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Maggie Rogers. Give a little.
Maggie Rogers. Strap line here.
November 2018 Issue 27
Ed’s letter.
Pop is the greatest musical art-form. Sorry, you Real Music Warriors, but that’s written loud and proud in the Dork rule book. This month, we’re living in giddy times for pop connoisseurs. From a new record from last month’s cover star MØ, to the long-awaited return of Queen of Scandopop Robyn, there’s more than our fair share of ice cold brilliance to grasp hold of. But the imminent release schedule isn’t the only place we’re finding great things. This month’s cover features the fast-rising Maggie Rogers - a fearsome talent who has just announced her debut album, set to arrive early in 2019. A true force of nature, she’s one to get very, very excited about, as the many people won over by her brilliant work to date will agree. There’ll be a couple of extra weeks between our next issues, with our end of year double to come on 23rd November. We’ve something special to show you. Ooo-errr!
S tephen
Editor / @stephenackroyd
DORK
Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young Events Liam James Ward Scribblers Abigail Firth, Alex Cabre, Alex Thorp, Chris Taylor, Ciaran Steward, Dan Harrison, Dillon Eastoe, Dominic Allum, Jake Hawkes, Jamie MacMillan, Jasleen Dhindsa, Josh Williams, Liam Konemann, Sam Daly, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Burak Cingi, Carsten Windhorst, Jennifer McCord, Chris Juarez, Rachel Juarez-Carr, Sarah Louise Bennett Doodlers Russell Taysom
Index. UPDATE 4 SUNDARA KARMA 6 PEACE 8 ALMA 8 THYLA 10 TOM WALKER 11 BLAENAVON 12 KING NUN 14 BANGERS 17 DORK READERS’ POLL 2018 HYPE 18 SAM FENDER 20 HOPSCOTCH TOUR 22 FONTAINES D.C. 23 BLOODY KNEES 23 SPRING KING FEATURES 24 MAGGIE ROGERS 30 LANY 32 PARCELS 34 KURT VILE ALBUM REVIEWS 36 BASEMENT 39 KURT VILE 40 MØ 43 KAGOULE 44 THE PRODIGY 44 MUSE GET OUT 46 END OF THE ROAD 2018 48 ARCTIC MONKEYS 49 ST. VINCENT 50 THE GUIDE BACK PAGE 54 YOU ME AT SIX
Cover photo: Jennifer McCord P U B L I S H E D F RO M
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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. Message sent with concern that will never be addressed.
On The Stereo 2019, yeah lads? Cheers.
Drenge Autonomy EP
Maggie Rogers Heard It In A Past Life
Arriving a little too late for review in last month’s issue, Drenge’s new EP is a) brilliant, and b) makes us even more eager to get that third full-length.
Given it’s still a good three months until our current cover star’s debut album arrives, we’re not going to be naughty and give you a hint at the review just yet. After all, these things tend 3
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to change at the last minute. But - BUT - from what we’ve heard, and we’ve heard a lot mate. Mate. Wow.
Sundara Karma ‘The new stuff’ Think you know what to expect from Sundara Karma? You really, really don’t. Flip ahead to page four and read
all about one of the most pleasing comebacks of 2019.
Shhhhhhh! A top secret new album Not to get all Indie Bullshit on you, but we’ve heard the new album by a Really Quite Big Band, set for release in Q2 2019, and it’s a bit of a surprise. Ooo-err.
If it’s not in here, it’s not happening. Or we forgot. One or the other.
Sundara Karma are back! Back!! Back!!!
Sundara Karma
They’re back, with brand new music and a revolutionised sound. Say hello to Sundara Karma 2.0. Words: Jamie Muir. Photos: Amber Pollack, Sarah Louise Bennett.
J
ust over a year ago, Sundara Karma were sat in the dressing rooms of Brixton Academy, getting ready to play their biggest headline show to date.
That night, they proceeded to rip through a mammoth set that celebrated a 2017 that saw them release their debut album, play across the globe, and then round it all off with a bloody big send-off. Sitting upstairs, they chatted through about a crazy year, their search for a tattooist to get some ink done before the show and joked about a ‘Marmite’ second album. A year on, and frontman Oscar Pollock laughs when thinking about it. “No, no, I don’t think this one is Marmite,” he laughs. “We’ll wait till the third one for that!”
After everything Sundara got up to, you’d warrant them a little bit of time to plan out what comes next and yet, less than a year later and after a summer of big-time festival shows, Oscar is getting ready to lead Reading’s finest back into a whole new chapter. “We wanted to get the album out this year! We were determined to do that, and then we talked to management, and they were like that’s probably unrealistic.” Yet, they could have - this isn’t a band leisurely rolling back into view to see what they could do next, Sundara Karma have always been more than that. Their blend of anthemic indie hooks, modern pop swagger and deep-diving lyrical spotlights all dressed in a glamsoaked sparkle has booted in the door when it comes to being a band in a modern generation.
“I don’t know if we had a very clear picture of what we wanted to do,” recalls Oscar, thinking back to where they were that night and if the future was even glinting in the back of their minds. “Well, I guess we did in a way, but the end result is always a bit different.” Where Sundara Karma are now as a band compared to where they were at the start of 2017 can be heard ringing out on the mesmerising ‘Illusions’, the opening salvo to a second album that promises to take the infectious heights of their debut and turn it into an adventurous and refreshing new beast. “We wanted to push ourselves,” notes Oscar. “The desire to do something more fulfilling was the big thing for me for this album, so that naturally meant expanding the corners of what we do.”