DOWN WITH BORING.
ISSUE 59 · OCTOBER 2021 · READDORK.COM
NiNE8. The Vaccines. Spector. Amyl & the Sniffers. plus 'loads more'
SAM FENDER. Hometown hero.
1 of 8 stages at Long Division 2021 Tickets available now at: longdivisionfestival.co.uk
2. DORK
1 0 SE PT 2
2
F
Low Hummer BDRMM The Lounge Society Georgia Meek knuckle Home Counties In The Morning Lights Mayshe Mayshe 25 September
5
S
We proudly present our first collaboration, a new artist stage at Long Division Festival 2021.
S
Long Division, the long-standing and award-winning music festival and Tileyard North, the new creative destination of the North and the UK’s largest creative community outside of London.
ACCE
£30+BF
2
A brand new partnership in Wakefield:
U
LL
Index. Issue 59 | October 2021 | readdork.com | Down With Boring
WHAT'S ON THE DORK STEREO? CHARLI XCX Good Ones
How many times is too many to listen to one pop banger? Because, being honest, since this dropped I'm not sure I've listened to anything else. Was on repeat for the first 24 hours. All that pop potential, finally realised. Fully obsessed. STEPHEN ACKROYD, EDITOR
DRY CLEANING New Long Leg
I don’t think I’ve ever had anything dry cleaned, although I did once go into the dry cleaners to get a jacket mended. I do find myself coming back to ‘New Long Leg’ by the band Dry Cleaning though, and ‘John Wick’ is one of the best tracks on a stellar album – one of the few songs to properly critique Antiques Roadshow, and all the better for it. JAKE HAWKES,
DOWN WITH BORING HOST
readdork.com
USUALLY, READING & LEEDS weekend is a landmark point in the UK music scene’s calendar. Coming at the end of August, it means that festival season is wrapping up. That all-important ‘Q4’ is on the horizon. Everyone needs to start thinking about how and when they’re going to start putting together those end of year best-ofs and new act tip lists. But 2021 is an odd year. After the constant Covid-related delays and cancellations, we only just feel to have started our usual summer activities. Some of the festivals that usually kick off our season will only take place this October, while others won’t happen at all. Release schedules are in tatters as confused artists, labels and managers try to work out which of the usual strategies will even work at a point where every single act on the planet has a lockdown album and needs to get touring at the same time. New talent hasn’t been able to prove themselves in the live arena. Some have more pre-debut album EP releases over the last 18 months than they appear to have actual real-life fans. There’s a lot to untangle. Still, normality has to start somewhere - and the return of Sam Fender suggests that nature is healing. Quite literally, really. Before the lockdowns our Sam was forced to pull shows due to illness, stopping him from fully getting the victory lap his smash hit debut album so richly deserved. The fact that followup ‘Seventeen Going Under’ sees him back in full-blooded voice, smashing out of the park once more is as heart-swellingly brilliant as the wailing sax solos scattered throughout. That’s why we’re delighted to welcome him back to the cover of Dork for the second time. What a champ.
COLDPLAY
DOWN WITH BORING HOST
FIDLAR
Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young Scribblers Abigail Firth, Alex Brzezicka, Alex Cabré, Dan Harrison, Connor Fenton, Dillon Eastoe, Edie McQueen, Felicity Newton, Finlay Holden, Jake Hawkes, Jamie MacMillan, Jasleen Dhindsa, Josh Williams, Liam Konemann, Melissa Darragh, Neive McCarthy, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Bedroom, Breyona Holt, Daniela Monteiro, Frances Beach, Frank Fieber, Jamie MacMillan, Jamie Wdziekonski, Patrick Gunning, Sarah Louise Bennett, Seren Carys , Shy Louise
PUBLISHED FROM WELCOMETOTHEBUNKER.COM
Live In Buenos Aires
I don’t know if it’s something to do with the return of big ‘ol festivals but hearing Chris Martin speak fluent Spanish and sing massive songs to stadiums is getting me weirdly emotional. Actually, it’s probably looking at my bank balance after spending way too long at Reading. Yeah thinking about it, it’s definitely that. Nonetheless, Coldplay have some absolute bangers and I would like huge stadium shows back asap pls. JAMIE MUIR,
Editor Stephen Ackroyd
UNIT 10, 23 GRANGE ROAD, HASTINGS, TN34 2RL
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.
‘Editor’ @stephenackroyd
Too
Great for drowning out Coldplay. SAM TAYLOR, WRITER
GET EARLY ACCESS, OUR DIGITAL LIBRARY, EVERY ISSUE OF THE MAGAZINE *AND* HELP SUPPORT OUR QUEST FOR MAXIMUM POP NONSENSE!
SIGN UP NOW FROM £2.50 PER MONTH AT READDORK.COM/SUPPORTERS
This Month. #59. OCTOBER 2021.
What's inside is more than just Sam.
08 Intro 26 Hype 34 Features 60 Incoming
08.
26.
Willow Kayne
Alt-pop newcomer - and Ivor Novello nominee - Willow Kayne delivers uncompromising takedowns and high-energy bops.
Reading 2021
After a year off for 'reasons', Reading Festival is back. Bands! Bangers! Big fluffy genitalia that dances! Standard.
42.
28.
Evann McIntosh
Teen up-and-comer Evann McIntosh is both prolific and has a formidable hit rate for playful, R&B and funk-infused smooth pop hits.
NiNE8
30.
Building their own universe NiNE8 are looking firmly to the future. We Meet the hottest new gang on the block to find out more
Northern Irish trio Cherym have turned their 'fun' dial up to 11 with high-energy pop-punk tunes that wouldn't be out of place on the best 90s-00s teens flick.
Spector
Cherym
50.
Six years is a long way to wait between albums. Not that Spector haven't been busy in the meantime. We catch up with the indie poster boys who never quit.
31.
SEB
Lo-fi popster SEB has arrived with his debut EP, 'IT'S OKAY, WE'RE DREAMING'. It's "the first act to this whole journey," he explains.
54.
The Vaccines
32.
It's been a big year for vaccines, so with that joke out of the way, we can all concentrate on their Actually Very Good new album 'Back In Love City', right?
ericdoa
Loads of acts claim to sound like the future, but 18-year-old up-and-coming ericdoa could well be it.
58.
48.
Amyl & The Sniffers
Tommy Genesis
Self-described "fetish rapper" Tommy Genesis is breaking into the unknown with her new album, 'goldilocks x'.
Down With Boring. 4. DORK
With their debut album, Amyl & The Sniffers demanded attention. The follow up is coming in no less quietly.
ASHNIKKO SPORTS TEAM MAISIE PETERS DECLAN MCKENNA HOLLY HUMBERSTONE SHAME BABY QUEEN INHALER CMAT EVERYTHING EVERYTHING CLAUD BLACK HONEY TOM GRENNAN GOAT GIRL SPECTOR THE AMAZONS ALFIE TEMPLEMAN THE WOMBATS
NEW MUSIC, STAR GUESTS AND 'MORE' - EVERY MONDAY AT 8PM BST. DORK RADIO. SEARCH DORKCAST AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST NOW.
34. COVER STORY
Sam Fender He might have smashed all expectations with his Really Very Big debut album 'Hypersonic Missiles', but Sam Fender is still that same old hometown hero at heart.
readdork.com 5.
PHOTOS FROM THE FRONT LINES.
6. DORK
Girl in Red dives into Reading 2021 ORGANISED MAYHEM. THAT'S what Reading does better than anyone. Returning after a Covid-19 enforced year off in 2020, reworked with two main stages and a more domestic orientated line-up - the biggest festival of the summer proved just what we've been missing. With a standout headline set on the Festival Republic Stage to close down the weekend, Girl In Red made sure things went out with style. While most wait until the end of their show to get up close and personal with the fans, Marie was headfirst into the front rows by the first chorus of her opening song. Have to respect that energy. If that's not enough Reading 2021 action for you, rejoice - turn the page and delve deep into our full report. PHOTO: Patrick Gunning.
readdork.com 7.
Intro. THE BEATING HEART OF POP.
8. DORK
Back To The Future
WORDS: Ali Shutler, Finlay Holden, Jake Hawkes, Liam Konemann. PHOTOGRAPHY: Frances Beach, Jamie MacMillan, Patrick Gunning.
There have been times over the last year when we’ve wondered if Reading 2021 would even happen. As new variants threatened the coronavirus pandemic would deny us a second straight festival season, the August Bank Holiday bash and its optimistically international line-up never wavered in its confidence. Still, from outside, it occasionally seemed it would take a miracle to pull off. Turns out miracles do happen. Though the line-up shifted considerably in the final few weeks – some chiefly US acts forced to pull out, replaced mainly by domestic talent – this is very much Reading Festival as we know it. To many, the gateway for years to come spent stood in fields, watching bands. For others, an annual event always ringed on the calendar. For bands, a vital and essential part of their journey. We missed it more than we thought. Who knew?
readdork.com 9.
COVER STORY
Just With his smash hit debut album, 'Hypersonic Missiles', Sam Fender headed straight for the stratosphere.
seventeen. WORDS:
Jamie MacMillan. PHOTOGRAPHY: Sarah Louise Bennett.
One pandemic later, surrounded by division, despair and rampant culture wars, he's refusing to lose track of the roots that brought him here.
(Well, unless he packs it all in and heads to Paulhenge, anyway. Don't ask. We'll explain later)
34. DORK
SAM FENDER
readdork.com 35.
London collective NiNE8 are pooling their resources to promote a new, more sustainable way of working - one that puts community, support and creativity to the fore. Some of the group's leading names give us a the low-down. WORDS: Martyn Young. PHOTOGRAPHY: Daniela Monteiro.
42. DORK
NiNE8
readdork.com 43.
NOW FEATURES
OR
WHENEVER WORDS:
Alex Cabré. PHOTOGRAPHY: Patrick Gunning.
Back with their first album in six years, indie darlings Spector are a testament to hard work and not giving up.
50. DORK
W "I
SPECTOR
WANT OUR CAREER
to be like Kings Of Leon in reverse," quips Spector's Fred Macpherson. "We started with wanting to write 'Use Somebody' and 'Sex On Fire'. Now we're getting to our... what was the second album?" Indeed, the London outfit - co-helmed by Jed Cullen, who joins us in the next Zoom box over - are past the stadium-smashing, everything-plus-thekitchen-sink approach their name was once synonymous with. Their third long-player is 'Now Or Whenever', a pared-back affair whose scratchy lo-fi sound could easily be taken from 'Aha Shake Heartbreak', if not for the cosmopolitan sheen that makes it unmistakeably Spector. 'Now Or Whenever' began when the band came off tour at the end of 2019. Feeling more confident as performers than ever, Fred and Jed aimed to capture the rapturous energy of a Spector gig and channel it into recording. "That last tour we went on... it felt like we could finally play," Fred recalls. "By nature of Jed and I being the last two standing in the band, he's grown as a guitarist, and I've grown as a vocalist. When we started, I was belting out all the tunes, and he was belting out big power chords – bam, bam, bam. We've learnt a bit more restraint, and through that, it's meant we can perform the songs in a way that I'd hope are more akin to the spirit of our live show." "The live shows mean quite a lot to us," adds Jed. "They feel like a big part of Spector. But only a certain amount of people have been to our gigs and seen that." Producer Rich Turvey (Blossoms, Oscar Lang) acted as a guiding hand throughout the process, Fred notes. "[He] was a good influence at reminding us we were there to complete an album. That meant it was the quickest album we've made by a long way. That was a really good part of the process because it meant we couldn't go away picking at it for weeks or readdork.com 51.
Feeling penned in by everyday constraints, The Vaccines' new album 'Back In Love City' sees them trying on different lives and fictional places for size. WORDS: Jasleen Dhindsa. PHOTOGRAPHY: Frank Fieber.
W
hen thinking about the inception of The Vaccines' fifth record 'Back In Love City', imagine frontman Justin Young cruising the streets of LA in a fancy car, on his way back from the gym and headed to a swanky apartment. Except it's not his car, and it's not his house. Nor is it his gym membership. No, the brains behind one of the UK's most beloved indie bands didn't develop a kink for burglary and joy riding since the release of their last album [2018's 'Combat Sports']; he did a house swap with a random stranger halfway across the globe. "Daniel [Ledinsky] who produced the record was living in LA at the time, so it's fun to be out there. I [thought] there must be a cheaper way of doing this, [so] I found this website, I guess it's like a dating site. You find out all about a person's personality, and then
54. DORK
THE VACCINES
readdork.com 55.