Dork, October 2022 (Chloe Moriondo cover)

THE NEW ALBUM OUT 7TH OCT

INDEX.

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Issue 70 | October 2022 | readdork.com | Down With Boring

SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW A MUSICIAN IS ‘A BIG DEAL’, but you don’t understand just how big of a deal until you’re brought into their immediate orbit.

This month, we’re continuing last issue’s mad pop experiment, and blessing you with not one, but four glorious cover artists. One of them might be reasonably famous.

While you could frame Louis Tomlinson by his musical past, his new album ‘Faith in the Future’ insists we look forwards instead. So that’s what we’re doing. Not just a musician, but a festival boss, indie acolyte, fashion brand designer and more, he’s a household name and then some.

But there’s no flashy celebrity nonsense going on here.

We sorted out Louis’ Dork cover in a little over 48 hectic hours, forcing him to sit in an East London gutter for part of it. The glamour of photo shoots - he’s one of the real ones, as we’re sure you’ll find out.

Our Louis isn’t the only person blessing Dork’s cover this month, though. Far from it. Our beloved bop merchants Easy Life are back, with an album that takes their brilliant debut and betters it. Frontman Murray is in to tell us all about it. Chloe Moriondo is The Best, so we’re delighted to welcome her back for her second Dork cover as she drops a new album that fizzes with fun. Black Eyed Peas meets Katy Perry, gone hyperpop? Yeah, sounds a bit of us. Fletcher, meanwhile, is here to score her first Dork cover - but with her ability to make the chaotic and messy into stone-cold bangers, she’s exactly the kind of act we’re here to champion. A total champ.

We’ve also got Sorry, Courting, Djo (yes, actual Joe Keery), Alvvays, Whitney, all the action from Reading & Leeds, the best new artists, all the essential reviews and loads more. It’ll be enough to keep you busy until 14th October and our next issue. Apparently there are a few decent albums out then?

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Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young Scribblers Abigail Firth, Connor Fenton, Dan Harrison, Finlay Holden, Jake Hawkes, Jessica Goodman, Josh Williams, Melissa Darragh, Neive McCarthy, Phoebe De Anglis, Rob Mair, Sam Taylor Snappers Ami Ford, Eleanor Petry, Em Marcovecchio, Frances Beach, Jamie MacMillan, Jack Bridgland, Kenneth Cappello, Patrick Gunning, Sarah Louise Bennett, Tonje Thilesen PUBLISHED FROM

INTRO.

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Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden

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SORRY WHITNEY A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... WALLICE BANGERS

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READING 2022 NEIGHBOURHOOD LIVE AT LEEDS Y NOT?

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REVIEWS ARTIST’S GUIDE: MILOE

FEATURES.

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CHLOE MORIONDO ALVVAYS FLETCHER DJO LOUIS TOMLINSON COURTING EASY LIFE

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ANY OTHER QUESTIONS... THE SNUTS

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All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Dork or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions.

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There are four covers to collect for this month’s issue of Dork, featuring Easy Life, Fletcher, Chloe Moriondo and Louis Tomlinson. Fancy picking up another variant? Order it direct from readdork.com now!

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INTRO. THE BEATING HEART OF POP NONSENSE.

ANYWHERE BUT HERE With their second album, London band SORRY examine their ever-evolving relationship with the city they call home.

Words: Neive McCarthy. Photos: Patrick Gunning.

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INTRO

→ “IT’S WIDE OUT THERE,” Asha Lorenz remarks dazedly. She speaks of those weird plains of America, somewhere she and her Sorry bandmates recently became reacquainted with. Vampirish venues, a support slot with Sleaford Mods and a sense of prophetic happenings greeted them after their last venture to the States was abruptly interrupted by that pesky pandemic. An image of a deserted New York as it shut down stuck with the band. Returning back to that expansive world seems distinctly full circle.

With their first full-length ‘925’ arriving in late March 2020, that image of the excavated city had already taken root far too close to home. Two years on, the band return with ‘Anywhere But Here’. An inescapably moving time capsule of the period between records for the group, it’s a dark, brooding addition to the Sorry world - a more developed and assured sibling to their debut, for sure.

“Because we didn’t get to play our first album, we only read stuff about it on the internet,” Louis O’Bryen, the other half of Sorry’s core songwriting duo, recalls.

“It’s hard to gauge how much people liked it, but I think that took a bit of the pressure off. The first album, you’re just judging it on what you think is best, but with the second album, it’s super easy for what people expect of you to creep in.” Despite the secondguessing and unasked-for opinions of others, ‘Anywhere But Here’ creates a world populated solely by Sorry – boldly expansive, gritty and intrinsically them.

“We wanted to do it backwards,” explains Asha.

“We produced the songs already, then all the bits that came from the production, we recorded those in the studio with another producer.

We put all those glitchy sounds within the live take rather than overlaying it.

With the last album, when we started playing it live, the songs became way bigger.

We didn’t want to be annoyed if it sounded cooler after we recorded it smaller.”

Going in with that mindset almost seems like, subconsciously, the band knew that what they were creating would spiral out of control and become its own entity once out in the world – the scope of what they could create was immense. But, in the context of the album,

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FESTIVALS. R EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR THE SUMMER SEASON.

↓↓↓ THE GREATEST HITS, AT THEIR VERY BEST ↓↓↓

THE 1975 MAIN STAGE EAST

SUNDAY, 21:50 → THIS IS HOW IT STARTS. Whenever The 1975 kick off a new era, it’s not just a case of plugging in a familiar ride and watching the results spin off in every direction. They’re a force who’ve come to define the past decade of British music. Simply trying to name another who’ve come close to having the same influence and presence is a futile exercise.

When it comes to The 1975 at Reading, there’s something even more special in the air. The fact that, less than a month ago, their headline set wasn’t in the diary makes it feel even more The 1975 than usual.

Whereas in 2019, their crowning appearance as a Reading bill-topper felt like the culmination of a journey, 2022 proves a night where one of the best to do it ride their white chargers into frame to not only save the day – but light the fireworks on their next chapter. It’s like it was written in the stars.

While we’ve been teased with forthcoming fifth album ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’ for a while now, tonight at Reading is The 1975 At Their Very Best. Like there’s ever been anything different. Taking on the feat of closing one of the biggest festivals on the planet is something that would daunt most, but for The 1975 it’s destiny.

“It’s just fucking bangers,” declares Matty Healy two songs in – and he’s not wrong. Declared as a 1975 “greatest hits” by the man himself, what follows is a run through a discography unrivalled in its current cultural resonance. ‘If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)’ rolls into ‘Love Me’. Then into ‘Chocolate’ and ‘Me & You Together Song’. Then ‘TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME’, and from there, the night is theirs.

Nodding to their black-and-white, self-titled era throughout, if there’s a celebration of the road travelled so far, then it comes tonight. “This is one of our favourite places in the world,” shouts Matty, leading a band who, at this point, play by their own rules and watch as the world follows.

Any issues with the stage volume are thrown to one side as Matty states, “Let’s pay the fine and play it really loud”. Recent postpandemic setlist addition ‘Tonight

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(I Wish I Was Your Boy)’ grooves, while ‘Robbers’ sees the voices of a Sunday night at Reading reach top-tier levels. ‘A Change Of Heart’ and ‘Paris’ (introduced by Matty as “arguably the best 1975 song”) are but indicators of the sheer scale of the band they’ve become. Whereas Reading 2019 felt like their step into the top division, tonight feels like a jaw-dropping spectacle of The 1975 firmly cemented at the top of their game.

Although the greatest hits light a fuse, the pair of tasters into ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’ we’re presented with tonight hint at a newfound understanding of what The 1975 are, and, most importantly, what they can be. ‘Happiness’ is met with just as wild a reaction as the hits, while ‘I’m In Love With You’ already screams out as the sort of anthem that’ll get tattooed on countless people from the moment it drops.

It’s a set that, last up on a Sunday, sweeps away any sense of anything we’ve seen before. What should be the closing curtain on one of the biggest festivals on the circuit becomes The 1975 Show.

From the mascara-soaked tears of ‘I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)’ to the ripped-raw drive of ‘Love It If We Made It’ and the desperate, feral clawing of ‘People’ – it truly is the most incredible spectacle. ‘The Sound’ definitively shuts down any last questions as pogoing masses ripple through Reading’s fields before ‘Sex’ and ‘Give Yourself A Try’ crown out the night. There’s no doubt that not only are The 1975 back, but they’re more focused and hungry than ever before.

At this point, four albums in, it feels silly to suggest that The 1975 get better and better, but tonight at Reading is your favourite band cast through a different lens. It’s one we may have thought we were looking through already, but only when laid out in such stark focus is it apparent just how important and vital they’ve become. It’s not about them slotting into a festival bill at the last minute, but defining the entire weekend – no matter the scale and lustre of any other headliners that adorn the bill.

This is a band where special doesn’t feel enough. It’s The 1975, At Their Very Best. It’s how it starts. It couldn’t be any other way. Now, let the show begin… JAMIE MUIR

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READING ↓↓↓ FESTIVAL REPORT ↓↓↓

Words: Abigail Firth, Ali Shutler, Finlay Holden, Jake Hawkes, Jamie Muir. Photos: Frances Beach, Patrick Gunning.

The ultimate review.

2022

Reading Festival is a lot of things. A punctuation mark on the biggest events of the summer season. A temperature check on both popular and alternative culture. A place where legends begin, end or enhance their standing. It’s a right of passage; one bigger than just music, but one fueled by the ebb and flow of trends and timeless tradition. 2022’s version is no different. The second edition since the festival switched to a duel Main Stage set up, it’s packed with global stars and exciting newcomers. We sent our top team of scribblers and snappers down to St John’s Farm to capture the action. the band’s evolution towards progressively braver decisionmaking is affirming to observe, their momentum inevitably barrels towards their biggest viral moment and obvious set closer ‘Are You Bored Yet?’ FH

BLACK HONEY

MAIN STAGE EAST FRIDAY, 13:50 → If you want proof that Reading isn’t just any other festival for bands, look no further than Black Honey. The sort of moment they’ve been aiming for since they started is finally realised today with a glorious sense of fizzing wonder. That cinematic flair and assortment box of bangers go down a storm, with ‘I Like The Way You Die’, ‘Corinne’ and a scorching ‘Run For Cover’ serving up one box office moment after the other.

New material like the razor-sharp ‘Out Of My Mind’ and latest single ‘Charlie Bronson’ makes things even more thrilling – pointing to a band not just revelling in the moment, but using it as a springboard for what looks like their brightest era to date.

Now that’s what Reading is all about. JM

WALLOWS

MAIN STAGE WEST FRIDAY, 14:30 → LA charmers Wallows bring their luxuriously lo-fi indie pop vibes across the pond, shifting their show from the likes of Lollapalooza and Coachella to the slightly soggy fields of England. Fortunately, their laidback energy isn’t lost on the crowd, who turn near feral as soon as the Indiana Jones theme backs the trio’s entrance.

Opening with ‘I Don’t Want To Talk’, a cut from March’s ‘Tell Me That It’s Over’, Dylan Minnette’s

JOY CROOKES

GRIFF

MAIN STAGE EAST FRIDAY, 15:20 → While most people’s first time at Reading involves loads of fizzy pop and questionable decisions, Griff’s is more focused on the sort of commanding pop takeover that already feels destined for the big slots.

Immediate and infectious, it’s a slick show full of warmth and bangers galore that never relents in pace. A party atmosphere bounces when turning smash ‘One Night’ into a run through Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, ‘Head On Fire’ cues up sing-a-longs, and by the time ‘Black Hole’ rounds out proceedings, the Reading crowd are feverish and calling for more. Accomplished, smileinducing and captivating – it’s a statement of intent. JM

lead vocals start off rough but quickly shake off the jet leg – a delightful turn on the harmonica seems to help. When Braeden Lemasters joins him with harmonic backing, their charm is irresistible.

Their first-ever UK festival performance is a clear home run, as the gang affirm that they have missed the British crowds and their fans back home should take note. Bringing listeners in with the accessibility of their early offerings and then ambushing them with the ambitious scope of more recent releases, Wallows serve up luscious soundscapes no matter where you look. A quick cover of 1D’s ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ also riles up the audience, although it isn’t needed; a total of six moshpits collide just before ‘Scrawny’. Although

MAIN STAGE WEST FRIDAY, 16:00 → Over on Main Stage West, the teatime slot is filled by Joy Crookes’ gorgeous smoky vocals.

Amidst the chaos of Scene Queen and PinkPantheress, and the pop bops of Griff, she’s a breezy break as the last of Friday sun peaks out from behind the stage.

Despite having a Mercury nominated record to play, she still squeezes in time for a cover of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘ELEMENT’, and asks who hates the government before the sharp Brexit-slag-off ‘Kingdom’. Ending on the South London love letter ‘When You Were Mine’, Joy’s set brings the same heritage appreciation of her debut ‘Skin’ to the huge stage it belongs on. AF

CIRCA WAVES

MAIN STAGE EAST FRIDAY, 16:45 → Reading as a festival has expanded in recent years to include every genre under the sun, but its heart remains with the bucket-hat wearing indie masses. Luckily, Circa Waves are here to get them throwing pints and making mosh pits like nobody’s business. Several albums in, they’ve built up an

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COVER STORY

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CHLOE MORIONDO

Chloe Moriondo is already a bit of a sensation, but with new album ‘Suckerpunch’ and its hyperactive new sound, what comes next could be something else entirely.

WORDS: MARTYN YOUNG. PHOTOS: KENNETH CAPPELLO.

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COVER STORY

Fletcher may not create chaos, but when it finds her she’s sure as hell not going to put it to waste, with a debut album that fizzes with alt-pop energy.

WORDS: MARTYN YOUNG.

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FLETCHER

CAN’T PUT OUT ANYTHING IF IT’S NOT A CHAOTIC ROLLERCOASTER”.

That’s what Fletcher told us when we last spoke to her back at the end of last year when we talked to her for our annual rundown of the hottest new acts for the year ahead, the Hype List. Fast forward to late summer 2022, and that rollercoaster has now reached the summit, poised to take off on a breathlessly exhilarating ride as she prepares to release her muchanticipated debut album ‘Girl Of My Dreams’. Embracing the chaos and delivering on all her potential, Fletcher is a pop icon for our mixed-up times.

Fletcher is a pop star who encompasses a whole whirlwind of emotions and feelings. There’s no element of mystery. No boundaries and no filters. “My artistry is so closely tied with my personal life and my humanity,” she tells us from a hotel room in Australia. In case you hadn’t realised, Fletcher is global now. “It’s such a crazy moment, and I’m about to go on my fourth headline tour of this year,” she adds. See? Major. “My art becomes my personal lived experiences in such an in-depth, open your diary and read a page from it kind of way. The beautiful thing about my trajectory so far is that I’ve grown up with my fans.

We have grown up together. Any feedback I get from them is like, oh, you’ve narrated my heartbreak or my first time falling in love or going through a really serious breakup.”

Those fans have followed Fletcher as she has detailed her ups and downs, culminating in a wide-ranging and emotionally fulfilling debut album. “My artistry has evolved,” she explains.

“Lyrically or sonically, it has evolved as I have evolved and I have new experiences. Rolling out this album,

I’m picking up where I left off two years ago. I’ve told things in a pretty chronological order of where I am in my life. It lands us at the girl of my dreams.”

The album is very much a continuation of the story that Fletcher has been telling right back to her debut single ‘War Paint’ in 2015. “I’m just bringing songs back around and changing the narrative and the story to how it fits in my current moment,” she says about some of the intriguing little easter eggs dotted around the record for fans to discover. Don’t worry, we won’t spoil the surprise. “Getting to share that with people who have become so keen on the personal details of my life and are privy to that information feels like a fun journey we get to go on together.

You guys know all the tea, you know all the gossip, and it feels good to share it,” she exclaims.

In many ways, Cari Elise Fletcher was born to be a pop star, but she knew that she had to be a different kind of pop star. “I started with classical vocal training when I was five,” she explains. “Music was always a part of my life. I grew up singing in church, which was a journey I had growing up in a small conservative town, knowing that I was queer from a young age. I was a Disney Princess impersonator for kids’ parties, as well as Taylor Swift and Hannah Montana. That was my job in high school. I went on to attend the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU’s School of Performing Arts, and it was there that I was taking classes in recording and marketing and business and all these different routes within the music industry.”

Naturally chafing against this very regimented old-school approach, Fletcher began to imagine a different way forward.

“I realised that all the examples of people in pop music that I grew up with were this very picture-perfect, polished version of what it looks like to be an artist,” she reflects.

“I thought I’m never going to be an artist if this is what it is. I love

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FEATURE

FAITH

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IN

LOUIS TOMLINSON

THE

Superstar idol, indie acolyte, festival boss - Louis Tomlinson has been a lot of things over the course of his time in the spotlight, but as he prepares to release his second solo album ‘Faith In The Future’ this November, he’s set to surprise the world all over again.

WORDS: ABIGAIL FIRTH. PHOTOS: SARAH LOUISE BENNETT. PHOTO ASSISTANT: NATALIE LLOYD-SHAW. STYLING: HELEN SEAMONS. STYLING ASSISTANT: WILL MOORE. GROOMING: KRYSTLE G.

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COVER STORY

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EASY LIFE

It’s time to say hello again to Easy Life, back with a quite frankly luxurious second album - one that frontman Murray Matravers says enables the band to learn from their past shortcomings, make new friends and explore reflections of their past selves. And move to Japan, maybe.

WORDS: FINLAY HOLDEN. PHOTOS: JACK BRIDGLAND.

M

AKING CAREER STRIDES DURING AN UNSTABLE FEW YEARS, the buffer period between album drops has been a time of growing pains for Easy Life. In creating a surprisingly introspective and existential second full-length, the fivepiece have been grasping at the fruits of inspiration in countries around the globe. As we speak, the band are busy making a rapid recovery from tour-induced jet lag after bouncing from Japan to Australia in the last week; two locations they had long been dying to explore.

Frontman Murray Matravers can’t help but gush on the former. “Honestly, mate, I’m obsessed,” he enthuses. “I even have dreams in Japanese. When I sleep, I’m in Tokyo walking around – it’s such an intense place, it’s burnt a hole in my brain. It’s exactly as you’d imagine it to be, that’s the thing. There are many places in the world where you imagine it in a certain way, and then you arrive there, and you’re… maybe not disappointed, but you’re surprised.

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