Down with boring
Issue 38 November 2019 readdork.com
Everything’s not lost. Foals are out to save the planet.
THE DEBUT ALBUM
OUT NOW
FEATURING ‘BLACK TREE’, ‘BUG’ AND ‘LOW FLYING DANDELION’ AS HEARD ON RADIO 1 AND 6 MUSIC
ON TOUR THROUGHOUT OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER - DATES AT KINGNUN.COM
2020
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EUROPE 04
26 27 29 30 05 01 03
LONDON BIRMINGHAM LEEDS MANCHESTER GLASGOW DUBLIN
UK UK UK UK UK IRELAND
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BIG
THE SSE ARENA SOLD OUT WEMBLEY ARENA BIRMINGHAM FIRST DIRECT ARENA MANCHESTER ARENA SSE HYDRO 3ARENA
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AARON DESSNER
’s
37d03d Machine
INDEX November 2019 | readdork.com | Down With Boring
FOALS
Nearly 15 years after forming, Foals are about to release their most outwardlooking record to date, heralding a new era of social accountability, visceral lyrics and a commitment to saving our dying planet. That’s if Yannis doesn’t do himself another mischief first… p.32
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Ø6
Ø6 Intro 28 Hype 1Ø
ED’S LETTER FEET
“Do you want to come and watch hip new hitmakers Feet get matching tattoos?” they asked. What do you think, Dear Reader?
4Ø
It’s been a long time coming, bit with their debut album ‘Mass’ finally here, it’s been the wait for King Nun’s big moment.
46
PUMAROSA
Following up a critically acclaimed debut with one even better? Pumarosa have it nailed.
There’s no denying it; these days, Foals are elder statesmen of indie. To those of us with a long enough memory, it might feel like only yesterday they were up-and-comers, dressed in their tennis whites and having a giggle, but over time they’ve become something far more robust and strident. Whether you’re someone who preferred those earlier sparks, or their later, imperial phase, there’s no denying their 2019 has been impressive. With their two-part ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost’ project about to receive its second instalment, they’re a band at the top of their games. We’re delighted to welcome to the cover for the first time - even if we’re slightly worried that the rest of the band have a plan of what to do if something happens to Yannis. Planning something, lads? Elsewhere this month, some of our favourites are celebrating new albums - from awesome debuts from King Nun and Feet through to a Really Very Brilliant second effort from Pumarosa, there’s all sorts to get excited about. Enjoy!
S tephen
12
18
GIRL RAY
51
Band of Skulls
21
Battles
51
WATERPARKS
Beabadoobee
12
King Nun
40
La Roux
26
Lande Hekt
23
Llovers
52
Los Campesinos!
23
Matt 52 Maltese
24, 51
“Rap and pop albums, they’re rewarded for being creative. But if a rock band does it? People just flip out.”
Big Thief
PIZZAGIRL
Bloxx
23 Pale Waves
Bodega
51 Pizzagirl
Chvrches
23 Poppy
Clairo
23 Pumarosa
46, 51
Creeper
25 Push Baby
30
PVRIS
52
MATT MALTESE
JOESEF
DUCKWRTH
Why WOULDN’T we interview rap sensation Duckwrth in the UK headquarters of Major League Baseball?
‘EDITOR’ @STEPHENACKROYD
Anna Meredith 50 Anna of the North
Soulful newcomer Joesef spins sad tunes that you can “shag or smoke a joint to”. Lovely.
44
Kim Petras 12
With their second album, Girl Ray are embracing pop in the name of loving your mates.
Hailed as the schmaltzcore king when his debut came out, Matt Maltese is back.
28
Amyl and the Sniffers
Angelica Garcia 30
If retro, fun-filled teenage-angst sounds like your kind of thing, look no further.
24
** BAND INDEX ** BAND INDEX **
Biig Piig
50 Michael 31 Kiwanuka
Billie Eilish
27 Mxmtoon
30
8 Nature TV
30
Black Peaks
Drug Store Romeos Duckwrth False Advertising
51
26 18, 51 25
30 Rex Orange 44 County
8, 52
Soccer Mommy 23 25 Taylor Swift
27
Feet
6 The 1975
Foals
32, 50 The Japanese 12 House
23
23 The Regrettes
23
54 The Wants
30
Gengahr Georgia Girl in Red Girl Ray
10, 51 Thyla
16
Halsey
26 TOY
Hana Vu
51 Tyler, The Creator
Husky Loops Joesef
27
8
20, 54 Waterparks
25 12, 52
28 Yak
12
ON THE DORK STEREO THIS MONTH... CAROLINE POLACHECK
Talk Nice
Hit The Back
With her debut album under her own name due this month, Caroline Polacheck is no stranger to a good bop. This is right up there with her best as part of Chairlift, too.
The first taster of a new EP set to drop ‘soon’, we guess, Rome is back and proving just why he’s a bit of a pop powerhouse in waiting. With a vibe so breezy it’s positively refreshing, he’s still one to watch very closely indeed.
With her debut album ‘Cheap Queen’ very nearly here, there’s been no shortage of impressive moments from King Princess so far. From a slow start to an all out groove, it’s an exciting showing from an artist making waves.
So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings
NO ROME
KING PRINCESS
NEW MUSIC. NO ALGORITHMS.
DORK radio TUNE IN 24/7/365 readdork.com/radio
READDORK.COM
5
KING NUN
32 Features 5Ø Incoming
INTRO
6
IF IT’S NOT IN HERE, IT’S NOT HAPPENING. OR WE FORGOT. ONE OR THE OTHER.
NOVEMBER 2019
DORK
Watch out world; here comes Awsten. p12
PIZZAGIRL
THYLA
If retro, fun-filled teenage-angst sounds like your kind of thing, look no further. p18
They’re back, and they’re bringing bangers. p16
“Do you want to come and watch hip new hit-makers Feet get matching tattoos?” they asked. What do you think, Dear Reader? Words: Jamie Muir. Photos: Jamie MacMillan. FEET ARE GATHERED AROUND A
table in a pub garden. It’s a comfortable home for the five-piece, who’ve come to embody that fresh injection of fun and mischief needed right now (don’t know if you’ve looked out the window lately, but the world ain’t doing too good). Instead of tearing the place up though and adding another boozer to their barred list (there are a few), today there’s a different atmosphere. “I’ve just realised,” chimes in guitarist Callum, “we need a picture of it, so the guy knows what to tattoo...” You’ve heard of blood pacts, right? Well, Feet are primed and ready for one of an ink-based nature. With a debut album together, it’s an appropriate time for a shared tat to truly bond things - the large logo for their own Clapped Records. “How big do we want it?” calls bassist Oli, briskly walking out of the pub as his turn beckons. The band look around. “THIS?” comes the response from Harry, holding up a bottle of water and pointing to the bottom. It looks like that’s decided. It’s rare when a band can come along and draw everyone into their bonkers world, but Feet are doing just that. A combination of feelgood twists, punchy raw energy and spinning laugh out loud brilliance has them apart from any new band doing it right now, firmly embracing the moment. “It feels like...” contemplates frontman George, “every time we get near to one of those milestone moments we’re like ‘FUCK FUCK’. You’re thinking, have we done everything to be at this point? I mean, I think we’ve done everything for the album, but I’m not sure… “We cause a lot of problems
READDORK.COM
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HAPPY , FEET?
CH-CH-CHECK OUT
WATERPARKS
32 NOVEMBER 2019
DORK
Nearly 15 years after forming, Foals are about to release their most outward-looking record to date, heralding a new era of social accountability, visceral lyrics and a commitment to saving our dying planet. That’s if Yannis doesn’t do himself another mischief first... Words: Jenessa Williams.
33 READDORK.COM
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It’s here! King Nun have finally dropped their debut album. With ‘Mass’, they’ve made it worth the wait. Words: Alex Cabré. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.
NOVEMBER 2019
DORK
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ON A RAINY AUTUMN
afternoon, King Nun leader Theo Polyzoides is sat outside the quartet’s London HQ, just days ahead of the release of their debut album ‘Mass’. It’s been a long time coming. Fans of Dirty Hit – that is, the boys’ record label that also hosts The 1975 and Pale Waves among plenty others – will by now be well-acquainted with the scrappy young foursome whose early singles thrashed like feral animals. “I think they’re frozen points in time which are beautiful things,” Theo muses, casting his mind back to 2016 and tracks like ‘Tulip’ and
‘Speakerface’. Three years and an at times unnerving amount of radio silence later, ‘Mass’ finds the band stepping forward from just being cool by association: this is their moment in the limelight. “We were pretty content to just see where our own creativity took us, and then the question came up, ‘do you want to make an album?’” explains Theo, of the record’s conception. “We were like, yeah. Seems like a laugh! Our back catalogue of songs is just absolutely huge, and so little of it has been released. It’s ‘cuz we write like absolute maniacs, but we destroy
quicker than we create. So we had a lot [of material] to choose from.” The finished product is an ambitious, eclectic assembly of songs which is difficult to describe in a word. Sure, it’s rock music, but across its eleven tracks’ Mass’ fluctuates from radio-friendly indie-pop to gloomy gothic realms, roping in punk and Britpop elements here and there and even hints of blues and beat poetry. To Theo, that sonic diversity is integral to what ‘Mass’ means. “I think ‘Mass’ describes what music is. It’s a gathering of people to come together and worship this READDORK.COM
FALL A
Their debut album ‘The Witch’ was a critical darling, but with its arrival came news that changed everything for Pumarosa. Now back with a second album which rips up expectation and dives head-first into an exciting new future, they’re a band reborn. Words: Jamie MacMillan.
NOVEMBER 2019
DORK
A PA R T It was during the release week of ‘The Witch’ that Isabel MuñozNewsome received the news that she had cervical cancer. Though the surgery was quick and effective, the removal of her entire cervix understandably, and inevitably, changed everything. This sense of change runs through all of ‘Devastation’, the album title aptly reflecting the new landscapes that surrounded Isabel in the aftermath - for aside from her own situation, the band was also undergoing a transformation too with the departure of bassist Henry Brown. And yet, somehow, the results are stunning. In many ways guided by the events that preceded it, ‘Devastation’ is a record from a band that have shed their old skin and evolved once more into something altogether new. Catching up over the phone, Isabel brings Dork quickly up to speed. “It is a new direction, yeah. And I suppose, that’s part of what the feeling of this album is [about],” she explains. “It was in this sonic world, and the lyrics are about that sort of necessary transformation
READDORK.COM
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SEDUCING THE WORLD WITH THEIR 2017 DEBUT ‘THE WITCH’, IT’S SAFE TO SAY THAT PUMAROSA HAVE ALWAYS HAD DORK UNDER THEIR SPELL. WE DON’T JUST CHUCK FIVESTAR REVIEWS AROUND FOR THE HELL OF IT, Y’ KNOW? SO, LIKE MOST OF THE REST OF THE MUSIC WORLD, WE HELD OUR BREATH AS WE WATCHED FROM AFAR THE SEISMIC EVENTS THAT THREATENED FAR MORE THAN ONLY THEIR MUSICAL EXISTENCE. BUT NOW, HAPPILY, THEY HAVE RETURNED WITH A RECORD EVEN RICHER, EVEN MORE SENSUAL, EVEN MORE AMBITIOUS AND (WHISPER IT) MAYBE EVEN BETTER…