DIY, August 2022

ISSUE 121 • AUGUST 2022 DIYMAG.COM

DIY

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the Bimini is writing a whole new rulebook

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HELLO august

Question!

Drag names come in many shapes and sizes, but as we welcome drag royalty Bimini to our cover what would Team DIY’s chosen stage monikers be?

SARAH JAMIESON • Managing Editor While I cannot take any credit for this creative genius (thank you Lisa), clearly mine would be Mad Nonna, because all I really want in life is to somehow become an eccentric Italian grandma that dances around the kitchen to pop music…

EMMA SWANN • Founding Editor After coming up both empty-handed from and bemused by every generator the depths of Google could offer me, let’s go for a basic ol’ pun: Emma Sculate.

LISA WRIGHT • Features Editor Big fan of both a crisp glass of white and a pun, so I’m calling myself Sauvy Bae. The merch designs itself.

LOUISE MASON • Art Director Louse Monsoon was my affectionate band name, happy to run with that forever. Or Louise Mason, With a Face like a Basin, either's great.

ELLY WATSON • Digital Editor Combining my past as a Sherlock stan with the fact that I share a surname with one of the main characters, I’m going for Elly Mentary… My Dear Watson, if you’re nasty.

Editor ,s Letter Ever since bursting into cultural consciousness back in 2021 when they took RuPaul’s Drag Race UK by storm, Bimini has become a true force to be reckoned with. From becoming Next Model Management’s first ever non-binary signing, through to performing live at Download Festival with a fully-queer band, they’re determined to break down any barriers thrown their way.

Now, as they gear up to follow up last year’s debut single ‘God Save This Queen’ with new music, we sat down with the star to spill the tea for our August cover.

Elsewhere we talk transformations with Phoebe Green, get the goss on The Big Moon’s forthcoming third record, and get a little reflective with Easy Life. What are you waiting for…

Sarah Jamieson, Managing Editor

PHOTO: MOAL (@MOALNFT)

2022

Listening Post SEX PISTOLS - GOD SAVE THE QUEEN The byproduct of spending an afternoon with our cover star and their Vivienne Westwood-streaked, British punk iconography-soaked world is that you’ll end up humming Johnny Rotten and co’s royalbaiting anthem for the foreseeable future. We mean it, maannnnn…

THE SLITS - I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE While we’re taking a moment to dig back through punk rock past, let’s raise a glass to the greatest, most unlikely cover of its time: The Slits’ slinkingly brilliant take on this Marvin Gaye classic. Full of scattershot percussion and Ari Up’s weird and wonderful vocal, it’s ominous, sexy and if not better than the original, then arguably its equal but opposite.

UNITED KINGDOLLS - UK HUN? Release the beast, we’ve got Bimini on the cover and we’ll be damned if that isn’t the perfect excuse for a good old fashioned bing bang bong (sing sang song, ding dang dong…).

August playlist

Scan the Spotify code to listen

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CONTENTS NEWS 6 THE BIG MOON 10 RAYE 12 LAUV 16 FESTIVALS

NEU

1 8 KE G 20 WITCH FEVER 22 THE LOUNGE SOCIETY 24 KOKOROKO

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PHOEBE GREEN

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LAURAN HIBBERD

JULIA JACKLIN

BIMINI

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EASY LIFE

Reviews 4 8 Alb ums 5 8 Live

Shout out to: All at Mad Cool, Open’er, Pohoda, Exit and Montreux Jazz Festival for looking after Team DIY so well overseas; State51 for letting us burn a ring of fire in your factory; Adam Hasyim Cranfield and William Reid for being the greatest photo assistants, NEKO Trust for being the most wondeful hosts over the last two years; Bimini, for being a creative force to be reckoned with; Dawbell and the BPI, for giving the 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW the launch it deserves (complete with tiny bacon butties), and Sam Fender, for both his massive Finsbury Park shindig and providing some of the year's finest lasagne-related one-liners.

Founding Editor Emma Swann Managing Editor Sarah Jamieson Features Editor Lisa Wright Digital Editor Elly Watson Art Direction & Design Louise Mason

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Contributors Alex Cabré, Alisdair Grice, Bella Martin, Ben Tipple, Charlotte Gunn, Charlotte Krol, Dylan Shortridge, Ed Miles, Eitan Orenstein, Elvis Thirlwell, Emma Wilkes, Joe Goggins, Katie Macbeth, Louis Griffin, Max Barnett, Max Pilley, Moal, Neive McCarthy, Reiss De Bruin, Rhys Buchanan, Seeham Rahman, Vendy Palkovičová, Will Richards.

For DIY editorial: info@diymag.com For DIY sales: advertise@diymag.com For DIY stockist enquiries: stockists@diymag.com All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of DIY. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which DIY holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of DIY or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.

the new album out now!

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OTHER

PHOTO: POONEH GHANA

The Big Moon’s third album ‘Here Is Everything’ was written through and after vocalist Juliette Jackson’s pregnancy.

A record of change and revelation, it might come from a specific place but still feels universal.

Words: Will Richards.

J

uliette Jackson sees The Big Moon’s third album ‘Here Is Everything’ as a record of two halves. The first was written while the singer was six months pregnant with her first child. Work on the album - the follow-up to 2020’s ‘Walking Like We Do’ - then stopped for half a year of, in Jules’ own words, “Aaaagh?!”, before the second was then written and laid down.

“We’d never done the surgery of a record before.

This time, we were like, ‘Hand me the scalpel!’”

– Fern Ford

SIDE

“When I listen to it, I can really hear the difference,” she reflects now, speaking to DIY on Zoom the morning after a now-common sleepless night. “I didn't listen to the album after we finished it for a while, but I revisited it recently and it makes me feel so emotional - it makes me choke up!

“Becoming a parent feels like I've divided my life completely in half, and I can see that the old me is behind this wall, and the future me is on the other side,” she says. “I'm just not the same person anymore.” When she listens to the older songs on the album, it feels like “the old me is trapped inside them,” she reflects. “It’s amazing to be able to go there and listen to that person and all the things that she thought it was going to be like.”

While anyone would be justified in putting their band on pause while growing a literal human inside them, Jules used songwriting during this period as a tool with which to untangle her feelings, and says she’s delighted in retrospect that the songs on ‘Here Is Everything’ stand as a document of that time. “Some of it was really hard, but I am really glad that I did it and have this as a record of that insane time in my life,” she nods. “It’s weird,

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because sometimes I hate writing songs, but when I’ve finished a song, I feel amazing. It’s so cathartic to be able to express how you feel through music. It’s so much more expressive and says things in ways that words never could.”

‘Here Is Everything’ is an album with a balance of the ups and downs of her experience, and ecstatic first single ‘Wide Eyes’ contains lashings of the former.

“There’s a lot of joy on the album but also a lot of pain, which is just how you feel after you become a parent,” she explains. “I felt insanely happy and insanely sad all the time. The songs really go across that spectrum of feelings.”

To write ‘Wide Eyes’, Jules went into the studio with singer-songwriter Jessica Winter. “I went to her studio and she said, ‘What do you want to do?’. And I was like, ‘I really need to write a happy song!’ I was feeling so much joy, but I couldn't express it because I was so exhausted and just couldn't string sentences together. I'm really, really happy with how that song came out - it just felt exactly right.”

working the songs from the initial sessions, “working out what we weren’t feeling”.

“We regrouped and, one by one, opened up the sessions by saying: ‘What is this?

Why isn’t it landing?’” Fern says. “It was really fun and a great bonding experience for us, given that we had spent so much time apart. We’d never really worked like that before, and had never done the surgery of a record; we’d always given it to someone else to do the surgery. This time, we were like, ‘Hand me the scalpel!’”

The second half of songs for ‘Here Is Everything’ were then co-produced by the band alongside engineer Adam ‘Cecil’ Bartlett, who worked with them on 2017 debut ‘Love In The 4th Dimension’, and the greater freedom this allowed for is reflected in the record’s exploratory sonic detours.

“I couldn't have given any more of myself to this album.”

The new album’s title also feels emblematic of the stark emotional openness on show: ‘Here Is Everything’, taken from a lyric in ‘Wide Eyes’, is Jules delving deeper than ever before. “I just felt like I couldn't have given any more of myself to this album,” she reflects now, a sentiment that also links with its instantly-iconic album cover, which sees her posing on a bed while heavily pregnant. “When I saw the photo, we were all like, ‘Oh my god, this should be the cover!’ And I thought, ‘Great. I'm like, half naked.’

The title just seemed so… right. It’s literally me saying, ‘I’m not hiding anything.

This is how I feel.’”

– Juliette Jackson

T

hough ‘Here Is Everything’ has the singer’s journey as its central anchor, its creation also proved revolutionary for The Big Moon as a band. After a first chunk of recording in early 2021, the quartet emerged with, as drummer Fern Ford puts it now, “songs that didn’t feel whole”.

PHOTO: EL HARDWICK

“We felt like there was only a certain amount of time, so we went into the studio for two weeks,” she remembers. “Then - and I don’t know how she did it - Jules, with a little baby, started writing more songs.” The band (completed by guitarist Soph Nathan and bassist Celia Archer) then spent time at Fern’s home studio, re-

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“You can be quite limited by time and money in the studio,” Jules says, “and we just gave ourselves as long as we needed. Fern has built this amazing studio in her flat, and we went there every day for a while and re-produced all these songs. I don’t know how we knew where we were going with it, but somehow as a group we always tend to agree on stuff,” she adds, mildly bemused. “I guess that’s why we’re a band - we have the same musical roadmap and are going the same way all the time.

“I feel like, on this album, as friends and as a band, we’re stronger than we’ve ever been,” the singer continues. “Going through this process together, recording the album, re-producing the album, recording new songs, all with me being pregnant and having a baby, the support and the love that we’ve given each other has just been incredible,” she beams, before pausing and checking herself. “This is classic ‘interview as group therapy’, but it’s true!”

Though an album inspired by a deep personal experience, ‘Here Is Everything’ has somehow also become The Big Moon’s most collaborative and interconnected record at the same time. “Because I couldn’t do as much as I used to, because, you know, I was looking after a small human, everyone else really stepped forward, and you all just created this incredible world,” Jules says, gesturing to Fern and her absent bandmates out in the world. “It was amazing.”

‘Here Is Everything’ is out 14th October via Fiction. DIY

When it comes to fields of wheat, we’ll take TBM over T. May any day.

Tickets on sale now 9

For RAYE, it's been an uphill !rug"e to be h#rd. But ha$ng spoken out and forced a line in the sand, now the singer is finally able to claim the career that's &ghtfully he'.

Words: Charlotte Gunn.

“I’m very open.

I can’t lie which is why I’ve had such a problem in my career.”

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INDEPENDENCE DAY

“I H(E A REAL LOVE

and admiration for women in this industry. It takes a different type of guts and a different type of gravy…” nods RAYE. It’s a sentiment that feels particularly pertinent for the 24-year-old pop star; today, after a lengthy and subsequently very public industry battle, RAYE is speaking to DIY as a free woman. More than just an abstract notion, she’s also currently in LA to finally finish her debut album - a record she’s been wanting to make since she was 16.

Trapped in a four-album deal with ex-label Polydor for seven years - with the powers that be there reluctant to back a full-length record - RAYE felt creatively stifled until last summer, when she decided enough was enough. Letting rip on Twitter in a series of posts that called out Polydor’s limiting approach to her art, the singer was subsequently released from the deal, able to pursue a career as an independent artist.

The RAYE we speak to today is a world away from the somewhat deflated person we’ve seen in the public eye over the last few years. The excitement at her newfound freedom is palpable, but wounds don’t heal overnight and her experiences are the grounding for her upcoming (but still quite hushhush) LP. To date, there’s been the absolutely stonking “fuck you” of a first single ‘Hard Out Here’: a not-eventhinly-veiled address to her former employers. “All the white men CEOs, fuck your privilege / Get your pink chubby hands off my mouth,” she snarls.

With the party line being that everything was smoothed over with Polydor post #Tweetgate, did this track upset the apple cart all over again?

“Definitely. Not everyone was happy with that song, but whatever!” RAYE laughs. “I’d rather someone passionately hate something that I’ve made than not have any opinion on it at all. So hate it all you want - I’m gonna keep saying what I’m gonna say!”

What she has to say is of note, too - telling the story of a young woman in an industry that all too often doesn’t look out for young women. Collaboration is at the core of what RAYE does - “not just features”, as she’s keen to point out, but the joy of getting creative people together in a room and learning from each other. “It’s just magical,” she says. “It’s the essence of what music is.”

Last month, she shared a photo in the studio with Leigh-Anne Pinnock of Little Mix. She’s cagey on the details but is quick to shout her out, as she is Mabel. “I’m just so proud of her and for any woman who has existed in this industry for as long as Leigh Anne and Mabel have. I’m inspired by them. We inspire each other,” she nods.

T

hough RAYE might have been the one to speak out, she insists her frustrations aren’t unique. “Every woman I’ve crossed paths with has shared experiences in every single sense of the word,” she says.

“Not to be dramatic, but there’s this underlying thing when you’re a woman that you’re to be controlled and sculpted and guided. The treatment with male artists is chalk and cheese.”

Coming into the industry as a young teenager, initially RAYE thought it was a lack of experience that was making it hard for her to be heard. “I was 14 when I started doing sessions. I assumed it was because I was a child that every time I would walk into a room, there’d be this huge fight that has to take place in order to prove yourself. That was a daily occurrence,” she recalls. “But I thought, surely once I’ve got some accolades or credits, then that changes? But if anything, it got worse.

It was just this uphill battle to be heard and be respected. Sadly every woman I know relates to that. But you know, we move and we keep going!”

This ability to pick herself up and go again is quite astounding considering what the singer has been through. Next single ‘Black Mascara’ - the only electronic track on the album - addresses a particularly dark moment. “The overall theme [of the record] is being a woman in this world and taking a step back to process all of the shit that’s actually been done to me, things that I’ve had to hide behind the scenes,” she explains. “I wrote that song specifically about a time when I got my drink spiked by a man I really liked. I trusted him.

I’d got to a good place where I found some sobriety and peace of mind, and then this happened and I immediately went to the darkest place.”

The incident left RAYE broken and, when the label put further delays on her album, she found herself heading down a bad path. Creating ‘Black Mascara’ helped her heal. “I went into the studio and played the weird chords on the piano and said to the guys I was working with, ‘Guys, you need to not argue with me’,” she recalls. After recording “500 different vocal layers,” she was done. “It was perfect. I listened to it a lot and it was real medicine for me. The good thing about music is that you can put your pain somewhere beautiful.”

As for what else we can expect from the album: it’s anyone’s guess. RAYE insists it’s as diverse as she is. “I'm a mixed-race woman. I'm BritishSwiss-Ghanaian. I'm a mix up, you know? From my childhood, it's been a walking identity crisis for me.”

In a system that pressured her to be one thing (“Who are you? Nobody knows who you are.

Can’t you just pick a flipping style?” she narrates back of previous questioning voices), RAYE could never deliver. “I was like, ‘What the fuck? That’s not me. That’s not who I am.’ I wish I could be that way so bad, but I wasn’t born that way.”

Now free to experiment, we’re promised a longawaited debut album that pulls from different genres and moods and reflects the many different facets of her personality: facets that don’t fit comfortably in one box. “The throughline is the stories and the things that I’m talking about,” RAYE says. “I’m a Scorpio. I’m very open - as you can tell from this fucking interview… I can’t lie, which is why I’ve had such a problem in my career. I’ve got so many opinions on things that I’ve been suppressing. But yeah, sonically it’s very fucking exciting. Very liberating. And I think it will shock a lot of people.” DIY

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AVE YOU HEARD

YOUNG FATHERS Geronimo

ALEX G

Cross The Sea

Philadelphia native Alex G has made hundreds of songs in a highly prolific career, but new one 'Cross The Sea' is perhaps his most impressive and hypnotic so far. Complete with an animated video that's part kids' video game and part LSD trip, the song contains the musician's trademark lo-fi acoustic guitars, but is defined by his manipulated and auto-tuned vocals. It's a new technique that feels revolutionary for the ever-changing songwriter, and 'Cross The Sea' is a bracing slab of pure beauty. (Will Richards)

BILLIE EILISH TV

TOVE LO 2 Die 4

Retro, pulsing synths tease throughout most of ‘2 Die 4’, keeping you on your toes as you soak it in. With both a nostalgic timbre and a slick sample of Hot Butter’s ‘Popcorn', the outward nods shine, but Tove Lo brings it all together into a glittering world of her own. ‘2 Die 4’ is a sprint, moving through sections at a frantic pace, but never losing control - even the drops feel like Tove’s got us under her thumb, reeling us in and pulling it back before letting loose. (Ims Taylor)

An understated, intimate surprise drop from the Glastonbury-headlining icon, ‘TV’ (one of two tracks offered up on a short ‘Guitar Songs’ EP) shows how effective it can be when the timeframe from writing to release is kept short.

“The internet’s gone wild watching movie stars on trial / While they’re overturning Roe v Wade” narrates Billie over simple, sparsely-picked acoustic guitars. Released in six months’ time, it could appear too blunt; now, it acts as a direct, timely acknowledgement.

Placed amid a stark list of lyrics that feel both personally and socially adrift, capturing the hopeless feeling of retreating from a world too full of complications big and small, it’s an affecting glimpse behind the scenes of music’s most relatable superstar. (Lisa Wright)

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“It’s a track about contrast,” Young Fathers say of ‘Geronimo’, their first new song in four years, “because life is contrast - pushing through, giving up, all at the same time.

Wanting everything and then wanting nothing, then wanting everything again.” These contrasts are out in force on the new track. At its core, it’s a heartfelt and subtle song, but chaos always bubbles underneath, threatening to explode. Gorgeous and dangerous all at once, this return sees Young Fathers at their enigmatic finest. (Will Richards)

RINA SAWAYAMA Hold The Girl

With each track that Rina Sawayama offers up from her forthcoming new album, the more excited we seem to become. Since ‘This Hell’ burst down the door with its giddy Shania Twainmeets-Steps pop edge, her second record ‘Hold The Girl’ has quickly risen to become one of 2022’s most anticipated albums, and its title track goes on to cement that further. Introduced with the kind of piano and vocal melody combo that’s enough to make Madonna quiver, the track soon shifts into a deliciously glitchy dancefloorfiller before transcending into a glorious arms-aloft chorus. Can Rina put a foot wrong at this point? Let’s be honest, probably not... (Sarah Jamieson)

PRESENTS

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FESTIVALS Reading & Leeds 26th - 28th August. Richfield Avenue, Reading / Bramham Park, Leeds

VAL I T S E F News in Brief

What’s better than one Main Stage headliner every night?

Two Main Stage headliners, duh. We all know by now that there’s only one way to finish the summer right, and it’s by packing up your tent, sourcing some soon-tobe-warm tinnies and heading to Reading or Leeds. But this year’s set to be even more massive than usual: the long-awaited live return of Arctic Monkeys? Check. The hugely-anticipated comeback of punk titans Rage Against The Machine? Check. An epic double-header of Dave and Megan Thee Stallion? You bloody betcha. And that’s before

you even scroll down to the rest of the line-up.

There are two acts set to be returning to the infamous sites of Reading & Leeds this year who are particularly well-acquainted with the fest, so we decided to have a catch up with them. First up, singalong heroes Bastille talk us through their summer so far, before special guests - ooh-er - and experts-in-carnage Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes give us the lowdown on what to expect from their set in particular.

All Points East

(19th - 28th August) have announced their community-focused activity In The NBHD, which is set to take place at London’s Victoria Park from 21st to 24th August.

Alongside DJs, live entertainment and a series of arts and crafts curated by the V&A Museum, there’s also an outdoor cinema and Hip Hop Bingo.

DIY are teaming up with Kili Presents for brand new festival Made Me Like It (1st October), taking place across venues in East London.

Already confirmed for the event are DIY regulars and Class of 2020 alumni Do Nothing and Walt Disco, Isle of Wight indie faves Coach Party, rising pop talent L Devine and Hull post-punks Low Hummer.

After its inaugural edition last Autumn,

Pitchfork Music Festival London

(9th - 13th November) is returning to East London this year. Announcing the first run of names, Courtney Barnett, Animal Collective, Faye Webster, Jenny Hval, Cate Le Bon, KOKOKO!, Big Joanie, Girlpool and more are set to perform.

Jamie T will headline London’s Finsbury Park next summer.

The huge headline show - which will see him accompanied by a range of to-be-announced special guests - will take place on 30th June 2023.

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Q&A

Bastille

Hello Bastille! You’ve had a pretty busy 2022 so far - what’s it been like being back out on the road and getting to play live for people across the world again?

We’re so lucky to have been able to travel a bunch again already. It was pretty surreal being back living on a tour bus again, driving around the USA and Canada playing shows from town to town for a six-week stint earlier this year. And it’s mad to think we’re heading back to South America soon, and then we’re off around Europe too. After a couple of years of being so isolated and releasing music into what sometimes felt like a bit of a void, it’s been fucking amazing getting to be in rooms with real people again and hear our tunes sung back. I’ve gone on before about how I’m not always that comfortable on stage, and obviously touring is such a weird lifestyle, but I don’t think I’d realised how important it is to feel a tangible reaction to the songs we’ve made.

You also cropped up as secret guests at Glastonbury last month - how was it to return to the festival, while being sneaky at the same time?

It was fucking amazing to be back at Glastonbury. I feel like so many people who were there this year said it was their favourite Glastonbury ever… everyone there was so up for it, the line-up was great and the weather was perfect. We’d literally just got back from the US so were a bit all over the place, but we got to play with Old Dirty Brasstards, who are this brilliant 15-piece brass band. They’d done arrangements for all our tunes, and because we’d been

away we didn’t get to practise with them until about an hour before we all went on stage, so it could have been a bit of a mess. But they were amazing and we were totally blown away by how many people came along to see us all.

You obviously released ‘Give Me The Future’ a few months back now - how has the reaction been from fans, and how have people connected with it? Is it what you expected?

We had no idea what to expect... I guess throwing ourselves into a concept album with quite a different sound was a bit nerve-racking, but we’ve been really happy with the reaction.

It was so exciting when the album went to Number One - we completely lost our minds - and we’ve been loving bringing loads of the new songs on tour and to festivals too.

What does Reading & Leeds mean to you as a band, and how’re you looking forward to getting back on that stage?

I used to go to Reading loads when I was a student so playing there always feels pretty surreal. It was also quite a big moment for us as a band way back when we got to play in one of the smaller tents.

We’d just put out ‘Overjoyed’ and I’ll never forget starting to play the tune and hearing this tent full of people scream this weird electronic depressing piano song back at us. It might have been the first point I thought our band might get to keep doing what we were doing.

We’ve been lucky enough to have some amazing shows at Leeds & Reading over the years so it’s always well exciting to head back and play. The line-up on the day we’re playing is insane as well so I can’t wait.

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes Q&A

It’s nearly a year on from the release of ‘Sticky’ - how are you feeling about the album now?

I find records have a beautiful way of revealing more of themselves over the years. As you grow - as an artist, performer, writer, father, human - you unlock new ways of seeing and the songs in turn unlock parts of themselves that you never had the right keys for. It’s one of my favourite parts of being both a writer and a listener.

Have you found yourself working on much new material recently?

I write daily. Usually in the very early hours of the morning.

After midnight and before 9am are particularly prolific for me.

Do you think the songs from ‘Sticky’ added a different element to your live show now?

Completely, the album was written with one real focus… to play the songs live. Thankfully we got it right because every song is a joy to play and fast to create an atmosphere.

You’ve also played a fair few festivals over this summer; what do you like most about getting onto festival stages? Is there a specific kind of energy you get from those crowds?

It’s a thunderstorm of emotions playing a festival stage.

Obviously there are people who are fans and love your music but equally there are new people to convert and naysayers to impress so it’s always an exciting challenge.

Mostly, though, it’s just nice to be sharing stages with so many friends of ours who we haven’t seen for years.

You’re also now dabbling in something a bit different you and Dean are releasing a card game! Can you tell us a bit about Halves, and what inspired you to launch it?

It’s a party game, based around words, to play with your friends, so you can find out at the end of the night who’s actually your friend. We made the game on a flight out to a tour many years ago, and since that first incarnation we have been tweaking and redesigning the way the game plays. I think our fourth prototype was the one that made us feel confident to pursue production.

on the

‘Gram IVALL FESETC A SP I

These days, even yer gran is posting selfies on Instagram. Instagran, more like. Everyone has it now, including all our fave bands. Here’s a brief catch-up on music’s finest photo-taking action as of late.

Next up, alongside a couple more festivals, you’ll be returning to Reading and Leeds! How’re you looking forward to getting back to the festival?

We can’t wait. I grew up going to the festival as a fan and to be opening the Main Stage for such iconic bands is a real pleasure. I’m just so proud the festival is a UK fixture. It feels like every legendary band has played it at some point.

You’ve got a lot of history with the fest; what’s it like to have that kind of relationship with an event and audience?

You know, Jon who books the festival once told me that he thinks my Mum has been on stage more times than most bands and that made me smile. Across the three bands I have had in my life there aren’t many years I have missed it and I’m definitely getting high up there with the most appearances so I’m just really grateful every time they ask me back.

Most importantly, what should people expect from the set? How should they be getting prepped?

Expect to see a band give you a clear education on exactly how you should open a festival. Everyone is there to be entertained and there’s no reason that can’t start at noon maximum fun, maximum rock'n'roll.

The ultimate girl band we didn’t know 2022 needed. (@rinasonline)

Raincoats on stage or GTFO. (@yardactband)

PHOTO: BEN BENTLEY

Who’d have thought The Killers would be the kind of band to ask for their fee in cash… (@thekillers)

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It’s probably safe to assume that KEG’s audition for the next series of The Masked Singer was unsuccessful.

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KEG “The music’s very serious, but you can say a lot with a good joke. Often it’s overlooked how powerful it can be.”

Egg costumes, Uncut Gems and an EP that sounds like “a panic attack in loads of different states” - it’s all par for the course for Brighton wildcards KEG. Words: Lisa Wright.

Photos: Ed Miles.

When David Byrne immortally asked himself “How did I get here?”, chances are he wasn’t dressed as an egg yolk, vomiting between video takes. But a few months back, KEG frontman Albert Haddenham nonetheless was probably thinking of a very similar question. “I was horrendously hungover, with my head in a bald cap painted yellow, and I had to go and be sick. I was just looking in the mirror, all the paint was streaming because I was crying from throwing up… That was a low…” he recalls with a glint in his eye that suggests maybe he actually lives for such ludicrous situations.

Part of the gloriously surreal tableau that makes up the video for recent single ‘Elephant’ (first popping up out of a papier mache egg cup, Albert’s head then gets smashed and fried as his bandmates play ‘instruments’ made out of vegetables - natch), this sort of madcap energy is emblematic of the Brighton septet. Landing like the wildcard, unhinged younger siblings of Squid and other such musically-eclectic types, they’re simultaneously dark and hilarious, throwing out rattling, anxious tracks full of yelping neuroses that also somehow manage to be all sorts of fun.

“We’re all too stupid and uncomfortable to do anything vulnerable and serious so we’ll always try and make it into a joke,” shrugs Albert of their amusing aesthetic choices. “It’s always gonna be Vic and Bob-esque which, at its highest, is fine art in my opinion. Which is what we’re aiming for,” he laughs, “fine art.”

“Not fine art,” qualifies bassist Joel Whittaker. “Just fine… art.”

- Albert Haddenham

Gibbons, keyboard player Will Wiffen and trombonist Charlie Keen - from various former bands and more recent friendships, the ethos of KEG from the beginning was one where anything goes. “I think maybe [KEG] was a blank canvas, which is what I was so happy about. From one song to the next, it could be completely different but it still managed to have some kind of vein along it, even though none of us knew what that was,” Albert theorises.

“We wanted to do everything, we wanted to be like Ween,” Jules picks up. “We used to be called Ricky Stansted and the Baggage Boys for a short while, which was Frank’s solo stuff really,” chuckles Albert of one iteration along the way as Frank sighs: “I was confused then…”

Having ditched that particular moniker, a lockdown of living in each others’ pockets gave birth to last year’s debut EP ‘Assembly’. Next month, it’ll be joined by second EP ‘Girders’- a wild ride through five tracks that the singer describes as “a panic attack in loads of different states”. Logic might suggest the claustrophobic sirens that open ‘5/4’, or the everything-all-at-once cacophony that closes ‘Sing Again’ to be the result of that intense period, yet really it’s more indicative of the band’s mentality as a whole. “‘Elephant’ really exemplifies the way we write where we just patch things together that are insane and then it makes insane soup,” Albert laughs. “When

I listen to music, there’s a certain bit when I reach peak enjoyment where it’s stressful almost - where’s it’s just… ARGHHHH!!” he vents. “Where it’s like Uncut Gems,” quips Jules. “That’s my favourite film and I think it’s exactly that feeling throughout the EP as well, hopefully,” the singer picks up. “I love that feeling. That Devo song ‘Too Much Paranoias’ does that exact thing to me, it’s like a fire between my eyes. Once you go over that line you’re in fucking zen zone. Cloud land…”

However, though KEG might musically be aiming for “a way of being vulnerable but sounding aggressive,” lyrically the band are a riot of humour and surreal fun. Take previous single and EP highlight ‘Kids’ - a musing on what happens if your spawn grows into something you hate. Hitting a home run of ridiculous one-liners (“Daniel watches repeat editions of Michael McIntyre's Roadshow on repeat / No I don't find it funny, Dan!”), it highlights a band ripe to pick up the baton of artists such as Yard Act and Wet Leg, merging playfulness with genuine musical chops.

“The music’s very serious, but you can say a lot with a good joke. Often it’s overlooked how powerful it can be,” muses Albert. “Some people say they find us just funny to watch live,” notes Frank as the singer glances around at his bandmates: “I really like it when people say that because I sometimes look round and it IS a weird looking group of people… Jules has got his little shoes off, everyone looks like they don’t really know why they’re here…”

“Conscription,” Joel deadpans.

Far from a perfunctory service, however, KEG are the sort of band to remind the world exactly how much fun being in a band can be. “I was just a free egg on the loose. Just a big man in his underpants dressed as a yolk,” recalls Albert wistfully of that ridiculous early day. You don’t get this shit with Coldplay, do you? DIY

Slowly building their line up completed by drummer Jonny Pyke, guitarists Frank Lindsay and Jules

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“It’s fun to take language that has been used to try and control me and repress me and make it my own.” - Amy Walpole

WITCH FEVER

Watch just a few seconds

Using their of the video for Witch debut album to Fever’s album title track tackle themes of ‘Congregation’ and it’s religion, inequality easy to be pulled into and oppression, this their gothic vision of Manchester quartet are the world. Opening up proving themselves a bold with the band’s Amy new voice for heavy music. Words: Sarah Walpole poised on a Jamieson. thorny throne, dozens of pillar candles burning by her feet, it’s a dark and sensuous clip which deftly introduces the themes of their debut and packs a visual punch all the same.

Granted, when it comes to heavy music, using religious iconograhy isn’t exactly new, but for the Manchester quartet - who first formed in 2017 but only released debut EP ‘Reincarnate’ late last year - the inspiration behind their first full-length stems from something a lot closer to home.

“Thematically, the songs are about different experiences but they’re all within the same vein,” begins Amy. “On one level it stems from my experiences growing up in a church that was quite problematic and toxic,” she says, referencing her childhood as part of the Charismatic Church, which she subsequently left when she was 16. “But it’s

20 DIYMAG.COM

also about the way that it represents a patriarchal structure that’s across all of society.”

sound more, and push what it meant to write a Witch Fever song.”

While obviously very much an extension of her own experiences, Amy explains that the subject matter wasn’t ever premeditated. “I never went into it thinking, ‘This is going to be a concept album’. It just happened very naturally,” she continues. “For me, this album feels - this fucking word we always use! - very cathartic. I think I use so much religious imagery because I’m so accustomed to it, but I’m also weirdly very excited by it too; I still find that side of it really interesting. It’s fun to take language that has been used to try and control me and repress me and make it my own. I guess it just holds a mirror up to patriarchal structures everywhere that are oppressing so many different people constantly.”

Citing a myriad of influences - the likes of Nirvana, Viagra Boys, Angel Olsen and Show Me The Body all get a nod today - it’s little wonder that the sound they’ve produced feels so emboldened. The dark introduction of ‘Blessed Be Thy’ is commanding from the off, while there’s a swagger to ‘Beauty and Grace’ that soon explodes into frayed life; the grungy guitars of ‘Slow Burn’ make way for a chorus that reaches dizzying heights, before final track ‘12’ thrashes powerfully through its two-minute run time.

‘Congregation’ is also very much a lesson in collaboration; while the quartet have been labelled as “doom-punk”, the album helps to showcase each individual member’s own influences, and demonstrates the alchemy that the four-piece clearly have together. “What makes Witch Fever is how all of us fit together,” nods bassist Alex Thompson. Having previously only ever written on a song-by-song basis, the prospect of an album pushed them to test their own boundaries. “Musically, we - and Alisha [Yarwood, guitar] especially - wanted to open up our

And much like the band’s name itself - a nod to the witch hunts of the early modern period - theirs is a mission to highlight inequality and raise up those who’ve been oppressed, in all manner of ways. “I think we want people to feel empowered by the album,” concludes drummer Annabelle Joyce, “and know that anger isn’t such a bad thing. It can be channelled in a positive way.” “But also,” adds Amy, “this is a fun album too; as much as it’s really angry and there are difficult topics, we also love doing this.

We want people to listen to it and [for it to] empower them, but also make them feel happy too.” DIY

PIGLET

Raw and intriguing songwriting from Belfast.

Already scoring fans in Porridge Radio, who have collaborated with him on two singles, Belfast-born Charlie Loane creates intoxicating tracks under his piglet moniker.

Packing thought-provoking and powerful sentiments within his woozy, shapeshifting songs, his disarming tracks focus on subjects from mental health and substance abuse to friendship and self-identity.

LISTEN: Latest track ‘it isnt fair’ is a powerful protest song about “the injustices of British healthcare provisions for trans people”.

SIMILAR TO: Going back for seconds to make sure you didn’t miss anything.

HAICH BER NA Ambitious leftfield pop production from the London innovator.

Steadily releasing singles from this month’s ‘When We Knew Less’ EP, Londoner Haich Ber Na’s recent run has seen him bringing together Jungle-esque vocal harmonies, Tame Impala-adjacent psych production nods and flavours from more glossy pop palettes. The result sounds ripe for crossover success - capable of finding an equal home on NTS or Radio One. LISTEN: Latest single ‘So Sick Of Me’ is like Caribou’s ‘Sun’ put through a pulsing pop filter.

SIMILAR TO: The midway point between the gig and the club.

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FLO

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M E M N D O E C Your new favourite girl band.

Little Mix may be on hiatus but never fear, pop fans, because FLO are ready to claim their spot as the UK’s latest beloved girl band. Forming back in 2019, the trio linked up with MNEK earlier this year to call out cheating partners with the drop of their R&B-leaning dazzling debut single ‘Cardboard Box’. Following it up with last month’s EP ‘The Lead’, their nostalgia-fuelled pop bops prove these girls are something special.

LISTEN: Debut EP ‘The Lead’ will have you swaying along from start to finish.

SIMILAR TO: Your go-to ‘00s pop hit getting a 2022 makeover.

BONNIE KEMPLAY Edinburgh singer songwriter already beating the competition.

It's no mean feat to fend off 10,000 new hopefuls to be named champion of the Radio 1 Live Lounge Introducing 2021 competition, but for Edinburgh singer Bonnie Kemplay, that became a reality last year. Having been invited to perform at the Live Lounge back in April last year (where she whipped out a cover of The 1975’s ‘If You’re Too Shy…’), she's turned even more heads since: now she’s signed to Dirty Hit, and just released her gorgeous track '19' just last month. If this is what she’s managed in just a year, who knows what could come next.

LISTEN: Newest track '19' is beautifully rich.

SIMILAR TO: Influences like Julien Baker, Soccer Mommy and Clairo all shine through.

DAMEFRISØR Shoegaze-influenced warped electronica.

DAMEFRISØR supposedly met at a Bristol club night over a mutual fondness of My Bloody Valentine and the shoegaze oeuvre, however it’s in the way the still-nascent quintet blend those walls of sound with more brittle, electronic elements that feels exciting. Dense and claustrophobic in all the right ways, they might only be two songs in but both tracks - last year’s ‘Do You Think I’m Special?’ and this year’s ‘2-HEH-V’ show a group who know exactly what they like.

LISTEN: ‘2-HEH-V’’s robotic intonations and swirling guitars will send you into a tailspin.

SIMILAR TO: Playing two songs at once, but in a good way?

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THE LOUNGE SOCIETY

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“Everyday life is something that you can no longer talk about in an apolitical way.” Herbie May when it comes to making a record, which is basically all we care about,” says Herbie. “We could have ended up tearing ourselves apart and losing all focus, but Dan’s ability to make us relax Still in their teens, these and also to ramp up the pressure when needed was very Speedy Wundergroundvaluable.” signed post punks Lyrics, meanwhile, are a primary driver for the quartet’s are aiming to reach far (completed by vocalist and bassist Cameron Davey From those first early jam sessions playing Strokes and past the connotations of that description. and drummer Archie Dewis) music. They work on them Arctic Monkeys covers to their debut gig in January 2018, Words: Max Pilley. collaboratively, refining and compressing them until every via releasing the fastest selling 7” in noted label Speedy last word has been painstakingly considered. As ‘Generation Wunderground’s history (2020’s ‘Generation Game’) and now Game’ proved from the outset, The Lounge Society aren’t shy recording this month’s debut album with the ever-prolific Dan about addressing our current socio-political malaise (“They’ll take Carey, it’s been a giddy ascent for the still-19-year-olds. your lungs and sell them to rich folk/ They’ll breathe your air and live your dreams”).

“We had to release our first single just as the whole pandemic was kicking off,” reflects guitarist Herbie May. Ultimately, it would prove to be serendipitous timing, “When we were eight years old, the Tory government was elected, so ever since with listeners scouring the lyrics of ‘Generation Game’, finding topical Covid we became remotely politically conscious, we’ve been in a culture of political references that were never intended to be there. The phenomenon continued anger,” says Herbie. “What we do is an honest reflection of what political angst recently with their most recent single ‘No Driver’. “We just released [that] song,” really is, which often doesn’t offer solutions, it’s just an expression of anger or Herbie continues, “and the next thing of course, the prime minister resigned, frustration. Everyday life is something that you can no longer talk about in an and now it really does feel like there’s nobody at the wheel.” “We did it!” answers apolitical way.” bassist Hani Paskin-Hussain, with a cheeky smile. “You’re all welcome…”

When The Lounge Society start reminiscing about the band's formation, you could be forgiven for thinking they were dredging through decades of history. In reality, however, they were at secondary school together in Hebden Bridge and it was the summer of 2017.

Titled ‘Tired of Liberty’, The Lounge Society’s debut is a tightly-coiled beast; a ball of politically-charged, musically jagged tunes that at once fit into the postpunk world of Speedy Wunderground (Squid, black midi), but are easily distinctive enough to ensure that they carve their own niche. Working in Dan’s studio, they explain how the label’s co-founder and in-house producer proved an integral cog in the operation.

“If we’re honest, we’re quite an angsty and nervy group of people - especially

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Recently, meanwhile, the band had another milestone moment at Lancashire’s Lytham Festival, which found them sharing a bill with Wet Leg, Fontaines DC and their early heroes The Strokes. Aligning them in a path to the big leagues, it’s only given them a taste for more. “We want to be The Strokes and we want to be Fontaines,” says Hani. “I know that’s ambitious, but I don’t want to be just another post-punk band. That should be the aim for any band; you’ve got to have that mentality, or else what’s the fucking point?” DIY

THE LOVE LETTERS!

PLAYLIST

Having steadily drip-fed a run of party-starting singles and EPs over the past three years, London trio PVA have finally announced the arrival of their debut full-length. ‘Blush’ is set for release via Ninja Tune on 14th October and comes preceded by new track ‘Hero Man’, which uses deadpan, repeated lyrical motifs and shimmering synths to deliver an acid house-inflected new arm of the thriving South London scene.

Every week on Spotify, we update DIY’s Neu Discoveries playlist with the buzziest, freshest faces. Here’s our pick of the best new tracks:

The track is about “a relationship with yourself that is restrictive and closed off - an expression of this frustrated anger at masculinity and a resentment at being unable to free yourself from that and explore the world,” says vocalist Ella Harris. Listen now on diymag.com.

"#$%&!'(#$)!! %*#++!*#,,-(% Though Will Tse may claim to worship at the altar of ‘90s grunge, the newest from his musical moniker Daisy Brain suggests he’s also got some more covert pop punk leanings creeping into play too.

‘Small Matters’’ big power chord chorus is the sort of unashamedly anthemic thing that feels like stepping back to a world of baggy jeans, skateboards and MTV supremacy. It might not be Nirvana but it’ll be heaven for some.

*./0#1+ '1(-"!12!*-)

All the buzziest new music happenings in one place.

BUZZ FEED CHANGING THE CRUSHING HARD CULTURE Having graced these pages around the release of her 2021 EP ‘Storm in Summer’, Secretly Canadiansigned Skullcrusher will be unveiling debut album ‘Quiet The Room’ on 14th October.

Breakthrough Compton star Channel Tres has teased the imminent arrival of debut album ‘Real Cultural Shit’, which will be released this autumn (exact date TBC) via Godmode.

The first taste comes in the form of the intimate, spectral ‘Whatever Fits Together’, which the singer real name Helen Ballantine - describes as “reflecting on my past and wondering how I might begin to explain it to someone. I viewed my younger self through a wash of emotions: anger, sadness, pity, confusion, all reaching for a kind of compassion. I tried to capture the contradictions that comprise my past and define who I am now.” Listen to the track on diymag.com now.

Providing a fresh take on house music, the news comes buoyed by the release of ‘70s-influenced new track ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’, with the artist adding: “My dad is from Chicago. House music was created there, and over time the music got lost in translation. So, when I studied it and I saw that it was African-American people and Latinos and the LGBTQ community I got really inspired by it.” Keep an eye on diymag.com for more details.

“I’m so bored of talking about men / Look at the news, is it that time again?” intones Róisín Nic Ghearailt on this latest from M(h)aol: a frustrated, staccato tumult of crunching guitar stabs and clattering drums, influenced by the media rollout of the recent Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial.

Coming from a similarly pissed-off place as rising Dubliners Sprints, there’s a directness and antagonism to ‘Bored of Men’ that’s almost onomatopoeic - the literal bubble of resentment from a lifetime of the same old shit.

,-3! %14)"!12!&14 A song quite literally of two halves, ‘Sound of You’ introduces Swedish singer-songwriter Tex as an amorphous sonic entity, capable of entrancing with sultry, pitch-shifted croons one moment before unexpectedly dropping down several octaves and changing the tone entirely. What’s constant within ‘Sound of You’, however, is a sort of psychy neo-soul lilt that could find Tex as a burgeoning kindred spirit to the Connan Mockasins of the world. Intriguing.

51("#)!)#%/!

2-#(!#)"!+1#,/$)6 Described as “sun shining, car driving, heartbreak music,” Jordan Nash’s ‘Fear and Loathing’ - taken from a new EP called ‘Seventy One’ - glistens with every single note. Feeling perfect to soundtrack the soaring apex of a coming-of-age movie, his dream-pop is unashamedly huge in sound but its emotional peaks are intimate and personal ones.

Want to stream our Neu playlist while you’re reading? Scan the code now and get listening.

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KOKOROKO Having proven their live chops time and time again, the London octet are finally translating their West African funk fusion onto record with debut ‘Could We Be More’.

Words: Max Pilley. Photo: Vicky Grout.

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K

okoroko could have been in danger of becoming victims of their own vibes. As anyone who has caught one of their incendiary live shows can attest, the London eight-piece channel astonishingly giddy levels of manic energy on stage, their blend of West African rhythms and classic funk/ soul passion having resonated with audiences since they first started playing together in 2014. So successful is their live incarnation, that it was starting to become a daunting prospect to translate it into a studio environment.

They’ve attempted it in the past but, as percussionist and group co-founder Onome Edgeworth explains, the transition was not as seamless as they would have hoped. “It sounded flat, all of our mistakes sounded horrible, it was all exposed,” he begins.

“So finding Miles [James, the producer known for

his work with Little Simz and Foals], who was able to say, ‘OK, this is how we translate that energy, that feeling, to a record - to something that people can move around to outside of the live setting’, that was amazing.”

The band decamped to Eastbourne with James in late 2020, and the resulting album ‘Could We Be More’ bursts out of the speakers with an irrepressible zeal, pulsing with the spirit of Pat Thomas and Ebo Taylor. It maintains all of the enthusiasm of their live shows, but with a rounded, confident finish that few groups can boast on their debut.

“I think we let go of trying to recreate that energy and we started viewing the studio completely differently,” says Onome. “We listened to a lot of records and the way things were recorded in the 1970s in Africa. We listened to a lot of Zamrock and old highlife records

and loads of Earth, Wind & Fire and Funkadelic.

What made those records sparkle? What can we take from those?”

Guitars pop and strut; trumpets, trombone and saxophone parp and jostle for the centre of attention, while drums and bass conduct the traffic. The eight band members each breathe their own life into the tracks, drawing from disparate musical traditions and genres.

“Kokoroko is a vehicle for our tastes and our ideas,” says Onome. “We’ve got the shared references of Afrobeat, highlife and soul music, so it’s about how we each interpret it. Influences are being plucked from everywhere on every single song. It’s a strength, really, if you get it right. And it’s a mess when it goes wrong, but those songs will never come out!”

Onome also credits the unwavering support of legendary DJ, broadcaster, and Brownswood Recordings label boss Gilles Peterson as pivotal to the album’s success. “Having his voice and his feedback, I respect how honest he’s been with us,” he says. “When he feels like we’ve got something, or when he feels like there’s not something there, having someone who has that knowledge has been super valuable to us.”

The nature of Kokoroko’s instrumentation has led to them being peripherally associated with the booming London jazz scene, and although the band would be quick to point out that

“Influences are being plucked from everywhere on every single song. It’s a strength, if you get it right.”

- Onome Edgeworth

what they do is decidedly not jazz, they have definitely benefited from the scene’s generously collaborative spirit. “In terms of a community and knowing all of those people for the last six or seven years, we are very much part of it,” Onome nods. “You go to a festival halfway around the world and someone you know very well is playing on your stage on the same day. It’s a good feeling, it’s nice.”

Sharing a stage with Kokoroko, however, is no joke. Their 2022 live shows have taken on yet another dimension, with the band incorporating covers of select tracks from the past that they feel worthy of their respect. “A big part of our story is paying homage, finding ways to tell stories,” says Onome. “To say, you know what, this song that came out in 1970-whatever really connects with our song here, so let’s play them both together. That keeps it fun and fresh for us as well, and keeps it challenging. We don’t do two shows in a row that are the same, ever.”

Having now proven that they’re as deadly on record as they are live, Kokoroko’s minds are already turning to making another album, but this time their ambitions know no bounds. “We learned so much about the power of the studio, we just want to do it all again. We can do ten times more next time,” says Onome. “I want to record in West Africa in a totally different climate.” DIY

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Penis patch: Vivienne Westwood.

We think this is what they mean by ‘hiding in plain sight’.

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Shoes: Model’s own. Black buckle jacket: Will Shillito (@willshillito). Shibari rope and face covering: Cameron Hancock (@cameronhancock.studio). Gloves: Bougie Studio (@bougiestudios) Studio (@bougiestudios) (

First emerging as the runaway star of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Bimini is now a multi-hyphenate creative powerhouse, breaking down boundaries at every turn. For

their next trick, they’re getting ready to smash through music industry stereotypes too.

Words: Lisa Wright.

Photos: Max Barnett.

ASSISTANT: JAMES HOBSON STYLING: BIMINI / MAKE-UP: BYRON LONDON HAIR: LAUREN BELL / ASSISTANT: CHARLIE HAJICHAMBI

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Stepping onto Sunday’s Dogtooth tent as the first drag artist to ever play the event, backed by an all-queer band and thrashing through a set combining a couple of punk-tinged originals as well as a series of playfully-curated covers (Peaches’ steamy ‘Fuck The Pain Away’ and The Prodigy’s ‘Breathe’ among them), the booking was a boundarybreaking one. But ‘boundary-breaking’ is a descriptor that consistently prefaces 29-year-old TV star-turned-multihyphenate-creativewhirlwind Bimini’s activities these days.

First making their name placing as runner up (to much public outcry) in the 2021 second series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, in the time since, they’ve released a book, become the first non-binary person to sign to Next Model Management and, most recently, signed a major label deal with Sony offshoot Relentless Records home over the years to the likes of Headie One, Lethal Bizzle, Ms Dynamite and more.

If their infiltration into the UK festival scene’s less traditionally broad-minded bills marks yet another step in the star’s mission to break down gender barriers and genuinely help forge a more unified society, then it’s just one milestone in an increasing series of many.

“Download was a weird one for me. I didn’t really think about [being in that environment] until we were on the way there,” Bimini muses today. “But if you can take up space in that space… I mean, I’ve always looked up to people who were very visual with their looks, and rock people - we’re not that far removed. Half of them have probably got more makeup on than me, just look at Kiss…”

Taking up space and defying old-fashioned binaries lies at the heart of what Bimini does; at a festival full of artists claiming adjacency to punk, there are probably few people genuinely embodying the meaning of the word - rebellion,

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standing up for what you believe in, pushing for change than them. “Punk was a ‘fuck you’ but it came with kindness really. There’s an aesthetic, but punk isn’t a mohawk, punk is an attitude - punk is about how you navigate yourself and about standing up for things and people,” Bimini posits.

“When you think about how punk was shaped by music and fashion, that’s what’s happening now; you’re seeing a lot of blurred lines and long may that continue - and long may it allow me to be a genre-bender,” they add, letting out the first of many wicked cackles.

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t’s notable that, from conceptualising to carrying out today’s shoot, Bimini lands as perhaps the most hands-on cover star DIY has ever had grace its front page. Not only is there a distinct lack of OTT team on the ground today (Bimini requests one hairdresser, one makeup artist and arrives with their manager), but they’re present and active in the lead-up too, sending over mood boards laced with images of Kate Moss and ‘70s Toyah Willcox, and even posting an Instagram story flagging how excited they are to be on a shoot where they feel in creative control.

Whether clambering onto the roof of today’s studio in approximately eight-inch Pleaser heels, a Union Jack thong and Barbarella-by-wayof-Peggy Mitchell hair; contorting themselves on a swing in a regal Vivienne Westwood-esque fantasy complete with tea set (“I’m spilling the tea!” they hoot), or emerging to the garden for today’s chat in a loose T-shirt dress bearing the slogan ‘Climate Revolution’, there are many faces of the artist fka Bimini Bon Boulash, known to their Mum as simply Tommy Hibbitts. Each of them, however, ties together, emblematic of a creative who knows exactly what they’re about and who, it turns out, has spent a reasonable amount of time recently rediscovering the passion to embrace and really harness it.

“I always had strong opinions and something to say. My first performances were politically-based, and even on [Drag Race] I had - not a political agenda - but I was talking about political and social topics,” they begin. “But I think after the show, I was thrown into this world and was trying to navigate it, and there was a point where I lost myself and what my message was. There was a point where I became a bit of a mannequin for people and I was being dressed in things I didn’t wanna wear; at the time [it was exciting] because I’d never done that before and I’m a working class kid. But I had to really bring myself back, and writing music has helped with that, and finding new ways to be expressive has helped with that. I never wanted to be a fashion darling; I always wanted to be a fashion provocateur.”

These days, Bimini isn’t sure if they’d class what they do even as drag. “I’d say I’m just me, who went into drag and that’s been a tool. Drag is like having your first puff of weed,”

Climate dress, sunglasses, necklace and earrings: Vivienne Westwood.

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t’s the middle of June at Download Festival’s 2022 edition and, amid a line-up still headlined by old school rock stalwarts and populated almost entirely by a male-fronted supporting cast, the bleached blonde vocalist pacing the stage in a ripped black gown adorned with the image of a doe-eyed Princess Diana is cutting a notably different silhouette.

Jacket, mini skirt and socks: Sophie Hird (@sophiehird). Jewellery and ballet pumps: Model's own. Trainer stiletto: Ancuta Sarca (@ancutasarca).

Punk isn’t a mohawk, punk is an attitude - punk is about how you navigate yourself and about standing up for things and people.”

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Instead they’re more interested in exploring the potential of their creativity in all its forms, with fashion and music co-conspiratorially taking the front seat. They’re aware that some people who might have seen them on the TV might be cynical about their next moves (“With music, people are probably like, ‘Oh it’s a vanity project’. But it’s really not, it’s what I’ve always dreamt of doing but the opportunities have come now,” they shrug). Indeed, there’s probably a fair volume of people who won’t understand why Bimini is on the cover of a magazine like this. But while their musical career is still in its nascent stages, the inspiration that they’re imbuing by putting it out there feels exponential.

“Being an artist is about just continuing to explore yourself and growing and changing,” Bimini asserts, oat milk coffee in hand (‘Bimini invented veganism about seven years ago,’ states the tongue-in-cheek bio of their book).

“At the minute, I’m really enjoying the space I’m in artistically and I also love that I’ve found a confidence in myself to express that. So continuing that is my main priority, exploring the creativity I have inside me, and I want everyone to do that - everyone has it and I didn’t believe I did. Anyone that doesn’t believe they’re creative, just do something you’re

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B

scared of, because who knows what you can do?”

WITH THE

orn in Great Yarmouth in 1993 before moving to London to study journalism, Bimini recalls their teachers labelling them academic rather than artistic. Though they describe themself in retrospect as “an attention-seeking child” (“I’d do cartwheels in Tesco - that sort of kid, annoying as hell…”), you can trace a direct line between the time it took for a young Tommy to embrace their artistry and the vociferousness with which Bimini talks of spreading that same encouragement now.

BAND

“I grew up being told I wasn’t creative because I couldn’t really draw that well. But I’d have an idea up here in my noggin, and that’s what drag has allowed me to explore and I’m just continuing to explore it,” they enthuse. “I loved fashion and styling and writing, but I never believed it was art. But now I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do and being unapologetic about it, and it keeps opening up other avenues. It’s been really therapeutic.”

It’s not all just about Bimini on stage: they come backed by a killer band, featuring none other than Human Interest bassist - and DIY wordsmith!

- Tyler Damara Kelly. We asked Tyler what it’s been like getting involved in the project…

As a youth, they recall the fairly classic trajectory of anyone born around the start of the ‘90s - going from a childhood love of the era’s pure pop (S Club 7 get a notable shoutout) to “getting into more alternative music in my teenage years and going to Bowling for Soup gigs” to finding a taste that aligned more with their adult self as the years went on. For Bimini, that was the ‘00s London scene that embraced its Britishness and wore its accents and culture with pride. “I got really into Jamie T and Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse - all those really British acts. We have British artists now but everyone sounds American, whereas they

“Did anybody ever think that there would be a time when a drag queen would be playing a mashup of Britney Spears, The Prodigy and Girls Aloud at Download Festival? Of course not! Yet, it happened.

And I cannot begin to explain how it felt seeing thousands of metalheads singing along and unapologetically enjoying themselves. It was our first real gig together, and that moment was testament to the nobullshit - take it or leave it - way that Bimini has been able to promote a sense of empowerment and inclusivity everywhere they go.

Undergarments: Model's own. Necklace: A Sinner In Pearls (@a_sinner_in_pearls). Earrings: Vivienne Westwood.

they chuckle. “You know how they say it’s a gateway [drug]? It was a gateway to explore my gender and who I am and my identity. If I wear a dress like today, I’m not tucking, I'm not shaving my legs - I’m not doing a female illusion because who says that’s what a woman has to look like? There are certain ideals that people have because of drag that actually reinforce stereotypes whereas it should be about breaking them down.”

“I became a journalist because I never thought I was good enough to be in a band, but being a part of this project is about being a face for queer POC who have never felt like they’ve seen themselves represented in music. Bimini could’ve put together a band full of the best session musicians that London has to offer - and I’m not going to shy away from saying that we’re a bunch of very talented people, because we are - but instead, they chose to provide a platform for underrepresented voices and faces.

“Bimini is the kind of person that likes to push boundaries and knows that it’s the best way to get a job done properly. If you had a platform to promote positivity and queerness in the mainstream media, and have fun while doing it, wouldn’t you do something about it?”

Photo: Paul Grace

provocateur.”

Bing Bang Big Inspirations

Corset and skirt: Dilara Findikoglu (@dilarafindikoglu). Choker and Bracelet: Vivienne Westwood. Shoes: Model's own.

I never wanted to be a fashion darling; I always wanted to be a fashion Bimini talks us through some of the influential figures that have inspired them along the way…

PETE BURNS Someone who I look to now as being so inspiring, but at the time I didn’t when I was growing up because I think I felt so much shame being queer, is Pete Burns. I think what a lot of people are scared of is when they see someone being very free and very themselves; people get intimidated by it. I felt too scared to explore it [at the time], but they were an absolute pioneer and an icon.

MADONNA Madonna [was a big influence] too - anyone who tries to break down a barrier and goes against the norm is someone that really inspires me. The fact that Madonna’s like, ‘No I’m not letting you tell me my career’s over’, and she’s still going now and she looks amazing. Being you and sticking to your fucking integrity, that’s what’s inspiring.

KATE MOSS Gotta bring Kate into it. I met her the other day, it was amazing. I’d been invited to her event as the Chief Creative Director of Diet Coke which is iconic by the way - when she’s like, ‘I’ve always loved coke…’

It’s so tongue in cheek. The British media completely tried to tear her apart and she lost all of her jobs but she got back up; it was iconic to meet her.

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Corset and skirt: Dilara Findikoglu (@dilarafindikoglu). Choker and Bracelet: Vivienne Westwood. Shoes: Model's own.

Bimini also uses these same tactics to make sure no one sits next to them on the bus.

all had this really unapologetic Britishness about them which I love,” they enthuse. “I have that with my music; I don’t switch up my accent, I don’t switch up what I’m talking about.”

Taking that idea and transferring it to a visual medium, today one of Bimini’s self-styled looks sees them adorned with a painted England flag.

Half-jokingly, we check that it’s not going to read as a little bit Brexit… “It’s the opposite,” Bimini counters.

“Flags have so much symbolism and power and meaning, and what I’m trying to do by wearing it is ask where has that unity gone? We’re not united, we’re so far away from that, and flags have become a symbol of this really toxic culture. So me [doing this or] wearing Union Jack underwear - if it’s gonna piss the other side off, that’s why I'm doing it. My UK is for everyone.”

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Head back to Yarmouth now and you can still find Thomas H. hairdressers - the salon named after them, run by Bimini’s Mum. Growing up in a working class family of strong women (“I just power through - that’s what my Mum taught me, just keep on going because no one else is gonna feed ya,” Bimini notes of their current insanely busy schedule), there’s also an important strain of representation that they’re trying to show here - be that through a loving portrayal of Katie Price on Drag Race’s iconic Snatch Game episode (which Bimini won) or by embracing their accent and putting it front and centre on national TV and in their music.

“I went on the show and put any savings I had into it and took out a loan: it was a massive gamble.

[These days], there’s a complete lack of working

class people in the media, and running the country and everywhere,” Bimini says. “In the media, you see what’s happened to working class women especially - they get brought up and torn back down. Tulisa and people like Caroline Flack, the way [the tabloids] were able to get away with how they treated them, it blows my mind. I can understand why Kate Moss keeps herself so private. You can be a Kardashian or a Kate Moss; maybe I'll aim for somewhere in the middle. But also it’s good to be public because I like to hope my experiences can help someone else who feels different or like they’re struggling…”

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nd so to the music. At the time of writing, Bimini has released precisely 1.25 songs - their debut solo single, last year’s cheeky manifesto ‘God Save This Queen’, and their input as one quarter of

United Kingdoll’s unexpected post-Drag Race hit ‘UK Hun?’. That track landed Bimini and their fellow contestants a Top 40 placing, its nonsensical chorus (“Bing bang bong / Sing sang song / Ding dang dong / UK hun?”) connecting with a delirious world suddenly thrust out of lockdown and back into the giddy, boozy party of real life once more.

It’s possibly the most surreal way to begin a music career in recent memory (although, as Bimini grins, they were also nominated for a “bing bang Bafta” for their verse), but it’s also far from indicative of Bimini’s aims for this next move.

Drag is like having your first puff of weed. It was a gateway to explore my gender and who I am and my identity.”

They’ve been writing secretly for the past 18 months, they tell us, working with a team to create a collection of tracks that they describe as “depression with a beat - proper sad bangers, some of it”. Bimini suggests the result is somewhere between Robyn and Mike Skinner; to our ears, the two tracks we’re played today - ‘Rodeo’ and ‘When The Party Ends’ - have something of the Charli XCX and Calvin Harris to them respectively. They’re clubbier than you might guess from the person sat in front of us sporting a spiked, jet black ‘do, but emerging with the unexpected is sort of the point. And while Bimini is evidently excited about continuing to share their wares (“To see after a second verse or chorus people singing it back - it’s just mindblowing,” they grin), then perhaps the most important idea is of the music as a vehicle for something bigger. “I want to make music that people listen to, but I want to continue to have a message and to have that reflect in everything,” they state.

“I do wonder if I’m gonna sit back in 10 or 20 years and be like… ‘Oh that was cool!’” they chuckle, that infectious, throaty laugh belying the sizable achievements they’re reflecting on, “but I’m just trying to enjoy it. I was 24 when I got into drag which is really not that long ago and, since then, things have happened that I didn’t even realise could happen - things that have blown my mind. So if I can do this and get to where I am now, anyone can do it - you just have to really fucking believe in yourself and go for it and not listen to what anyone else has to say. You’ve just got to know your truth.” DIY

Sunglasses: Gucci.

In the space of barely 18 months, Bimini has graced runways and magazine covers, played grotty pub venues (their first gig was at London’s Old Blue Last) and festival stages, all while embracing a message of total self-acceptance.

They speak of an increasing sense of “gender euphoria” - the joyful opposite to gender dysphoria - that’s growing constantly, and of the importance of being open to new ideas and change.

“No one knows all the answers and I think that’s what’s so beautiful about humans - we can be open and we can be wrong and we can continue to learn,” they urge. If the most game-changing artists are the ones with a distinct world view, that open up doors and invite everyone in, then Bimini belongs on any stage they want.

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Green

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“MY HAIRDRESSER HATES ME!” grimaces Phoebe Green. Evidently not an artist who chooses to remain aloof during interviews, she’s currently discussing her tendency for panic haircuts. We’ve arrived at this topic thanks to Phoebe’s vivid orange mop. “Over lockdown when I couldn’t go to the hairdresser I was like, ‘Fuck it, I’m just gonna bleach it’.” She pauses for a second and considers her neon ‘do. “I think the orange is consistent for now, that’s the one thing that stays…”

TRADING HER GUITAR ROOTS FOR A DEBUT ALBUM LACED WITH SELFLACERATING, WICKEDLY WRY POP, ‘LUCKY ME’ FINDS PHOEBE GREEN EMBRACING TRANSITION AND CHANGE. WORDS: LOUIS GRIFFIN. PHOTOS: MOAL.

In a strange way, this is emblematic of the appeal of Phoebe Green, both as an artist and a person: she’s not afraid to show that she’s never quite the finished article.

“I’ve realised recently that I’m not a very consistent person, artistically or in general,” she nods. “I think the most consistent thing about me is the inconsistency and the change. I feel like that’s why I struggle a bit with identity and stuff like that, because I don’t fucking know. I don’t know what I want to be, I don’t know anything. I just know that I want to represent where I’m at, at any given time, and if that changes, it changes.”

And change it has. Phoebe’s debut album, ‘Lucky Me’, heralds a distinct pivot in her sound and approach. Where her early work was defined by abrasive guitars and an embrace of a punk ethos, this latest material sounds, well, like pop. It’s a transition that former tour mate Self Esteem made, and yet one that’s still curiously taboo in the indie world. “Yeah, especially in fucking Manchester!”

Phoebe grins. “It’s so funny. Because guitar music is such a THING, I was scared to come out with this pop stuff.”

She explains that she genuinely thought her peers might look down on her new iteration. “What if my friends hate my music? What if they think it’s really cringe? Obviously everyone was dead supportive, but yeah, it felt brave. And now I’m like, ‘Pop music is literally popular music, you’re not brave! Get off your high horse!’”

Another transition that seems marked on the new album - even down to its title, ‘Lucky Me’ - is a deceptively funny approach to traumatic subject material. Across the record, Phoebe sounds wearily sarcastic, with harrowing details of PTSD and guilt juxtaposed against slick pop stylings. “Lyrically, the album is way more about my experiences and my relationship with myself more than it’s about my interactions with other people,” she explains. “I wanted it to represent that sonically, for my voice and my perspective to be the complete focal point. I didn’t want to feel drowned out.”

There’s no danger of that at any point. Her voice is unavoidable, sometimes making for an uncomfortable listen as she delivers her recollections in HD. “When I used to record demos before this album, I used to use a telephone vocal effect any time I was recording myself; this is actually the first time I haven’t tried to hide behind a really muffled effect. My manager would always say, ‘You can’t hear what you’re saying, why are you putting that on?’ And I’d say, ‘That’s the point, it’s too intense! I don’t

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“I THINK THE MOST CONSISTENT THING ABOUT ME IS THE INCONSISTENCY AND THE CHANGE.” PHOEBE ON PHOEBE During our chat with Phoebe Green, we stumbled across some brilliant nominative determinism – Phoebe is a huge fan of Phoebe Bridgers…

On romanticising heartbreak ‘Moon Song’ is the most devastating thing I’ve ever heard in my life. When I hear that live this month, I’m gonna cry so hard I throw up.

Fucking hell, how beautiful is that metaphor of a dog with a bird in its teeth? It’s like, oh my god, you can really make these gut-wrenching situations amazing.

On dealing with Punishers (Bridgers’ name for fans offloading their pain onto an artist) Yeah, it’s weird, I think I just find it funny because so many people will listen to the song and have their own interpretation of it: ‘Oh, my god, I listened to this song when this happened to me!’

In my head, I think, ‘I can guarantee, when I wrote this, something way worse was happening to me!’ Obviously that’s a joke… it’s really nice knowing that your songs can have that much of an impact on someone.

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want anyone knowing what I’m saying!’ I guess I’ve finally grown out of that.”

I

t’s hard not to connect the singer’s trajectory with the effects of a global pandemic. Nodding that the period “definitely” played a role in helping her grow, the Phoebe of before is a notably different entity to the Phoebe of now.

“During lockdown, I couldn’t write because I write so much from experience, and I wasn’t experiencing anything that was external, I was just in my head,” she explains. She credits the start of the ‘Lucky Me’ sessions with producer Dave McCracken as the catalyst to creating again after lockdown.

“It just took me saying it out loud, because I was too scared to when it [didn’t feel] real. When something’s in your head, it’s so hard to see it as a real thing, because you can just think yourself out of it.” Phoebe pauses. “All of the songs that came out of that were things that had been going through my head the whole time I’d spent alone with my thoughts, but couldn’t bear to acknowledge. I think all of that alone time really did shit to me,” she says, grinning. “But now I have an album, so it’s fine!”

This willingness to greet trauma with a smile is a central part of the singer’s appeal. It’s easy to get bogged down in the (rightfully) serious subject matter of her music, but she also has a tangible amount of fun while she’s doing it. Take her visuals for example, which currently consist of neon colours and a playful DIY approach. They’re distinctly Phoebe, but hard to define - what exactly is the Phoebe Green aesthetic?

“Honestly, I don’t know,” she shrugs. “I do get asked this a lot, and I never know how to answer it. I don’t even know what is deliberate and what isn’t; even though I’m always changing, I’ll always document the transition.”

Despite the possible vulnerability of her subject matter, Phoebe seems to have had an overwhelmingly positive experience with the pop machine, where so many others haven’t. She chalks it up primarily to recording with Dave.

“We’ve been really good friends since I was about 19. I was always so conscious of collaborating with people, because I’m such a self-sufficient person. I put so much pressure on

myself to be able to deliver everything by myself, and he said, ‘I’m here, we’re gonna do it, and it’s fine. You don’t have to do it on your own.’ So I just had to surrender to realising that I’m not the best shit in the entire world,” she laughs. “I have my strengths, but I’m not a fucking superhero.”

Phoebe also believes that her best tracks come from conversation - or more accurately, gossip - with her producer.

“Once we got back into the swing of writing together, so many of the songs [came] from a conversation,” she enthuses.

“Because we’ll be catching up as best mates, and I’ll tell him something, and he’ll say, ‘What did you just say? Say it again, let me write this down’. It’ll all come out in conversation, or I’ll send him a screenshot of a text like, ‘Oh my god, look at this’, and he’ll say, ‘We’re writing about that!’”

Genre transition isn’t the only change in her work, either. On ‘Lucky Me’, Phoebe’s implemented some of Self Esteem’s tactics too, with a series of confessional spoken word sections that litter the album. “I like it to represent the internal monologue. I’m only [fully understanding] it now, but the sung bits are what I say out loud, and the spoken bits are what I’m saying in my head.” Her debut headline tour is coming up in the Autumn - how does she feel about hearing those diary-like sections shouted back to her? “Oh, my god, so weird,” she groans. “I kind of hate it! I wrote so much of it in such a weird headspace that I forgot, in the writing process, that I was actually going to have to sing these to people, and people were actually going to hear them. When I played ‘Sweat’ live, people would laugh at the lyrics. Not like, ‘Ha this is shit’, but like, ‘Haha, that’s funny!’”

Ultimately, laughter feels like an appropriate reaction to Phoebe Green’s music. Much like an involuntary smile upon receiving bad news, grinning through the struggle is precisely the best way to deal with it. Phoebe knows that, and ‘Lucky Me’’s tongue-in-cheek approach results in a deeply relatable listen. It’s an album that’s impossible not to see some of yourself in. ‘Lucky Me’? Lucky us.

‘Lucky Me’ is out 19th August via Chess Club. DIY

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In the musical world of Lauran Hibberd, hilarity, hot boys and huge pop punk-influenced riffs go hand-in-hand. Debut album ‘Garageband Superstar’ is amping it up to 11.

Words: Elly Watson.

“Y

ou know when you’re lining up for PE and you’re the last to get picked to play netball because you suck at everything? When no one wants you to play anything so you have to be goalkeeper for the yellow team?” Lauran Hibberd asks over Zoom. “That’s this album for me.”

It may seem like a fairly self-deprecating way to describe her much-hyped debut ‘Garageband Superstar’, but summing things up with a hilarious put-down is what Lauran was born to do.

Delivering effortlessly witty lyrics while influenced musically by her twin loves of Weezer and Green Day, the record arrives as a follow-up to last year’s ‘Goober’ EP: a riot of songs about sending nudes

and skater boys with “skinny arms” that immediately showcased Lauran’s characterful perspective to the world.

Created during lockdown, she found being stuck at home with no outside distractions the perfect setting to fully immerse herself in forming the album. “I know artists take a year out and sit somewhere down in Cornwall and write an album and that’s sick, but I know they’re on Instagram like, ‘Ah, I wish I was at Reading & Leeds’,” she jokes. “Having that totally gone was oddly cathartic. I managed to get so deep into my own head and write this record, and it would not have been as good as it is had I not had that time.”

internal world she made as “very Wayne’s World meets Michael Cera in Juno”. “You know that whole main character syndrome that people always talk about?” she smiles. “In lockdown, I was so on my own but I wasn’t lonely because I was forever just romanticising life in my head. The whole album definitely encapsulates that - how self-centered we are.

“We are all our own main characters because the only voice we hear is ours and the only feelings that we have are ours,” she continues. “Obviously everything we do is so high in our bodies, and I think this album just really pulls on that and how naive we all are, thinking our problems are bigger than everyone else’s. But they are for us!”

Using the time on her own to streamline her vision, she created her own little ‘Garageband Superstar’ universe in her mind, describing the

" of Time IN LOCKDOWN, I WAS SO ON MY OWN BUT I WASN’T LONELY BECAUSE I WAS FOREVER JUST ROMANTICISING LIFE IN MY HEAD.”

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harting her life over the last few years, ‘Garageband Superstar’ follows Lauran as she plays out her own IRL coming-of-age story. Accompanied by a bunch of different supporting characters, from the new addition to the family in the ferocious ‘Step Mom’ to the man taking pictures of his car and putting them on Instagram in ‘Average Joe’, the singer welcomes the listener into the bold and bright world she’s created.

However, while all of the tracks shine with her inherent vibrancy, many of the record’s offerings point to something a little deeper under the surface.

“A lot of the songs are dressed up as these funny little rock songs, but normally at the core of all of them there’s something quite serious,” she explains.

“That’s the sort of person I am; I cover everything in humour because that’s just how I survive, and I think that just pours out of me in songwriting as well.”

Take the infectious ‘I’m Insecure’ which explores Lauran feeling “stuck in her own head” and uncertain of her place in the music industry, or closing track ‘Last Song Ever’ which she describes as “a long, sad build up of emotions and sitting in an airport with a coffee you can’t pronounce”.

One of the most vulnerable moments on the album, meanwhile, comes in the

form of ‘Slimming Down’, which Lauran says was written while she was at her lowest “but also feeling like, ‘Oh well, I’m losing weight. That’s a perk!’”

“It’s obviously so fucked up!” she laughs. “But that’s the world we live in. I definitely have learned to laugh at a lot of stuff you probably talk to your therapist about…”

"

“I DEFINITELY HAVE LEARNED TO LAUGH AT A LOT OF STUFF YOU PROBABLY TALK TO YOUR THERAPIST ABOUT…” ‘Garageband Superstar’ fizzes with the pop-punk and rock licks Lauran has become known for, as well as pulling inspiration from hip hop after she became obsessed with Kanye West while binge-watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians during lockdown.

“As soon as you start going, ‘Oh I’m a rock artist’, you shut yourself off to certain things,” she notes.

“This album was just written from me listening to loads of my favourite bands, and there’s loads of different influences. So yeah, it is what it is and I don’t think you can really pinpoint it into one genre.

I’ll just wait to see what Spotify calls it!”

Some of those favourite bands even make an appearance on the album, with Limp Bizkit’s DJ Lethal featuring on ‘Still Running’ and Wheatus’ Brendan B. Brown jumping on the title track. “Tears were shed,” Lauran recalls. “I was just like, ’Let’s [reach out and] see what happens!’ I’ve always been pretty lucky with an Instagram DM. I sent the demos with a really cringy message and for them to listen to the tracks and be like, ‘I love it, let’s do it’, it’s just the sickest feeling ever. Obviously there’s people I messaged who didn’t reply to me… I messaged Charli XCX and she left me on read… But fair play.

You do you, Charli. I still love you!”

Getting the feels out and keeping a smile while she does it, ‘Garageband Superstar’ finds Lauran presenting the emotional rollercoaster of growing up with tongue-in-cheek precision, breaking her leg one minute and creating fictional romances with “hot boys” in her head the next. “When I’m listening to an album, I want to feel like I can take my bra off and unbutton my jeans and sit there with my true self,” she smiles. “This is what the album kind of makes me feel like I can do. It makes me feel like I can unbutton my jeans at dinner and whip my bra off and just live my actual life.”

‘Garageband Superstar’ is out 19th August via Virgin Music. DIY

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Life 39

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P r e inc 

Strong and vulnerable, sad and celebratory, on third album ‘PRE PLEASURE’ Julia Jacklin is embracing the contradictions of her music and pushing them into new territories.

Words: Charlotte Krol.

“I don't want to disappoint “I have an anyone

incredibly loud mind that never shuts off. It’s a pretty exhausting way to live, but that's probably reflected in how the lyrics come out.”

[but] I don't think it's super deep,” says Julia Jacklin, laughing over video call from Melbourne. The Australian singersongwriter is explaining the meaning - or lack thereof - of her recent single, the krautrock gem ‘I Was Neon’. Besides the obvious expansion in sound from her indie folk beginnings, ‘I Was Neon’ contains a typically cutting lyric: “Am I gonna lose myself again / I quite like the person that I am.”

“It actually started from somewhere completely different: thinking about losing myself in a relationship,” she says. “Then it changed into a meditation on thinking about times in my life when I felt very vibrant and alive, and wondering if they’re in the past.” So it actually is quite deep?

Julia pauses. “Hmm, no one's asked me about this song yet...”

It’s characteristic of Julia to present such contradictions; her music, too, is full of tension and irresolution. On ‘Head Alone’ from her second album, 2019’s ‘Crushing’, she sings of wanting to make her partner “feel good… all of the time”.

It’s suggestive of a power imbalance, of sexual submission. But she also asserts agency over her body (“I don't want to be touched all the time / I raised my body up to be mine”), determining at the end: “So I'll say it 'til he understands / You can love somebody without using your hands.”

‘Crushing’, the intense follow-up to 2016 debut ‘Don’t Let The Kids Win’, set her up as the Aussie introspective counterpart to Phoebe Bridgers and, vocally-speaking, Angel Olsen. The album proposed plenty of questions but not many answers. Julia ruminates on that point. “My artistic process is a mystery to me. I have an incredibly loud mind that never shuts off,” she theorises. “It’s a pretty exhausting way to live, but that's probably reflected in how the lyrics come out.”

And things have been exhausting. After touring ‘Crushing’ for two years, and with a pandemic unfurling, Jacklin found herself “recovering” from the tour cycle with her mother in her native Sydney, where she was decidedly “anti-music” for 2020. It was a period of “just being a listener” and “staying away from the bubble of the indie rock world”. She revisited big, “cheesy” pop records by Céline Dion and mainlined Robyn after a cathartic experience watching the Swedish star play 2019’s Austin City Limits. “My genre is quite intense in terms of the content of the songs. I just wanted to listen to fewer words: things that were a bit more broad and positive.”

Making ‘PRE PLEASURE’ in 2021 was an exercise in Julia distancing herself a little from the heartwrenching songwriter label. Although tough topics are documented – from fractured parental relationships (‘Less Of A Stranger’) to damaging sexual experiences (‘Ignore Tenderness’) – there’s also romance (‘Too In Love To Die’). On the lovestruck ‘Be Careful With Yourself’ she whips out black comedy: “Let’s keep all our doctors

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appointments.” Sonically, ‘PRE PLEASURE’ contains some of the songwriter’s most upbeat tunes.

“I went into this record with a clear idea [of having] a lot of the songs produced in a way that felt uplifting and joyful, even if the lyrics weren't,” she says. She recorded the album in Montreal with co-producer Marcus Paquin and other musicians to craft her richest sounding work yet, which at points embodies the drama of Mitski (see: ‘Love, Try Not To Let Go’), while also ensuring that her intimately-spun folk foundations remain rooted. “[We] constantly came back to that in the studio,” Julia says of ensuring the songs had a lighter tone. “In the past, I maybe put too much heaviness on songs.” Watching Robyn live inspired much of this new approach. “I’ve never felt so much joy and deep connection to the world. I realised how profound [it is that] music that’s engineered to make you feel good actually works so much.”

D

espite its sonic shift towards the positive, however, ‘PRE PLEASURE’ lyrically continues to grapple with an array of difficult subjects.

“When I look into the mirror / I see my father when I close my eyes,” she sings on ‘Less Of A Stranger’, instead exposing the fault lines in her relationship with the mother who birthed her. Such red-raw lyrics support a perception of her as an open, vulnerable songwriter, even if not all of her songs are autobiographical. Does she feel a pressure to maintain that impression?

“I don't, but I think that people think that I do and that makes me worried,” she says, laughing again. “I worry that, because I’m pigeonholed in that place, people think that I write this kind of music because I want to stay relevant – because it feels fashionable.”

She continues: “I honestly don't really know what vulnerability is because I feel like, to be truly vulnerable, I wouldn't put it on a record. There are definitely things that I keep to myself.

This is the stuff I've actively decided I'm OK with putting out. Sometimes with the vulnerability thing it feels like it's implied that I'm not in control of my own work, like I accidentally put this stuff on the album.

“I feel like other people determine whether or not they think I'm being vulnerable. I'm not sure if I could ever say that myself. Maybe I'm dead inside or something ‘cause I don't necessarily feel that vulnerable?” She takes a breath and reconsiders. “No, I mean, I do, but it really depends on the day. Some days I don't give a shit and then other days I'm like, 'Oh, why did I put that on there?’”

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Julia has a wry sense of humour and a tendency to lean into selfdeprecation. “The stuff I write about is not revolutionary,” she says.

“Sometimes I feel like I'm being praised for being vulnerable and then if I don't interrogate it I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm being so vulnerable!’. But I'm secretly like, ‘Am I?' - I don't know?

I just wrote some songs.” As for the gossipy guesswork about whether the tales in her tracks are true, she says “it doesn’t really matter”. “I’m not writing a memoir,” she notes.

D

espite Julia wanting her songs to be freely interpreted by listeners, she isn’t totally averse to offering her own explanations.

Towards the end of today’s chat it’s put to her that the loungey ‘Ignore Tenderness’ resurfaces the bodily and sexual autonomy trope in ‘Crushing’. Lines such as “I’ve been stripping right down / Staring at my own reflection” recall ‘Head Alone’.

“Ignore the tenderness you crave / Be naughty but don’t misbehave,” meanwhile, echoes the conflicting language around sex advice. It also speaks to the wider conversation about how women’s pleasure isn’t prioritised.

SEQUEL TO THE PREQUEL

Julia explains what ‘PRE PLEASURE’’s slightly cryptic title is all about…

It’s the idea that if you do all this work with your relationships and your life, at some point you'll be able to actually sit around and enjoy it. Being a musician, there’s a feeling that if you just keep working, eventually you’ll be able to be proud of yourself. It’s a very normal part of being alive: feeling like there's this elusive future where you’ll eventually be able to relax and enjoy everything. But I think that's probably just, like, death.

“It's kind of about all those things really,” she says, “but it's mainly about trying to be an adult who feels like I can prioritise my own sexual pleasure and can feel like I'm worth that when my early sexual experiences were not like that. My early sex education was terrible. [The song] is acknowledging how much early sexual experiences can damage your relationship to your own body and your own sexuality.”

It’s interesting that Julia appears to find it hard to indulge too much in the meaning of her songs, since she mentions being a “student of great lyricists who use humour and trickery”. Fiona Apple, Leonard Cohen and Gillian Welch were her heroes growing up. “I'm a huge songwriting fan, first,” she says, “and their songs can take you on these journeys where you don't fully know where they're going to go with such interesting use of language.”

That’s about as neatly as you can sum up Julia Jacklin’s music – be it on ‘PRE PLEASURE’ or her records past. There are as many loose as tight ideas, as many resolved as unresolved issues, as much solemnity as dark humour, and an often pleasing lightness dappling the shadows of her music. But sometimes, of course, it’s just not that deep.

‘PRE PLEASURE’ is out 26th August via Transgressive. DIY

“Maybe I'm dead inside or something cause I don't necessarily feel that vulnerable?”

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The Simp On second album ‘Maybe In Another Life’, Murray Matravers is taking a step away from social expectation and leading

“We were consistently amazed at how well [Easy Life] was doing because we were making it up as we went along.”

- Murray Matravers 44 DIYMAG.COM

ple Life Easy Life on a journey to the centre of themselves. Words: Charlotte Gunn.

think they like how British we are - like, how polite and clumsy?!” suggests Easy Life frontman Murray Matravers, pondering his newfound friendship with wildly adored US rap troupe Brockhampton. The first time they met, however, it wasn’t exactly the slick introduction he was hoping for.

“I was already an anxious mess because I’ve got to meet these celebrities, right? Then I couldn’t work out how to open the fucking door of the car they were in,” he groans. “And I was just stuck outside this Tesla, and it was really, really lame. But I think the fact we’re like, ‘We’re British! Look how awkward we are!’ is actually endearing to them...”

One week before our chat, Easy Life were atop Glastonbury’s prestigious Pyramid Stage for the first time. The last time they played the festival, back in 2019, it was a riteof-passage slot on the considerably smaller BBC Introducing Stage, but with a hugely successful three years behind them, a levelup was inevitable. There was their Number Two debut album, 2021’s ‘Life’s A Beach’; two sold-out Brixton Academy shows; a hometown arena gig. And so, when thinking about what would make their Pyramid slot really pop, they decided a surprise guest would be a good move. Enter their mate, Brockhampton’s Kevin Abstract, who was put on a plane from LA just to join them for his verse on ‘DEAR MISS HOLLOWAY’. It was gearing up to be one of those Glastonbury Moments.

The only problem? He forgot all the words.

“Ah d’you know what, I’m not annoyed.

You can’t be annoyed about it. This shit happens,” says Murray generously, from his flat in London. “He’s such a lovely bloke and he was really upset. It was actually hilarious.

Sort of better than if he’d done it properly, because everyone is talking about it.”

Bumbling Britishness, aside, there are more than a few comparisons to be drawn between the Leicester five piece and the Texan collective. Since the release of 2017’s ode to being skint, ‘Pockets’, Easy Life - much like Brockhampton before them - have been reinventing what it means to be in a boy band, flipping lad culture and toxic masculinity on its head with songs packed with heart, humour, hope and a fair bit of anxiety about the shitshow that is modern life. With their own Midlands slant on inventive, Odd Future-influenced production, they make music that resonates with young people who are sick of being put in boxes, that are trying to make sense of the world they live in - a world that, let’s face it, is increasingly bonkers by the day.

If ‘Life’s A Beach’ was about having no regrets, forthcoming follow-up ‘MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE...’ is about realising that sometimes the things you do have consequences - and they aren’t always rosy.

“At the start, Easy Life was a bit of a laugh and we were consistently amazed at how

45

well it was doing because we were making it up as we went along,” Murray says humbly of the band’s inception. “We were very much like, ‘This is what we think is cool right now and that might change in six months, but we’ll tell you what it is anyway’.”

The result was an amalgamation of experimental sounds that mashed genres and moods but all with the unshakeable confidence of your early twenties.

It was only after Easy Life’s non-stop climb was cut short with yet another lockdown, however, that Murray began to take stock of everything that had happened and immediately got to work on Album Two. “Suddenly I had a lot of time and it made me reflect on everything,” he recalls. “A lot of our music’s quite extrovert. Don't get me wrong, the lyrics are always very insular. But sonically, it's quite big and happy and dancey. Whereas I feel like the second album is a lot more introverted, a lot more personal and, at times, quite sad, you know?”

“Living in this world, as it is, is fucking tough.

And I think I've channelled a lot of that anxiety into this record.”

- Murray Matravers

O

n first listen, that bouncy production masks the darkness underneath. But dig a little deeper and ‘MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE...’ has a melancholy to it. It’s not that it exactly drags you down, but perhaps it suggests, ‘It’s OK, I feel it, too’.

“I've always said you can only write how you feel at the time. And I guess for a lot of the past couple of years, I've been struggling with anxiety and fucking wondering where Easy Life lives in the world?” Murray admits. “I've got a lot of shit to deal with. And like, it’s just a lot isn't it? Living in this world, as it is, is fucking tough. And I think I've channelled a lot of that anxiety into this record. But just as I’m voicing this now, I realise how miserable I sound! I AM happy, and I know it’s a luxury to be able to think about all these fucking metaphysical questions when other people are just cracking on.

I genuinely love the second album. I think it's really good. And I think it encompasses everything that Easy Life is like in a really true, authentic sense. It's very honest.”

Across the album’s 18 tracks, that honesty is felt in a number of stark lyrical moments. “I feel the wheels coming off,” Murray sings on ‘BASEMENT’, a house track about where it all began for the band. ‘OTT’, a collaboration with New Zealand star Benee, is a song for that friend who always goes a little bit too hard to the point of concern, and how to try and rein them in. Meanwhile, on ‘MEMORY LOSS’, the singer bleakly croons “It’s all downhill from here”. But it’s at the album’s mid-point that a little light begins to break through, with ‘SILVER LININGS’ providing a bit of that Easy Life hope of old.

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“I try my best not to do this, but there are times when you end up writing music for the audience.

You’re like, ‘Oh, the fans are gonna dig this’,” he concedes. “But on this [album], I didn’t do that once. And some of the songs are really slow and beautiful, and I don’t know if other people will respond in that way, but I just wanted to make something that I wanted to listen to.”

TRACK BY TRACK Murray talks us through some of the big hitters on Easy Life’s second.

‘DEAR MISS HOLLOWAY’ ‘DEAR MISS HOLLOWAY’ isn't about a real teacher, she's just a fictional idea of desire and unattainable love and all these things. I've had a few people ask me if she's real, and that would be really weird, right? If she was real?

I think I'd be getting cancelled or some shit.

‘OTT’ ‘OTT’ is about stepping back out into the world and everyone's traits are magnified. It's a little bit funny, like, ‘You need to chill out’, but there's also genuine worry about that person as well.

You don’t get through life without having friends who rely on fucking drink and drugs to define their self-worth, and the song is based on that. But as with a lot of Easy Life stuff, we’ve dealt with a serious subject matter in this quite whimsical way.

‘ANTIFREEZE’ We've known Gus [Dapperton] for so long and we always wanted to work on some stuff, so we decided to write a song. This is an example - of which there are a few on the album - of me drawing this weird character out. I labelled it Alien Man and it was like this weird, kind of gooey, strange creature that was singing the chorus. I'd been listening to a lot of Outkast; I love how expressive André 3000 is with his voice, so I wrote the hook using that voice and it's just stuck.

‘FORTUNE COOKIE’ It was always the last track because it ends with this lyric of “take care”. The sequencing and story of an album is so important to me - it’s one of my favourite things - and we always bang on about this actually, like, ‘Please listen to it in the right order'. I guess I'm telling myself as much as everyone else to look after yourself and I wanted to sort of say, ‘See you next time’.

Album closer, ‘Fortune Cookie’, is one of those pared-back moments, with Murray channelling Randy Newman to deliver an emotional epilogue to anyone struggling. “If you believe you’re in need of repair, take care”, he begs. It’s that shared sense of consciousness - a feeling that after listening to 15 tracks of their own struggles, Easy Life are looking out for you, too - that has helped build such a strong connection with their fan base.

“I've always said that if I can have the capacity to feel a certain way about something, then chances are everyone else feels the same way as well,” Murray says astutely.

N

ow, heading into the throng again for their second, there’s an inevitable question looming over its release. Having been just pipped to the Number One spot with ‘Life’s A Beach’, is topping the charts the goal for ‘MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE...’?

“I’m always comparing. And I shouldn’t because that’s what’s wrong with the world, and social media has cemented that in all of our brains, but I’m always looking up at other people who I admire who are so many echelons above us and thinking, ‘They’ve smashed it, we’ve got so much work to do.’ Or like, when we come off stage we’re always going, ‘This was wrong, this was wrong…’,” Murray says, admitting sadly that their on-to-the-next-thing mentality means it’s often hard to celebrate the wins.

“We’re trying to enjoy the journey and, if I’m being real with you, we did care about having a Number One with the first album and it kind of ruined the experience. So this time, I’m just not bothered about chart position, we’ve trained ourselves not to care.”

For Easy Life, ‘MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE...’ is about escaping to a world where you can say all the things you ever wanted to say to someone, knowing that, if you do, maybe things will turn out differently. It’s an album by five lads from Leicester who aren’t so different from you, whose experiences of being alive involve drinking and falling in love and worrying about the world. Who, somewhere in among all that, have coated those feelings with some exquisite and exciting production, with vocals that make you feel like you’re listening to your mate have a little singsong on the way home from the pub.

“We're all really proud of it. I just hope that people love it as much as we do. I genuinely think it’s quite good,” Murray says, still doubting himself, with a hint of disbelief in his voice. “I think it's an interesting album that doesn’t sound like other things I've heard.

“Something I’m always really gassed about with Easy Life is when I hear other things and I think they sound like us,” he smiles. “Impersonation is like the highest form of flattery isn't it? So I love it when people steal our sounds, and I hope they steal all of these because I think they're great sounds.”

‘MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE...’ is out 7th October via Island. DIY

Hey lads, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air called, he wants his vibe back.

“I’m always comparing.

I’m always looking up at other people who I admire and thinking, ‘They’ve smashed it, we’ve got so much work to do.’” - Murray Matravers 47

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Lizzo Special (Atlantic)

Having been fully installed at music’s top table since the global breakthrough of 2019’s ‘Cuz I Love You’, it seems strange now to think of a time when Lizzo remained underrated. In reality, however, the pendulum swing was huge. Where 2013 debut ‘Lizzobangers’ and 2015’s ‘Big Grrl Small World’ failed to tickle the Billboard Top 200, the singer’s third peaked at Number Four; at the time of releasing that album’s lead single ‘Juice’ at the start of 2019, her Instagram following numbered 360k - it now stands at 12.8 million.

Ingrained within her stratospheric ascent alongside the record’s inarguable hits, of course, was the blossoming cult of Lizzo as a whole package: a confident, hilarious spreader of joy and the public eye’s most visible icon of the body positivity movement. And so perhaps the most impressive trait of much-anticipated follow up ‘Special’ is that, amid what must have been unimaginable pressure to live up to all of the above, where she could easily have thrown every cliche and viral-baiting slogan at the wall, Lizzo has created something often softer and more intimate than anyone might have expected.

Of course, as the disco strut of lead single ‘About Damn Time’ will attest, there are still cheeky bangers contained within. That song picks up where ‘Get Lucky’ left off, while Mark Ronson co-write ‘Break Up Twice’ samples Lauryn Hill’s ‘Doo Wop (That Thing)’ to crown an ultimatum track that feels all the more punchy for referencing musical legends past.

‘Everybody’s Gay’, meanwhile, rings proudly as an anthem to the safe space of the queer club; slathered in disco hedonism, it perhaps encapsulates the unabashed fun of Lizzo that, throwing out a nod to Donna Summer’s ‘Bad Girls’, what at first sounds like that track’s famous “beep beep” backing vocals actually turns out to be “big dick”.

But between these offerings, the singer allows herself the space to be vulnerable too. On the girls-pep-talkin-pop form that is ‘2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)’, her internal monologue flip-flops between assertions of self-worth and self doubt (“How am I supposed to love somebody else when I don’t like myself? / Guess I better learn to like this, ooh / It might take my whole life just to do”). ‘Naked’ is a slinky, soft number that finds Lizzo talking about body image in ways that feel notably honest and devoid of cliche: “I’ve seen every part of me and, babe, I can’t erase it / If I get on top of you, you promise to embrace it?”. Then, ‘If You Love Me’ finds resolve in its chorus, moving from chronic self-questioning to the assertion that “If you love me, you love all of me, or none of me at all”.

The lingering message of ‘Special’ as a whole is a smart one: that even though she may have been held up as the poster girl for an entire movement, Lizzo isn’t some infallible emblem but a human being with complexities. That you can work to love yourself but sometimes find it a struggle too. That not everything is as social media makes it seem. If Lizzo’s breakthrough came in a blast of glitter-soaked celebration, then its follow-up might be more complex but it’s almost certainly the right move for the superstar to have made. (Lisa Wright) LISTEN: ‘Everybody’s Gay’, ‘Break Up Twice’

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Albums 

Sports Team GULP! (Island)

Often softer and more intimate than anyone might have expected.

Cambridge-formed Sports Team have been brilliant at doing two things since they first emerged around 2018. One: weaving smarmy social commentary into a collection of incessantly hooky Britpop tracks.

Two: drumming up their own hype like they’d keel over and die without it.

These skills combined handily when it came to ramming their 2020 debut ‘Deep Down Happy’ up the album charts in a bundle-flogging battle against Lady Gaga’s ‘Chromatica’ that ultimately earned them second place, but still felt like a victory for these six scrappy underdogs. The issue Sports Team have with album two, then, is that a big chunk of their charm from their early days has evaporated: Twitter banter plus the tunes to back them up earned them a shot at the big leagues; with the aptly titled ‘GULP!’ their own buzz is their biggest hurdle.

As second albums go, ‘GULP!’ is safe, shy of any vastly out-there twists or experimentation your usual guitar/ bass/drums bands like to play with when budgets permit. If anything, it back pedals on ‘Deep Down...’’s bread-and-butter garage sound, sanding off the earworm choruses - the aspect that made that record so likeable - to be surprisingly dull in places. Take ‘The Drop’ which chugs forth apathetically but never reaches any such climax as its title implies, or ‘Unstuck’, which wiggles along like early Libertines but could do with being 20% faster to pack a real punch. The low is ‘Getting Better’ which does an injustice on its Actually Quite Interesting lyrics about life and death by pairing

them with a schmaltzy Kooks-type arrangement.

But even on a bad day Sports Team are a lot of fun by nature and ‘GULP!’ adds a few bangers to the group’s already chocka arsenal.

It’s impossible to sit still during ‘R Entertainment’ which finds singer Alex Rice at his most rousing, or ‘The Game’ which whistles by like a rush hour tube train. The woozy ‘Cool It Kid’ benefits from added Asha Lorenz (of Sorry) and shows the band can drop the tempo without being boring when they want to. Peppering in some glam swagger in the vein of Sweet’s ‘Ballroom Blitz’, ‘Fingers’ is fab too, like a ticking time bomb ready to go off in future moshpits. And that’s this record’s saving grace: Sports Team are a band to be seen to be believed, in the flesh in the sweatiest venues or most golden fields, sun beaming down. ‘GULP!’ isn’t Sports Team’s number one-scoring album (that could well be still to come). What it does offer is a heft of new ammo for pint-flinging, moshpitting chaos on the dancefloor. (Alex Cabré) LISTEN: ‘R Entertainment’

A heft of new ammo for pint-flinging, moshpitting chaos on the dancefloor.49

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Lauran Hibberd Garageband Superstar (Virgin)

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Pale Waves Unwanted (Dirty Hit)

On last year’s second full-length offering, Pale Waves’ Heather BaronGracie posed the question ‘Who Am I?’ as she explored finding her identity. Now, she answers that in the group’s bold and unapologetic new record that finds the Manchester band more assured than ever.

Called ‘Unwanted’ as a rallying cry to marginalised groups, the album is a defiant expression of darker emotions, with heartbreak inspiring fiery opening track ‘Lies’ as well as the title track, while ‘You’re So Vain’ calls out a narcissistic partner, the poignant ‘Numb’ explores mental health struggles, and ‘Reasons To Live’ charts rising up from rock bottom. Leaning more into the pop-rock sound of their previous record, ‘Unwanted’ shines in its ability to produce a pop-punk anthem your ‘00s faves wish they could’ve written. Throughout, Heather holds nothing back, with the thrashing ‘Jealousy’ summing up the album’s ethos: “I won’t pretend / And I won’t apologise.” (Elly Watson) LISTEN: ‘Jealousy’

From the opening moments of ‘Rollercoaster’, Lauran Hibberd’s refreshingly carefree power-pop seems destined to soundtrack a likely resurrection of the kind of ‘90s cinema that brought us Clueless and Mean Girls. It’s not necessarily the sound, but rather the no-fucks-given attitude on which the likes of the innuendo-filled ‘Average Joe’ and the unashamedly thirsty ‘Hot Boys’ are built on. It immediately harks back to Renee Zellweger singing on the Empire Records sign, or Cher Horowitz lowering the convertible roof in Beverly Hills. The straightforward sense of fun never waivers, even as ‘I’m Insecure’ leans into more serious territory, and the closing two of ‘Slimming Down’ and ‘Last Song Ever’ slow the tempo. Both the songwriting and production - the latter provided by British rock aficionado Larry Hibbitt - follow suit.

“Who even uses that app anymore,” Lauran sings about Facebook as the album’s closer reaches its soulful classic rock crescendo. ‘Garageband Superstar’ cements all this with a punchy balance of DIY punk and polished pop. Lighthearted guitar riffs offer the backdrop for Lauran’s bullish vocal delivery which takes centre stage, deliberately turned well up over the gritty instrumentation. It’s all fun without feeling frivolous, packing relatable substance into its genuinely jovial sound. “Don’t forget to take your party bag,” she concludes on ‘Last Song Ever’, cementing the album’s celebratory vibe with a brilliantly hearty edge. (Ben Tipple) LISTEN: ‘Hot Boys’

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Lauv

All 4 Nothing (Virgin)

While it may not seem like there are a lot of parallels you can draw between American poet Emily Dickinson and Lauv, they do seem to agree on one thing: fame really is a fickle food. Having quickly risen through the ranks in the lead up to the release of his 2020 debut ‘~how i’m feeling~’, Ari Leff’s relationship with stardom has clearly already been a bit tumultuous. Take ‘26’, the opening track here; a glitchy offering which sees him pondering his own place in the world and how to move forward with the attention he’s now garnered (“He made a couple songs and they got big / He thought that he could do whatever he wanted / But it all left him with a hole in his heart”). It’s a jumping off point for a record that dabbles in self-reflection and reminiscing, but still, at its heart, mostly focuses on the sugary synth-pop he made his name on. From the dreamy ‘All 4 Nothing (I’m So In Love)’ to the confessional piano-introduced ‘Summer Nights’ (which soon melts into a slinky dance-flecked number), Lauv’s second record certainly provides an array of sweet pop highs, but still doesn’t quite show us who the writer behind it all really is. (Sarah Jamieson) LISTEN: ‘26’

A masterclass in reinvention.

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Beyoncé Renaissance

(Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia)

In its liner notes, Beyoncé explains that ‘Renaissance’, the superstar's seventh album and ‘Act I’ of an apparent mysterious trilogy, is “a safe place, a place without judgement, a place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking.”

In her search for such a space, she found herself as many others have: on the dancefloor. An album which serves as a call to “Release your anger / Release your mind / Release your job / Release the time / Release your trade / Release your stress / Release your love / Forget the rest” - as aptly chanted by guest Big Freedia through the album’s lead single, ‘Break My Soul’ - ‘Renaissance’ pays homage to, and celebrates, the clubs created

by Black women and queer people for Black women and queer people, via an ode to fantasising about partying throughout the pandemic. Accordingly, disco and dance legends such as Grace Jones (who moves away from her previous rejection of “temporary attention” from collaborating with mainstream stars, by featuring within ‘Move’), Nile Rodgers, Donna Summer (‘I Feel Love’ finds itself joyfully interpolated within ‘Summer Renaissance’), Robin S. (nodded to on the aforementioned ‘Break My Soul’), and Honey Dijon all find themselves woven into the fabric of the album. However, the record also sees Beyoncé look beyond the halls of fame, using her platform to highlight underrepresented stars such as Princess Loko (who opens the album) and New York drag artist Moi Renee (who is given their time to shine through the finale of the exuberant ‘Pure/Honey’).

And unlike 2016’s iconic ‘Lemonade’, ‘Renaissance’ firmly embodies this world. No ballads or break up songs necessary, the album sits proudly at 16 tracks of pure energy. A masterclass in reinvention. (Katie Macbeth) LISTEN: 'Summer Renaissance'

Albums 

Jack White Entering Heaven Alive (Third Man)

That the ongoing congestion in vinyl pressing plants (including, it should be noted, his own) put pay to Jack White’s original intention to release both this and April’s ‘Fear of the Dawn’ simultaneously is somewhat of a silver lining. For, had they been issued at once, there’s a large chance the sheer force of its older sibling would’ve smothered ‘Entering Heaven Alive’. For the most part, this fifth solo album from the musical polymath is sonically subdued, the gnarl of April’s release swapped for a largely acoustic-led, often jazzy palette. Lines can be much more easily drawn to his work with The Raconteurs - see the Beatlesy piano of opener ‘A Tip From You To Me’, the build of ‘All Along The Way’ or the sprawling melancholy of ‘A Tree On Fire From Within’ (“Even a dead rose is a good rose / You only have to see one to know”). Its nods to Jack’s origin story are similarly less immediate: where ‘Hi-De-Ho’ blasted Harlem superstar Cab Calloway with a hip hop beat, ‘Please God, Don’t Tell Anyone’ echoes blues’ storytelling tradition in its lyrics (we might yet have heard should “Well, my boy started screaming, so I started stealing / My daughter was crying, so I started lying / My baby was sobbing, so I started robbing with a gun” be literal biography) and also one guesses, its author’s own Catholic guilt (“Will the things I did well even save me from Hell? / I can't even recall all the sins I can't tell”). But just like its counterpoint, there’s a playfulness, a sense of trying things out just because. ‘Queen of the Bees’ is almost coquettish, and plays into Jack’s self-styled caricature; ‘A Madman from Manhattan’ marries jazz with a distinctly modern hip hop rhythm, a story told with old-timey phrasing (“There's a madman from Manhattan / There with a man's hat and a floor mat made of satin”) delivered in almost rap cadence. Best of all, though, is ‘I’ve Got You Surrounded (With My Love)’, a track which plays with the sinister reading of its title repeatedly, through vocal effects and repetition - and even finds a route to slide in wah-wah guitar. Sure, by drawing such a line between the songs’ distinct personalities - at its most base level, between ‘quiet’ and ‘loud’ - ‘Entering Heaven Alive’ may not possess any of his more immediate tendencies. But what remains is still a entrancing record, full of quiet calm, and plenty of musical rabbit-holes to dive down. (Emma Swann) LISTEN: ‘I’ve Got You Surrounded (With My Love)’

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Kasabian

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Phoebe Green Lucky Me (Chess Club)

Having parted ways with the guitar, Manchester based Phoebe Green joins a wave of artists actively reinventing pop. ‘Make It Easy’ adds a distinctive spin to the innovative Billie Eilish sound, while the suitably frantic Jessica Winter-produced ‘Crying In The Club’ treads lightly into the world of hyperpop. Phoebe exists candidly at the centre of each, louder than the dark synths that underpin much of ‘Lucky Me’. Spoken word moments peppered throughout hark back to the ‘80s on an album that pushes musical boundaries well past the present day. In sound, it’s as bold as the personality that runs through it. ‘Lucky Me’ explores the duality of emotion, with Phoebe embracing her sensitivity to rediscover herself. The guitar that once dominated her sound emerges as a front, removed and replaced with newfound openness - never more so than on ‘DieDieDie’’s unsettling synth-balladry depicting unavoidable pain. On ‘I Wish You Never Saw Me Cry’ she delves into her battle with vulnerability, all the while filtered through voice distorters, unexpected time signatures, and atypical style.

‘Lucky Me’ twists from the haunting simplicity of its opener to the nightmarish complexity of its closing four. It plays out in line with her feelings, both palpable and disjointed. “You don’t know me,” she sings on ‘Crying In The Club’, “but I don’t mind ‘cause I don’t either.” The words ring out from somebody still grasping for clarity in a world of confusion, and who swaps the structure of straightforward pop for the beautiful chaos of discovery. (Ben Tipple) LISTEN: ‘Crying In The Club’ Photo: MOAL

The Alchemist’s Euphoria (Columbia)

It would come as no surprise to see that Kasabian are heading for a complete reset on seventh studio album ‘The Alchemist’s Euphoria’. “I was down for the count needing healing / All the cuts in my heart they were bleeding,” pines a sizzling Sergio Pizzorno on the euphoric rave-tinged opener ‘Alchemist’. There was always going to be some emotional fallout following the band’s decision to fire former frontman Tom Meighan in 2020, but this is an open and devastating ballad of a kind we haven’t heard from the band since their formative years. The record sees a large shift away from the stadium-baiting rowdiness towards something overall more subtle and spiritual. The likes of ‘Scriptvre’ ensures their trademark swagger remains though, clattering between pulsating rap and swaying synthy orchestral tones. Elsewhere Serge sounds like a chaos-rousing Jack White on the glitchy rave stomper ‘Rocket Fuel’. It’s thrilling stuff but most importantly, with him solely steering the ship, it's the most authentic this band have sounded in a long time - once again, it feels like they’re capable of going anywhere they want. (Rhys Buchanan) LISTEN: ‘Alchemist’

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Danger Mouse & Black Thought Cheat Codes (BMG)

Danger Mouse and Black Thought's debut collaborative album arrives after years of speculation and rumours, and the widescreen sound that’s infused in every note honours that level of excitement: ‘Cheat Codes’ feels like an album that's been lived in for a long time. Initially titled ‘Dangerous Thoughts’, the record was first mooted as an idea by the pair over a decade ago, and though it’s not clear how much of that intervening time was spent actively working on the album, it’s one that sees a perfect pair emerge. Atop Danger Mouse’s often psychedelic instrumentals, Black Thought fits in perfectly with his syrupy verses. Though these two would easily fill an excellent album themselves, they welcome more musical royalty across the record. With guests including A$AP Rocky and Run The Jewels (on the woozy ‘Strangers’), Michael Kiwanuka (on the sparkling psych of single ‘Aquamarine’), the late MF DOOM and more, Danger Mouse and Black Thought's long-awaited album arrives as a tribute to a whole scene rather than just two artists. (Will Richards) LISTEN: ‘Aquamarine’

As bold as the personality that runs through it.

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Crack Cloud Tough Baby (Meat Machine)

A voice recording of drummer/ vocalist Zach Choy’s dad Danny opens the third record from Canadian art-punk collective Crack Cloud. He advises, “Music is an excellent way to let your anger out, put it all on paper.”

And in-between tape clicks, a hyperdramatic psycho-orchestra harps in, swallowing the listener into some twisted blend of heaven and hell. The ensuing 40 minutes delivers a series of unforgiving whiplashes through caustic abrasion, feather-light beauty, and theatrical fanfare, often rifling through these modes within a singular track. For every moment of satanic intensity - the insidious bass-throb builds of ‘Criminal’ say - there’s a flight of heart-strung purity - the aching melody of the title track, and its bruising admissions - “Took too long to discover / You yourself needed to recover”. Sonically speaking at least, ‘Tough Baby’ presents sides to Crack Cloud we are delightfully unaccustomed to. Their quintessential guitar-spiked postpunk angularities are exchanged here for pianos, female-voice choirs, and widescreen arrangements; lead single 'Please Yourself' comes on more The Go! Team than Gang of Four. But underneath all this brazen evolution, the essential Crack Cloud lifeblood still flows, processing anger, pain and vulnerability into a redemptive song, true to Danny Choy’s warbled wisdom.

‘Tough Baby’ gives us a distinctly moving experience of serious artistic intent. It’s like watching a wound open, flowers growing out of it. (Elvis Thirlwell) LISTEN: ‘Criminal’

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Muse

Will Of The People (Warner)

For better or worse, Muse still haven’t given up on becoming the most flamboyant pastiche of themselves possible. It’s got to the point where their ninth album is a smorgasbord of dystopian-flavoured cringe: having encountered a shortage of ways to say that we need a revolution, the Teignmouth trio have resorted, once again, to rummaging through a box of cliches. “With every hour our number increases / We’ll smash your institutions to pieces,” is the eye-rolling promise Matt Bellamy makes over the title track’s electro-rock squeals, while the contrived authoritarian-isms in the soapy synthpop track ‘Compliance’ are more hollow than sinister. Sonically, it’s frequently bizarre: ‘Liberation’ is essentially a melodramatic West End number that’s too grandiose to be taken at face value, while the overwrought dance rock of ‘You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween’ is padded out with strange organ flourishes and an odd spatter of guitar soloing that will induce laughter for all the wrong reasons. The last third of the record is more streamlined, with the sweeping, subtly metallic ‘Kill Or Be Killed’ offering a welcome throwback to the days when Muse were at their best, but it’s not enough to redeem this all-tooOTT offering. (Emma Wilkes) LISTEN: ‘Kill Or Be Killed’

A smorgasbord of dystopianflavoured cringe.

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Steve Lacy Gemini Rights (L-M / RCA)

Steve Lacy’s ‘Gemini Rights’ is ultimately the love-filled and turbulent internal monologue of the man himself. The new solo work from the multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter takes the listener through every soulful and sultry sonic realm while at a concise 10-track length. At times a far cry from his debut release, ‘Steve Lacy’s Demo’, the album whirls through numerous textures from the bossa nova-inspired sound on ‘Mercury’ to the ‘70s funk and psych nods meeting his speciality R&B style in the closing ‘Give You The World’.

An erratic journey, he boasts his hand at a universe of genres - a key part of the musical appeal of the 24 year old which brought him to the likes of Kali Uchis, Kendrick Lamar and Vampire Weekend. In contrast, his boyish divulgence of a libertine lifestyle of post-break-up drug and sex-filled escapades mixed with a choppy and beat-loop-packed production return him to his homespun roots. Much like how lead single ‘Bad Habit’ is now a TikTok hit sound to publicly ooze your romantic longing, Steve’s charm lies in his genuine tenderness through self-indulgence - and nowhere does this shine brighter than in this sensual, lovesick album. (Seeham Rahman) LISTEN: ‘Give You The World’

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Hot Chip Freakout / Release (Domino)

Given that the various members of Hot Chip have various side-hustles and secondary creative outlets, it’s a little surprising how much of ‘Freakout / Release’ sounds quite this forced. Take the title track. Even moving past the fact its name itself appears to be an attempt to reflect the zeitgeist of successive lockdowns at least twelve months too late, when it uses cringe-inducing couplets such as “Music used to be an escape / Now I can’t escape it” to channel its disillusionment, fists are being bit. Or ‘Broken’, on which Alexis Taylor repeats his question, “Am I just broken?” so many times, the intended sentimentality of the whole track is lost completely. They do get it right on occasion too, though. Opener ‘Down’ is a gorgeous slice of ‘70s-indebted funk, against which Alexis’ deadpan delivery provides delicious contrast.

‘The Evil That Men Do’ is both lightly hypnotic and gives the record an injection of much-needed energy thanks to a Cadence Weapon guest spot. ‘Hard To Be Funky’ is a stealth earworm that revels in lyrical awkwardness (“Funky is a funny word / And I don’t know just what it means / But I know / That it means / The world to you and me”) and features a bonus Lou Hayter in disco ice queen mode, and ‘Eleanor’ an immediate earworm (not least because it bears an uncanny resemblance to Harry Styles’ smash ‘As It Was’ in the chorus). (Bella Martin) LISTEN: ‘Hard to be Funky’

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The Chats Get Fucked (Bargain Bin)

There’s no one quite like The Chats. On their second album, ‘GET FUCKED’, they prove that there never will be anyone quite like them, either: they’re pushing the accelerator right to the floor, and there’s no sign of them hitting the brakes any time soon. Opener ‘6L GTR’ is quintessential Chats. A caricature of a suitably deranged persona and an anecdotal origin, it falls on their thrashing guitars and wailing vocals to paint an eerily vivid image. ‘I’ve Been Drunk In Every Pub In Brisbane’ is a rip-roaring highlight, showcasing the group’s ability to immaculately mix truth with absolute nonsense. Their particular brand of punk never pauses for breath: it’s thirteen unabating tracks, fired up on adrenaline and the thrill of just not giving a shit. They fearlessly strike back at the ugly side of surfer culture (‘Emperor Of The Beach’), rage about dodging train fares (‘Ticket Inspector’) and emulate the pounding, spiralling feeling of pressing anxiety (‘Panic Attack’). All of it is done without ever relenting. It’ll have you bracing yourself against the roof of that car, but there’s no mercy here. Instead, you emerge from that brief journey pumped up and ready to go. (Neive McCarthy) LISTEN: ‘I’ve Been Drunk In Every Pub In Brisbane’

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Flo Milli You Still Here, Ho? (RCA)

Acting as the canonical continuation of the story arc that she established in 2020’s ‘Ho, Why Is You Here?’ mixtape, Flo Milli can confirm that the ho has not, in fact, left. ‘You Still Here, Ho?’ is a hands-on outpouring of the Alabama rapper’s ego, embracing the idiosyncrasies of hyper-feminine rap in all the best ways. Her vivid trap DNA is present on nearly all the tracks, with each one tapping into her first-hand experience of fame, designer brands and revelling in her own attractiveness. The sparse features are welcome, with Babyface Ray’s verse on the bubblegum ‘Hottie’ feeling fresh and exciting, while elsewhere Rico Nasty’s modish bars on 'Pay Day' deliver a hyperpop sting. Flo is not afraid to express her confidence (see ‘Conceited’, for one), spitting over the uptempo beat, she constantly shines her own shoes with bars like “I’m so fabulous” followed shortly by “Pretty bitch walk in they gon' salute”. She masters the line between naivety, blind self-confidence and genuine pathos, with each vaunt bar claiming a larger trophy than the last.Flo Milli knows her audience like nobody else, and 'You Still Here, Ho?' is sure to be a record rife with anthems. (Alisdair Grice) LISTEN: ‘Conceited’

Albums

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Gently Tender

LIFE

Take Hold Of Your Promise!

(So Young)

For their debut, the affable Gently Tender have presented a compelling collection of folk melodies, doused in silken harmonies and strung together by vocalist Sam Fryer’s deep, magnetic baritone. “Maybe I’m in heaven, or maybe I don’t care,” he contemplates on the dream-folk ‘Heaven Ho’, suggesting an indifference that intimately captures the overwhelming feeling of the last few years for the South London supergroup.

Intentionally pieced together from ex-Palma Violets members, The Big Moon’s Celia Archer and known-to-all local guitarist Adam Brown, the outfit have teamed up with the likes of a community gospel choir (see ‘This Is The Night of Compassion’) and punchy brass band (’Sunlight In Motion’) to deliver a deeply familiar debut. Single ‘Dead Is Dead’ showcases the group at their most outspoken, with Sam speculating about the afterlife to a Kasabian-type beat, whilst ‘True Colours’ flips the coin with its coda offering beckoning vocal harmonies that taper into fragmented whispers as the progressive instrumentation slowly drops out. ‘Take Hold Of Your Promise!’ is a subtly beautiful and deeply spiritual debut that embraces optimism and nihilism in equal measures. (Alisdair Grice) LISTEN: ‘Dead Is Dead’

Q&A

Vocalist Sam Fryer and guitarist Adam Brown tell Elvis Thirlwell of the album’s winding conception and of their determination to inject “raw emotion” into the indie landscape.

So you’ve finally got an album out! Has it been ready to go for a while?

Sam: We were ready to record an album nearly three years ago. We wanted Matthew [E. White], to produce the record, then the pandemic made that not happen.

He’s from the States right?

Sam: He lives in Virginia. We went over to try and demo some songs with him way before the pandemic. We got on really well, we loved his studio, the tools at his disposal: he had all these gospel singers, a house band, brass… We were just taken aback by all the options that were possible for this record.

Adam: We really had to be patient. We knew who we wanted to do it with, we knew how we wanted to do it. But it took years for the stars to align, to do it how we wanted to.

But now it’s happened, and it’s on its way out, it feels good.

Did you have this idea about what you wanted to sound like before you went in?

Adam: I think Sam’s always good at visualising his songs [beforehand], so we’ve got to somehow get that down on record. The benefit of working with Matthew is his process was so ordered. We’re quite chaotic as a band. Sometimes the songwriting, or the song structures, are quite chaotic.

Matthew was really good at translating that into something that made a little more sense, while somehow achieving all these sounds that Sam had in his head.

Sam: The main thing is soul. I’ve always felt that there is a massive soul element to our band. That’s the thing we’re gonna explore in the future, much more, how to take this band from being essentially an indie band, into being a gigantic soul project. Slowly and surely I think we’ll get there. That’s the thing that keeps me interested, the emotion in each instrument. I remember having a conversation with [Matthew] in Virginia and I was like, ‘I want people to listen to this, and almost want to cry.’ And he was like, “Yeah we can do that.”

North East Coastal Town

(The Liquid Label)

There would appear to be, on the surface, an innate contradiction in terms of the idea of one of the country’s most incendiary punk bands of recent years making an album that effectively plays as a paean to their hometown; so many rock firebrands, historically, have railed against the places that made them. As the title of this third album from LIFE gives away, though, it is indeed a record shaped by Hull, the same way that the city shaped them as individuals. In some ways, it works as a companion piece to their last outing, 2019’s ‘A Picture of Good Health’. That record felt like a breakthrough, if not in commercial terms then thematic ones, with frontman Mez Sanders-Green and brother Mick delving deep into social consciousness in a manner that remains rare within UK indie rock.

Now, on ‘North East Coastal Town’, they dig further into mental health, specifically late-night anxiety on the moody ‘Shipping Forecast’, as well as identity struggles on ‘Self Portrait’ and the pressures of touring life on ‘Incomplete’. Their personal lives, though, weigh heavier on the tracks than ever before, with a disarming pair of genuinely pretty love songs making the cut in the form of ‘The Drug’ and lead single ‘Duck Egg Blue’. That change in lyrical tack is reflected in ‘North East Coastal Town’ being the most musically diverse set of songs LIFE have yet turned in, bouncing from melodic pop-rock (‘Incomplete’) to the measured atmospherics of ‘Friends Without Names’. It all adds up to a genuine evolution for the band, who remain one of Britain’s hidden gems.

(Joe Goggins) LISTEN: ‘Shipping Forecast’

Which soul influences have impacted you most?

Sam: Some of the songs I sent to Matthew were by Curtis Harding. A song I remember sending him - ‘Welcome To My World’ - even though its pretty modern, it’s so timeless.

I’ve always said from the beginning of Gently Tender, I want this band to feel timeless. Me and Peter [Mayhew, bassist] bonded in the past over many nights taking LSD and listening to Isaac Hayes - which is the best thing you can ever listen to on LSD, because the saxophone solos just go on and on forever.

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Albums 

Ezra Furman

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All Of Us Flames

Panda Bear & Sonic Boom

(Bella Union)

On her sixth album as a solo artist, Ezra Furman is gunning for a delicate sense of majesty. It’s a difficult thing to achieve - while it can be beautiful when an artist can create big sounds almost without effort, or with a sense of humility, the music can become uninteresting if they lean too far into their delicate side. Yet when they do achieve what they’re out to get, it’s wonderful. The stabbing piano and silken brass of ‘Throne’ create a thrilling sound that has a real sense of spiky theatricality, while ‘Forever In Sunset’ takes a gentler but no less engaging approach, burning slowly before exploding into a life-affirming finale.

Elsewhere, however, the results are a little more mixed. The dissonant ambience of ‘Ally Sheedy In The Breakfast Club’ comes across as more strange than atmospheric, and so many effects have been layered onto it that it sounds cold. The final quarter of the album feels weighed down by its dragging pace, with ‘I Saw The Truth Undressing’ being a particular lowlight, given that it doesn’t feel eventful enough to be able to hold its own. It’s not a bad record, but it’s not quite there. (Emma Wilkes) LISTEN: ‘Forever In Sunset’

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The Lounge Society Tired of Liberty

(Speedy Wunderground)

Though The Lounge Society can call bingo on UK guitar music’s most ubiquitous terms - ‘post punk’, ‘Speedy Wunderground’, ‘Dan Carey’ - ‘Tired of Liberty’ lands as an active attempt not to just play by numbers. It’s perhaps best to skip straight to track three (the ominously wailing ‘No Driver’) to truly clock the point. Where opener ‘People Are Scary’ chops and starts in fairly South London 101 fashion, and previous single ‘Blood Money’ echoes Shame’s ‘Concrete’ to a level where they could be related, ‘North Is Your Heart’ brings to mind the uneasy thrum of These New Puritans; ‘Boredom Is A Drug’ is scrappy and loose in all the right ways, while ‘It’s Just A Ride’ sounds like Orange Juice sped up by a factor of 10. It’s not even that the more ‘obvious’ (read: of a scene) tracks aren’t good. But The Lounge Society clearly have more in their influence pool than just one slipstream, and it’s when they embrace the full flood that they shine. (Lisa Wright) LISTEN: ‘Last Breath’

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Mall Grab

What I Breathe (Looking For Trouble)

‘What I Breathe’ is Australian-born DJ and producer Jordon Alexander's long-awaited first full-length, and a record which attempts to pull from all corners of his vast tastes. After getting flat opener ‘Hand In Hand Through Wonderland’ out of the way - it’s tedious and little more than atmospheric - the record begins to mean business. 'I Can Remember It So Vividly' uses glitchy synths and staggering basslines to paint a picture of late nights beneath the strobe lights, while follow-up ‘Love Reigns’ and its jolty piano offers up open-air day party vibes. As the album continues, listeners are met by a handful of star-studded features from Nia Archives to Turnstile's Brendan Yates, while his no-prisoners take on production meets elite MCs on ‘Times Change’ with D Double E and Novelist creating the most robust features here. An album that covers this much ground could quickly feel disjointed, yet through painting with broad brush strokes, Mall Grab has cohesively summarised what it is that makes him tick. (Dylan Shortridge) LISTEN: ‘Times Change’

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Kiwi Jr Chopper (Sub Pop)

Kiwi Jr have asserted themselves as low-flying masters of melody across their two albums to date, offsetting their fuzzy and fragile grunge with snappy lyricism. It’s clear from the off they’re sticking to that rewarding path with third full-length ‘Chopper’.

Opener ‘Unspeakable Things’ sets the tone with meandering synth-lines as Jeremy Gaudet’s angsty vocals arrive like an old friend. An early highlight comes with the shakenup slacker pop of ‘Parasite II’ as he laments the cost of modern day living: “There’s gotta be another man in the house whose drinkin’ all my beer.” The band wear their influences well, flitting between the melancholic indie-pop of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and the gleeful abandon of Jonathan Richman. The album's biggest gem is the shimmering ‘Contract Killers’, a track that juxtaposes ‘Heatmiser’-era Elliott Smith’s daydreaming sensibilities with a gritty undercurrent. They’re not re-writing the rule book, but on ‘Chopper’ Kiwi Jr lift off towards becoming cult favourites. (Rhys Buchanan) LISTEN: ‘Contract Killers’

Reset

(Domino)

The genesis of ‘Reset’, we’re told, wasn’t solely that Panda Bear and Sonic Boom have been collaborating for over a decade now. Nor was it that the latter had relocated to Lisbon where the former was already based.

Instead, a byproduct of the move was that Sonic Boom - aka Spacemen 3’s Peter Kemper - found the chance to rediscover his record collection. And where this peeks through is where ‘Reset’ shines. The instantly-recognisable guitar chimes of Eddie Cochrane’s ‘Three Steps To Heaven’ that open ‘Gettin’ To The Point’ and the album as a whole, the equally iconic sweeping strings of The Drifters’ ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’ which introduce ‘Livin’ In The After’ and the infamous “oh ohs” of Randy & The Rainbows’ ‘Denise’ (or Blondie’s ‘Denis’ for that matter) sit alongside a use of textures that marries the then and now.

Halfway point ‘In My Body’ descends almost maniacally from vintage psych to dream pop, while ‘Danger’ sees synth pepper more ‘50s style strums and ‘Everyday’, which sees Sonic Boom take on lead vocal, takes on a distinctly Beach Boys hue. The few hints towards more modern fare the undulating yet ultimately forgettable ‘Whirlpool’, closer ‘Everything’s Been Leading To This’ with its ‘80s keys and distinctly ‘00s indie air - could’ve been left on the cutting room floor, but overall ‘Reset’ is as warm a listen as Sonic Boom’s near-forgotten records must’ve been in lockdown Lisbon. (Bella Martin) LISTEN: ‘Gettin’ To The Point’

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Julia Jacklin PRE PLEASURE (Transgressive)

‘PRE PLEASURE’ finds Julia Jacklin doing what she does best: bottling uncomfortably intimate moments and transforming them into the sort of tender tracks that somehow offer comfort. And on this third album, those moments are amplified. From shimmering strings to sparkling choruses (‘Ignore Tenderness’), we’re treated to a yet more intimate take on Julia’s signature sound. It’s a record which spirals with every panicked thought, soars with every second of joy felt and finds bursts of peace at every unexpected moment. ‘Less Of A Stranger’ is a sonic heart crack, with its feather light vocals and stripped-back strumming.

‘Moviegoer’, meanwhile, soundtracks its examination of a person’s behaviour with a deceivingly content hum and dreamlike haze. From start to finish, Julia has created a world entirely of her own - one which revels in representing her with unflinching honesty using a delicately-woven soundscape. Hers is a world where solace and solidarity are steeped into every brick.

(Neive McCarthy) LISTEN: ‘Ignore Tenderness’

UPCOMING LONDON SHOWS FROM ROCKFEEDBACK JULY

VISIONS FESTIVAL 23 JULY East London AUGUST

TORRES

22 AUGUST Bush Hall

NATALIE BERGMAN

25 AUGUST St Pancras Old Church

MINI TREES

30 AUGUST The Lexington

MONO

BOY & BEAR

JULIE ODELL 16 NOVEMBER The Lexington

SOCCER MOMMY

CHARLOTTE CORNFIELD

BILLY NOMATES 22 NOVEMBER Village Underground

LAURAN HIBBERD

THE DREAM SYNDICATE

NATION OF LANGUAGE 24 NOVEMBER Electric Brixton

PORIJ

LET’S EAT GRANDMA

KISHI BASHI 26 NOVEMBER EartH

16 SEPTEMBER Electric Ballroom 22 SEPTEMBER O2 Forum Kentish Town 22 SEPTEMBER The Garage

23 SEPTEMBER Heaven

15 OCTOBER Hackney Church 17 OCTOBER The Lexington 18 OCTOBER Lafayette

19 OCTOBER KOKO

I LIKE TRAINS

JANUARY

30 SEPTEMBER EartH

SHABAZZ PALACES 01 JANUARY Lafayette

OCTOBBER

MUSH

FEBRUARY

03 OCTOBER The Lexington

STARS 11 FEBRUARY Lafayette

REAL LIES 06 OCTOBER Heaven

PRINCESS CHELSEA 10 OCTOBER Moth Club SEPTEMBER

KEVIN MORBY 01 SEPTEMBER Hoxton Hall

KNOWER

02 SEPTEMBER Heaven

COCO

02 SEPTEMBER Omeara

STRAND OF OAKS 10 SEPTEMBER Lafayette

DANA GAVANSKI 12 SEPTEMBER Moth Club

DUCKS LTD.

15 SEPTEMBER Windmill Brixton

THE WAEVE 10 OCTOBER Lafayette

LAUNDROMAT 12 OCTOBER Moth Club

CJ PANDIT

12 OCTOBER The Lexington

TORO Y MOI

12 OCTOBER Hackney Church

CASS MCCOMBS

13 OCTOBER Alexandra Palace Theatre

!!!

14 OCTOBER Heaven

ALICE PHOEBE LOU 27 OCTOBER Hackney Church

THE SOFT MOON 27 OCTOBER The Garage

MARCH FATHER JOHN MISTY 09 MARCH O2 Academy Brixton

WESTERMAN 28 OCTOBER Union Chapel

MURKAGE DAVE

29 OCTOBER Islington Assembly Hall

FRIZZI 2 FULCI 31 OCTOBER Union Chapel NOVEMBER LOW ROAR 03 NOVEMBER EartH KIEYAA 03 NOVEMBER Colour Factory

MORE INFORMATION AND TICKETS: ROCKFEEDBACKCONCERTS.COM

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Coming Up DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE - ASPHALT MEADOWS The indie stalwarts reach double figures with this one, about “the anxiety of our times.” Light listening as ever, then. Out 16th September.

EPs, etc

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Been Stellar Been Stellar (So Young)

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Lava La Rue Hi-Fidelity (Marathon)

It’s been clear from the outset that the mission statement behind Lava La Rue is being the change they want to see. “When I was at school, I didn’t have anyone who looked like me making alternative music,” they said in the run-up to ‘Hi-Fidelity’ - an expansive and versatile EP that shows they can turn their hand to just about anything. The central focus here though, is golden sunsplashed psych. Opener ‘Don’t Trip’ packs a prickly heat as they flow zippily over the reclined groove, “Life too short to be lying / to tell yourself another excuse.” A standout moment comes with ‘Don’t Come Back’, a breakup anthem swelling with attitude as they sing atop of swampy Thundercat-style basslines: “It’s been a year and a couple weeks since you even passed my mind.”

They even draft in pal Biig Piig for the glimmering and smooth title track which strides boldly into glistening indie territory. A release brimming with slow-burning summer classics, this is the most decisive and assured Lava La Rue has sounded yet. (Rhys Buchanan) LISTEN: ‘Don’t Come Back’

Serving up soul-slugging, shoegaze-lite romps about Big Apple adolescence, this self-titled EP needs barely lift its fingers to explain why Been Stellar are causing such stirs. With emotions cranked to the fullest throttle, each hook and chorus burnished for maximal impact, the New York-based quintet focus those raging, youth-ridden feelings you only get when you're tough, heart-broken, and 23; that overwhelming sense that the world is about to come crashing down, that the broken earth will fissure and swallow you up whole. It’s a feeling that can only be duly conveyed through sonorous, distorted guitar shreds, gut-yanking chord punches, and broken-throated bawls into the existential void of a microphone, as on ‘Kids 1995’: “Even if I am solipsistic / Would it really make any difference? / Because as much as I tell myself it's real / It's just as real / As it really isn't.” This is the Been Stellar frame of existence: burn brightly and passionately, as the sands shift erratically beneath you; suck up the lumps in your throat - stride loudly on. (Elvis Thirlwell) LISTEN: ‘My Honesty’

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Rico Nasty Las Ruinas (Atlantic)

BIG JOANIE BACK HOME The London-based trio’s second album will be out on 4th November.

MYKKI BLANCO STAY CLOSE TO MUSIC Their third full-length features guest spots from artists including Michael Stipe, MNEK, Jónsi and Kelsey Lu. Out 14th October.

CARLY RAE JEPSEN THE LONELIEST TIME “I’m quite fascinated by loneliness,” says the singer of her forthcoming fifth full-length. Out 21st October.

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After building a name for herself via the incendiary attitude that runs through to 2020’s full-length debut ‘Nightmare Vacation’, it looks like Rico Nasty just might be getting vulnerable on us. Now, fans of her explosive side will find plenty to love on ‘Las Ruinas’ - see the breakbeat-driven ‘Intrusive’ and future bad bitch anthem ‘Watch Your Man’ - but where this mixtape excels is when it diverts from the Rico we know. The first half is noticeably heavier, while the second houses a more experimental, exposed side to the artist. She explores a bubblegum bass sound; ‘One On 5’ is noticeably lacking her signature raspy flow, instead her delivery is more akin to that of Shygirl. There’s a relatable innocence on show: “You could tell me the sky was green I’d believe / Finding you was relief.”

Moments like this break down the walls that Rico had previously built up around herself.

Maybe she’s not as Nasty as she’d have us all believe. (Dylan Shortridge) LISTEN: ‘One On 5’

Maybe she’s not as Nasty as she’d have us all believe.

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Live

CREEPER

PIXIES

PHOEBE BRIDGERS

Mad Cool Valdebebas-IFEMA, Madrid. Photos: Emma Swann.

G

iving Glastonbury a run for its money in terms of both heavyweight headliners and sheer endurance, the first of five bumper nights at Madrid’s Mad Cool kicks off with a firework-packed set from rock titans Metallica alongside a supporting bill that intersperses meaty riffs with more theatrical flourishes.

Opening one of the festival’s dual main stages in baking heat and with the volume turned up to deliciously hefty levels (UK festivals, take note), Wolf Alice sound monumental these days. Don’t believe us? Ask the gathered crowd of Metallica T-shirt-wearing superfans, who spend ‘Giant Peach’ and ‘You’re A Germ’ giving devil fingers of approval to the band. Whether imbued with the lingering presence of tonight’s riffing headliners or, more likely, just a well-oiled machine, even the softer ‘How Can I Make It OK?’ gains a notable crescendo of an ending, while Ellie Rowsell has never looked stronger or more sassy than when prowling the stage during ‘Play The Greatest Hits’.

Over in the sweltering Vibra Mahou tent, props must be given for Creeper’s dedication to the goth cause. Meticulously clad in head to toe black, leather jacket presumably slowly melting into his skin, frontman Will Gould displays no signs of discomfort; instead he spends a bombastic ‘Cyanide’ commanding the stage like a ringleader, hopping atop the monitors to gee up the sizeable crowd and providing the sort of emo theatre that cult followings are made of.

Spanish festival crowds go hard for heavy rock, and there are none that rock heavier than Metallica. After decades at the top of the game, James Hetfield knows how to command a crowd of this size in his sleep and, from an early outing of ‘Enter Sandman’ through to a closing firework display in which the frontman - prone to addressing his band in the third person - inducts one and all into “the Metallica family,” they hold the enormous crowd in the palm of their hands.

And if Metallica’s stage is a gathering of black t-shirts, then all the colour has gravitated to the Region of Madrid stage, where a sparkling (literally and metaphorically) Carly Rae Jepsen is like the angel at the top of the tree. It’s physically impossible not to grin at the sheer joy of ‘Call Me Maybe’ and a euphoric closing ‘Cut To The Feeling’, and the elfin Jeppo carries the whole thing with the beaming charisma of Kylie 2.0 - a radiant presence with buoyant pop hooks bursting from every pore.

On a second stacked day, Modest Mouse’s idiosyncratic indie makes for the perfect soundtrack to the blistering near-40 degree heat, the likes of ‘Float On’ and a closing ‘Dashboard’ spirit-lifting without demanding too much of a mosh.

St Vincent drew the short straw when it came to today’s schedule; the final notes of ‘The Man’ have barely rung out beginning The Killers’ mammoth headline set before she takes to the stage. Backed by both band and a trio of backing singers, she’s the ringmaster of a lesson in ‘70s maximalism.

‘Digital Witness’ is given a full sleazy funk makeover, while ‘Birth In Reverse’ grows ever more skittish as time goes on. ‘Los Ageless’, meanwhile, makes use of a filthily deep bassline, and burrows towards rave territory.

Closing out Day Three, Muse might be well into their third decade as a band but they’re still gleefully wheeling out evermore overblown whistles and JACK WHITE

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bangs. From an opening ‘Will of The People’, during which the trio emerge sporting silver mirrored masks backed by a flaming sign, their theatrical rock histrionics are out in full force: they even have a track called ‘Behold, the Glove’, during which Matt Bellamy dons a robot arm imbued with some sort of keytar. Between all this, however, lies an undeniable catalogue of hits - from ‘Hysteria’ to ‘Time Is Running Out’ to a gigantic one-two punch of ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ and ‘Plug In Baby’.

Four days in and the constant run of big-hitters is showing no sign of abating. Tonight, on the Madrid festival’s big Saturday, they’re packing at least three fully-fledged headliners in their own right, and that’s before we even reach the none-too-tiny supporting bill.

Before the celebratory vibes fully kick in, there’s a socially-charged moment from Ukraine’s Alina Pash. Interjecting her beat-heavy, bombastic pop with impassioned speeches about the current state of war in her home country, it’s an emotional juxtaposition of pain and escapism that hits hard.

As per usual, there’s zero interaction or acquiescence to eager stagecraft from Black Francis; he casually walks on, sips his drink for a bit and then begins the intro to ‘Gouge Away’.

But that’s all part of Pixies’ magic: still armed with the feral howl that could conjure a thousand demons, but with a set that rips through the hits (‘Debaser’, ‘Monkey Gone To Heaven’, ‘Hey’, ‘Gigantic’ helmed by bassist Paz Lenchantin, a huge sing-along of ‘Where Is My Mind?’), they’re already a mass of glorious contradictions, a band full of strange,

dark pleasures that also can’t help but write a hook.

Heart (Raise It Up)’, the result is like a musical wellness retreat for the soul.

The majesty of Frank and co isn’t lost on Kings of Leon either. “Do you know how it feels to play a show after the Pixies?” Caleb Followill questions midway through their set. “It’s pretty fucking intimidating. They’re the band that taught me how to scream.” That the quartet follow that declaration with the distinctly un-howling ‘Radioactive’ feels like something of a trolling, but following the mid-set lull of their more MOR material, they deliver a closing thirty minutes that could absolve most sins: a brief dalliance back into their giddy earliest wares (‘Molly’s Chambers’, a glorious ‘The Bucket’) is a reminder of a band who, at the time, felt plucked from a whole other planet.

“I’m Sam Fender, I’m from Newcastle and this is the hottest gig I’ve ever played in my life,” begins the visibly melting singer by way of an introduction to Sunday's closing line up.

Repeatedly refusing the offers of a fan from side-of-stage (“I’ve got to do this properly and pass out and puke on stage”), Fender is a wonderfully endearing mix of genuine humour and musical emotional heft.

If there’s one musician who seems hand-picked to bring a crowd back together after a pandemic of isolation and anxiety, meanwhile, it’s Florence Welch. Decked in a sweeping crimson kaftan gown, traversing the stage barefoot and repeatedly descending into the crowd, tonight’s set is just as much a sermon or a communal post-Covid exorcism as a gig. Before ‘Dog Days Are Over’ she urges people to put their phones away; “Can we have a collective experience? Tell the people you’re with that you love each other.” But pesky phones in the way or nay, Florence + the Machine are all about collective energy and big-hearted feels: by the time they close with an encore of ‘Shake It Out’ and ‘Rabbit

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

Argentine-born, Spanish-raised Nathy Peluso is a pop powerhouse that more than deserves to broach the main stages of the rest of the world.

Switching effortlessly between hip hop, pop, Latin beats and more, at one moment she’s headbanging to camera, the next she’s cha-chaing her way to the mic. Extra props must go to the aerobics routine she conducts mid-set: if that’s not commitment to 360 degree entertainment, we don’t know what is.

On the Loop stage, meanwhile, Two Door Cinema Club draw a heaving crowd that could easily have filled one of the main areas. Packing the tent to bursting with hundreds of sweaty punters leaking out the sides, their slick,

primary-coloured visuals look sharp and more club-like in the darkness, and theirs is a set of near-constant crowd-pleasing hits - an opening trio of ‘I Can Talk’, ‘Undercover Martyn’ and ‘Are We Ready? (Wreck)’ setting up their no nonsense approach from the off.

Closing out Mad Cool as a whole, the specific blue lighting that adorns the stage can only mean the arrival of Jack White. However, one song (‘Taking Me Back’) in and he’s gone again. What mysterious technical error leads to the next five minutes of absence we’ll never know, but his ever-professional band improvise their way through until, all of a sudden, he’s back and into the heavy throb of ‘Fear of the Dawn’.

Of course, the setlist is undeniable, from solo twitcher ‘That Black Bat Liquorice’ to White Stripes big hitters ‘Fell In Love With A Girl’, ‘Hotel Yorba’, ‘Black Math’ and more, via cuts from The Dead Weather and Raconteurs. But it’s the unexpected moments - a splash of Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’ sandwiched between ‘The Hardest Button to Button’, or a random spiel about water (“A doctor told me you need water to survive, but I want a second opinion!”) - that shows White is still a damn sight more pleasingly odd than your average hit machine. He closes, as ever, with the roaring sing-along of ‘Seven Nation Army’; to end a festival with perhaps the most heavyweight line-up of the whole season, it’s the perfect finale. (Lisa Wright)

Like a musical wellness retreat for the soul.

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Live

THE KILLERS

If there’s ever a band who know how to headline a festival, it’s this one.

Open’er

Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport. Photos: Emma Swann, Rob Loud.

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hat’s the Open’er spirit,” says one festival employee, when hordes of attendees return giddily onto the site late Friday night. When South London-based rapper Flohio is told to stop a few songs into her Alter Stage set earlier in the evening, all indications are that the impending storm would pass quickly, as it had done the previous night.

Four hours later - after a firework show of lightning, thunder that rocked the site’s foundations, torrential rain, and a large-scale evacuation - there’s to be no Dua Lipa, no Megan Thee Stallion. A wet-ass Biffy, for sure, but not one who’s going to be taking to the Tent Stage that night.

Cut back to Wednesday. “There’s just one thing that we have to do,” Måneskin frontman Damiano David says, before proceeding to plant a kiss on drummer Ethan Torchio and guitarist Thomas Raggi’s lips, respectively. “This is to remind all the homophobic that you’re stupid assholes.” It’s all met, unsurprisingly, with ear-shattering screams.

Damiano struts his way up and down the Main Stage’s giant catwalk, arms outstretched, drinking in the adoration from a huge crowd that stretches back as far as the field allows. Thomas and bassist Victoria De Angelis tag-team their way around, whether striding in unison, perfecting their best ‘80s hair metal poses towards the bright blue sky, or thrusting each other in an exaggerated manner.

Without humour it would be well past the line of corny, but the Italians know what they’re doing, and the Polish audience are lapping it up.

When Little Simz last played Open’er in 2018, she was a ball of ferocious energy. This time, upgraded from the Alter Stage to the festival’s second stage the arena-like Tent - she exudes a quiet confidence.

And as the full Tent finishes early bars for her in ‘Two Worlds Apart’, its later line rings all too true: “London-born estate girl to international sensation.”

While Royal Blood usually find themselves well up the bill back home, they’re tasked on Thursday here with opening the Main Stage. There’s a steady stream of arrivals while their to-the-point rock rings across the field. The huge grey cloud that later

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delays headliner Twenty One Pilots’ set is an apt foil for ‘Trouble’s Coming’. ‘Little Monster’ is given ostentatious treatment, Ben Thatcher’s drum solo taking the form of a Stewart Lee joke: it goes on, and on, and on… then there’s a crowd countdown before he makes use of the large gong behind, and then… back into that solo, before the song itself is allowed to return.

Glass Animals, meanwhile, are all smiles. ‘Heat Waves’ might not get the biggest reaction: there are festival-goers dad dancing to the US Number One single all the way back to the Tent Stage, but it’s ‘Pork Soda’ which clearly still has Polish fans’ hearts, frontman Dave Bayley throwing a pineapple into the crowd in celebration.

The party vibe intensifies later with Years & Years.

Olly Alexander’s graduation to full-on pop star is complete: he emerges from a seedy telephone box; he’ll later be thrusting away with a male dancer in a toilet cubicle, then spending the whole of ‘Desire’ walking on a treadmill. Dance routines vary from full Janet Jackson level to comic theatre in a sort of imagined ‘80s Soho vibe, with a smidge of science fiction.

Friday, and Krakow rapper Jan-Rapowanie is in full party-starting flow on the Main Stage.

With musical cues taken from all manner of places - some Eurodance here, American R&B-like samples there, tracks stopping to the sound of smashed glass - it would have been interesting to watch in light of a pair of rappers from different sides of the Atlantic following, with Megan

Thee Stallion, and first, Flohio. And yet, we know what happens next. Flohio is (understandably, the kind of storm that follows isn’t common in South London)

confused, and before ultimately leaving the stage as the field is evacuated, freestyles for a while in a vague form of protest, before lighting a blunt.

The Alter Stage is allowed to resume just past 11pm.

It might be hours after her original stage time, but Sky Ferreira is still late. Technical glitches then punctuate her set, which is largely a carbon-copy outing of her recorded material. There’s no getting away from the fact that everyone here is exhausted.

To shamelessly paraphrase Saturday’s headliners, Saturday has Open’er fully uncaged. Come midnight, The Killers will have successfully blown away all remaining cobwebs from the previous night’s extreme weather - and added a considerable amount of confetti.

A late cancellation from The Chemical Brothers means Polish chart-topper Taco Hemingway is moved to the festival’s closing slot, while electronic star Peggy Gou takes his place ahead of the night’s headliners. Her appearance at golden hour on a giant outdoor stage seems at first an odd concept, but as the crowd multiplies in anticipation of Brandon Flowers and pals, the palpable energy that’s let off as Mylo’s ‘Drop the Pressure’ releases is a glorious sight.

If there’s ever a band who know how to headline a festival, it’s this one. A reliable force of huge choruses, impeccable showmanship, and a list of hits and fan-favourites so long there was never going to be enough time to cram them all in, The Killers know just what to do.

Kicking off with ‘The Man’LITTLE SIMZ only to segue immediately into ‘Somebody Told Me’, theirs is a set that hits all the right notes. “Thank you very much,” he says, as inevitable closer Mr Brightside rings out. The feeling, one senses, casting an eye out across the huge Open’er crowd, is mutual.

(Emma Swann)

LITTLE SIMZ

Pohoda

Live Live

Trenčín Airport. Photos: Vendy Palkovičová.

O

verlooking the Váh valley in Western Slovakia sits the mighty medieval complex of Trenčín Castle, and across the river, a new acropolis grows upward and outward, as 30,000 people flood in for this year’s Pohoda. Pounding bass bloats the dusk air, distant cheers echo from smaller stages and people gulp down good, cheap beer. The real excitement, however, coalesces around the main stage for the event’s opening headline act; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Beneath darkening horizons, Nick Cave cavorts and capers across the stage for two hours like some delightfully messianic cadaver, a flurry of limbs and glossy black hair hammering away at a piano one moment, diving jubilantly into an adoring crowd the next.

SLOWTHAI

BALMING TIGER

Slovakian artists from varying genres suck the local crowds toward the smaller stages throughout the following day.

Bratislava-based 52-Hertz Whale can be heard positively pulsating through the thin barriers of the Herbert Club stage.

Meanwhile, rapper Porsche Boy has even the festival’s elder statesmen peering into the Aréna Slovenskej to see what all the fuss is about.

Having swapped their main stage slot with Slovak punks Slobodna Europa, Wolf Alice’s performance kicks off two hours earlier than originally intended. While they offer a cinematic and pristine sound, the last-minute timing change does seem to have diminished their crowd slightly, and as a result, the group’s initial enthusiasm seems to ebb towards the end of an otherwise punchy performance. Fortunately, a feel-good and well executed set from The Libertines makes up for it later.

Favourites like ‘What Katie Did’, ‘Can’t Stand Me Now,’ and ‘Don’t Look Back Into the Sun’ - as well as a pretty rendition of ‘You’re My Waterloo’ from Pete Doherty - instil a collective wistfulness and renewed appreciation for the golden days of the Likely Lads.

The day continues with Yves Tumor, who deliver heavy guitar riffs and strangled vocals from a haze of stage fog, black midi, who treat their

SNAIL MAIL

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS

audience to songs across their two stellar albums with well executed prog rock experimentalism, and an ear-splitting set from Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs.

Throughout Black Country, New Road’s hour-long set on the Europa stage, the now-six piece are dialled in, focused and wonderfully present: bassist Tyler Hyde interweaves melancholic lyricism with lovely harmonies on ‘Geese’, while silence falls for a full eight minutes as keyboardist May Kershaw sings “don’t waste your pearls on me / I’m only a pig,” on ‘Turbines / Pig’.

As darkness falls on the second night at Pohoda a real buzz begins to form round the Arena Slovenskej for slowthai’s evening set. Out of nowhere, a ragged voice cuts through the din – “POHODAA!” For the next hour he has the festival eating from the palm of his hand. Mosh pits open up like giant sinkholes; the audience seethes and churns through ‘Mazza’ and ‘Psycho’.

The set is gleefully Bacchic, but not without its more honest and fragile moments. He speaks candidly of “suicidal thoughts” and gets a call and response going with the audience: “I won’t let the world in my head.” Penultimate song, ‘Feel Away’, has extra weight to it.

The strength of the voice that echoes across the fields on the final day couldn’t belong to anyone but Snail Mail. The final stop of her European tour before returning home, her clean, robust guitar riffs sound great on the main stage’s giant speakers.

“It’s crazy we have fans out here,” she hollers out, then pauses for thought; “and even if we don’t, I appreciate y’all for coming anyway.” Later, Lianne La Havas’ folksy brand of neo-soul plays out like lullabies, while an equally broad age range can be found enjoying South Korean collective Balming Tiger, whose hyper stage presence and infectiously bubbly music make for an upbeat afternoon set.

As midnight approaches, anticipation builds for Squid. Exhibiting a nervy tension, with a driving sense of rhythm, the group harness this energy and build it into its own force.

Eight-minute epic ‘Narrator’ consists of an immense build-up in which all sense of control slowly unravels. Beneath the Europa Stage’s tented canopy, a clipped rhythm builds, builds and collapses as the arena becomes a pressure cooker of repressed energy, before dissolvinginto hysteria as Ollie Judge - drummer turned master puppeteer - is barely audible shouting above the cacophony of noise and the chaos of kinetic bodies. “Thank you very much, you guys have been great,” he mumbles politely into the microphone as the group traipse off, the moment gone as quickly as it first arrived.

But the feeling remains; soon the Váh valley will be nothing but a slow-moving river once again, with Trenčín castle standing above.

Until next year, that is. (Eitan Orenstein)

Nick Cave cavorts and capers across the stage for two hours like some delightfully messianic cadaver.

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Live It feels like we’ve still only just about scratched the surface.

EXIT

Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad. Photos: Benny Gashi, Marko Ristic.

F

ounded as part of a student movement demanding democracy, freedom and peace that swept Serbia in the aftermath of the political turmoil that ravaged the region in the ’90s, Exit - which welcomes guests from over 70 countries - is a festival that has always had something important to say. In the polarised international landscape of 2022, its message is arguably more relevant than ever; a sentiment shown clearly across its four days.

For the most part, Exit should be considered a nocturnal event. It’s a point well made as Midlands rockers Napalm Death take to the stage at 8pm.

What follows is a testament to the grindcore legends’ enduring popularity, as they rattle through their extensive back catalogue with a spiky ferocity to launch the festival with all the verve and vim that you’d expect.

The main stage is then filled with local fare as Back to the Future take us on a frenetic journey through Balkan hip hop as part of a concept show in which a number of MCs from across the region take to the mic, before the filter-rattling sounds of

HONEY DIJON

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Sau Paulo’s Anna and Palestinian techno queen Sama’ Abdulhadi take us well into the small hours over on the colossal MTS Dance stage.

Our second visit to the fortress is ahead of the headline performance of Australia’s evergreen Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, which despite seeming an outlier on the bill proves to be the most inspired booking of the weekend. The frontman’s unceasing commitment to carry on expanding the width and depth of his ageless body of work remains as lustrous as ever. Two hours of pure unadulterated magic ensue, time flying by as the gangly icon effortlessly cavorts around the stage while mining every ounce of gold he can from his trademark baritone vocals.

High house priestess Honey Dijon later provides us with blissful escape as the sun begins to rise over a grateful Danube. Coupling Chicago classics with more contemporary fare, the next several hours are a joyous trip through the lighter side of the electronic landscape, a fun soundtrack that perfectly encapsulates the pillars of inclusivity that house was founded upon.

Saturday evening sees Exit enter its ultimate form as DJ-slashsuperproducer Calvin Harris makes his much anticipated Novi Sad debut after what’s felt like an endless build up over the course of the week: the city is so littered with images of the Scotsman that you may have thought he was running for president.

Drawing a crowd so massive it makes navigating the festival site unwieldy for a good hour either side of his set, it’s easy to forget how ubiquitous a presence he’s been for the last decade; the Dumfries icon’s setlist is so

peppered with his own star-studded discography that when he does reach for a record produced outside of his own studio inventory it almost feels like a noteworthy event in itself. But, for all the star power on display, it’s actually solo effort ‘When I Met You In The Summer’ that picks up the most eardrum shattering response, sending his nowdelirious flock into raptures.

Entering the site for a final time is a bittersweet affair as - like the hallmark of any good festival - it feels like we’ve still only just about scratched the surface as to uncovering all the secrets that the castle has tucked away within its walls.

Reggae sounds and the smell of fresh cevapi float through the air as we arrive at the main stage for what proves to be a riotous sojourn through legendary Brazilian metallers Sepultura’s nigh on 30-year retrospective. Few things clear away the cobwebs like the rockers’ blistering opening number ‘Arise’ which burns through the synapses with all of the intensity of the band’s firebrand KONSTRAKTA political activism.

Following the fury comes former Finnish Eurovision entry Blind Channel who exhibit a much more radio-friendly variety of rock, showcasing their take on what they describe as ‘violent pop’ Rounding out Exit’s 2022 edition is the biggest Serbian booking of the week: Belgrade singer-songwriter Konstraka. It’s a fitting end to a spectacular set of performances on the main stage, with the vocalist’s signature track ‘In Copore Sano’ - a scathing critique of the flaws within her country’s healthcare system - a fitting way to bring the curtain down on the festival’s stunning postpandemic return to form. (Reiss De Bruin)

KONSTRAKA

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Live

Sam Fender Finsbury Park, London. Photos: Emma Swann.

T

ake a glance around Finsbury Park this scorching Friday afternoon and there’s probably more black-andwhite paraphernalia than North London has ever seen before; from decorated perimeter fences to flags waving in the sunshine across site, if anyone’s in doubt as to which colours tonight’s headliner has pinned to the mast, we’re not entirely sure how. But it’s a backdrop that sets up the night ahead perfectly; spirits are high and nothing’s too precocious, despite the admittedly momentous occasion for Sam Fender.

Despite taking to the stage fairly early in the day, the crowd is already pretty packed out by the time Nilüfer Yanya appears to offer up cuts from latest record ‘Painless’ before a be-glittered Declan McKenna emerges for his own main stage set. Channelling the same giddy energy that he displayed at Glastonbury just a few weeks ago, things are delightfully chaotic for the ‘Zeros’ singer, who spends good chunks of his stage time rolling around the stage, and diving down towards the barriers. Luckily, he’s not dependent on gimmicks; the glitzy rock’n’roll of ‘You Better Believe!!!’ and ‘The Key To Life On Earth’ sparkle alongside older tracks ‘Brazil’ and ‘British Bombs’.

Though Finsbury Park’s famed sound issues are rife during Fontaines DC’s set - there’s something particularly frustrating about seeing singer Grian Chatten pacing the stage in what looks like an antagonistic battle cry but sounds more like a polite whisper - you can still see that the love for the Dubliners is tangible. Now able to cherry pick from three albums, they’re smart enough to steer a path through their rowdier wares, the twitching ‘Televised Mind’ and early clarion call of ‘Too Real’ instigating some early smoke flares from a crowd whose enthusiasm would barely be dampened if the band were performing solely in subtitles.

And then it’s time for the main event: as huge flags rise up from within the crowd, there’s a roar of anticipation that rips through the crowd as Sam Fender and his band step out on stage. To think that the singer still only has two albums to his name seems incomprehensible in the moment - even more so that he only headlined Wembley Arena back in March - as

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FONTAINES DC

You get the feeling that this is history in the making. a packed out Finsbury Park (and all 45,000 of its punters) burst into song for the rousing introductory combo of ‘Will We Talk?’ and ‘Getting Started’.

Having already played a handful of massive shows in the run up (second-to-headline on Glastonbury’s Pyramid; a support slot for the Rolling Stones at Hyde Park; opening for The Killers at not one but two sold-out Emirates Stadiums), it’s not as though these stages are unknown territory for Sam, but tonight - getting to play his own headline show - you get the feeling that this is history in the making. ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ cut ‘Dead Boys’ simmers with powerful emotion, while ‘Spit Of You’ and ‘Get You Down’ come packed with a mix of pathos and catharsis; a balance Sam is no stranger at mastering.

But there’s levity too; the gnarly punked-up ‘Howdon Aldi Death Queue’ sees flames shooting out from the stage, while the swaggering ‘Saturday’ rallies the entire crowd in a staggering singalong. “Ya kna, this is a fucking honour, it’s the best job in the world,” he offers up before the heart-tugging ‘Seventeen Going Under’, and you know he means it. If this is the outpouring of respect and adoration he can evoke still so early in his career, what comes next is going to be something truly special to witness. (Sarah Jamieson, Lisa Wright)

DECLAN MCKENNA

Live STORMZY

Montreux Jazz Festival Various venues, Montreux. Photos: Marc Ducrest.

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elebrating its 56th edition this year, Montreux Jazz Festival might come with its own set of preconceptions, but those can be quickly put aside: while its early events may have been largely focused around the J-word, more recent line-ups have offered an eclectic look across modern music. And alongside its two main venues, the lakeside is transformed to cater to free attendees: there’s a haven of musical nooks and crannies to explore.

For some artists performing here this week, the festival’s jazz moniker is fully embraced; that’s perhaps best displayed via Celeste and Stormzy’s back-to-back performances at the Montreux Jazz Lab. While the former’s smooth stylings have always felt like they’d be at home in smoky underground bars, this evening’s set leans into that and then some. A stunning rendition of ‘This Is Who I Am’ towards the end of her set has the room so gripped you could hear a pin drop.

When it comes to 2019 Glastonbury headliner Stormzy, it’s hard to know exactly what to expect. Having already cancelled a handful of festival performances ahead of this evening, his appearance in the smaller of Montreux’s two primary venues seems even more hard to fathom; it’s only when he arrives on stage that it becomes clear just how much of a once-in-a-lifetime affair it will be. Tonight he fully embraces the intimate environment: backed by live musicians and a gospel choir, the likes of ‘Crown’ and ‘Blinded By Your Grace’ are ethereal offerings, the rapper clearly relishing the opportunity to offer up something different. Granted, it’s a difficult balance to strike; there are some shouts of ‘Vossy Bop’, which will go unanswered during this more bluesy set, but there are still plenty of pinch-me moments

to go around.

The previous evening, things are more boisterous for the one-two of Ashnikko and girl in red.

A thunderous blaze of blue, Ashnikko whips around the stage of the Montreux Jazz Lab, while tracks like ‘Working Bitch’ and ‘Deal With It’ are screamed back at her by fans in front. A heady mix of empowerment and sexiness, her set leads perfectly into the similarly delirious reaction that girl in red receives. There’s a sense of freedom and unabashed joy to her performance, which sees her airing cuts from last year’s debut ‘if I could make it go quiet’ and adapting some older offerings (‘dead girl in the pool’, ‘girls’).

Down at the lakefront, The Lake House’s Memphis room is playing host to tuba player and Sons of Kemet member Theon Cross. Designed to feel more like a traditional jazz bar which plays host to jam sessions and impromptu performances - it’s little surprise that the Memphis is standing room only by the time the British artist comes on stage; his performance is intoxicating to say the least.

Finally, as Damiano David - decked out in a full sequinned catsuit - and his Måneskin bandmates emerge onto the Stravinski stage, the atmosphere is at fever pitch, and by the time things conclude with their incendiary pairing of Iggy Pop’s ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ and their own ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’, the Auditorium Stravinski is a sweaty, delighted mass. And while Måneskin may not be the kind of band most expect to see at an event like Montreux Jazz Festival, that’s what makes the whole thing all the sweeter; this is a festival that revels in the unexpected, and encourages you to explore every corner of its musical wonderland. (Sarah Jamieson)

Phoebe Bridgers Brixton Academy, London.

Photo: Emma Swann.

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hen 2020’s ‘Punisher’ arrived at a time of unforeseen solitude, Phoebe Bridgers delivered a record that brought many together, crafting an indie-rock masterpiece that could devastate at one moment and have you grinning through tears the next.

Setting up shop at London’s Brixton Academy for four back-to-back dates that sold-out in minutes, Phoebe’s ability to unite people through her music is evident from the snaking merch queue to the buzzing throng of mega-fans (including a balcony peppered with A-listers) all eager to see Phoebe’s fourth and final night. As she steps on stage and the crowd erupt for ‘Motion Sickness’, there is barely a moment following where Phoebe doesn’t have the audience singing back every word or losing themselves in her richly-arranged music.

Gliding through songs from ‘Punisher’ as well as 2017 debut ‘Stranger In The Alps’, the live show is backed by a visual of a giant illustrated storybook opening to different pop-up pages, transporting the audience to the different locations of Phoebe’s inner world.

Breezy banger ‘Kyoto’ gets a joyous reception, while the darkly-enticing ‘Moon Song’ and ‘Halloween’ provide beautifully poignant moments.

‘Chinese Satellite’ and ‘Saviour Complex’ are met by tearful smiles; while her April standalone release ’Sidelines’ has the whole crowd swaying in unison.

Just like on ‘Punisher’ itself, ‘I Know The End’ provides a cathartic conclusion, as the crowd are urged to join in to its chaotic ending with a huge, frenzied and feral scream.

This final show also sees Phoebe ask fans to put their phones away for a debut of a raw, as-yet-untitled new song, one that leaves those lucky enough to witness it in awe. A tender and triumphant ending, Phoebe leaves the stage with the crowd feeling both emotional and euphoric in a way that few can compete with. (Elly Watson)

ASHNIKKO

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IT’S YOUR ROUND

A big inter-band pub quiz of sorts, we’ll be grilling your faves one by one. Now brought to you via Zoom!

THIS MONTH: GENESIS OWUSU Where: Pastel pink hotel room. Drink: Room temperature water.

General Knowledge

SPECIALIST SUBJECT: Alter-Egos

1

What is the name of Eminem’s onstage alter-ego?

Is it not Slim Shady?

It is.

Good start!

2

They’re among the most famous alter-egos in literature. But who wrote 1886’s ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’?

I don’t know. Wasn’t it a musical? I don’t know!

It’s Robert Louis Stevenson.

OK! Now I know!

4

The phrase ‘alter ego’ derives from which language?

I’m gonna take a shot in the dark and say Latin?

Correct!

5

In the film Fight Club, Brad Pitt plays the Narrator’s alter-ego of Tyler Durden. But who plays the Narrator?

Edward Norton.

Yes!

6

Which two planets are closer to the Sun than the Earth is?

Ummmm, I wanna say Mercury? Mars?

It’s Mercury and Venus. You can have a half point for that.

7

What was the name of David Bowie’s final album?

Blackstar.

Correct.

9

Which insect can turn its head 180 degrees?

I don’t know, is it like a praying mantis?

It is!

10

Australian athlete Jordan Mailata plays which sport?

I have no idea!

It’s actually American Football!

Oh!

8

What is the name of the Greek dish made from layers of meat and potato or eggplant that is often compared to lasagne?

I know what this is… Oh my god, this is annoying.

Does it sound like pasta? I think I’m way off…

It’s Mousakka!

3

The Hulk is the alter-ego of which Marvel character?

That is Mr Bruce Banner.

Correct!

Ding, ding, ding.

4/5

FINAL SCORE:

6.5/10

2.5/5

Verdict: I think I did pretty well! I haven’t been quizzed in a long time. I’m quite proud of myself!

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