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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
HHHH NME
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.
T
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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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. 21
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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.
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.
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. 41
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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
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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
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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
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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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