Cold Years debut album Paradise Out Now
“Pissed off never sounded so righteous” - Upset
OCTOBER 2020 Issue 59
HELLO.
Will we manage one of these editor’s letters without talking about the dreaded COVID any time soon? Probably not, loyal reader, but we can but hope. Despite the mayhem that reigns supreme in the world of live music, at least we’re still getting some Really Very Good new releases announced and dropped to keep us going during ‘these difficult times’. Chief amongst them, there’s a much-anticipated album from the mighty Grandson, who takes the cover of Upset for the first time. There are also amazing records arriving from Knuckle Puck, Touché Amoré, IDLES, Yours Truly, Jamie Lenman and loads more. Every cloud has a silver lining, right?
S tephen
Editor / @stephenackroyd
Upset Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Scribblers Alexander Bradley, Charlotte Croft, Dan Harrison, George Clarke, Jamie MacMillan, Jasleen Dhindsa, Linsey Teggert, Paris Fawcett, Rob Mair, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Anam Merchant, Brandon Lung, Faolān Carey, Georgia Moloney, Natalie Piserchio, Sarah Louise Bennett, Scott Charmers, Tom Ham P U B L I S H E D F RO M
W E LCO M E TOT H E B U N K E R.CO M U N I T 10, 23 G RA N G E RO A D, H A S T I N G S, T N34 2R L
All material copyright (c). All rights reserved.
RIOT 4. JAMIE LENMAN 10. PILLOW QUEENS 12. INTO IT. OVER IT. 15. METZ ABOUT TO BREAK 16. KID BRUNSWICK FEATURES 18. GRANDSON
30. YOURS TRULY 34. KNUCKLE PUCK 40. TOUCHÉ AMORÉ 44. SAD13 REVIEWS 48. DEFTONES 48. IDLES TEENAGE KICKS 50. LONELY THE BRAVE
Riot_ EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN ROCK
Those romantic, carefree days of 2019, with Jamie Lenman in his bold red suit belting out his reimagined version of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘She Bop’ or ‘Hey Jude’ by The Beatles seem like a lifetime ago. In ‘Shuffle’, the enigmatic singer scratched a creative itch which resulted in a unique record that included a scene from Taxi Driver, a reading from Moby Dick and a gargantuan retake of the Popeye theme tune. The album was, ultimately, a gamble that paid off as it seemed in equal measure that, as important as it was for Jamie Lenman to make, it was just as much fun for the listener to go on this weird and wonderful voyage into the fascinating mind of the man. Now, the mood has changed. In all the pictures it’s a black suit and a scowl that reads “no more Mr. Nice Guy”. The harsh light makes his cheekbones razor-sharp and, depending on the photo, his eyes are either a murderous stare or, worse, not there at all. For ‘King of Clubs’, Jamie Lenman is more than just a little irate. “I mean, we all have dark moments, don’t we?” he
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THIS MONTH IN ROCK
Punching their way out of Dublin with a riotous come-join-ourgang enthusiasm, Pillow Queens are cheering up a miserable year. p.10
Thousands in debt, break-ups and more: Into It. Over It.’s Evan Weiss has readjusted his viewpoint for his latest album. p.12
Everything you need to know about Metz’ new album ‘Atlas Vending’, from the band themselves. p.15
HAIL TO THE KING Words: Alexander Bradley. Photos: Scott Charmers.
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ties. ate balance of duali The world is a delic us ones - light and There are the obvio - then there are the dark, good and evil iness and sadness, more granular; happcase of Jordan Edward for example. In the e has appeared in his Benjamin, a new on d X. world: Grandson an Words: Steven Lofti
Osborn. n. Photos: Ashley
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Words: Steven Loftin. Photos: Brandon Lung. Georgia Moloney.
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When Knuckle Puck returned with their first single ‘Tune You Out’ back in spring, the plan for the album was essentially “it’ll be out at some point this year” as a response to the coronavirus pandemic beginning to take a hold globally. But, from the band’s camp, it was all very laid back and relaxed...
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VIS
Words: Alexander Bradley. Photos: Anam Merchant.
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SION
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THAT’ S
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“’How are you?’ is such a leading question,” laughs Touché Amoré’s Jeremy Bolm, even before pleasantries have been exchanged or the tape recorder turned on. It’s a devilish response to a gentle exchange – but considering it is lunchtime in California, the day has a long way to go to hit bottom for the vocalist. Donald Trump’s already been up for hours warning about election fraud and whipping up followers into a frenzy about one nonsense or another. For people on America’s West Coast, who’ve found themselves “waking up to crazy” for the best part of four years, it’s no wonder Bolm jokes that such a gentle remark could be seen as entrapment.
AMORÉ Words: Rob Mair. Photos: George Clarke. Upset 41
“I WAS FEELING A LITTLE BIT HAUNTED MYSELF” In the seven years since Massachusetts altrockers Speedy Ortiz released their debut, ‘Major Arcana’, it seems that frontperson Sadie Dupuis has never stopped creating. Words: Linsey Teggert. Photos: Natalie Piserchio.
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Between Speedy albums and tours, Sadie found the time to release her first solo record, the electro-pop-oriented ‘Slugger’ under the name Sad13. An impressive feat in itself, but even more so when you factor in that Sadie has also written a critically acclaimed poetry book, founded her own record label, Wax Nine, taught at prestigious universities and established an online poetry journal, as well as working as an advocate for numerous organisations such as the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers and No Music for ICE. Yet after the release of Speedy Ortiz’s third record ‘Twerp Verse’, the prolific artist found herself unable to create new music. “It’s probably the longest stretch of time I’ve gone without making new songs,” recalls Sadie. “Partly because I got vocal chord nodules and I was afraid
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