So Young Issue Five

Issue Five

The Amazing Snakeheads The Magic Gang Parquet Courts Sleaford Mods Superfood Deers

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Introduction So Young was born out of a desire to do it ourselves and allow others to do the same. This magazine celebrates the coming together of contemporary illustration and the thriving underground guitar music scene. It’s about documenting what is going on right now up and down the country and overseas in pubs, clubs, squats and living rooms. As well as articles and interviews, in each issue we give some of our favourite artists the task of creating visual interpretations of the best new acts and sounds to grace our ears in recent times.

So Young is for obsessives, fans and anyone interested in creative culture.

In this issue we talk with Dale Barclay of The Amazing Snakeheads about his hatred of social media and the future of the band. Winston Smith offers some wise words and Sleaford Mods spoil the illusion of Britpop. Dominic Ganderton talks us through the new Superfood album and Parquet Courts talk art, DIY culture and ‘Sunbathing Animal’.

In a time of disposable music and art, So Young is a printed publication, fully illustrated by emerging and contemporary illustrators. Our limited print runs make So Young an item to be collected and treasured.

Contents 8

33

Parquet Courts

Superfood

40

Benjamin Booker

18

Deers

43

Featured Artist Winston Smith

21

Truck Festival

48

Public Access TV

23

The Magic Gang

51

Merchandise

30

Sleaford Mods

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The Amazing Snakeheads Still Cooking

Don’t Say That

Punished in the Barn

We Miss You

Stadium Fillers

Pubic Hair Ltd

Sunbathing Animal

Violent Shiver

A Place for Freaks

Looking Glass Waltz

EDITORS Sam Ford Josh Whettingsteel soyoungmagazine@gmail.com GRAPHIC DESIGN Matthew Sid-Ahmad www.sido-design.com

ARTISTS Josh Whettingsteel REN Edward Cheverton Derek Ercolano Samuel Gull Joseph Prince Jay Wright John Holmstrom YOBOH STUDIO Grace Wilson J端rg Lindenberger Andrew Savage Georgia Keeling Winston Smith Dominic Kesterton

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The Amazing Snakeheads Still Cooking

Since we featured The Amazing Snakeheads in issue four, it’s been a topsy turvy time for the Glasgow band. With two of the founding members parting in June for sensitive and undisclosed reasons, it left front man Dale Barclay to pick up the pieces and march on.

We gave him a call to talk about the success to date, social media and what he hopes the future may bring.

in to play the Bass played the saxophone on ‘Amphetamine Ballads’. He’s a fucking musical genius man, he can play anything.

Scott I’ve known for a while through his own band, they’re just friends of mine and I’ve asked them to come and play and they have.

It’s been fucking great, do you know what I mean? Like I say, the music is my only concern and the music is still fucking cooking man.

I don’t know about happy, but I’m certainly fuckin’ just enjoying playing. It’s a terrible thing that’s happened. I don’t know about move on but the music is still cooking and that’s my only concern. My friends that have come in for now, Andrew who has come

Yeah I fucking hate it. I think it’s very dangerous and I think it’s bad for creativity.

I just don’t go on it. I don’t entertain it in the slightest. It fucking turns my stomach. Each to their own man, I’m not saying other people shouldn’t use it, I just don’t think it’s healthy, Facebook, Twitter and stuff like that. What others do I couldn’t give a fuck man but just for me it’s never been my thing.

We don’t want to dwell too much upon what’s happened in the past but since the album and the events in June it’s been a very turbulent time, losing two of your closest friends and two thirds of the band can’t ever be easy but with the new line up do you feel happy and ready to move on?

You reluctantly took to Facebook to make everyone aware of those leaving the band with a brief explanation, do you intentionally avoid social media?

Words by Sam Ford, illustration by Derek Ercolano

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“I know there’s been

changes in the band but it’s not gonna change what I do” Do you think that there’s too much importance placed upon social media, even from a label point of view? Is there too much pressure to put yourselves out there really early with every thought or opinion?

I think so, when I started the band that was something that I was keen to not fucking buy into. Buy into what most bands do and what most bands think they’ve GOT to do. I think it’s a lot to do with it, especially young cats now in bands it’s become the norm. When something becomes the norm you just don’t question it. So I think that’s something that I’ve certainly never been into. It’s never been something that’s been on my radar, Facebook, Twitter and social media. I think a lot of it is too easy as well. I think it can make things easier in some areas but is that a good thing?

I dunno.

Going back to the record, you’re a band that’s built upon a live reputation and that’s where everyone got on board. Was there a lot of pressure or did you feel it

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was important to replicate the live shows and recapture that energy on the record?

No, there wasn’t really any of that when we were recording ballads. We were just excited about getting to cut a record. It wasn’t really something that we thought we’d get to do.

Especially when we started the band, I mean I’ve always wanted to cut a record but we knew that when Domino came knocking that at some point we might get to cut a record.

It was just excitement really. Getting to cut a record is an extremely special thing to get to do, there was pressure but it was more about just wanting to get in there. As I said before, depends on how confident you are about what you’re doing, like playing live and things. I was certainly confident about cutting a record and I knew that it would be good. But until you actually get in there and do it then you don’t really know. Talk is cheap, you can talk until you’re blue in the face about these matters but until you actually get to it you never actually know.

So it was a revelation getting to go to Green Door in Glasgow and get to it. Everyone was

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really digging it man and everyone was really getting to it. Capturing the energy. I don’t know if that was first and foremost because playing live and recording is two different sports. I think too much can be put on trying to capture the live sound when you’re actually cutting a record. It’s still a live setting. I hope that there is energy on it but not necessarily from the live shows. With cutting a record I was really keen to get other things cooking on it. Using instruments we weren’t using live, certainly at the time. Whilst we were first cutting the record we didn’t really know anyone else who played other instruments or anything and it wasn’t until we actually got in to cut the record that we actually met other people who can play. Like my friend Andrew who plays the saxophone and he’s become a firm friend of mine and of course he’s playing in the band just now as well. A very good friend.

Big tour in October too, people are definitely in for the Amazing Snakeheads...

Fuck knows man, it’s incredible, it really is.

It’s unimaginable really, something I had never really imagined. I didn’t think there would be many people who like the band, certainly not. The shows are the big thing, people coming to your shows and saying they liked your set and that, I try not to really pay any attention to that. But to actually see people coming to the shows and coming to get down has certainly changed me I’ll say that.

But initially you created a band that you wanted people to dislike?

Yeah but I’ve fuckin’ done as much as I can to try and make people not like us ya know what I mean? I’ll just keep doing my thing, follow my heart and do what I want musically because that’s all I’ve ever done. There’s no reason for me to change that, I know there’s been changes in the band but it’s not gonna change what I do.

“You’ve got a stage there.

What are you gonna do with it, what are you gonna put into it?”

The Amazing Snakeheads

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Your flamboyance as a frontman is well documented, from the clothes that you wear or don’t wear, to your performance on stage. Do you feel as if the idea of a proper frontman/entertainer is dying? Is being entertaining on the stage and taking things beyond the music important to you?

Fuck knows man, I’ve not got a clue. Call it what you will but I don’t know. Truthfully I’ve never really known what’s going to happen on stage. I’m not all that aware of what I do. It’s only the fact that I’ve been doing it for a while now and playing music that other people have picked up on it. You say flamboyant and someone else would say A, B or C. It’s a bit strange to me, people can make of it what they will. I’ve never really been too aware of what goes down, I just go on stage and do my thing. It’s just human nature to try and attribute and categorize things. I do it, everyone does it.

Can you attribute what’s made you the performer you are to any particular idols or artists?

There’s a whole stack of music that I’ve been into through the years. But to focus on certain things is wrong, I want people to make up their own minds about what I’m all about, whether they like it or not. But certainly James Brown, that’s just something that’s always been the case. It’s someone we’ve always talked about. You’ve got a stage there.

What are you gonna do with it, what are you gonna put into it?

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Don’t Say That

Superfood Don’t Say That

Birmingham’s Superfood have been a mainstay within So Young’s pages since their breakthrough last year. We’ve been staying close to the second city’s most exciting quartet as they edge closer to releasing their debut album ‘Don’t Say That’. Releasing through Infectious Music on November 3rd, the record promises more Pop gems ready for the road. We caught up with Dom from the band as he takes us on a journey through the album, telling us the stories behind the tracks and how they came together in the studio.

Here is ‘Don’t Say That’ track by track: Lily For Your Pad To Rest On When my sister went to school they were allowed to have lessons outside and wear their own clothes, something I’ve always been really jealous about. In one of their “classes” they were assigned to make a functional musical instrument. My sister chose to make an eight string harp-like creation. It had been sitting under the spare bed for years until one day me and Ryan decided we were going to take every instrument we had to a writing

session. I turned up with the harp, Ryan a melodica and so the track was born. We laid everything over a beat I had made many moons ago.

You Can Believe There’s a feeling you get when you start a band, you can see the other side, you can see yourself finally going on to better things and getting out of the shit hole towns you grew up in. The demo track was recorded and written on my girlfriend’s laptop. She was sat there on the bed whilst I did the vocals probably thinking I was a massive spanner. It carries on the breaks and looped drums vibe from the previous track and has a big energy to really getting things flowing on the record.

Superfood One can of tuna with a huge disgusting dollop of mayonnaise is what set this track up. Me and Ryan had toyed with the idea of getting together forever and when we finally did we

Words by Dominic Ganderton and Sam Ford, illustration by Josh Whettingsteel

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opened up this crap drum loop pack I had, stuck it in loop and started jamming. We finally came out with a simple riff on which to write a song. The lyrics meant absolutely nothing when we recorded the demo but as we’ve played it over and over it’s kind of developed this thing that talks about people around you getting what they want while you’re sat in your pants eating Chinese takeaway.

TV This song is an ode to one of my dearest and most compassionate friends tinnitus. I have no one to blame but myself for absolutely twatting my ears since the age of 11. As a result of this condition I find it hard to sleep.

Wear ear plugs mates.

Pallasades This song started off as a really weird acoustic track that I did in logic before me and Ryan got together. It was originally all played on my housemate’s shitty Spanish guitar that was covered in stickers. It is the only song on the album that really talks about anything to do with relationships and love.

It talks about being in love when you’re fed up and how hard it is to show someone you really care.

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Moodbomb ‘Moodbomb’ is a song that we wrote along with a batch of tunes over a week period.

It was the funniest week ever. Me and Ryan would turn up to the studio about midday with bread and rum and get absolutely trashed and wig out for a while. Carl would get a call about 2am from one of us saying: ‘mATe can U come ova the studio right now and puT some tubs on this tune. We got sombreros!!’. Poor Carl. This song was influenced by some of the psych stuff we were listening to at the time. I feel like you can kind of hear the Krautrock influence in the verses with the rigid rhythm.

It’s Good To See You In The Morning Feel good. When I moved back to my parents for a bit whilst we were touring they went on holiday for a week almost immediately. My 16 year old self took over and I invited all of the guys over. Ryan got to the train station first and I met him with the line ‘Little lemon why so red?’ We pretty much wrote a story about a lonely lemon and how amazing it would be to go outside with a cup of coffee in the morning and your plants greet you with a smile and a song. Weird looking back on it. Wait. How did it get past everyone? How is it on the album?

Superfood

Don’t Say That

Right On Satellite

After coming out of the studio we decided we needed to record one more song. We called up our friends in Stourbridge and said we need two days. Ryan was pretty nervous because I kept telling our A&R that we were going to write a ‘big song’. We ended up coming out with two songs; this and ‘Bug’ the b-side to ‘Right On Satellite’. The song talks about being out of your depth, people who follow crowds and idolise people. I wanted to record something with a slap back delay on the bass and creepy bassline. I’d been listening to Baxter Dury – ‘Happy Soup’. My favourite part of the song is when it opens out into this big floaty middle 8. It’s the one time I got to use my 12 string guitar on the whole album.

‘Right On Satellite’ paints a picture of a journey to a different space and how you need someone to keep you grounded. We wrote this one at the same time as ‘Mood Bomb’ and I think you can really tell how these songs were written with a real drum kit and full band set up. Using laptops works when it needs to but things can sometimes become too disjointed and things won’t gel together in the way that writing things as a unit does. We tracked the chant in the chorus about 50 times and bounced it down, it was a very weird hour sitting there in our lock up with head phones on screaming the same line for an hour.

Like A Daisy

Melting This song was another written in Ryan’s apartment. It was influenced by the Ram album and Jeffrey Lynne. It talks about looking at friends and family who put themselves under too much stress and pressure from work or other aspects of their lives. I love the journey of this song and how delicate it becomes at the end of the middle 8.

‘Like A Daisy’ talks about a close friend of mine that had a few years of doing nothing and dedicating his life to the devil’s lettuce.

I think it goes for anyone who’s been in the comfortable position of waking up every day and repeating the same process that it can get hard to break the cycle. Get up, put some trousers on and get out the house before every one moves on and your stuck in bed.

I think the outro is a really great way to tie up the record and brings things to a steady finish.

Don’t Say That

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www.japrince.com

Deers Punished in the Barn

Women are slowly but surely becoming more predominant within the music industry. For years men have dominated the band world, but hey, it’s 2014, and I guess it’s time to let the girls have their go.

Whilst girl bands such as Deap Valley, Warpaint and HAIM continue to reel in the crowds, DEERS have caught onto the female flight, taking to the skies with their raw, pop-punk infused sounds that are extending the inevitably small ‘summer’ Britain has had. These Spanish señoritas have our ears pressed up to the speakers whilst they mesmerise us with their ravishing reverb.

Their first offering, ‘Bamboo’, combines a soft, summer soundtrack with beach-blues infused riffs to produce a divine, DIY track. The unpolished sound means their vocals project perfectly, whining blissfully to the slackerpop sound.

There’s no doubt these girls are skipping their way through everyone’s head, and their infectious sound has been appraised so much so that we couldn’t help but get in contact with the Spanish banda de chicas.

Words by Cerys Kenneally, illustration by Joseph Prince

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“We realized the other

day that we just made this band to be friends with every band we admire” Since finding your music on Bandcamp we’ve been hooked, but for those who haven’t heard of DEERS, who are you? How did it all begin and could you tell us about the music you make?

HELLO!!!!!!!! WE ARE CARLOTTA, ADE, AMBER AND ANA AND THIS IS DEERS!!!!!!

Carlotta and Ana started this band some years ago, on a trip to the Spanish coast!

We stopped playing for a year, and the last summer we played again together and knew this was the one!!! Then we recorded the demo and it all started to go crazy! We convinced Ade and Amber to play with us aaaaand here we are! Ahahah. We prefer not to describe the music we make… but we can say it is garage-pop!

Well, we think the DIY way was our clue! We recorded the demo in like 5 hours, in our brand new rehearsal place, with our friend and producer Diego Garcia (The Parrots). All instruments were played by Ana and Carlotta, all in the opposite order (first guitars, then drums etc). I think we even wrote ‘Trippy Gum’s bass line there! Ahahah that`s why everything sounds messy but real.

The second single we are releasing we recorded on a professional studio in Berlin, but mixed on the old same computer of Diego so it keeps the essence from the DEMO.

We’ve also read that you’ve been recording with some of The Vaccines, how was that?

Is the Vaccines success something you’d like to emulate?

You’ve recently released your demo, two really fun and refreshing tracks recorded in a very DIY way. Is recording this way and capturing that “rough around the edges” sound important to you as a band and will you record in the same way again?

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We recorded with Arni, the Vaccines` bass player!!! Freddie was there, but just because we all are friends! Haha we recorded a song in his little studio the first time we played in London and it was AMAZING. We had so much fun….!!! We admire The Vaccines but every band has its own way to grow!

Deers

Who are DEERS biggest musical influences and is there a love for a particular band that brought DEERS together?

There are maaaaaany influences… Black Lips, Mac Demarco, Devendra Banhart, Shannon and the Clams, Dead Ghosts, Davila 666, The Growlers etc. We realized the other day that we just made this band to be friends with every band we admire. We have a lot of love to give haha.

I don’t think people would naturally turn to Madrid when looking for the next exciting girl band but you’ve made people sit up and take notice. Does Madrid have an exciting music scene that we are all missing out on? And are there any particular places or events that have happened in Madrid that have inspired your music?

Yeaaaaaaaaaah! Madrid is a great city. We grew up surrounded by local bands we admire. They inspired us so much!! We (Ade, Carlotta and Ana) probably met the first time at a concert! There is an area called Malasaña, in the City Centre, where all the gigs take place, so we never leave it haha.

More people are giving in to the DEERS charm day by day and touring must be on the cards soon, does the prospect of being on the road excite you?

Yes and no at the same time!!! Being on tour would be a DREAM for us. But we really really need a road manager hahaha. There is a big big difference between being on the road and driving the road ahaha (Carlotta knows it).

You can put together a tour bus party to celebrate the last night of the tour, You can invite anyone (dead or alive), who’s invited?

The Vaccines, The Parrots, Cobi, all our friends, THE BLACK LIPS, Mac Demarco, Haim eeeeeeeeeetc (you are gonna need more than a bus ahhaha)

What can we look forward to from DEERS in the future?

Good mood

“every band has its own way to grow!”

Punished in the Barn

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Truck Festival We Miss You The early years of every band are filled with empty rooms and big dreams of gracing the stages of the BIG festivals. However in recent years you’d forgive those who give up on those coveted headline slot visions as they become tediously congested with reunions and former glories. If it’s not predictable line ups, it’s your favourite festival becoming the new lads holiday. But have no fear, small festivals are here to save the day and Truck Festival is our hero of choice.

Once we’d dusted ourselves down from a 10-9 defeat in a mini match against two ten year olds, we left the camp site to find out why Truck Festival had more strings to its bow than being a stones throw from a weekend saving big mac.

Truck marries a local community atmosphere with some of the most exciting and deservedly talked about artists of the year.

2014’s festival brought together the sound of 2015’s major festivals with commanding sets

from Catfish and the Bottlemen, Superfood and Swim Deep. The Barn stage was exactly that, a barn, and it blocked out the unnecessary sunshine that graced the festival during seedy sets from Cerebral Ballzy and DZ Deathrays. 2014’s hype bands Darlia and Circa Waves tempted the masses into the smaller tents for daytime treats before the top of the bill bands taught some lessons.

PEACE shouldered the responsibility of warming up the crowd before Friday headliners The Cribs. Truck’s campsite lots was empty and the field was full for the Birmingham hit makers. Gracing us with a set full of favourites from debut album ‘In Love’ as well as a taste of what’s to come on next year’s record, playing ‘World Pleasure’ and ‘Money’. The banana smoothies had certainly been exchanged for Tesco’s best offer beers

and the party was in full swing. The Cribs took to the stage in a form of homecoming. It had been 10 years since the Wakefield band of brothers had first graced Truck Festival’s stage. Playing a greatest hits set spanning their five albums, The Jarman’s restored faith in guitar music as 14 year olds sung every word to tracks released when only Sesame Street was on the agenda.

When major festivals lap you up and leave you feeling lost, take a chance on something that makes you feel more than just a number, and lots welcomes your ears to new sounds and lets you take your own beers to the main stage.

Truck Festival, We miss you.

The Magic Gang Stadium Fillers

The Magic Gang has been 2014’s reason to drag yourself out early and catch the support act. Slots with Birmingham’s most hyped Swim Deep and Jaws have welcomed plenty of new ears to the fresh sounds of this Brighton four piece. The Magic Gang lean to college loser rock and surf sounds whilst holding British sensibilities. Live, ‘Gang’ doesn’t stretch too far from the truth. It’s definitely just four pals up on a stage but there is something refreshingly collective about The Magic Gang, sharing vocal duties, sharing stories and most of all, sharing a good time.

The summer saw the band release the video for ‘She Won’t Ghost’ where you can witness everything this band will bring to your life; football skills, sweaty smiles and some of the catchiest songs to come from the south coast.

We shared a brief chat with the band about how things started and where they’d like them to end.

We’ve been lucky enough to have known of you for a while now but for those less fortunate could you introduce the band and the music that you make?

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Gus: Hiya! We’re Paeris, Jack, Kristian and Gus, as a collective we go by the name of The Magic Gang. We play pop tunes with guitars, a lot of people have referred to us as ‘Slacker Rock’ but we spend a lot of time writing our numbers so listen up blogs, don’t call us that because we are trying really hard : - ).

Individually you’ve all been involved in lots of different projects and made no secret of everyone’s work. Did The Magic Gang begin as one of these projects too and do you think it’s important to be able to pursue other interests at the same time? Is The Magic Gang now the priority?

Paeris: We started off the back of one song we recorded together quite a while before we were ever a “proper band”; it got quite a good response which kinda forced us to take it seriously. In terms of other projects we all have our own thing going on, it’s just nice to have things to work on in between, and yes, it’s definitely the main priority. Gus was even talking about getting a Magic Gang tattoo.

Words by Sam Ford, illustration by Jay Wright

“it’s definitely the main priority. Gus was even talking about getting a Magic Gang tattoo”

We were hooked after we saw you support JAWS at The Joiners, Southampton. How was that tour and did it give you the itch to headline your own tour? Any notable stories from the road?

Kristian: It was our first ever tour and we had a great few days. JAWS were good guys, hung out with loads of great people and it definitely made us keen to do more! We also brought along our mate Hazza Wargh for a couple of the days to do merch and he definitely raised the vibes inside. Our tour manager Bob (H) was also a legend and really helpful. He sorted us out in several situations including solving a case of a missing crate of beer.

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We are really looking forward to hearing more from you guys, what can we look forward to from The Magic Gang as we head towards 2015?

Jack: We’d like to tour more places and meet more people whilst writing and recording stadium fillers.

www.jaydanielwright.com

www.johnholmstrom.com

Deers

Sleaford Mods Pubic Hair Ltd

It’s an old cliche, but every once in a while a band comes along that speaks to you. This happened to me when I first heard Sleaford Mods last winter. Fast forward nearly a year and their motor mouthed front man Jason Williamson is speaking to me again, this time over the phone. Our chat covers everything from Bugs Bunny, punk music, his thoughts on Blur (‘cunts,’) and his disbelief towards the massive attention his band are getting at the moment. Maybe rub your eyes with soap after....

You’ve said previously that you’re trying to not let the recent success go to your head with the sold out shows.

No. I mean I suppose it’s negative. I suppose I’m catastrophising it a bit. I can be quite cynical like anyone I guess. We’re having such a good run and I want to carry on but at the same time I don’t want to rely on this buzz you know what I mean? Cause it could just finish at any time.

I think your band must be quite rare in that, the usual formula was that you’d know when you’re engaging with the crowd when they’re singing along or maybe they’re singing guitar lines as well.

But you must feel an engagement as well, cause people are laughing out loud to your lyrics?

Yeah. I mean, before it used to do me ‘ead in a bit cause I didn’t find any of it funny. When I was writing it I kinda laughed at myself. And I was surprised, the way I was actually putting humour in it. I tried for so many years to be this mysterious, fucking serious song-writer or whatever. Um..I mean it was all drawn from experiences that weren’t very funny at all, all subjects that weren’t funny. So when I did start doing it live, it used to piss me off a treat when people laughed. But I’ve unleashed upon that now because it is funny y’know? If I was in the audience I’d laugh.

Do you have a favourite cartoon character?

Probably Buggs Bunny I think. Or Scooby Doo. Scooby Doo definitely. That was the one I used to watch so much as a kid. In Equal amounts of horror as well. Cause it was quite scary. But yeah definitely Scooby Doo. Pre Scrappy Doo era as well cause it was just crap when he came along. But yeah, I used to watch that religiously as a kid and would be so heartbroken if the programme had been cancelled for whatever reason.

You’re still selling out small venues at the moment and then you’re going to be playing some large venues supporting the Specials, (this winter) followed by a gig in The Electric Ballroom at the end of January.

Words by Kieran Owen, illustration by Grace Wilson

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Yeah...that’s going to be a big one I think, hopefully anyway.

I’m optimistic that you’ll sell it out. Are you worried how the sound will translate in a large room? Electric Ballroom could be a riot if it goes right.

Yeah true. I mean, we’ve played some pretty big festivals. We played one in Lowlands in front of about 700 people. Plus there was about an extra 200 people trying to get into the place. And we rammed it out and it went perfectly. Couldn’t have asked for a better gig. With regards to the intimacy of it, cause that’s obviously lost a little bit. As long as the sound’s good and people can hear what you’re saying, then y’know people just have to accept the fact that probably the intimacy has gone a little bit y’know?

In Cardiff people were handing Andrew (Fearn, band-mate and beatmaker) pints of beer from the crowd.

They’re the best gigs, that’s where we come from y’know? Like any good band I suppose.

Do you change your approach at all to the larger audiences? Andrew might have to bring his own beer this time to keep the buzz going?

Ha. Yeah, not really I kinda walk around the stage a bit more, there’s a bit more room.

But I don’t do anything else differently.

I think that’s what they like. I guess it’s quite refreshing. We literally just treat a performance as if we’re going to the toilet

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and washing our hands y’know? And then coming out, tucking your shirt in. Normal stuff, almost like a Harold Pinter play or something like that do you know what I mean? Where not a lot happens. But obviously the vocal carries that and obviously gives it something else. But with regards to physical movement, we don’t do a lot.

I can see some clear Punk influences, maybe Sham 69. I listened to ‘The Mekon’ (Pre- Andrew Fearn, Sleaford Mods track featured on their ‘Retweeted’ early years compilation.) with the Sex Pistols sample.

In Cardiff, the guy on your merch table complimented my friend’s Crisis T-Shirt.

Oh yeah, Steve’s a big punk guy. His label released ‘Austerity Dogs.’ What caught his attention was the punk influence in us I guess. I was kinda just listening to little tidbits. I haven’t really got an extensive punk collection or anything like that. I was just listening to odd bits by Discharge and The English Dogs, this was back in about 2008, stuff like that. Before that it was just Hip Hop really. Because of the tone of my voice and the way I wanted to do it, it just came out like it was punk y’know what I mean?

I started toying with stuff like that round sorta 2008, Sham 69 n’all that. I’d just listen to certain records and I could feed off one record for about 6 months. And just keep listening to it and sort of wrapping yourself in it. My punk came from that really, not from any big history with it at all. As an 11 year old my first record was ‘Somethin’ Else’ by the Pistols, y’know ‘The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle’ thing. I was into them back then and

www.gracewilson.co.uk

saw it being exploited but that soon went.

When I was about 14 I got into The Jam etc y’know? So I have toyed with it but it’s not been an extensive sorta accompaniment, so to speak.

Can I be bold enough to ask. Will you be playing ‘Pubic Hair Ltd’ when you support The Specials?

Probably yeah, it’s not about them so I’ll play it anyway you know? Probably. Whatever works. We’ve not had anyone attack us or try and throw things at us yet. And I can’t really see it happening with Specials fans to be honest. I mean..but ya never know do ya?

We’ll see and just do what we do I suppose.

So the Specials are exempt from the sort of heritage acts that ‘Pubic Hair Ltd’ seems to attack.

Yeah they are definitely, I mean, there’s no fan-fare with them is it? Terry Hall gone off and done what he did afterwards and, they don’t try and walk around with a legacy around their necks either. For some reason those two albums that they did, they’re kinda, it’s almost ‘Oi-ish.’ What they did, obviously amalgamates all the different styles with it.

They’re really angry albums I think. More so than the stuff like the Clash, and the Jam you know what I mean? It just stinks of Coventry still. And I think that cloud just still kinda hangs around them.

Something I found particularly funny is that, your unexpected rise this year happened on the 20th anniversary

of Britpop. I found this anniversary particularly lackluster in comparison to the 10 year anniversary. I think Lamacq did something on his radio show but it just kinda passed by.

I mean what is it there to respect? Apart from probably the first 6 months of Oasis’ career. You know what I mean? Which has been massively tarnished by the way they fucking behaved after you know? And then you got bands obviously like Blur, just write them off anyway, complete cunts, fuck off.

If I wanted to listen to Blur I may as well go watch a production of fucking Oliver Twist or something, you know what I mean?

Do you get into a zone before you go on stage? In Cardiff I noticed you were aloof and talking to everyone before hand, and then onstage it was like a Jekyll and Hyde transformation.

Well yeah, I think you get into the music, you get into the way you gotta bring the words over. You get into the rhythm of the song.

So that changes your facial expressions, it changes your body movements. It changes the pitch of your voice. So it all happens quite naturally y’know what I mean? It’s not so much an act. And also you place yourself in the position where you think about what those lyrics meant to you when you wrote them. And that can enthuse a bit of anger in there. You can bring it back up, so to speak.

You can kinda recall those memories.

Sleaford Mods

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Parquet Courts Sunbathing Animal

Although forever in our ears, minds and hearts, New York’s Parquet Courts have yet to grace the pages of So Young until now. Three albums and five issues in we’ve put an end to the drought and caught up with founder and lead singer Andrew Savage to talk about art, DIY culture and ‘Sunbathing Animal’.

Who are Parquet Courts and how did they come to be?

I was the one who brought everybody together. Austin and I went to college together in Denton, TX, where I’m from. Sean I met when his old band played my house in Denton, TX, that was probably 2006. Max is my brother, so I’ve known him for his whole life. We wanted an excuse to write and make noise.

With the potentially unexpected commercial success of ‘Light Up Gold’ did that create pressure or change the way you approached ‘Sunbathing Animal’?

Sure, not drastically, but we were cognizant that this was the first time we as a band had ever had an audience. Nobody really knew who Parquet Courts were when we recorded ‘Light Up Gold’, outside of the few people who had seen us play. My goals with ‘Sunbathing Animal’ were more creative goals than any

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sort of arbitrary benchmark of success. I wanted to do something better.

You seem to have managed to avoid being tied in and associated with other bands or a particular scene, which I assume is hard to do in New York. Was that intentional?

We get tied in with bands all the time, mostly bands that we have nothing to do with really. If people paid attention, they would see that we actually are apart of a scene. Not necessarily a regional scene, because regionalism is becoming less and less prominent, but we certainly have our comrades. Currently I’d say bands like Protomartyr, PC Worship, Naomi Punk, Tyvek are some American bands that we fit with, ideologically and aesthetically. Some people want Parquet Courts to be apart of the indierock era and lineage, especially music writers who consider the 1990’s to be the golden era of rock music, but we have no interest in this.

Words by Josh Whettingsteel, illustration by Jürg Lindenberger

“I consider ‘Sunbathing Animal’, the song, to be sort of like an expressionist painting: pure emotion, all broad strokes, rapid and automatic. ” Parquet Courts have a clear Punk influence in the music but how much of an influence are Fanzines and DIY culture in general?

Well I can only speak for myself, but it was via fanzines that I was exposed to the type of music that makes me the person I am today. I admittedly don’t follow as many zines as I used to. Distort, out of Australia, is a great one, that initially began covering Punk and Hardcore, but has blossomed into something much bigger. Dan, who also plays in UV Race, Total Control and Straightjacket Nation, likes writing about critical theory and literary analysis, as well as experimental music and art. Lots of great insight from that one, and it’s a shame that it will be done soon, but all good things come to an end don’t they? Parquet Courts can no longer really be

called a true DIY band. I like what Joe from Protomartyer said: “We’re a do-it-yourselfunless-someone-else-does-it-better band.”

Are there any particular places or happenings that inspired the writing of ‘Sunbathing Animal’?

It had been brewing inside of me for a while. I wanted to write music that was more emotional. I consider ‘Sunbathing Animal’, the song, to be sort of like an expressionist painting: pure emotion, all broad strokes, rapid and automatic.

www.jlindenberger.ch

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“The live element is the most important thing about pop music, but home listening allows for ritual and absorption.”

You do all of the artwork for the band.

Which comes first the songs or the artwork? Has a drawing or collage you’ve done ever inspired you to write a song specifically to accompany that piece of Art? Usually the art comes last, in the case of a release. When we are writing and recording, I like to focus mainly on that. I can’t say for certain if one of my own drawings has inspired me to write a song, but definitely other works of art have. “Sunbathing Animal” itself is a reference to a painting by Dutch artist and CoBrA founder Karel Appel. The line, “racing down the stairs in a nude descention” is an art reference also. As is “Mine eyes have seen the glory in the sound and image synchronized.” Perhaps I’ve said too much though.

How do you feel about vinyl and the printed artwork that comes with a physical record in the age of the Internet? When the Internet doesn’t always allow for the two mediums to be experienced together or for the artwork to be experienced at all.

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I understand the appeal of the Internet, it’s a great way to find out about new music, but what a shame if it were to ever eclipse the tactile, physical incarnation of music. The live element is the most important thing about pop music, but home listening allows for ritual and absorption. The Internet should be used as a companion to this, not a replacement. In some ways, the supposed “boom” in vinyl reflects reckless conspicuous consumption; you can buy records in Whole Foods, Starbucks and Urban Outfitters now, so I don’t mean to imply that the format itself is more legitimate than a digital file. But the digital realm lacks something. Not just in music, but in communication generally, it lacks something.

Finally, what can we expect from Parquet Courts in the rest of 2014 and beyond?

Well, one member is having a child, and another member is finishing a Mathematics degree in the fall, so don’t expect too much, we’ll be taking it easy. Austin and I are talking about a side project, collaborating with another band, but I can’t say too much about that yet.

Parquet Courts

Andrew Savage, dulltools@gmail.com

Benjamin Booker Violent Shiver

When Benjamin Booker lets loose on The Ruby Lounge stage in Manchester, the possessed stare he’s been adorning since he stepped out from the shadows is coming to fruition. Cutting through the shroud of distortion that coats the stage like an eerie southern mist, his hasty fret work draws you from that menacing grin for a second before taking you right back in. Ten minutes later and he’s in amongst the audience, his Gibson still crying out as it rests on his amp.

At his most solemn (’Slow Coming’ and ‘I Thought I Heard Your Screaming’), 25 year old Booker conjures something delectably

haunting. It echoes like lost ghosts still circling their way round a beat-up victrola; a barren and lonesome marriage in which the young man’s voice stops you dead. When the pale hum fades, the pace takes off to an immediate gallop between southern-punk and clattering rock and roll.

Booker’s debut, released earlier this year on Rough Trade in the UK, is the product of a musician who wouldn’t confine himself to a label - and his album is far from just “punk” or just “rock and roll”. At one end we hear Blind Willie Johnson’s ‘Dark Was The Night’ howling from his New Orleans’ porch; at the

Words by Dan Jones, illustration by Georgia Keeling

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“I played cello and piano

when I was a kid. One day I picked up a guitar and immediately dropped the other two. It just felt right” other, the CBGB’s cartel, shoulder-barging and pogoing in beat-up leathers. The product?

Well it’s unashamedly raw, because both the punk and the blues factions exemplify that untreated veneer of no-nonsense frills. And his live shows are even more erratic than you might expect.

The record’s two singles, ‘Violent Shiver’ and ‘Have You Seen My Son?’ have both put him in good stead. Contagious, snappy numbers, the latter dragging out into clouds of static that just won’t quit. Elsewhere, ‘Kids Never Growing Older’ goes from a whisper to a whirlwind in a matter of beats, and closer, ‘By The Evening’, slowly boils from its bayou basin to stoner crescendo, gargling one last time before it takes its leave.

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Back in Manchester and Booker’s disappeared for a minute beneath the bodies that sway and jostle at ground level, briefly emerging with those glaring eyes that are both lifeless and manic. He looks like he’s ready to be thrown into the asylum, but a slight smirk lets us know he’s actually enjoying this; he’s in control. Shit, he might even be having the time of his life.

Could you tell us about the music you make?

The record is a collection of songs I had that I was sharing with friends. It’s a mix of blues, jazz, punk, folk and a bunch of other things I’ve grown up listening to.

Benjamin Booker

If you could describe your music as a meal what would it be?

A Cuban sandwich. No pickles. Or maybe a lot of pickles.

Could you tell us the story behind what made you first pick up a guitar and how that led you to record your music and subsequently being “found”? Can you recall where and why you wrote your first song?

I played cello and piano when I was a kid.

One day I picked up a guitar and immediately dropped the other two. It just felt right. I started writing songs a couple of years ago and put them online. A blog in LA picked them up and things changed after that. The first song I wrote was. ‘Have You Seen My Son’. I don’t remember writing it but I did find an envelope with the lyrics scribbled on it recently.

How did growing up in Tampa, Florida and New Orleans affect your music, is it a major influence? Are there any spots or places that have influenced your songs in particular?

scene when I was a kid and New Orleans has a radio station called WWOZ I was listening to all the time when I was writing. I mostly wrote outside in parks or down by the Mississippi River when I could.

Everything has become really exciting for you and your music and you’ve started to play all over the place, including visiting us here in the UK. Has there been a particular city that’s stood out to you on tour, or a favourite place to perform?

Playing in New York is always fun, but I also have really enjoyed playing in Louisville, Kentucky. There aren’t many places I haven’t enjoyed playing.

What can we expect from the debut album and what does the rest of 2014 have in store for Benjamin Booker?

The album is full of personal songs about what was going on in my life from about 2010-2012. Hopefully it makes you dance.

I’m on the road for the rest of the year.

Luckily I’ve got a couple more trips across the Atlantic planned this year.

Both places definitely have had an impact on the music I make. Tampa had a strong punk

www.georgiakeeling.com

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Featured Artist

Winston Smith We were lucky enough to speak to legendary collage artist Winston Smith.

Winston’s life and work embodies everything we care about here at So Young and we couldn’t have chosen anyone better to kick off our featured artist section. Known best for his artwork for the Dead Kennedys we caught up with the man himself to talk about self-publishing, record sleeves and the monotony of today’s mainstream music.

What made you decide to start your zine, ‘Fallout’ back in 1976 and what struggles and triumphs did you encounter in the world of self-publishing?

I used to see cool underground magazines (before we called them “Fan ‘Zines) and it occurred to me that anyone could be their own publisher. This was in the mid and late 1970s. Lots of people made ‘zines that promoted or denigrated or otherwise celebrated the phenomenon of Punk Rock to one extent or another. Some were silly and some were serious. Some took themselves more seriously than they

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needed to. I had already had a large back log of loose flyers and compositions and only needed to write a few things to bring them together under a cohesive name.

For a while my artist partner Jayed Scotti and I were going to call our ‘zine “Off the Wall”. Then, at the last minute we decided on calling it FALLOUT since that more represented the general social commentary potential and was a more inclusive word, as it had by then become a figure of speech, well beyond its original scientific meaning.

www.winstonsmith.com

Singing in the Reign of Terror, 2012

“I do miss real paper and real images you can hold in your hand. Call me old fashioned” Even though Fallout #1 was only ten pages (one sided) bound together with staples and mainly just showing my “Fake Flyers” (of bands that mostly didn’t exist---) people liked it. We only made 100 of them and I doubt if I have more than three copies left. Then we made Fallout #2, though that was only about 20 pages ---81/2” x 14”, folded over and stapled in the middle, made on a photocopy machine at a local library. Again, only about 100. Super rare if you can find them.

In Fallout #3 we made a run of 500 magazines--- with about 40 pages in all, I think. We took all the best stuff from #1 and #2 and recombined it and added tons of new stuff and added articles we wrote and elaborate contests and reviews of bands (usually fake bands we’d made up) and real interviews I did, such as with Biafra and also with Dr. John Goffman (who was a hero in that he was one of the leading atomic scientists who would not go along with phony

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government “safety levels of exposure” and other fairy tale lies they wanted to lay on the public in order to quell resistance to the new Nuclear World Order.)

We went on to publish Fallout #4 in 1981, I believe. Then I became involved with other projects and took a hiatus from Fallout for a couple years till I was able to convince Biafra to help us publish Fallout #5. I gave him an editorial page and a big, full page advert for Alternative Tentacles. I don’t think we ever had any more than three or four actual paying customers who put adverts in Fallout. It was certainly not a “for profit” venture. It was a labor of love.

We have often discussed re-publishing it but it seems like that would only make sense to do so as an on-line version in these days of digital everything. But I do miss real paper and real images you can hold in your hand. Call me old fashioned.

Featured Artist

Which, if any, young artists do you admire at the moment?

There are SO many incredible artists these days. Artists of ALL types. Doing things that weren’t even dreamt of a couple years ago. I wish I could give you a list of names, even a short one. But that would take up more room than I’ve already taken up. Suffice to say that I am so proud of all the hard-working and creative artists that are out there producing new works and it is almost the only thing that gives me hope in the future. Never give up!

The record sleeve medium makes art very accessible, do you feel it is important for art to be accessible to everyone?

Yes, I think that due to the prevalence of the consumer culture we are all so steeped in, especially the 21st century “Millennial” generation access to Art is already a given. But so much of it is homogenized and boring. I am surprised that people so easily swallow the stunningly bland corporate pablum that passes for “art” these days. It is as if they are afraid to take risks. But I reckon that it is more that they simply have no artistic discrimination, being raised on television commercials, soap operas and game shows. I used to think it was just me but I’ve heard lots of young people say that contemporary music really stinks. Its pointless monotony is a soul-killing black hole sucking all the musical inspiration of the last five centuries into a bottomless pit of drum-

machine mush and soul-numbing vocoder buzz. Monotonous haranguing set to a double-time heart beat. How original. How moving. “Ah, the old songs!”

But everyone, everywhere should have the opportunity to be exposed to art. Art enriches the soul and inspires the spirit. It doesn’t matter if it’s a five year old’s crayon sketch or a Byzantine cathedral or an aborigine’s tribal tattoo. Something, ANYTHING, just as long as it’s not the cold grey slabs of corporate coffee shops and the sterile Ikea rooms that have redefined life in the 21st century. Get out and see the real world! Get out and MAKE something to enhance the real world. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. It doesn’t have to be good. It just has to BE. Art is essential. Societies without art cave-in on themselves. Meaningless cartoon imagery can only entertain so far. Once everyone is reduced to the level of a 3 year old’s entertainment standards then no one will even notice there was ever any other way to see things. It’s like a cultural doughnut hole that eats away at itself and keeps getting bigger till it looks more like a hoola-hoop than a doughnut.

Keep looking up at those clouds and keep day dreaming! That’s my only direct advice. Look at all the possibilities we are missing!

And it’s all out there if we only open our eyes and our minds.

Winston Smith

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Public Access TV A Place for Freaks

Throughout the year, whispers have been circulating and buzz gathering around one band, a band with a very atypical name to match their approach to the music industry; Public Access TV. The latest New York act to be tipped to blow way beyond the tri-state area. With only three songs on their official Soundcloud and a handful of badly filmed live performances on YouTube. Public Access TV have been gaining traction throughout 2014, with critics and fans alike eager to hear more from the band. Many have identified, or perhaps pigeonholed the band as a buzz band, but despite this they continue to take their time with a measured approach to the music. Their sound shows clear echoes of new wave, and an infectious bounce that is surely impossible to have been replicated, it will be exciting to see what a full length album from these four will sound like. We at So Young caught up with them recently.

Words by Jason Kavuma, illustration by Dominic Kesterton

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“Public Access Television

is a place where freaks can express themselves. It’s for the people and it’s fitting for us” Hey! We’ve had the pleasure of knowing about you guys for a while but for those who haven’t, could you introduce who you are and the music that you make?

My name is John and I am the lead singer in the rock and roll band Public Access TV.

Public Access TV, far from the orthodox catchy name trail. What’s the story behind the name?

You know what’s more played out than a The band name? All these fucks running around with names that should have The in the front of it. It’s so bad. We said screw it and went in a totally different direction.

Public Access Television is a place where freaks can express themselves. It’s for the people and it’s fitting for us.

You’ve made it pretty clear that whilst you respect the history of the city, you’re keen to escape the clichés and comparisons that

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come with being “the next” NYC band. Do you feel that since The Strokes there is a certain stigma that comes with being a New York band when trying to make your own unique impact?

I love all the classic New York bands... it’s just been pretty bleak these last few years in Manhattan though. Brooklyn has a really vibrant scene, we all live in Manhattan though so we aren’t really a part of that.

Don’t get me wrong, we all loved The Strokes growing up. I was 11 years old when ‘Is This It’ came out and it was perfect timing.

We have absolutely no interest in riding someone else’s wave though. We wanna make our own.

Are there any particular subjects or places that inspire your music?

Just our everyday lives these last few years have inspired our music. Being young, being

Public Access TV

“We have absolutely

no interest in riding someone else’s wave though. We wanna make our own. ” broke, not getting laid, getting laid... trying to survive on the most expensive island on the planet.

Could you share the story of one of the songs you’ve released to date?

Monaco is about a girl that a friend of ours was sleeping with. The whole time she had this really rich boyfriend who flew her everywhere. It took me yeeeeears to write ;-)

From following your social media we found that you’ve recently been recording in London, is the UK somewhere you’re keen to spend some time as a band? Is it all part of the escaping New York plan?

To be honest, the label asked if we wanted to fly over to record a track with this great producer. Seemed like a pretty cool way to spend the weekend. Was great to get out of the city for a bit.

We’re now a few months on from PATV being the surprise package and you have a few tracks up online for people to check out. Now that you have a greater understanding of what PATV is and can be, what is the plan as we edge closer to 2015?

Can we expect an album next year?

We’re putting out the Rebounder EP end of summer. The plan is to follow that up with our first proper single later in the fall, which i’m really excited about. I’d like to put out the album as soon as we can. Definitely in 2015.

You’re joining Circa Waves on tour in the UK this winter too, are you looking forward to exploring some of the smaller towns in the UK and tour life in general?

Any places in particular that excite you?

All we wanna do is play live as much as possible. We’re excited about everything.

www.dominickesterton.com

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Merchandise Looking Glass Waltz

When Merchandise declared they were leaving it all behind to join label 4AD to create a “POP” record and in essence, a pop band, it left a lot to the imagination.

Merchandise have not only redefined themselves as a band but for many have redefined the meaning of a pop record. Whilst staying true to their DIY recording roots, Carson Cox and Co. have laid themselves bare with romantic tales of maturity and submission. “I’m too young to feel this old” croons Carson in ‘Looking Glass Waltz’. The band have a lot of questions for the life that is ahead of them and ‘After The End’ addresses the fears and pressures that hold hands with young adulthood. A lot has been made of the transition into a pop record but ‘After The End’ stands apart from anything of recent similar description, a mature album of highs and unapologetic lows which deserves attention from start to finish. We spoke to Dave from the band to talk about the new approach and what they’re looking forward to most about this chapter.

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Although the band has taken a shift towards making a POP record, can we talk about the beginnings of the band and how Punk/DIY influenced the formation of the band and how that’s led you to where you are today?

Punk/DIY is where everything springs from.

It’s how I started playing in bands and how I ultimately met everyone that I play music with now. I started going to local punk shows when I was 13 and it really opened my eyes.

This was people operating outside of the normal expectations and roles of society, expressing themselves in a way I could relate to. Punk bands from all over the world came to play the record store in my suburban hometown, bands like 9 Shocks Terror, DS-13, Tragedy, MDC. There were shows every week.

I wanted to be a part of that, so I started writing shitty punk songs and wrangled up a group with some high school friends.

Everything that followed (to this very day) is just a continuation of that. I feel like the other

Words by Sam Ford

“ I gain most of my inspiration from wandering the dark empty spaces of my psyche” members of Merchandise grew up in similar pockets with the same experiences. Our paths crossed and became intertwined throughout the years. The new record, while being a “pop” record, was still made in practically the exact same way that all of our old hardcore punk songs were made years ago. The punk/ DIY influence remains very strong within us, no matter how the scene changes over time and no matter how much shit our singer talks…

There’s an interview where you say that there were enough people with no hope to create a scene in Tampa, is that scene still thriving or did its depletion shift the band towards the new pop focus?

Scenes really only have a few years of life in them before they get tired.. We had a good run in Tampa, but as people get older and

time passes, the scene fades a bit. A lot of people flee from this place. A good chunk of our former scene lives scattered across the country now. There’s still a connection and we still have generator/storage unit shows from time to time, but it’s not the same as it was when we were coming up. We’ve been on tour for the past two years and when we’re not on the road we’re busy making records or enjoying a rare night of peace and quiet. I’m sure there are kids in this town having shows and doing cool shit that I’m not even aware of. At least I hope so!

A lot has been made of your move to 4AD, has the transition into new sounds been a natural process or did it just seem necessary to progress? Have the influences changed since the punk focused days?

Illustration by REN

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Progression is something we’ve carried with us across the span of all our years playing music. We’ve never been content to make the same record twice, so in that case I guess it seemed necessary, but we never force anything. Our progression as a band has been a very natural one. We’re not really the same band we were on the last record.

‘Totale Nite’ was made by a three piece band with all electronic percussion. Now (on ‘After the End’) we’re a five piece, so naturally the music is going to sound a bit different. We’re just trying to play on the strengths of us individually as musicians. Sure, the influences have changed. The older we get, the deeper we dig into the history of music. Even in the punk days Carson and I were just mostly listening to jazz and dub.

Has the subjects of your songs changed too? Are there any particular places or events that have inspired the record?

The lyrics I wrote on this record are a reflection of aging, the search for meaning in a meaningless world. I can’t speak for Carson’s lyrics, but I gain most of my inspiration from wandering the dark empty spaces of my psyche.

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What would be your example of the perfect “pop” album?

Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds of Love’ is probably the quintessential pop album. It has the perfect balance between catchy pop singles and experimental tracks. The production, writing, musicianship and sequencing are flawless. I can’t think of a better example of the perfect “pop” album, aside from maybe ‘Pet Sounds’ or ‘Young Americans’.

There are tracks on the album which seem very personal and are definitely slower in tempo to what we are used to hearing from you, is the thought of playing these live daunting? Or does it excite you to welcome people into this side of the band?

Coming from the world of everything being short, fast and loud, playing some of the quieter/slower songs is going to be something new for us. It’s much easier to play loud and fast as opposed to quiet and slow. It makes a band more vulnerable. You can lose a crowd easily. It’s going to be an adjustment having some songs like that in the repertoire, but it’s an important side of the band that deserves to be showcased in the live setting.

drawren.tumblr.com