an added degree of intimacy.

We’ve always known Chloe was something special from her earliest releases and EPs, but here on her first ‘big kid’ album, as she calls it, she puts everything together into one supremely satisfying package.

Martyn Young

RECOM -MENDED RELEASES MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT THESE ALBUMS.

Dry Cleaning New Long Leg

A very strong debut from one of London’s very best new bands, ‘New Long Leg’ is the sort of album to invest in.

For Those I Love For Those I Love

Lots of albums are called capital-letters-IMPORTANT, but for once, this is a record that lives up to the billing.

Pixey

Free To Live In Colour EP

One of the brightest talents on the block, Pixey shows genuine indie pop potential in buckets.

readdork.com 61.

Baby Strange

Land of Nothing EP eeeef Like the late-night warriors still cavorting in the early hours of the morning, the new EP from Glaswegian trio Baby Strange never once drops pace. The band wield a wild-eyed baton in the form of ‘Land of Nothing’, an audacious five-track effort that distils their anthemically-minded, junkyard rock and roll into something punchy and turbulent. Peppered with flashes of pop and punk, the EP is evocative of chaotic student nights and of cheap pints thrown in the air when the first chords of a setlist pound through the speakers.

Every song is crafted to pack out the dancefloor in feverish scenes, a mood most closely encapsulated by the single ‘Club Sabbath’. Riding their DIY aesthetic full throttle, ‘Land of Nothing’ boasts an unruly charm. Edie McQueen

Remember Sports

Saint Raymond

Like A Stone eeeff

We Forgot We Were Dreaming eeeff

Heaving with defiance, Remember Sports’ fourth outing ‘Like A Stone’ tows the line between poppy alt-rock and grungy indie. In addition to the boisterous zeal, the fascinating vocal breaks of Carmen Perry - who cultivates unexpected twists in practically every melody - will hook you from the off. Pair that with the distorted strings, along with the thrashing percussion, and you get aggressive energy infused with genuine passion. Remember Sports are humming with self-confidence, and while ‘Like A Stone’ doesn’t reinvent the altrock wheel, it effortlessly adds a few banging spokes to it in a very charming way. Connor Fenton

Saint Raymond’s second album is as heartfelt as it is captivating; a journey of emotions with a generous number of riffs and breakdowns thrown in for good measure.

As poised and polished as ever, ‘We Forgot We Were Dreaming’ features slick rhythms, infectious guitar licks, and euphoric drops throughout. Huge choruses and catchy hooks are a common theme, giving the album a high-energy. Tracks like ‘Right Way Round’ and ‘Love This Way’ bring a feel-good vibe, helping to create a perfect sunny day listen. Relying on a clean simplicity, Saint Raymond’s particular brand of indie-pop may not be pushing any boundaries, but it’s done well all the same. Melissa Darragh

Dreamer Boy

known as Zach Taylor, outlines a narrative on his second album – across sixteen tracks, it takes you directly through the experience of falling head Romanticising your over heels with a friend. life is all about the Through twinkling, breezy attitude and mindset, guitar lines and silky apparently. Or so TikTok falsettos, Dreamer Boy tells us. Yet, the right weaves a tale of romance soundtrack is definitely so sweet it might just rot required too. Look no your teeth (in the best further – Dreamer Boy way possible, of course). has delivered just that.

Scattered with all the If you’re looking to trademarks of your romanticise every slightly favourite coming-of-age pink sunset or drive to films from slow dances to get an iced coffee, ‘All The swimming pools, ‘All The Ways We Are Together’ is Ways We Are Together’ primed to make you feel embraces love in its unshakeably like the main most natural, authentic form, and it is completely character. uplifting for it. Neive The Nashville based McCarthy musician, otherwise

All The Ways We Are Together eeeee

62. DORK

London Grammar

Californian Soil

eeeee Pop, but classy.

In the four year interim since their last album, British indie-pop outfit London Grammar have retooled their approach to bring us ‘Californian Soil’, a new record that shows clear direction and a lyrical step toward an exploration of misogyny, the patriarchy and the band’s experiences with fame.

With vocalist Hannah Reid taking the role of figurehead during its creation, this album is a huge leap in London Grammar’s lyrical discussion while still providing atmospheric blends of electronica and symphonic sounds.

Delving into the frustration of being a woman in an industry that is still so male-dominated, Reid is no holds barred in using her soft voice to tell hard truths. ‘Lord’ is not only a scathing rebuke on the way in which women are picked up and dropped in the entertainment and music industry, it also speaks a truth of the band’s own fears of lacking control while rising to stardom at such a young age. “I

saw the way you made her feel like she should be somebody else” is just one example of these lyrics that cut straight to the core of fame’s effect on performers and audiences alike.

It’s profound lyricism and personal expression like this that elevates London Grammar above other pop staples and into a league of their own. Bookending the album with the title-track and ‘America’, the band chronicles their time touring in the states, contrasted with the death of the ideal America we see in the movies. Still, the songs are dying to be danced to, equal parts contagious and contemplative.

Whether it’s building sweeping, twisting sound spaces that swell, heaving with macrocosmic buildups, or simply serenading us with a silken voice and a few wellplaced synths, ‘Californian Soil’ is an unmissable foray in pop, rich in meaning and abundant in bangers.

Connor Fenton

Flyte

This Is Really Going to Hurt eeeef Debut album ‘The Loved Ones’ was always going to be a tough act to follow, but soaring folk outfit Flyte stay in their stride with second record ‘This Is Really Going To Hurt’. Immediate, urgent, and laced with the painful sting of heartache, it tells the story of a breakup, seeing the band go through the motions, confronting their partner, mourning what was and, finally, finding solace in moving on. Dressed in warm folkscapes of slowmoving guitars, swooning strings and heartfelt vocals, the record is surprisingly soft-spoken; a collection of poignant songs handpicked by a band that excels in conveying emotion through sound and breaking your heart one harmony at a time. Laura Freyaldenhoven

ARTIST’S GUIDE

Alfie Templeman Forever Isn’t Long Enough Get the full story on our Alfie’s new banger-packed mini-album, from the man himself.

SHADY I made this song with Tom McFarland at the start of 2020. One thing I’ve told myself ever since I started making music is “stay true to yourself”, and this song is a reflection of that. I think it’s important to recognise that you are your own person so you should make your own decisions.

FOREVER ISN’T LONG ENOUGH This is the first time I’d

ever made a song outside of the UK. I flew out to California and made this track with Kid Harpoon. It all came out so naturally because the trip to the USA made me realise that my music career had already been such a wild and wonderful journey.

At 17, I’d just left school, and now I was living my dreams. This song was me recognising how lucky I was.

HIDEAWAY Literally, the day before the first lockdown happened, my bass player Cam came over to hang out. We listened to a bunch of Anderson .Paak and decided we should make something in his style, so we

ended up making this song in my bedroom.

He’d literally hold a microphone over my head while I’d lay down drums and percussion! It was a really fun time, and we ended up making this progressive pop/jazzy funk song.

WAIT, I LIED This is the oldest track on the record. It dates back to the sessions I did for my previous release, ‘Happiness In Liquid Form’, but I never quite nailed it until now.

I wrote it when I was in the hospital back in late2019. The riff just popped into my head and would not leave! So as soon as I got out, I went back into my bedroom and

laid down probably the poppiest song I’ve ever made.

EVERYBODY’S GONNA LOVE SOMEBODY I wrote ‘Everybody’s Gonna Love Somebody’ when I was 14. It started out as a disco song and eventually evolved into a Tears For Fears 80s vibe when I decided to re-record it in 2020. I always wanted to make a song with a shuffle beat, and it clicked perfectly with this track. It’s a very universal song- a little sprinkle of hope. A lot of us feel down at the moment with all the pain, suffering and confusion in the world, but I want to reassure people there is help coming.

FILM SCENE DAYDREAM ‘Film Scene Daydream’ was the final song I recorded for the album.

I made it one afternoon in the summer after listening to a bunch of great 80s songs. For some reason, I often get nostalgic listening to songs and watching things that came out before I was even alive.

This song is me imitating that feeling and making something that just makes you feel good.

TO YOU Oh man, I sure love synthesisers. Retro sounds are unbeatable, which is why I bought a moog last summer.

‘To You’ started off as a demo for me to mess around with my moog and other synths. Tame Impala’s new album ‘The Slow Rush’ lo was undoubtedly a massive influence here, as was Todd Rundgren’s ‘Initiation’, which features immaculate synth work.

ONE MORE DAY I listen to lo-fi beats more

Alfie Templeman Forever Isn’t Long Enough

eeeee He’s done it again.

You know those rocket rainbow lollies you get?

That’s what this sounds like. The perfect mix of sugary pop, vibrant colours and enough crunch and substance to make sure it lasts ten times longer than your average lolly.

Described as a ‘minialbum’, ‘Forever Isn’t Long Enough’ still contains more bops and pop explorations than most so-called ‘proper’ albums. If this is Alfie exploring where he wants to go next, then we’re in for one hell of a ride.

From the first moments of ‘Shady’ on, it almost feels effortless (though it’s obviously not). It’s the sound of summer, festivals, tents flapping in the air, all the good things. But there’s more to it than just having a good time, it’s the soundtrack to finding yourself and working life out too. Out of the new tracks,’ Hideaway’ is, despite its name, a real eye-opener, while ‘Wait, I Lied’ struts in and threatens to steal

the whole show. Chuck in a cheeky saxophone solo on ‘Film Scene Daydream’, a track that might bathe in the same familiarly 1980’s-y glow that might be prevalent EVERYWHERE right now but still doesn’t sound anything other than new and exciting here, and we’re sold.

And that’s before we reach the swoozy woozy closer of a collab with April, the triphop-meets-bedroompop ‘One More Day’, a deliciously dreamy finale to the best half hour we’ve had all year.

If this is a ‘mini’ album, then just think what we’ve got to look forward to when the full-length arrives.

Lords above. It’s genuinely exciting to see the progression every time, the new ideas forming and coalescing into a real Pop Sensation In The Making. The first proper summer in two years is on the horizon, and one of its soundtracks is already here. Enjoy. Jamie MacMillan

than any other genre.

They help me sleep, work, exercise, and I just enjoy them as they sound so magical. So I decided I’d make something lo-fi, and a little darker sounding to finish off the record. I always imagine this song playing while I’m sat on a massive hill that overlooks the city

while it’s pitch black at night. April helped bring this song to life; her verse is immaculate, and her harmonies on the choruses were the cherry on top.

Alfie Templeman’s minialbum ‘Forever Isn’t Long Enough’ is out 7th May.

readdork.com 63.

COMING SOON

5 releases coming up you should start getting excited about.

Wolf Alice

Rostam

St. Vincent

Easy Life

Japanese Breakfast

Quite possibly our most anticipated album of 2021, the return of Dork’s Favourite Indie Band already has our pulses raised. Bring on the summer.

Released: 11th June

Back at the end of last year, we went ‘in the studio’ with Rostam as he worked on this - his second solo album. Now it’s coming. Woo! Released: 4th June

She’s back, and she’s got a brand new style. Annie’s new album is inspired by the release of her father from prison, and has gone all gritty 70s New York funk.

Released: 14th May

We’ve been waiting for a debut album from the former Dork cover stars for quite a while now. It’s finally coming this June.

Whoop!

Released: 4th June.

“After spending the last five years writing about grief, I wanted our follow up to be about joy,” Michelle Zauner explains.

Too right it is.

Released: 4th June

Blue Weekend

Changephobia

Daddy’s Home

life’s a beach

Jubilee

The Coral

Kero Kero Bonito

Iceage

When everybody is impatiently looking for the Next Big Thing, sometimes it’s ok to have something comforting to rely on; so it is with The Coral. A band that have always seemed to inhabit a world of their own making, it’s something of a surprise that ‘Coral Island’ marks their first ‘theme album’. Taking place in a fictional time and place where nostalgia seems to be happening while you live it, it’s 24 tracks of meandering vibes that bounce between sunny and melancholy. Will it set the world on fire? No, of course not. But that’s not the goal here. Jamie MacMillan

Kero Kero Bonito know how to pack a lot of punch into a small package. The latest EP from the pop sonic explorers, ‘Civilisation II’ is three tracks that represent the multi-faceted joy of a band who can do it all. ‘The Princess and the Clock (past)’ is a skyscraping synthy pop epic while ‘21/4/20 (present)’ is sweet and blissful indie-pop. It’s uber KKB. Rounding off the set is an intense remix of ‘Rest Stop’, newly entitled ‘Well Rested (future)’. The track is transformed into an intense deep electro workout that ends with a running waterfall. It’s bonkers, but brilliant.

Martyn Young

‘Seek Shelter’ refuses to settle, restless and varied from start to finish.

Thresholds for disorder are pushed to their limits, and Iceage’s frenetic energy is barely contained; instrumentation collides, forming jagged edges out of each attempted breach.

It’s the penultimate track, ‘The Wider Powder Blue’, that best captures the feeling of boundlessness. It’s about four songs in one: tender ballad, stadium anthem, 00s dance-punk, and eventually an absolute cacophony. Much like ‘Seek Shelter’, there’s no way to predict what shape it will take next. Jay Singh

Coral Island eeeff

Civilisation II EP eeeef

Seek Shelter eeeef

Royal Blood Typhoons

eeeee Change can be good.

Rag’n’Bone Man Life By Misadventure eeeff

Rag’n’Bone Man’s ‘Human’ in 2017 saw him take over the world before soon falling off the face of it.

With ‘Life By Misadventure’ marking his return then, it seems like the time has been well-spent in avoiding a rushed copycat of a follow-up. The vibe is markedly different, with a lot of the bombast stripped back. A track or two too heavy, ’Life By Misadventure’ is at its best when it is shifting through the gears on a middle run of tracks that climax with the show-stopping ‘All You Ever Wanted’; a barnstormer of a song if ever there was one.

Jamie MacMillan

64. DORK

Briston Maroney Sunflower eeeff

Briston Maroney has built a reputation for rocky singalongs and chill acoustic moments; his debut album ‘Sunflower’ balances these two sides and leans into pop production to express a new vibe which is deeply rooted in energetic Americana sounds. Lyrically, the record’s foundation is in witty romanticisms and apt metaphors; ‘Freeway’ is perhaps the best manifestation of this clichéd but undeniably appealing approach. Briston is clearly pushing his sound experimentation further than before; an interesting way of answering the hype surrounding his previous material. Finlay Holden

Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher, aka Royal Blood, have already had huge success with their two bass and drum-dominated LPs. This time, though, they’ve departed from their previous formula and have reshaped their iconic sound through dance and pop production.

Change as a concept may scare some hardcore fans, but fortunately, it is pulled off in a way that only adds to the soundscape and doesn’t detract from the band’s spirit. In fact, some songs, such as festival favourite ‘Boilermaker’, manage to retain the sense of rawness that has been prevalent across their discography.

The moody love declaration in ‘Million and One’ is expressed with a dance element; synths are present throughout, helping to flesh out the track alongside the vocal layering. This truly revitalises the duo’s music, a move which Mike claims took a great deal of confidence, boosted by ditching the booze and taking some advice

from Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. By doing so, he has been able to adapt to the same pressures which induced the opposite approach on their second record.

The lyrical content of the album is varied but all comes from an introspective place and hides feelings of hope under the aggressive disco-rock; there are love songs, tunes about despair, and the title-track ‘Typhoons’ serves as a thematic centrepiece narrating the process of selfassurance.

This eleven-track rocker maintains an infectious energy level from the opener ‘Trouble’s Coming’ right up until it closes down with a Royal Blood piano ballad, ‘All We Have Is Now’. Production is bending genre standards all around and this is a masterful example of warped alt-rock that immerses listeners in sonic escapism and provides a colourful, powerful and luxurious listen. Finlay Holden

Manchester Orchestra

The Million Masks of God eeeef Out of the ash and rubble of bursting through their ceiling in their last album, ‘The Million Masks Of God’ has Manchester Orchestra constructing a cathedral to house their ambition, emotions and sound. There is a lot of space afforded within the album for the band to explore a story of life, death and beyond, and it makes for an outstanding offering. Manchester Orchestra manage to consistently raise the bar, and this time is no different; the bar is now stratospheric. If you squint, you may just about see it.

Alexander Bradley

The Pale White

India Jordan

Low Island

While it feels like every guitar band under the sun is trying to not be defined by genre, The Pale White seem more than happy in their realm of garage rock.

The Newcastle natives come in charging on titletrack ‘Infinite Pleasure’, which is an absolute beast that feels bigger than the band themselves, and aims for the stars. It’s seductive, foreboding, and everything you could possibly want from the genre. Opening on such a strong statement is a feat hard to beat, and it seems as though the band set the bar just a bit too high. The songs that follow take obvious cues from glam and psychedelic melodies; they’re formulaic and mostly indistinguishable from each other, with the odd slow ballad and peculiar observational lyricism scattered throughout.

Jasleen Dhindsa

India Jordan’s EP ‘For You’ established the producer as a bright new talent. It was a record designed for ecstatic dancefloor release unfortunately grounded by the drudgery of the ongoing pandemic.

Not to be disheartened though, India has decided that if we can’t make it back to the club right now they’re just going to go deeper and harder anyway on stunning follow-up ‘Watch Out!’.

There’s ultra high energy from the start with the rampaging beats of ‘Only Said Enough’ booting the door in for the other four tracks to make their presence felt; all the sonic dexterity and command of rhythm and space that they’ve mastered are at work here. India Jordan has done it again. Martyn Young

Low Island’s debut has been a long time coming.

‘If You Could Have It All Again’ half feels like an ode to their beginnings, and half shooting for the stars. Take ‘What Do You Stand For’, which nods to 2019’s ‘Search Box’ in its satire swagger, not so much tongue in cheek but somewhat obtuse, teetering on the lines of arrogance. The more vulnerable moments are refreshing then (as on the soaring ‘Feel Young Again’), adding a needed dose of humility.

Questionable lyricism aside, sonically, the album is impressive and defiant. It’s no question that Low Island are a band of incredibly gifted individuals who truly embrace the infinite possibilities of electronic music. Jasleen Dhindsa

Infinite Pleasure eefff

Watch Out! eeeef

If You Could Have It All Again eeeff

Courting

1-2 of that and ‘Popshop!’ is an exhilarating start.

It’s easy to make tired references to Parquet Courts and The Fall After a handful of when bands like this promising early singles, come along, but this feels Courting have turned up more exciting than that to blow the cobwebs off somehow. The stressful 2021 with their first EP. ‘Crass’, a more traditional Exploring life in classic talky-post-punk track, and Middle England, it’s the the slow-burning ‘Slow exciting sound of a band Burner’ might exist in trying on different outfits that territory, but it’s the to see what fits. The title- pop culture references track comes crashing in throughout the record through the door of an that stop it from being yet after-party down the Nags another genre pastiche.

Head, slips on some plates Courting have taken a of half-eaten food, spills year of forced inactivity wine everywhere, makes to explore where they a mess of your carpet, want to go. Keep heading and then skitters out into straight towards the the night. It’s pure chaotic chaos, please. Jamie MacMillan energy, and the punchy

Grand National EP eeeee

Coach Party After Party EP

eeeee More promise from indie’s new heroes.

There are few things more exciting than an already promising band notably improving their sound.

On second EP ‘After Party’, Isle of Wight four-piece Coach Party have done just that with a new sense of purpose and a heavily refined sonic palette.

Driven by a buzzing urgency and a growing demand for authenticity, the record explores an all too familiar set of struggles: depression, heartache, selfloathing and anxiety. “I’m sorry I’m intense, I just feel a bit on edge,” vocalist Jess Eastwood sings on aptly named ‘i’m sad’, unafraid of laying bare her darkest thoughts.

It’s this kind of confessional lyricism combined with punchy vocals and a defiant “I don’t need your pity” instrumentation –read: angular guitars, forward charging drums and an anthemic undertone- that gives ‘After Party’ a tangy flavour and Coach Party a

captivating edge.

Whether they are confronting a controlling partner on ‘Crying Makes Me Tired’, diving into a pool of self-reflection on ‘Everybody Hates Me’ or playing with swelling riffs and dynamic soundscapes on closing number ‘Sweetheart’, Coach Party have taken the lessons of their debut EP and turned them into an inviting and concise body of work that reflects their maturity whilst keeping a youthful character that allows them to accessorise their solemn musings with roaring solos and mosh-pit worthy choruses.

‘After Party’, more than anything, feels like a statement of intent, a brilliant record that sees Coach Party re-introduce themselves and give a hopeful glimpse into the future where an album is starting to take shape on the horizon. Laura Freyaldenhoven

Chapel

Room Service EP eeeff Transgressing genres is at the heart of Chapel’s identity, as they permeate boundaries with their all-encompassing style; celebrating pop with their catchy melodies, R&B with their infectious rhythm and the electronic with their sparkling synths. Fourtrack EP ‘Room Service’ embodies a thematic story; Chapel rewrite the hotel room as a pit of depression: “Every night when I sleep / My brain takes over me / All my lies on repeat / I hide behind the sheets”. Although it’s an EP that explores heartache in a brutally honest manner, the duo still manage to showcase their signature playfulness in tracks like ‘Wow’. This EP has all the ingredients to get you over a break-up and on to your next crush; a process we all know far too well. Phoebe De Angelis readdork.com 65.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THIS MONTH IT’S...

UPSAHL Yes, Dear Reader. We enjoy those ‘in depth’ interviews as much as anyone else. But - BUT we also enjoy the lighter side of music, too.

We simply cannot go on any longer without knowing that Upsahl’s favourite member of One Direction.

What did you last dream about?

I had a dream I was on tour last night. Lately, that’s like all I’ve been dreaming about. Clearly, I need to get out more!

Which defunct band would you most like to reform?

No Doubt for sure. That band was seriously my childhood.

Who’s your favourite new band?

IDLES. My Dad turned me onto them, and I watched part of their set at Lolla and became obsessed.

What’s one thing people don’t know about you?

I need to have like five coffees in the morning before I’m fully awake.

What’s your biggest fear?

Nothing gives me more anxiety than big waves in the ocean. The ocean is an unforgiving bitch, and I grew up going to surf camp, so I’ve had my fair share of getting beaten up by waves. Still, to this day, it freaks me out.

If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?

The Dodo. Imagine having one of those things chilling around the house.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I’ve always wanted to make music. Since I could remember, I was always singing and playing any instrument I could get my hands on.

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

66. DORK

I’m such a clutz that I just don’t get embarrassed at this point, but the other day, I was holding a bunch of lingerie headed to a photoshoot, and this beautiful man was holding the door open for me as I was running up the stairs. Of course, I fell, dropped my lingerie, and spilt my coffee everywhere. Pretty sure we’re getting married now.

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

Teleportation.

What do you always have in your refrigerator?

Cholula. Every morning I have an egg with avocado drenched in Cholula sauce. Can’t live without it.

Who is your favourite member of One Direction?

Harry. He’s such a fucking rock star.

What is your most treasured possession?

My guitars, probably. And my bass.

If we gave you $10, what would you spend it on?

Coffee with a friend.

Were you a rebel at school?

No, I was that one bitch running clubs and doing the behind-thescenes of the talent shows. The little hustler in me loved it.

What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to try?

Bungee jumping is the next thing on my list to try. I have this series I do on Youtube called UPSAHL Extreme where I try crazy shit,

and I think bungee jumping is up next.

think I can, and that’s all that matters.

What was the first record you bought?

I think it was a Fiona Apple 45.

When’s your birthday?

November 28th.

Have you ever been thrown out of somewhere?

I’ve been known to stir the pot up a bit at bars if anyone fucks with any of my friends. Getting escorted out by security isn’t as exciting as it seems.

Do you believe in aliens?

How could you not? I could send myself into a spiral right now if I thought about how much of the universe we don’t know about.

What have you got in your pockets right now?

My face mask, a $1 bill, and some lip gloss.

What’s your favourite type of weather?

Rainy days are my absolute favourite.

Who was your favourite musician or band when you were 14?

Spoon and Weezer.

What is your earliest memory?

The earliest thing I can remember is when my sister was born. I’m the oldest of three siblings, so when she came home from the hospital, I was soooo excited.

What was the last thing you broke?

A bottle of perfume. At least my room smells great now.

Have you ever won anything?

I almost won a spelling bee in 4th grade, but during the last round, I accidentally added an ‘s’ to the word, so I lost. Most devastating day ever for my 10-year-old self.

Can you dance?

Fuck no. If I’m drunk enough, I

Who’s your favourite pop star?

Britney, bitch!

How punk are you out of ten?

I think punk is all about the energy and attitude, so let’s go with 10.

What’s your breakfast of choice?

Eggs, avocado, and Cholula sauce!

What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Skydiving was pretty crazy.

I think I’m going to get my skydiving license soon so I can go by myself.

If you could form a supergroup of your choice, who would be in it?

Gwen Stefani, Rihanna, Debby Harry, Joan Jett, and Beyonce.

That shit would be iconic.

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you ask for?

Infinite wishes, baby!

What’s one thing people don’t know about you?

I buy mugs, even though I don’t drink out of them. P

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