DOWN WITH BORING.
ISSUE 69 · SEPTEMBER 2022 · READDORK.COM
Sports Team.
5SOS. Pale Waves.
INDEX.
← There are five different covers of Dork to collect this month, each edition packed with exclusive extra photos and goodies for the act on the front. Grab them all for the full story. You can order specific issues direct from readdork.com now, while they last.
Issue 69 | September 2022 | readdork.com | Down With Boring
WHAT'S ON THE STEREO? THE BIG MOON
Here Is Everything The Big Moon's albums are always really rather great, and their third is no different. A collection that's both assured and assuredly brilliant, it's another high bar for one of the very best bands around.
BEYONCÉ
RENAISSANCE She's quite good at this music thing, that Beyoncé, isn't she?
ELIO
ELIO'S INFERNO The future popster's latest mixtape is properly bangeriffic - packed with the kind of energy that punches out of playlists and sets up camp. A diamond in a crowded field, there's something a little special about ELIO.
DJO
DECIDE We're sorry, but where does Joe Keery get off. Not only is he The Best Thing on Television as King Steve Harrington in Stranger Things, but he's also a brilliant musician too. Don't believe us - his second album under the Djo banner 'Decide' is coming this September, and is genuinely great. You'll be able to read much more about it next issue. Scoop(s) ahoy! (Sorry, Joe - Ed)
EDITOR'S LETTER
WHY MAKE DO WITH ONE COVER, when you can have five of them? That's what we've decided to do this month - not in the name of some overarching theme or construct, but just because. Pop nonsense prevails, and what's more chaotic than a free choice? Exactly. So, we've got one of the biggest bands on the planet over the last ten years, 5 Seconds of Summer. We've got a voice of a cult-like fanbase looking for a place to belong - Yungblud - and a band that certainly aren't scared of using their gobs either, long time Dork faves Sports Team. Pale Waves get their - we think - fourth cover for their pop-punk tastic new record, while Lava La Rue scores the first of hopefully many, as one of the most essential new voices on the planet. It's not a bad selection, is it? You can add to that a whole load more, too. We've got debut albums from Lauran Hibberd and Phoebe Green, go deep with the incomparable Ezra Furman, welcome back Stella Donnelly, find out what's going on with The Big Moon, get emotional with Beach Bunny and get all misty-eyed about, erm, Hull with LIFE. In Hype, we're introducing the incredibly buzzy Crawlers, plus there's all the usual news, reviews, festival fun and more. Yeah, it's kinda packed. Never accuse us of being boring. Who knows what we'd end up doing in response.
‘Editor’ @stephenackroyd
BAND INDEX 5 Seconds Of Summer Bartees Strange Bayli Beabadoobee Beach Bunny Beaux Bessie Turner Beyonce Black Honey Bombay Bicycle Club Carly Rae Jepsen Caroline Polachek Cavetown Circa Waves Claire Rosinkranz Crawlers Declan McKenna DJO Dora Jar Dylan Dylan Fraser ELIO English Teacher Ezra Furman Foals Folio Fontaines D.C. Gently Tender George Ezra Holly Humberstone Jany Green JAWNY Joe & The Shitboys Julia Jacklin KennyHoopla
Lauran 56 Hibberd 52, 62 Lava La Rue 42 15, 62 Lewis Capaldi 15 26 LIFE 10, 61 19 Little Simz 16 8 Los Bitches 16 13 Loyle Carner 22 22 Maggie 15 3, 63 Rogers 16 23 Mahalia MUNA 62 23 Nova Twins 17, 19, 62 Olivia Rodrigo 64 7, 65 Oscar Lang 11 Pale Waves 20, 36, 60 15 Phoebe 16 Bridgers 14 7 Phoebe Green 40, 62 Pip Millett 7 13 Piri & Tommy 17 20, 24 Porij 22 Priestgate 16 19 Rina 3 Sawayama 13, 15 13 Sam Fender 19 17 Self Esteem 15, 22 61 Sigrid 23 3 Soccer Mommy 62 22 Sports Team 23, 28 54, 61 Stella 46, 61 16, 62 Donnelly 22 7 Sugababes 12 17 The 1975 61, 66 62 The Amazons 3, 6 21 The Big Moon The Driver Era 7 21 The Wombats 20 13 Turnstile 19 13 Two Door Cinema Club 61 7 18 Willow 23 62 Yard Act 48 19 YUNGBLUD
readdork.com Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young Scribblers Abigail Firth, Alexander Bradley, Ben Peters, Connor Fenton, Dan Harrison, Finlay Holden, Jake Hawkes, Jamie MacMillan, Neive McCarthy, Phoebe De Anglis, Sam Taylor Snappers Alastair Brookes, Alessio Mesiano, Andy Deluca, Ania Shrimpton, Artimio Blackburn, Caitlin Mogridge, Derek Bremner, Ed Cooke, Em Marcovecchio, Frances Beach, Gaelle Beri, Giulia Spadafora, Jamie MacMillan, Jonas Persson, Luke Hallett, Patrick Gunning, Sarah Louise Bennett, Savanna Ruedy, Tom Pallant
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All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Dork or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.
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THIS MONTH. #69. SEPTEMBER 2022.
INTRO.
FEATURES.
06 THE BIG MOON
28 SPORTS TEAM
At the start of 2020, The Big Moon’s second album looked set to firmly establish them as indie darlings. And then, everything went wonky. Post-pandemic, with a new album - and an actual human child - they’re back, and better than ever.
08 BEACH BUNNY
Unlikely TikTok sensations, there's much more to Beach Bunny than their viral success would suggest. With new album 'Emotional Creature' providing the depth the title suggests, we caught up with chief songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Lili Trifilio.
10 LIFE
Lots of people love their hometown. Very few write a whole album inspired by it. For LIFE, though, there's no place like Hull.
11
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... OSCAR LANG
You know what’s easier than following around your fave pop stars, day in, day out, to see what they’re up to right that minute? Asking them. Following the release of his latest single 'I’ve Never Been To LA', Oscar Lang lets us in on what he's up to.
12
With their new album 'Gulp!' imminent, it's time for the second coming of Sports Team.
36 PALE WAVES
With a pandemic pause forced upon them, Pale Waves have embraced their heavier roots.
40 PHOEBE GREEN
Phoebe Green has been on our lists of buzzy new acts for ‘quite a while’ now. Embracing new horizons, her debut album ‘Lucky Me’ takes all that potential and sends it stratospheric.
42 LAVA LA RUE
A creative multi-hyphenate burning a trail in their path, Lava La Rue might well be the future, but they've arrived in the here and now.
46 STELLA DONNELLY
Stella Donnelly has returned with her new album 'Flood', a record with depth that lives up to its name.
48 YUNGBLUD
With a desire to be the most honest version of humself possible, Yungblud's self-titled era has arrived.
BANGERS
The best of the latest new tracks, featuring The 1975, Dora Jar, Beaux, Rina Sawayama and more.
52 LAURAN HIBBERD
After a run of killer EPs, Lauran Hibberd is finally about to drop her debut album, 'Garageband Superstar' - a record so dripping in vivid personality, it's almost its own movie soundtrack.
FESTIVALS. 14
18
19
19
LATITUDE
Everything that went down in deepest Suffolk this summer, from Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rogers to Foals and Fontaines D.C.
G! FESTIVAL
Most festivals are predictable - on the well beaten, corporate sponsored track, all featuring a variation on the same list of bands. So why not go a bit off piste and head to the Faroe Isles of G! Festival? Turns out, it's a blast.
2000TREES
One of louder music's banner days in the diary, 2000Trees made its post-pandemic return stronger than ever.
With new album 'All Of Us Flames' about to land, a lot has changed for Ezra Furman.
56 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER
5 Seconds of Summer have been at the top of the game for more than a decade, but as they prepare to release their fifth album, they're only looking to the future.
INCOMING. 60 REVIEWS
The new releases you need to hear - and some you definitely don’t.
SAM FENDER
With his huge Finsbury Park show, Sam Fender shows he's ready for that big A list festival headline slot.
20 COMMUNITY
From the big beats of indie to up-and-coming new names, Community Festival showcases a genre in fine health.
21
54 EZRA FURMAN
GEORGE EZRA
With the escapism on hold for one night only, George Ezra and friends are celebrating the here and now.
22 STANDON CALLING
Festivals are always full of big moments. We run down some of the the not to be missed action from this year's edition of Standon Calling.
23 TRUCK FESTIVAL
Truck is still exactly as fun, and exactly as bonkers, as it always has been.
HYPE. 24 CRAWLERS
Rising fast, despite the leather pants, Crawlers are quite probably your new favourite band.
26 BAYLI
New York popster Bayli is out to change the status quo.
61
ARTIST’S GUIDE: DYLAN FRASER
Dylan runs us through his latest EP, '2030 Revolution’.
GET OUT. 64 OLIVIA RODRIGO
It’s the penultimate night of her ‘SOUR’ tour, and Olivia Rodrigo is bringing her enormous debut to life for the first of two nights at London’s Eventim Apollo.
65 CARLY RAE JEPSEN
The Queen of Pop Bangers hits London as she prepares to return with a new album.
BACKPAGE. 66 ANY OTHER QUESTIONS... THE AMAZONS
Yes, Dear Reader. We enjoy those ‘in depth’ interviews as much as anyone else. But - BUT - we also enjoy the lighter side of music, too. We simply cannot go on any longer without knowing that Matt Thomson from The Amazons was once a silver member of the Beano fan club.
COVER STORY
28. DORK
SPORTS TEAM
WITH THEIR NEW ALBUM 'GULP!' IMMINENT, IT'S TIME FOR THE SECOND COMING OF SPORTS TEAM. WORDS: JAKE HAWKES. PHOTOS: PATRICK GUNNING.
FEATURES
N E W
36. DORK
PALE WAVES
W A V E S
WITH A PANDEMIC PAUSE FORCED UPON THEM, PALE WAVES HAVE EMBRACED THEIR HEAVIER ROOTS. WORDS: JAMIE MUIR. PHOTOS: DEREK BREMNER
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FEATURES
Shirt and waistcoat: The Costume Studio Trousers: Holly Scott
42. DORK
"I THE
HI
LAVA LA RUE
A CREATIVE MULTIHYPHENATE BURNING A TRAIL IN THEIR PATH, LAVA LA RUE MIGHT WELL BE THE FUTURE, BUT THEY'VE ARRIVED IN THE HERE AND NOW.
WORDS: MARTYN YOUNG. PHOTOS: PATRICK GUNNING. STYLING: CHARLOTTE MOSS. MAKE-UP: MAYA MAN USING BYREDO.
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FEATURES
48. DORK
D F F S
DON’T FEEL LIKE FEELING SAD
YUNGBLUD
WITH A DESIRE TO BE THE MOST HONEST VERSION OF HIMSELF POSSIBLE, YUNGBLUD'S SELF-TITLED ERA HAS ARRIVED. WORDS: ALI SHUTLER. PHOTOS: TOM PALLANT.
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HIGH
FEATURES
56. DORK
5 SECONDS OF SUMMER
FIVE 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER HAVE BEEN AT THE TOP OF THE GAME FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, BUT AS THEY PREPARE TO RELEASE THEIR FIFTH ALBUM, THEY'RE ONLY LOOKING TO THE FUTURE. WORDS: ABIGAIL FIRTH. PHOTOS: ANDY DELUCA.
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