Upset, April 2022

75

Me et Me @ The Altar

The Mys terine s

Bo de ga

Drug Church

Camp Cop e

Sprints

Pillow Que ens

Heriot

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APRIL 2022 Issue 75

RIOT 4. CAMP COPE 8. SPRINTS 10. BODEGA 14. PILLOW QUEENS ABOUT TO BREAK 16. HERIOT FESTIVAL GUIDE 2022 22. PUP 30. 2000TREES BAND PICKS 34. SPIRITBOX 36. OUTBREAK 38. ENTER SHIKARI 40. PINKSHIFT 42. MEET ME @ THE ALTAR FEATURES 46. DRUG CHURCH 50. THE MYSTERIES 58. NORTHLANE

Upset Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Scribblers Dan Harrison, Dillon Eastoe, Jack Press, Jasleen Dhindsa, Jessica Goodman, Kelsey McClure, Linsey Teggert, Rob Mair, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Danielle Parsons, Jonathan Weiner, Michelle Grace Hunder, Nick Mckinlay, Pooneh Ghana, Rich Gilligan, Vanessa Heins 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

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HELLO. Festivals, huh? While we may have got some of 2021’s season away, 2022 is the first full summer of big events in ‘quite a long time’, thanks to our old friend virusthat-shall-not-be-named.

That’s our excuse for getting a bit over excited this month, and going all in for our 2022 Festival Guide. We’ve scoured the line-ups, looked for the must see acts, and - for the most part -steered clear of the expected headline names. Not because the big beasts of the festival season aren’t exciting, but because there are so many exciting things happening elsewhere. From cover stars PUP bringing their brilliant new album to 2000trees this July, to Slam Dunk showcasing some of the hottest,

most exciting acts on the planet, there’s something to get buzzed about at every turn.

And if that’s not enough, there are also some amazing records arriving this month.

Camp Cope, Drug Church, Pillow Queens, The Mysterines, Bodega and more - you’ll find them all in this month’s issue, each packing an album not to be skipped.

Musically at least, things are starting to look up, huh?

S tephen

Editor / @stephenackroyd

Riot.

THIS MONTH >>>

EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN ROCK

The Big Story

“It’s good that we don’t fit in” At a point where the world fell apart, Melbourne’s Camp Cope have made an album that brings them into focus like never before.

Words: Linsey Teggert. Photos: Michelle Grace Hunder, Nick Mckinlay.

4 Upset

Irish post-punk fast-risers Sprints have just delivered their new EP. We asked them to run us through what we need to know. p.8

Most bands don’t find their inspiration in a Covid-era book club - but Bodega aren’t most bands. p.10

Ireland’s brilliant Pillow Queens run us through their standout second album, ‘Leave The Light On’, track by track. p.14

Upset 5

“E

ither everything matters or nothing matters, both trains of thought take you to the same spot. If everything matters, let’s create something that matters, or if nothing matters, let’s just do it; we’re all going to die anyway.”

Georgia Maq is ruminating on the existential thinking behind the making of Camp Cope’s third album. Specifically, how the Melbourne trio have managed to create such a beautiful record amongst the chaos of the last few years. It’s unclear whether her train of thought was the former or the latter, but either way, it’s taken Camp Cope to the same place.

Against all odds, it’s a place of calmness, strength and confidence.

Those familiar with Camp Cope’s first two albums may be surprised by ‘Running with the Hurricane’. The band, also comprising KellyDawn Hellmrich and Sarah Thompson, emerged from the Melbourne punk scene in 2016, but it was 2018’s ‘How To Socialise And Make Friends’ that put them under the spotlight - particularly searing lead single ‘The Opener’ which saw Georgia rage against misogyny in the music scene, spitting wonderfully caustic lines such as “Yeah just get a female opener, that’ll fill the quota.” “’How To Socialise’ did pretty well and was nominated for some stuff, but I listen to it, and I’m just like ‘what the fuck?” laughs Georgia in typical self-deprecating fashion. “I don’t really like the album; I don’t like how it sounds. The songs are there, but they weren’t executed in the way that I would have wanted them to be executed. We didn’t have a lot of time, I didn’t have the language to explain what I wanted, and I didn’t really know what I wanted.

6 Upset

“Our first two albums were quite jarring; everything sounded quite hard and aggressive even in the way it was recorded, the way I sang, right down to the guitar tone. That was where I was at in my life back then; now I just want to make something nice.”

‘Running with the Hurricane’ is still unmistakeably Camp Cope, just without the sharp edges. Influenced more by country and pop than lo-fi guitar rock, scrappiness is replaced by moments of sweeping clarity and tenderness. It’s the sound of a band that are very much coming into their own: refined and relaxed, but also not afraid to be vulnerable and wear their heart on their sleeves.

Describing the sound as the band’s natural evolution, Georgia is warm, witty, and open when discussing what led her to ‘Running with the Hurricane’ and where she’s at in her life right now.

“I think before, I was really trying to be someone that I wasn’t stylistically. I’d basically listen to a lot of bands, and I’d go to shows without actually enjoying it; I just did it because I thought, well, this is the scene I’m in, and I need to integrate with it.

“Really, all I listen to is pop music and country music. Music that’s played in a big stadium; that’s the kind of music that I really love.

I think I stopped ignoring that, and just thought ‘fuck it’, I’m going to embrace the fact that Taylor Swift is my favourite songwriter. My whole life, I’ve felt like I’ve never fit in, and that’s sort of true with Camp Cope as well - we don’t really fit into a specific scene as a band - but once I embraced that, I realised that it’s good that we don’t fit in, so I decided to take that and amplify it even more with the new album.”

Georgia’s self-acceptance has undoubtedly influenced the self-assured sound of

‘Running with the Hurricane’.

During the pandemic, like most of us, she found herself with time on her hands, especially in Melbourne, which was under one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. So, she taught herself how to record, how to engineer, how to produce, and how to write harmonies and backing vocals: all skills that she brought to the new Camp Cope album when they were finally able to record in 2021.

“I think it was a conscious decision that I knew I wanted this album to be different. I knew I wanted to play acoustic guitar and piano on it; I knew how I wanted to sing and what harmonies I wanted. I feel like if we recorded it before the pandemic, it wouldn’t be very good!”

Speaking of harmonies, the most immediately apparent difference on ‘Running with the Hurricane’ is Georgia’s flawless vocal delivery, which is absolutely breath-taking. Of course, it was always obvious that she could sing, but this is next level: there are no barbed shouted lyrics here, just a stunning voice that can convey fragility and heartbreak or strength and triumph all within the space of one song.

“I had a bunch of vocal surgeries and had to rehabilitate,” explains Georgia. “I’d had singing lessons with proper teachers over the years that didn’t have much impact, until I found this girl on TikTok from Scotland, and she fucking changed my life, honestly! I’ve literally only had like three lessons over Zoom with her, but it changed everything.”

It’s easy to forget that our favourite artists have a life and jobs outside of their musical endeavours, but part of Georgia’s professional life has also had a huge impact on her work with Camp Cope.

Working as a nurse during the pandemic, she found she

needed to have self-belief in order to call the shots and to be authoritative, qualities she was able to transfer to her songwriting.

“It’s the best decision I’ve ever made; I love my job, I love what I do. I find so much meaning in it, and that’s what I need; I need to feel like I’m doing something meaningful,” she muses.

“Being a nurse gives me a lot of confidence: I know how to do things, and I’ve led teams of people - I worked in vaccination, so

“I just thought ‘fuck it’, I’m going to embrace the fact that Taylor Swift is my favourite songwriter” Georgia Maq

I’ve set up vaccination hubs where people used to come to me with every single question or conflict.

I found I was actually really good at being a leader, and I realised that I actually know what I’m doing! I felt a lot of the same feelings about the band when it came to making decisions about how I wanted the music to sound.

This album is very important to me because I put so much work into it.”

Despite the sense of

peace and positivity that radiates throughout the new record, Georgia’s wry, self-effacing sense of humour finds her quick to play down this confidence.

“As a person, I’m a massive downer,” she protests, before summing up the theme of the album as “being pathetic.”

“Being pathetic, but also being okay with being pathetic. Being okay with being alone, but also wanting love... but also being

constantly heartbroken.

Each album encapsulates my life. Thematically, this album has some really cohesive themes but also some really incohesive themes. Songs about heartbreak, songs about love being good, songs about being okay with being me, but also being sad about being okay with it, but then being happy with being okay with it! Then just more love songs, more being alone songs... It’s just a big chaotic

mess, I think!”

Despite Georgia’s summation, ‘Running with the Hurricane’ certainly doesn’t sound chaotic. It sounds more grounded than anything Camp Cope have done before: they’ve been caught in the hurricane and have made it through the other side. By her own admission, Georgia is still figuring things out, but that’s okay too.

“The whole music industry and the game of it all, album cycles and all that shit - none of that is important to me. I don’t have to put out music, I don’t have to record it, but I have to write songs. That’s just something that I do with my life, that I’ve always done and that I will always do.

So, it doesn’t matter if the world is ending, fuck it, I’m still going to keep doing it anyway. It’s like I’m part of the string quartet on the Titanic, but I’m also a nurse during a pandemic, so I guess I’m also like one of the crew on the Titanic. I’m helping people get into lifeboats while also playing the violin for them.” P Camp Cope’s album ‘Running with the Hurricane’ is out 25th March.

Upset 7

Riot.

Everything you need to know about

Sprints’

Irish post-punk fast-risers Sprints have just delivered their new EP. A frenetic, essential collection that demands immediate attention, we asked them to run us through what we need to know.

SONGWRITING

On this EP, the songs were written in different ways. Due to it being a weird two years, we had to find different ways to keep ourselves sane and still be productive. Modern Job, the title track, was pretty much written in Logic.

We would send demos back and forth, adding new ideas. This isn’t as good as being in one room with each other, but it does have its own perks, I think. The ability to live with a song and take your time to try out a bunch of different ideas is great, and because of the whole world

8 Upset

on standby, there wasn’t any feeling of pressure. Other songs were written through random jamming; others, Karla would come in with a song pretty much ready to go on her guitar and vocals.

SPRINTS BALL

This is the third year of our fantasy football league Sprints ball running.

Karla won the first year by a distance.

Jack won last year and is on course to win again this year, and probably every other according to the word on the street (Jack definitely isn’t writing this). Karla and Jack are big Man United fans, and Sam supports Arsenal; nobody is perfect, sure. Poor Colm has zero interest in football and has to deal with the rest of us shite talking about it.

GREGGS ISN’T IT

After hearing a lot about Greggs before our first UK tour, we thought we’d be sorted. Chicken fillet rolls, sausage

new EP

‘A Modern

Job’

rolls, what’s not to love? Unfortunately, Greggs was a poor substitute for the Irish deli. Much fresher and with one in most shops a good deli was what we missed most on tour (apart from our friends and family of course!). Despite these deep feelings on Greggs, Sam still decided to get a Greggs chant going when we played Sheffield, creating a yet unresolved rift in the band.

SPRINTS WERE ONCE A DIFFERENT BAND

Once upon a time, before we became noisemakers. Karla, Jack and Colm had a band without Sam. The band gigged quite a lot in Ireland, from Whelans to Electric Picnic. The music was different, more of a mix between indie-folk and rock. When the bassist left, we recruited Sam in to play bass and thus became Sprints!

Sprints’ EP ‘A Modern Job’ is out now.

10 Upset

“Every generation tends to think it’s the most important one witnessing an apocalyptic shift, but now genuinely feels like a broken time”

Most bands don’t find their inspiration in a Covid-era book club - but Bodega aren’t most bands.

Words: Jack Press. Photos: Pooneh Ghana.

Upset 11

G

rowing up and getting old is a lot like wandering through a labyrinth. Shifts in surroundings can be disorienting, and change can cause a crisis of faith.

It can make you question everything.

Having dropped their debut record and toured the world for nearly two years, Bodega’s Ben Hozie struggled to come to terms with being stuck in his room when Covid-19 came calling.

“I was going through this crisis, an inquiry into my own identity,” Ben muses from his apartment in Queens, joined at the hip by his partner and bandmate Nikki Belfiglio.

“I assume this is a universal experience, but I turned 30 and wanted to understand, who am I? What are my values? What thoughts are my own? Which can I trust? Which thoughts do I want to get rid of?

Which do I want to refine?”

Ben’s identity crisis could’ve come at a cost to his creativity. Instead, he knuckled down deep and made an erotic drama, PVT Chat, released in 2020. But Bodega didn’t fall by the wayside while he played director; rather, the group got together as a book club, bonding over classic philosophy.

“We were reading philosophy purely for pleasure, but to me, there was an element of selfexamination. Some of the big themes of philosophy, like how to live an ethical life and what is your identity, are all purely intellectual exercises when you’re 18, in a way that they’re not when you’re 30 – they become really serious questions, like, what is death?”

Diving off the deep end directly into a pool of existentialism is a heavy burden to bear. Rather than keep it between the book club, Ben began working on Bodega’s ‘difficult second album’ – ‘Broken Equipment’.

12 Upset

“I think there’s a concept to the album; it’s this identity quest of sorts.

Thrown is the ‘Sergeant Pepper’s’ thesis track, where I’m putting forward all these contradicting qualities within myself, and the rest of the record is exploring that through various means.

I’m examining external things like the history of New York City or movie trailers. but using it as a way of understanding the self through other things.”

As a band influenced as much by books as they are anything else, ‘Broken Equipment’ is a journey through the human psyche – as if you were living life on the streets of New York City.

It’s like immersing yourself in your very own novella. But it asks more questions than it ever answers, inspired in many ways by an essay that sparked its title – The Origin of the Work of Art by Martin Heidegger.

“Heidegger is talking about how a really great work of art functions like equipment when it’s broken down,” Ben explains, his face lighting up at the opportunity to dive into philosophy. “He talks about how having all this equipment ready at hand, you take it for granted. Like, I might use this bass guitar every day, but if I break a string, or the pickups act wonky, or my headphones break, suddenly I’m aware of my reliance, and it’s only when things break down that we notice them.

“For us, I think it rings true because artists tend to be damaged souls, and because of our damaged nature, we’re extra sensitive to the world, so we ourselves are broken equipment that can reveal things in a way only poetry can. It reminds me of Bob Dylan’s ‘Blonde on Blonde’; who knows what the hell that means?”

‘Broken Equipment’ isn’t just Ben’s sandbox to play in. Everyone in the band has bought their own philosophical quests into the

mix to build a sandcastle of identity exploration. In many ways, it adds a political tinge to things. “’Broken Equipment’ can be things breaking down right now, conversation feels really broken down,” Nikki perks up, hugging their cat, comfortable letting Ben take the lead. “On ‘Statuette on the Console’, I sang it in 8 different languages, so it’s like if English itself is breaking down, and that’s the universal language. How do we circumvent that?

Because we think we’re at the centre of the universe, and that thinking is causing a lot of distress.”

“It’s almost like the whole world has had to come to terms with this brokenness.

I mean, I’m sure people in the 1930s would’ve said ‘we knew our world was broken’, but I don’t know if everybody did in quite the same way that we do now,” counters Ben, a constant back and forth between the two, who often come off like they’re talking through telekinesis. “Every generation tends to think it’s the most important one witnessing an apocalyptic shift, but now genuinely feels like a broken time.”

It’s this way of thinking that separates them from the crowd. Lumped in as part of the overcrowded post-punk parade, Bodega stand outside looking in as outliers of the scene.

Musically, they owe as much to The Strokes and Bob Dylan as they do The Fall and Talking Heads. Lyrically, they swerve the overt politicism of British bands like Idles and Yard Act. It’s a bit of a bugbear they battle with.

“I think that’s the one thing that separates us from certain other groups now. You know, those ones always in social critique mode, where it’s like ‘this is the problem, these are the bad guys, and we are in solidarity against them’?

There’s nothing particularly wrong with that, but our

music tends to be that when I’m digging into an idea or a person, I’m really talking to myself.

“Like, instead of

criticising people on the right to me – which is low hanging fruit, it’s too easy – I’d rather criticise the complacency of people just like myself. Now that, that’s a far harder and more nuanced idea.”

‘Broken Equipment’ isn’t an album built solely on its philosophies, though. And their battle to beat out the post-Brexit and post-Trump

new wave of post-punk thrives on it. They’re using it to their advantage, but they’re not attached to it.

“We use the language

of post-punk to slip under the radar. I love post-punk music, but it’s pretty easy to see its shortcomings. When I hear a new post-punk

“I like people that throw everything at the wall, see what sticks, and if some of it doesn’t, whatever” Ben Hozie

band, I already know what they’re doing – like okay, you heard Talking Heads and The Fall, and you synthesise it well, but I’m pretty bored by track three.

“Any good band, in my opinion, becomes an island unto themselves; they establish their own world through stealing from a lot of different genres. It was never our ambition just to be a post-punk band; we want to be a rock and roll group that does a lot of different things.”

The songs that occupy ‘Broken Equipment’ were chosen with that in mind.

If a song felt like they were playing it safe, or sounded like the one before it, it got scrapped. In many ways, it’s a playlist of guilty pleasures and musical loves inspired by their inability to listen to one thing at a time. It’s a hill Ben and Nikki are willing to die on.

“I’m a White Album person; that’s why I like James Joyce. I like people that throw everything at the wall, see what sticks, and if some of it doesn’t, whatever, it’s still a genuine expression of that person. Most sophisticated music fans, or even unsophisticated fans, have ears that crave different tones. I feel like the human personality is so complex, you know, that’s why I’ve never understood people who only listen to this kind of metal music - I don’t buy that.”

Bodega are a band you can question at every juncture because they’re questioning you too. They’re not afraid to ask questions of your beliefs, to examine the world in kaleidoscope rather than black and white.

By doing so, they reveal the avant-garde, off-the-cusp influences that slip into ‘Broken Equipment’.

“I don’t know how you feel about this, but over quarantine, I was investigating the music of my youth, and I realised I still really love Korn and Slipknot. It really influenced

the record, like ‘Doers’ is our way of doing a nu-metal song, but through a Bodega lens. It’s not particularly heavy, but it has a turntable element, and the distorted guitars, and it’s goofy in the way that nu-metal is playful.”

In fact, you shouldn’t be all surprised if the nuances of nu-metal bleed into the future of Bodega.

Because it covers all the bases of their band’s stance on being creatives. And apparently, it’s all down to seeing Slipknot as a modern interpretation of, uhm, opera.

“As a maggot, I saw Slipknot for the first time this summer, and it was amazing. That aesthetic presentation is like Wagner; it’s a heavy metal opera,” he enthuses, laughing as much as he’s serious. “I think nu-metal is exciting because it’s ungentrified, you know?

Like I hear bands now, and they’re like ‘oh, we’re influenced by The Strokes’ and that’s pretty gentrified territory, you know your main audience are people that read New York Times and The Guardian. With nu-metal, it’s like a no man’s land free for all, like who can listen to that?”

No matter what genres they’re chopping and changing, Bodega buried themselves in ‘Broken Equipment’. Whether they’ve cured their identity crisis or added further fuel to its fire is still to be seen, but nonetheless, they’re proud of the product they’re carving.

“One of the goals for us was to still sound tough, but sunnier at the same time.

We wanted to channel pop in the true sense of what people think pop music is, but we also want this record to be one you can put on before you’re going out at night; you’re having a drink and dancing around your apartment, and I feel like it does that, don’t you?” P Bodega’s album ‘Broken Equipment’ is out now.

Upset 13

Pillo

14 Upset

ow Queens.

TRACK BY TRACK

Leave The Light On

Photo: Rich Gilligan.

Ireland’s brilliant House that Sailed Away Pillow Queens run us The lyrics of ‘House that Sailed through their standout Away’ examine the duality of responses that come from second album, ‘Leave a relationship turning from The Light On’, track by romantic to platonic. The sadness that comes with track. cooking meals for a sore heart, Be By Your Side

We do some of our best work to hide our vulnerabilities and carry on. But ‘Be By Your Side’ captures how doing exactly this can leave you feeling as if you’re about to burst and how cathartic it could be to allow yourself to let your emotions out and just feel the world around you. This was one of the first songs we finished on the album as it was the quickest to become fully realised by all of us.

The Wedding Band

This song is about the commitment and emotional support that is needed being in a band. The decision to share our lives and be vulnerable together through the good and the bad is one that really bonds you. Ultimately ‘Wedding Band’ is about heading down a road where nothing is possible to predict, but the prospects are endless and how important it is for us not to be doing it alone.

Hearts & Minds

This song is about experiencing the feeling of being a teenager again.

Mitski’s fourth album is named ‘Puberty 2’, and I don’t think we understood what she could have meant by that until we experienced the music industry. The insecurities about body image and ability when it comes to being on stage are amplified and can only be compared to a second coming of the anxieties and uncertainties that come with puberty. It deals with the idea of imposter syndrome of existing in an industry that favours the male form and the insecurity of not being able to be effortless with your movements in a way that feels natural.

the pleading for explanations - Have you still got nothing to say? - and ultimate acceptance.

I want that for you.

Delivered

Ultimately, ‘Delivered’ it is about running out of steam but recognising that happiness is dependent on you.

Trying to find solace in something that will ultimately let you down and being unable to unravel yourself from a state that’s always felt natural. Liking and loving yourself feels stable and warm, while falling out of love with yourself is chaotic.

Well Kept Wife

Sometimes when you feel chaotic, the normalcy/banality of a picket fence life appears kind of appealing because your support system is suddenly so much more expansive because everyone around you is having a shared experience. Even if it is an unfulfilling one. It’s a nod to the poem The Filling Station by Elizabeth Bishop, which includes the line, “Somebody waters the plant”.

No Good Woman

One of our only songs that is mostly narrative-based, ‘No Good Woman’ is written from the perspective of someone looking upon the experiences of those around them.

It attempts to capture the perpetual hopelessness of debt and striving for an ideal that can never be achieved.

It’s pretty much a song about Sisyphus.

Historian

This is about finding love when you’re not expecting to. Celebrating small and mundane moments, noting everyday things that now seem lonely without them. Sonically we

wanted it to sound like it was tender and delicate but with moments of chaos, echoing the unexpected nature of it, but always coming together in calm in the end.

My Body Moves

‘My Body Moves’ examines the relationship between your past and present self. Sometimes it’s easier to consider your past self as a different person, but there’s comfort in accepting that you will always be floating between several versions of yourself that couldn’t exist without the others. Lyrically, it’s also about longing for - and striving for - this timeless love, finding it and doing your best to follow in the footsteps of those who successfully held onto it.

The title of the album comes from a lyric in this song about leaving the light for someone can convey a very real, warm and timeless love.

Try Try Try

This song is about trying to keep two people’s heads above water. Steeling yourself in order to make sure the other is doing alright but ultimately impeding it because you’re not taking care of yourself. We wanted it to be the final song on the album because the refrain “I try, try, try” sung in unison at the end really sums up how we’ve chosen to tackle any chaos, anxieties or uncertainties going forward. P Pillow Queens’ album ‘Leave The Light On’ is out 1st April.

Upset 15

About Break. to

NEW TALENT YOU NEED TO KNOW

16 Upset

ISLAND OF LOVE The first band to sign to the new Third Man London imprint of Jack White’s record label, Island of Love deal in the kind of scuzzy rock slash indie that never goes out of style.

CHARLIE HICKEY

BAKERS EDDY Dropping their debut album ‘Love Boredom Bicycles’ this month, Melbourne surf-punks Bakers Eddy have that kind of frenetic sun-kissed energy that never fails to hit the spot.

With a string of buzzy singles already under their belt, a debut EP about to land, and dates with Rolo Tomassi quickly approaching, metal’s new kids on the block Heriot are coming through fast.

Words: Jack Press.

I

magine clocking out of your day job only to clock in on-stage alongside hardcore legends like Knocked Loose and Terror, or find yourself making music that gets played on Radio 1 - it’d be bananas, right?

“It is absolutely silly!” roars Debbie Gough, guitarist and vocalist of Heriot, a band who’s currently on everybody’s lips.

“It feels surreal at the moment. We keep pinching ourselves a little bit because we haven’t actually released a record yet, and we’re getting onto really cool tours and getting some really good buzz,” adds drummer guitarist Erhan Alman from his bedroom.

With all the hype hitting a band who’ve only got a handful of singles to their name, shouldn’t all these shows and the upcoming release of their debut EP, ‘Profound Morality’, be a bit daunting?

“It’s mental, really,” Erhan sighs, taking a moment to smell the roses.

“When we started getting a lot of traction over lockdown, I couldn’t really take it in because it just felt like we weren’t having those interactions with people. Since we’ve done the Svalbard tour, that was the first time I was like, ‘oh wow, this is cool’. People wanted to buy merch before we played, and I’m just like, ‘you’re here for Svalbard, right?’

“I think if anything, the pressure is starting to build more now we’re meeting people who genuinely like our stuff, because before it’s just zeroes and ones on a computer screen.”

But if that pressure was a fire needing to be put out, Heriot are all over it already. For a band so early in their careers, they’ve developed a thick skin for an industry built on chewing up

Signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records, Charlie Hickey is definitely one for fans of his boss’ work. Debut album ‘Nervous At Night’ is coming this May - check out the title track online now.

artists. For them, it’s all about riding the waves while they last.

“I’ve said it all the time, let’s just ride the wave until no one cares anymore.

At the end of the day, this is what we wanted. We want to hopefully make a career out of this, so we’ve got to take the bull by the horns and give it some.”

And give it some they have.

‘Profound Morality’ is a 20-minute tourde-force of the weapons in their arsenal.

From blisteringly cold atmospherics and hauntingly bleak interludes to monolithic slabs of industrial hardcore, they weave together an introduction that’s nearly impossible to categorise.

“We all love the early 2000s and late 90s, where metal and alternative music was just so diverse, and everyone was trying new things. No band sounded the same. So as we were chipping away at writing songs, that’s what we did. This record has got a sprinkle of everything that we love.”

Their love of a bygone era may have helped fuel their fire, but they’re not stuck in the mud. Rather than worship at the altar of their idols, they’re following in the footsteps of contemporaries Code Orange in taking what’s been done before, throwing it in a blender, and creating brand new flavours.

“There’s a lot of bands at the moment that are doing well because they’re able to perfect the nostalgia, the stuff we all loved growing up. But the way we’re doing it, we’re not doing it consciously, we’re not trying to pull from that, and we’re not trying to sound like a particular band.”

They’re hard to nail down, and they’re proud of that fact.

“We can’t put our finger on what other bands we sound like, and I really like that,” beams Erhan, taking pride in Heriot’s curveball mentality. “It makes us feel like we’re not doing something the same as other bands, and I think that’s why we’re having the success we’re receiving.”

As much as they’re trying not to pigeonhole themselves, ‘Profound Morality’’s aim is to introduce themselves as the Heriot they long to be. After a few years of singles, they’ve finally found a sound they can call their own, and they’re wearing that mission Upset 17

statement like hearts on their sleeves. and that’s entirely intentional.

“We can give someone our record “There’s a running theme throughout and say ‘this is our art’, and they can this EP of just questioning things, have that to refer to, it’s something for and not being able to come to a firm people to know this is what we sound conclusion,” Debbie reflects, thinking like.” carefully on what “We’re finding clues to reveal. our sound a “Nothing’s black bit more with and white, nothing ‘Profound can ever be as Morality’,” adds pure as what you Debbie, who’s want it to be, and been stewing away ‘Profound Morality’ on the EP’s aims encompasses that and objectives. theme.”

“The title-track is If you’re down for quite a big change digging deep into for us; it’s where lyrics, you’ll find a we feel like we’re labyrinth of insights doing something to explore. Whether different to what it’s ‘Enter The Flesh’’s we would normally, assessment of class and outside of warfare, or general that, ‘Dispirit’ was criticisms of outdated the one where modes of living - it’s all it clicked in that here. But you’ll have everything that we Erhan Alman to listen and make were trying to put up your own mind if in, just fell into one song.” you want to learn more, as Heriot are Of course, ‘Profound Morality’ isn’t staying tight-lipped on saying much just an exercise in messing with musical more. But they will let us in on one codes and conventions. In its twenty thing: it’s all about power. minutes, you’ll be left asking more “The question of power is a big questions than you’ve had answered, influence in the theme of this EP. The

“We can’t put our finger on what other bands we sound like, and I really like that”

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frustration of the fact that you can’t really ever have total control over the things you want to, because there’s always somebody bigger involved and, in this case, for us, it’s the government.

“There are definitely specific topics for us as a band, but we don’t want to inflict that on anybody who’s listening and say, ‘this EP is about this’ because it’s for whatever you want to take from it, really.”

The corruption of power might be ‘Profound Morality’’s calling card, but in many ways, giving power to the people is Heriot’s real mission.

And on the flip side, giving their art to others to interpret fits the calm and collected approach they’ve adopted for absolutely everything. If you choose any band to believe the hype over, it’s Heriot. But don’t tell them that.

“What’s worked for us well is we haven’t put too much pressure on ourselves. We’re not like, ‘we have to do this by this point’,” asserts Erhan confidently, completely calm as usual.

“The only thing we put pressure on ourselves to do is to remain consistent, and I think because we all have full-time jobs, we’ll burn out if we add any more to the plate, so for the moment, we’re just enjoying the EP coming out.” P Heriot’s EP ‘Profound Morality’ is out 29th April.

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IT’S THE UPSET FESTIVA GUIDE

E BIG After two years of pandemic sponsored disruption, 2022 is the first year this decade where the festivals are properly back in full and proper form. As months of sunny fields, multi-venue dashes and glorious live music await, we’ve scoured the schedules to work out the sets you can’t missed and the events you need to be at. Over the next few pages, we’ll run you through some of the essentials. Welcome back music’s front lines. It’s gonna be massive...

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Back with a new album, and heading to 2000trees, PUP are all set to divide and conquer. Words: Jessica Goodman. Photos: Vanessa Heins.

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ometimes at a festival, you walk out in front of thousands of people, and you crush it,” Stefan Babcock states.

“It feels like everybody really loves you, and it’s just the most amazing experience.” This is the dream of musicians the world over (though, let’s face it, who among us here hasn’t at least momentarily had that daydream?).

In true PUP fashion, the frontman’s description doesn’t come without a dash of deprecation.

“Sometimes you walk out in front of a few thousand people, and you bomb, and everyone fucking hates you,” he shrugs, perking up a moment later as he adds, “or, you go to Germany,

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and nobody comes to the festival.”

Examples that are far too specific not to have happened aside (when asked, he simply smiles and moves the conversation along), this description fits PUP’s ethos to a T: be open to possibility, embrace the chaos, and do what you can to enjoy the ride. With a new album about to be unleashed into the world, and a new chapter of their existence about to unfold, Toronto’s nihilistic angels of reckless catharsis are at the top of their game.

“It feels like we’ve been touring the UK for as long as we’ve been touring in North America at this point,” guitarist Steve Sladowski says.

The band – completed

UP

2000TREES

FACT FILE↓ 2000 TREES 7th-9th July Upcote Farm, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire IDLES, Thrice, Jimmy Eat World, The Regrettes, Dream State, Turnstile, The Chats, PUP, Creeper

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by bassist Nestor Chumak and drummer Zack Mykula – played their first UK gigs in 2014, and eight years on, they’re discovering the experience anew.

This summer, they’ll be performing their first UK post-album-release show at 2000trees. “To be playing the first show in the UK at the festival…” Steve continues, “it’s strange to feel like we have a new experience coming.”

Asked what they’re looking forwards to about the occasion, their response is characteristically cynical.

“I think festivals are the most hit-or-miss thing in the world,” Stefan conveys.

“Some of my favourite experiences in a band have been at festivals, and some of my most painful experiences in a band have been at festivals.” Simply put, they’re giving nothing away. “It keeps things interesting,” he grins.

If you’ve seen the band before, chances are you’ve got some idea what their 2000trees performance will have in store: thrashing refrains, electric attitude, and gleeful energy are just

a handful of the things the group excel at on stage.

What makes this time different is the album full of new songs they’ve added to their repertoire.

After the apocalyptic revelry of their third record, ‘Morbid Stuff ’, and subsequent EP ‘This Place Sucks Ass’, PUP set about doing what seemed natural as a follow-up to the end of the world: they formed their own corporation. It’s this new venture – appropriately named PUPTHEBAND Inc. – that gives the new record, and its closing track, their titles. “I find a lot of humour in the fact that the four of us have just been fucking up for ten years and fucked ourselves into becoming CEOs of a company,” Stefan grins.

Corporate life seems to be treating them well. The group say they hold regular meetings and discuss insurance policies (“just because we drink beer when we’re having those meetings doesn’t mean they’re not legitimate,” Stefan drawls, in an achingly on-the-nose comment). With business booming, for their most

“For a lot of PUP fans, this will be their favourite PUP record, and for a lot of PUP fans, it will be their least favourite PUP record” Stefan Babcock

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recent music video, the group became the first band to perform in space. All of this, they insist, actually happened. “We definitely have the budget for all that stuff, all the time. Especially after the last couple of years,” Steve says of their cosmic adventure. Asked for further comment, Stefan starts to marvel, “how insane. What a trip this is.

No one should be entrusting us with anything.”

This is the world that PUP create for themselves, and for everyone who listens to them. They might’ve named themselves after an acronym for Pathetic Use of Potential, but the more time spent with

them, with their music, the clearer it becomes that this band is instead more of a Passionate Use of Possibility (not quite as catchy, but the point still stands – Ed).

If they can think it up, anything goes. It’s this attitude and openness to opportunity that enabled them to create their new album, ‘The Unraveling Of PUPTHEBAND’.

“My prediction is that for a lot of PUP fans, this will be their favourite PUP record, and for a lot of PUP fans, it will be their least favourite PUP record,” Stefan carefully describes.

“Both of those scenarios are okay with me.” Whether you love it or hate it, this is PUP

what PUP do. “I think one of the things that has always been important for us is that we take the work seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Steve distils.

Humour has always been a core part of who PUP are (as Taylor Hawkins said, “if you don’t laugh, you’re in trouble”), and on ‘The Unraveling…’ that sense of humour is in full force.

“So much sensory input goes into doing something creative, right?” Stefan describes. “Sometimes you could watch a movie or listen to a record or read a book, and on the other side of that you can create something that has nothing to do with those things,

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stripped back, and what introduces the record is the group’s distinctive take on a piano ballad. “It wasn’t a thing that we planned out, but I do love it,” Stefan comments on the latest product of their evolution, serendipitously arriving on April Fool’s Day. “It’s just kind of appropriate.”

As novel as it might seem written out in an interview like this, on record it remains completely in character.

This is, after all, the same group that released their last record alongside an ‘Annihilation Preparedness Kit’, and launched their new album with a ‘Brand Ambassador Bundle’.

Embracing comicality is

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turned up to eleven. For fans, it’s a gift of reckless abandon presented with absolute glee, and if that doesn’t float your boat?

“Fuck it,” Stefan shrugs.

“Whatever. Here we are. We did it. It’s over. Best of luck to everybody.”

“Because of the way that the record starts, I think so many people are gonna hit play on April 1st and be like, ‘oh, they fucked us’,” he laughs – and he’s probably not wrong. Opening track ‘Four Chords’ is unlike anything we’ve heard from the band before. Their usual set-up is nowhere to be heard – not for the first minute, at least. Instead, the song begins entirely

but they’ve just triggered some deep, weird thing in your brain.” One of the most keenly felt influences on this new record was perhaps the studio where it was recorded.

Eight hours drive from their home city of Toronto, Tarquin Studios is what the band describe as “an American Horror Story house,” only without the haunting. “That would have been great for the press, if we had been like, ‘saw a ghost, it was pretty wild’,” Stefan laughs. There were no ghosts involved in the making of PUP’s fourth record (as far as the band are aware). What was involved in creating this album was an attic room full of bats and five weeks of self-imposed isolation in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The band relocated to the studio-slash-residence over summer last year.

“It was wonderful and dilapidated, which I think is kind of like PUP,” Stefan describes. Miles from home, shut away from the world outside, the group got to work bringing their next chapter to life. “It was such a weird place to make a record. It was a weird place that was giving us weird vibes, and we were there 24/7 making the record the whole time. Like, we don’t have any hobbies,” the frontman laughs. “There was just a lot of, ‘the bats are back, let’s go bust out the synths and make some weird sounds’, you know?”

They’re not the first band to try experimenting by adding new instruments into the mix, and they won’t be the last. This isn’t even the first time they’ve mixed things up this way themselves (look up ‘Skateboarding Is A Crime And You Should Be In Jail’ for potentially the best recreational sport-oriented ska anthem you’ve never heard). What ‘The Unraveling…’ is, is the first time PUP took their time experimenting (or Upset 25

“experimenting by PUP standards”) with what they’re capable of creating.

“We definitely wanted to do something different on this record,” Stefan states. “I don’t think we were approaching it in the sense that we wanted to use synths and pianos and have different instrumentation. It was more like this desire to step outside of our comfort zone in one way or another.”

And that’s what makes this album work so well.

Sure, there are new flavours in the mix – a sprinkling of synth, a dash of horns, a pinch of saxophone – but the core recipe of what makes PUP, PUP, remains what it always has been.

“I think we realised that, at the end of the day, what PUP is, is the four of us, and the four distinct personalities all bringing different perspectives,” Steve portrays. “That is what makes the songs what they are.”

Raucous and uninhibited as the band always have been, ‘The Unraveling…’ is a raw nerve of a record: exposed in its sincerity, it’s sometimes delicate, frequently volatile, and (if we continue with this analogy) often liable to flare into propulsive riffs and throat-shredding singalongs. This is PUP as we’ve always known them, as they were always meant to be heard. This is also PUP creating something entirely new.

“This is the four of us at our most PUP because we’re trusting each other,” Steve distils. “That’s what it is.

That’s what it’s always been.

And even though there are synths and horns and all that, we’re still just the four of us, getting together to make the best thing we can with the time that we have.”

Knowing this brings another layer of significance to the record. There’s a special kind of energy that comes with learning something new about a person – or in this case, 26 Upset

a band. The more open they are, the truer they craft their music to be, the stronger and more vivid the connection it creates.

Stripping back the layers of who they’ve grown to be, this is PUP at their most human and their most alive.

This is the very crux of who the group are: their lyrics might be deprecating, their riffs frenetic, and their rhythms purpose-built to power mosh pits wherever they perform them, but at the heart of it all is connection and love. Love for who they’re with (even if they can get on each other’s last nerve sometimes), where they are (even though it does feel like a shitstorm all the time), and what they do, in all of its glorious wonder, frustration, and everything in between.

Take ‘Four Chords’, for example: after buying a piano midway through recording, this song was the first that Stefan wrote on the instrument, emailing a demo to his bandmates with the message ‘this is a song for my friends’. “I don’t think that he ever expected us to be like, ‘yes, let’s work on this song’, let alone have to convince him that it was the song that should open the record,” Steve grins. Stefan is quick to agree. “I suck at piano. I’m really bad,” he declares. “In fact, I’m the worst piano player in the band, which naturally means that I’m the one who should play the piano in the band.”

PUP are no strangers to embracing calamity. They literally wrote a lyric saying as much. It’s part and parcel of who they are, and on their new record, you can hear that more than ever. “There was a lot of stuff that we were kind of experimenting with while we were writing,” Steve recalls. “Not being connected to any one way of working was pretty freeing.”

Experimenting with different instruments, building demo recordings into their final mixes (the vocals for ‘Robot Writes A Love Song’ were

“To be playing the first show in the UK at the festival; it’s strange to feel like we have a new experience coming” Steve Sladowski recorded in ten minutes in the backseat of Stefan’s car), on their new record, PUP didn’t let anything hold them back.

“We just weren’t precious, I don’t think,” Steve conveys. “Where there was energy and where there was an idea, whether that was happening in the demo and writing process or in the recording process, if someone was really excited by it, the rest of the band got pretty good at supporting that.” The result is a record that showcases PUP at their most multifaceted.

“Imperfection is sort of a hallmark of, just, life,” he contemplates of their decision to use demo tracks and bum notes in their finished songs. “One of the things that we’ve been very conscious of, and I think good at, is just allowing things to be a little bit close to going off the rails all the time. Whether that’s a live show, or recording, or just kind of broadly in our lives...

There’s always been this undercurrent, and we’ve always known it.”

It’s this ability to take chaos in their stride that makes PUP’s music so vital.

The world is a fucked up place: we know it, they know it, and they aren’t going to sugarcoat it. Instead, their music is a vehicle through which they scream their dissent, in an open

invitation for everyone who encounters them to do the same. It’s what makes their live shows so life-affirming: a venue or festival ground full of people screeching in sync their dissatisfaction with the world and themselves? There are very few things more assuring and empowering than recognising other people feel what you feel too.

“As much as you think you have a handle on something, as much as you think things are going in a certain way and are

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they’ve always strived to be.

“We’re just getting better at trusting each other, and allowing for the chaotic or unpredictable elements of this life that we’ve chosen, and the life of the four of us have built together, to be embraced and not let it worry us in the same way that maybe it did two or three records ago.”

To make this new record, PUP leaned into the edge they’ve always walked along. What they’ve created is, to paraphrase Buzz Lightyear, the sound

of a band freefalling with style. Listening from start to finish, you can hear the group’s descent into anarchy. From the riotous acceptance of ‘Totally Fine’ (has anyone who’s said those two words together ever actually meant them?), through the resounding desperation of ‘Relentless’, to the gleeful cacophony that is ‘PUPTHEBAND Inc. Is Filing For Bankruptcy’, ‘The Unraveling…’ is, as the group summarise, “a slow and inevitable descent into self-destruction.”

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predictable, that can change so quickly that it sometimes feels almost silly to try and make any guarantees or make things perfect,” Steve conveys.

It takes a lot of strength not to self-edit when you have the opportunity. By embracing flaws as part of the process and maintaining fuck-ups as part of the finished picture, PUP have not only created something that feels real, but something that stands as a testament to the band they are right now – the band

“It was truly a mental unravelling that was happening throughout those five weeks. I think you can pretty much hear it,” Stefan asserts. Repeating three times through the record’s duration, ‘Four Chords’ is perhaps the most blatant example of this.

With each part, the song gets shorter, the lyrics more frayed, and by ‘Pt. III’, the freeing sense of not-givinga-fuck has never felt this palpable. The last song written for the record along with ‘PUPTHEBAND Inc. Upset 27

Is Filing For Bankruptcy’, these tracks are what the frontman describes as “completely unhinged and stupid.”

“We were just at the point by the end of the process where it sounded like an awesome idea to have a saxophone freak-out followed by a gang vocal recording that sounded like shit,” Stefan describes of the album’s closing track. “We had kind of lost the plot and lost our inhibitions.” This is a direct result of taking the time and making the space to build upon what they’d already written once they got into the studio. “There’s a certain point where you let go of what you’re making and just lean into it, lean into the absurdity of it,” Stefan reflects. “That’s when PUP is at our best. And we had a lot of that on this record.”

The word ‘unravel’ has several definitions.

Depending on the context, it can mean to disentangle, to make clear, or to destroy.

On their fourth album, we hear the band unravel in every sense. “It’s really hard to change what you do but sound exactly like you have in the past – not just for PUP, for any band,” Stefan deliberates. “I think of this record as trying to thread the needle.” Disentangling and redefining who they are as a band, ‘The Unraveling…’ feels like both a new direction and possibly what we always should’ve expected.

“The closest thing to bragging that I can do is say that we sound a lot like we’re supposed to sound like,” Stefan grins. “We’ve just gotten a lot better at being able to realise our own creative ideas. That’s a pretty special thing for me.”

The group have come a long way in the time they’ve been together.

What started as a one-off project to release an EP has endured for more than ten years (their debut album is a decade old next year), and shows no 28 Upset

signs of stopping, or even slowing, any time soon. Now they’ve got four albums under their collective belt and international festival performances in their future.

At their core, however, not all that much has changed.

“I definitely care more about writing songs that aren’t shit,” Stefan contemplates. “I feel like when we started the band, none of us knew what we were doing. Especially me, especially in the lyric department.” This doesn’t mean that they don’t love or aren’t proud of their early work, they’re quick to clarify, rather that listening back to some of their earliest material (namely debut album track ‘Lionheart’) feels like “utter gibberish.”

“The past few years, I’ve

been thinking more about making records and songs that will actually hopefully matter to people and definitely matter to the four of us.”

And this band do matter.

Through their music, they offer a means of crying out all your pent-up aggressions. With their live shows, they construct a safe space to shake off your self-deprecations. Rather than denial or despair at The State Of Things, PUP choose to revel in it, every performance a celebration and a reminder of how gloriously fucked up but invigorating it is to feel alive.

“I still wake up every day, and none of it seems real to me,” Stefan marvels of the band’s success. “I’m still shocked every time

anything good happens, any time.” Their awe at everything they’ve achieved over the past decade is entirely genuine. Even ignoring the fact that this dream almost ended before it even really began after Stefan damaged his vocal cords on tour promoting their first album, the group don’t take anything for granted.

“Whenever we’d play a show. I was like, ‘holy fuck, people showed up?!

I can’t believe this! This is amazing!!’” Stefan laughs.

“Now it’s just like...” It takes him a moment to collect his thoughts, to work out how to express just how much getting to be in this band, and getting to continue being in this band, means to all of them. “I’m amazed,”

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is the description he settles on. “I’m amazed every day because I’ve still got that imposter syndrome. It still feels like I’m gonna wake up from this one day, you know?”

It’s the little things that really bring that feeling home. The instance the group often use to exemplify this is that of travelling on tour, passing through border control, and stating they’re musicians.

“I know that that is my job,” Steve states. “It has been my job for a decade. But you hear yourself saying it and have, like, an out of body experience. Still, at this point.”

Asked if they think they’ll ever get used to it, the answer is instant. “In a way, I kind of hope not,” Steve

smiles. “I think that’s a way of maintaining a sense of wonder or magic.” This is something that’s incredibly important to the four musicians, that they feel and express the gratitude they’re privileged they get to experience. “What’s the point in taking any of this for granted? Especially now.

Especially at this moment.

I’d like to be surprised telling a border guard what I do for the rest of my life,” the guitarist laughs, then quickly adds, “and for it to still be the truth and be completely reasonable.”

“I’m not sure what it’s like in other bands,” Stefan starts, then pauses to acknowledge the obviousness of his statement. “Because I’ve never been in another

somewhat successful band,” he deadpans, rolling his eyes before he recollects his thoughts. “It feels really special to me. This whole band kind of feels like one big club. You can join it, if you want? I don’t know why you’d want to, but you could just… join it.”

The invitation is an open one. PUP might be the band they are because of the four individuals behind the music, but they wouldn’t be where they are or doing what they do without the people who’ve supported them. If you’ve bought their albums or worn their merch, if you’ve been to their shows or listened to their songs, since you’re reading a four-thousand word feature about the group and their new record (yes, you – we see you), then you’re as much a part of this club as the band members are.

As the group hit the road and venture over to the UK for their festival slot at 2000trees, sharing in what they’ve created with the people who enable them to create it, every performance is a celebration.

If their music is about love – in all of its fantastic, fucked-up glory – then their shows are about connection.

When they go on tour, when they perform on stage and meet fans everywhere from Iowa City to London, England, and beyond, that connection becomes an almost physical presence.

“I know a lot of people say they feel really connected to the songs,” Stefan carefully states, “and that’s really, really nice, but what’s even nicer for me is that because of that, I feel connected to other people.”

Much like watching PUP

perform live offers their audience a breathless, hand-on-heart elation, seeing an audience relish in enthusiasm for that shared moment and these songs along with them offers the band their own heart-onsleeve exhilaration. “A lot of these lyrics, I just figure I’m shouting into the void.

Like, ‘no one’s gonna relate to this’,” Stefan asserts.

“Whenever somebody tells me that they’ve connected with something, it just... It makes me feel better about the messed-up parts of my brain, you know?”

And that, dear readers, is what PUPs music has always been about. It’s wading through the bullshit to discover – and to show others – that none of us are alone. It’s thriving in the catharsis and the galvanisation that it brings.

It’s fierce, frenetic, and every gleeful degree in between. It’s theirs to make, and yours to enjoy – or not enjoy, that decision is yours too. The only lingering hope is that whichever decision you do choose, you make the most of it.

“Being in this band is usually fun as shit. So why be morose about it?” Stefan asks. “We just do our best to make records that we think are good and have fun with it. This thing’s not going to last forever.” With their songs seared on the hearts and minds of fans all around the world, we know we can all rest pretty comfortably in the knowledge that his last statement isn’t true. P PUP’s album ‘The Unraveling Of PUPTHEBAND’ is out 1st April. They play 2000trees on Friday, 8th July.

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WHO DO THE BANDS PLAYING 2000TREES W TO SEE? PUP PICK...

MCLUSKY

BOB VYLAN PICK...

TOKKY HORROR “Mclusky were one of the first bands that the four of us bonded over when we started PUP. ‘Mclusky Do Dallas’ was on constant rotation in our van as we played to no one throughout North America and the UK many years ago. It’ll be fun to hear ‘To Hell With Good Intentions’ live!” - Steve Sladkowski, PUP

LAURA JANE GRACE PICKS...

WITCH FEVER

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“One of the bands we’re most looking forward to seeing is Tokky Horror. Their fast-paced, genreblending sound alone is enough of a reason to go see them but combined with one of the most energetic live shows around, it becomes something you definitely don’t want to miss. They’re a band everybody should see at least once!” - Bob Vylan

“It is hard to choose just one band to be excited about seeing play at 2000trees, but given that the task is to pick just one, I have to go with Witch Fever. I forget who turned me onto the band, but I’ve been playing them regularly on my monthly DJ livestream sets with Vans Channel 66. The guitars sound like some kind of vicious mechanical shark that’s swimming just below the surface, cruising the shallows.

In general, if you self-describe your band as “doom punk”, you have my attention, and from everything I’ve heard, Witch Fever seem like they’re just getting started with what they have to say. You’ll see me either crouched down side stage taking notes while they play or front and centre with the rest of the crowd.” - Laura Jane Grace

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VUKOVI PICK...

“Turnstile is the breath of fresh air that I’ve been looking for. The first time I heard them was when we were supporting Enter Shikari at the QMU. Our producer Bruce put their song Holiday on in our dressing room. For me, they sound like what the Beastie Boys would be if they were a rock band. They have such a nostalgic aesthetic similar to 90s Rage. They are all incredible musicians but extremely tasteful in what they play, which only makes them more appealing to me. I’ll be side of stage for their set for sure.” - Janine Shilstone, Vukovi

DREAM NAILS AND FANGCLUB PICK...

CHERYM

“We’re so stoked to see Cherym play at 2000trees. We love a bit of pop-punk-rock and some banging bops. Personally, I can’t wait to hear ‘gone girl’.

How can we not be excited to get to hang out and listen to these icons? These are our kind of people - bring on festival vibes!” - Dream Nails “Cherym are one of my favourite bands to happen in years. They’re from Derry.

They thrash out punk rock with such a huge energy and have incredible melodies. We were lucky to have Cherym support us for some Fangclub headline shows in Ireland. They had this massive impact. Everyone in the room was pumped from the beginning. Every song they’ve released has been class and leaves you wanting more. I can’t wait to see them at 2000trees because the crowds and the atmosphere is quite different from other festivals. There’s this celebratory chaos in the best way possible at 2000trees.

Like a spontaneous party that erupts with all your mates and all your favourite bands.

I think Cherym will really be a show to catch.” - Steven King, Fangclub

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ITHACA PICK...

BOB VYLAN “Our pick for the weekend is Bob Vylan, because of the power of their message and because their shows are always memorable. I remember seeing them a few years ago before they blew up, and Bob climbed the venue’s PA, jumped off and crushed a pint glass under his Converse without flinching. If that doesn’t sell you on them, I don’t know what will.” - Sam ChetanWelsh, Ithaca

PHOXJAW PICK...

LEECHED

BLOOD COMMAND PICK...

DEEZ NUTS

“I am definitely going to check out Deez Nuts at 2000trees, who are also playing The Cave on Saturday.

My friend Sean, who used to play bass in Deez Nuts, passed away last year, and I never actually got to see him play live with them, so I want to finally watch them in his honour. I think it will be a really special and sentimental moment, and I know Sean would be stoked that I finally get to see his band live.” - Nikki Brumen, Blood Command

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“There are many great bands on this line up, in what looks to me like one of their best yet. But if I was to pick someone I’m excited to see, I really enjoyed the latest Leeched album and saw them once before, supporting ‘Full Of Hell’. They’re super crushing live, and very violent and noisy. So yeah, I’ll be getting stuck into that one for sure.” - Danny Garland, Phoxjaw

LANDE HEKT PICKS...

LAURA JANE GRACE

DELAIRE THE LIAR PICK...

“I’ll be watching Laura Jane Grace at 2000trees! I’m a big Against Me! fan (who isn’t?), and I love the last couple of solo records she’s released. Her lyrics are filled with sentiment and hooks that remind me of The Replacements, getting the balance right between sincerity and tongue in cheek.” - Lande Hekt

PALM READER PICK...

TIGERCUB

“Having been a fan of Tigercub for almost eight years, and finally catching them on their last tour when they played at Lafayette, I think it’s fair to say they have some of the most colossal and epic riffs - combined with a bass tone that shakes you right down to your core. It’s impossible to stand still during their show, and I’m insanely excited to catch them again at 2000trees.” - Em Lodge, Delaire The Liar

THRICE

“Thrice. Thrice. Thrice. This band has left an indelible on Palm Reader and have been on regular rotation in the van / rehearsal room / studio / dressing room since day one, so understandably, we’re super-duper excited to see them headline a festival (which is LONG overdue) and perform ‘Vhiessu’ in full.” Palm Reader

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DOWNLOAD 2022’S FRESH BLOOD IS NOT TO BE MISSED Usually, we associate Download with the big, legendary titans of rock. This year is no different, with Kiss and Iron Maiden both in headline slots - but that’s not all you’ll find in Donington this summer. There’s also a whole load of new acts to see too. Here are some of the best of then.

SPIRITBOX With a fast rising reputation that has them tipped for the very top, Spiritbox are hitting Download with high expectations. We dropped them a line to see how they’re shaping up.

Hi Courtney! How has your 2022 been so far?

2022 has been very intense, we’ve been working non-stop to prepare for our first viable tour, and we just finished the first three days!

How has life changed for you since the release of ‘Eternal Blue’ last year?

It has changed my life a lot.

All that we’ve been keeping to ourselves is now out in the open for people to listen to after so many years of working on the same songs.

It felt good to finally put out a full-length record, and to surpass the already ambitious goals we set for ourselves. It is like a sign to keep trying and keep going!

Have you thought much about new music yet? What are you guys working on at the moment?

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We wrote most of ‘Eternal Blue’ in 2019 and 2020, and then had to keep postponing the recording process due to logistics during the pandemic, like many bands who have different nationalities and home bases. So we’ve been ready to create new music for a while now, and already have been writing new material the second Eternal Blue was released. It feels good to know we won’t have to wait as long and be as patient to release music next time!

Festivals have obviously had a bit of a hard time over the past couple of years, how have you found them? Have they felt different to you?

I’ve been less social during them, we don’t have any meet and greets, and that’s been a strange feeling. We keep to ourselves backstage a lot more and don’t watch other Photo: Jonathan Weiner.

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What do you think makes for a good festival set?

Well, you have to be able to entertain people with minimal production if you’re not the headlining band. We don’t really play when it’s dark out either, so there are no fancy lights to hide behind!

Is there anything else we should know?

We are going to work our asses off to give you our best show ever! P

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Have you ever discovered a new favourite up-andcoming band at a festival before?

This last year I watched Code Orange for the first time at a festival, and they were so

good live - their guitar tone was HUGE.

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Do you have a busier festival schedule for this year than last? Where can we find you?

Oh hell yeah, we are playing lots of festivals this year throughout Europe and a few in the States. It’s much busier.

I prefer to do festival tours, so I feel warmed up, and in the groove of things - we get that nice momentum going.

anyone you’re particularly looking forward to seeing play, or catching up with?

Well, it’s been a huge goal of mine to play this festival, so we are very honoured to be invited.

The day we play, I want to watch Korn, and The Darkness. I really want to see Loathe, Shinedown and Deftones; they play the day before, so maybe if we can there soon enough, we can check them out too! There are so many bands I want to watch, but I also have to be good and conserve my voice.

Can’t be out chatting over loud music for eight hours each day!

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bands side stage very often.

They have been difficult for us as I think we have high expectations put on us externally AND internally to be a seasoned band, but the truth is we are learning as we go.

It’s been great, and again another little sign of hope to keep pushing and keep going.

It’s been so fun to play for so many people and to watch so many amazing bands.

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FACT FILE↓ DOWNLOAD 10th-12th June Donington Park, Donington, Derbyshire Kiss, Iron Maiden, Biffy Clyro, Deftones, Korn, A Day To Remember, The Pretty Reckless, Rise Against, The Distillers, Mastodon, Rise Against, Bury Tomorrow

CHECK OUT. ↓ Wargasm

Fast making big waves both in the rock scene and beyond, Wargasm are a band primed to explode.

Playing the main stage on the Sunday, expect them to grab the opportunity with both hands.

Cassyette

Mixing pop, rock and metal, Cassyette isn’t just one of those musicians that’s ‘big on TikTok’ she’s pushed way past that, now.

Serving up a string of bangers that have all comers paying attention, there’s a star in the making here.

Static Dress

Former Upset cover stars Static Dress are the real deal. With new album ‘Rouge Carpet Disaster’ on the way, they’ve got that certain something about them that most others lack. Fearsome, brilliant and smart as all hell, believe the hype. You’ll feel stupid if you don’t.

Modern Error

With their debut album ‘Victim Of A Modern Age’ arriving earlier this year, twin brothers Zak and Kel Pinchin have the kind of creative bond most don’t. Not afraid of a concept, it’s that level of invention that keeps them out of the reach of the tickboxers and retromaniacs. One not to miss.

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OUTBRE

Photo: Anna @callxmexkiller.

Are there any acts still on your wishlist that you hope to hit up for future events?

Of course, we’re not done yet! Not going to say who, though - that’d give it away - but we have some really exciting offers going for 2023 already.

What are the main challenges you come up against when putting on an event like this? There must have been a load of new issues over the past couple of years?

We’re sure every other festival is going to say the same thing here and say that Covid made things difficult.

However, that said, for us, it did help us understand the potential of the fest and gave us time to figure out the direction we wanted to

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If you could pick one set from any edition to see again, what would it be?

Everyone’s answers are different here, so I can’t say a specific set, but we really enjoyed 2015 and 2018. There were some memorable sets for us there from Basement, Title Fight and Turnstile. Who are now, of course, one of our headliners!

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You must be super busy at the moment, what’s a typical day like for you?

It’s pretty busy, but anyone and everyone is busy right now, whether they work in music or not! We all work on other things outside of the fest, so every day is different for us. We’re all based in different parts of England too, so we all work remotely and get together when we can. We’d be lying if we said it wasn’t hard to balance everything, but I think we’re giving it a good go. Oh, and lots and lots of Zoom calls…

What are your main points of consideration when curating the line-up, and has that changed over the years?

The bands have got to work together, and by that, we mean we want a day to flow well and make sense. Some festivals have an indie band one minute, then a pop singer, then a DJ - it’s like, cmon, it’s gotta make some musical sense. Maybe we just care too much about the experience of the fest as a whole compared to others; I can appreciate we’re in a bit of a niche musically! We also believe creating a full line-up that’s not top-heavy (by that we mean we’re not just booking an arena-size band and then a bunch of really new small bands to support) we can create a very memorable fest where people don’t want to just see one or two bands a day, they want to watch every band

every day. I think growing in size has meant we can diversify the line-up a lot more and include different genres of bands we’d have not thought about including at an early stage. We’re now pushing to include a lot more outside of the artists, such as skating, live talks, art, zine and record fairs etc. too.

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Hey there, how’s it going?

All ready for this year’s Outbreak?

Hey, we’re getting there, there’s a lot of work still to do, but we are nearly ready. We will have been working on this edition of the fest for three years by the time it happens, so it’s been a long time coming, and we’re excited to see it come to fruition! This is our first time at its new home in Manchester & the largest one we have ever done so we hope it will be really special but still feel like Outbreak of old.

Outbreak to run longterm? 10 years is a huge achievement.

You’re right 10 years is a long time; I don’t think anyone plans for something like this to run for so long when they’re just starting out. When we were younger we just wanted to put on some bands that us and our friends liked, now it just so happens that we’re still doing that, but the number of other people who are into the bands we’re into seems to be increasing. The festival fanbase increasing over time - going from hundreds to thousands each year has allowed us to book bands that we never thought were reachable and really deliver something to remember. It is pretty special to do that when you’re independent.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary, Outbreak’s organisers take us behind the scenes of one of the UK’s best festivals.

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Outbreak may well be one of the most respected festivals in the UK. As it hits its tenth year - and with a lineup that continues to impress - we pinned down the brains behind it to talks about the past, present and future.

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go in. We don’t think we’d have ever done such a jump in capacity going from 2000 to 6000 had we not had the time to think and plan thoroughly. Covid aside, organising an event like this has plenty of challenges, too many to list!

Do you have any surprises in store for 2022’s event?

Yes, we’ve got a few things lined up that might catch people off guard, but we can’t say anymore as it wouldn’t be a surprise!

What advice would you give someone who’d like to launch their own festival, like Outbreak?

Do you like to sleep? If the answer is yes, then don’t.

Nah, but in all seriousness, it is a lot of work and pressure, so it isn’t for everyone. Our advice would be to start small and go at your own pace; you don’t need to compete with any other festivals, just compete against yourself. Putting on any event, whether that’s with 50 people, 500, 5000 or 50,000 and seeing everyone enjoy themselves can be very rewarding. P

FACT FILE↓ OUTBREAK 24th-26th June Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, Greater Manchester Turnstile, Every Time I Die, Knocked Loose, Basement, Touche Amore, Citizen, Counterparts, Vein.fm, Loathe, Nothing

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ENTER S If you think up a Reading & Leeds line-up, chances are you’ll be putting Enter Shikari on there.

A staple of the August Bank Holiday blow out, we figured there was nobody better to chat to in advance of 2022’s edition.

Hello Rob! How are you guys doing?

What are you up to today?

S’up! We’re great thanks, currently cooking up some spicy dishes in the form of hot new songs in the kitchen of fresh beats and sweet riffs, AKA Rou’s home studio.

You always seem incredibly busy did you get any time off during the pandemic lockdowns, or did you work through?

Rou [Reynolds] spent a lot of his time working on his book, A Treatise on

Possibility. I personally spent a lot of time on my drumming, and Rory [Clewlow] and Chris [Batten] both spent their days enjoying quality time with their kids. So all very busy but for quite different reasons, all equally as important.

How do you find the energy to do so many live shows? Do you have any endurance tips, or strategies?

It really helps to have a base level of fitness on tour; it’s such a physical job, and add to that your sleep hours on the bus aren’t as strong as at home.

It’s fun to have a few drinks at the shows but get hammered every night, and you quickly discover it’s not a very sustainable way to tour, so pick your nights. Other than that, it’s the audience and adrenalin that keeps us going. No matter how tired you are, ill or hungover, when you step out onto that stage and see the audience screaming at you, there’s nothing better to get the blood pumping and energy levels up.

You’re already confirmed for Reading

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& Leeds this summer, and you’ve played many times before - is it a favourite of yours? What do you like most about it?

It’s the one we all went to as kids. I remember watching Foo Fighters and The Prodigy there when I was 16 (I think) and had an absolutely amazing time. It’s one that is closest to our home town of St. Albans, so we have a lot of friends that go, and the line-up is always so eclectic, so there are guaranteed to be bands playing that we like and new ones to discover.

What was the last festival you went to as a music fan, not because you were playing?

In the last question, I said Reading was our closest, but that’s not strictly true.

The past couple of years Pub in the Park has been in Verulamium Park in St. Albans, and last year, I watched The Lightning Seeds play there. Before we changed our name to Enter Shikari, we actually played a few covers of their songs, so it was such a nostalgia trip to watch them, and they put on a great show.

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How would you rate your camping skills out of ten?

Haha! These days, pretty low. I used to love being out in the thick of it. I remember enjoying the trolly jousting and the carnage that goes on in the main camping area. But I also remember people’s stuff getting nicked, tents pissed and puked on, no shower for four days. Not all festivals are quite that messy, of course, but these days I’ve become accustomed to a certain level of comfort in my camping and getting pissed on ain’t that.

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at Reading & Leeds this year?

Will you be hanging around to watch some sets?

Little Simz, Wilkinson, Pale Waves, Run The Jewels, Wolf Alice, Bring Me, Dave, Fever 333, RATM. It’s a killer line-up, so we’ll definitely be sticking around to watch the other bands.

Which of the headliners is your fave?

For me, it’s got to be RATM but annoyingly, playing both Reading and Leeds means that we miss out on one of the days, and the one we miss will be

the RATM day! We were lucky enough to play a touring festival in Australia called Soundwave, so we watched them play a few times back then, even going to one of their side gigs where the feeling of middle finger up to’ the man’ was palpable.

Who would you like to see top the bill in 2023?

John Williams with the London Philharmonic Orchestra playing all his greatest hits with a load of pyro and a big LED screen at the back of the stage, playing scenes that relate to each piece.

Do you have anything special planned for your set, like new material or a flashy stage set up? Do you have it all worked out yet?

I’m afraid we haven’t figured that out yet. But, even if we had, I wouldn’t tell you. You’ll just have to wait and see.

What else have you got coming up this year?

Plenty of festivals, writing and recording new material (which we are very excited about), we have a US tour that we’ve just rescheduled to later in the year. It’s definitely going to be a busy one, but that’s how we like it. P

FACT FILE↓ READING & LEEDS 26th-28th August Little Johns Farm, Reading, Berkshire + Bramham Park, Leeds, Yorkshire Bring Me The Horizon, Fever 333, Wolf Alice, Rage Against The Machine, Run The Jewels, Maneskin, Willow, Poppy

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5 must see sets for 2022.

# 1. PINKSHIFT. A name on everyone’s lips, Baltimore newcomers Pinkshift are coming to the UK. Hello Pinkshift! What first sparked your interest in music, and when did you realise you wanted to be in a band?

Myron: I started really getting into music through the soundtracks of video games that I played as a kid. Throughout elementary school and middle school, I messed around with piano but never saw myself playing an instrument in front of people. Even when I started learning drums in college, I didn’t plan to join a band or actually play with other musicians, so meeting Ashrita, and Paul was a nice surprise.

Ashrita: I’ve been playing piano since I was a kid, and I was always in a concert band in middle/high school. I also played in a jazz combo in high school. Playing music has always been a part of my life, and being in a group of musicians has always been a really inspiring space for me, so it feels natural to be in a rock band now, haha.

Paul: I didn’t start playing music with other people until high school, and it was then that I realised that that’s what made me the happiest. I loved performing and writing music with friends I cared about, so I always tried to seek out people wherever I went (which led me to Ashrita/ Myron in college).

Have you guys always been on the same page with the kind of music you want to make? How has it developed during your time together? Do you listen to similar things?

Myron: We each have our own influences with varying degrees of overlap, and that makes songwriting fun. Our sound has

always been heavily punk and grungeinspired, and I feel as though we’ve been progressively getting heavier and angrier.

You’ve had a lot of buzz over the past year, are you feeling the pressure?

It must have brought some fun opportunities?

Myron: It’s been kind of surreal, actually.

We played the biggest shows that we’ve ever played last year, and they are only getting bigger. There was definitely an adjustment period, but I think we’re starting to get the hang of being in these spaces.

Ash: I think this is honestly more than I ever thought music would bring into my life personally, and I’m really grateful that our songs have an audience!

Paul: I think it’s definitely easy to feel pressure at points, especially with writing an album! One of my favourite parts of tour was getting to play some unreleased songs to a new crowd and seeing their reaction. It’s incredible to see people that rock with it upon hearing it for the first time; it takes a little bit of the pressure off. I’m very grateful that Pinkshift has a supportive community around it.

You’re coming over for Slam Dunk - have you done many festivals yet? What has your experience been like of big events?

Myron: We had the honour of playing Sad Summer Fest and the Treefort Music Festival last year! These were the first two festivals that we’ve ever played, and it’s incredible seeing how these kinds of events are run up close. I personally love being able to interact with all the seasoned artists.

Paul: Treefort was great because I think everyone felt the camaraderie between artists, even if you’ve never met before. I remember everyone hanging on this little rooftop for artists, and it was incredibly welcoming - definitely helped calm any

nerves about playing the festival!

Is there anyone you’re particularly looking forward to seeing play there, or catching up with?

Myron: I’m looking forward to finally meeting the homies in Meet Me @ The Altar and Neck Deep.

Ash: Yes, I feel like we have so many internet friends who we’ll finally get to see in person for the first time, so that’s exciting.

Paul: I’m excited to just play the same festival as all these other bands that I’ve listened to for so long. The Slam Dunk line-up is a dream to just be in attendance; I still can’t believe we’ll be playing it.

Do you ever attend festivals that you’re not playing? What have been the best sets you’ve seen?

Myron: I haven’t gotten a chance to go to any festivals prior to the pandemic, actually. I was late to the party for Warped Tour and never got to attend Rolling Loud either.

Ash: I wish, but lately, it feels like we’ve been too busy playing shows of our own to go, or Covid has gotten in the way somehow. I hope we can start soon!

Watching Mannequin Pussy while we were touring with them was pretty amazing, though; they’d be a top contender for the best live band I’ve seen.

Paul: The only festivals I’ve attended were the Warped Tour festivals when they were still touring nationally. Neck Deep and Pierce the Veil in 2015 were my favourites.

What are you working on right now?

Myron: We’ve been sharing ideas and writing songs more intensely in the past two months and have recently organised them into an album! We’re heading to the studio in a couple weeks to bring these ideas to life. P

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# 2. MEET ME

@ THE ALTAR Former Upset cover stars Meet Me @ The Altar are the must see act of the summer.

Hello Edith! How’s it going? What are you up to today?

Hi, I’m doing well! Today we spent the day driving from Portland, Oregon, to Sacramento. I am doing this interview in the van.

You’re at Slam Dunk Festival this year have you been before, or will this be your first time?

We have never played slam dunk before. I’m super excited because this will be our first time, and we get to play with some of my favourite artists ever.

Are you looking forward to spending

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some time in the UK? Is there anything you’re looking forward to experiencing?

I am so looking forward to spending time in the UK again. One thing, in particular, I’m excited to experience again is the vegan food. I am vegan, and there are vegan options at like every restaurant!!

You’ve mentioned you’re going to release your debut album this year - how’s it coming along? How are you finding the process?

I’ve always heard that your first album is the hardest one to write, and I wholeheartedly agree. This has been one of the most challenging things I’ve had to do in my whole life. Every artist knows how important your first album is, and every artist wants it to be perfect. Téa & I are the writers of the band, and we’re also perfectionists. It’s been challenging and will probably only get more challenging from here, but I know we are going to write one of the best records

of our time. It’ll def be worth the trouble and emotion. I KNOW we’ll have our first hit with this one!

Are we going to get to hear you play new music during your Slam Dunk set?

You ARE going to hear us play new music during our Slam Dunk set! We’re playing my favourite song we’ve ever written!

What makes for a good festival, do you think?

It’s all about the music. If there’s a good lineup, it’ll be a good time.

What else are you guys up to at the moment, do you have a lot on your schedule?

We have a whole lot on our schedule. We are probably one of the most busy upcoming artists around right now. Lots of touring, lots of writing, we’re really doing the damn thing!

We’re nothing but blessed. P

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MAGNOLIA PARK Made up of lead vocalist Joshua Roberts, guitarists Tristan Torres and Freddie Criales, bassist Jared Kay, drummer Joe Horsham, and keyboardist Vincent Ernst, Magnolia Park are a band quickly starting to make noise in all the right places. Slam Dunk will be their first trip over to the UK - one of those ‘I was there’ moments, for sure. P

#5. STAND ATLANTIC

With third album ‘F.E.A.R.’ set to land this May, Slam Dunk will end up being something of a lap of honour for Aussie standouts Stand Atlantic.

Led by the increasingly iconic Bonnie Fraser, this already feels like the record that sees the band ascend to a whole new level. One of the most exciting bands on the planet, try and tell us you’re not going to be there.

Exactly. P

FACT FILE↓ SLAM DUNK 3rd-4th June Temple Newsam, Leeds, Yorkshire + Hatfield Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire Sum 41, Alexisonfire, The Wonder Years, Motion City Soundtrack, Hot Milk, KennyHoopla, Deaf Havana, Yours Truly

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If we were making a list of the most exciting bands in ‘rock music’ right now, it’s fair to say that Nova Twins would be high on the list. Already making waves beforehand, the build up to new album ‘Supernova’ has sent them flying into a whole new stratosphere.

With the record set to land just a couple of weeks after their appearance at Slam Dunk, it’s one that definitely shouldn’t be missed. P

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#3. NOVA TWINS

PLUS ALL THESE FESTIVALS NOT TO BE MISSED IN 2022...

The festivals are back in style. Here are a few more you should check out.

TEDDY ROCKS 29th April-1st May

Charisworth Farm, Blandford, Dorset Chapter and Verse, Never Not Nothing, Weatherstate, The Saints, A, Lauran Hibberd, Bellevue Days

LIVE AT LEEDS: IN THE PARK 4th June

THE GREAT ESCAPE 11th-14th May

Various venues, Brighton, East Sussex The Amazons, Yours Truly (pictured), Bob Vylan, Cassyette, Soft Cult, Witch Fever, Yard Act, illuminati hotties

Temple Newsam, Leeds, Yorkshire The Vaccines, Bombay Bicycle Club, Sports Team, Lauran Hibberd, Dream Wife, The Mysterines, Kid Kapichi, Stone, L’objectif, Coach Party, Alfie Templeman

GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL 22nd-26th June

Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar,

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Fernhill Farm, Compton Martin, Somerset Opeth, Cult Of Luna, TesseracT, Zeal And Ardor (pictured), MONO, Maybeshewill, Caspian, McClusky, Conjurer, Lakes

Turnstile, Fontaines DC, IDLES, Wet Leg, Courtney Barnett, Dry Cleaning, Wolf Alice, Amyl and the Sniffers, Arlo Parks, Charli XCX, Lorde, Foals, Sam Fender

Hertfordshire Loyle Carter, Primal Scream, The Cribs, Ezra Furman, Yard Act, The Skints, Bob Vylan, Dry Cleaning, The Subways

LATITUDE

TRUCK FESTIVAL

Henham Park Estate, Beccles, Suffolk Foals, Little Simz, Manic Street Preachers, Rina Sawayama, Phoebe Bridgers, Fontaines DC, JOHN

Hill Farm, Steventon, Oxfordshire Sam Fender, Shame, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Pulled Apart By Horses, Yard Act, NOISY, The Murder Capital, Inhaler

21st-24th July

STANDON CALLING

21st-24th July

Standon House, Ware,

22nd-24th July

KENDAL CALLING

28th-31st July

Lowther Deer Park, Hackthorpe, Cumbria Stereophonics, The Vaccines, Pale Waves, The Mysterines, The Goa Express, The Snuts, Sports Team, Declan McKenna

REBELLION FESTIVAL 4th-7th August

Blackpool Winter Gardens, Blackpool, Lancashire Anti Flag, Bob Vylan, The Stranglers, Grandmas House, Hollie Cook, Buzzcocks, Spunge, Stiff Little Fingers

BOARDMASTERS

10th-14th August

Watergate Bay, Newquay, Cornwall Kings Of Leon, Disclosure, IDLES, Remi Wolf, Folly Group, ENNY, The Lathums, Pale Waves, Peaness, Crawlers

BLOODSTOCK 11th-14th August

Catton Hall, Walton-onTrent, Derbyshire Lamb Of God, Behemoth, Merciful Fate, Exodus, Testament, GWAR, Bury Tomorrow, Killing Joke, The Black Dahlia Murder, Sleep Token, Hatebreed, Cage Fight, Party Cannon, Static-X

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17th-20th August

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ARCTANGENT

“WHAT THE

FUCK

CAN I EVEN

In a world full of noise and a severe lacking of signal to cut through, Drug Church’s Patrick Kindlon ponders just if we need to share a take on everything.

Words: Steven Loftin.

Photos: Danielle Parsons.

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atrick Kindlon doesn’t pay any mind to the complexities of the world. The Drug Church vocalist is all too aware of the comings and goings of this place we call home. All you have to do is listen to his strained hollering on any of his band’s albums.

“I’m sorry you’re getting this double chin action.

I was supposed to be in Australia right now,” he

smiles reclining, a “Sweet Dreams” decorative sign hanging ominously behind him as if to taunt the ensuing chat. “Instead, I’m at my parent’s house for three weeks, so there’s no place to be except this bed.”

You see, Pat is someone who rarely pulls punches. Four albums in and the same streamof-consciousness stare down he’s toted since 2013’s ‘Paul Walker’ is still

grinding. While the sound has morphed from hardcore rough ‘n’ ready, particularly on 2018’s ‘Cheer’ which found melodies and harmonies dancing hand in hand with the ever-present towering wall of distorted youthful vigour, the words still draw blood.

That reckless abandon is what draws the eyes and ears of everyone around Drug Church. Though he’s aware that being in a

OFFER

band comes with its own pitfalls, particularly with the understanding that “we’ve got to hit a stinker once in a while, I guess,” the fact Pat follows it up quickly with “but I don’t think that’s this record” is testament to ‘Hygiene’, Drug Church’s next chapter.

Playing one of the central roles in Drug Church’s story, along with Nick Cogan (guitar), Cory Galusha (guitar), Chris

TO THIS

CONVERSATION?” Upset 47

Villeneuve (drums), Patrick Wynne (bass), it’s Pat who puts the thorny words to his band’s musical riot.

“While you are the main character of your own life, it’s really just a walk-on part for everybody else,” he says, kneading into the DNA of Drug Church, a band who portray the euphoria and dysphoria of life through vignettes.

On ‘Hygiene’, Pat is also targeting himself. Well, at least the idea of false idols. The crudely titled ‘Piss & Quiet’ features the scathing “don’t believe a thing, from a man on stage”, something people inherently tend to do, even down to resonating with protagonists (and even more often than not, antagonists) from films.

“I think you’ll want to identify with something whether it’s a uniform or a slogan or a human being, and I don’t think any of them are healthy,” he says.

“I understand the thirst for it, and I don’t deny that it’s human, and it’s normal - but I don’t think it’s healthy.”

Arguably, searching for answers from a voice on a stage is something that dates back thousands of years. The religious connotations are too easy; it’s far better to draw a line through those and look at the new reality of influencers and artists that elevate themselves onto pedestals built through TikTok tipping and YouTube ads.

“If somebody purports to know all the answers, they most certainly do not.” He continues, “Musicians are just individuals, speaking from their individual experience.

They have no more insight into your life than you do into theirs, you know? And they’re only giving you what they opt to present.”

The cleaver ready for swinging, Pat soon lays into a number of his peers.

“Not only do they not 48 Upset

“If you’ve ever seen yourself discussed in any sort of way, you realise that everything’s nonsense; people are full of shit” Patrick Kindlon have an answer, most of them have like a couple of semesters of college and a drug problem,” he chortles. “Why would I trust that person? What insights are possible? How are they going to illuminate something I’ve never thought about before? If there’s something that you can take from their lyrics that applies to you, that’s great. But I would say the spirit of the thing can never be literal because you just can’t know each other like that.”

For all his chagrin to the very nature of this world he inhabits, the truth of the matter is, Pat is a part of this problem. How does that sit with him?

“I do my best to stop them a little bit,” he chews.

“I’m not going for likeable.

The fellows that go for likeable; they want to be liked by everybody, they want to present well, and they never want to say the wrong thing. Those dudes live in a prison of their own creation because then you’re dealing with a total stranger telling you they’re disappointed in you.”

Water off a duck’s back comes to mind when chatting to Pat. There’s a tempered stubbornness to him that feels like the guarded wall of someone not wanting to be one of the “people who I think are trapped, they have to

be Mr Perfect all the time.

That’s just not viable.”

Undoubtedly, the internet is a significant cause of such endless perfectionism. Pat’s own social media imprint mostly leads by example, particularly when compared to others in his game who utilise every waking moment to try and connect with the world.

There’s even a lighthearted dedicated Twitter account calling themselves The Kincels.

“I don’t blame anybody for taking [the internet] literally. If you are simply an observer, if you’re never the subject of conversation, then I would understand how you could think that people are having sincere battles from the heart,” he says.

“But if you’ve ever seen yourself discussed in any sort of way, you realise that everything’s nonsense.

You realise that people are full of shit because you just read people’s takes on something that you know a great deal more about, and you just go, oh, wait a second. Nobody knows nothing out here, you know what I mean?”

Pat’s viewpoint comes from being on both sides of the fence. Not only in his Drug Church tenure but also from his preceding work with cult rock band Self Defense Family, not

to mention his own comic book work. Which is all to say why he comes across less like a curmudgeon and more like someone who’s been a party to being spoken about, while also having done his fair share of the talking.

“If you apply that to everything, then you start to realise they don’t know about my life, and they don’t know any better about Kanye West’s life, but they talk about it all day. I have to assume that he’s sitting at home looking at his phone and goes, ‘Wow, they really got this one wrong’.”

“I just don’t take people very seriously,” he adds. “Particularly people who are insisting that I take them seriously online.”

It’s all a lot to unpack - especially in a music rag - but it’s all prescient, especially in a world that moves faster than we can dare to even attempt to catch up. As for how this all comes into play - the fast-paced world, the dedication as a musician - well, Pat also has some thoughts on that.

“It’s a debate that I have at times because I devote myself to two things; music and comic books. I devoted myself to them in a very lifetime vocation fashion - and I’ve been satisfied by that because there are so many different challenges to have in those things that you don’t get bored,” he says. “But I don’t necessarily blame somebody who got their fill and is ready to move on to the next challenge in life. It’s difficult for me to relate to.”

This removal of consciousness in the search for a higher plain of living is commendable.

Particularly in a world where getting sucked into whatever everyone else has going on is easier than chucking yourself

down a slip ‘n’ slide. Hours spent scrolling in bed, inhaling everything and anything. It can all be a bit much. It’s even worse when you think you know what you’re talking about and that the world needs to know what you’ve got to say.

Pat’s master plan on this is getting people to just keep themselves to themselves. The previous professing of “not going for likeable” runs through the truth he wants to holler from his Drug Church platform.

“It used to be if somebody said ‘I don’t know why anybody would want to hear my opinion on that’, I would go, ‘Oh, that sounds insecure. Of course, you matter. Of course, you should want to get your views out in the world’. And now,” he breathes before letting the pendulum swing back down. “I’ve completely flipped on that. When somebody says, ‘I don’t know why anybody would want my opinion on that’.

I go, ‘you’re probably fucking right’. I think that’s a good point. What the fuck can I offer to this conversation?”

Pat’s parting words may not seem the most enlightening and certainly wouldn’t make for a good motivational poster. Particularly from someone who confesses his “relationship with music has made me much more forgiving a person.”

But when they come with such directness from the voice of a band who so deftly hold the realities of life in their pummelling melodies, well, maybe it does take this not-sosubtle dose of reality to make the world right itself. Or, as Pat smoothly says, “people should just accept that they are noise and they don’t matter.”

Sweet dreams, indeed.

P Drug Church’s album ‘Hygiene’ is out now.

Upset 49

MEANS TO

50 Upset

BLEED.

Much anticipated, and not disappointing now it’s here - The Mysterines have finally arrived with their debut album, ‘Reeling’.

Words: Steven Loftin.

Upset 51

I

t’s been a long time coming, but The Mysterines’ debut album is finally here. ‘Reeling’ is an exposé of vocalist and guitarist Lia Metcalfe’s formative years, and to be honest, she can’t wait to let go of it.

“Once it’s out in the world, it’s not your record,” she smiles. “It’s other people’s. I think I’m ready for the world to take on that responsibility now, not just us.”

It’s a fair comment since the journey the Liverpudlian band has been on has featured - much like most other bands - stop-starts, gradual releases, including 2019’s debut ‘Take Control’ EP, and a rather intense recording period.

“It’s essentially a snapshot of, you know, everything,” Lia marvels.

“Everything I was writing and going through at that point was in such a quick period, and then to come out of it so quickly also - to process it means the record needs to be out.”

The intensity of their album, driven in part by long sessions and driving back and forth between producer Catherine Marks’ (Wolf Alice, The Big Moon, PJ Harvey) studio, has resulted in ‘Reeling’ sounding like a bottled cathartic burst of rock energy, hell-bent on cruising from town to town in case anyone else is need of some raucous understanding. “It’s definitely something we can all hear in the record, which makes it quite an emotional thing for us.”

It’s also the sound of a band figuring things out. “There’s a beauty in knowing that and knowing that you’ve put it in a way that couldn’t be any clearer or more personal to you,” she says.

Along with the rest of her band, George Favager (bass), Callum Thompson (guitar), and Paul Crilly (drums), they’ve managed to finally get a handle on

52 Upset

“It’s essentially a snapshot of, you know, everything” Lia Metcalfe things. Even if things are currently more full-steam ahead than ever.

Life is all about moments.

It has to be, especially when you’re in a band. It’s something Lia’s all too aware of, mentioning that when bouncing around the UK going from show to show, she likes to “get lost somewhere. I always try and get lost somewhere. Just to speak to a stranger because you never know what’s gonna happen.”

Last year, when they were down in Cornwall for Boardmasters, Lia and Paul decided to find a pub at, er, 1 am. “It was in the middle of nowhere, and I was like, ‘I’ve just got a feeling there’s a pub around here’,” she laughs. “And then we found one that was having a lock-in! We blagged them that we were locals, and they let us in.”

A conversation with an “old guy and his biker friends”, meeting people at a petrol station, and a trip to a forest later, eventually they landed back at their hotel at 6am. “The next day, everyone was like, ‘where the fuck have yous lot been?’ It was a pretty good night!”

Such is the life of a rock’n’roll band. With The Mysterines’ first US tour and Lia’s first-ever visit to the continent coming up, the swirling, whirling, chaotically rambling life she’s chosen leads to a fair few hangovers. “Sometimes I’m just like, really out of time with reality… I don’t know what’s going on.”

With their debut album finished, The Mysterines have completed one of the significant establishing

checks on that list of ‘being in a band’. Has it met all their expectations so far?

“I don’t really know. I never really had an idea of what it was like to be in a band,” Lia ponders.

“I never really ever made a conscious decision to even be in a band. It just sort of happened. All I’ve ever done is music, and so it just sort of fell that way.

I suppose you just learn about being in a band from being in one. We’ve been in The Mysterines for so long, like since I was 14, I’m still learning now. You’ve just got to figure it out for yourself.”

A big part of that, particularly when dealing with being a new band, is knowing how to balance being ambitious while remaining grounded. The key to Lia is in keeping any goals simple. “If success is a personal thing, rather than a visual thing, or financial thing, that’s what keeps people grounded,” she reckons. “And also to have ambitions to go wider with the career. I don’t know; people ask me all these questions. I don’t know. I’m just doing well…I think,” she grins.

Interviews are indeed an odd part of being a band.

You create this music from whatever’s kicking around your head, and then all of a sudden, people are on the phone asking you what it all means. “A counselling session sometimes, in a good way,” Lia laughs. “Like self-reflected, what do I actually think about this?

And then you give some sort of advice, and you’re like, that’s something that I should be taking!”

Giving advice,

inadvertently or otherwise, is part and parcel of writing songs. You end up showing someone out there a way to deal with emotions of just about any scale. “Going back to talking about ambitions and goals,” Lia suddenly piques. “Especially with this record, one thing that I hope to achieve is that people do find connections with the songs and have their interpretations of things.”

“It would be a big

thing for me as a writer to be able to connect to someone on a level where they think they can talk to me about the song,” she smiles. “Sometimes I listen to Leonard Cohen, and I’m sure I know exactly what he’s talking about, and like I could have a really good conversation with him about it. I would hope that people connect to some of the songs on the record and have some sort of personal

intimacy with them.”

Does she consider herself a musician first or a writer?

“I probably say more of a writer, I guess,” she ponders for a moment.

“I’ve never had any musical training; I’ve just always done it. I’ve been lucky enough to have parents that completely supported me with that. We’ve always had instruments in the house.

I was writing before I was playing the guitar.

“I started writing when I was eight, and I used to go into all these poetry competitions in school and all these English things.

Then I started learning guitar, and that’s when I combined them both. So, I’d probably say I’m more of a writer first and then a musician second.”

‘Reeling’ features these little paving stones of Lia’s past. Picking elements of pieces she’s written

throughout her lifetime, one of the standout moments is the vulnerable finale ‘The Confession Song’. Rounding off both the band’s momentous step forward and Lia’s ultimate dumping of everything she’s gone through, it’s the bonfire surrounding her own effigy.

“I wrote ‘The Confession Song’ so long ago,” she recalls. “When I was 16/17.

I had those words for two years, and I added to them for ages. It was a poem of sorts. Then I wrote a riff to it. Then we made a demo of it, and it changed so much.

It’s a good way to end the record; I think it’ll lead into album two pretty nicely.”

With ‘Reeling’, The Mysterines are ready to keep going. Unleashing themselves from the project they’ve been building up to for so long, and with Lia picking from her past, this is no time for dwelling. Lia of the future is happy to chat to Lia of the past occasionally, but for now, it’s all about whatever’s next - which is hopefully understanding more about who she, and The Mysterines, can be.

“There are a few songs on the record that I wrote when I was super young, and I think I didn’t realise at the time what I’d written,” she recalls. “They were sort of flukes because everything else was writing at that time was awful. Weirdly, I can relate to those moments more now as I’m older. They were pre-empting, sort of. It was quite weird.

“Now I look back and go, ‘oh, that’s what that song was about’ after it existed for a while,” she says, ready to embrace whatever comes next once the intensely necessary ‘Reeling’ belongs to the world. “It created its own place in my life, so I suppose I’m not dwelling on it - it’s more recognising that time as it is.” P The Mysterines’ album ‘Reeling’ is out now.

Upset 53

Rated.

THE OFFICIAL VERDICT ON EVERYTHING

Bodega

Broken Equipment

PUP

THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND

eeeee 54 Upset

A decade into their existence, PUP have made their name concocting songs from a trademark recipe of gnarly riffs, pounding rhythms, and sardonic chorus hooks. On their fourth album Toronto’s favoured hellions redefine what it means to be PUP. Opening with an acoustic piano ballad (yes, really), ‘The Unraveling Of PUPTHEBAND’ is PUP as you’ve never heard them before. It’s also PUP as they always should’ve been heard. Incorporating horn melodies, searing saxophone solos, campfire vocals, and more besides, on this is the band at their most

unapologetically uninhibited.

Written down like this, it looks like a lot to take in. And in anyone else’s hands, the influx of new instrumentation might run the risk of sounding like a novelty, but that’s not the case here. Instead, what the band have created is both their most ruthless and their realest offering yet.

“It should be enough to make something that nobody wanted,” frontman Stefan Babcock laments on ‘Four Chords’. Wanted or not, the band can rest assured in the knowledge that this is the PUP record the world always needed. Jessica Goodman

eeee Back with their third studio offering ‘Broken Equipment’, Bodega sound as fresh and fun as ever. Jam-packed with dirty basslines and egotistical attitude, the album tackles a spectrum of societal issues with a cool sense of style.

While the influence of the angst-fuelled, rhythmicallydriven NYC sound synonymous with the likes of LCD Soundsystem and Parquet Courts is evident throughout, injections of hip-hop and post-punk elevate Bodega’s sound.

Lead track ‘Doers’ is a great example of this and is undoubtedly one of the band’s best works to date.

‘Broken Equipment’ sees Bodega continue to push

Beautifully theatrical and utterly anthemic, ‘Beware Believers’ brings a fierce outlook on our chaotic world.

The warm tones of frontman James Cox’s voice often feels at one with the band’s rich wall of sound, delivering the politically-fuelled, often sombre lyrics with a sense of passion and control.

While the tiny details may seem forgettable amongst the ferocious fuzz of guitars, they remain perfectly precise all the same, letting more emerge with every listen.

From start to finish ‘Beware Believers’ flows perfectly, with each new track showing off what Crows have to offer while maintaining their cool intensity throughout. There’s a charm to the darkness ‘Beware Believers’ brings.

Melissa Darragh

nor accepts no hesitation.

From the taut, brilliant ‘Piss & Quiet’ through to the frankly ridiculously good ‘Super Saturated’, Drug Church are the kind of band that don’t only deliver, but deliver big.

Dan Harrison

‘I Saw The Country’ is a rootin’-tootin’ toe-tapper of the highest order. And while its pop chops excel, it’s the melancholy longing in the lyrics that hits home hardest.

“Thought about the country and my high-school dreams,” Ezra laments, picking at the scabs of youth and naivety as he reminisces on what could have been.

Like Orpheus leading Eurydice through the underworld, much of ‘The Sweet Million’ exists in this purgatory, resolutely looking The Sweet Million forward but forever reaching eeee backwards. For a record asking questions about Not everything has to be bright and bold. Sometimes, growing up and finding no easy answers, this push and simple and stripped back pull is central to its success. is just as effective. There’s certainly a simplicity to much Rob Mair of ‘The Sweet Million’ – the debut solo record from former Notches vocalist Ezra Cohen, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t as dazzling as a shooting star.

You see, while there’s a homespun charm to Ezra’s simple songs, there’s Impera also timelessness and eeeee understanding of the craft, Ghost are a band steeped which runs deep, helping in their own mythology - a to create some genuinely running story of characters delightful moments of and legend, central to wistful alt-country inspired everything they do. While indie-rock.

And it’s paid off handsomely. it adds so much, in no way should it take away from the ‘Just Like You’ could be a music. Going directly for the template for the perfect throat, this is rock music at pop song – and it has its most gargantuan ebb. The that rare ability to sound tantalisingly familiar without march of opener ‘Imperium’ casts a grand statement that ever being obvious – while

Ezra Cohen

Ghost

Drug Church Hygiene

eeeee By their fourth album, there’s no doubts about what we’re going to get from Drug Church - so the surprise here shouldn’t be the immediacy of a band going straight for the boundaries of the genre in where they stand, it’s heart the throat, but more just while maintaining their and soul that shines through how vital and energised they sound with it. ‘Hygiene’ is a utterly recognisable sound. - the sound of Camp Cope record that takes no pause Melissa Darragh comfortable in their own sonic skin, pushing outwards while looking inwards.

They’ve never been better.

Dan Harrison

Camp Cope

Running With The Hurricane

eeeee It’s hard to frame Camp Cope’s new album ‘Running With The Hurricane’ as a reaction. Thrust into the spotlight with the previous album ‘How To Socialise And Make Friends’, the Melbourne trio’s third album is more an acceptance of the band they wish to be. An honest, self-reflective record, Camp Cope have never felt quite as home in their own skin - time to sit and think as the world around them stopped providing room for a refocused outlook. Secure

Crows

Beware Believers

eeee Crows are back bigger and bolder than ever with their stunning second album, ‘Beware Believers’. As dark and brooding as you’d expect, it sees the London four-piece bring enough dirty distortion and thundering guitar hooks to fill stadiums.

Loud, unrelenting, and wholeheartedly cathartic, this album proves to be every bit as confident and vocally rich as its predecessor.

Upset 55

follow-up ‘Kaisarion’ shatters with a riff and a yelped scream - an Iron Maidenesque thrust into the breach.

The guns-at-high-noon intro of ‘Call Me Little Sunshine’ arrives with a pleasing stomp, but closes ‘Respite on the Spitalfields’ is the one to take the prize. A closing statement that both satisfies and leaves wanting for more, Ghost have never sounded this good. Dan Harrison

Hot Water Music Feel The Void

eeee Nine albums deep, Hot Water Music have no right to sound like this. With the kind of heritage most bands struggle to even dream up, if anything, they might even sound more engaged. ‘Feel The Void’ comes after vocalist and guitarist Chris Wollard took a step back from live performance in 2017, his stand-in The Flatliners’ Chris Cresswell joining the band in the studio in a more significant way than before, and with Brian McTernan - who worked on 2001’s ‘A Flight And A Crash’, 2002’s ‘Caution’ and 2004’s ‘The New What Next’ - returning to produce. All of which means this is Hot Water Music are operating at 110% power. It shows. Raw, urgent and intense, it’s an album which stays true to their considerable roots while pushing at the edges with new emotional thrust. They don’t make ‘em like Hot Water Music anymore. Dan Harrison

to write his next fulllength. Out are the heavy drums and Nirvana dirt of his power chords, in are weird synthesizers, samples and a more offkilter take on indie-folk crafted remotely with producer Chris Bracco. It would be tempting to put this change in direction purely down to a change in circumstances over the past year, this was part of the plan. “I thought I could make a record completely at home and then send it to different collaborators to build on. Then I thought I’d make a bedroom folk record that was sparse but with weird arrangements,” Kevin told Upset way back in January 2019.

While it would be easy to crave more sugar rush songs like 2013’s ‘Bubblegum’, he conjures something far more considered here. ‘How Can I Help You’ combines a sequenced arpeggio with insistent guitar strums and a gentle vocal, casting a dreamy haze. In keeping with the musical direction, the record is more introverted lyrically than its predecessors, eschewing hollered rhetoric and tackling divorce, raising a child while dealing with the jarring horror of the news cycle. The slightly wonky arrangements and experimentation combine with Kevin’s natural gift for empathetic songwriting to make an album that stands alone in his canon. As he sings on the hypnotic mantra of ‘Albatross’, “If you’re sinking sing along, Nothing’s real so nothing’s wrong.” Dillon Eastoe

The Mysterines Kevin Devine Nothing’s Real, So Nothing’s Wrong

eee After five years honing a form of fuzzed-up pop-rock playing shows in a three-piece band, something had to give when Kevin Devine came

56 Upset

Reeling

eeee If buzz can be earned, Liverpudlian newcomers The Mysterines have certainly earned it.

Building the noise before the pandemic, they took the time off to get their heads down and craft a debut album that more

than makes the grade.

Beefy and determined, from opener ‘Life’s A Bitch (But I Like It So Much)’, frontwoman Lia Metcalfe sounds every inch the rock icon. Sometimes raw, honest and vulnerable, but never far off smashing through whatever obstinacy flung into its path, ‘Reeling’ is every bit a new band meeting their potential, shrugging, and taking another gigantic jump beyond. Teeth bared, fists up, The Mysterines are here. Pay heed. Dan Harrison

next. New album ‘Obsidian’ finds the Aussies at their most powerful, mixing heavy sounds with electronic augmentation that never feels anything other than on the edge. Opener ‘Clarity’ stabs forwards with HD precision, while ‘This Is A Test’ thumps, growls and pulses like a sleek, shadowy chaos engine. The first album Northlane deliver as a self-releasing, independent band, there’s no doubt they’re in command of their own destiny. However much the world burns around them, Northlane will keep charging through. Dan Harrison

Light On’. It’s an intimate exploration of uncertainty, told through dulcet tones, poetic and sincere.

Sixth track, ‘Well Kept Wife’, is a brilliant piece of heartfelt storytelling, eliciting a feeling of sorrow paired with resignation.

It’s immediately followed by a clear catharsis in the album’s climax: ‘No Good Woman’. The vocals are haunting yet ethereal, partnered with gorgeous instrumentals - this a standout song.

‘Leave The Light On’ is comforting, like a hot drink on a cold day or a hand of reassurance on a sagging shoulder. Effortlessly cool, indie perfection. Kelsey McClure

Northlane Obsidian

eee Northlane aren’t a band who have always had it easy, but they’re also a band who have never let the world push them down. A useful skill to have as we come out of a near-apocalypse, running head-first into the

Pillow Queens Leave The Light On

eeee “Chop me up but keep the rind; I’m having such an awful time.” Dublin based four-piece Pillow Queens shine on their second album ‘Leave The

Placebo

Never Let Me Go

eeee Placebo have always been in a league of their own, and this record is no

THE NEW ALBUM IN STORES 8 APRIL CD • DIGITAL • LP LIMITED EDITION PINK VINYL EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE AT INDEPENDENT RECORD STORES

different.

Textural synths are the runway upon which Brian Molko is allowed to strut with every different shade of his vivid creativity. There are nods to iconic Placebo moments’ Protege Moi’, ‘For What It’s Worth’ and ‘Song To Say Goodbye’, which seem to have come back into season on certain songs. All the while, the fuzzy, new, lead single ‘Beautiful James’ is a statement piece to Placebo’s daring and endless ambition but is by no means representative of the direction the duo have taken on ‘Never Let Me Go’. Instead, there are accents of paranoia, apathy, poetry, despair and hope, which all fade in and out of focus.

Sometimes they’re hand in hand, as in ‘This Is What You Wanted’, where the piano pirouettes while the guitars bleed out to devastating effect.

This album has a timeless quality within the lineage of Placebo’s sound. At the same time, though, the songwriting is a blinding spotlight on human nature right now; the good, the bad and the ugly. It makes for another outstanding album from one of the most consistent and prolific bands of a generation.

Rob Mair

Sprints

A Modern Job EP

eee The title-track of Dublin quartet Sprints’ second EP is described by the band’s vocalist Karla Chubb as a depiction of their entire life’s crisis in one song.

It’s a sentiment that’s felt throughout the no fussing about six-track EP, that starts with ‘How Does The Story Go’.

Beyond the taunting riff that’s piercing all the way through, Karla’s lyricism is brilliant.

‘Modern Job’ as an EP feels so immediate and restorative in its execution. The riff-driven ‘Delia Smith’ is a cathartic bop sonically interpolating PJ Harvey and Bauhaus, and ‘Little Fix’ feels joyously angry as Karla documents the culmination of their fears. It’s a bit of a shame not all tracks communicate their blatant and admirable wittiness, but stick to the articulated stream of consciousness, and you’re on to a real winner. Jasleen Dhindsa THEREGRETTES.COM

EVERYONE HAS THOSE FORMATIVE BANDS AND TRACKS THAT FIRST GOT THEM INTO MUSIC AND HELPED SHAPE THEIR VERY BEING. THIS MONTH, VOCALIST MARCUS BRIDGE OF NORTHLANE TAKES US THROUGH SOME OF THE SONGS THAT MEANT THE MOST TO HIM DURING HIS TEENAGE YEARS.

BILLY TALENT Line and Sinker

I had a friend in high school who would show me a lot of music I’d never heard before, ‘Line and Sinker’ being one of those songs. Ben’s voice immediately caught my ear, and for the longest time, I thought it was actually a solo artist named Billy Talent until years later when I rediscovered the band for myself and fell in love with their entire discography.

ALTER BRIDGE Metalingus

I watched a lot of wrestling when I was younger, and this song accompanied one of my favourite wrestlers, Edge. I first became aware of the band with the song ‘Open Your Eyes’, and when I listened to the rest of that album, I was shocked to find out that Edge’s theme music was on there as well.

LIMP BIZKIT My Generation

When I was 14, I had a secondhand iPod with a bunch of music I’d never heard before loaded onto it. I was living in Queensland at the time and had to take an hour-long bus trip to get to school every day. I felt like an outcast at a new school, but I would play this song on repeat, and it really helped me get through a pretty tough period of my life.

stuck in my head from time to time, and Slipknot still stands as an all-time favourite band for me.

youth. It perfectly captures the feeling of getting older and having to leave a lot of that behind.

FOUR YEAR STRONG

SUM 41

RELIENT K

Forget and Not Slow Down

I think I listen to this song and album a lot more now than I did when I was younger. Matt Thiesen’s lyric writing has We’re All To Blame been a huge inspiration as of As a kid, I knew the singles Wasting Time Before I Forget late, and this song is one of I listened to this song so much that Sum 41 had put out like There was a period of ‘Fat Lip’ and ‘In Too Deep’, but the main reasons. This song in high school, and now that time when Channel V (the encourages the listener to not when I listened to the album Australian equivalent of MTV) I’m older, it takes me back ‘Chuck’, I was kind of shocked get caught up in the things we to my teenage years and would play heaps of heavy sometimes even brings a tear to find that they had a darker, can’t change as it only slows music. Long before we knew to my eye as I think of a more slightly heavier side and that us down from making any real what Slipknot looked like really resonated with me. They progress in our lives. P carefree and simple time, under the masks, the music put no limits on how far they video for ‘Before I Forget’ was hanging out with my friends the closest we got. This song and doing dumb stuff that you could push their music which I Northlane’s album ‘Obsidian’ is so catchy and still gets can only get away with in your still find really inspiring. is out 1st April.

SLIPKNOT

58 Upset

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