Dork, September 2018

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Spring King.

A better life.

HHHHH Q HHHHH The Guardian HHHH The Times HHHH MOJO

LET’S EAT GRANDMA

I’M ALL EARS THE NEW ALBUM OUT NOW

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HHHH The Observer

HHHH The I

HHHH DIY

September 2018 Issue 25

Ed’s letter.

Remember the summer of 2016? Before the world fully imploded in a terrible avalanche of rightwing rhetoric and general bad stuff? There was a sparkly, brand new music magazine emerging blinking into the light. On its cover, a band on the verge of releasing a debut album packed full of bangers.

At least in that idyllic corner, anything still seemed possible.

In case you can’t read between the lines, that magazine was Dork, and that band - Spring King, who we’re delighted to welcome back to the cover this month. Still as bangerrific as ever, they’re about to drop their second full-length, and it’s more fun than ever before.

Elsewhere this month we’ve got more bands than we can list. There’s the mighty Idles, returning Friendly Fires, magnificent Our Girl and loads, loads more. Enjoy!

S tephen

Editor / @stephenackroyd

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Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young Events Liam James Ward Scribblers Abigail Firth, Chris Taylor, Ciaran Steward, Dan Harrison, Dillon Eastoe, Dominic Allum, Eala MacAlister, Erin Bashford, Jake Hawkes, Jamie MacMillan, Jessica Goodman, Jessie Atkinson, Josh Williams, Katie Pilbeam, Liam Konemann, Rob Mesure, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Frances Beach, Holly Fernando, Jamie MacMillan, Jemma Dodd, Jon Mo, Patrick Gunning, Ryan Johnston, Sarah Louise Bennett Doodlers Russell Taysom Cover photo: Sarah Louise Bennett P U B L I S H E D F RO M

W E LCO M E TOT H E B U N K E R.CO M U N I T 10, 23 G RA N G E RO A D, H A S T I N G S, T N34 2R L

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.

Index.

UPDATE 4. IDLES 8. MERCURY PRIZE 9. ESTRONS 10. LOLA KIRKE 12. FRIENDLY FIRES 14. DARWIN DEEZ 16. HER’S 18. BAD SOUNDS 19. BANGERS HYPE 20. BOY PABLO 22. GENTLY TENDER 23. FAR CASPIAN 24. WALLOWS 24. PIP BLOM 26. DIZZY 27. SPINN FEATURES 28. SPRING KING 34. ANNA CALVI 36. SLAVES 40. ETC. 2018 46. OUR GIRL 48. THE LEMON TWIGS REVIEWS 50. IDLES 51. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE 52. SLAVES 53. HONNE 54. MENACE BEACH 55. SPRING KING GET OUT 56. LATITUDE 59. ROCK WERCHTER 60. TRNSMT 60. BARN ON THE FARM 61. CITADEL 62. TRUCK 64. FESTIVALS 66. THE GUIDE BACK PAGE 70. SOCCER MOMMY

On The Stereo one of the most infectious, exciting full-lengths we can remember in ages.

Pale Waves My Mind Makes Noises Remember how we said this was rinsing the Dork stereo last month. Yeah.

It still is. It’s not just that this is one of our most anticipated albums of the year. It’s also

Jungle For Ever They’re back! XL’s smooth-asfuck collective have returned with a record full of postapocalyptic breakup songs - their description, not ours 3

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- which slip down as smooth as that really expensive honey they keep on the top shelf of Waitrose.

Black Peaks All That Divides On their debut album, Black Peaks were heralded as the saviours of British rock music.

As fantastic as it was, it still

showed room for growth - and boy, have they taken that to the bank. ‘All That Divides’ isn’t just a step forward, but a gigantic leap over tall buildings, flexing muscles and firing off laser beam eyes in all directions. A revolution, evolution and 96 point extra bold statement - they’re back to save us all over again.

IF IT’S NOT IN HERE, IT’S NOT HAPPENING.

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Resistance isn’t futile.

Idles aren’t just your average band. With their new album, they’re set to make a difference.

Words: Jessica Goodman.

Photos: Frances Beach, Sarah Louise Bennett, Patrick Gunning.

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he world can feel like a dark place. We’re in

the middle of what seems to be a constant global crisis.

It’s as if fear and suspicion could be found around every corner if we let it, and the more we dwell on it, the darker it can al seem. There are no easy answers, but for Idles, the response is deceptively straightforward: practising as they preach, the band are striving to better and brighten who they are and how they act - improving the world around them as a result. It’s a feat they’ve long worked at achieving, one storming punk song at a time.

“We intended to be as honest and hardworking and normal as possible,” frontman Joe Talbot portrays. True to form, Idles have never made any bones about who they are. A storm of culture, politics, attitude, humour, and resounding sentiment you can practically feel take root in your gut, this is a band who bare their heart on their sleeve, and ask only that you do the same.

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This is happening.

The latest news. Ish.

Get more as it happens, every day at readdork.com

Their motivation is as honest as the music they make. “If you’re using your privilege as a band and writing music and making something and expressing yourself and having an audience, we feel that the dialogue that you create with your audience should have purpose and it should mean something,” Joe expresses. “Whether that’s something as intricate as talking about a flower, or as grand as emotion, it all deserves a real empathy and a human approach which is powerful.”

“That’s why a lot of our music and our shows are so violent,” he continues. “That vehicle of violence and that tone of passion comes through, because we really fucking love what we do. We feel that if you do something, you don’t go gently into it. You do it full pelt, wholeheartedly.”

With their second album, Idles have done exactly that. ‘Joy As An Act Of Resistance’ does exactly what it says on the tin: lashing out at the world through vulnerability and openness, the record is a venture towards love and acceptance – both within and without. “We’re just portraying normality and making it beautiful and interesting,” Joe summarises.

Cynical and empowered, angered and tenacious, desolate and electrified, and more besides,

Idles’ second album is a portrait of normality in all of its unfaltering technicolour glory. “This album was about vulnerability and becoming vulnerable as a tool of evoking vulnerability from the audience,” Joe explains. “I wanted to use vulnerability as a tool to change that perception of the singer and what it truly is to be honest.”

To offer a sense of vulnerability, Idles first had to be vulnerable. “I realised that I wasn’t really as open and honest as I thought that I was,” Joe describes. Struggling after the loss of his daughter, the frontman turned to his music, and to the album-in-progress’ eponymous mantra, “as a way of succeeding and getting through the trauma.”

“It was a point where I had to learn how to grieve in a different way, and to improve myself,” Joe portrays. “With this second album, there’s a change in behaviours and an approach to self-improvement and loving yourself.” Raging against the toxic nature of masculinity, the pressure of living up to cultural ideals, and so much more, ‘Joy As An Act Of Resistance’ is a call to openness, honesty, and acceptance through rallying acceptance.

“The album became about selfimprovement,” Joe distils. “It’s using vulnerability as an inclusive tool to make people feel welcome into a community, so that they then themselves can become vulnerable and open their minds to new ideas and new people. It’s about learning to love yourself as a way of becoming a better person within a community, and building communities through selfawareness and self-love.”

A reverence towards community has always been present in Idles’ music, but it’s never resounded as strongly as on their new record. The riffs are bigger, the choruses

Jungle have announced a new record, and a tour

Jungle have revealed details of their second album. Titled ‘For Ever’, the band’s new fulllength will be released on 14th September via XL Recordings.

They’ve also a world tour that includes a night at London’s Alexandra Palace next February.

“We are shit and vulnerable and crap at a lot of things, but we are passionate about what we do” are catchier, and the album is practically crying out to be sung along to arm in arm. Listening to the record offers a real sense of sharing in struggles, sentiment, and worth, and having a blasted good time in the process – and this is exactly what Idles are all about. It comes as no surprise to see that this sense of community the band prize so highly, their pride in what they’re creating and the messages they’re conveying, continues to inspire a unique adoration in their audiences on an ever-increasing scale.

“The more we’ve grown and the more our audiences have grown, the more people are feeling like they want to be part of that,” Joe enthuses. “They want to feel like it’s okay to be broken and sad, and not normal to the populous but actually feeling safe and comfortable in a community that celebrates differences and celebrates imperfections.”

Such a community can be found in the one that the band continue to cultivate through their AF Gang, an ever-growing group of fans and friends drawn together by a passion for the band and a wholehearted belief in the mantra “all is love”. “It’s beautiful,” Joe expresses. “It’s a wonderful thing to feel like being part of something greater than us.”

Sundara Karma have finished their second album, ‘FYI’

It looks like Sundara Karma have finished work on the follow-up to ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect’. “So Sundara Karma’s second album is all finished,” the band’s label, RCA revealed on Twitter. See? 6

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Jarvis Cocker is going to appear on Bargain Hunt later this year

“We wanted to show that we are shit and vulnerable and crap at a lot of things, but we are passionate about what we do,” he conveys. This shared and unwavering passion for their music, for their shows, and for anyone and everyone who engages in that with them has made one thing resolutely clear: Idles are truly a band worth believing in.

“It’s become a real strength of mine, understanding that the more I open up to people, the more I learn about myself,” Joe reflects. “I just wanted to be as open and honest as possible.” A record that strives to offer anyone who hears it “a sense of confidence in loving themselves,” ‘Joy As An Act Of Resistance’ portrays a sense of spirit at its most empowered.

For anyone who has ever felt (in the immortal words of F. Scott Fitzgerald) “within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life,” this one is for you.

With the promise that they’ll “keep going until someone cuts my head off,” this is only the beginning of what Idles are capable of. So, as they themselves invite on ‘Great’. “Won’t you take my hand, sister, and sing with me in time?” P Idles’ album

‘Joy As An Act Of Resistance’ is out 31st August.

Jarvis and Candida from Pulp, and Bez and Rowetta from the Happy Mondays have filmed an episode of Bargain Hunt.

The show will air in September to mark the fourth annual BBC Music Day. Put it in yr diary.

Blood Orange’s new album is nearly here

Blood Orange - aka Devonté Hynes - will release his fourth album, ‘Negro Swan’ on 24th August. “My newest album is an exploration into my own and many types of black depression, an honest look at the corners of black existence,” he says.

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wtf are you up to Mercury Prize?

What a

Shame With a shortlist that’s missing some of the most exciting, forward-thinking music of 2018, but includes Noel Gallagher and his scissor orchestra, we have some serious questions.

R

Words: Stephen Ackroyd.

ight, ‘Mercury’ ‘Prize’. Our office.

Now. We’re having words..

Every year, there are disagreements about the Mercury Prize shortlist.

Of course there are - and there should be, too. Music is about big opinions. If we all agreed, it’d be well boring. But this year, we’re baffled.

It should be no shock to anyone that Dork HQ was looking out for a few albums. Some made the list.

We’re made up for Wolf Alice, we always love a bit of Everything Everything, and we finally realised Arctic Monkeys were being (relatively) brave with their latest full-length, even if they are supermassive and don’t really need the limelight shone any brighter.

It’s nice to see Nadine Shah get

some attention, and Lily Allen has never sounded fresher.

But, come on. You’re having a laugh, right?

It shouldn’t need a panel of 12 judges to work out that Shame’s debut ‘Songs of Praise’ should be on this year’s Mercury list. It’s the kind of album that stops retail outlets locking their doors overnight, just to give the other records an escape route if it decides to kick off. If you look up the word ‘essential’ in the dictionary, you probably wouldn’t find a picture of it - dictionaries tend not to have pictures - but if they did, you would.

A panel of two potatoes, an absent-minded dog, a halfcompleted Panini World Cup sticker album and your nan should be able to tell you Let’s Eat Grandma’s ‘I’m All Ears’ sounds like the future of music. It’s a textbook Mercurynominated album, and yet it isn’t.

Honestly - we can’t explain how.

There must be a thirteenth down the back of the sofa, right?

What’s happened to Hookworms?

Their latest ‘Microshift’ is a certified five-star album showcasing a band at the height of their powers. If we can’t find room for that, what are we up to? There are records we love that could move their arse for that one.

That’s without us asking some serious questions about the lack of SOPHIE’s debut, or wondering 8

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(and a Let’s Eat Grandma, Hookworms, Sophie...)

A panel of two potatoes, an absent minded dog, a half completed Panini World Cup sticker album and your nan should be able to tell you Let’s Eat Grandma’s ‘I’m All Ears’ sounds like the future of music.

where the criteria sits on Charli XCX’s ‘Pop 2’ - if that is an album, it had to be in, right? If we didn’t get Shame, surely Goat Girl should have made the cut? There’s an argument that the Mercury isn’t so much about acts that can make dents in the chart with legit bangers, but if it was ever going to be - surely they’ve heard Years & Years’ ‘Palo Santo’?

It’s so good we gave it 6 stars. SIX. It’s not that we have beef with Noel Gallagher and his scissor orchestra. Noel’s fine, and yes, he did actually ‘try stuff’ with his latest album. But come on. You’re gonna tell us that makes sense with a straight face? Over the past

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few years, there have been some genuine attempts to make the Mercury Prize feel more relevant but this feels like a throwback to the past. At this point, with ‘the world’ as it is, that’s the last thing we should be entertaining.

So, yes, congratulations to those fine artists making the cut, but 2018’s Mercury Prize is going to need an asterisk or two - the kind that make us question if we don’t need to revolt at the gates. There’s been a robbery, and it’s a fucking Shame. P The Mercury Prize

award ceremony will be held at London’s Eventim Apollo on 20th September.

A load of albums we wanted to make this year’s Mercury Prize shortlist didn’t, but this twelve did...

Get a hobby

“Do something you enjoy otherwise you won’t stick to it”

Arctic Monkeys – ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’ Back on the list for the fourth time, Arctic Monkeys are previous winners of the Mercury Prize.

Everything Everything – ‘A Fever Dream’

Is volunteering something you can do with your friends if you’re nervous of going solo?

The Mancunian’s latest album reached number five in the charts, and scores them a second nod.

Everything is Recorded – ‘Everything is Recorded’ XL boss Richard Russell’s debut under the Everything Is Recorded name features an all-star list of collabs.

Florence + The Machine – ‘High as Hope’ After two nods in the past, the festival headlining machine must be hoping third time’s a charm.

Jorja Smith – ‘Lost & Found’ The Brits Critics’ Choice winner scores yet another awards nom.

King Krule – ‘The Ooz’ Archy Marshall’s second full-length sees him get a first Mercury nod.

Lily Allen – ‘No Shame’ She’s back, and sounding more vital than ever. ‘No Shame’ is actually Lily’s first Mercury nomination.

Nadine Shah – ‘Holiday Destination’ Her most acclaimed album to date, ‘Holiday Destination’ is another debut nom for Nadine Shah.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – ‘Who Built the Moon?’

A first Mercury nomination for Noel outside of Oasis, they couldn’t possibly, could they?

Novelist – ‘Novelist Guy’ It didn’t hit the charts, but Novelist’s debut is enough to make this year’s list.

Volunteer with Tali from Estrons Tali from Estrons spends her free time doing arts and crafts with refugee children.

Hey Tali, how’s it going? Is everything good in camp Estrons?

Yes thank you! We just announced our album, and we seriously could not be happier. Spirits are feeling good.

Tell us about what first got you interested in volunteering with refugees.

My mum’s an artist and she started volunteering running arts and crafts classes for an organisation called Swansea Asylum Seeker’s Support (SASS) so I started going along to help and before I knew it I was there every week doing it!

Growing up on a council estate we lived next door to a house which was specially allocated for refugee families in a crisis so from a young age I was well aware of the crises a lot of these families went through so it was great to finally be able to lend a helping hand to lots of families rather than just one at a time.

What was the process like for being able to do it, did you have to do a course or something?

Sons of Kemet – ‘Your Queen is a Reptile’ Get more as it happens, every day at readdork.com

Wolf Alice’s second album sees them go two for two on Mercury nods.

What kind of activities do you do with the kids?

We try and keep the activities accessible to children of all ages and abilities so a lot of it will be making something out of found objects, bunting for different holidays (Ede, Easter, Halloween), painting, and when we get the glitter out that’s when the real fun starts.

Have you had any particularly rewarding moments during your time volunteering?

I think it’s just watching people integrate themselves and socialise. The idea is that we get the kids doing creative things while their parents can either get involved with them or go to the English lessons which run alongside or seek support on their visa applications with the support workers. Every day is rewarding, and the atmosphere is so happy and warm.

Vampire Weekend’s new album is coming

The latest news. Ish.

Wolf Alice – ‘Visions of a Life’

This is happening.

In a year where everyone is going on about jazz, we still need a token jazz act. Here it is.

I studied art which obviously helps with the classes and working with children you have to complete a CRB check but apart from that I didn’t have to complete anything specific.

Vampire Weekend have jumped ship from XL to Sony for their new album, and according to Sony Corp’s latest financial statement, they’ve a “noteworthy project” due before 30th September. Oo-er.

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Of course. I’ve done lots of volunteering with friends for things like festivals, and as me and my mum do this together, it’s always good to have that support.

My first voluntary job was at Oxfam Bookshop, and I did that independently because I just loved academic literature and wanted to be involved with it somehow - I couldn’t imagine what teenage friend I could have dragged to that every Sunday morning so sometimes if you want to do something you’ve got to do it on your own.

What advice would you give others who want to get into volunteering?

Do something you enjoy otherwise you won’t stick to it. That’s like with anything in life though. Also, don’t be afraid of applying for stuff you feel you aren’t qualified for, if you show enough of an interest people are bound to teach you the skills you need to do the job and who knows who or what it could lead to.

Anything else we should know?

Just because you don’t get paid doesn’t mean it isn’t important for you to show an effort. I’ve had glowing references for jobs I’ve applied for usually from voluntary positions. People are relying on you, and I used to drag my hungover teenage butt to that bookshop every Sunday morning because I knew they were relying on me to open shop! Saying that, don’t let yourself get taken advantage of. You’re doing an honourable thing, and that should be taken into account. P Estrons’

debut album ‘You Say I’m Too Much, I Say You’re Not Enough’ is out 5th October.

Idles are ‘doing’ a pop up art exhibition

Idles have announced a pop up art exhibition, to raise money for Samaritans. Open for two days (30th and 31st August) and curated by the band, it’ll be held at HM Electrics Gallery in London featuring 18 pieces of work.

Petrol Girls have a new EP on the way

Petrol Girls have announced a new three-track EP. Due on 14th September, it’s titled ‘The Future Is Dark’ and will feature recent single ‘Survivor’, alongside ‘Sister’ and ‘Strike’. The band are on the road in September, too.

English-born American actress and singersongwriter Lola Kirke has many talents - when she’s not setting the screen alight, she’s baring all on record.

Words: Abigail Firth.

ACTING UP...

Gone Girl Lola played ‘motel rat’ Greta in 2014 American psychological-thriller Gone Girl, alongside Ben Affleck (blah), Rosamund Pike, and Neil Patrick Harris.

Mistress America A 2015 comedy written by filmmaker Noah Baumbach and the multi-talented Greta Gerwig, Mistress America saw Lola play Greta’s soon-to-bestep sister Tracy in a messy tale of family drama and a stolen T-shirt business.

Mozart in the Jungle An online Amazon series that lasted four seasons before being cancelled earlier this year, Lola appeared as Hailey Rutledge, an oboist who wanted to play with the New York Symphony.

Monster

talent

L

ola Kirke is in the middle of shooting a film in Toronto and wrapping another in Vancouver.

Somehow, she’s still finding time to rehearse for her upcoming shows in LA and New York.

“I’m feeling really good about it!” she says of her upcoming album.

“Everyone keeps asking me [how I’m feeling], so I’m like, should I be feeling bad about it?”

Since the release of her EP – aptly titled ‘EP’ – last year, she’s worked on the album while acting in various TV and movie projects.

“I didn’t always see myself doing both. I always wanted to be an actress, and I spent so much of my life acting and studying acting, dreaming about being an actor, and just listening to music.

“I’ve always loved music so much, and I didn’t see myself doing it initially, I just saw myself being a fan.

I think that was something to do with my gender and internalised misogyny, frankly. I had every opportunity to learn instruments as a kid, so it wasn’t that. I just didn’t think that I was capable. It seemed like something that belonged to men, and women in rock’n’roll were to me, and I think this is accurate, more or less few and far between.”

Lola started playing music to rebel against a musician boyfriend who broke her heart.

“When I turned 18 I was heartbroken over a musician, and I was like, you know what? Fuck this; I’m gonna play music. I picked up a ukulele and made a really sad video of myself singing ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline in the middle of the desert in Arizona, and I put it on YouTube, and I sent it to him. Then 10

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“I was like, you know what?

Fuck this; I’m gonna play music” I was like, you know what? That felt really good.

“After that, I started writing songs, and I found that they were such an amazing outlet for making something beautiful out of something that didn’t feel so beautiful.”

Nearly ten years later, it’s a different boyfriend that’s inspiring her own musical outings, and producing them.

“I always thought that that was gonna be something private for myself, and then my boyfriend - his name is Wyndham Garnett, he is the fucking best - he encouraged me to make music.

“Now that I think about it, I’m just realising that right now. He made it feel possible that this could be something that other people like, and it’s way less daunting to go about making a record when you know that someone extremely talented is going to be with you every step of the way.”

And it’s not just the music industry where Lola is hoping to make an impression - she’s got a pretty solid family to compete with. Her sister Jemima also acts (notably, she played Jessa on HBO’s hit Girls), her other sister Domino is a musician too, and her father was a drummer in two 70s rock bands – Free and Bad Company.

“You gotta stick out somehow!” she D OWN WI T H BO RI N G

says when we mention she’s the only one in her family with an American accent. “We’ve all been living in New York for 22 years, and I think that the way that they’ve retained their British accent is the way that I gave mine up – I think it’s the same reason, which is like ‘I wanna be seen, and I wanna be different’, and that’s why I’m making a record!

“Free, are a huge influence on me, more so than Bad Company which are the more known band.”

Ah, so the vintage references on her own record make a little more sense now.

“I feel like I have a posthumous influence for it, which is weird because I recently, and I mean like last month, got into that record ‘Car Wheels on a Gravel Road’ by Lucinda Williams. But I dunno if that counts as an influence if you listen to it like nine months after you finish your record.

“I guess by influences I mean the music I fucking love, from Gram Parsons and Gene Clarke; there’s also some Linda Ronstadt stuff that I enjoy.

I love Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie, and all of Fleetwood Mac. I think the sonic reference that we’d discussed was ‘Hawks & Doves’. I’m a big Neil Young fan; it’s all recorded live, and it sounds like it’s recorded in a barn.

“What’s fun about my record is how there’s a cohesive genre to it, but the more I play it live, I’m like, what the fuck we’re going from like country to grunge to like psycho jazz? There’s an anxiety about like jumping around too much, but there’s something that’s exciting about that to me.” P Lola

Kirke’s album ‘Heart Head West’ is out now.

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TOUR 2019

YOU SAY I’M TOO MUCH I SAY YOU’RE NOT ENOUGH THE DEBUT ALBUM

5TH OCTOBER GOFOD RECORDS

07.02 LONDON SCALA LIVENATION.CO.UK TICKETMASTER.CO.UK A LIVE NATION PRESENTATION

BY ARRANGEMENT WITH ATC LIVE

Back!

Back!

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Friendly Fires are back, and they’re ready to jump in on a new album.

Words: Dillon Eastoe. Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

Back!

F

riendly Fires have been away for a long time, and they’ve been sorely missed. Coming out

of hibernation after almost six years for some shows earlier this year, a Friday night slot at Truck marks their return to top billing on the festival circuit as part of a busy summer. Before they hit the stage for a triumphant, rain-soaked fiesta, vocalist Ed Macfarlane and guitarist Edd Gibson sit down with Dork to talk time away, getting back into the studio and firing up their formidable live show after six years lying dormant.

Having faded out of view after touring their tropical second record ‘Pala’, Friendly Fires burst back into life in April with a run of shows and a new track; the infectious ‘Love Like Waves’.

“We felt like we had exhausted ourselves by the end of the second record [2011’s ‘Pala’], touring,” Ed explains. “The idea of going back to it and trying to do a better version of what you’d done before just felt really unappealing; we wanted to do other things.

“Edd and I have a side project [The Pattern Forms] on a label called Ghost Box that’s sort of weird, quirky pastoral, psychedelic electronic folky stuff, so we did that. Jack was doing a lot of work with other artists, so we were busy doing stuff, but stuff that was a bit more out there and not pop.

“We were still hungry to create, but the things we were doing would have perhaps disappointed a Friendly Fires fan base. It’s not necessarily that we don’t want to attach the name to it, but it’s still out there if they’re die-hard fans.”

Luckily for us, the trio always intended to make a new FF record at some point, and in late 2017 things came together, and they announced their live return. “It felt like if we left it any longer, it wasn’t going to happen, and we did really want to do it again. We left it at a good place, did three nights at Brixton [in 2012]. I was really pleased with the record [‘Pala’], really pleased with how it was received. It just felt like it would be sad to just do that [album cycle] one more time.”

Since that announcement of Friendly Fires return last year, Ed, Edd and Eddy (nah just kidding, Jack) have written and recorded over an album’s worth of songs, but they’re continuing to play with new songs as they test things out live.

“It might be that we scrap four of the songs and put four better ones on,” says Ed. “There will be a time limit at some point but I feel like we’re just getting back on our feet again and it keeps getting better and better. It just feels like

“It felt like if we left it any longer, it wasn’t going to happen” we should make sure that it’s just right. We’re going to have to play it live a lot and anyone that’s seen our band live knows that we have to be into the music to really go for it.”

An hour later when they hit the stage, Friendly Fires remind everyone just how vital a live band they are, strutting on to a jubilant ‘Lovesick’, complete with brass section. Despite playing through a biblical downpour, they bring a joyous energy that belies their sodden surroundings. Macfarlane whips off his loafers and embraces the deluge, showing the audience just what’s expected of them as he gyrates along the stage, while his voice sounds stronger than it ever has.

In terms of the pure ecstasy they can transmit from the stage, there are few bands in Friendly Fires’ league, and there certainly aren’t many who could turn the cascade into a fiesta. Rather than scurrying back to their tents, the crowd throw caution to the wind and reward the St Albans trio with as much energy as they can give.

That goes for the new songs in the setlist, with hooks sticking by their second refrain, and the crowd dancing like they’re old favourites.

“They’ve been fitting in well; we’ve been playing three a night,” Edd acknowledges. “It’s not too inspiring to come back and say, here’s the old stuff. We want to push this forward, we’re glad we’ve got an arsenal of tunes that people do like, but we’ve been noticing that the new ones have been going down really well.”

Any new fans they pick up over the summer festival season will

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have to wait just a little longer to hear the new Friendly Fires record.

“The plan is to put it out early next year. We have two singles that are going to be coming out ‘til then.

We’re kind of just writing every day, recording every day, between playing live.”

“We’re very good at starting things,” Edd laughs. Although they have a traditional album release planned, both men seem relaxed about the exact how and when of putting out new music going forward. “We’re enjoying a different climate of music where people are less concerned with an album and more just releasing track after track after track. And I mean, we could do that if we wanted,” Edd suggests.

“Yeah,” Ed agrees. “We recorded a track with Disclosure, and that took us like an evening’s work, really easy to finish it and it’s going to come out soon.

“It’s nice just to do that and not be like, ‘Let’s put it in the pile with all the songs’ and then think ‘Is this one a single?’ It’s just like this is it, this is the song, and see how people receive it.”

“We probably won’t even put their name on the song,” Edd clarifies. “It doesn’t sound like a Disclosure track it sounds like a Friendly Fires tune, and it was just writing music with mates.”

Having started out aiming for the indie disco, and branching into more exotic sounds on 2012’s ‘Pala’, the band are continuing to explore new sounds as they approach the release of their third record. “There are lots of fantastic things to pick and choose and make a beautiful library from, so

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it’d be foolish to just limit yourself to one thing in particular,” Edd offers.” We’ve probably just drawn inspiration from weird polyrhythm and brought them back into ultimately our band playing them. So wherever you take inspiration from it’ll sound very different by the end of the process.”

While the music cup is firmly set to ‘runneth over’, writing lyrics for Friendly Fires has been more challenging for Ed this time around, partly a result of his age.

“It’s made it harder, definitely. The older you get, the more cynical you get, the more self-critical you get, the more ‘oh who gives a shit’.

That voice in your head starts appearing. I had that after ‘Pala’ came out, that voice was in my head, but now I’ve crossed beyond that, and I don’t care anymore.”

“I mean, I find writing music in our band in that format way more personal and way harder than writing non-pop music,” confesses Ed earnestly. “Because it means a lot to us and we’re passionate about it, and that’s why it’s kind of stressful at times but more rewarding in the long run.”

“I like singing about things that mean something to me. It’s not like political things, nothing like that.

Our band’s never been a political band, obviously. I like music that… is not so much escapist but - I like songs that are universal enough that it appeals to everyone rather than depending on how someone feels about the world.”

Edd nods enthusiastically. “It’s nice to not be particularly elitist or exclusive, that’s important to us. It’s not so much whether something is divisive or one side versus the other. But being too snobbish isn’t helpful when you’re writing pop music.”

“If you’re writing snotty postpunk, I guess it kind of makes sense, but that’s not us,” Edd laughs.

Across an hour at a sodden Truck, Friendly Fires deliver a tropical paradise fit for the Amazonian downpour, which does nothing to dampen the celebration that marks their return to the place they truly belong: the frenzied festival field. A final one-two of the irrepressible ‘Hawaiian Air’ and the Latin carnival of ‘Kiss of Life’ see the trio off into the night having set a stratospheric bar for the weekend and a benchmark for all other touring acts. Friendly Fires are back, for the time being.

“I’d say take it one record at a time,” Ed offers.

“Because ‘back for good’ means ‘‘til we DIE!’,” Edd chuckles.

With a new clutch of songs burning a hole in their pocket and the rust shaken off their phenomenal live show, the party is just getting started. P

Top Tweeps What have your faves been up to on ‘social media’ this month? And why are we printing bits of ‘the internet’ on paper weeks after it happened?

Michael Gove has got to be hands down the moistest MP Shame (@shamebanduk) Quick. Someone pass the bucket.

We’re gonna be sick.

We would like to say a big thank you to Carluccis Italian in Dunfermline for the complimentary bread sticks. Finally we are getting the recognition we deserve.

Slaves (@Slaves) Who needs a Mercury Prize?

I’m gonna get a handful of you guys to come to the studio (LA) and listen to some of the record(s) soon. I’m pretty nervous but very excited Matty Healy (@Truman_Black) If you’re paying, Matthew...

Sorry to everyone I haven’t texted / emailed / messaged back. In related news, my record comes out August 17!

Mitski (@mitskileaks) Us, when we’re on print deadline.

This is happening.

The latest news. Ish.

Get more as it happens, every day at readdork.com

Just been on dodgems for the first time ever, big day for old tonnes Ten Tonnes (@ten_tonnes) Definite concept album ahoy!

A day in the life of...

Darwin Deez

What does Darwin Deez get up to on his average day? Well... this!

11:30 I’m up, I’m up. I put on

underwear I got from Topman for free in 2011. I put on a white v-neck t-shirt made in a sweatshop in central America. I put on socks. I microwave some sausages and make eggs in a pan I got in 2011 during an interview in Japan where they gave me some yen and then asked me to explain my purchases. I notice that everything I own was given to me in 2011.

14:00 I use my laptop to listen to

Byron Katie on YouTube and eat green apple slices and almond butter. I play a few chords or learn how to play a song I like.

17:00 Soren invites me to see a show

at Mercury Lounge in Manhattan at 6:30. I check out the artist on YouTube and decide it’s worth going out, not expecting to see anyone or enjoy the performance.

18:30 I eat basmati rice, lentils,

and turnips from Punjabi Deli on a bench. I watch people walk by.

20:00 I’m silently criticising the

Blossoms are hitting the road this December Blossoms have announced a new UK tour for winter. The band, who released their second album ‘Cool Like You’ earlier this year, will kick off the run in Glasgow on 3rd December, winding up at London’s O2 Academy Brixton.

opening band in every way. Bassist should lose the sideburns. Singer should sing louder.

Guitarist should either lose the gold chain or the t-shirt under it and get clear plastic glasses frames.

Drummer needs to quit the busy fills.

I run into Paul Hammer from Savoir Adore in the audience, which delights me. I chat with some twenty-something Kiwi lads with great t-shirts on. I flirt with some girls. One of the band members in the headlining act apparently knows me from conducting an interview with me at SXSW in 2012.

Everything I own is from 2012.

23:00 I’m telling everyone that meditation is bullshit. We’re sitting on a fancy plush couch at a hotel bar on Ludlow. Everyone is defending the validity of their own experience with meditation. We decide there are two aspects of mind: head and heart. Revolutionary. But we are all connecting.

00:30 I’m biking back to Brooklyn over the Williamsburg Bridge.

Silence Day started at midnight, so when I type my sandwich order on my phone and hand it to the deli

The initial line-up for Festifeel is here

The first three names for this year’s Festifeel, produced by breast cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel, are The Big Moon, Rae Morris and Ten Tonnes.

They’ll play the annual event at House of Vans in London on 6th October.

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Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace has recorded a solo album

Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace has an album incoming, following on from AM!’s 2016 record ‘Shape Shift with Me’. “I recorded an album,” she says.

“It’s a solo album, [and] it’s going to come out this fall.”

man, he walks my phone over to the younger guy working behind the counter. The younger guy reads my order to him and hands me my phone back. I mouth “thank you”.

Back at my apartment, I eat a delicious spicy chicken cutlet with chipotle mayo. My roommate is home from a fortnight away, and I welcome her back silently.

I go to bed with one earbud in, listening to a YouTube video of a cassette from 2001 of a woman doing The Work with Byron Katie.

I picture my ex-girlfriend’s face as she enjoys having sex with someone else and I cringe. I notice myself apparently wanting her presence in my life more than I want her happiness. “You should be more enlightened,” I tell myself, believing it.

04:00 I get up to pee and drink some water and put on the A/C. I question whether my bodyweight is not actually the bed and gravity conspiring to cuddle me. The A/C is at 80°F, and I need to do my laundry.

I ask myself if I have everything I need in this moment. I think I might. P Darwin Deez’s album ‘10

Songs That Happened When You Left Me With My Stupid Heart’ is out 31st August.

Hayley Kiyoko has unveiled her first ever UK tour

Pop star Hayley Kiyoko has confirmed her first European tour. The run kicks off on 24th October at Manchester’s Club Academy, and will see her play nine shows including London’s O2 Academy Islington.

his +

her’s

Jangle-poppers Her’s arrive with a debut album full of oddball gems.

Words: Ciaran Steward.

A

fter a long day at the office, all you want to do is relax, switch off and put your feet up in front of some mind-numbing television. Then, without warning, along comes an Invitation To Her’s and the evening changes for the better.

This is happening.

The latest news. Ish.

Get more as it happens, every day at readdork.com

While it might not mean putting on your finest threads, you could at least neaten your hair and do up a couple of shirt buttons - Her’s have worked hard on providing a delightful aural treat for you in the form of their debut album.

Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading met in a canteen while the pair studied at Liverpool’s illustrious LIPA - bringing together backgrounds of the music scenes in Barrow-inFurness and Norway respectively.

Fitzpatrick’s forté is apparently as a drummer (“He’s fucking sick by the way,” his bandmate chips in) but in Her’s he takes on the frontman’s role as singer and guitarist.

Though this may be the pair’s debut album, they’ve come close to this stage before with their self-dubbed ‘collection’ ‘Songs Of Her’s’ - a selection of their singles to date.

“I feel like people thought we were wussing out a bit with the collection thing. When we announced this one they were like, ‘Isn’t this the second album really?’ We got cold feet for the debut though so I guess we couldn’t put it off much longer, but I feel like we approached this one more confidently,” Stephen explains.

Some of the ideas behind the album had been fermenting a while, with fragments of songs laying around the cutting room floor for up to two years before being called up to the front line.

Stephen continues: “It seemed very clear what needed to be on ‘Songs of Her’s’. It was basically what we were playing actively live at the time, which is

“It’s crazy; fans know the lyrics and everything” why it felt not scattered, but we were dipping our feet in a lot of different sounds at that point.”

The album sees a definite, intended move away from being a selection of singles into a full-length release that ebbs and flows naturally and ‘Invitation To Her’s’ is certainly a more polished article filled with interesting stories and plenty of character.

Ariel Pink’s production style and a Bruce Springsteen attitude are cited by the pair as influences on their latest release, while MGMT’s latest album was in heavy rotation in the stereo around time of recording.

“We realised that after, listening back to the two side by side we definitely took some colours from that subconsciously,” Auden explains - erring on the side of caution when it comes to any potential copyright issues.

Opening track and recent single ‘Harvey’ is Stephen’s take on a classic Jimmy Stewart film about a man whose best friend is an invisible six-foot, three-anda-half-inch tall invisible rabbit.

Stephen has been a big fan of the film for a few years.

“I guess the chorus of the song has been around for a while and it kind of came after watching the film,” he says. “I just liked the

Basement are set to release a new album

Basement have announced their new album. The full-length is titled ‘Beside Myself’, and follows up on 2016’s ‘Promise Everything’. Set for release on 12th October via Fueled By Ramen, the band are also set to hit the UK in November.

idea of taking on the character a little bit.”

Though for many bands being on the precipice of a debut album might mean there aren’t too many fan-favourites already under the belt, Her’s are no strangers to requests when they take to the stage - that’s where releasing the ‘collection’ has come in nice and handy. While their cover of Minnie Ripperton’s classic ‘Loving You’ is high on the request list, their original gem ‘What Once Was’ is the track they find audience clambering for as soon as they take to the stage and the pair can’t believe their luck.

“It’s crazy; they know the lyrics and everything - probably better than I do,” Auden begins. “I thought the Waiting Room, the first London headline show we did - obviously it’s not the biggest, a 120 cap, but it was packed out. That was a proper intimate moment.”

This is far from a one-off by the sound of it, with 2016’s Green Man appearance marking a hugely significant moment for Stephen.

“They put us down in this slot, and nothing else was happening at the same time. It was some strange Woodstock moment.”

Fans were apparently already familiar with the Her’s catalogue

Loads of acts are playing a one-night-only charity gig series

Enter Shikari and Everything Everything are taking part in charity gig series, Get Loud. The one-night-only series of gigs will take place all over the country on 26th September, raising money for Nordoff Robbins.

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at this point and enjoyed it to the extent that there were calls for an encore. Sadly these fell on deaf ears, though only as Her’s had already rattled through everything they had.

Her’s live show is definitely a sight to behold - despite being a duo they’re able to command the stage and present a performance that’s more than just them rattling through the tunes.

Stephen comments: “We’ve gotten so used to having space on stage that we’re just asking bands to take their drum kits off stage, even though we’ve got lots of space.”

Auden has been known to don a cape for performances (“It’s from the Ladies section of TK Maxx, £15”) in what he describes as his Batman get-up.

“I quickly found out it works well when you boogie because it gives you a bit of an extension to your body so it like waves about in a hopefully mesmerising way. It’s definitely worked out since I’m only wearing black most the time, it does give me a certain Batman aesthetic.”

And who of hasn’t wanted to command a room with a Dark Knight stare and shawl?

Last time the pair spoke to Dork, they boasted of Auden’s ability to make a mean leek pie will they give us the recipe yet?

“It’s more of a family recipe.

I got it from my mum; my grandmother used to make it. I’m trying to keep the tradition alive.

Not evolve it too much. It’s not very Norwegian. Norwegian stuff is mostly a bunch of roots with a lot of water and a lot of pepper on top. It’s what you do when you’re stuck up in like permanent frost and ice and can’t cut a potato really for your family to eat.”

Auden’s family have now moved house to somewhere more picturesque: “We’re on a lake in the woods, and it’s very Norwegian romantic.”

With the debut album now under their belt, thoughts turn to the road ahead, and there’s hope from the pair that a US tour and a potential return to SXSW are in the pipeline.

Auden sums up where their heads are at with a perfect cliché: “The world is our oyster.” P Her’s’

debut album ‘Invitation To Her’s’ is out 24th August.

SWMRS have a new UK headliner planned

SWMRS will play Electrowerkz in London on 28th August, a few days after their sets at Reading & Leeds. The band are currently working on the followup for 2016 album ‘Drive North’, so if we’re lucky maybe there’ll be new material, yeah?

Interpol have announced a couple of new instores

Interpol are playing two instore shows in the week after the release of their new album, ‘Marauder’ - catch them at Banquet Records on 29th August, and Rough Trade East a day later.

Bad Sounds have the bangers to level a small city block. With their debut album about to drop, it’s time to clear a space for one of our best new bands.

Words: Liam Konemann.

Photo: Isha Shah.

B

ad Sounds are here to help. Really, they are. Chuck out your crystals and your positive affirmations, because Ewan and Callum Merrett have the solution for what ails you. Well, -ish.

Maybe. A bit.

Their debut album ‘Get Better’ opens with Ewan trying out his hypnotherapist voice, urging the listener to ‘take a deep breath, stop what you’re doing, and get better.’

Throughout the ensuing forty-six minute ‘sonic self-help guide’, Bad Sounds riff on disappointing paychecks, luck and conspicuously not-sulking, among other things.

Everything falls loosely under the ‘Get Better’ theme, the title forming a purposeful uniting thread.

“The last thing we did before the album was ‘Mixtape One’, which was our second EP, and it was the first time we’d written something to be a cohesive piece of work. So we really went in hard on that, about wanting the whole thing to feel like it belonged together,” Ewan says.

“Rather than just, you know, eleven songs that we liked, we were looking for the songs that worked together and trying to see what was in there that could come out as a theme. Weirdly, it wasn’t an intentional thing, but we noticed a lot of the lyrics were

based on poking fun at... I don’t know how to say it, but I guess that over-the-top, ‘self-help’ thing.”

He’s quick to clarify. “Not in like a derogatory way of the issue, but more about the industry, I guess,” he says. “When we had that we started to tailor a few of the things too so that it all came together. I think we were looking for something that could tie it all together and that showed itself.”

“When we were doing it, all I was seeing on social media was shit about improving yourself, you know? Those Insta-quotes. And I really couldn’t give a fuck about that,” Ewan laughs. “I’m happy with my flaws.”

As a matter of fact, as album track ‘Another Man’ claims, Bad Sounds reckon they’ve “got more flaws than the ceiling sees”. If they were different, the track implies, if they were each ‘Another Man’ maybe, things would come more easily. But, they’re quick to point out, despite the title the track isn’t meant to be strictly gender-based or focussed on masculinity.

“There’s definitely nothing masculine about either of us,” Callum laughs.

Truthfully, ‘Another Man’ is more about insecurity in general, Ewan explains. “I always feel like I fuck up the first attempt of

“There’s a lot of shit I could’ve done in my 20s that I didn’t do...” everything I do,” he says.

For his brother, the song also speaks to the sense of having missed opportunities that other people managed to catch. “I feel like there’s a lot of shit I could’ve done in my 20s that I didn’t do.

Even though I’m still like halfway through. Never did the university life or anything,” he says.

Now, with the album release on the horizon, the duo are heading out on the road.

“It’s gonna be interesting to see which tracks people respond to that aren’t the singles,” says Ewan.

“Me and Cal have our own favourites, so we’re interested to see

Who’s Out now... Dork’s Big Album Guide!

As we enter ‘Q3’ and prepare for a busy ‘Q4’, we want to be extra sure that everyone is prepared for any incoming pop emergencies. That’s why we’ve made a special edition of Dork, full of previews for all the amazing albums we’re expecting over the rest of 2018. You can pick it up from our usual stockists, or direct from readdork.com, now.

how those go down. The big thing of the album for me is showing sides to us people haven’t seen, so I’m looking forward to translating that to the live show as well, being able to have all these different elements going on rather than just bangers as soon as you walk in the room. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah,” says Callum.

Ewan doesn’t leave room for confusion, though. “Which it will be. Obviously.”

With Bad Sounds, the bangers are non-negotiable. P Bad Sounds’

album ‘Get Better’ is out on 17th August. Read more in Dork’s Big Album Guide, out now.

Bad?

Brand new!

title refrain. Saying everything and yet nothing at all, it’s the perfect example of why the 1975 are perhaps the most relatable band on the planet. P Stephen Ackroyd

The best new tracks.

Charli XCX

Girls Night Out

CHVRCHES

Out Of My Head (ft.

Wednesday Campanella)

The only surprise about this unexpected new track drop from everyone’s favourite Scottish three piece electro-popsters should be that it’s taken so long to finally happen. The thought of CHVRCHES joining forces with the might of J-pop feels so obvious it night almost be unimaginative - and yet in practice it’s anything but. Teaming up with Wednesday Campanella their trademark sound is thrown through a 16-bit filter, bleeping and blooping across the language barrier. Lauren Mayberry’s chorus is arms-aloft euphoria, scattering glow sticks to the wind like doves of peace. An adrenaline rush that crosses the globe, it’s CHVRCHES at their very best. P Stephen

could have wanted from a Robyn comeback. The voice, the sounds, the heartbreaking emotion, it’s all there, and the feelings are as strong as ever. The sentiment is pure and simple; a message to her fans who have remained loyal for so many years since she broke through way back in 1995, it’s a glistening piece of graceful electro-pop.

The bpm is slightly higher than on her lauded classics, but it’s tempered with a kind of resigned heartache, and that reticence is mirrored in the music’s reluctance to give everything away. There is no climax and no drop. The track builds and builds but just flutters off into the ether. There’s clearly more to come. That’s alright though; Robyn is back, and all is right in the world.

P Martyn Young

The 1975

Love It If We Made It

Wearing their flaws as badges of honour, ‘Love It If We Made It’ isn’t the turbo-banger designed to send the 1975’s forthcoming third album ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’ into orbit.

Rather, it’s the perfect scene setter on a world that continues to shift through pearlescent neon hues.

Matty Healy’s vocal runs like a higher stream of consciousness, plugged directly into the feeds.

In an era of over-sharing, the references to Trump, Kanye and Lil Peep head from the sublime to the depressing, and occasionally the ridiculous. ‘Modernity has failed us’, Matty offers in an almost throwaway aside, before launching into the juxtaposition of the track’s

Ackroyd

Robyn

Missing U

It’s been almost eight years since Robyn delivered her outstanding trio of ‘Body Talk’ albums. Sure, she never really went away and collaborated with Royksopp on a Really Rather Good album including a high-up-the-bill Latitude spot, but this time it’s the real thing. Robyn has finally returned in her own right, and it’s like she’s never been away.

‘Missing U’ sees her working with Metronomy’s Joe Mount and longtime collaborator Klas Ahlund, and it’s everything you 19

DORK

There’s a whole treasure trove of Charli XCX ‘unreleased material’ knocking round the edges of internet. Of all of those demos and rarities, there’s one that’s felt like it might be a potential mega banger above any other - and it’s finally here. ‘Girls Night Out’ arrives almost exactly a year after the video to ‘Boys’. If that’s a deliberate move, it works to perfection. With a refrain of ‘no boys, no boys’, it’s a track that’s euphoric in its embrace of sisterhood. On the town for a good time, it’s uncomplicated by anything other than maximum fun. Switching from PC Music heavy futuresounds to classic late 80s Kylie, ‘Girls Night Out’ is a track well versed in its pop history, but certainly never looking backwards. It’s proof that Charli XCX moves to her own nuclear powered beat. P Stephen Ackroyd

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Hype! Hype! Hype!

Sports Team Margate

It’s been sunny forever, hasn’t it? Sometimes when we open the fridge we genuinely consider climbing inside. Maybe there’s a better way, a nice trip down to the seaside, ice creams and swimming. Sounds just the ticket. Sports Team have had the same idea and duly took a trip out of the capital. A coach trip later they’re ready to share the results with us on new track ‘Margate’ (no prizes for guessing which beach they visited). In 3 minutes of indie sunshine, the band take us through all pleasures of a weekend away, some slightly more niche than others. Leaning out of the sunroof, sleeping outside and a nice view ruined by rhododendrons. No mention of getting bugs in your mouth, waking up freezing cold or getting rhododendron-based hayfever, but maybe we’re living too relentlessly in the real world.

The important point is that ‘Margate’ is an absolute banger of a song, one that deserves to be blasting from every car stereo in the traffic jam on the way to the beach. P Jake Hawkes

Hype.

Boy Pablo ESSENTIAL NEW MUSIC.

‘Going viral’ is a phrase flung at pretty much anything popular on ‘the internet’, but for Boy Pablo it really did happen that way. His video for ‘Everytime’ saw the 19-year-old flung into the limelight, and currently sits at over ten million views. Ber-limey.

buying me Instagram followers or something, but it was just because of the video. The rest is history!

We are touring North America now, Asia in November and the rest of the world in 2019.

Words: Sam Taylor.

Probably. We don’t have any reason to do it any other way, at least not yet, haha.

Hey Boy Pablo, how’s it going?

Having a good summer?

Hey! Yeah, touring with the boys in the US has been super fun!

Tell us about your music career so far - you put some videos up on YouTube, then what happened?

New band news

Get more as it happens, every day at readdork.com

On the grapevine

I started out making music in my bedroom about three years ago and released a couple of singles, and then an EP in 2017. With that EP, I released a music video for the song ‘Everytime’ which went completely viral. That video was out for about four or five months and suddenly exploded. At one point I thought my manager was

Are you a full-time musician now, or do you still have other stuff going on?

Yeah, right now I’m taking time off studying to do music and tour.

It must be nice to have total control over whatever you do, are you going to stick out the do-it-yourself route for as long as possible?

Has going viral online led to any kind of backlash? It’s a lot to deal with, suddenly being in the spotlight.

It’s a lot to deal with, yeah, but I think the boys and I have handled it very well.

The most important thing to us is that we stay thankful because we all know how lucky we are to be able to do all this.

“We all know how lucky we are to be able to do all this” tour schedule this year? Is this your first time spending a significant amount of time away from home?

We’ve been getting a lot offers from around the world somehow, haha.

It’s really cool to us! It is weird to be away from home this much, but since we’re all best friends, I don’t think any of us get too homesick.

Where been your favourite place to visit?

Hard to say, cause we don’t get that much time to actually explore the cities we go to. But if I had to + From Bergen, Norway name a city, it would + For fans of Rex Orange be Los Angeles. Good County, Gus Dapperton vibes ’n good food.

The Facts

+ Check out ‘Everytime’ + Social @soypablo777 + See them live: There’s a UK tour later this year

How have you found your hefty

Yonaka have released a new EP, and announced a London show

We hear you have an EP on the way, what can you tell us?

I’ve learned a lot after producing the last EP, so I’ve actually spent less time making this EP than

Estrons have revealed details of their debut album

Yonaka have a new EP. Out now, ‘Teach Me To Fight’ - which has been previewed in recent weeks by ‘Fired Up’ and ‘Waves’ - arrives ahead of their set at Reading & Leeds in late August, and a headliner at London’s Electric Ballroom on 11th October.

The four-track release also features the title-track, and ‘Wish You Were Somebody’.

Estrons’ debut album is called ‘You Say I’m Too Much, I Say You’re Not Enough’, and it’ll be released on 5th October followed by a lengthy UK tour from November including a night at London’s Scala next February. They’ve also shared new track ‘Cameras’, which you can check out on readdork.com now.

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the last one. But the songs on this new one are in my opinion better produced. I’m excited to release it.

Music aside, what do you lot get up to for fun?

I like playing FIFA with my brothers. Also watching football with my dad, and also playing football with my brothers and friends. A lot of football. P Boy

Pablo’s new EP is ‘coming soon’.

He’s touring the UK this October and November.

Sports Team took a load of fans on a jolly to Margate

Sports Team have dropped a new single, and they celebrated with a coach trip.

Yes, really - the band released new tune ‘Margate’ at the start of August, and they shipped fans over to the seaside town for a jolly which included a live set at The Tom Thumb Theatre. See what went down at readdork.com.

Gently Tender

Palma Violets were once at the very top of the new band buzz tree, but it didn’t last, and after five years and two albums they split. Now, three of the band are back with their new project Gently Tender - and it sees them team up with The Big Moon’s Celia Archer, and guitarist Adam Brown.

Words: Jamie Muir.

T

he Beaconsfield is an interesting pub. Situated

straight opposite a multiplex that combines everything you need to live in a modern, changing London (if by everything you mean Homebase, TK Maxx, and McDonald’s), it’s a place that has tried reinventing before but maintains a certain aura. Odd bottles, regulars sitting at the bar and an endless supply of lemonade, it’s easy to make yourself comfortable here from the world outside its walls.

Peeking into its small outside patio, it’s where you can find a certain figure who knows a thing or two about shaking things up and going again.

“I think the reason why people didn’t know about the Palmas [splitting up] was because we’re so lazy,” Sam Fryer laughs. “We just thought, ‘Ahh they’ll find out what’s happened when we put out music with our new band’.”

Gently Tender may seem like a fresh new band pulled together from time distancing themselves from the shadow of their former band, but in reality, it’s the sort of evolution they’d been teasing as those latter Palmas years wound out. After five years of a full-on ride to here, there and well - everywhere, it’s a time that an older Sam can sit and look back on with fondness.

“There was a hysteria around Palma Violets,” he reflects, taking a sip from his pint. “It was a mad five years of our lives. We were actually writing a lot when the split happened, but me and [co-frontman] Chilli just weren’t writing together. We became two different people, and we were writing better songs, both of us, when we weren’t in the same studio.

“We were really happy for each pushing the boundaries other, but we realised that it was of being more of a soul time to call it a day.” band.”

On the day they got kicked out That fuller sound is of that infamous 180 studio they something Sam points called home in Lambeth, Palma to the new additions Violets ended. that came into play as What they’d started to write they continued to grow though, became the seeds of as being a key part in something else. Sam, along with helping them evolve ex-Palmas Pete Mayhew and making them a shining William Doyle had the exciting new proposition above new direction they were starting and beyond this idea to emerge into, now they needed of Palmas Part 2. If you the time to explore it. There wasn’t want to have a new band that gap that you’d associate in 2018 that can cause a bit of a stir, with being away for nearly three having Celia from The Big Moon years, the work and wheels were involved definitely helps. in motion.

After a long history between the “Where we left off with Palmas, Palmas and The Big Moon, it felt we never stopped. We just carried like an easy and natural coming on,” explains Sam. together (“we’ve been “We had these songs on many tours with that we had been The Big Moon and working on already they’re very close to + From London, UK when we were still a us. I see them all the + For fans of YOWL, band there, and we Sports Team, The Rhythm time,” notes Sam).

Method just continued on Along with fellow new + Check out ‘2 Chords that path. We really addition Adam Brown Good’ enjoyed it, writing - it feels like a force + Social @Gently_Tender as many songs as that simply can’t be + See them live: They play possible and having stopped.

The Lexington in London that freedom.

“We know what it on 26th September “I think with [debut takes, but there’s also single] ‘2 Chords the fact that we’re Good’ it’s a good balance between very excited for where we can take the old band and the new band. it - we’re still a bit apprehensive If I’m going to be honest, it’s the about what it’s exactly going to be most Palma Violets song we have,” like in the end,” contemplates Sam, notes Sam. “All the rest of them are taking another swig of his pint exploring new territories, kinda as he ponders the ways in which

The Facts

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“Where we left off with Palmas, we never stopped. We just carried on” they’ve grown even in the past few months.

“We don’t even know that, but what we can say now - what we’ve done as a band together - we’re well on the way to who we really want to be.” P Gently Tender’s

debut single ‘2 Chords Good’ is out now.

in January/February when the Seasonal Affective Disorder was in full swing. Missing long summer nights mixed with missing home and family pretty much inspired the whole thing. Between days basically means that weird limbo we sometimes feel when we’re transitioning from one season to another.

I was definitely in that transition period when writing the tracks and its a sweet feeling being on the other side of it now and sharing the result of that long winter.

Alessio: We recorded the whole thing in our dingy basement, and Joel mixed it in his bedroom, so we’re really proud how it’s turned out and that people are enjoying the tunes.

Check out...

Tomberlin Freshly signed to indie masterminds Saddle Creek and with a debut album ‘At Weddings’ out now, Tomberlin is starting to make serious waves. Writing most of the record while living with her family during her late teens and early twenties, she went from home-schooling to a private Christian school. It’s on those foundations she crafted a record that’s every bit as intriguing as it sounds on paper.

Listen to: ‘I’m Not Scared’

Fontaines D.C. Dublin’s Fontaines D.C. may have piqued your attention over recent months. With a decent showing on the 6music airwaves and a Really Rather Good KEXP session under their belts, they’ve been described as an Irish Iceage. With a stint on the road supporting the mighty Shame to come later this year, expect that noise to only get louder still.

Listen to: ‘Chequeless Reckless’

Are you creative in non-musical ways too?

Far Caspian Ahead of their upcoming Dork show in Leeds with Indoor Pets and Whenyoung, local boys Far Caspian introduce themselves.

Words: Sam Taylor.

Hey guys, who’s in your band?

Joel: I’m Joel lead singer and rhythm guitarist. Alessio is our bassist, Jof is on drums, and Nathan is lead guitar.

What’s been the highlight of your time as a musician so far?

The band started while you were at uni?

Chastity

New band news

Get more as it happens, every day at readdork.com

On the grapevine

Signed to Captured Tracks and with a debut album ‘Death Lust’ freshly on the deck, Brandon Williams deals in intensity. A reassuring rattle underpins the record, mixing a gritty, pummelling shell with a soaring, not-toomelodic vocal underbelly. The sort of record that slow burns its way into the brain only to come popping out with a cheeky wink when those album of the year lists start to emerge, clear out those ears and give it a try now.

Listen To: ‘Children’

Joel: The band started as a studio project when I was studying in Liverpool. I transferred to Leeds College of Music a year later and met Alessio. We ended up moving in together, and I decided to ask him to turn the project into more of a band. Nathan joined after I had been recording his old band and we then found Jof through Facebook, so it all came together pretty easily.

When did you first realise you wanted to make music?

Joel: I’ve been playing drums since I was about seven so I’ve always been in bands but never really thought about songwriting until a couple of years ago. I had been recording other peoples music, and

Reading & Leeds has confirmed this year’s Introducing Stage

I just became curious about the idea of doing my own stuff. Being a drummer for so long it’s taking me quite a bit of time to become confident within myself as a singer who’s out front on stage and writing songs. But I’m getting more comfortable each time we play or put out a single.

DORK

Alessio: To be honest if I get the chance to write the music for a Marvel film I’ll die happy.

We’re really looking forward to your Dork gig with Indoor Pets and Whenyoung what’s the best thing The Facts about a Far Caspian + From Leeds, UK live show?

To find supports for their upcoming tour, Dream Wife put out an open call online.

“For our autumn headline tour dates we are calling for women/non-binary artists to come share their music, thoughts, the night and a stage with us,” the band explained.

They’re hitting the road from 20th October, so head over then to see who made the cut.

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What would you most like to achieve during your music career?

Alessio: I wrote music + For fans of Marsicans, for a short film that None of us are very Flyte, Her’s won an Alexa Award + Check out ‘Holding On’ good at singing so and premiered at if you sing along + Social @FarCaspian BAFTA. you’ll feel good about + See them live: They’ll Joel: When I was in your voice - a good play a Dork Live! show secondary school, I incentive to learn the with Indoor Pets and sang ‘My Lovely Horse’ words.

Whenyoung at the Key to Neil Hannon when Club in Leeds on 26th he came to visit, and I What else do you September managed to sing “My have coming up?

Little Horse” instead. Sorry, dude.

The EP comes out near the end of the year, so we’re kind of leaning Tell us about your new EP. towards that and doing a few shows Joel: ‘Between Days’ is something as the singles are released. We’re that’s been bubbling for a while currently planning our next music now. This is the first full project video so expect to see another I’ve actually finished since starting zero-budget work of art in the near writing songs, so I’m pretty excited future. P Far Caspian play a Dork to get it out there, especially Live! show with Indoor Pets and through our label Dance to the Whenyoung at the Key Club in Radio.

Leeds on 26th September.

A lot of the tracks were written

Dream Wife put out an open call for tour supports

Reading & Leeds has confirmed the line-up for this year’s Introducing Stage. The new bands featured include Saltwater Sun and Valeras - who played Dork’s Old Blue Last residency, Etc. ‘FYI’ - Sports Team, Pizzagirl, Lady Bird, Stereo Honey and Sun Arcana. Reading & Leeds takes place over the August bank holiday weekend.

Joel: I love photography/ Videography and try to do as much of that as possible. All the promo designs and single artwork are mine, so it’s cool to have a reason to create in a different way. I also filmed and edited our music video for our first single ‘Holding On’ it’s pretty sketchy, but we had a lot of fun making it.

RE AD D O RK. CO M

Sea Girls are heading out for their biggest ever tour

Sea Girls have just released a new video for fan-favourite track, ‘Too Much Fun’, and news of an upcoming tour. Their biggest headline run to date, the run kicks off in Nottingham on 4th October, taking in Glasgow, Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, London’s Scala (only the band’s fourth ever London show).

Wallows From buzzy TV roles to buzzy support slots, it’s all going on for Wallows.

Words: Abigail Firth.

“You know what I wanna see? A different hybrid of people, like a golfer band guy. I’m gonna try to be a pro golfer just so I can be like, ‘Yeah I golf, but I’m in a band’.”

You’ll probably be more acquainted with Dylan Minnette as Clay Jensen in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, but his musical ventures are more than ‘just’ a side project. The boys in Wallows – Dylan (guitar/vocals), Braeden Lemasters (guitar/vocals), and Cole Preston (drums) – have been playing together for a decade.

“I’ve seen random comments online about how ‘oh this band is formed because of 13 Reasons Why, they’re trying to get fans like that’, and I just think it’s kinda funny.

Knowing that that’s not the case, knowing that we just love music and we’ve been playing together for so long in general,” Cole says.

“We both act, Dylan and I, and we both knew that one day if something really hit, that it’d be helpful in a way, but we were never striving to make that happen.”

Fresh off the back of their support slot at Vampire Weekend’s comeback shows, the guys have just finished tracking an album.

“Vampire Weekend is one of our favourite bands of all time,” Dylan enthuses, “and honestly one of the biggest inspirations for us.”

That influence is felt on Wallows’ EP ‘Spring’ – released earlier this year – as well as a little Phoenix, Mac DeMarco, and New Order.

“Those artists have played huge roles in our lives growing up,” says Dylan. “It’s just in there without really trying to go for it.

It’s like when we wrote ‘Pictures of Girls’ and recorded it, we weren’t attempting to make a Joy Division/ New Order type of song, but a lot of people perceive it that way. I’m happy that people can hear that stuff within it.”

There’s no word on when the album will arrive, but there’s a bunch of tracks to keep you occupied. As for the boys, it sounds like they’ll be polishing up their golf skills mind you, Niall Horan is already breaking into that business.

“If Niall makes it pro then he’s in,” they say. “He hits that ball in one direction.” P

Pip Blom

Pip Blom is from Amsterdam, but if you’re expecting clogs and cuckoo clocks (or perhaps some of the more *ahem* illicit behaviour Amsterdam is known for), then you’re in the wrong place. If you’ve come looking for Britpop tinged indie bangers though, step right this way.

Words: Jake Hawkes.

When we catch up with Pip Blom, she’s just returned from Helsinki, part of her and her band’s tour supporting The Breeders. “I’m just running around unpacking stuff at the moment,” she laughs.

“This tour’s a weird one because it’s spread out over three months.

We do a few shows, go back home, unpack and then do it all over again.

It’s been really fun though, a lot of very big venues that we’ve never played before, which is cool.”

Big stuff for somebody who’s only been going for a few years, but Pip isn’t letting it go to her head just yet. “We’re doing a few shows in the Netherlands in between; then we’ll be doing some in the UK too, which are much closer to the size we’re used to. We’re basically trying to tie everything together, so it doesn’t feel too disjointed.”

If it all sounds pretty hectic, that’s because it is. But Pip Blom is too focused on making music a full-time job to get distracted.

“I’m still not sure we can be a full-time band,” she admits, with unwarranted modesty. “I would love to, but it’s just so difficult. At one point you can think, ‘Yes, this is gonna work, and we’re definitely going to be able to play for at least two more years’. But at the same time, who knows what’ll happen?

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We could release an EP on an unfortunate day, and people could miss it, everything can go wrong so quickly! So I hope we’ll be full time, and it’ll work out, but I don’t want to say I’m sure of it.”

What have you been doing in the days off?

It’s been a bit weird, I went on holiday for a week, so that was really nice... our drummer Jeanie is working at a lot of festivals, and we’re doing a few shows in the Netherlands, then next week we go to the UK to do a few shows of our own as well.

What’s it like being based in Amsterdam?

did three shows in the UK, because I released the first four tracks that are on Spotify... I recorded everything on those tracks myself at home, using a drum computer and all that kind of stuff. And I put them online, and people liked it? But there was no band yet, so I had to find people real quick. There were already people online in the UK saying nice stuff about it, so what I did was I emailed everyone from the UK who liked it or said something about it on Twitter for example or blogs, and I asked them if they knew nice spots to play, or if they could help put on a show.

How did you put your band together, the guitarist is your brother?

The funny thing is that a few years ago when we didn’t exist yet, I think Yes, he is... he definitely is *laughs*. there were not that many bands At first, we had a different line-up; at that time in the Netherlands at it’s changed a bit over the two years. all, and it’s quite nice because now The first two members were school there are a lot more friends, well not really bands, which I find friends, when I asked really fun. Especially them I knew them and because they’re all we had a few lessons + From Amsterdam, trying to do stuff together, and I knew Netherlands abroad as well, so they could drum and + For fans of The Big sometimes you see Moon, The Orielles, Dream play bass, that’s why Wife them outside of the I asked them. Then + Check out ‘Pussycat’ Netherlands, so I like it changed, but that + Social @Pipblom that. I don’t think was the way we did it + See them live: Bibelot it’s been a stumbling at first.

Open Air and Into the block, it’s just more of Great Wide Open in a fact, so you know it’s You played a the Netherlands, and not the biggest scene few shows in the Reeperbahn in Germany. ever, and you know Netherlands and a especially in the indie industry few in the UK, have you noticed there are certain things you can more of a fanbase in the UK? accomplish, and then it’s kind We definitely notice it; there are of... you don’t get to do anything a just a lot more people liking us lot bigger. It’s nice if you have the in the UK. It’s a lot slower in the opportunity to play outside of the Netherlands. I think it’s probably Netherlands. going to be a bit better if we release an album. I think that’s something How did you first make that jump? that the Netherlands is focussed Well, we only did three shows in the on, especially a lot of industry and Netherlands and then immediately magazines, all that kind of stuff.

D OWN WI T H BO RI N G

The Facts

“I grew up with parents that worked in the industry; they started a music blog” They like bands to release albums.

Have you got plans to do that?

We’ve got plans. I’m hoping to release it in spring 2019, so we’re gonna record it this summer, it should be fun.

Is music something you’ve always been into, or did you come to it quite late?

I grew up with two parents that both worked in the Dutch music industry. Well not really the industry, they started a music blog where they did a lot of interviews and articles and that kind of stuff, and my dad used to be in a band, and my mum used to do their sound. So yeah, it was something I grew up with.

Check out...

DITZ Two years after the release of their ‘EP1’, Brightonians DITZ have made a long-awaited return with new single ‘Seeking Arrangement’. It’s a 1 minute 30-something seconds of utterly addictive understated punk that you need to get on your playlists right now; perfect for both messy nights out, or just having a lot of fun doing mundane, everyday tasks like the bloody hoovering. Welcome back, guys.

Listen to: ‘Seeking Arrangement’

Jade Bird Twenty-year-old Jade Bird spins pop tunes that tackle grown-up themes such as disillusionment, divorce, cheating and sorrow, through a spirited, youthful lens.

Having already ticked off bucket list-worthy sets on both Later with Jools Holland, and Jimmy Fallon, her ascent is going to kick into overdrive when she heads out on a big old headline tour this November.

Listen to: ‘Lottery’

What would have to happen for you to put those doubts away and think ‘we’ve made it’?

I do have two really big goals, and one is to play Glastonbury - that’s kinda the goal I’ve had since I started writing songs. The other one is that I want to tour Japan. It’s funny because I recently noticed that a lot of British bands and a few Dutch bands as well are all going to Japan to tour, so maybe... who knows?

What would you suggest to someone that’s going to the Netherlands for the first time?

Something that I like doing is to walk around a market, especially if you go to Amsterdam. I really like walking around a city and getting a real feel for the city, rather than going to the typical places where everyone goes. There are a lot of cool venues of all different sizes. I mean, of course almost everyone knows Paradiso for example which is a beautiful venue, so if you get the chance, go and see a band there. But there are also a lot of smaller ones, for example, OCCII, which is a squat venue. It’s nice, and they’re always playing a lot of cool bands. They sell cheap meals, too. P Pip Blom’s new EP

‘Paycheck’ is out 31st August.

The Aces The Aces are a wonderful foursome from Utah who’ve just dropped their debut album, ‘When My Heart Felt Volcanic’. They’re bringing it to the UK later this year, for a tour that’ll kick off on 14th November, and have them headlining London’s Dingwalls. Head along for pop of the coming-of-age variety, that’s seen them likened to both Haim and The 1975.

Listen to: ‘Fake Nice’

Blossom Caldarone South London-via-Gloucestershire teenager Blossom Caldarone is all about clever lyricism and a witty turn of phrase, imbued with all the fun you’d expect from someone who grew up inspired by 50s doowop girl bands. Classically trained in cello and piano, she started out performing self-penned songs with her dad’s band, playing in old man’s pubs, rugby clubs and beer festivals.

Listen to: ‘1964’

In the know

The Wombats There are always more bands - the biggest question is who do you listen to when it comes to recommendations?

Obviously Dork, your new music bible, should be your first port of call, but there are others too. This month we ask Tord Øverland Knudsen from indie staples, The Wombats.

Hei Dork! And thanks for letting me write about some of the new music I like. I live in Oslo, and there are lots of exciting things happening there at the moment.

Spielbergs is one of the bands I am really into. Somewhere in the landscape between And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead and Japandroids. The frantic EP opener ‘We are all going to Die’ has made Frank Turner and Biffy Clyro fans of the band. While the eight-minute-long epic ‘Ghost Boy’ shows that these guys have a more experimental side too. I was lucky enough to get to co-produce their EP (already out) and their debut album that will be released later this year.

The Basement Shake is another Oslo based band that just released an EP produced by Emil Nicolaisen (Serena-Maneesh). I really like the track ´Toothless Shark´ which is a really dark and distorted number,

but still melodic and dreamy in a My Bloody Valentine kind of way.

Sassy 009 make electronic pop music and are starting to make a name for themselves outside of Norway, as well as at home.

‘Are you Leaving’ is a track from their EP that I really like and the production by electro artist BAYA (also worth checking out) is spot on.

Although none of us live in Liverpool anymore, we still have a strong connection to the city and the scene there too. So on our last UK/European-tour, we had our favourite new band from the area, The Night Café supporting us. They are brilliant lads -both on and off stage. They just released a new EP called ‘Bunkbed’, and I really like the track ‘I’m Fine’ at the moment, but check out the whole EP if you get a chance.

Another band we’ve had supporting us, BLOXX just put out a new song called ´Second Opinion’ that is great. And HAARM are another local Liverpool band I really enjoy (check out their track ‘Valentine’).

Nation of Language supported us on our US-tour, and they are a great live band and lovely people.

I hope some of you can find something you haven’t heard before that you might like! P The Wombats’ album ‘Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life’ is out now.

Dizzy

With a debut album about to drop, Canadians Dizzy have our heads spinning.

Words: Jamie Muir.

L

ife in the suburbs can be tough. Quiet nights in

the shadow of a city, it’s a sort of half-way point for a whole range of different people stuck in life’s up and downs. It’ll be the place where city workers go to retreat from the madness, a step back from the incessant pace of life scattered across roads and junctions that never sleep, surrounded by a never-ending cycle of pressure and parties. For a few, it’s a natural direction they find when the city spits them out, churning them into a mess that can’t stand what its become and now has to pick up the pieces on the outskirts rather than trying to rebuild within.

Yet, for kids - the suburbs are something else. A hopeful yet spacious place to discover who they really are, learning and loving within their quiet evening streets. About walking between friends houses and tackling broken hearts, celebrating that confusing time where becoming an adult meets the unabashed freedom of being young. That life, and those vital moments of suburban hope

are where we find Dizzy, the sort Theatre school’s loss is our of band capturing what it’s like to gain. Dizzy are the sort of band be lost - because sometimes being who bottle an emotion or feeling lost is exactly where we need to be.

- something so innocent and For Dizzy, that’s Oshawa in universal that it takes them to a Ontario, Canada - a General whole different realm. That pull Motors town where thousands of first love, of having your heart work in the car business, and aside broken and not knowing what on from that there’s not much going earth that kick in your stomach on. It’s a playground that’s both is, or bonding over late-nights a benefit and a hindrance, where and cheeky cigarettes around although they didn’t have fun the backs of houses, Dizzy aren’t hidden around every corner, they afraid to bare it all. Across deft could have the freedom to find grooves and chilling swoons, they themselves. soundtrack it all to a tee.

“It’s a ‘make your own fun’ type “Katie and I were writing songs of place,” explains drummer together,” explains Charlie, Charlie Spencer, one of three looking back on how the group brothers (the others being Alex came together. “It came to a point and Mackenzie) who help make where we could only go so far! up the band with lead singer Katie Luckily, the others were right Munshaw. “Music there, and as three was one of the only brothers who’d played outlets for us; it was together for years, between that and that dynamic was + From Ontario, Canada sports really.” already in place, so + For fans of Hatchie, London Grammar, Broods it was more about “Yeah,” jumps in + Check out ‘Joshua’ Katie. “Like, I grew up bringing this into + Social @dizzytheband with a lot of different focus. The first + See them live: They things in my life. I time we got into the play the Omeara in London played a lot of sports, basement and started on 18th September did theatre - so music playing some stuff, we wasn’t always at the top of my list. were like, ‘Yeah, this sounds good’.

I was actually going to go away to This is going to work, y’know?” a school to do theatre, and Charlie From the age of 14, that kinship and I were thinking ‘maybe we was there between Katie and should give this music thing a try, Charlie, and its blossoming I think we have something’. But it became what Dizzy is today. Born definitely wasn’t the main thing.” out of those uncertain years

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“The first time we got into the basement and started playing some stuff, we were like ‘yeah, this sounds good’. This is going to work, y’know?” of feeling confused and going through those momentous coming of age moments in life, debut album ‘Baby Teeth’ feels like more of a natural documentation of that time more than most.

Rather than the glorified headiness, it’s a raw reflection - ‘Stars And Moons’ is a weaving cocktail of love’s hardships and blooming joys, ‘Swim’ is a swaggering blend of electronics and sky-cutting guitars that rise and rise into a mesmeric whole, ‘Pretty Thing’ is doe-eyed in young love and those wayward crushes that come with being near

Check out... someone close, ‘Joshua’ may be a new defining heartbreak anthem and ‘In Time’ is a nostalgic ode to memories of a more innocent time. Everything is felt - every delicate line and flashback - a collective reckoning of what it means to go through it all and come out the other side with at least some sense of optimism intact.

“It’s all a challenge” notes Katie, stopping to think about how these memories and stories have led them to where they are today.

“We’re all pretty introverted people, so having to take these songs and get up in front of a lot of people, it’s kinda out of our comfort zone, but we’re learning, and I think we’re all feeling a lot more comfortable now.”

Dizzy are onto something.

That blend of emotional storytelling and spiralling, but uplifting openness in the music they make is an immediate pull following in the footsteps of the likes of Death Cab For Cutie and Alvvays in taking everyday life and moulding it into something more. Over the past few years, it’s been a moulding process for sure, but now they sit on the cusp of releasing a debut album.

“Like, we’ve been sitting on these songs for so long that we got a little bit bored of them,” confesses Katie, “but when you release them, and they become this new thing, you realise that people do like them and it’s not just us. It’s interesting.”

“I think we knew who we were; I think it was more getting our strategy straight and getting our live sound to be the way we wanted it to be,” flows Charlie, thinking about why now is the moment Dizzy are finally ready to take on the world. “It’s very much a studio record, and we didn’t want to put the album out and jump on a stage to play something that’s nothing like it.”

With album number one about to make its way into the world, Dizzy are already looking firmly at what comes next. “For me, I want to figure out if we can do a second album and be proud of it,” notes Katie, “and whether it can be as good as the record we’ve made now. That’s the goal.”

“And to move out of my parents’ house.”

If ‘Baby Teeth’ is anything to go by, Katie and Dizzy are about to head far away from the suburbs that made them. A record of unflinching beauty, and a band able to soundtrack emotions in a way very few can - they’re about to have more than a few people in a spin. P

Dizzy’s debut album ‘Baby Teeth’ is out now.

LUCIA This bunch came down from Glasgow for Dork’s Old Blue Last residency, Etc. this summer (more on that later), and they were bloody good. Ones to file next to the likes of Whenyoung and Black Honey, their new single ‘Melted Ice Cream’ is an immensely fun tune it’s hard to get enough of. Top stuff.

Listen to: ‘Melted Ice Cream’

Grand Pax If you look for encouraging stamps of approval on newer artists, Grand Pax has them to spare.

With a debut EP out now via Blue Flowers - home to Nilüfer Yanya, Westerman and more - she’s not just from good stock. Take ‘Phase’, an atmospheric, textured vibe that is far too of-the-city to be described as haunting, but soars effortlessly above any mundane anchors. A talent to be watched.

Listen to: ‘Phase’.

So you wanna be a pop star?

Jonny Quinn, SPINN Being a pop star is a serious job. You can’t just walk through the door and get started. You need to have a proper interview first. This month’s applicant is SPINN’s Jonny Quinn. The board will see you now.

What can you tell us about yourself?

I’m 19 Years old, come from Liverpool, and I sing in a super trendy up-coming indie-pop band called SPINN. I’m currently sat listening to some soul music in my flat pondering what to have for breakfast. Probably tea and toast.

Another Sky Let’s be honest. If an act signs to a label like Fiction, we can be sure that someone, somewhere is imagining big things. When it comes to Another Sky, it’s sort of hard not to. Like a rounded off alt-J, on standout single ‘Avalanche’, vocalist Catrin Vincent lets fire above a textured soundscape that sounds both interesting and able to cross boundaries. No mean feat.

Listen to: ‘Avalanche’

Viagra Boys We all love a bit of raggedy garage punk - even more so when it comes from some achingly awesome Swedes. Stockholm’s Viagra Boys have our number good and proper.

Recent single ‘Sports’ spends much of its four minutes listing different forms of ball games, but with such an entrancing, trancelike, cooler-than-us delivery its enough to give anyone a good game.

Listen to: ‘Sports’

Why do you want to be a pop star?

I used to want to be in a band when I was a kid, but didn’t really have the confidence to do anything about it until I was 15 when I joined my first band. It’d be cool to be recognised for all the work we do with the band. I love it like, but it’s bloody hard work sometimes.

How would your bandmates describe you?

Lovely, poetic, kind, beautiful, amazing.

Nah I’m kidding, they’d probably describe me as dozy, goofy and horribly disorganised. I’m gonna throw ‘very talkative’ in there for good measure.

What are your best and worst qualities?

My best qualities are probably (this is according to my girlfriend): -Easy to talk to -Caring/thoughtful -Knowledgeable

My worst qualities (still according to my girlfriend) -Self-absorbed (at times) -Lazy -Apparently I snore, too

What is your biggest failure?

A Level ICT (sorry to Mr Ho and Mr Lacey, I tried.)

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

The band is the only thing I’ve ever done with my life, so it’d have to be that. I got an A in English Lit GCSE but that hardly compares to 2,000,000 listens on a song you wrote in your bedroom, does it now?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I’m quite ambitious; I want to get involved in all sorts of creative stuff. I want to be involved in art, maybe write a book or two in my time. I’ll still be slogging away in SPINN although maybe we’ll have some money by then. I’d like to get into music production as well; I’m doing it in university at the minute, but I’m still a bit clueless. Hopefully, I’ll gather that knowledge over time. I also want to tour the world and see the sights, you know?

What is your salary expectation?

Enough to buy a big terraced house somewhere and live there with some sort of family unit. A dog would suffice. Also, enough to buy loads of books and records, and houseplants, plant food for the houseplants and if possible, enough so that I can eat at some posh restaurants from time to time. P SPINN’s single ‘Shallow’

is out now.

a

better life?

The world might be crumbling around us, but as Spring King return with their second album, we’ll at least watch it burn with a soundtrack of solid gold bangers.

Words: Jessica Goodman.

Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.

“As big as possible, but not in a Britney way” With the release of their second album, Spring King are striving towards ‘A Better Life’. But what exactly does that mean for the band?

In their own utopia they’ve created, what would life be like for the outfit?

“I want to do amazing music videos, with a really ridiculous budget,” Tarek enthuses, “just once.”

Cinematic visuals would compliment the cinematic record, for sure. The scope the group want to play with is as broad as they can make it.

“I’d hire an orchestra to cover all of our songs,” Andy states. “A huge, huge, huge orchestra, with something like 200 musicians.”

“And there’d be about forty people in the audience,” James laughs.

“Possibly like Nirvana ‘Unplugged’: Spring King ‘Unplugged’,” Pete suggests.

“Obviously not that big, but with an orchestra and a really well art directed stage - a really surreal looking digital theme - and we’d just do acoustic-y versions of the songs.” He pauses, letting the image settle in. “Not that anyone else would like it,” he grins, “but for me, personally, I’d enjoy that.”

“It’s not like anyone else likes us anyway, to be honest,” James mocks.

“I think it’d just be pushing the creativity as far as it can go,” Tarek offers, restoring some normality to the conversation, “in terms of the music, and the artwork, and the lighting, and the shows, and the performance.”

The goal, it seems, is actually fairly simple. “Make everything as big as possible,” Tarek distils, “but not in a Britney Spears way.”

A

static opening.

An echoing saxophone refrain.

Thundering percussion.

One enduring question.

“What are you waiting for?” Such is the introduction to Spring King’s second album – a record that sees the outfit striving towards bigger, bolder, and better things than ever before. The result of a

Morton reflects. “Now we have to go and learn the songs as they are on [the album]. It’s quite challenging.”

“Yeah, we probably wouldn’t have put it on the record if we knew,” guitarist Pete Darlington laughs. “A lot of the stuff is actually just a lot harder to play and sing. For us as a band it is quite challenging,” he continues, more seriously. “The record stepped up. The songs are more varied. Now the live set needs to be able to match that.”

There’s a lot to consider, but Spring King have never been ones to shy away from a challenge. “Do we want to add other musicians?” “Do we want to bring a choir to certain shows?” “What can we do to elevate what we do even further?” are just some of the questions that pass between the group. With their biggest UK tour to date ahead of them, there’s everything to play for. One thing that seems to be guaranteed is that every moment will be delivered with Spring King’s trademark brand of whirlwind energy.

“I think energy is a huge part of Spring King, full stop,” Tarek enthuses. “There’s got to be an energy there, even if it’s a soft song.”

Having collaborated on music together as a group for the first time, that trademark energy is more present now than ever. “Our mindset has always been about writing pop music but with that heavy garage sentiment,” Tarek conveys. “Keeping it catchy, not just for the sake of someone else, but because I love writing hooks.”

“Lyrically, it’s one of those things where it’s as dark as you want to make it,” he continues to explain.

“We try and create these things that you can enjoy on many different levels. People can delve in as deep as they want into lyrics. If you just want something loud and fast, you can put it up, and it’s loud and fast. If you want something that’s lyrically thought-provoking, it’s got that as well. You can put the volume down and just listen to the words and take it in. There are different levels to the songs.”

“This is another thing with writing the record collaboratively,” James adds. “Stylistically, all of our lyrics are so different.” Inspired by the world that surrounds them, and the

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Spring King. London, July 2018.

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S

newfound collaborative approach to, well, everything, ‘A Better Life’ is the band at their brightest and most brilliant yet. With the album release finally here, Spring King’s fun is only just getting started.

“I never even thought there was going to be a band in the beginning,” frontman Tarek Musa reflects on the group’s origins. “I never wanted it to be a thing. Then when the first album came out, I was like, ‘Okay, cool, we’re a garage band,’ but then this album came out, and we’re not a garage band any more. We’ve grown out of that sound a little bit. I never know what’s next.”

True enough, ‘A Better Life’ isn’t quite the same band the world fell for on debut record ‘Tell Me If You Like To’. Sure, the affinity for driving rhythms and catchy-as-hell hooks remains present, but this is Spring King on turbo charge. The scope is broader. The choruses are catchier.

The harmonies are stronger. There’s more synths and more saxophone.

There’s even an appearance from the House Gospel Choir. ‘A Better Life’ is Spring King at their most urgent, their most energised, and their most inviting.

“I think this time around we just wanted to realise any ideas that we had,” Tarek details. “So if we wanted to add strings or add a choir, we were just going to do it - which was really fun.” Determined not to let their live show determine their capabilities in the studio and on record, all bets were off, and their limits were what they made of them.

“We’ve all improved as musicians over the past couple of years, which just gives you a broader scope for what you can achieve,” bassist James Green distils. “It was hard,” he laughs. “Trying to write some of the parts and recording stuff, it was graft. Trying to learn to just do bizarre things. But we’re really happy with the way it’s come out.”

The first time the band have written songs together as a group, working on this second record saw the band push each other to be the best that they can be. It might have been hard work, but the results have undoubtedly proved to be worth their while.

“We kind of recorded in a backwards way, because we were in the studio doing these parts individually and bringing together the songs that way,” guitarist Andy

“I know I’m going to come across like an egomaniac, but I don’t mind, it’s just how I feel”

world they want to see around them, ‘A Better Life’ might be Spring King at their most cinematic, but it’s also the band at their most real.

“Every song has its own little story to tell,” Pete states. If there’s one thing these songs, and in turn, their stories, have in common, it’s their emotion. Through feelings of anxiety, paranoia, isolation, and more besides, each song resounds with a characteristic strength and optimism, the band’s trademark energy driving through their very core.

“We spent a long time trying to think about the kind of message that we wanted to present,” Pete describes. “One of the things that we talked about at the beginning was that the world is in a strange place at the moment.” Such a statement is undeniable. Brexit is looming.

Gentrification is booming. Finding peace of mind surrounded by the onslaught of news headlines is a struggle in itself.

“A lot of bands are reacting to that with quite angry music,” Pete continues. “That’s great, I love all that stuff, but I just felt like we could spin that or flip it in a way, and try and make something that was really positive.” So that’s what they did.

Giving voice to inner demons to forge a powerful sense of resolution, ‘A Better Life’ is all about finding, and holding on to, a sense of optimism that can’t be tainted.

“Even if it was heavy, and dark, to make something that was uplifting to energise people...”

Pete describes. “It’s almost kind of like a naive utopia, like, ‘Hey, we can make something more out of this life than we have’.”

Such a utopia is visible in the album’s distinctive artwork: a group portrait of the band alongside friends, family, and a whole host of guests, all clad in distinctive uniforms alongside fruit, flowers, and flags, against a picturesque artistic backdrop.

“We said we wanted it to be about people from all walks of life coming together and creating this better world,” Tarek portrays.

“We wanted to get a group of people together, almost like this is a little society that we have,” Pete adds. This theme of a better world, unsettled but optimistic, is one that played a big part in the making of ‘A Better Life’ – and not just in the lyrics they wrote.

“What we were thinking and going back to was this idea of this post-apocalyptic world,” Andy distils. “We’d listened to the songs on the album, and tried to bring the imagery with them, and it always goes back to the idea that the world ended, but that was somehow better than what it used

to be?” he offers, almost in question.

“Whether or not that comes across, I don’t know,” Pete laughs, “but that’s where we were coming from.” Using this post-apocalyptic image to keep the four band members on the same page, following the same vision as they wrote for the record, the songs – though varied in voice and in topic – all offer a characteristic sense of something positive, which in turn offers a characteristic sense of power.

Their first fullycollaborative work to date, ‘A Better Life’ sees Spring King step up their game and take everything to the next level. So much so that the band’s first listen to the finished product managed to impress even themselves, even after a year of living inside the same songs.

“It was quite an intense experience. It was quite emotional,” James recalls. “We sort of said, ‘Right, here’s a pair of headphones each, listen to the whole thing, all the way through’.”

From months spent together in a writing room in Wandsworth, through time spent recording in “a strange little town called Fladbury,” to mixing on a boat in London, it was a moment that had been a long time coming.

“It was the first time we’d probably done that,” James states.

“It was the first time we locked in the tracklisting and were like ‘this is definitely the way it has to be’.

It got to the end of it, and it was quite an emotional moment, quite overwhelming.”

“It was quite an exhausting listen, in a way,” Pete continues.

“When you’re in the studio for that long you hear the tiniest detail. When you actually try and put that away and listen to the songs, it was actually quite a crazy experience. Like, ‘Bloody hell, we’ve actually made something

that’s pretty good’.”

How far they’ve come in such a short space of time isn’t something that’s wasted on any of the band members. “The other day I went back and listened to the ‘Animal’ demo,” James enthuses.

“It’s amazing hearing it, especially with it being the first thing that we’d written together. Starting there, and then hearing the album was quite a powerful moment.”

From driving rhythms through dynamic melodies to surging optimism, power is something that Spring King have garnered a knack for creating, and the band have never sounded more empowered than on ‘A Better Life’.

The group pause and contemplate how to best describe the result of their efforts, only to be distracted by the ringing of a passing cyclist’s bike bell. “...We could just use that,” James offers.

“That’s exactly how we would describe it,” Pete laughs, mimicking the ‘ding’.

“Intricately chaotic,” Tarek offers as a more serious answer, before adding “it’s so varied, the whole thing.”

“It’s an anxiety-ridden rollercoaster,” James conveys. “A work of a lifetime,” he mocks. “It’s our magnum opus!” he laughs. “ Please don’t use that.” [Sorry, not sorry - Ed.] “Honestly, without sounding like an egocentric maniac, from the first time I heard ‘Let’s Ride’ I knew we were going to be a good band,” Pete states. “That doesn’t mean I knew we were going to make this record, or that we’d do Jools Holland, or anything like that. I just thought that this is a really exciting sound.”

“I still feel that way about the band. It’s a testament to the songs,” Pete continues. “Like Tarek said, we have grown. Now, in a way, the next record is going to be mental. I don’t know what it’s going to sound like, but the scope is going to be even wider.

Songs will still be about songs and great melodies, but I think the

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scope will be even bigger.”

For right now, the group are simply excited to get back on the road. “That year and a half touring the first album was possibly the best year and a half of my life,” James proclaims. “We did things that I never ever thought that we’d do,” he enthuses, and the rest of the band are quick to echo his excitement.

“I guess that’s the dream for every band: to put out the best stuff that you’re proud of and hope people love it, and if they don’t, you love it anyway,” Tarek distils.

“Then tour as much as possible and play as many shows as we can. I think for us we just want to play live.”

“For some reason, we’re quite good live,” Pete comments. “I don’t know what it is, but we’ve just managed to pull it together.”

“Mate,” James interrupts, laughing. “You, in those shades, just sat there on the canal in Hackney, all ‘I just always knew we were going to be sick,’ is such an amazing picture.”

“I didn’t think we were definitely sick,” Pete tries to justify, “I just thought there’s potential here.”

He pauses, joining in with the group’s laughter. “I know I’m going to come across like a mental egomaniac, but I don’t mind, it’s just how I feel.”

“You can only act the way you are,” James affirms.

Conforming to a policy they describe as “radical honesty,” Spring King are raring to once again take the world by storm. As the band themselves question on lead single ‘Animal’, “what are you waiting for?” P Spring King’s

album ‘A Better Life’ is out 31st August.

‘H

unter’’s arrival is heralded by a stalking, patient guitar riff slinking out of the speakers. Then, Anna Calvi’s full, rich voice; “If I was a man in all but my body...” It’s an uncompromising opening that leaves no doubt about the extent of its power. This record is a predatory beast.

Anna’s first two albums – her self-titled 2011 debut, and ‘One Breath’ in 2014 – earned her all kinds of praise, with comparisons ranging from Patti Smith, to PJ Harvey, to Nick Cave. The latter was said to be a fan, as was Brian Eno. So it’s no small thing that her third record sounds like it could devour both previous releases for breakfast. ‘Hunter’ is a staunchly feminist, unflinchingly queer album, powerful and bold but also intimate, tender. It has come from a period of reckoning and re-evaluation, and as a result is possibly Anna Calvi’s most open work to date.

“I’d had a breakup after eight years, and I was with someone new, and when I was writing the record I was hoping to kind of reimagine my identity and start again,” she says. “And I didn’t want to have to hide anything.”

“Not that I really feel that I had,” she clarifies, “but these themes, queerness and feminism, are really important to me and I wanted to share how I felt.”

There are no accusations of shying away here. ‘Hunter’ rejects the patriarchal notion of women as prey and recasts them as the “alpha’, the driving force. The hunters, if you will.

“Partly I was feeling very frustrated at the depictions of women that I see in culture and the way that these false stereotypes are drilled into everyone of what a man or woman is meant to be,” Anna says of the album’s genesis.

“The way that culture depicts women is often nothing like the women that I know. So instead of seeing a woman as being hunted, which is often what we see being depicted, I liked the idea of a woman as the ‘Hunter’ who’s the protagonist of her own story, going out seeking pleasure for her body - or any other way - without a sense of shame.”

Cultural depictions of women come into play a lot across ‘Hunter’. Tracks like ‘Alpha’ – on which Anna takes full advantage of her vocal range to communicate a sense of primal power – lean into the fact of strength as a non-gendered trait. On the surface, something so simple shouldn’t feel radical, but as Anna points out society’s

understanding and use of language has a long way to go, even in 2018.

“I think that language has a real effect on how we feel about ourselves, even if it’s subconscious. Men are always being described as hunters, which I think is negative, for women,” she says. “With the idea of an alpha, we just automatically assume it’s referring to a male.

I like the idea of it being more ambiguous, and that it could be a woman or a man. It’s not genderspecific.”

“A lot of the strongest people I know do happen to be women.

The idea that strength is a masculine trait, I don’t think it’s helpful for men either,” Anna continues. “I find when men and women are pushed to this extreme of performing a stereotype of their gender, it can be very limiting.”

For Anna, this limitation is not only frustrating a feminist standpoint. Her irritation also springs from the relationship between her body and identity, and the ways that the two chafe up against each other.

“I s’pose for me I never really completely identified as female, from when I was little. Although I never felt that my body was so wrong that I felt I needed to change it, I did feel a disconnect.

And I found it really hard going through puberty, and getting this female body felt quite alien to me,” she considers.

“It’s always been there for me, this frustration of just because what my body has on it I should have these particular characteristics. I never felt completely right about that. This myth that women are weaker in some way, it frustrates me a lot.”

The alpha figure throughout the record’s narrative has become an outlet for these concerns, while also serving ‘Hunter’’s story independently of such themes.

“I also like the idea of, whichever gender [the alpha] is, how even if you are full of bravado you must go home and feel very paranoid and insecure and sensitive. The extremes of this kind of person, who is outwardly full of confidence but inwardly very insecure,” says Anna. “I thought it was quite an interesting character study.”

The alpha’s story is not the only character study that ‘Hunter’ made space for. Although that sense of disconnect has been everpresent, the process of writing and recording the album allowed Anna to view her identity and her gender from other angles. “[The record] enabled me to question myself in a way that I haven’t before, and I guess there’s a lot of suppressed thoughts and

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“This myth that women are weaker in some way, it frustrates me a lot” feelings about my gender that I never really explored before making this record,” she says.

‘Hunter’ also allowed her to express her beliefs “from a feminist point of view too,” she explains. “It’s so important to me, it’s what I talk about and think about a lot. It couldn’t not come into my work because it was so important to me.”

Feeling so passionately about the issues the record addresses can make a musician uniquely vulnerable. To put so much of yourself into an album is essentially like walking out into a battlefield; it’d be devastating to turn around and find that you were alone out there.

“When I was writing it, and when I was thinking about it, sometimes I did wonder like, ‘Does anybody feel the same way that I feel?’ I did feel a bit alone in it,” Anna says.

“But I guess having released that first song and having explained how I feel about these subjects in an open and emotional way, I was encouraged and moved by people’s response, and it felt like people were being more open with me back.”

This shared openness is particularly crucial when the album’s softer side comes into play. On ‘Hunter’, everything has a flip side – the alpha’s bravado meets insecurity, power begets vulnerability. In some cases, Anna Calvi has taken these contrasts further, to present alternative versions of common narratives. ‘Eden’, for example, presents a teenager’s first queer experience in a softer light, shielding the characters from the social stigma that so often can lead to the fear or shame that taints or tinges these moments.

“I guess for straight people, their

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first experience sexually with someone it’s all just about, ‘Oh do they like me?’ They don’t have to question their identity and think, ‘Oh is this wrong?’ and ‘What does this mean?’, all these things that we shouldn’t have to think about.

We should just have the purity of this beautiful moment.”

She explains, “it’s just reimagining that beautiful first time where you really like someone, and you’re with someone, and taking away all that negativity and seeing it as this pure Eden-like experience.”

The dream of paradise found forms the backbone of the album’s more tender side. Along with ‘Eden’, there is the fluid, lush ‘Swimming Pool’, inspired by the defiant pleasure of David Hockney’s homoerotic painting of the same name. Anna’s interest in the painting, she says, comes from an appreciation not only of the art itself, but also of the shamelessness with which Hockney expressed gay themes in his work in a time when that was a much greater risk than it is today.

“I love David Hockney’s paintings of swimming pools, and that even in the 60s when it was a lot more taboo, homosexuality, that he’s doing this thing of defiance of happiness and pleasure, he’s just shamelessly drawing these beautiful pictures of men and enjoying the male form,” she explains. “The feeling of desire is just so beautiful. I love the idea of trying to do a musical version of how beautiful his swimming pools look.”

This sense of shamelessness comes out right through the record, but is probably best summed up by the title track.

‘Hunter’ is about the joy of finding a community in gay clubs and queer scenes, safe in the knowledge that you are among your people.

“There’s a sense of transcendence and beauty about being with somebody without any kind of worry or outside negative force, similar to ‘Eden’. In my own experience of when I was a teenager I didn’t know anyone gay, and the first times when you’re with other people like you, it’s such an incredible feeling. It’s really really exciting, and very powerful.

“I just wanted to have a song that held you, emotionally, in the way that I feel those moments have,” she says. “You open the door, and you go in, and suddenly you feel like you’re home.”

For some, that’s precisely the way ‘Hunter’ will feel. Like a home in which strength, shamelessness, feminism, and queerness are utopian and true.

P Anna Calvi’s album ‘Hunter’ is

out 31st August.

the

Mercury Prize-nominated songwriter Anna Calvi uses her striking new album ‘Hunter’ to explore ideas sexuality and gender conformity.

hunter

Words: Liam Konemann.

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Cut and

run.

S

laves are probably Kent’s most famous musical duo, or at the very least the duo most proud of hailing from the garden of England. As Laurie, the guitarist, sits down opposite us at a Shoreditch café it’s easy to make out the word ‘Kent’ tattooed on his hand, a semi-ironic, semiserious tribute to his home turf.

Semi-ironic and semi-serious is a good way to describe the duo, too.

They’ve spent their previous two albums flitting between scathing commentary on how we live and songs like ‘Feed the Mantaray’, complete with their mate dressing up as a manta ray on stage.

(Apparently said mate is now ‘first mate on a yacht in Malta’, no word on whether or not he’s still got the costume on.)

Both Laurie and Isaac are in high spirits, and keen to share bizarre anecdotes about anything and

everything. Laurie tells (between laughter) of the curry house on Brick Lane that has a picture of Chris Martin in the window eating a curry, but have written “Chris Martin from Coldplay” underneath, in case you didn’t get who it was. He also mentions a bagel place nearby where A$AP Rocky got shouted at for queue jumping once, or so he’s heard.

Isaac, on the other hand, is wondering whether or not to have a coffee. On the one hand, he hasn’t slept properly in days, playing a show in Serbia, travelling straight to Latitude to see Wolf Alice play (Ellie Rowsell, the singer / guitarist, is his girlfriend), then promptly getting a lift all the way home straight afterwards. “Why the fuck did I do that?” he groans. “I might have a coffee, but the last time I did I was walking down Oxford Street afterwards, and I started thinking about Elon Musk saying we all live in a simulation, it basically gave

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me a panic attack!” No caffeine for Isaac, then.

They may be scattergun when it comes to general conversation, but as soon as talk turns to the album Slaves are laser-focused. “We wanted it to be a concise, confident piece of music,” Laurie begins, Isaac making a noise of agreement.

“I think the key thing we wanted to nail was the choruses. We spent so long discussing choruses between the last album and this one; we’d even go to watch other bands and have in-depth analysis of what was in their choruses. It sounds mad, but I think we’ve always done whatever feels natural, but this time…”

“We’ve basically just banged ‘em out before,” Isaac jumps in. “This time we decided from the off that we were going to have some proper choruses, which was a new approach.”

“We turned down a lot of A+ Slaves songs too,” Laurie adds, referencing

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the albums slender nine-song tracklist. “I think there’s a danger as an artist of getting a bit like, ‘Of course everyone wants to hear everything, it’s all great!’ And all that does is mean there comes a point where people are skipping tracks. I get it with albums now, I’m listening to albums that are considered great, and I’m sat there skipping certain songs.”

“Definitely,” Isaac nods.

“Beforehand we would put whatever we had on an album, so it was more of a mixtape than a coherent body of work. We just didn’t think about it. It is daunting looking at the tracklisting on the back of an album though. You just sit there thinking, ‘Fuck’s sake, is that it?’”

This shift in gears is something Slaves have been thinking about a lot, and wasn’t a decision they took lightly. “We looked around at everyone doing 16, 20 track albums and we thought we would cut it down. Kanye may have beaten

Slaves are back, and they’re shifting gears. With a new focus, a more concentrated form and actual proper choruses, everyone else should probably take cover.

Words: Jake Hawkes.

us to it, but we had the idea first.”

Laurie grins, daring us to take the statement seriously. “A big part of this album has been the number of deaths in music, and especially David Bowie passing away. There’s been so much media about music again, and it just dawned on me when I started looking at Bowie’s albums, they’re all so short. His last one, ‘Blackstar’, was only 7 or 8 tracks and I just thought to myself, ‘If David Bowie’s doing it, there’s got to be a reason’.”

“The ordering of the tracklist is completely conscious too,” Laurie continues.

“We argued about it up until 11:59 pm on the day it was meant to be handed in, and we still didn’t agree on it. I could sit and talk somebody through why every song is where it is and the ebbs and flows of each one. We had some long discussions over the course of months about everything. Do you start an album by surprising someone? We ended up deciding we shouldn’t, because the core fans would probably just turn the record off.”

They both laugh.

“It was about enticing people in with what we’re doing, and this might be a bold statement to make, but [opening single] ‘Lives They Wish They Had’ takes everything we’ve ever done up to this point and makes the best possible version of it. It’s got Isaac’s direct lyrical observation; it’s got a nice hooky chorus, it’s got everything.”

At the other end of the album and the other end of the scale - is closing track ‘Acts of Fear and Love’. “That song sounded like absolute shit before we recorded it,” Laurie acknowledges. “We genuinely thought we wouldn’t be able to include it. On this album I’ve had to stop and admit that it doesn’t matter if I want to play a riff, it’s got to make Isaac’s vocals

“We can be political and show an emotional side too” sound good. ‘Acts of Fear and Love’ had this mad chorus of screaming feedback, and I just had to reel it in and play a few chords instead.”

“That’s when it transformed,” Isaac adds. “We completely took it apart and put it back together to make it work. The more introspective lyrics felt natural though, I haven’t been as comfortable doing that in the past, but with this album, I just felt like I could be.”

“It was a conscious decision though; we did encourage it,” Laurie says, turning to Isaac. “As soon as you started doing that I just thought it was where we should go. We’ve done so much other stuff, and I feel like people need to hear that side of you, hear what you’ve got to say about yourself.”

In making this pivot towards the more personal, ‘Acts of Fear and

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Love’ feels less political than their previous work, but Laurie is keen to keep carrying that torch. “We’ve always been massive advocates of bands using their platform, always.

But our band aims to inspire young people to feel involved and feel included, not to rewrite political rulebooks, because we don’t have the ability to do that on our own.”

“I think we want to inspire people to speak their minds,” Isaac sums up.

“There are politics in all sorts of things,” Laurie continues. “The thing is you run the risk of being pigeonholed into being a ‘political band’, and some people don’t want to be barked at like that. You need to have a really strong sense of self to draw a line and not talk about your personal politics, and we tried to do that with this album. There’s even a love song on the album, because

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Zine but not herd Alongside Slaves’ new album comes a special hand drawn ‘zine. Laurie explains what to expect.

“With ‘Take Control and ‘Are You Satisfied’ I don’t think we managed to entwine our artistic and musical aspirations properly, so with the zine that’s what we’re trying to do.

“I’ve wanted to do something like this for ages, where we go in the opposite direction of most bands who are really secretive about everything and just tell people exactly what we’re doing and how we do it.

“It was a real labour of love for me, it’s all hand drawn and written – I got Isaac to make sure the lyrics were right, bought a blank guitar tab book and wrote all of that out too. I even got Isaac’s mum to send over some photos of him as a baby.

It reminded me of doing a school project, like one of those booklets you had to make in year 6, but it’s a ‘play along with Slaves’ kind of vibe instead.

“Originally we were gonna try to include it with everything but it’s been a logistical nightmare to make that happen, so it’s going to be included with some versions of the album and available to download for free for everyone else.

“The zine also has a handmade DIY feeling to it so it balances out the album, which is just a little bit more polished than what we’ve done in the past.”

“We’ve always been massive advocates of bands using their platform, always” we just thought. ‘Why shouldn’t our band be able to have both?’ We can be political and show an emotional side too.”

“That doesn’t mean we avoid politics entirely though,” he goes on.

“Just that it isn’t front and centre.

I think ‘Magnolia’ is the most political song on the album, but it’s comical as well. Not being very eloquent at speaking about political subjects has meant we don’t always hit the nail on the head, but I think with ‘Magnolia’ we do. “’Giant faces are smiling at us, call the number on the side of the bus, all I wanna be is attractive and carefree.’ When Isaac wrote that I was blown away, I was literally grinning. That hasn’t happened in a while, but it used to happen all the time. I can just imagine myself on the streets of Brixton staring up at that bus.”

“It’s just about people doing whatever they’re told,” Isaac explains. “Which we’re just as guilty of as everyone else.”

And do 65% of homes have a magnolia wall as the song claims?

Isaac laughs. “No comment on that one, no comment.”

Throughout our conversation, it’s clear that the duo are taking things at a much more measured pace, and

having a child has been a major driving force in this change, for Laurie at least.

“Maybe I’ve got one somewhere too… maybe a few,” Isaac winks, tongue firmly in cheek.

“Having Bart has changed me,” Laurie says. “It’s given me the ambition to make something that he can listen to when he’s older and say, ‘Woah, my dad did this!’ So far everything we’ve made has been quite cult.

I feel like we’re in a place where we’ve made this cool underground band that’s peeked out over the top, but hasn’t made that big push.

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that features us, but I don’t think we’ve made something absolutely seminal yet, and that’s what I want with this one.

“I said to Isaac when we started it; we could make an album that’s just more of the same.

We’ve got enough songs that we could go into the studio now and make a ‘Sugar Coated Bitter Truth’ part 2, or a ‘Take Control’ part 2, but we wanted to see how big we could take this. We’re trying it out, and if we don’t like where it takes us, we’ll go back and make a hardcore record next time.

And that ambition stems from me having a kid and wanting to up the ante.”

Shortly before the new album was announced, it was revealed that Slaves were starting their own label, Girl Fight, and had signed Ladybird as their first band. Most groups would probably take it one project at a time, but apparently, Isaac and Laurie aren’t fans of putting things on the backburner.

“We were in the studio with Ladybird last week producing their new song,” says Laurie, clearly enthusiastic. “Girl Fight is specifically for them at the moment, we are thinking about what to do next, but nothing has worked out yet. Ladybird are our project, and it’s very much still going on behind the scenes.”

With talk of Girl Fight comes talk of the backlash that came after

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Slaves, a male group, signed an allmale band called Ladybird to a label called Girl Fight. Laurie pauses when this is brought up, collecting his thoughts.

“We set Girl Fight up primarily because we love Ladybird. There will be a girl band or a band with female members, but it just so happens that the first band is a group of guys.

“We need more women in music so desperately, especially in rock music, but Ladybird have one of the most positive, inclusive messages out of any band I’ve ever heard and their new single is all about openness and the struggles of men talking about emotions. I think it’s really important that we nourish them because they’re gonna bring a lot of good into the world.

“Having said that, we do need more women in the music industry, and we’ve got to work out how to effectively make that happen, at all levels. I think it starts at the bottom, at birth, there’s this weird stigma in people’s heads, like the whole Action Man and Barbie thing.

If I ever have a daughter, she’ll get guitar and drum lessons, and I think people thinking that stuff isn’t for girls is where so much of this starts out.”

His passion for the subject is clear, as he continues: “There are some great bands we wanna do more with. I’ve just been checking out this awesome band called Thyla from Brighton. I’d love to do something with them, but because Girl Fight is so small, we just don’t have a big infrastructure.

“That’s what makes it so easy with Ladybird; they’re our friends so when we text them, they immediately know the vibe, there’s less ‘management’ actually needed.

If we sign someone we don’t know it’s going to be completely different and they’re going to have different expectations, we’re just not there yet.” P Slaves’ album ‘Acts of Fear

and Love’ is out 17th August.

Kilimanjaro & Friends by arrangement with Progressive Artists present

6 / 10 17 / 10 18 / 10 19 / 10 20 / 10 24 / 10

Manchester, Neighbourhood Festival Liverpool, Arts Club Reading, South Street Arts Centre Brighton, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar Bristol, Simple Things Festival London, The Dome

25 / 10 26 / 10 27 / 10 30 / 10 1 / 11 2 / 11

Cambridge, Portland Arms Leicester, The Cookie Dublin, Whelans Newcastle, Think Tank Leeds, Brudenell Social Club Glasgow, The Great Eastern

The debut album Invitation To Her’s out August 24th via Heist or Hit Available on Swamp Green Vinyl, CD and Digital Download thatbandofhers

thatbandofhers

thatbandofhers

Four weeks. For shows. A whole bunch of your favourite bands.

This July, we took over London’s Old Blue Last for the first edition of our brand new music festival, etc. - this is what went down.

Words: Ali Shutler, Jake Hawkes, Jamie Muir, Liam Konemann. Photos: Patrick Gunning.

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new music,

etc.

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week one

Catholic Action + Thyla, Team Picture

W

+ The Magic Gang DJ set hen’s the best time to book a festival in the upstairs of a crowded pub with no air con? If you answered ‘in the middle of a heatwave’ you must be the bloke who organises events for Dork (Hi, Liam! - Ed), or possibly just someone who’s gone mad from dehydration.

Despite the warmth, week one of Etc. goes steaming ahead, and with Team Picture, Thyla and Catholic Action on the bill, it’s no wonder it’s absolutely rammed.

We just hope nobody touches the walls; they’re distinctly... sweaty.

Team Picture are first up, braving the heat and jumping on stage in matching white suits.

Once they’ve got rolling, this lot are unstoppable. Indie bangers abound, but there’s still room for the band to play a joke or two, getting out their book on ‘Writing Better Lyrics’ halfway through to widespread laughter.

Thyla are a force to be reckoned with, tearing through tracks

like it’s nobody’s business. The crowd responds in kind, dancing through the stifling heat and giving as good as they get. Tracks like ‘Blame’ and ‘I Was Biting’ receive a raucous reception and as they finish there are already scattered cries of ‘more!’ from the audience. Steady on lads, we haven’t even got to the headline act yet.

And what a headliner it is.

Catholic Action bristle with energy, taking the best of indie and distilling it down into something truly special. Lead singer Chris pauses nonchalantly before they start and looks around at the packed out venue, smiling. ‘I was swimming in a loch yesterday,’ he says, wiping sweat from his face. ‘Sorry to be so stereotypically Scottish, but it is fucking hot, isn’t it?’

With a debut album under their belt, they know how to work a crowd, and their shimmering indie hooks sound better than ever live. The crowd duly starts to leap about and don’t stop until the set is over, singing lyrics back to the band word for word. By the time it’s all over everybody’s forgotten about the temperature, and the bar starts to fill with sweat-drenched, grinning music fans. Week one might be finished, but there’s a hell of a lot more where that came from. P

.Thyla S.

.Team Picture S.

The Big Question:

What’s the worst song ever written? “‘America’ by Razorlight, it has to be, surely? Or Sam Smith’s James Bond theme tune. For some reason this Sam Smith horror show made it on instead of all of the better options.”

Tom and Alex, Team Picture “There are so many

contenders for this. Okay.

Not because it’s the worst song ever written, but because I have terrible memories of it, ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ by The Verve.”

Chris, Catholic Action “Gangnam Style.”

Millie, Thyla

.Catholic Action S.

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.Francobollo S.

week two

Francobollo + Bad Nerves, Valeras

W

+ Dom from Peace DJ set eek two at Etc. has a different feel altogether, but our penchant for bloody lovely vibes hasn’t changed. Trust us; it’ll still be coming home sooner than you know it.

Valeras are leading the charge.

They’re openers tonight, but give it a minute, and they’ll be headlining all over the shop. It’s a dominant display. Clean but packing a presence, they fly through a set with bass lines ripping at every moment - a fullon band, unafraid. As a live act, they’re unstoppable. No matter the slot, they take to it like it’s theirs to seize. This is just the beginning, keep an eye on this lot. The rest is inevitable.

There’s no band more hungry than Bad Nerves, and it’s written across their face as soon as they step on stage. Lightning riffs and a sense of no bullshit rings out. There’s a knowing to everything they do, with new songs effortlessly catching the imagination and already certified bangers ringing out.

Diving into the front row, the likes of ‘Can’t Be Mine’ and ‘Radio Punk’ are delivered emphatically. The Old Blue Last is lucky to catch an early preview of what’s to come.

Francobollo headline tonight in their own unique style. Their sense of ‘we’re trying this, let’s see what you think of it’ rings throughout, that daring innovation and refusal to sit still dialling up the excitement at every turn. With an album under their belt, you’d forgive them for resting easy, but tonight they feel like a whole new band.

From swapping drummers to new future indie pop hits, all packed with sizzling energy, Francobollo may just be one of the most unpredictable and invigorating bands around. P

.Bad Nerves S.

The Big Question:

What’s the best flavour of crisp?

“Sea salt and black pepper.

Any black pepper and salt combo, but preferably sea salt, as we are connoisseurs of the crisp. Simple and concise, not too fancy.”

Sean, Francobollo “Classic crisp, or fancier? I like Skips, the normal Skip

flavour. I wasn’t aware they were prawn cocktail until recently, but I accept it now.

Or flaming hot Monster Munch, one of those two.”

Dom, Peace “Just salted, none of that stinky stuff.”

George and Rose, Valeras

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.Saltwater Sun S.

week three

Off Bloom + Saltwater Sun, Alex Tracey, Outlya

I

+ Fickle Friends DJ set t’s week three of Etc., and so far we’ve had storming sets, fresh new bands making their mark and enough new music to shake a - well - magazine at (let’s go with that). We’re not messing around, and tonight can bloody well prove it; a glimpse into acts who in 12 months time, will be the talk of the town.

.Off Bloom S.

Opening up a four-band bill at 7:45 pm can be a tricky job, but Outlya make any fears seem like nonsense. As a three-piece, they’re smooth and stripped back tonight - chiming with tightly crafted pop weavers and bouncing off a crowd already devoted and glued to the front of the stage. Stepping out into the crowd for ‘The Greatest’, they manage to make The Old Blue feel more like a campfire get-together than the boozer it is; there’s a likeable charm to everything they do. With the sort of songs that you wouldn’t be surprised to hear ringing out across radio dials pretty soon, this feels like a tantalising taste of something ready to pop.

Arriving with a frenzy of slickly formed guitar-pop, Alex Tracey is bursting with enthusiasm.

You can see it written across his face from start to finish, as he whips through a set of tight licks that bounce off the walls.

Pulling poses straight out of an 80s rock handbook, there are rhythms aplenty with ‘Crazy’, while covering The Beatles and getting a scorching room of cider drinkers to sing along to ‘Come Together’ is definitely something to whack on the ‘ol CV. There’s ambition and confidence there,

.Outlya S.

.Alex Tracey S.

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and it’ll take Alex Tracey far.

If you thought it couldn’t get any busier, than you’d be sorely mistaken - especially with Saltwater Sun knocking around.

In a rapid set, they prove why they’re next to claim the new band crown, packed with swagger and a blistering mentality - it’s a band who know how big the stages are going to be in twelve months time. Shifting with variety (jumping from out and out indie jams to almost alt-rock croons), it never feels like a repeat formula with them - latest number ‘Hot Mess’ proving a particular standout. Saltwater Sun have nailed who they are as a band, and it shines through tonight as a live force to be reckoned with.

Catching Off Bloom in a setting like tonight feels like a treat. Giant pop hooks, soaring choruses and a stage presence that captivates no matter where they turn - this lot should be playing to thousands. Etc. gets a full look at a band ready for what’s next, with an arsenal of bangers already in their back pockets. ‘Rockefe11a’ pushes and chimes with knowing danger, ‘Shut Up And Let Me Walk’ flicks and rips with a rolling thunder and ‘Lover Like Me’ reaches out to the back of the room and pulls everyone closer.

It’s an unstoppable sound, a Major Lazer sound system that never relents - ‘Falcon Eye’ remains an undeniable heavyweight hit that, lead by the powerful tones of Mette Mortenson reaching out to devoted fans gathered at the front. By the time ‘Golden Dreams’ hits a new level, there’s a genuine concern that the bouncing crowd could actually go right through the floor - as Off Bloom light up an earthquake that needs to be felt in modern pop. A sizzling display, tonight was about throwing a party before things go truly stratospheric. P

week four

Girli + Lucia, Zand

T

+ Dream Wife DJ set onight is the first show Zand has ever played. There’s been other projects, other music, in the past but this is something new. Something daring. Something dangerous.

There are no opening night nerves as the pair, wearing balaclavas and stomping about the stage, dive in with both feet. ‘LUCI’ welcomes in the new order, all driving circles and big movements, as the rest of the set deals in unblinking confrontation, menacing swagger and playful bite. It never looks at intimidation. They’ve only got eyes for shared experiences, inclusivity and running out of patience. Grinning and baring their teeth, they shadow box and tease the spotlight as ‘Fiends’ swerves this way and that before ‘Boys Like U’ tick, tick, booms, pelting the room with jarring electro screams and shiny pop smiles.

LUCIA have spent 2018 everywhere and anywhere. This time tomorrow they’ll be back home, headlining King Tuts after many hours of driving, but right now, this is all that matters. They’re a little bit of everything and tonight that sparkles. Their ‘Best Boy’ EP caught a band eager to be heard, but since then, they’ve found a

.Girli S.

voice that says it all. During their thirty-minute set, LUCIA are ferocious and terrifying, tender and whisper-quiet. Frank, to the point but leading the room on otherworldly adventures as they refuse to stand still or do the expected. Dynamic and daring, the best is yet come as new songs ‘Summertime’ and ‘Blue Heart’ find fresh colours to splash about the space while ‘Melted Ice Cream’ sets it off.

Tonight was only going to go one way. Girli has always managed to squeeze these huge shows into tiny rooms, but recently, her hyperactive desire to be lots of things all at once has found a determined focus.

It supercharges her set, and from the very start, it’s glorious, wonderful chaos. Across ten tracks, Girli is a neon whirlwind.

Bouncing between stage, crowd and sky, there’s euphoria to be found in every struggle. From shitty relationships and societal expectations to learning to love yourself and embracing the bad with the good, her pop songs swing with a glinting, relatable edge and the shining hope that you’re not alone in the battles.

New song ‘Up and Down’ is about “mental health”, she says - “Some days I feel really, really good. Some days I feel really, really shit. Some days I feel both, some days I don’t know what to feel, and that’s okay” - while ‘Day Month Second’ is an empowering rave of forward motion. “This is going to beat Woodstock,” she pokes before the final, carnageinducing bop of ‘Hot Mess’ brings Sweat Fest 2018 to a close. We’ll see you soon, yeah? P

.Lucia S.

.Zand S.

H

aving formed officially in Brighton back in 2014, Our Girl have spent the last four years honing and perfecting their craft as a contemplative yet progressive entity of sound.

Made up of guitarist/vocalist Soph Nathan, bassist Josh Tyler and drummer Lauren Wilson, this has culminated with their debut album ‘Stranger Today’; a record that encapsulates their journey and arrives at a time that couldn’t be more perfect – “the songs were ready to be recorded,” Soph notes.

Spending just over twelve days in the studio, the band recruited the talents of producer/composer/ general ‘guitar genius’ Bill RyderJones as an honouree fourth member and his presence played an important part in the overall shaping of the album, his style and sound being noticeable on a number of tracks.

“I hadn’t anticipated that,” Soph ponders. “I was so used to it just being the three of us and knowing what we wanted, but he was perfect for it, and added so much.”

This is clear on songs such as ‘Josephine’, where an outro, originally intended to be relatively short, evolved into a three-minute soundscape, with Bill and the band layering guitars upon guitars to create an ending fitting of its construction.

Similarly, it was by exploring these avenues that Our Girl were able to apply the finishing touches to their unique style. Sleeping in the studio each night, the focus was always there and allowed the band to take an organic approach to the recording process, not to mention being able to maintain a constant ‘Our Girl Zone’.

“It was great as we could come in at any point in the day, like ‘really’ late and have that freedom – it made a big difference to the experience,” Soph adds. “It was so all-consuming; it tired me out in a way that was cool but intense – I’d never felt like that before.”

Taking off on a headline tour in October, the band are travelling around the UK to showcase the new album, with a few tracks - in particular, ‘Sub Rosa’ and ‘I Wish It Was Sunday’ - getting their first proper run out.

This is in contrast to others on the album with some dating back to the band’s formation in 2014.

One of these is the song ‘Our Girl’ which, along with being the first thing they ever played together as a trio, has gone on to become an almost centrepiece to the band, opening not only the album but also a number of their shows.

Moreover, following its relatively recent release as an ‘official’ single, it has acquired a

whole new range of fans.

“It’s great,” says Lauren. “When we released some of the older tracks like ‘Our Girl’, a whole new group of people heard it and now when we play it at gigs, people are singing along so passionately. That sort of gives it a new lease of life cause you look out at the crowd and realise just how much they’re enjoying it; that automatically transfers to the stage.”

“Lauren’s right,” Soph continues.

“Even if we’re putting a song out there that may be old for us, it’s new for those people, and you get a different reaction each time – it may be a cliché, but no two shows feel the same.”

A feeling of togetherness spreads throughout the stories they recall, whether it’s simply deciding on a name for the band and album, all the way to getting stuck in a snowstorm on tour (“We thought we were going to die in Bradford!”). Although Josh and Soph both have commitments in other bands (Breathe Panel and The Big Moon respectively), it is clear that it hasn’t affected the group’s relationship.

“They’re very different in my mind,” Soph says in reference to The Big Moon.

“It just feels like a whole separate thing.

I never really think much about how fast things have happened in the other band [e.g. the Mercury Prize nomination]; it’s always just been about moving forward, doing what we feel is right for us.”

Nevertheless, Our Girl still make an effort to support each other in their various side projects, embracing the creativity they acquire in their different roles.

“I think Josh’s band are actually

going to play some shows with us on our tour if they can,” Lauren enthuses. “He’ll be doing a double whammy!”

As for a Big Moon, Our Girl, Breathe Panel joint tour, we may have to wait a bit longer. “Maybe one day,” Josh teases.

For the time being though, Our Girl have more important things to focus on, one being the ‘slightly’ important deal of releasing their debut album out into the world.

“It’s funny as although it’s what you might expect, people do start asking you about it as soon as it’s announced,” says Soph. “They refer to it by name, and you’re like ‘oh that sounds weird’, that’s our album!”

In typical Our Girl fashion, the three of them actually held a listening party for the record with the event being a strictly inviteonly occasion limited exclusively to, erm, individuals lucky enough to be in Our Girl.

“We drank some prosecco, ate some snacks – it was a nice evening,” Lauren says.

“I had been very nervous to listen to it to be honest,” adds Soph. “I think I had lost my mind a bit with the mixers and hadn’t heard any of the tracks properly through good speakers since that whole period – but it felt great. It was like we were listening to an actual record rather than getting that feeling you have in the studio of overthinking a mix – we were just enjoying it.”

“I’m really proud of it,” continues Lauren. “I guess debut albums are always going to be special, since it’s the first time we’ve ever done this whole process altogether as a three, but I think it’s a really cool

“I think I had lost my mind a bit”

snapshot of where we are at the moment.”

Soph agrees: “I’m so happy we’re at the point we are now, I just feel like, ‘Yeah c’mon, I’m ready!’”

This is an attitude that is shared throughout the band and as ‘Stranger Today’ begins to find itself in the hands of a whole new wave of fans, it won’t be long before the name ‘Our Girl’ is one that’s most commonly associated with their music and not with the TV show of the same name…

“We often find ourselves trending on Twitter when ‘we’re’ actually not,” Soph jokes. “The problem is that we’re not that Googleable; hopefully when the record comes out, we’ll move a bit higher up the search results.”

Whether or not Our Girl make the crossover to the world of TV is yet to be seen, however like many other bands releasing their debut album, talk of new music is hard to avoid - not that it phases them.

“We’ve always done stuff quite organically,” Lauren agrees. “It’s a big part of how we are as a band.

Obviously, with a second album, people might be expecting a bit more from us, but I don’t think we’d ever be pressured into doing something that we weren’t completely happy with ourselves.

It may not sound wildly different, but then again anything could happen – we might decide to go all jazz-synth.”

As the band imagine what this would be like, the conversation moves on to the endless possibilities of merchandise with the ideas not merely being limited to a jazz-synth inspired tour.

“I’ve been brainstorming actually,” says Soph. “Some of them may be pushing it a little far, but I’d quite like to do something a bit different, maybe like little matchboxes.”

Lauren lights up at the idea [Lol - Ed]. “Matches are handy as well – I need some at the moment!”

Soph laughs: “We’ll have to make some just for you then.”

It’s clear by this stage that a wave of inspiration has completely consumed Our Girl.

“We could have yoga mats with our faces on them!” Lauren muses.

“Or we could have our whole bodies so when you roll it out, it’s us lying, doing the different poses,” Soph adds. “We should start a crowdfunding thing.”

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Lauren says excitedly. “Who knows, there might be a whole market out there we don’t know about.”

While this may be a rather niche audience for them to aim for, there is with no doubt a ready-made market for Our Girl themselves, and it is one that is growing bigger every day. P Our Girl’s debut

album ‘Stranger Today’ is out 17th August.

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Stranger Things.

Offering a reflection of a world often hard to glimpse, Our Girl have arrived with thoughtful lyrics, shimmering guitars and perhaps even the occasional personalised yoga mat‌ Words: Dominic Allum.

Photos: Holly Fernando.

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“We’ve been doing musicals since we were kids”

school Inside The Lemon Twigs’ new album-cum-musical with Brian D’Addario.

Words: Jessie Atkinson.

H

rian D’Addario is gutting a poached egg. His still-wet hair is dripping onto his shrunken moon child T-shirt.

His younger brother, Michael, stalks through the too-big restaurant and takes a place on the opposite side of the room.

The Lemon Twigs are late, shower-damp and bewildered in their jet-lagged stupor.

They’re apologetic, and so is their PR, though she seems, simultaneously, unsurprised by the inconvenience as she directs Brian to my table.

“It’s usually later down the line in touring or press or whatever that we get on each other’s nerves,” he intones, shifting more comfortably in his seat and consulting the breakfast menu as his brother settles in a booth out of view.

Brian and Michael D’Addario want to be interviewed about their new record ‘Go To School’ separately. They’ve been sharing a twin room somewhere above us in the East End hotel, but dividing them for press reasons is apparently necessary, as the brothers “always contradict each other” in these kinds of situations.

Unfortunately, this request combines with their tardiness unfavourably, and there’s only time for us to glean Brian’s perspective. Perhaps it’s a good thing: the new Lemon Twigs album is, after all, a rather packed hour-plus musical about a school-going chimpanzee. Named Shane.

Probably best not to complicate things any further for this one.

The D’Addario’s did not intend to write a musical. Rather, the musical crept up on them, presenting itself as a challenge

after six songs had already been written.

“There was definitely a moment I clicked: ‘these songs that you wrote are connected in this way, and these songs that I wrote seem connected, and they go together like this to make a story’. Some of the songs that I wrote originally were just about myself and then once we had the concept, it was clear what had to be changed.”

Their eureka moment found the brothers writing in a more conscious way than they have before, the concept of a full-blown narrative arc forcing them to consider how “every line has to carry a certain weight.”

Unlike on sprawling debut ‘Do Hollywood’, Brian and Michael found themselves becoming both musicians and directors, as they birthed a conceptual album inherently connected to the story of Shane the Chimp, whose pureof-heart sensibilities are corrupted to violent ends.

As Brian imbibes double espresso and orange juice, presumably resurrecting himself from the sleep that made him so late, he explains how ‘Go To School’ is going to be performed live.

“Initially, we’re going to do a rock show and play the songs that seem like they’ll come off the best. Then I’d say that next year; we’ll do a couple of shows where we play the whole thing: I’d like to have more players, like a string section and a horn section.

He licks yolk off his knife, and continues.

“That’s something I’ve wanted to do my whole life. We’ve been doing musicals since we were kids. I tried [to write one] a couple of times then but I had no aptitude for it at that age: I didn’t have the patience to stick with a whole story. I can totally see why no one has done it like this before: it’s a lot of work.”

Despite this dedication to their concept album, The Lemon Twigs released snippets of their musical as singles ahead of its release, their preference (or, at least, Brian’s preference) to perform the entire concept from start to finish showing the gap that can sometimes exist between the

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artists’ intentions and the label’s needs. “[Single] ‘If You Give Enough’ sort of exists outside of the story,” Brian insists, when asked how he intended for the album to be treated seriously as a musical, considering that the release of singles could threaten to disrupt their carefully created narrative arc.

“It wasn’t like taking something from the middle of the story and putting that out: this is the moral of the story. This is what we and the lead character gather from his experience.”

And yet, second single ‘Small Victories’ does come from the middle section of the musical, meaning that many people won’t follow the story from start to finish, as the brothers wrote it. Which is fine: there’s no shame in wanting to tease as much out of the record as possible, or for listeners to skip the meaning completely and just enjoy the music. As Brian himself says: “certain people won’t go that far into it: I think there’s enough stylistically going on to satisfy the people who liked our last record.”

It’d be nice to hear what Michael’s thoughts are here, because Brian, for the first time, speaks on his brother’s behalf: “We always like to do what’s going to be best for the record from a promotion standpoint, because we really believe in it.”

Whether he means it or not, it’s a shame that The Lemon Twigs aren’t quite big enough to pull off a single-less album drop: though the songs are lovely in isolation, the D’Addarios worked hard to make a cogent whole out of ‘Go To School’, and to slice it up seems an awful waste of meticulous story writing.

This is, after all, a complete musical. The kind that Brian used to star in as a child.

Brian swipes his hanging fringe away from his eyes, his long-nailed plucking hand curled around his cutlery, and explains how writing a musical differed from writing a simple album.

“At a certain point, we realised that we couldn’t leave things unsaid, so we had to write certain songs to bridge the gaps. ‘Born

D OWN WI T H BO RI N G

Wrong’, for example. That was the last song we wrote, and it felt like there was a gap between Shane finding out about his origin and burning down the school. There had to be some sort of emotional bridge.”

Oh yeah, it’s probably best to mention: lead character Shane - the impressionable little chimpanzee - is also a high-school murderer, setting fire to his school and slaying one hundred victims in the process. It turns out things are even worse over the Atlantic than we thought: the D’Addario’s didn’t even think about the significance of that little plot point until after it was already written.

“When we viewed it afterwards, we were like ‘man that’s so terrible.’

It’s so part of daily life, and it’s such a plausible scenario that you wouldn’t even think twice about including it in your story.”

Perhaps it’s a plot point a little too close to the bone for some (we are, after all, encouraged to feel sympathy for Shane) but there are plenty of people on board with the project nevertheless. Todd Rundgren, acid god and seventies studio genius features on the album, playing Shane’s adopted father, Bill. Then there’s the nod from Arctic Monkeys, who have the brothers on tour with them this autumn.

And that’s because, despite the careless handling of high school massacres, and the gap between vision and execution, The Lemon Twigs have made something truly unique in ‘Go To School.’

“I like to draw from really old music: classical music and 1920s standards. I think that [making something different] is a matter of what you’re choosing to draw from as well as the place that you’re originally from yourself,” Brian muses, as he pushes his bacon around the plate.

Michael’s breakfast arrives, disappearing to his booth around the corner.

Brian pauses, and considers: “I don’t really feel like I’m in competition with anybody else right now.” P The Lemon Twigs’

album ‘Go To School’ is out 24th August.

Reviews.

Star treatment.

Cullen Omori The Diet

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It’s fair to say ex-Smith Western Cullen Omori knows how to write a riff; he makes this undeniably obvious in the opening ten seconds of his second album ‘The Diet’, which pairs glistening sunny day indie with the therapeutic space that writing music offers when life gets a little tough. The result? A record which sounds like a steady inhale and a newly refreshed and confident exhale.

Some of the album’s slower tracks may leave it open to falling flat, but this is more an album for quiet summer evening reflections than for sunny scorchers. P Katie Pilbeam

Darwin Deez

10 Songs That Happened When You Left Me With My Stupid Heart

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The Big One

Idles Joy As An Act Of Resistance Idles might just be one of the most important bands on the planet right now.

With their second album, they’re ready to use that platform. Take cover - this is a band with something to say.

A dichotomy between joy and rage has always existed with IDLES, their fierce sonics balanced with a darkly sarcastic sense of humour.

But whereas their debut ‘Brutalism’ at times felt like it was recorded immediately before frontman Joe Talbot went on a wrecking spree, ‘Joy As An Act Of Resistance’ instead channels that rage into something far more productive and wholesome.

With impassioned songs about toxic masculinity, mental health issues,

eeeee LABEL: PARTISAN RECORDS RELEASED: 31ST AUGUST LISTEN TO: DANNY NEDELKO, SAMARITANS Brexit and immigration - this album chews up a whole load of BIG issues without ever feeling like a overlypolitical rant. It is one of the most vital and important albums of 2018.

If early singles ‘Colossus’ and ‘Danny Nedelko’ showcased a band taking huge strides forwards in both confidence and ambition, it is a giant leap that has carried into all of Joy. ‘Love Song’ and ‘Samaritans’ show a new sense of vulnerability, an openness influenced by a desperately painful time in Talbot’s and his partner’s life. The latter, an assault on the deadly mask of masculinity “Man up, sit down, chin up, pipe down…This is why you never see your father cry” is a hugely powerful and prescient message that echoes through the entire album. Even the cover of Solomon Burke’s ‘Cry To Me’ carries with it a promise that there will always, always, be someone 50

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The energy and power spilling out from the Bristol gang is enough to power a small country. there for you when you need them.

If that risks sounding too heavy, then fear not. Recorded in the same raw three-takes-and-done manner as ‘Brutalism’, the energy and power spilling out from the Bristol gang is enough to power a small country. It is the sound of a band growing into themselves, seeking to push their sound in new directions, all the while stretching and breaking boundaries that only the foolish would try to put around them. To paraphrase ‘I’m Scum’, these snowflakes are becoming an avalanche. P Jamie

MacMillan

D OWN WI T H BO RI N G

Best known for his late 00s hit ‘Radar Detector’, Darwin Deez has quietly carved out a career writing smart indie pop ditties that worm their way into the consciousness. Now on his fourth record, the New Yorker is a master of his craft, combining multi-tracked vocals with Casio drum beats and his signature airy vocals. The titular ten songs buzz with an energy that belies the honesty of the lyrics. The stronger emphasis on keyboards channels fellow 00s chart bothered Owl City, while a muted trumpet solo on ‘Drive Around’ provides a welcome diversion. P Dillon Eastoe

Oh Sees

Smote Reverser

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‘Smote Reverser’ is the 21st album in just 15 years from Oh Sees, a band with more names than some festival line-ups.

Continuing founding member John Dwyer’s restless sonic exploration, it has largely no interest in choruses or anything as obvious as that. Instead it slithers deep into your brain in a rush of energising future-proofed prog rock. It’s yet another first class album from a band that continues their musical odyssey through the stranger reaches of the universe without feeling the need to repeat what has come before. P Jamie MacMillan

Anna Calvi

Bad Sounds

Hunter

Get Better

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From the opening chords of ‘As A Man’, ‘Hunter’ grabs you in as Anna Calvi opines exactly what she would do if she were a man. The album ebbs and flows through a number of different moods, with ‘Chain’ calmly exploding into its psychedelic life as Calvi begs “chain me”, while ‘Wish’ possesses a wonderful sense of urgency which shines through on an otherwise average record. Closer ‘Eden’ is ethereal in its sound with Calvi’s voice soaring over her gently rising guitar and strings creating a beautiful effect.

It seems as if ‘Hunter’ is inconsistent, but worth a listen for songs like ‘Wish’ and ‘Eden’. P Josh Williams

If bangers were currency, then Bad Sounds would be diving Scrooge McDuck style into a vault full of gold.

While it’s been obvious to those present enough to take note that something special runs through the creative sap of the Merrett family tree, ‘Get Better’ sits proud as brothers Ewan and Callum’s motherlode. A weapon of mass dancefloor destruction, it weaves from one slacker-tinted vibe to another.

Bombastic bass sits against woozy streams of consciousness, but never straying more than thirty seconds from a chorus. In an era where so much feels like bitter irony, Bad Sounds are anything but. P Stephen Ackroyd

Dizzy

Her’s

Cutie is what we aim for

Baby Teeth

Invitation To Her’s

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Formed by three brothers - Alex, Mackenzie and Charlie Spencer with school friend Katie Munshaw on vocals, we’re told Canadian four-piece Dizzy make music to combat the tedium of life in suburban Oshawa, Ontario. So far, so good: plenty of bands have emerged from wanting to tear down pebbledashed, provincial walls. But rather than channel pent-up energy into something spiky and noisy, Dizzy’s escape is into the shimmering soundworld of shoegaze; the perfect sort of rich, lushly-appointed dreampop to soundtrack nights spent staring at the stars, wondering how on earth to get out. P Rob Mesure

Something about Her’s just doesn’t feel quite real. It’s as if their music is trapped in a bizarre time vortex which gives them the remarkable ability to sound cutting edge and yet feel as though they’re paying an homage to a range of some of the most pleasantly chilled tunes from years gone by. Despite having such a simple setup, the Liverpoolbased pair are able to create a jovial atmosphere, and simultaneously engage your brain with intricate storytelling, told by the many voices of Stephen Fitzpatrick. Her’s have absolutely blown the game wide open with this truly original slice of genius.

P Ciaran Steward

Interpol

Mitski

Marauder

Be The Cowboy

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With their sixth record, ‘Marauder’, Interpol seem to have recaptured the fun. While there’s little here that’ll join the roster of classics alongside ‘Untitled’ and ‘Evil’, you’ll still find sharply concocted songs that bring to mind the Interpol of old. Lead single ‘The Rover’ is an infectiously electric return to form; ‘Surveillance’, meanwhile, sees Daniel Kessler’s guitar riffs curl and knot around themselves like a snake eating its own tail. Despite declaring this their most personal album, ‘Marauder’ feels safe lyrically; but then Interpol have always been more concerned with creating a mood. P Chris Taylor

No one does vulnerability like Mitski. Whether it’s an overblown indie rock banger, a jazzy number with an elaborate horn arrangement or an intimate piano ballad, every single track on ‘Be The Cowboy’ is tremendously compelling.

Mitski’s records have always been like opening up her diary, but there’s something particularly striking about the lyrics this time around. “Walk up in my high heels, all high and mighty, then you say hello and I lose” on ‘Lonesome Love’ is heart-on-yoursleeve like no other. Clocking in at 32 and a half minutes, it isn’t a long listen, but Christ, you’ll feel every second. P

Abigail Firth

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Death Cab For Cutie Thank You For Today eeeee Linked to their past but trying to find a new future, the restructured Death Cab For Cutie still have some of that trademark magic.

W

hen Chris Walla quit the band before the release of 2015’s ‘Kintsugi’, it begged the question: why continue?

Death Cab felt distant, overly reliant on metaphors that seemed focus-group approved rather than capturing something in a poetically new way.

With ninth ‘Thank You For Today’ it sounds like the band are finally reintroducing themselves. For the most part, they’ve stopped trying to reach the dizzying highs of ‘Transatlanticism’ and just tried to have a bit of fun. With the shackles thrown off and the chance to start again, Death Cab seem refreshed and renewed. It still sounds like them, because how could it not? But half the album seems a lot more playful than before.

Lead single ‘Gold Rush’ is so unusually not-Death Cab that it’s quite exciting. Beginning with something like a slide guitar, reminiscent of early Beck, it’s brighter and more hopeful than anything they’ve ever done before. ‘Northern Lights’, with its The Cure-esque echoing guitars, and ‘You Moved Away’ both

RE AD D O RK. CO M

sound like a band trying to put a new spin on their old formula too. Ben Gibbard’s lyrics may be a little hackneyed at times, but their are nuggets of beauty here.

Tracks like ‘Autumn Love’ or ‘Your Hurricane’ do feel like they could’ve featured on ‘Codes & Keys’ and ‘Kintsugi’, but compare that to the song that sits between them both, ‘When We Drive’, where Gibbard’s ability to paint a gloriously vivid picture is in full force. As guitars shimmer and synths bubble in the background, he sings “I like the way that your hair tangles, the way your sun tan’s only on one side”. It feels magical, like ‘Grapevine Fires’, but without the sense they’re actively trying to recapture those days.

Death Cab For Cutie are so intrinsically linked to their past that’s it a difficult to separate them from it. And it seems it’s hard for them to distance themselves from it too. But with ‘Thank You For Today’, it’s a step in the right direction. Through tracks like ‘Gold Rush’ and opener ‘I Dreamt We Spoke Again’, it’s clear that Death Cab still have some of that magic in them. But there are still plenty of steps left to go yet. P Chris Taylor

Muncie Girls

Fixed Ideals

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Recommended

Hey, Muncie Girls, recommend us some stuff...

Last good record you heard: The Crepes Channel 4 Favourite ever book: JD Salinger - Catcher in the Rye TV show you couldn’t live without: Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace

Chokehold

Best purchase of this year: Green knit jumper

Slaves

Anything else you’d recommend?

A film called Closely Watched Trains

Acts Of Fear And Love eeeee With a twist on the template and a new found love of choruses, Slaves’ third album is a welcome evolution.

W

hen ‘Take Control’ was released in 2016, it was a step in a new direction for Slaves, a mixed bag of skits, punk bangers and even something verging on hip-hop. It was brave, but it was

also a bit lopsided, without a clear direction.

With that in mind, it’s comforting to see the trimmed down tracklist of ‘Acts of Fear and Love’, which clocks in at a toned nine tracks, most of which are three minutes or under.

Opener ‘The Lives They Wish They Had’ will put long-term fans even more at ease. Short, direct and snarling, it’s a real culmination of everything they’re known for, and it’s bound to blow the roof off when they play it live.

‘Daddy’ stands out, a slowed down, restrained track that almost takes the form of a ballad, as Isaac laments the life of a man who is “Spending like it’s nothing ‘cause he don’t know how to make friends”. It’s stripped back, vulnerable and entirely lacking in the bravado you’d expect. It also works perfectly, clearing breathing room on the album while also holding rapt attention.

Coming up...

‘Chokehold’ returns to the sound Slaves are known for, but the subject matter is once again a left-field choice. A love song to somebody who doesn’t return the feeling, Isaac laments being “a side dish”, emotion that we haven’t seen before. This introspective feel continues on ‘Photo Opportunity’, which explores the frustrations of fame. While it might be hard to empathise (nobody has ever stopped us for a photo, not that we’re bitter...) it’s refreshing to see the duo peeling back the mask and baring a bit more of their emotional side.

The Crowning glory of ‘Acts of Fear and Love’ comes right at the end, with the title track.

A reflective look at childhood memories, staring out the window and the wisdom of your teachers, it perfectly encapsulates what makes this album so bloody good.

Slaves are growing up, and they’re dragging their fans along for the ride. They’ve still got songs that will burst your eardrums and make you want to punch your best mate, but with their third album, they finally feel like a three-dimensional outfit, rather than a one-trick pony. P Jake

Hawkes

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Here’s what to expect in the very near future!

7TH SEPTEMBER Teleman - Family Of Aliens

14TH SEPTEMBER Dilly Dally - Heaven Fatherson - Sum Of All Your Parts Jungle - For Ever Pale Waves - My Mind Makes Noises 21ST SEPTEMBER Black Honey - Black Honey Christine and the Queens - Chris 28TH SEPTEMBER Alt-J - Reduxer 5TH OCTOBER Estrons - You Say I’m Too Much, I Say You’re Not Enough D OWN WI T H BO RI N G

Punk trio Muncie Girls’ 2016 debut was one of the best UK rock debuts in recent memory and follow up ‘Fixed Ideals’ hits harder and heavier and ramps up everything that makes the band so great. It’s a turbulent album full of emotional and mental turmoil but it’s a record that has a strong beating heart and spirit that ripples through it, beginning with the resolute and inspiring ‘Jeremy’. Everything here is a step up.

It’s often said that following up a killer debut album is a band’s ultimate challenge. Muncie Girls have smashed that challenge into oblivion: ‘Fixed Ideals’ is a triumph. P Martyn Young

Our Girl

Stranger Today

eeeee Haze-inducing trio Our Girl have an unparalleled ability to bring ebbs and flows to a track to send you into a blissed-out fantasy while hitting hard with real, human emotions rather than simply throwing lyrics into the swelling void over experimental instrumentals. If you’re into feeling fuzzy and putting your head in an oh so hazy place, you’re unlikely to come across an album this year that’ll leave you feeling so utterly hypnotised and out of your mind. ‘Stranger Today’ is an honest album that deserves your undivided attention from start to finish. P Ciaran

Steward

Pip Blom

Paycheck EP

eeeee ‘Paycheck’ feels like a combination of both an unattainably cool older sibling and their happy-go-lucky younger counterpart. Perhaps it’s the scuzzy, bedroom-esque guitars rolling over Pip Blom’s trademark laid-back vocal that gives the collection its infectious edge, or perhaps it’s the feel of authenticity woven throughout these four tracks. Opener ‘Pussycat’ is spearheaded by Pip’s melodic squawks, and as the EP progresses, the element of frustration feels stronger and stronger.

It’s an angsty and ambitious EP with the mouthfeel of addictive musical moonshine. P

Erin Bashford

The Kooks

Let’s Go Sunshine

eeeee The Kooks are one of the more enduring mid-noughties indie stars, and are enjoying yet another purple patch as they return with their fifth album, ‘Let’s Go Sunshine’. The highlights indicate how the band have prospered for so long - the rollicking ‘Honey Bee’, the punky ‘Pamela’ - but despite its strong hooks and general easygoing nature, a lack of variety becomes increasingly apparent, and the nagging stench of ‘real music’ is present in the many meandering ballads and acoustic troubadour vignettes.

Sometimes it works, but often it’s tiresome rather than inspiring. P Martyn Young

A Quick Q&A

Honne Andy Clutterbuck and James Hatcher give us the lowdown on their ace new album.

Looking back on your debut, did you have an idea of what you wanted to do next?

Andy: We’re very proud of our first

album, it was a huge moment for us to release it but we always knew we could do better.

James: The first album, our limitations were almost a good thing in order to make a unified piece of work. That’s what made the album special, but it was always something we knew we could develop on greatly which is very exciting.

Andy: Even before the first album, we like made a point to talk about what we wanted it to be like, and we did the same with the second album. Things evolve, and things change, but it’s kinda ended up as we discussed. We knew we wanted to develop in some way but have that sentiment that Honne has had from the start, and I think we’ve achieved that quite well.

This time around, you’ve worked with a lot more people on the album - Tom Misch, Georgia, Anna Of The North, Nana Rouges amongst others. Was there a particular reason for that?

Andy: It was nice and refreshing

to go into a studio with others, but also daunting because you’re sharing your vision and lyrics with people. What was important to us was that we didn’t want to limit ourselves to just us two, when we could make a better album by working with other people.

Honne

Love Me / Love Me Not

eeeee Honne have reached levels that took many by surprise, undoubtedly them included. Those big stages however have left their mark - and there aren’t many records that sound so confident and emboldened in what they’re delivering as much as ‘Love Me / Love Me Not’. It’s an album of swooning immediacy and the perfect soundtrack of the disorientating days and confusing nights in city life. P

Jamie Muir

Seeing shows like Brixton Academy on the horizon and a huge world tour across, well, the world - that must be amazing. Do you feel like you keep growing?

Andy: When you’re in it, it feels so gradual. Definitely at the start, it was a massive shock that anyone cared. We thought what we’d written was special, but we never had blogs writing about us or any big players, so that was exciting. It felt like baby steps, and now we’re excited about the next stage. It’s amazing to see the growth in it.

James: Like Brixton Academy at the end of the year, that’s been a dream since I was a teenager - the place all bands want to play. It’s going to be quite something. P

Honne’s album ‘Love Me / Love Me Not’ is out 24th August.

A Quick Q&A

Menace Beach With a legendary collab and an ear for lo-fi pop gems, Menace Beach are back with another album of scuzzy masterpieces set to win our hearts. We catch up with Liza Violet to find out more.

Hey Liza, how’s it going? Having a good summer?

It’s all good cheers! I’m just basking in the sun through my studio window.

Congrats on your new album, it feels like naff all time since your last one - did it come together quickly? Was it already in the works when ‘Lemon Memory’ landed? What’s the deal.

I guess it hasn’t been that long, has it? We always like to switch up the process and formula of writing and recording. Lemon Memory sent us in a different direction from our first album and recording it triggered a load of new ideas, so we started writing ‘Black Rainbow Sound’ pretty much straight away.

Yeah, it’s quite different from the

last one. I think it has a lot more energy; we were both in more of a positive place when we wrote it. It’s definitely dominated by analogue synths too which is way more familiar territory for me than guitars.

You guys are fans of using vintage equipment - where do you source it all? Are you hanging around boot sales every Sunday?

Are you still into curses and stuff? Black rainbows are a bit spooky, right?

A good synth would be my dream find at a car boot sale, we mostly just find stuff on nerdy Facebook groups though. My absolute favourite synth that I own is a Roland SH1000 that I found on Gumtree. It’s really temperamental and makes noise on its own when it feels like it, but I love the sounds I get out of it, and we used it all over ‘Black Rainbow Sound’.

Is this record a step up for Menace Beach, do you think?

The collab with Brix Smith is great, who initiated the team up? What were the logistics like, did she come to see you in the

We tried to steer away from curses this time; they’re too creepy.

Menace Beach

Black Rainbow Sound

eeeee ‘Black Rainbow Sound’ is a colourfully cacophonous mash of the grungy and the gothic which sees Ryan Needham and Liza Violet seeing just how far they can bend analog synths, drum machines and fuzz-covered guitars. It’s a dizzying combination for sure, eschewing the poppier feel of ‘Lemon Memory’ for something a bit more experimental. We’re just being dragged along for the ride, but what a ride it is. P

Chris Taylor

studio?

Thanks, we just got chatting online one day and decided to do something together. I love Brix’s

energy; she’s such a positive force.

We were going to do some writing together but were all really busy around that time, so we asked her to do some spoken word on ‘Black Rainbow Sound’ and the last track ‘(Like) Rainbow Juice’, and when she sent it through it was perfect!

Is there anyone else on your collab bucket list? Or your beingin-a-band bucket list, even?

Just whoever the universe throws our way; it always feels good to create stuff with new people.

Actually, if any of the B-52’s are willing, they’d be top of my list. I keep trying to record my chihuahua too, but he won’t have it.

What’s next for you guys?

We’re playing some alternate versions of the new songs at some in-store shows at the start of September and then touring in October. P Menace Beach’s

album ‘Black Rainbow Sound’ is out 31st August.

G E T T H E L AT E S T M U S I C N E W

Essential albums

Don’t miss these must-listen releases from the last few months

Let’s Eat Grandma I’m All Ears

Not so much a step up as a leap into a hot pink future, LEG have become one of the most interesting, life-affirming acts on planet pop.

An album of the year contender.

Ready For War

Spring King A Better Life eeeee The world might be burning, but Spring King are determined to send it off in style.

I

n the two and a bit years since the release of Spring King’s debut album, a lot has changed. Less than two

weeks later, and Brexit Britain had set itself on the path for a slow-motion self-immolation.

Fast forward a few more months, and our friends across the pond had gone one step further, electing a leader so worrying, it’s hard to see the lighter side.

There are two roads a band can take in the face of such omnipresent bullshit - either they get political, or they make a concerted effort to distract

through raw positivity, dancing while the bombs fall.

It’s the latter route that Spring King find themselves embracing.

That’s not to say that events haven’t influenced the band - but they’re determined to blast their way through, guitars set to kill.

So while ‘Echo Chamber’ might hit the money on so much of the modern condition, the gutpunch of ‘Animal’ or the peddleto-the-metal charge of ‘The Hum’ are the true engine that drives ‘A Better Life’ forwards. Bring on the apocolypse - we’ve found our soundtrack. P Stephen Ackroyd

Years & Years Palo Santo

What’s the largest number of bangers you can possibly imagine?

Double that. You’re probably about half way to what Years & Years have delivered here.

Confidence Man Confident Music For Confident People

Wait, you’re trying to have an end of summer party and this isn’t your playlist? Mate. Sort it out.

The Lemon Twigs Go To School

eeeee A rock musical telling the story of failed musicians Bill and Carol, and their adopted son Shane, who happens to be a chimpanzee, ‘Go To School’ has the kind of premise normally followed in weighty rock biogs by lengthy passages blaming the whole shebang on psychedelic overindulgence. But once again, Brian and Michael D’Addario prove themselves capable of pulling off the preposterous, and the 50-something minutes of ‘Go To School’ pass by in a rush of precisiontooled harmony vocals, rock’n’roll mini-epics à la Townshend, woodwinds, strings, banjos and chimes. P Rob Mesure

White Denim Performance

eeeee Austin four-piece White Denim are back with their eighth album in just ten years, hot on the heels of 2016’s infectious effort ‘Stiff’.

While some of their riffs suggest the blues rock of Black Keys and White Stripes, their sound more frequently apes the 70s psychedelia of Marc Bolan’s T Rex. Their mission statement is slick grooves and wiggy guitars, and despite the devotion to vintage sounds it’s hard to fault the quartet on that score. White Denim don’t reinvent the wheel, but they’ve never been in the business of doing so. If you’re after some fuzzy Southern rock, warbling organs and drawling vocals, ‘Performance’ delivers in spades. P Dillon Eastoe

Wild Nothing Indigo

eeeee Since the reverb-heavy, slickly melancholic 80s-inflected pop of Wild Nothing’s debut ‘Gemini’ in 2010, we’ve had the slick, reverb-heavy 80s-inflected melancholia of ‘Nocturnes’ (2012), and then 2016’s ‘Life of Pause’, a melancholic, slick… you get the idea. If you’re already a Wild Nothing fan, Virginian Jack Tatum barely puts a foot wrong here - ‘Through Windows’ and the closing ‘Bend’ are as good as anything we’ve heard before - while others can rest assured that if they like the sound of this, there’s plenty more like it.

‘Indigo’ is his richest, most polished set to date. P

Rob Mesure

BORING

W S 2 4 / 7/ 3 6 5 . R E A D D O R K . C O M

Get Out. IF IT’S ON STAGE, IT’S IN HERE.

The Killers, Liam Gallagher, Solange and Alt-J make this year’s Latitude one to remember The annual sunny trip to Suffolk was a good ‘un.

Words: Steven Loftin.

Photos: Jamie MacMillan.

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D OWN WI T H BO RI N G

After a lot of speculation regarding the secret set, it turns out Liam

Gallagher

Deap Vally are one of the first bands to blow the cobwebs off Henham Park, and their dangerously cutting sound is still as sharp as ever. Every pounding beat resonates far across the site from the BBC tent; the perfect antidote to the lounging vibes that appear to have a grip over the crowd.

“Fuck EasyJet!” Hinds have something to get off their chest with their early-afternoon set.

Joyously bounding through, they feel criminally underrated.

There’s undoubtedly something captivating about Sorry over on the Lake Stage. The melancholic nature of their sound, which melds with a more jarring and rampant distortion, creates a unique beast and should soon see them catapulted up any billing.

The first of this year’s headliners, Solange’s stylistic R’n’B is a sight to behold, punctuating the closing evening with choreographed dance moves.

Echoing around the Obelisk Arena with the air and grace of a veteran pop artist, the entire vision translates perfectly, even if the arena is only half full.

Bloxx ravage where they see fit and the Saturday early-afternoon Lake Stage onlookers are their newest victims. Bounding through a melodic onslaught, with ‘Coke’ sounding like a dreamscape befit of the idyllic surroundings, Bloxx’s crowd swiftly grows as their inescapable sounds carry through Latitude.

Alvvays’ light, yet brooding melodies are the perfect remedy for those seeking shade in the shelter of the BBC tent. Fiercely focused, the echoing trails of sweetness bring a deliverance of their own, holding nothing back.

A slightly different story is happening elsewhere, however.

Gloriously shambolic, and brimming with energy Parquet Courts bring their latest album ‘Wide Awake!’ to life over on the Obelisk Arena. In a live setting, Parquet Courts bring across a far more determined sound, forever flirting with the whole thing falling in on itself - or just straight up demolishing the surrounding bleachers.

loves a bit of Suffolk this time of year.

Treating the rapidly growing crowd to a bunch of Oasis classics and a smattering of solo material, it’s a tasty little triumph for the Gallagher brother.

While mayhem may have broken out over on the BBC tent for the secret set, the Lake Stage is busy succumbing to the good times of Boy Azooga, who are smoothly plying the crowd with a thick helping of grooving indie jams.

A SHORT Q&A WITH

Wolf Alice Coming all the way from the sunny climates of Portugal and Spain to the fiery fields of Suffolk (yes, it really was that hot) for Latitude, Wolf Alice spare a few minutes while preparing for their riotous Main Stage performance.

You’ve had some massive shows recently.

Even though frontman Justin Young’s voice is broken, The Vaccines still crack out a hell of a performance in the Obelisk Arena. Justin’s wry, knowing looks out amongst the crowd, the instantaneous singalong of big hitters like ‘Norgaard’, ‘If You Wanna’ and ‘Post Break Up Sex’ - it has all the makings of cementing The Vaccines as an undeniably a great band. They sneak on through with bangers that are instantly recognisable and garner a reaction worthy of a headline act. Leaving the sounds of ‘I Can’t Quit’ echoing around Henham Park, The Vaccines came, they saw, and definitely conquered with enviable confidence.

The Killers are great, aren’t they? At this point, even with only 50% of the band in tow, you’re guaranteed a good time, and tonight they’re bringing even more to this fervent Latitude headline slot. Swaggering to life with ‘The Man’, it’s a pretty much non-stop bombardment of bangers and confetti.

It’s not long before LG himself saunters onto the stage during a brief respite while The Killers wait for the crowd-sourced drummer to take part in ‘Reasons Unknown’.

Not singing anything, more of an ‘I’m still here!’ appearance, he pays Brandon his dues, reminds us that he “doesn’t know any lyrics, but luckily this hero does” and then he disappears into the night.

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Ellie Rowsell: Yeah, we played some huge shows with Foo Fighters across Europe and a couple in England. We were talking about it today; they were so big that this [Latitude] seems small now.

Joel Dilla: Their own shows are basically what it’s like to go to a festival, like they’re racecourses and stadiums that they just rent out for the evening and do their own gig.

The scale of everything is just phenomenal; everything is dwarfed from then onwards.

How does all this impact the future of Wolf Alice?

Joel: It’s inspiring. Whether you’re a fan of Foo Fighters or not, they’ve taken it to as far it literally can go, to the biggest stages around the world.

You’ve got have a lot of respect for that, and it’s interesting to see it. But also when we’ve toured with bands like Queens of The Stone Age, and saw another inspiring aspect of a very uncompromising rock band doing interesting things, that’s been really fun. So yeah, we’ve been really lucky to see this stuff, and have these experiences.

What have you got coming up?

Ellie: I think we’ve finished releasing singles. We’re doing festivals, and then we’ve got some shows in Australia, and then we’re not going to just,

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stop, or finish the campaign in some kind of fun way, but we’re definitely starting to feel eager to make new music… That’s not to say these shows aren’t still really fun, but I think we’re now transitioning.

How do the big shows translate in terms of your setlist?

Ellie: When it’s not your own show, it’s a different feeling from when it is your own. When you’re supporting a band, you’ll be like, are we ready to push this as our own show?

But then, when we played Ally Pally I suddenly realised that it’s not 100,000’s but for us it was huge, and that gave us a real confidence boost. We were apprehensive; we weren’t sure if we were quite ready yet, and taking that opportunity a bit too early. But as soon as we played it, I was like, okay, fuck, we’re ready to play bigger places. It gave us a real confidence boost. But we’re just taking it naturally; I wouldn’t want to play anywhere bigger right now… well, I don’t know.

It’ll happen when it happens?

Ellie: Yeah, kind of!

Joel: It is like that, and it’s so dependent, at least in my experience, in what the crowd are like. We’re lucky to have wonderful fans that made that experience at Ally Pally seem a lot more intimate than it was.

With the huge shows, the intimacy can get lost?

Joel: Yeah, definitely! With those Foo Fighters shows, you see how hard that band has to work to keep 75,000 people locked into what they’re doing - it’s a very physical thing, and you have to admire it. It’s like being an athlete almost, the amount of work you have to put in. You take stepping stones to get there. P

If that wasn’t enough quasiOasis action, Brandon introduces the next song as “the greatest B-side of all time”, which is, of course, ‘Acquiesce’. Still a little bit of hope for LG to appear but alas, that’s enough for today.

Winding up the set with a rambunctious ‘When You Were Young’, into ‘Humans’ and then finally topping it off with the Thin White Duke remix of ‘Mr Brightside’, there’s no mistaking that The Killers are a headline band in the strongest sense of the term. A redundant statement, maybe, but they treat every crowd, from Glastonbury to Latitude and all the smaller stages in between, like it’s their last show. Brandon isn’t just a frontman, he’s a showman, and one of the greatest we have.

The final day of Latitude gets off to a blistering start with the sun holding a vendetta against Suffolk. Black Honey are first up to pick the waning crowds up and shake off any third-day hangovers.

Cracking out latest single ‘I Only Hurt The Ones I Love’, which is sounding utterly rampant, makes quick work of the task at hand.

‘Bad Friends’, with its departure from the usual Black Honey sound takes on a whole new life live.

Fickle Friends arrived on a perfect day for their ascension from Lake Stage two years ago, to Obelisk dominators today.

Their banger-filled sound swiftly makes neat work of the lagging crowd, and it’s impossible not get caught up in the smooth summery grooves, helped in part by the palm trees decorated about the stage. With such thick dosing of melody and good feelings, Fickle Friends are the ultimate festival band.

There are few bands who can

disturb the dusty ground of Latitude quite like IDLES. Swiftly causing riots, nothing is off limits.

From descending into the crowd and returning with two onlookers in tow, to a spontaneous rendition of a Christmas classic, IDLES are five individual fireworks that are all lit up at once and cause as much joy and noise as possible. What’s remarkable is their ability to use their platform for good. Songs about the sanctity of the NHS and mental health acceptance in men, they even to provide two audience members with the news of the sex of their unborn child - a ritual Joe doesn’t quite agree with, given the stereotypical colours, but recognises it’s all a “visual ceremony”. So there we go.

Elsewhere, Wolf Alice are having a cracking year. They’ve played some of the biggest stages that bands can currently play in support of Foo Fighters et al., and this afternoon at Latitude it shows.

Every moment is mined for that raw feeling - the unleashed energy of ‘Yuk Foo’ is entirely palpable, while the delicate moments, such as ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’, translate effortlessly.

The final headliners of this year’s iteration of Latitude, alt-j are no strangers to these grounds.

Marking their fourth appearance with a headline set that’s proof they’ve made quick work of going from Lake Stage favourites to headlining not once, but twice.

As the dripping lights fall about the stage, silhouetting the trio, everything comes together to give birth to a moment that immortalises Alt-J as undoubtedly one of the most interesting, and ambitious modern bands.

It’s clear that Alt-J have come out no holds barred, as they shake, rattle and roll through every haunting moment that they so easily conjure. The preying ferocity of ‘Every Other Freckle’ strikes out through the night, as an aptly positioned Venus lurks overhead, feeling like a special guest for the moment. Closing out with ‘Breezeblocks’ cements Alt-J as a Latitude institution and a force to be reckoned with. P

A SHORT Q&A WITH

alt-j

Within the shady confines of their backstage hideout at Latitude, alt-j’s Gus UngerHamilton and Joe Newmann discuss their plans for the future, what they like to do to when travelling miles and miles, and, of course, their fabled history at Latitude.

This is your fourth time at Latitude, and second headlining. That’s pretty special.

Joe: Yeah, it’s kind of a big deal for us. We love it here.

Gus: It feels like a homecoming.

How does Latitude compare to other festivals, you were in Belgium yesterday weren’t you?

Gus: I mean, it’s a very nice festival. This is one of the only festivals where I would walk around and do stuff. Yesterday in Belgium we had the whole day, and we just sort of hung out backstage basically. Here, we’ve got friends and family, so we’re just having a good day.

Joe: Yeah, you have a lot of options at this festival, whether you want the shade you get to the woods, if you want to get wet you go to the lake, and if you want to just wander around you’ve got some lovely…

Gus: …ground?

Do you often look back at your time here?

Gus: It’s like we’ve grown up here really, you can chart the career of Alt-J through Latitude appearances. From extreme hype in 2012, playing the Lake Stage to the biggest crowd the stage ever had, then by the next year we were headlining the BBC 6 Music Stage. That was a reflection of that first album taking off, and then coming back to headline on our second

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album was incredible - and we’re still hanging in there.

After releasing ‘Relaxer’ last year, how’s it settled with you?

Gus: We’ve sort of picked out three or four tracks from that album that we feel work best live, ‘In Cold Blood’, ‘Dead Crush’, ‘3WW’ and ‘Pleader’.

At least three of those songs are probably going to be favourites in the set for a long time to come, and that’s nice to see. The fans getting excited about us playing ‘3WW’ almost as much as they are about ‘Breezeblocks’ is very cool.

And the future?

Joe: I think after writing the third album you’re quite depleted creatively, and actually to restore the energy takes months, months and months. After you finish touring you want a break from touring, you want a break from music. Not necessarily a break from each other, but there are other things in your life that you’ve not been devoting so much time too, so you want to focus on those things. It’ll probably take maybe a year or so, but we’ll be writing in the future - we just don’t know when.

Do the Alt-J classics affect you when it comes to writing new music?

Joe: Inevitably there’s a residue that popular songs leave on you when you start writing new stuff. You can’t help but think; maybe I’ll do it like we’ve done it in the past with this song because it works. But, most of the time we come up with so many ideas together, and we end up surprising each other with our responses to ideas that we forget about how we used to do things. We’re more focused on how we are doing things in that moment, I think that’s one of the nice things about working together, is that we still surprise each other and there’s little room for nostalgic moments when writing. P

Arctic Monkeys have come crashing back into the spotlight bigger, bolder and running on pure excitement “And now, fireworks,” promises the Main Stage of Rock Werchter as Arctic Monkeys bring the weekend to an electrifying close.

Their new album might see the band once again change things up in the most dramatic of ways, but tonight they somehow bring all those ideas and defining moments of the past decade together in glorious precision.

With their name in lights, excitement tumbling from ever hip-shaking move and anthems for every occasion, there’s never a hint of dull as the band teeter on the edge of dangerous, grins plastered across their face.

After the years of silence, the unexpected yank of ‘Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino’ and a career trajectory that’s always threatened to run away from them, Arctic Monkeys have come crashing back into the spotlight bigger, bolder and running on pure, beaming excitement.

George Ezra continues his

All your moon base are belong to Alex Rock Werchter proves that some things in Belgium are sweeter than Chocolate..

Words: Ali Shutler.

Photos: Frances Beach.

summer of success, those churning songs of bloom and cheer even more captivating when sung by a full tent choir while The Vaccines’ streamlined rock ‘n’ roll celebration finds fists in the air as they storm through a lean, mean, fighting machine of a set that’s angled for maximum impact. The Magic Gang always shine but today, with the sun beating down on them, they dazzle as songs of hope are sung out in four-part harmony.

Friday’s headliners The Killers launch into the ‘The Man’, all shimmering light, raining confetti and unbreakable purpose, and simply don’t stop swinging. Brandon Flowers is every inch the showman, somehow looking both completely at home but also like this is his first time, every confident move coupled with a wide-eyed enthusiasm and relentless desire to make every moment matter. You don’t get to spend over a decade at the top by letting average in and tonight, The Killers are never anything but brilliant.

Gorillaz’ history is bathed in less glory. There have been highs, lows and plenty in between and that’s something new album ‘The Now Now’ knows. The band still have something to prove, and perhaps they always will, but as 59

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they cry “Hello, is there anyone there?” before kicking into the frantic tear of ‘M1A1’, it’s brutally obvious that the band have finally found their purpose. They know what they are, and they play to their strengths.

Wolf Alice take a break from the stadiums they’ve been playing with Foo Fighters but they’re never ones to rest on their laurels. Bringing spectacular and wonderful, the band carve their way through a set that shows off just how far the gang can reach without ever losing control or dimming that special spark that zaps between them.

‘Love Is Dead’ saw CHVRCHES become the sort of band they’ve always wanted to be. Live, the same sort of evolution has taken place. Sure, they’ve got an actual drummer now which has changed things, giving the songs more of a bite and a flex, but that shift has flowed through everything else as well.

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the stage to the way Lauren, Iain and Martin lean into the crowd, embracing the spotlight and leading the charge, CHVRCHES throw their shoulders back and stand tall.

There’s a lot going on at Rock Werchter. The line-up strikes a balance between established rock bands, fizzing newcomers and neon drenched dance. The only rule is hits. Everyone’s got ‘em, from Stereophonics, The Kooks and Noel Gallagher to Anne Marie, Anderson .Paak, Vince Staples and Post Malone. There’s one band who deal exclusively in bangers though, and that’s Pale Waves. Finding new colours in the red and the black, the band are on the verge of something wonderful. It’s only going to go one way and now, fireworks. P

A hidden gem packed with your favourite new bands.

Words: Dillon Eastoe.

Photos: Jon Mo.

TRNSMT

You could only find Arctic Monkeys at one UK festival this summer, and it was up in Glasgow.

Words: Abigail Firth.

It’s one of the hottest days in living memory, and The Magic Gang are providing summery indie-pop vibes as people drift through the gates at TRNSMT, setting the scene perfectly for a laid-back day of music in the sun.

A short set, taken mostly from their self-titled debut album, proves The Magic Gang are a live band to be reckoned with, leaving others a lot to live up to on the King Tut’s Stage.

Declan McKenna gets the Main Stage warmed up as the afternoon wears on. The teenager has clearly been watching Freddy Mercury and taking notes, even joking about how his jacket would have suited the late Queen frontman.

He hooks the crowd in and doesn’t let them go, a ball of energy zinging from one end of the stage to the other, clearly delighted with the show.

By the time Blossoms hit the Main Stage energy levels are growing and anticipation for the night ahead is palpable. The band ensure the crowd are hyped up, and the crowd respond by screaming the words back to them. They now have the rock with added synths down and are bringing it from Stockport to the masses. ‘Charlemagne’, saved for last, is greeted with a thunderous reaction.

From the second Arctic Monkeys burst onto the stage, it’s clear they are going to dominate. Alex Turner is a magnetic frontman, a born showman, and thousands of people turn their eyes to him and sing every word of his band’s hour and a half long set. Boring is one thing Arctic Monkeys have never been.

It’s not the most cohesive os sets, but no one really seems to notice or care tonight. ‘Brianstorm’ and the moody ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ have the crowd in raptures, while ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ would have raised the roof, had there been one. Miles Kane, who played the Main Stage earlier, joins the band for ‘505’, before they depart leaving the crowd desperate for more. P

As Saharan temperatures scorch the country, and with Southgate’s Three Lions daring us to dream again, Over Farm in Gloucester welcomes two thousand savvy punters to the ninth edition of Barn on the Farm. With stages dotted around working barns, the festival has the feel of an intimate village fete.

After two days of largely acoustic acts (special mention to a spellbinding set from Billie Marten), Saturday brings the indie-pop bands that are the big draw. Sporting a vintage England shirt, Ten Tonnes treats the main stage to a set of energetic indie.

With an album not even out yet, Ethan Barnett already has a slew of solid songs and the likes of ‘Born to Lose’ give the crowd a kick up the arse early in the day.

The music suffers a lull in midafternoon as the Three Lions swat aside Sweden, but with football (at the time of writing, but erm - not at the time of publishing) still inexorably coming home, normal service resumes on Over Farm.

Gengahr bring their A-game, delivering tight riffs and powerful vocals and The Pale White crack through a scuzzy set in the afternoon sun. But in

a showdown between the pale kids, there is currently only one winner. On a mission to achieve global domination by sheer force of their bangers, Pale Waves arrive onstage to bright lights and humming synths and waste no time showing why they’re the hypest band around.

Sunday brings sunstroke, unbearable heat and maybe a bit of a hangover in the mix. Marsicans are the ideal antidote in an early slot, bringing a rambunctious energy to their punky indie tunes.

Drummer Cale is the only member who stays still, with guitars, bass, and synths traded as freely as the main vocal between a group that are clearly thick as thieves.

Anteros showcase their selfdescribed ‘bitter dream pop’, with vocalist Laura Hayden paying homage to Blondie and Yeah Yeah Yeahs with both her delivery and camera-friendly performance, leering down to the barrier to snarl choruses.

Later in the day, Brighton’s Fickle Friends bring the temperature down with a stripped down set inside the Wooden Barn, treating fans to rare acoustic arrangements of songs from this year’s ‘You Are Someone Else’. With lead singer Natti Shiner sat astride a

Cajon providing percussion, the band even throw in a tender cover of The 1975’s massive ‘Give Yourself a Try’.

As the sun sets and the heat dissipates, Mystery Jets belatedly take to the stage for a rare appearance this summer. Recent release ‘Curve of the Earth’ is still well-represented, with ‘Telomere’ opening out into widescreen, before classics ‘Flash a Hungry Smile’ and ‘Serotonin’ get the crowd pogoing.It’s a reminder that beyond the light-hearted indie-pop that made their name, Mystery Jets have grown into some of Britain’s most accomplished and affecting songwriters.

With its tenth anniversary coming up next year, a host of regular local acts and the ability to pull in some of the best up and coming bands, Barn on the Farm is one of the festival season’s best kept secrets. Whatever the weather, don’t miss out on this one next year. P

Barn on the Farm is one of festival season’s best kept secrets

Citadel only moves forwards Citadel moves home for 2018, but still delivers the goods.

Words: Jamie Muir.

Photos: Jemma Dodd.

‘The Perfect Summer Sunday’ is how Citadel bills itself. The ultimate day basking and rolling in sunshine, catching some bloody ace bands and trying not to be pulled too close to the cocktail bar (I mean, once or twice is alright though?). Over the past few years, Citadel has found its groove in that regard, putting on some of the defining sets of summer festival season - all nicely tucked in one of London’s hallowed parks. Wait, it’s where this year? Ahhh that’s alright, we need the exercise anyway.

It may be early, the sun may be baking, but Sea Girls are causing a splash. Shame meanwhile are still the best live band going. Midafternoon but in full throttle, they rocket through a powerful set that drags any late stragglers firmly into the day - full of visceral fury and immediate power.

Matt Maltese is holding court in the Koppaberg Garden, going down smoother than any cider knocking about in it. Playful yet tight, he’s grown in stage presence since the release of his debut album, and it shows in a shimmering and colourful trip through its many

Jubilant, carefree and ozzing with kaleidoscope colours, Tame Impala are needing right now turns.

The Horrors feel like they’re at a pivotal moment in their career, one where they’re pushing the boundaries with their latest album ‘V’ but with an eye and an acknowledgement of the path they’ve led. Today mirrors both, with a set that feels exciting and dangerous at the same time weaving unsettling electronics with potent hooks galore.

Every set, Ten Tonnes’ sweet

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indie hooks get better and today is no exception - with queues spilling out of the ‘old cider garden, and there’s fair reason why. His carefree and hooky style is infectious, and by the end of the set, everyone is in no doubt that by this time next year, he’ll be a pretty big deal. Summertime 2019 here comes Ten Tonnes. Right now, in 2018, Isaac Gracie fills his set with soaring anthems, ones that take flight in a live setting and make him a bonafide favourite of the festival.

To call a set warm on a day like this is a bit of a piss take - but it’s the best way to describe Honne’s slot on the Communion stage. As the sun begins to falter in the sky, they bring an air of stylish cool to proceedings, with the sort of sharp licks and easy charm that has a packed crowd in their pocket in a matter of seconds. It’s easy to see why when they return to London, Brixton will be rammed in bliss.

Watching CHVRCHES evolve over the years, that knowing sense that they’re here for huge moments was clear. To a packed out Main Stage, they prove now why they’re ready to go even bigger - with the sort of mass euphoria that needs to be blared full volume out of every speaker ever. With Lauren Mayberry leading the way, tonight is a coronation - with their latest album ‘Never Say Die’ leading the charge with the sort of live setting it was born for. Scottish summers have never sounded so great.

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Welcomed with a cloud of confetti to ‘Let It Happen’, Tame Impala’s headline moment is an unfiltered and undeniable success from start to finish - a band dancing in the technicolour world they’ve created and continuing to soar and soar without looking back down to earth. Trippy sights ring across the big screens, as their uncompromising set weaves across their dazzling repertoire.

‘Sundown Syndrome’ rips and purrs with swagger, while ‘Keep On Lying’ and ‘Mind Mischief’ really take the lead with people on shoulders and a dazzling light show to boot. As lasers burst across the field to ‘Elephant’ and thousands upon thousands scream along to ‘Yes I’m Changing’, ‘The Less I Know The Better’ and ‘Eventually, there’s no doubt that Tame Impala have redefined what a headline set can be, what a headline band can be and what’s exciting and vibrant in 2018. It makes them the perfect band to round out Citadel, and an exciting realisation for a band who’ve stuck to their guns - headlining on their own terms.

Jubilant, carefree and oozing with kaleidoscope colours. Tame Impala are needed right about now. P

Love.

Like.

Rain?

Even the weather can’t defeat Friendly Fires as they lead a Truck Festival line up that’s packed to the rafters with our favourite bands.

Words: Dillon Eastoe, Steven Loftin.

Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.

with no prisoners to be taken.

As if The Clash were run through Andy Warhol’s Factory and given a kick up the arse from 2018, HMLTD are *the* band to catch whenever possible. A riotous and fun show with as much life as it has meaning and purpose. They even bring out a new track, ‘Loaded’, which is filled to the brim with tasty riffs and befit of the well-designed chaos they orchestrate.

Down in Oxfordshire, Truck Festival has been taking place for over twenty years. The selfprofessed God Father of Small Festivals has been gradually growing into the beast it is now, and this year is a veritable feast of bangers, emotion and sunshine.

Kicking off, it’s official - Pale Waves are the best band. Don’t want to take our word for it? Then ask the absolutely rammed Market Stage tent where a mosh pit swiftly breaks out for their glittering indie goth-pop bangers.

On a line-up dominated by indie, Black Foxxes bring a welcome dose of raw power to Truck.

Competing with Pale Waves in the late afternoon slot on The Nest, the Exeter rockers draw a modest crowd. Given the truncated set time, the trio showcase songs from this year’s fantastic ‘Reidi’. In the short slot allotted to them, the band display both sides of their armoury, with ‘Husk’ and ‘Breathe’ offering up heavy riffs before ‘Saela’ and ‘Manic in Me’ reveal their pop smarts.

Is there currently a better festival band than Fickle Friends?

Probably not. No matter what stage, or tent, they occupy, it’s an instant tropical paradise. With palm trees adorning the stage, the band completely encompass any space they inhabit, bringing the crowd firmly with them. Able to take the overwhelmingly packed tent from reasonably static to air bound almost instantaneously, the grooves are sweeter than ever, rooting into the suitably atmospheric tent.

Friendly Fires have been away for a long time, and they’ve been sorely missed. They waste no time reminding us just what we’ve been missing, strutting on to a jubilant ‘Lovesick’, with a brass section picking up the synth lines from the studio version. Despite playing through a biblical downpour, Friendly Fires bring a joyous energy that belies the churning mud and sodden surroundings.

Across an hour, they deliver

Friendly Fires have been away for a long time, and they’ve been sorely missed a tropical paradise fit for the Amazonian downpour, which does nothing to dampen the celebration that marks their return to the place they truly belong: the frenzied festival field. A final one-two of the irrepressible ‘Hawaiian Air’ and the Latin carnival of ‘Kiss of Life’ see the trio off into the night having set a stratospheric bar for the weekend’s other headliners.

Day two gets off to a flying start with Sea Girls on the Truck Stage.

Euphoric indie anthems in the making, there’s a self-assuredness to the set that makes neat work of the early-afternoon onlookers.

While over on the Market Stage; light and airy, the dreamscape indie pop of Her’s is beautifully acclimatised to the searing heat.

Sports Team meanwhile bring the Nest tent to life with a performance that proves why they’re so hotly tipped.

Did we mention it’s bloody hot today? Well, there’s a cool breeze hitting up the Market Stage, and it’s Black Honey. Strutting out to the stage, the Brighton four-piece looking and more importantly, sounding the part, they’re becoming a fast contender for a British rock staple. Daggers of style amalgamate to create a band that knows who they are, and precisely what they want to do,

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Initial guitar technical issues aside, Drenge’s comeback (finally!) is continuing to sound greater than ever with a couple of live assistants helping bring the gloomy powerhouse sound to life. Fervent and unstoppable, Drenge are masters at finding that last bit of energy lurking in your body. Causing riots amongst the onlookers, furiously gallant in the endeavour to bring their thick, murky sound out of its swamp, they’re a behemoth that’s reached unstoppable levels.

George Ezra has something for everyone and wraps Truck in a soothing embrace of positivity. As he and his band bound onto the stage, the twilight sun is sticking around to see what delightful treats George has in store for us. With ‘Paradise’, ‘Blame It On Me’, ‘Budapest’ and ‘Shotgun’, it’s impossible to have anything but positive feelings. Echoing all around Truck this closing set is a reminder that while the outside world is ‘going through something’, that if we were all a little bit more George, it could get better in no time at all.

Blaenavon find their moment beneath the glaring sun. The unhinged nature of bassist Frank Wright quickly becomes a massive guiding point for all in front of the stage. Another airing of new cut ‘Catatonic Skinbag’, a barrelling rager that takes no prisoners;

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when all hell breaks loose, you know Blaenavon are giving it their all.

Back at Truck to tie up their debut album campaign, The Amazons bring their meaty riffs and shout-along choruses to the Main Stage. For a band with only one album under their belt, the four-piece receive a great reception, with ‘Ultraviolet’ and ‘Nightdriving’ met by hands in the air, a modest mosh and a few flares.

The shimmering and dutifully pleasing ditties of The Magic Gang bring one of the most massive crowds of the weekend to the Market Stage. Rife with singalongs and swaying bodies spilling about each other to get involved in the action, it’s wholly undeniable that The Magic Gang are indeed a bit magic.

Sloping onto the Main Stage to a modest crowd as the sun begins to set on Truck 2018, Editors bring fifteen years of experience and six albums worth of tunes with them, including a powerful early rendition of ‘Smokers Outside Hospital Doors’. The Birmingham alt-rockers have all the right tools, with motoric drumming, throbbing bass and shrill guitar lines, but whether it’s the lacklustre audience or the lack of a more recent hit, their set doesn’t quite hit the heights it should do.

It would appear as if someone has told Rat Boy to take it down a notch; he’s a little more subdued than we’re used to. That’s not to see the vying crowd aren’t into it - in fact, it feels like they’ve been waiting to unleash themselves in this moment all weekend. A thousand young bodies convalesce under the idea of Rat Boy and letting the carefree nature of life take hold.

While the Main Stage area fills with fans waiting for the Courteeners, those at the Nest are treated to a weekend highlight by New York indie veterans We Are Scientists. Although they’re yet to hit the MTV2 heights of 2008 album ‘Brain Thrust Mastery’, they’ve amassed an armoury of indie dancefloor bangers over the past decade, and they bring the best of them out to play.

The hour-long set is a timely reminder of Scientists’ songwriting chops, as closers ‘Rules Don’t Stop Me’ and ‘Nobody Moves, Nobody Gets Hurt’ prompt pogoing and raucous applause. P

Festivals.

“We’re currently building something so you’ll have to wait and see” this summer, which of your songs typically goes down best with a festival crowd?

Definitely ‘Swim’. It’s our oldest song and the best known. I make the crowd sing a lot of it for me, ha.

Do you have anything special planned for your set, like new material or a flashy stage set up?

Always more trees. We’re currently building something so you’ll have to wait and see. We’ll be playing a couple of lesser-heard tracks from the record too.

If money and time were no object, what would be your dream stage prop?

A giant palm tree light with a base at the top so I can climb up and bust some moves up there n shit. It could appear from under the stage and grow upwards like a beanstalk, hahaha.

24th - 26th August

Reading + Leeds Here it comes. August bank holiday means one thing - Reading and Leeds.

We’ve rounded up Fickle Friends and a bunch more of our faves to chat all about the legendary festival that marks unofficial end of the summer hols. Just stay away from those chemical toilets, yeah?

Words: Sam Taylor.

I

n many ways, Reading and Leeds is more than just another music festival. It’s a coming of age right of passage that refuses to let go.

If you’re one of the few never to experience its unique charms, you’ll probably not understand the heady mix of always-at-eleven live music and raw, endless hedonism that engulfs two sites across one August bank holiday weekend.

Once out the other side, nobody is quite the same again.

It’s also a great excuse to catch up with a bunch of our favourite bands, most of whom are playing the annual who’s who of alternative music. Fickle Friends are fast becoming old hands at this, 64

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reducing Reading’s Radio 1 tent to a quivering, poptastic mess this time last year. They’re back again in 2018, so we grabbed Natti to swap notes.

Hello Natti, how’s it going?

Hey! I’m good thanks! Just in the studio recording our next EP!

Have you enjoyed 2018 so far?

What’ve been your highlights?

It’s been a sick year so far. We released our debut album which was in the Top 10. Sold out all our first US shows which was amazing and now festival season is treating us very well... Truck has definitely been a highlight so far.

You’re playing Reading & Leeds

D OWN WI T H BO RI N G

Which would be the worst possible band you could clash with from this year’s Reading & Leeds bill?

Post Malone.

Who would you like to see headline in 2019?

Paramore, Kanye and The 1975.

Do you camp at festivals, or avoid tents at all costs?

Screw camping. I totally didn’t mind it before, but now I don’t have to... Travelodge all the way!

What’s your number one tip for surviving a weekend in a field?

You’re not allowed to say staying hydrated.

Wear a jacket that keeps you warm, dry and has two big pockets that can hold two plastics bottles full of booze.

What are you up to for the remainder of the year?

We are finishing off festival season and then heading straight on a big US tour followed by a U.K. tour. We have a new EP coming out this year too. Lots to keep us busy! P

Reading and Leeds takes place between 24th and 26th August at Richfield Avenue (Reading) and Bramham Park (Leeds). Keep up with everything going on across the weekend at readdork.com.

Reading + Leeds headliner hustle There are four headliners booked in for Reading and Leeds 2018 - but which one do ‘the bands’ want to see.

(Spoiler: it’s Kendrick.)

The Wombats

The Regrettes

Hello Dan! What would be your dream stage prop?

Hey Lydia! Which would be the worst possible band you could clash with from this year’s bill?

Main Stage, Friday Reading / Saturday Leeds

The baby dragons from Game of Thrones, instead of pyrotechnics they would just breath fire on cue.

Who would you like to see headline in 2019?

Probably SWMRS because we share a lot of the same fans.

Do you camp at festivals?

Radiohead.

Do you camp at festivals, or avoid tents at all costs?

“Kendrick. Never seen him live, but man that guy is a showman. I can’t believe I didn’t go for a band, ha.

Mental.”

Natti, Fickle Friends

Main Stage, Friday Reading / Saturday Leeds

Ha, I have definitely never camped at a fest and probably won’t ever due to my love of showering on a regular basis.

I have camped several times. Leeds was the first festival I ever went to in 2000, and I had the best time camping! I haven’t camped for a while though...

What’s your number one tip for surviving a weekend in a field?

What’s your number one tip for surviving a weekend in a field?

What are you up to for the remainder of the year?

Spector

Hinds

Hello Fred! Which of your songs goes down best at festivals?

Do you have anything special planned for your set?

Do you have anything special planned for your set?

Which would be the worst possible band you could clash with from this year’s bill?

Bring earplugs for sleeping. P

Damn, that’s exactly what I was gonna say. Good company is important too, for me at least.

Recording record two! P

End of the Road

Did you hear? End of the Road has both St. Vincent and Vampire Weekend. If that hasn’t sold you, nothing will.

Either one of bill-topping duo Vampire Weekend and St. Vincent would have got us excited, but combined they’re a real force to be reckoned with.

In addition, End of the Road is full to the brim with the kind of acts that are generally accompanied by the words ‘critically acclaimed’, ‘masterpiece’ and ‘profound’, there’s also (Sandy) Alex G, John Cale, Yo La Tengo, Hookworms and third headliner, Feist.

End of the Road takes place at Larmar Tree Gardens from 30th August to 2nd September. P

“Kendrick Lamar, because he’s a genius.”

Theresa, Yonaka “Kendrick Lamar. We played just before him at Splendour a couple of days ago then got to watch his set; it was really good. I particularly liked the ninja dancer he had onstage for some songs!”

Dan, The Wombats “Brendon Urie has such a flawless voice, he makes me insecure. Pete [Wentz, Fall Out Boy]’s lyrics are my fave though.”

Awsten, Waterparks “Kendrick Lamar. He’s just so insanely talented and constantly pushing boundaries and doing something new and exciting.”

Lydia, The Regrettes “Kendrick Lamar, but if you’d asked me when I was a kid, KOL. ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ still bangs.”

Fred, Spector

Festival Republic Stage, Reading Sunday / Leeds Friday

Festival Republic Stage, Reading Sunday / Leeds Friday

‘Never Fade Away’ because you get to clap and UK festivals like clapping almost as much as drinking.

We’ll probably play a couple of new songs, but not too many or the crowd will get bored.

What your dream stage prop?

I always wanted to start a show with an old red London telephone box lit by a single spotlight. Then I’d come up through the floor in a lift directly into the phone box and sing the opening lines down the phone over the PA. P

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Yes! We have another band coming to play on stage with us, but won’t tell you who!

Slaves.

Do you camp at festivals?

We use to camp at the festivals we stayed after playing but then once our tour manager got sick, his appendix imploded and it took us six hours to get to the nearest hospital, he almost died, so now I have mixed feelings tbh. In Spain all the festivals have nice weather, your mud is killer! P

RE AD D O RK. CO M

Festival No. 6

One of the most scenic festivals going, this could be Festival No. 6’s final year.

Get in here while you can, 2018 might just be the last ever Festival No.6, with organisers explaining the event “is just not sustainable in its current format”. Boo, hiss, etc.

This year, headliner sets will come from The The, Franz Ferdinand and Friendly Fires, with Marika Hackman, The Horrors, Everything Everything, Fenne Lily, Jessie Ware, Anna Calvi, Django Django, and loads more also on the bill.

The festival takes place in Portmeirion, Wales from 6th-9th September. P

The Guide.

A L L T H E S H OW S YO U N E E D TO S E E T H I S M O N T H , A N D S O M E YO U P R O BA B LY D O N ’ T

1st September Cardiff, Ride, Tramshed Huddersfield, Puppy,

The Parish Lingfield, The Wombats, Lingfield Park Racecourse London, Big Scary Monsters Big Day Out, MOTH Club Manchester, Death Grips, Albert Hall Newcastle, Camp Cope, The Cluny Nottingham, Titus Andronicus, Bodega Wolverhampton, Kaiser Chiefs, Wolverhampton Racecourse

2nd September Bristol, Oh Sees, O2

Academy Bristol Glasgow, Camp Cope, Kinning Park Complex Guildford, The Ninth Wave, The Boileroom Liverpool, Puppy, Sound Food and Drink London, Destroyer, The Jazz Cafe Manchester, Gomez, O2 Ritz Milton Keynes, The Low Anthem, The Craufurd Arms Norwich, Eliza & The Bear, The Waterfront Studio Oxford, Kelley Lee Owens, The Bullingdon Stockton, Barry Hyde, The Waiting Room Tunbridge Wells, Arcane Roots, The Forum

3rd September Belfast, The Kooks, The Limelight

Birmingham, Iceage,

Hare & Hounds Bristol, Shannon And The Clams, The Fleece Glasgow, Koyo, The Hug & Pint London, Oh Sees, O2 Forum Manchester, Titus Andronicus, Soup Kitchen Newcastle, Screaming Females, The Cluny Nottingham, Camp Cope, Rough Trade Oxford, Puppy, The Cellar Portsmouth, Willy Mason, The Wedgewood Rooms Sheffield, Alex G, Picture House Social

Southampton, Cassels, Heartbreakers

4th September Birmingham, Alex G,

Hare & Hounds Birmingham, Soccer Mommy, Hare & Hounds Brighton, Willy Mason, The Albert Edinburgh, Screaming Females, The Mash House Exeter, Cassels, The Cavern Leeds, Iceage, Brudenell Social Club Leeds, Titus Andronicus, Belgrave Music Hall Leicester, Puppy, The Cookie London, Camp Cope, The Dome London, Ezra Furman, O2 Academy Brixton London, Shannon And The Clams, The Garage Newcastle, Koyo, Think Tank?

Oxford, The Low Anthem, The Bullingdon

5th September Brighton, Cassels,

Pipeline Leeds, Koyo, Belgrave Music Hall Leeds, Screaming Females, Brudenell Social Club Leicester, The Low Anthem, The Cookie London, Alex G, Islington Academy London, The Kooks, MOTH Club Manchester, Soccer Mommy, The Deaf Institute Sheffield, Electric Six, The Plug

.Arctic Monkeys hit ‘the arenas’ on tour this month. S. Southampton, Devon Allman Project, The 1865 Southampton, Puppy, The Joiners Southampton, Ride, Engine Rooms 6th September Brighton, Goat Girl, The Haunt

Brighton, Puppy, Sticky

Mike’s Frog Bar Cardiff, Cassels, Gwdihw Cafe Bar Chester, Electric Six, The Live Rooms Glasgow, Iceage, The Great Eastern Leamington Spa, Ride, The Assembly London, LION, Camden Assembly London, Titus Andronicus, St Pancras

Old Church

Manchester, Arctic

Monkeys, Manchester Arena Manchester, Koyo, Jimmy’s Newcastle, Devon Allman Project, Riverside Newcastle, The Low Anthem, The Cluny Stoke, Kyle Falconer, The Underground Truro, Willy Mason, The Old Bakery Studios

7th September Aldershot, The Wedding

Present, West End Centre Carlisle, Glasvegas, The Old Fire Station Cheslyn Hay, Happy Accidents, Cheslyn Hay WMC Leeds, Devon Allman

Project, Brudenell Social Club Leicester, Goat Girl, The Cookie Leicester, Koyo, The Shed Liverpool, Kyle Falconer, Heebie Jeebies & EBGBS London, Chilly Gonzales, Cadogan Hall London, Titus Andronicus, St Pancras Old Church Manchester, Arctic Monkeys, Manchester Arena Manchester, Screaming Females, Band on the Wall Manchester, Shaun Ryder, O2 Ritz Middlesbrough, Llovers, Westgarth Social Club Newport, Puppy, Le Public Space

8th September Bristol, Screaming

Females, Exchange Cardiff, Iceage, Clwb Ifor Bach Guildford, The Low Anthem, St Mary’s Church Leeds, Goat Girl, Brudenell Social Club Leeds, Kyle Falconer, Brudenell Social Club Liverpool, Soccer Mommy, The Shipping Forecast Manchester, Craig Finn, The Deaf Institute Manchester, Devon Allman Project, Manchester Academy

.Goat Girl. S.

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Nottingham, Cassels,

Chameleon Arts Cafe Oban, The Kooks, Corran Halls Preston, Electric Six, 53 Degrees Sheffield, Puppy, Corporation Southampton, Gaffa Tape Sandy, Heartbreakers

9th September Cardiff, Screaming

Females, Clwb Ifor Bach Colchester, Willy Mason, Colchester Arts Club Huddersfield, The Orielles, Huddersfield Library Leeds, Electric Six, Brudenell Social Club London, Arctic Monkeys, The O2 London, Ghost, Royal Albert Hall Manchester, Garbage, Manchester Academy Manchester, Iceage, Gorilla Middlesbrough, The Kooks, The Middlesbrough Empire Tunbridge Wells, The Low Anthem, The Forum

10th September Bexhill-on-Sea, The

Kooks, De La Warr Pavilion Brighton, Iceage, The Haunt Glasgow, Yungblud, The Garage

Leeds, Albert Hammond

Historical Society, The Pleasance Glasgow, Pale Waves, SWG3 London, Crown The Empire, O2 Academy Islington London, Delta Sleep, Bush Hall London, Fizzy Blood, Boston Music Room London, Spirtualized, Eventim Apollo Newport, Adult Mom, Le Public Space Oxford, Low Island, O2 Academy Oxford Sheffield, Arctic Monkeys, FlyDSA Arena Sheffield, Spring King, The Plug Tynemouth, Spinn, Surf Cafe

Jr, Brudenell Social Club London, Alice Merton, The Garage London, Arctic Monkeys, The O2 London, Chilly Gonzales, Queen Elizabeth Hall London, Skating Polly, Sebright Arms London, Willy Mason, Bush Hall London, Wooden Shjips, Heaven Nottingham, Soccer Mommy, Bodega Wolverhampton, The Low Anthem, Northampton Arts Centre

11th September Bristol, Soccer Mommy,

Thekla Leeds, Wooden Shjips, Brudenell Social Club Leeds, Yungblud, Key Club London, Kero Kero Bonito, Village Underground London, Screaming Females, 100 Club London, The Low Anthem, The Garage Manchester, Albert Hammond Jr, Manchester Academy Manchester, Alice Merton, Gorilla Newport, Skating Polly, Le Public Space Norwich, Dream Nails, The Waterfront Studio Nottingham, Garbage, Rock City Oxford, Willy Mason, The Bullingdon

12th September Birmingham, Yungblud,

O2 Academy Birmingham Cambridge, Willy Mason, The Portland Arms Cardiff, Soccer mommy, Clwb Ifor Bach Glasgow, Albert Hammond Jr, SWG3 Glasgow, Wooden Shjips, Saint Luke’s Leamington Spa, The Low Anthem, The Zephyr Lounge Leeds, Skating Polly, Temple of Boom London, Arctic Monkeys, The O2 London, Clairo, Heaven London, Gruff Rhys, Barbican Centre London, Puppy, The Borderline Newcastle, Garbage, Northumbria University SU

13th September Bristol, Skating Polly,

The Thunderbolt Glasgow, Sextile, Broadcast Huddersfield, The Low Anthem, The Parish London, Arctic Monkeys, The O2 London, Koyo, St Pancras Old Church London, Soccer Mommy,

.Pale Waves are playing their biggest headline tour yet in support of their debut album ‘My Mind Makes Noises’. S.

22nd September Aberdeen, Mull

Scala

London, Yungblud, The Garage

Manchester, Kyle

Falconer, Night & Day Cafe York, Willy Mason, The Crescent

14th September Edinburgh, The Low

Anthem, The Bongo Club Guildford, Koyo, Boileroom Hebden Bridge, Willy Mason, Trades Club Leicester, Skating Polly, The Firebug Liverpool, Wooden Shjips, The Invisible Wind Factory London, Albert Hammond Jr, Electric Ballroom Manchester, Clairo, Gorilla Newcastle, Sextile, Think Tank?

15th September Aberdeen, The

Lafontaines, Lemon Tree Birmingham, Arctic Monkeys, Arena Birmingham Brighton, Koyo, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar Bristol, Albert Hammond Jr, Thekla Dublin, Against The Current, The Academy Dublin, Biffy Clyro, The Helix Durham, Paul Smith, Old Cinema Launderette Glasgow, Delta Sleep, The Hug & Pint Glasgow, Skating Polly, Broadcast Howden, The Howl & The Hum, Howden Live London, Garbage, O2 Academy Brixton London, Why?, Electric Ballroom Manchester, Gruff Rhys, RNCM Manchester, Sextile, Soup Kitchen

DORK

LIVE! FORTHCOMING SHOWS

SEPTEMBER 26 Leeds, Indoor

05 Reading, Her’s,

Pets, Key Club

South Street Arts Centre

OCTOBER 03 Leeds, Folly

NOVEMBER 03 Lincoln, 2Q

Rae + Lucia, Key Club

Festival

Sheffield, Kyle Falconer, The Plug

Southampton, BILK, Heartbreakers

16th September Belfast, Biffy Clyro,

Waterfront Hall Birmingham, Arctic Monkeys, Arena Birmingham Birmingham, Sextile, The Cuban Embassy Birmingham, Wooden Shjips, O2 Institute Brighton, Albert Hammond Jr, Concorde 2 Bristol, Delta Sleep, Exchange Bristol, Koyo, Mr Wolfs Glasgow, Willy Mason, Oran Mor Manchester, Gruff Rhys, RNCM Manchester, Sofi Tukker, Gorilla Manchester, Why?, Manchester Academy

17th September Belfast, Wooden Shjips,

The Empire Bar & Music Hall Birmingham, Koyo, The Castle & Falcon Bristol, Against The Current, SWX Bristol Dublin, Why?, The Button Factory Edinburgh, Willy Mason, Voodoo Rooms Glasgow, The Goon Sax, The Hug & Pint Grimsby, Skating Polly, Yardbirds London, A Place To Bury 67

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Strangers, Hoxton Bar & Grill London, Haerts, Paper Dress London, Sofi Tukker, KOKO Newcastle, Graham Coxon, New Vic Theatre

18th September Birmingham, Tom

Clarke, Hare & Hounds Brighton, Crown The Empire, The Haunt Cardiff, Biffy Clyro, St David’s Hall Guildford, The Wedding Present, The Boileroom Leeds, The Goon Sax, Headrow House London, Dizzy, Omeara London, Lauv, KOKO London, Lianne La Havas, Hackney Arts Centre London, Sextile, Electrowerkz Newcastle, Willy Mason, The Cluny Sheffield, Arctic Monkeys, FlyDSA Arena Southampton, Against The Current, Engine Rooms

19th September Bath, Bill Ryder-Jones,

Chapel Arts Centre Birmingham, Biffy Clyro, Symphony Hall Brighton, Sextile, The Hope & Ruin Cardiff, Tom Clarke, The Globe Exeter, Adult Mom, The Cavern RE AD D O RK. CO M

Glasgow, Spring King,

Saint Luke’s Leeds, Fizzy Blood, Brudenell Social Club London, Kathryn Joseph, Kings Place London, Self Esteem, Omeara London, Sports Team, Scala Manchester, Mitski, Gorilla Newcastle, The Lafontaines, The Cluny Norwich, Against The Current, Waterfront Nottingham, The Wedding Present, The Rescue Rooms Sheffield, Arctic Monkeys, FlyDSA Arena Southampton, Crown The Empire, The Talking Heads

20th September Belfast, Kyle Falconer, Foundtry

Birmingham, The Goon

Sax, Hare & Hounds Brighton, Delta Sleep, Castle Snooker Club Bristol, Crown The Empire, The Fleece Glasgow, Mitski, Saint Luke’s Glasgow, Mull Historical Society, CCA Leeds, Bright Light Bright Light, Church Leeds London, Bill RyderJones, Queen Elizabeth Hall Manchester, The Lafontaines, The Deaf Institute Newcastle, Spring King, The Cluny Nottingham, Tom Clarke, The Rescue Rooms Nottingham, Willy Mason, Bodega

21st September Birmingham, Against

The Current, O2 Institute Edinburgh, Biffy Clyro, Usher Hall Edinburgh, Mull

Historical Society, Lemon Tree Birmingham, Crown The Empire, The Asylum Birmingham, The Magic Gang, O2 Institute Dublin, Mitski, Tivoli Theatre Glasgow, Bill RyderJones, Community Central Hall Leeds, Against The Current, Leeds University Union Liverpool, Spring King, O2 Academy Liverpool London, Boston Manor, Electric Ballroom London, Halsey, Eventim Apollo Manchester, Biffy Clyro, Opera House Newcastle, Pale Waves, Boiler Shop Preston, The Sherlocks, St. John’s Minister Sheffield, Arctic Monkeys, FlyDSA Arena Sheffield, Halestorm, O2 Academy Sheffield Southampton, Tom Clarke, Engine Rooms

23rd September Birmingham, Boston

Manor, Mama Roux’s Bristol, Bright Light Bright Light, The Louisiana Edinburgh, The Magic Gang, Liquid Rooms Glasgow, Adult Mom, The Hug & Pint Manchester, Against The Current, O2 Ritz Manchester, Bill RyderJones, Dancehouse Theatre Sheffield, Mull Historical Society, The Greystones Sheffield, Pale Waves, Foundry Southampton, Dela Sleep, The Joiners

24th September Bristol, Bleeding Knees Club, The Old England Bristol, The Night Cafe Cardiff, Bright Light Bright Light, The Globe

Booking Now.

& Day Cafe

Manchester, Pale Waves, O2 Ritz

Newcastle, Arctic

Monkeys, Metro Radio Arena Newcastle, Crown the Empire, Riverside Newcastle Newcastle, whenyoung, Think Tank?

Underground Nottingham, Teleman, The Rescue Rooms Nottingham, Muncie Girls, Rock City Sheffield, The Magic Gang, The Plug

BLOSSOMS

Glasgow O2 Academy (3rd December); Sheffield O2 Academy (4th); Nottingham Rock City (5th); Birmingham O2 Academy (7th); Manchester Victoria Warehouse (8th, 9th); Southampton O2 Guildhall (11th); Bristol O2 Academy Bristol (12th); London O2 Academy Brixton (13th)

CHVRCHES

London Alexandra Palace (7th February); Birmingham O2 Academy (8th, 9th); Nottingham Rock City (11th); Bournemouth O2 Academy (12th); Manchester Victoria Warehouse (14th, 15th); Glasgow SSE Hydro (16th); Newcastle Upon Tyne O2 Academy (18th); Belfast Ulster Hall (19th); Dublin Olympia Theatre (21st, 22nd)

ESTRONS

London Scala (7th February)

KISSISSIPPI + TANCRED

Norwich Waterfront Studio (14th November); Southampton Joiners (15th); Birmingham Sunflower Lounge (16th); Nottingham Bodega Social Club (18th); Manchester Gullivers (19th); Glasgow Hug And Pint (20th); Leeds Brudenell Social Club (21st); Bristol Rough Trade (22nd); London Moth Club (23rd)

29th September .Indoor Pets are on brand for their Dork Live! show in Leeds this month. S. Dublin, Arctic Monkeys,

3Arena Dublin, Crown The Empire, The Academy Exeter, Spectres, The Cavern Leeds, Mitski, Brudenell Social Club Liverpool, Pale Waves, O2 Academy Liverpool Liverpool, The Lafontaines, Arts Club London, Biffy Clyro, Royal Albert Hall London, Chelsea Grin, The Dome London, Half Waif, Sebright Arms Manchester, Adult Mom, Castle Hotel Manchester, Julien Baker, Gorilla Nottingham, Boston Manor, The Rescue Rooms Sheffield, Tom Clarke, The Plug

25th September Belfast, Crown The

Empire, Oh Yeah Music Centre Birmingham, Pale Waves, O2 Institute Brighton, The Magic Gang, Concorde 2 Bristol, Mitski, Trinity Bristol, Spring King, Thekla

Belfast, Three Trapped

Dublin, Arctic Monkeys, 3Arena

Glasgow, Against The

Current, The Garage Glasgow, Julien Baker, Saint Luke’s Leeds, Bleeding Knees Club, Hyde Park Book Club Leeds, Half Waif, Headrow House Leeds, The Lafontaines, Oporto Bar & Restraunt London, Amyl And The Sniffers, MOTH Club London, Colouring, Omeara Manchester, Bright Light Bright Light, The Deaf Institute Oxford, The Night Cafe, O2 Academy Oxford Sheffield, Spinn, Rocord Junkee

Cafe, Dryden Street Social Liverpool, Boston Manor, Hangar 34 London, Franz Ferdinand, The Roundhouse London, Mistki, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire London, The Magic Gang, O2 Forums Manchester, Halestorm, O2 Apollo Manchester Manchester, Muncie Girls, The Deaf Institute Manchester, Rex Orange County, Albert Hall Nottingham, Spring King, The Rescue Rooms Wolverhampton, The Bluetones, Slade Rooms York, Tom Clarke, Fibbers

27th September

26th September Birmingham, The

Leicester, The Night

Belfast, Anna Calvi, The

Lafontaines, O2 Academy Birmingham Brighton, Adult Mom, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar Brighton, Olafur Arnalds, Brighton Dome Glasgow, Bleeding Knees Club, SWG3 Glasgow, Half Waif, The Glad Cafe Leeds, Indoor Pets, Key Club

Empire Bar & Music Hall Birmingham, Muncie Girls, The Cuban Embassy Birmingham, Rex Orange County, O2 Institute Birmingham, Spring King, O2 Institute Bristol, Half Waif, the Crofers Rights Bristol, Mull Historical Society, The Louisiana Bristol, Teleman, Thekla

YOU ME AT SIX

Dublin Academy (18th November); Belfast Limelight (19th); Leeds O2 Academy (21st); Manchester Victoria Warehouse (24th); Newcastle O2 Academy (26th); Glasgow Barrowland (28th); London O2 Academy Brixton (2nd, 3rd December); Bournemouth O2 Academy (6th); Sheffield O2 Academy (7th); Norwich UEA (8th); Nottingham Rock City (9th)

.The Magic Gang. S.

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D OWN WI T H BO RI N G

Glasgow, Boston Manor, SWG3

Glasgow, Bright Light

Bright Light, Stereo Glasgow, Chelsea Grin, The Garage Glasgow, Crown The Empire, The Classic Grang Leeds, The Bluetones, Brudenell Social Club Liverpool, whenyoung, Heebie Jeebies & EBGBS London, Pale Waves, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire London, Seafret, Omeara London, Spinn, The Garage London, William Doyle, Chat’s Palace Art Centre Manchester, Bleeding Knees Club, YES Manchester, The Magic Gang, Albert Hall Newcastle, Against the Current, Riverside Newcastle Newcastle, Arctic Monkeys, Metro Radio Arena Nottingham, The Night Cafe, The Rescue Rooms

28th September Birmingham, Bad

Nerves, The Dark Horse Birmingham, Bright Light Bright Light, Sunflower Lounge Birmingham, Chelsea Grin, The Asylum Brighton, S. Carey, The Haunt Dublin, Anna Calvi, Tivoli Theatre Liverpool, Spinn, O2 Academy Liverpool London, Bleeding Knees Club, The Victoria London, Halestorm, O2 Academy Brixton London, Peter Hook & The Light, KOKO London, Spring King, O2 Forum London, The Lafontaines, Oslo London, The Night Cafe, Heaven Manchester, Mull Historical Society, Night

Tigers, The Empire Bar & Music Hall Bournemouth, Mallory Knox, The Anvil Bristol, Halestorm, O2 Academy Bristol Edinburgh, Olafur Arnalds, Assembly Rooms Kenilworth, S. Carey, St John’s Church Liverpool, The Bluetones, Arts Club London, Against The Current, O2 Forum London, Bright Light Bright Light, Oslo London, Julien Baker, o2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire Manchester, Boston Manor, Gorilla Manchester, Crown The Empire, Manchester Academy Manchester, Peter Hook & The Light, Albert Hall Manchester, Spring King, O2 Ritz Newcastle, Muncie Girls, Think Tank?

Underground Nottingham, The Magic Gang, Rock City Oxford, Mull Historical Society, The Jericho Oxford, Teleman, O2 Academy Oxford Stockton-on-Tees, Tom Clarke, Ku Bar

30th September Birmingham, The Night

Cafe, O2 Institute Glasgow, Anna Calvi, Saint Luke’s Glasgow, Muncie Girls, The Garage Glasgow, Peter Hook & The Light, SWG3 Manchester, Olafur Arnalds, Albert Hall Manchester, S. Carey, The Deaf Institute Manchester, Tom Clarke, Manchester Academy Newcastle, Mull Historical Society, The Cluny Norwich, Crown The Empire, Waterfront Norwich, Teleman, Epic Studios Nottingham, Jeff Rosenstock, Bodega Nottingham, Sleaford Mods, Theatre Royal

OMNI The Cellar Oxford | 15.08.18

TELEMAN O2 Academy2 Oxford | 29.09.18

TOM GRENNAN O2 Academy Leicester | 19.10.18

THE BLINDERS The Bullingdon Oxford | 05.11.18

CREEPER Dryden Street Social Leicester | 21.08.18

WHENYOUNG The Cookie Leicester | 05.10.18

SAM EVIAN The Cookie Leicester | 21.10.18

COURTNEY BARNETT

STELLA DONNELLY The Cookie Leicester | 23.08.18

THE MAGIC GANG M O2 Academy Oxford | 05.10.18

PUMA BLUE PUM The Jericho Tavern Oxford | 22.10.18

SHAME O2 Academy Leicester | 17.11.18

THE LOW ANTHEM The Bullingdon Oxford | 04.09.18

Newhampton Arts Centre Wolverhampton | 10.10.18

MAHALIA

KIRAN LEONARD The Cookie Leicester | 22.10.18

PAUL DRAPER The Cookie Leicester | 17.11.18

THE LOW ANTHEM The Cookie Leicester | 05.09.18

GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY. The Cookie Leicester | 11.10.18

YELLOW DAYS The Bullingdon Oxford | 23.10.18

BLOXX The Jericho Tavern Oxford | 20.11.18

GOAT GIRL The Cookie Leicester | 07.09.18

HOLLIE COOK O2 Academy Oxford | 12.10.18

LUCY DACUS The Cookie Leicester | 25.10.18

EASY LIFE Dryden Street Social Leicester | 22.11.18

Newhampton Arts Centre Wolverhampton | 10.09.18

THE LOW ANTHEM

CASSIA The Cookie Leicester | 13.10.18

ROLLING BLACKOUTS C.F O2 Academy Oxford | 25.10.18

SUNFLOWER BEAN Dryden Street Social Leicester | 23.11.18

LOW ISLAND O2 Academy2 Oxford | 21.09.18

DERMOT KENNEDY O2 Academy Oxford | 14.10.18

HER’S The Cookie Leicester | 26.10.18

EASY LIFE The Jericho Tavern Oxford | 24.11.18

THE NIGHT CAFE O2 Academy2 Oxford | 25.09.18

OUR GIRL The Cookie Leicester | 15.10.18

BAD SOUNDS The Cookie Leicester | 27.10.18

SUNFLOWER BEAN The Bullingdon Oxford | 25.11.18

THE NIGHT NIGH CAFE Dryden Street Social Leicester | 26.09.18

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH The Bullingdon Oxford | 16.10.18

WE ARE SCIENTISTS The Bullingdon Oxford | 28.10.18

SHAME O2 Academy Oxford | 27.11.18

SEAFRET The Cookie Leicester | 28.09.18

TOM GRENNAN O2 Academy Oxford | 18.10.18 Oxfo

IDLES O2 Academy Oxford | 29.10.18

AMUSEMENT PARKS ON FIRE The Cookie Leicester | 07.12.18

FUTURE PERFECT

O2 Academy Oxford | 15.11.18

@FUTUREPERFECTT @FUTUREPERFECTT FUTUREPERFECTLIVE THEFUTUREISPERFECT.CO.UK INFO@THEFUTUREISPERFECT.CO.UK TICKETS FROM SEETICKETS.COM

Any other questions?

Soccer Mommy What’s your fave TV show?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

What is your earliest memory?

Not sure - one of them would be my first concert. It was a Hilary Duff show.

Have you got any secret tattoos?

What was the last thing you broke?

No secret ones, but I have three.

If you won the lottery, what would you spend the cash on?

Skipped class.

My phone screen.

What was the naughtiest thing you did at school?

I’d probably just donate some of the cash and then use some of it to buy a house and a truck

If you could have a super power of your choosing, what would it be?

What’s been your favourite album of 2018 so far?

When’s your birthday?

Kacey Musgraves - ‘Golden Hour’.

Have you ever been thrown out of somewhere?

Time travel.

26th May.

You have to support either U2 or Red Hot Chili Peppers on tour. Who do you pick?

Nope.

Ugh. I guess U2.

What’s your biggest fear?

Who would you most like to be stuck in a lift with?

Spiders.

Do you believe in aliens?

Yep!

What is the best present you’ve ever been given?

My first Strat.

Which band do you feel is criminally underappreciated?

Sleater-Kinney.

My boyfriend.

What have you got in your pockets right now?

A guitar pick and my phone.

How punk are you out of ten?

3/10. P

Soccer Mommy plays the Scala, London on 13th September.

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Photo: Patrick Gunning.

Asking about the usual stuff is so boring. Why would you want to do that, when you could ask about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and time travel?

D OWN WI T H BO RI N G

GAZ COOMBES GHOSTPOET JANE WEAVER

NADINE SHAH

SUUNS . THE LOVELY EGGS . gnod BOY AZOOGA . warmduscher KIRAN LEONARD . alaskalaska lice . CASSELS . FONTAINES D.C. Husky loops . MADONnATRON . grand pax THE HOMESICK . SELF HELP . BE GOOD . haze BROOKE BENTHAM . JOHN . LACUNA COMMON LE FEYE . EASTER ISLAND STATUES . LIfE INC. VIVE LA VOID (Sanae Yamada - Moon Duo) . CATGOD GHOSTS IN THE PHOTOGRAPHs . JUNIPER NIGHTS DJ SETS FROM STEVE DAVIS + KAVUS TORABI

OXFORD COWLEY ROAD SATURDAY 20TH OCTOBER 14 + . £30ADV

plus DROWNED IN SOUND DJS

ritualunion.co.uk

DO YOU FEEL DOWN? STRESSED? UPSET?

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31.08.2018

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