** P lu s * *
Wate r p a r ks , Fu neral For A Fr iend, Char ly Bliss , Jamie Le n m an , Fo n tain e s D.C. + lo ad s m ore
December 2019 / January 2020
Twin Atlantic
upsetmagazine.com
WhoHurtYou Creeper
The best of 2019, featuring...
THE
** AND ** SWMRS, Fever 333, Pup Frank Iero, Petrol Girls, Frank Carter + more
DECEMBER 2019 / JANUARY 2020 Issue 50
HELLO.
It's an issue full of landmarks. Firstly - and probably most obviously - we've got to the end of another year, so we're engaging in our usual rundown of the best albums, featuring some of our very fave bands. We're delighted to finally welcome The Faim to the cover of Upset, and they're joined by the likes of Fever 333, PUP, Frank Iero and loads more. That's not the only thing that's on the books, though. It's also the 50th issue of Upset! We'd like to thank everyone who's picked up a copy, helped us put the magazine together, or supported us in a multitude of ways on the road to our half-century. We're not done yet, though. Here's to number 100, right?
S tephen
RIOT 4. CREEPER 10. TWIN ATLANTIC 12. WHOHURTYOU 14. FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND
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ABOUT TO BREAK 18. THE CHATS
Editor / @stephenackroyd
Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Scribblers Alex Bradley, Beth Casteel, Dan Harrison, Dillon Eastoe, Eleanor Philpot, Jack Press, Jamie MacMillan, Jasleen Dhindsa, Jessica Goodman, Josh Williams, Martyn Young, Rob Mair, Steven Loftin, Tyler Damara Kelly Snappers Jez Pennington, Sarah Louise Bennett P U B L I S H E D F RO M
W E LCO M E TOT H E B U N K E R.CO M U N I T 10, 23 G RA N G E RO A D, H A S T I N G S, T N34 2R L
BEST OF 2019 20. THE FAIM 28. TOP 50 ALBUMS 30. PETROL GIRLS 34. CHARLY BLISS 38. FRANK IERO & THE FUTURE VIOLENTS 42. FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES 44. JAMIE LENMAN 48. FONTAINES D.C. 50. PUP 52. FEVER 333 54. SWMRS TEENAGE KICKS 58. WATERPARKS
All material copyright (c). All rights reserved.
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Riot_
THIS MONTH IN ROCK
EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN ROCK
Last year, Creeper departed with what - on the surface - was declared as a final bow. Not that any of us believed them. Now, with a whole new universe to reveal, they’re back... Interview: Josh Williams. Live photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.
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Twin Atlantic are dropping a new album, 'Power', next year. We got them to tell us everything we need to know. p.10
All Time Low's Jack Barakat and singer-songwriter Kevin Fisher are WhoHurtYou. p.12
On 1st November 2018, Creeper “broke up” on stage after playing a soldout gig at Koko in Camden. On 1st November 2019, they returned at London’s 229. Luckily, frontman Will Gould reveals that they had “already planned that ending a long while before it was anywhere near happening”. All’s well that ends well, eh?
Funeral For A Friend return to the stage for a couple of very special gigs. p.14
“The idea was to end it in the same way it began, and the campaign began with a disappearing act,” he explains. “A little bit of continuity to put another vanishing act on stage in front of everybody. It was a reference to David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust. It was much more dramatic than I ever imagined it would be, actually. “It was a reference to the beginning of the campaign, which was very dramatic in itself, but this time putting it on stage rather than the internet. It’s difficult to get six people out of a venue when you know what they look like.
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ONE NIGHT ONLY
Riot_
Words: Steven Loftin. Photos: Jez Pennington.
Funeral For A Friend return to the stage for a couple of very special gigs, for a very special cause. Upset 15
THE BEST OF 2019
20 Upset
THE
From the moment they broke through, there was no doubt that whichever year The Faim dropped their debut album in would be theirs for the taking - but it hasn't all been smooth sailing... Words: Steven Loftin. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.
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TOP ALBUMS OF 2019
FFifty ifty
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Another year, another batch of brilliant albums to digest. The end of another calendar means only one thing - the annual Official Upset Ranking of the last twelve month’s releases. We’ve run through all the full-length records we’ve reviewed, rated and revered over 2019, and then objectively assigned them a number in order to cause a ruckus. Agree, disagree, write us a stern email - these are our Top 50 Albums of 2019.
50. THE MURDER CAPITAL
46. STELLA DONNELLY
Seeming to appear from nowhere, The Murder Capital may have arrived as if in a flash of lightning, but all the evidence is pointing towards that this is a band here for the long run. P Jamie
Stella Donnelly isn’t afraid to line up deserving targets and take fire with her wistful tunes. It only takes until third track for Stella to be telling you to “Fuck up your life” and “Fuck off yeah, good!” like some sort of pottymouthed ghoul. As her voice cuts through, rattling around, she delivers choice lines that could be seen as a textbook for speaking your mind. P Steven Loftin
WHEN I HAVE FEARS
MacMillan
49. TACOCAT THIS MESS IS A PLACE
Every track on ‘This Mess Is a Place’ is an immediate earworm, digging deep into your head. But that doesn’t mean there’s not a teeth-baring edge; Tacocat's punk bloodline runs through everything they sing and stand for. P Steven Loftin
48. LA DISPUTE PANORAMA
Gifted a title which sums up its place in La Dispute's lexicon, 'Panorama' matches Jordan Dreyer’s storytelling with an intricately stitched, shifting soundscape that knows exactly when to push and pull. P Dan
Harrison
47. QUEEN ZEE QUEEN ZEE
Though they've since split, Queen Zee were a force to be reckoned with. Their debut is a bold and boisterous punk celebration of everything queer and extraordinary; an inquisitive and personal opus where anyone that doesn’t fit in is welcomed. P Jasleen Dhindsa
BEWARE OF THE DOGS
45. AMERICAN FOOTBALL AMERICAN FOOTBALL
There were 17 years between American Football’s first and second albums. Just three separate the second from the third – but ‘LP3’ is light years ahead. Incorporating fuzzy shoegaze and metronomic postrock, it expands the palette with rich and vibrant colours. With the voices of Elizabeth Powell (Land of Talk) and Hayley Williams (Paramore), it's bursting with ideas. P Rob Mair
44. FIELD MOUSE MEANING
There’s a certain something to a band that are more than comfortable in hazier, more dream-laden climes. Sitting against a deliberate disconnect of lyrics about “more or less the end of the world”, insomnia and mayhem, ‘Meaning’ is driven by a lazy day chaos engine of opposing poles. Self-described by vocalist and guitarist Rachel Browne as a “liferaft”, Field Mouse are floating on with purpose. P
Stephen Ackroyd
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26. CHASE ATLANTIC PHASES
What is genre anymore? It’s something we find ourselves contemplating with increasing regularity, as boundaries bleed and break down for the better. Chase Atlantic, clearly, understand which way the tide is flowing. ‘PHASES’ is leaps and bounds ahead of their peers in realising that drawing influence from wide and far makes a much more interesting palette. P
Dan Harrison
25. GREAT GRANDPA
FOUR OF ARROWS ‘Four Of Arrows’ is something of an about-turn for Great Grandpa. Stripped of rough edges, it’s a far more expansive and musically expressive experience, sitting comfortably alongside the likes of Hop Along or the much-missed Rilo Kiley. It’s gorgeous too, lifted by strings and textured arrangements that ebb like a tide; at turns a gentle swell, at others a tumultuous crashing. P Rob Mair
24. CAR BOMB MORDIAL
‘Mordial’ is an unrelenting experimental odyssey that takes Car Bomb’s metal sound and warps it. It’s an album where nothing is quite as it seems; you’re pummelled by heavy riffs on the visceral ‘Fade Out’ before being pulled in different directions as ‘Scattered Sprites’ evolves into odd drum patterns and spacy, winding guitar solos. It’s a diverse record that challenges and excites in equal measure. P Martyn Young
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Frank Iero
Words: Alex Bradley.
o + the Future Violents
23. FRANK IERO & THE FUTURE VIOLENTS BARRIERS
Truth be told, you’d have forgiven Frank Iero for making a very different record. After a much-publicised near scrape while touring, frustration, anger or base fear would all have been understandable reactions. But that’s not what ‘Barriers’ represents. Instead, it’s the sound of letting those boundaries crash down and watching the freedom of endless possibility flood in. P
Stephen Ackroyd
The reinvention of Frank Iero for his third solo outing was always going to be different from the rest following his wellpublicised near brush with death while touring Australia back in 2016. Back, as The Future Violents, Frank took his new perspective on life and transformed it into his most ambitious album yet. With 'Barriers' released back in May, Frank has spent 2019 making up for lost time. Touring the UK with Laura Jane Grace, playing one of the standout sets of 2000trees, shows here, there, everywhere, beefin' with Joe Jonas about rumours of a My Chemical Romance reunion but still managing to send MCR fans into meltdown for referencing 'I'm Not Okay' in his song 'Young and Doomed'; it's been pretty non-stop for him. (And no, he didn't let slip what was going to happen next... Ed.) Ahead of the release of 'Barriers', you spoke a lot about how changed you were post-Australia and then time away after the crash. Having now released the album and seen the response to it, are you more comfortable with how changed you feel? I don't know if my comfort level has ever been dependent upon other
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SWMR SWMRS 54 Upset
RS RS
It should be no shock to any regular reader of Upset that SWMRS' fantastic 'Berkeley's On Fire' would take our Album of the Year gong for 2019. A socially-aware sugar rush of anger and adrenaline, it's equal parts fun and important. But, as we pulled our list together, it took a more poignant turn. Shortly after Cole and Max gave us the track by track run-down you'll find on the next page, the latter was involved in a serious road accident. A recent update from the band explains: "Although Max will heal from these injuries, he’s has a long, hard road ahead. “In addition to breaking both shoulders, bruising his lung & fracturing vertebrae, his biggest challenge will be recovering from the traumatic brain injury. While currently assisted with a wheelchair, he is working everyday on regaining his strength and BERKELEY'S ON FIRE ability to walk. Fizzing There was truly with a guardian ambition light that night, and energy, one that we ‘Berkeley’s will forever be On Fire’ thankful for." rallies against the world Everyone at around it, but with hope in Upset wants its heart. In a time where to wish Max everything feels to be and the band falling apart, there’s a quiet, the best in unspoken confidence that his recovery. perhaps things could get We hope to better in the end. This isn’t see him back on stage very so much a spark that starts soon indeed. a fire, as a personal pledge.
1. SWMRS
Music that matters, but that’s not afraid to have fun along the way. P Stephen
Ackroyd
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