** Plus ** Future Teens Closer Never Not Nothing SKEGSS Static Dress Touché Amore + loads more
upsetmagazine.com
Electric Century Jetty Bones
Citizen
SAY HI TO THE FUTURE OF POP PUNK
APRIL 2021 Issue 64
RIOT 4. CITIZEN 8. NEVER NOT NOTHING 10. SKEGSS 12. THE BLUE STONES 14. CLOSER 18. ADULT MOM ABOUT TO BREAK 20. STATIC DRESS FEATURES 24. MEET ME @ THE ALTAR 32. ELECTRIC CENTURY 36. JETTY BONES 40. FUTURE TEENS REVIEWS 44. EVANESCENCE TEENAGE KICKS 46. TOUCHÉ AMORÉ
Upset Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Scribblers Alexander Bradley, Edie McQueen, Jasleen Dhindsa, Kelsey McClure, Linsey Teggert, Phoebe De Angelis, Rob Mair, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin, Tyler Damara Kelly Snappers Adam Parshall, Daniel Dorsa, David Herington, Lindsey Byrnes, Mary Boo, Michał Urbańczyk, Olli Appleyard, Sameer Jafar, Tom Barnes 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.
HELLO. For the longest time, pop punk has been somewhat of a divisive art form. The music so many of us grew up on, during those halcyon days it spawned some of the most iconic bands in recent memory. While so many have them have faded away, or evolved into something new, it’s hard not to hold on to the embers of nostalgia for the music of a genre that defined so much. Meet Me @ The Altar are a band to turn all of that on its head. Pulling on the strings of those beloved acts, they feel like a fresh, positive force for a scene that’s in some severe need of something to believe in. The kind of people who
will have you rooting for them based on their can-do, positive personality alone, the fact their earliest offerings have that magic sparkle to them only adds to the magic. If rock music is to move forward, it’s bands like MM@TA that will lead the way. We’re delighted to welcome them to their first Upset cover. Hopefully, it won’t be the last.
S tephen
Editor / @stephenackroyd Upset 3
Riot_ EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN ROCK
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THIS MONTH IN ROCK
How do you build on a debut album that scored a Number 2 spot in your home-country’s album chart? Australian punks SKEGSS are finding out. p.10
Screamo from the East Coast of America, Closer are a cult band in the making. p.14
Adult Mom reveals some behindthe-scenes titbits from their new dealing-with-your-twenties album, ‘Driver’. p.18
“IT WAS TIME TO TRY SOMETHING NEW”
Toledo-based trio Citizen have stepped into 2021 sounding more assured than ever before; their new album ‘Life In Your Glass World’ a lesson in ambition, and trusting your instincts. Words: Linsey Teggert.
“T
his record is about reclaiming control; it’s us venting our frustrations.” Citizen vocalist Mat Kerekes is discussing the Toledo, Ohiobased three-piece’s decision to take full ownership of their creative destiny for their fourth full-length, ‘Life In Your Glass World’. “People tend to expect a lot out of you, but also at the same time, you have to do exactly what they want you to do, which is frustrating when you’re always on tour, and the people that are sitting behind desks are yelling at you to do more. You kind of accept being pushed around for a little bit, but when you take a step back you think, wait, I’m the product here, I’m the one that is providing you all with this, and for some reason I’m lesser than you? Urm, no.”
For Citizen, the solution to that feeling of being powerless was to become fully self-sufficient. With the help of his brother, Mat built a studio in his garage, allowing the band to take charge of every step of the albummaking process. The convenience of having a home studio also allowed the band more time to flesh out their ideas, rather than “hauling ass for 6 weeks”, as Mat puts it, in a professional studio. “If we didn’t feel like recording, we’d leave it and come back to it. We started recording in the first week of December 2019 and didn’t finish until March 2020. When you’re doing something creative, as long as it’s flowing and feels good, it’s probably going to turn out to be something you’re proud of, but if you’re pushing and pushing and seeing it as a job, then it becomes less fun. If it took months to record with us stopping and starting,
that’s just the way it is; who really cares?” ‘Life In Your Glass World’ is the first Citizen record that wasn’t recorded with producer Will Yip, who is known for his work with alternative artists such as Tigers Jaw, Title Fight and The Wonder Years, to name but a few. Mat insists there’s no personal beef and that it was all part of Citizen’s desire to own all aspects of the record. “It was time to try something new, this time it was about us trusting our guts. Sometimes when you’re doing the same thing all the time, you just want something new and fresh, and it felt good to be in a new environment.” This self-sufficient approach to recording seems like the logical next step for a band who have always been unwilling to compromise when it comes to their sound. Citizen have always refused to be defined Upset 5
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STEP CLOSER CLOSER CLOSER Screamo from the East Coast of America, Closer are a cult band in the making. Words: Rob Mair. Photos: Michał Urbańczyk, Mary Boo.
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About Break_ to
EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN ROCK
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FOLLY GROUP Newly signed to So Young Records, London collective Folly Group have just dropped their debut single ‘Four Wheel Drive’, and it’s just the beginning...
SPRINTS Gearing up to release EP ‘Manifesto’, Irish bunch Sprints’ opening gambit - recorded with Girl Band’s Daniel Fox - is a statement of intent and a half.
STATIC DRESS Leeds four-piece Static Dress are one of the boldest, most interesting new bands around. Words: Tyler Damara Kelly. Photos: Olli Appleyard.
“I DON’T BELIEVE THAT THE ONLY WAY OF GETTING ATTENTION NOWADAYS IS EMBARRASSING YOURSELF” OLLI APPLEYARD
“I
‘m extremely calculated, but to an outside perspective, it looks like an absolute shitstorm,” Olli Appleyard says nonchalantly as he discusses his meticulous state of mind when it comes to curating the artistic vision of his post-hardcore band Static Dress. Fumbling around for something off-screen, he likens his thought process to that of walking into someone’s room and being taken aback by what you perceive as a mess, but in actual fact, is controlled chaos. “It’s all on here,” he continues, revealing a palm-sized
hard drive. “You wouldn’t be able to understand it or translate it because as far as I’m aware, from when I’ve tried to show people before, it’s basically like hieroglyphics. There are obvious themes and other things going on, but I’d say honestly, the next two years are pretty much planned out.” It may come as a surprise to hear of such precision from an artist whose band has only been in existence since late-2019, but the further you dive into the world of Static Dress, with its cinematic and cryptographic undertones, it becomes apparent that there is a mastermind creating a narrative Upset 21
POP PUNK W MEET ME @ THE ALTAR COULD WELL BE THE NEXT ICONIC BAND FROM A GENRE THAT DEFINED A GENERATION. TIME TO SAY HELLO... Words: Tyler Damara Kelly. Photos: Lindsey Byrnes.
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WILL PREVAIL
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P P Mikey Way and David Debiak have teamed up once more for a new Electric Century album, and accompanying graphic novel.
POWER UP POWER UP Words: Alexander Bradley.
POWER UP POWER UP
P P
F
rom deals with the Devil to Fabulous Killjoys, and even Gerard’s Britpop Bowie in ‘Hesitant Alien’, the Way brothers have never compromised when it comes to storytelling. And, for the return of Mikey Way’s Electric Century, the story is
his most ambitious yet. Consisting of an album written with Sleep Station’s David Debiak, produced by fellow Chemical Romancer Ray Toro, and a full accompanying graphic novel designed with the help of Toby Cypress, their self-titled second album is Upset 33
T B O Y
THE BONES OF YOU Billed as “a contemplative journey of imposter syndrome and mental health,” singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Jetty Bones’ debut is unflinchingly honest.
Words: Steven Loftin. Photos: Lindsey Byrnes.
“A
lot of people are very upset that I’m not a metal band,” Jetty Bones mastermind Kelc Galluzzo reckons. That’s because she’s releasing her debut album on Rise Records, home to bands you’re more likely to find skulking around the darkest corners of the earth than throwing incandescent shapes on a dancefloor. With that, Kelc knows that she’s going to rustle some feathers. But, really, what’s more metal than facing up to the demons you live with? “I should probably have more guitar solos on the record though,” Kelc laughs in agreement. Edging even further away from the
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TEEN IDOLS
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Exploring some of the darkest corners of mental health (consider yourself warned), Future Teens’ new EP ‘Deliberately Alive’ is another poignant effort from a truly special band. Words: Rob Mair. Photos: Adam Parshall.
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