DIY, March 2015 by DIY Magazine

pedestrian? nah mate

Co ur t n e y .

Bar n e t t .

set music free free / issue 38 / march 2015 diymag.com

will but ler . t h e vaccines . tobias jesso jr. dutch uncles.

at h o m e . wi t h . . . .

behind the sce n es ! alt-j wolf alice & gengahr at the o2!

laura marling â&#x20AC;&#x153; I was lik e , what th e f**k am I d oi ng . with my lif e ? â&#x20AC;? . 1

ÂŠ2015 Vans Inc. Photo: Stefan Simikich

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music. Here are some of the albums we’re excited about this month…

Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear

Moon Duo - Shadow Of The Sun CD / Red Vinyl LP + 7” “The repetition becomes mesmerising, the melodies

BADBADNOTGOOD ft Ghostface Killah – Sour Soul CD / LP+CD set

Dutch Uncles – O Shudder CD / Red Vinyl LP “Bookish Manchester band keep their surrealist pop

“This three-piece know their art inside out, and it’s the balance of the unpredicted with the familiarity of

recordstore.co.uk 4 diymag.com

// @recordstore

GO OD VS EVIL WHAT’S ON THE DIY TEAM’S R ADAR?

Victoria Sinden Deputy Editor GOOD Festivals are on top form with their line ups this year - it’s going to be a busy summer. EVIL Bloody press conferences. .............................. Emma Swann Reviews Editor GOOD ‘Sucker’ is out. FINALLY. EVIL Not on those pretty picture discs the Yanks got though, eh. Boo. .............................. Sarah Jamieson News Editor GOOD Learning that El’s mum calls Gotye’s 2011 smash hit “the creepy goblin song”. EVIL When massive bands decide to announce massive albums on print day… .............................. Louise Mason Art Director

GOOD Laura Marling has the loveliest toilet. EVIL Abusing my power and tricking Courtney into playing ping-pong with me. .............................. Jamie Milton Online Editor GOOD Everything about DIY’s Roundhouse Rising gig. Girl Band, The Magic Gang, Hooton Tennis Club in one sweaty space. EVIL Knowing I’ll never be as handsome as Hozier. .............................. El hunt Assistant Online Editor GOOD First SleaterKinney and now Courtney Barnett 2015, you’re spoiling me with new albums. EVIL Still having nightmares about the death-stare of Laura Marling’s stuffed owl.

EDITOR’S LET TER About eight hours before this issue went to print, Blur announced a new album. Their first in twelve years. Before then, this note was going to be about Laura Marling - how you could be a great pop star without giving everything about yourself to the world. Unfortunately, I am now an excited puddle on the floor. Send help. Stephen Ackroyd GOOD Blur are back. Did I mention Blur are back? And they’re sounding ABSOLUTELY BLOODY AMAZING. EVIL I’m yet to have it confirmed that none of the songs on ‘The Magic Whip’ are ‘featuring Rita Ora’.

WHO SAID LISTENING POST What’s on the DIY stereo this month? Drenge Undertow

If you thought the Loveless brothers’ first album was a firecracker, just wait until you hear their second.

“Justin Vernon became a bit like Gandalf, he was guiding us hobbits.

Find out on p.17

Palma Violets Danger In The Club

Expecting the Palmas to calm down for that difficult-second album? Not a chance. Ramshackle, boozed up pop abounds.

C O N T E N T S

NEWS 8 A LT - J AT T H E O 2 13 MINI MANSIONS

Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Emma Swann News Editor Sarah Jamieson

14 CLARENCE CLARITY 15 DJANGO DJANGO 16 BLUR

Art Direction & Design Louise Mason Head Of Marketing & Events Jack Clothier

1 7 T H E S TAV E S 1 8 T H E VAC C I N E S 19 SPECTOR 20 SWIM DEEP 2 1 D I Y H A L L O F FA M E

22 PEACE 26 MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS

NEU 3 2 YA K 35 OSCAR 36 YUNG

26 38

FEATURES

62 REVIEWS

58 WILL BUTLER

66 ALBUMS

62 PURITY RING

78 LIVE

diymag.com

Photographers Abi Dainton, Carolina Faruolo, Leah Henson, Mike Massaro, Nathan Barnes, Sarah Louise Bennett

DIY is published by Sonic Media Group. 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. 25p where sold.

46 TOBIAS JESSO JR 54 DUTCH UNCLES

Contributors: Alex Lynham, Andy Backhouse, Ali Shutler, Ben Jolley, Carolina Faruolo, Chris Bunt, Coral Williamson, Dan Owens, David Zammitt, Dominique Sisley, Euan L. Davidson, Henry Boon, Huw Oliver, Joe Goggins, Kate Lismore, Kyle Forward, Kyle MacNeill, Laura Studarus, Liam McNeilly, Louis Haines, Martyn Young, Matthew Davies, Nina Glencross, Ross Jones, Sean Stanley, Shiona Walker, Tom Connick, Tom Walters, Will Moss, Will Richards

For DIY editorial info@diymag.com For DIY sales rupert@sonicdigital.co.uk lawrence@sonicdigital.co.uk bryony@sonicdigital.co.uk tel: +44 (0)20 76130555

38 LAURA MARLING 50 COURTNEY BARNETT

Online Editor Jamie Milton Assistant Online Editor El Hunt

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 Sonic Media Group 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.

news An unforgettable London triple-bill spells out the future for boundary-pushing UK bands. Words: Jamie Milton

Alt-J Co n q u er Th e O2 With A Lit tle H elp Fro m Th eir Frien ds

Riding The (Awesome) Wave

“W

e’ve hit puberty. Raging puberty,” says Alt-J’s Gus-Unger Hamilton when speaking to Zane Lowe, two days on from his band’s colossal triumph at London’s O2 Arena. Only now is it beginning to sink in, both the size of the occasion just gone and the sheer might with which these three embraced it. Here stands the UK’s most curious arena stalwarts, a band whose ingredients run almost counter to a big band status, still managing to pull off sold out, giant gigs without reverting to blurted-out, Bono-style gusto. And it’s not just any gig. Alt-J are topping a bill that reads like a who’s who of heavyweights both present day and future. Themselves, Wolf Alice and Gengahr sound nothing alike most of the time, but they share a kinship in giving a challenging new face to the

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big time. Left-of-centre, unorthodox, whatever you want to call it these three aren’t cut from the same cloth as anyone else. That’s the significance of tonight - three groups who’ve followed their own path and always will, ending up on the same great stage.

Wolf Alice - future O2 headliners?

“ W e ’ v e a c t u a l ly p l ay e d at The O2 before, to nine people in the cafe.” Ellie Rowsell, Wolf Alice

“It’s not our gig, is it?” says Wolf Alice drummer Joel Amey backstage, ahead of the show, levelling the everyday support act response. But there’s a special thread linking together these three, right up to opener Gengahr’s curious ability to take on huge venues at will. By the time the headliners cause one final storm with ‘Breezeblocks’, they’re undoubtedly a cut above. Two albums under their belt, Alt-J have embraced their colossal status with ease, but there’s nothing ruling out the supporting cast being able to replicate the feat. “We’ve actually played at The O2 before, but in the cafe. We made a Vine outside saying ‘We’re playing The O2!’ and it was actually Pink headlining,” remembers Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell. “That was last year. It was the Sundance Film Festival, playing to nine people.” Cut to a few months later and Wolf Alice look every bit the arena-conquerors. ‘Bros’ soars through the almighty space, which by this point isn’t far from capacity. The difference between ‘Giant Peach’’s harsh aftertaste and Alt-J’s delicate-as-can-be ‘Warm Foothills’ is glaring, and yet somehow this is a bill that fits like few others. There’s a palpable excitement. “Everyone’s pretty pumped,” says Joff Oddie. “I can’t imagine how I’d be feeling if I was headlining. I don’t think I could comprehend it,” Theo backs up. “They don’t seem nervous or anything like that. I’d be crying,” says Ellie, half-joking.

Gengahr, meanwhile, open the show with all the confidence of seasoned pros. Fresh from finishing their debut album, there’s an added exuberance to their every move. Feverish on record, songs like ‘Powder’ scale upwards in this kind of setting. “I don’t think we ever dared dream we would have the chance to play a venue like The O2,” they explain ahead of the show. Something suggests this won’t be the last time - when they play the opening note, everyone’s still finding their way through the gates. As new material filters through plucky favourites, there’s little doubt these four have made an impact. Back in the day, Alt-J were far smaller fare than Gengahr, pluckily penning soon-to-be-giants in their student residence. ‘Leon’, a track that goes as far back as a previous band name (Films), gets its first outing in four years. “It was the least arena-thing that we had,” says Unger-Hamilton, post-performance. “The last time we played it was at The Victoria in Dalston, to about 100 people…” But as the song stirs into action, it sounds like it was always destined to settle into these surroundings. They’ve mastered their show, from the headrush of reluctant smash hit ‘Left Hand Free’ to the blissful interchange of ‘Something Good’. Each track comes backed with a heady light show, Thom Green drumming like he’s trying to outplay Lars Ulrich. His role’s so important that he’s even given his own platform, while Gus and Joe Newman stay perfectly static.

How Was it For You?

Alt-J: “We’ve got the bug. We just wanna do more [arena shows].”

.Wolf Alice: “It was really fun. It’s insane to be on a stage like that. The line-up is great.”

On paper, there’s still a large part of Alt-J that doesn’t fit the arena mould. The O2 doesn’t breathe fire, Newman

“I can’t imagine how I’d be feeling if I was headlining .” - Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice

Gengahr:

“It was such an incredible experience for us. We will be forever grateful for the opportunity.”

doesn’t divert from the stage to ride a giant banana, Miley-style. If he did, it’d make for one of the most unforgettable musical moments in existence, but as it stands, tonight’s show will always have a place in the heart of everyone in attendance. It feels like a breakthrough in every sense, both in Alt-J’s ability to conquer spaces like this, and in the realisation that they’ll be repeating this feat for years to come. “They only just sold out Ally Pally a couple of months ago. It’s like, ‘Let’s do another one and double it’. And they’ve done it,” Wolf Alice remark. It’s a trajectory that’s surprised almost everybody, not least the band themselves, but it won’t be stopping short anytime soon. DIY

Alt-J, Wolf Alice + Gengahr The O2, London

he general feeling tonight within the O2 Arena’s cavernous canvas walls is one of delighted disbelief. All three of tonight’s acts are surpassing everything anyone could have thought possible of them as little as a year ago, and yet all three are right at home. Gengahr twinkle into audibility; timid whispered vocals and groovy psych-pop soundscapes sound all the more magical as they ring and echo in and around the early arrivals. Perhaps Gengahr might be expected to be found in some distant corner of a sunny festival field but tonight they still manage to bring sunshine and whimsy to the dingiest corner of the O2’s mighty arena. As for Wolf Alice, almost exactly this time two years back, fans throughout London were cramming themselves into The Old Blue Last’s tiny walls. Now those same fans (plus many, many others) find themselves blinking bewilderedly in the bright lights of one of London’s biggest venues. The tumultuous riffs which usually threaten to burst the walls of smaller venues effortlessly fill The O2’s insides, carrying to heights they were born to reach as Ellie Rowsell’s vocals weave in and out, commanding their support slot with the confidence and ability of a headline act. The ethos of Alt-J is made for big stages, the emphasis on

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colour and the powerful imagery they conjure through bizarre metaphors and dexterous lyricism can only really be fully portrayed through the kind of production values available at the very top. As the background curtain drops dramatically at the crescendo of ‘Fitzpleasure’ revealing great bands of lights, it’s clear that this will be no ordinary performance. Every detail of this is show is thought out, every visual, every arrangement, every other freckle has been honed to perfection by Britain’s most technically gifted ensemble. Where big hits like ‘Left Hand Free’ fill The O2 effortlessly, the more tender moments of ‘This Is All Yours’ transfer equally impressively to a live show. As final encore track ‘Breezeblocks’’ last gritty synth line fades, Alt-J leave the stage as nonchalantly as they arrived. Tonight is the reward Alt-J deserve for never settling for making anything less than their best. (Henry Boon)

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The (Not So Internal) Dramas .of Blink-182 OK, WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON? Last month the Travis Barker-programmed Musink festival in California announced Blink-182 would play this year’s event. But not the Blink-182 we know. As the poster stated, this was Blink-182 with Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio. At this point, the rumours started: Tom wouldn’t be taking part. That same evening, a syndicated story appeared on radio.com. In it was a reported statement from the band that claimed Mark and Travis had been told by Tom’s manager that “he didn’t want to participate in any Blink-182 projects indefinitely.” RIGHT. WHAT DID TOM HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT? Mostly “I didn’t quit.” Cue tweets from people close to the band suggesting it’s all nonsense, but counter claims from journalists saying they’ve definitely had the statement from a primary source. BLIMEY. SO WHAT DID MARK AND TRAVIS SAY? In a chat with Rolling Stone, Mark and Travis were not holding back. Some edited highlights include: Tom not quitting is a bit of a red herring. “We get an email from Tom’s manager saying that he has no interest in recording and that he’s out indefinitely,” Mark explains. “His manager sends [an email] back saying, ‘Tom. Is. Out.’ Direct quote.” This might not be over yet. “There are legalities involved,” Mark added. WHAT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENED, THEN? Tom DeLonge is out of Blink-182, and although Tom himself states they’ve always been dysfunctional, this feels like those not-that-nice interviews which came out of the last hiatus. A day or so later, things seemed to be calming down - but not completely. It’s evident that Tom is no longer a part of the band, and despite initially posting a scathing tweet about how he and Mark tried to oust Travis from the group last year, he soon regained his cool.

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TOM DELONGE RELEASES A STATEMENT. Obviously, it doesn’t quite agree with what Mark and Travis had to say and is quite long, but the gist is that - even after putting in his best efforts to make the band work - Tom was being forced to decide between Blink and his other endeavours. “All of these other projects are being worked, exist in contract form - I can’t just slam the brakes.” CONTRACTS? WOW. Yup. Contracts. Are you ever really a band if you’re not legally obligated to be so in triplicate? OK, BUT WHAT ABOUT THAT TWEET? What, the one Tom tweeted and deleted? Well remembered. Mark has addressed that one. In a much longer interview with Alternative Press, he explained it was over an Australian tour that Travis didn’t attend due to a fear of flying following his 2008 plane crash. “Travis and the promoter got into a Twitter argument that was very contentious and was a lot of stress... After the tour, Tom was very upset about being put in that situation. [He] was having these calls where he was talking about ‘can we replace Travis,’ but it was really just Tom blowing off steam.” So, that deals with that. Sounds less of a big deal now, doesn’t it? SO, REALLY, WHAT IS GOING ON? As it stands - as far as we can tell: Blink-182’s last two years sound all kinds of fun. Tom DeLonge is not in the band anymore. Blink will play Musink in March with Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio. That’s the only date on the calendar. After that, Mark claims: “We’re very optimistic and excited about the possibilities of continuing with Matt in some way” however, nothing is confirmed. Mark and Travis seem eager to go back into the studio and continue ‘being’ Blink-182. Tom is set to unveil new music – what, we’re not sure – in March. But then again, who knows? Maybe Blink-182’s lawyers do. DIY

FAMOUS FRIENDS

Just like opening your box of McDonalds chicken nuggets and realising you’ve scored seven rather than six, unearthing an album’s special guest can be wonderfully satisfying. Luckily, Mini Mansions have supplied two for their new ‘un.

“We’re kind of like parasites”

Mini Mansions are releasing their second record this month, and they’ve

been sucking blood from all kinds of different genres in preparation. Words: Sarah Jamieson. Photo: Emma Swann

ll sharp suits and slicked-back hair, Mini Mansions aren’t fooling anyone as they wander into the East London cafe adjoining DIY HQ. The trio, who are gearing up to release their second record, look surprisingly fresh-faced considering; just last night they performed to a packed out Lexington, for a one-off headline show before a lengthy run of support shows with Royal Blood. They’re also currently the talk of the internet, after a rather special guest joined them on stage. “I mean,” bassist Zach Dawes shrugs, nonchalantly, “it was just that he was here. That’s how it always has been, since we did the tour with them, and how hopefully it always will be. If he’s ever in the same town, he’ll come on, do a little

dance and have some fun.” He’s referring to Arctic Monkeys’ leader and touring mate Alex Turner, who lurked at the back of the venue until his turn to perform came along. He’s one of two high-profile guests on their forthcoming full-length, ‘The Great Pretenders’, alongside Brian Wilson. “When we set out to do it, we envisioned something else,” Dawes says of the release. Originally, the band were set to follow up their 2010 debut with a handful of EPs, before knuckling down on their second effort. That all changed when T Bone Burnett heard some tracks. “He said he would put out the record. That gave us this opportunity to finish them all and have it turn into another thing.”

“Yeah, we definitely wouldn’t have the songs that we have now if we’d rushed earlier,” agrees his bandmate, Michael Shuman, also of Queens of the Stone Age fame. “It all really has fallen into place.” As for what they hope their music says of them now, frontman Tyler Parkford speaks up. “It’s a pretty crazy world, as a whole, and as a record,” he offers. “If anything, for me, it feels limitless. We’re kind of like parasites, we can adapt and suck blood from any type of genre we choose to and it’s still ours.” Mini Mansions’ new album ‘The Great Pretenders’ will be released on 23rd March via Electromagnetic Recordings / Fiction Records. DIY

“What they did was exceptional and they really made the songs,” Michael Shuman explains, of their collaboration with both the Arctics’ Alex Turner and Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, “but they were the icing on the cake. They just really tie it all together. “I was gonna sing [Alex’s part] at one point, when we first started thinking of the song, but it didn’t really seem right. Then Alex just happened to be there when we were talking through the track and it was just like, ‘Oh, there you are!’ and that was it.”

Alex Turner cake - “Fancy a bite, treacle?” 13

Clarence Clarity got out the wrong side of bed.

It’s no secret that Clarence Clarity is an enigmatic being, but as he gears up to step out and make his live debut, he invited DIY to have a glance into his world. Words: Ali Shutler. Photo: Emma Swann

I’m equally excited and terrified

merging in a haze of neon noise and whispering truths, there’s a mystery about Clarence Clarity. However, the time to break cover is looming and boy, does he know how to make an entrance.

With debut ‘No Now’ clocking in at twenty tracks long and his first foray into the live scene, a support slot on an already highprofile, thirteen-date Jungle headline tour looming, Clarence is set to expose himself like never before. Meeting him at his South East London rehearsal space, he’s ready to explain why now is the right time. The room is littered with instruments and an amplifier hums in the background. Clarence excuses himself to turn it off, only for another piece of equipment to emerge from the black. “When I started, I just wanted things to be judged on their own musical merits and to start building this story, the Clarence Clarity world, and me working that out as I go,” admits Clarence. It’s an ongoing process as he pauses, ponders and considers himself several times. “I’m hoping just going out as a live thing might be the missing piece in the jigsaw for some people,” he states. “It could be that it completes the Clarence Clarity universe, it’s been building up to this point,” he offers, hoping for moments of clarity, if we’re being crass. Both audience and performer will be united with uncertainty on these dates. “I don’t necessarily know exactly how it’s going to unfold on stage,” he starts. “It’ll be in your face and a mess, where appropriate. I’ll definitely be harnessing the chaos.”

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“I’m itching to get out and play,” he says with a smile. “I drove myself mad making this album and it’ll feel more complete for it to exist in the world rather than in my head and my bedroom. If you’re expecting to come and see exactly what I’ve recorded, don’t bother,” he warns. He’s extended Clarence Clarity into a four-piece band of friends and is set to bring “out some of those elements that aren’t so obvious in the recordings.” “I need some real people around me and to feel like I’m in a bit of a gang,” Clarence explains; with a full drum kit before him and a glint in his eye. “I just wanted it to be the biggest, boldest statement that I could possibly make,” Clarence says of his debut ‘No Now’ before promising “An assault on the senses, twenty tracks from every dark corner of my mind.” With no tangible beginning to Clarence Clarity, and a diary filling up with tour dates, single releases and potential collaborations, there’s no end in sight either. “The future hasn’t happened, it doesn’t exist and the past is a collection of memories that may or may not be real or true. So why worry about anything,” Clarence asks. “I’m equally excited and maybe terrified,” he admits of the upcoming dates. “I didn’t want to play for the sake of it. I’ve been waiting for it to feel like the right time and it is now.” Clarence Clarity’s debut album ‘No Now’ Clarence will be released on 2nd March via Bella Clarity will play Union. His headline tour kicks off on The Great Escape. 7th April in Leeds; he’s currently on the See road supporting Jungle. DIY diymag.com for details.

As Django Django get ready to follow up their criticallyacclaimed debut, Dave Maclean admits that they aren’t the biggest fans of change.

Creatures Of Habit

ith their debut, Django Django changed the name of the game. Intricate beats laden over experimental synth patterns was all the rage and their melding of just about every genre soon reaped the benefits. Now, following their Mercury Prize nomination and endless live shows, the band are gearing up for its follow up, and they’re pretty relaxed about the whole thing. “We didn’t really worry about what it was gonna be, or what it

HAVE YOU HEARD?

Django Django - First Light ‘First Light’ struts into earshot with a shuddering bass line; one that gives the impression of a record that’ll draw heavily on dance music influences. It emerges as much more, an almost psychedelic offering of shimmering vocals, airy synthesisers and ear catching live percussion. On ‘First Light’ Django Django in fact shine in a new light, searching beyond and beneath a concrete landscape of post-industrial consumerism, and conjuring striking imagery in a search for enlightenment. Its own exterior ditches the more hectic elements that studded the quirky Django shell and made them so invigorating first time round. It gives way to a sound that’s assured, sleek and brimming with potential. (Liam McNeilly)

was gonna sound like,” drummer and producer Dave Maclean offers. “We just go in, muck around, a groove comes out and we kinda follow that. We didn’t change our approach really; we just let the ideas take us.” Having such a simple approach has fed into their second album’s creation. Granted, they weren’t in that bedroom anymore, but they still found themselves falling into old habits. “We just have a certain way of working,” Dave admits, candidly. “You know, with the first record, it was made in a bedroom and we had never played live. We did learn and we tried to keep that in mind, but it’s another thing that comes back to not forcing things much. In the studio, we had this big live room but we ended up in a tiny room next to it, almost recreating that bedroom space. We’re creatures of habit, really.” Needless to say, the last thing that the quartet wanted to do was write the same album twice, so there will be a few changes when it comes to album number two. “It feels a bit dancier,” he explains, “and there’s a lot of guitars and a lot of synths. The first couple of singles that we’re putting out are a bit more stripped-back and synth-y, but the album’s not really like that. It’s like version two, in a way. This was a big learning curve. it feels like a step up.” Django Django’s new album ‘Born Under Saturn’ will be released on 4th May via Because Music. DIY

Django Django are looking forward to releasing their new album, ‘I’m Tired And I Have Orange On My Willy, Mate’.

NEWS IN BRIEF

NATIONAL PRIDE The National’s Bryce Dessner is set to curate ‘Mountains and Waves’, a two-day programme of events taking place at London Barbican from 9th to 10th May. Dessner is curating a celebration of “New American Music”, with the guitarist putting on performances “inspired by the landscape of the USA. 20th century classics and sparkling new works.”

PASSIONATE PIT. Passion Pit have offered up a first taste of their new album, in the form of ‘Lifted Up (1985)’ and ‘Where the Sky Hangs’. The tracks feature on forthcoming third album ‘Kindred’, which is due out 20th April on Columbia and to celebrate they’ll be playing a UK show at London’s Electric Ballroom on 16th April. 15

TRACKLISTING 1. Lonesome Street 2. New World Towers 3. Go Out 4. Ice Cream Man 5. Thought I Was A Spaceman 6. I Broadcast

7. My Terracotta Heart 8. There Are Too Many Of Us 9. Ghost Ship 10. Pyongyang 11. Ong Ong 12. Mirrorball

Blur whip up a frenzy

It’s official: Blur are back with a new album ‘The Magic Whip’, set to be released in April.

t’s twelve years since Blur’s last studio album, 2003’s ‘Think Tank’. Twelve years. That’s not quite as long as Guns ‘n’ Roses’ ‘Chinese Democracy’, but it’s certainly getting on a bit. It’s also a comparison that holds some relevance: 2003, see, was the Chinese year of the goat, and 2015 sees our furry friend’s time come round again. It also sees the announcement of a new Blur album. Following a hiatus after Graham Coxon’s departure early in the recording of ‘Think Tank’, and then announcing they were getting back together in 2008, the band have done a couple of laps of the globe playing their greatest hits. From Colchester Railway Museum to Hyde Park, via Glastonbury Festival, they even had time to record a few new songs - including the standout ‘Under The Westway’. But with frontman Damon Albarn working on solo albums, musicals and the rumoured return of both Gorillaz and The Good, The Bad and The Queen, many thought a Blur album would have to wait. That was until a chilly Thursday in February, when the band appeared at a press conference in London’s Chinatown. There, they confirmed their eighth studio album, ‘The Magic Whip’,

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will be released on 27th April. Speaking of the record’s inception in Hong Kong, Damon Albarn revealed: “It was back to the way we recorded when we first started recording. It wasn’t a flash studio. It was pretty claustrophobic and hot. We just went in and knocked about loads of ideas. We didn’t get anything finished.” The band then headed back on the road, and things seemed to have come to a halt. “During that time, the whole thing had dissipated; I thought that it hadn’t happened, it was fun and a nice way to pass a few days, but nothing concrete had really come out of it.” “It was casual, it was just something we did off our own backs,” the band’s Graham Coxon continued. “It was quite an overwhelming prospect [to look back at it]. There was quite a lot of stuff to go over, so I said, ‘Damon, can I have a little chat?’ I said, ‘Tell you what, I think this is good and there might be something worth looking at.’ I thought we needed someone to organise it, so we slung it over to [long term collaborator and producer] Stephen [Street].” Blur will also play London’s Hyde Park on 20th June as part of Barclaycard presents British Summer Time. DIy

HAVE YOU HEARD?

Blur - Go Out Hearing Blur talk about their new album ‘The Magic Whip’, the influence of genius guitarist Graham Coxon is obvious. A five day hardcore recording session in Hong Kong seemed like it would come to nothing before Coxon took it to the band’s long term collaborator Stephen Street and worked it into something worthy of becoming that long awaited comeback album. It’s that chemistry - the magic, sometimes challenging, invisible line that’s always run between Coxon and frontman Damon Albarn - that bleeds right through ‘Go Out’. The straining feedback, squelching riffs and general ‘guitar stuff’ that so characterises Coxon’s style runs through like a particularly grungy stick of seaside rock. There’s no conventional festival anthem chorus, but instead a vocal hook straight out of Albarn’s Big Book of Britpop Eye Rolls. Sitting somewhere between their selftitled album and ’13’, ‘Go Out’ is both experimental and immediate, direct and obtuse, brilliant and most certainly Blur. Welcome back, guys. You’ve still got it. (Stephen Ackroyd)

The Staves, watching on as Justin Vernon screams: “TO MORDOR!

Quest to find the ring The Staves divulge a few of the secrets behind their new album, ‘If I Was’. Words: Sarah Jamieson. Photo: Mike Massaro

t’s no surprise that working on albums is hard work. Just think of the amount of time and effort, blood, sweat and tears that get poured into each and every record that you open in iTunes or stick in your CD player. On the odd occasion, though, the stars align and everything works out perfectly. That’s exactly what happened for The Staves, when it came to (accidentally) beginning work on their second album.

changed in the two or three years that we’ve been touring solidly. Our personal lives have changed, we’ve changed as people and we had a lot that we wanted to say, and get off our chests. When we went to Justin’s, it was just the best timing to have those two weeks. It was a breather, and suddenly all of this stuff came out and all of the little ideas that we’d had in our heads for ages were able to grow.

“I think the timing was really perfect because we were kinda getting to the point where we had started going a little bit crazy,” Camilla, one of the trio of sisters Stavely-Taylor explains, in between sips of camomile tea, “and we desperately needed to write something.” After almost three years on the road in support of their debut ‘Dead & Born & Grown’, it was an invite from former touring mate Justin Vernon that gave them the prime opportunity to get away. Unbeknown to the band, it was also the catalyst for their sophomore effort.

“Justin Vernon became a bit like Gandalf, he was guiding us hobbits.” Jessica Stavely-Taylor

“It’s great and we love touring,” she continues, “but a lot of things have

It wasn’t just getting away from their comfort zone that helped: the backdrop of Vernon’s April Base studio also provided some inspiration. “The studio was kind of in the middle of nowhere as well,” adds in guitarist Jessica, “so it felt like a bit of a sanctuary, or the safe house as we called it. We just felt like we could get up to stuff without anybody really watching or knowing what we were up to, and as a result, we just felt

really free to be uncensored. During that first trip out there, it became really apparent that it was a very important place for us to come back to.” “It was a wonderful backdrop for creativity,” continues Emily, “it was really inspiring and that alone is exciting. I think people who live in Wisconsin are probably a bit over snow, because it sticks around for a year, but for me, snow that you actually make snowmen out of is a very, very good thing.” Unsurprisingly, the man himself also had a key role to play in the making of ‘If I Was’. It just might not be quite what you’d have expected from the Bon Iver frontman... “He was a bit of a mentor, a friend, a guru,” laughs Jessica. “He sort of became a bit like Gandalf, he was guiding us hobbits through the quest to find the ring… No, to make a record!” The Staves’ new album ‘If I Was’ is out now via Atlantic Records. DIY

Coming. .Of Age, The Vaccines are stepping away from their hard-and-fast pop of old for album number three. “We started to feel a little constrained,” frontman Justin Young reveals. Words: Sarah Jamieson

hen The Vaccines first emerged all the way back in 2010, they had their paths paved out for them. Arena-prepped and ready, they came complete with an album full of bombastic rock’n’roll anthems. It took only a few short years and a second full-length to get them into the hallowed halls of The O2. So when the band made their shortterm return with an out-of-the-blue EP which was a bit of a departure from their previous efforts, a fair few eyebrows were raised. “That was kind of the beginning step on the journey to making the album,” the band’s Justin Young reveals, over the phone. The busy hum of the city’s traffic lies in the background, while he

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walks around London’s Oxford Circus. “We had always kinda been held back, essentially, by our own ethos: this mantra of writing short, sharp, fast, simple pop songs. I think, if anything, with the last record we started to feel maybe a little constrained by that so making the EP was just an experiment.” When the band released ‘Melody Calling’ halfway through 2013, it shimmered with Californian warmth, all scuzzy guitars and blissful vibes. It was exactly what we wouldn’t have expected from The Vaccines and it opened up the doorway for their third record. Now, as 2015 gets well underway, the band are ready to go: having decamped to upstate New York to work with Dave Fridmann last year, ‘English Graffiti’ is

on the horizon. They’ve even unveiled its first cut, ‘Handsome’, but Young is adamant that their infectious new single doesn’t offer too many clues. “The song itself is, if anything, bridging the gap. It’s probably one of two or three songs that sound most like the stuff that’s preceded it,” he confirms. “They’re not all two minute, threechord, fast-paced rock songs.” Their forthcoming album is set to be a more personal effort. Whilst Young decided that he no longer wanted to be as literal in his lyrics, he’s opening the songs up to be more subjective by exploring themes that many of us are constantly facing. “I was actually tackling it from a very personal place,” he assures. “I sat down and spoke to a friend about this,

but about a year ago, when we were first really started writing the record, I realised that - despite feeling so connected on so many levels - so many of us felt this disconnect. So many of us are 26, 27 year olds approaching our late twenties and thirties, we’re single, and we’re a little bit lost.”

“They’re not all t wo minute, t h r e e- c h o r d, fa s t- pac e d r o c k s o n g s .” J u s t i n Yo u n g “I think there’s obviously those themes running through it,” he adds, on how he hopes his listeners will perceive his lyrics, “but the beauty is that really, it’s a very subjective experience. With this record it was really important to me - although I am still pretty on-the-nose about a lot of stuff - that I didn’t just say things as they were. I intentionally made verses a lot more open to interpretation, rather than telling people exactly what I want. It was really important to try and hinge songs around very strong, simple choruses and then leave the verses and everything else open to interpretation.” The Vaccines will play Liverpool The Vaccines’ Sound City. See new album diymag.com for ‘English Graffiti’ details. will be released this May via Columbia Records. DIY

What’s going on with

Spector? Frontman Fred Macpherson fills us in.

Hello Fred! A little birdy told us that you’ve finished that second album of yours... We’ve finished the new album a few times, but you know, you can’t rush perfection. We’ve had to go back and tweak it and dabble with it. When did you realise it was going to take a bit longer than anticipated? We first thought we’d get it out in a year. We thought, ‘Let’s do this, let’s do this’, but halfway through the process we had the realisation that we really wanted to spend time making an album that we 100% believed in. It was finished a while ago but then we added songs and changed things, and then we probably finished it at the end of last year. And didn’t you go over to New York to work with Dev Hynes? That was really fun actually. We got a lot of stuff done, but not much recording, and it definitely added to the experience. First I went over there by myself and we did about five or six demos in a week, and then the band came out. We were up on the fourteenth floor near Times Square and there were these massive windows. It was a great start. So, this new record then… I think ‘Enjoy It While It Lasts’ was of a time: it sounded like lots of other stuff, but that was what we wanted to sound like. We had lots of imagery and kind of a hangover of growing up, and of being teenagers and never getting the chance to make this overblown indie rock album. Then, we got the chance to do it. I think this one takes more of its cues from the electronic side of that album. Also, we had a guitarist leave so inevitably, it ended up being less guitar-y. We didn’t have a crisis of, ‘right, where do we go next?’ I think, had we put the first ten songs that we had written, it could’ve been one of those second albums that’s a bit of a mess because the band are still trying to figure out where to go next. I’m really glad we took our time because it feels like we got to the right place. Spector’s new single ‘All The Sad Young Men’ will be released on 23rd March. DIY

HAVE YOU HEARD?

The Vaccines - Handsome The Vaccines’ self-defined peppiness has really come to the forefront with ‘Handsome’. Centred around a stylish Kung fu cinema aesthetic, it’s all about Phoenix-y guitar hooks and bopping drums lifted from the most recent Strokes stuff. It’s not only ridiculously infectious and fun, but also manages to perfectly fulfill what we really ‘expected from the Vaccines’ all those years ago: making their third album a handsome prospect indeed. (Kyle MacNeill)

Spector will play Live at Leeds. See diymag.com for details.

NEWS IN BRIEF

OH SO CHIC Having shared the first snippet of new Chic material in years last month, Nile Rodgers has gone on to give details of the disco legends’ forthcoming album. Writing on his website, Rodgers said: “As with all Chic albums, this one’s based on a concept. The album’s title is: ‘It’s About Time’… because It’s About Time.”

Birmingham’s Swim Deep have unveiled the first taste of their new, second album - the colossal single ‘To My Brother’.

“I feel like we’re all shaving our heads and going to war”

F ALL WASHED UP Things haven’t quite gone to plan in the new video from The Cribs: the trio have found themselves a bit, well, shipwrecked. In the clip for ‘Burning For No One’, the band wind up basking in the sunshine on a remote island, surrounded by crystal clear water and a family of friendly pigs. Watch it on diymag.com

BEDROOM JAMS Last month, Joanna Gruesome’s singer and guitarist Alanna McCardle took to Twitter to share a number of old bedroom recordings. Entitling the collection ‘Reticular’, McCardle also covered Perfume Genius’ ‘Take Me Home’ in amongt the originals. Listen to the demos over on her Bandcamp page.

ON THE STAIRWAY TO... Everything Everything have shared the first few details about their upcoming third album. ‘Get To Heaven’ will be released on the 15th June and is set to include their new single ‘Distant Past’, debuted last month. Go listen to the track on diymag.com now.

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Professors, librarians or just a barmy Birmingham band? It’s Swim Deep!

ollowing on from 2013 debut ‘Where the Heaven Are We’, Swim Deep have recruited fifth member James Balmont on keyboards and in turn, they’ve arrived with a sound ten times the size of the previous LP. Having gained its first play last month, ‘To My Brother’ surges forward with nods to Hacienda-era Manchester and a bonkers, psychedelic streak barely evident in LP1. Speaking about the new album, frontman Austin Williams told DIY: “I feel like we’re all shaving our heads and going to war with this record,” addressing the dramatic new direction.

always had an interest in pop music, whether it be a hatred for it or a love for it. There’s a lot of pop songwriting on there, just because it’s natural for me when I’m writing a melody. The music I’m listening to influences me, in a way. There’s songs on the record that have come at the peak of me listening to 60 Aretha Franklin songs on loop, for three days. There’s a bit of a nod to that. It feels a lot more connected, with me.

This is a dramatic change. You sound like a different band, at points. There was never a conscious side of me that was telling myself that I needed to change or do anything different. We had great fun. The first songs I ever wrote in a band capacity were on ‘Where The Heaven Are We’. There was never a need to change - I just wanted to. There was a lot more influence coming in from other places; the 80s, bigger beats and a lot more depth in what I wanted to put out as a band.

Swim Deep - To My Brother

You’re making a statement on this. Do you feel like you’re taking big steps in directions people might not expect? Hopefully. There’s an ambition to radicalise the charts, in a way. I’ve

HAVE YOU HEARD?

Swim Deep’s debut album sounded like it managed to have a cheeky snog with the galaxy’s brightest star, all sun-kissed melodies and sweetly delivered vocals. With ‘To My Brother’, their sound has been injected with a boldness and size. It’s far closer to the 90s-nodding influence touched upon in their first album – Robbie Williams’ ‘Millennium’ and ‘Screamadelica’ in one package – and basks gloriously in an ocean of psychedelic guitars and synths more baggy than the trousers in a WeightWatchers Before-And-After advert. Quit waiting: grab some roundlensed goggles, shove on a pair of kaleidoscopic flippers, and dive right the hell in. (Kyle MacNeil)

DIY HALL OF FAME

Come one, come all! We’re opening the doors on DIY’s Hall of Fame - a monthly place to celebrate the very best albums to be released in DIY’s lifetime. The first inductee is a real doozy…

Bloc Party Silent Alarm A decade after the iconic record’s release, DIY traces what made Kele and co.’s first foray so memorable. Words: Tom Connick

t feels almost impossible that we’re already celebrating ‘Silent Alarm’’s tenth birthday this year. Bloc Party – those perennial icons of the indie disco – remain almost every bit as vital in 2015 as they were in 2005; it seems absurd to be looking back on an album that has barely left the headphones of many since its inception. And yet as Groundhog Day rolls around, so too does the ten year anniversary of that chilling artwork, and the post-punk revolution that was housed within. Bloc Party struck at the perfect

moment. As the wave of post-nineties guitar bands was about to hit breaking point, they emerged from South London with a refreshing alternative to the Strokes and Libertines worshipping du jour. Easy to lazily pin as ‘post-punk revival’, and yet unequivocally born of the 21st century, they bobbed along on a wave of critical hype and whispered word-of-mouth, before being snapped up by indie super-label Wichita Recordings for the formation of what would become ‘Silent Alarm’. While it was birthed from the bubbling post-Strokes indie scene, ‘Silent Alarm’ was far from a straightforward guitar record. Built around an almost obsessive love of rhythm and groove, the subtleties of many of the group’s inflections owed more to dance music than the guitar-led scene they emerged from. Iconic sticksman Matt Tong’s stripped-back-yet-flourishing grooves owe much to the four-to-the-floor nature of club music, and gives tracks

like ‘Positive Tension’ a dancefloor sensibility which – combined with Kele and Russell’s combined love of house and disco – offered a refreshing alternative to their contemporaries’ efforts. To this day, ‘Silent Alarm’ stands out as an essential listen. Future endeavours may have seen Bloc Party delve deeper into their electronic tendencies, but their debut still marks a line in the sand of indie’s evolution. Its rhythmic influence is undoubtedly threaded through every British guitar band since, and yet it houses a timeless quality that has yet to be imitated with anywhere near the levels of vitality ‘Silent Alarm’ possesses. For that reason, its achingly 21st Century outlook on music, culture and personal frustrations looks set to remain atop the listening pile for at least another decade to come. DIY

On diymag.com • Wichita talk signing the iconic group • Inside the artwork with photographer Ness Sherry • Tall Ships discuss the band’s influence

.Bloc Party, .delighted to be DIY’s first Hall of .Fame-ers 21

Popstar Postbag H a r r i s o n Ko i s s e r , P e ac e

We know what you’re like, dear readers. We know you’re just as nosey as we are when it comes to our favourite pop stars: that’s why we’re putting the power back into your hands. Every month, we’re going to ask you to pull out your best questions and aim them at those unsuspecting artists. You don’t even need to pay for postage! This month Peace frontman Harrison Koisser enters the firing line.

Peace have released the ultimate video trackby-track guide for their album ‘Happy People’ online; here are some of our highlights

What would you be most disappointed to win I just move the way I feel. And Bowie. He’s been a lifetime supply of? Conor, 20, Birmingham through everything. He’s just incredible. I will love him forever. I love you Dave. DISAPPOINTMENT. If your music was a food, what food would it be? @williamjamesrea Smörgåstårta. It’s a Swedish sandwich cake and I once went on a d8 with a Swedish girl and when she said it, it sounded like sooo sexy but turned out to be a cake made of sandwiches. What’s the weirdest/most disgusting thing you’ve ever eaten? @INNERVISIONS Dom once ate some jellyfish in Malaysia and instantly threw it up on to his plate. It was at a dinner with the promoter over there too. Classic Boycie Harry, who are your style inspirations? @nadiadahanxo

What percentage of the new album is made of glitter? @J_oey_M About 10%. ‘O You’ has the sound of glitter over the whole track. Not kidding.

1. THE RECORD COMPANY MEETING

If there were a movie made about your career, what actors would play each one of you? @femmanine Michael Cera - Dominic Boyce because they share such a vibe. Christopher Mintz-Plasse - Douglas Castle because Doug is basically Mclovin from Birmingham. Henry Lloyd Hughes - Sam. It’s only fair the handsome one be played by the most handsome man ever. Dave Franko - ME. I like the cut of his jib.

Their boss at Sony Columbia’s had a brainfart. “Who is the biggest band in the world?” he barks, before pointing the finger at Mumford & Sons. “FORGET MUMFORD & SONS”, he announces. “Funkford and grunge. Any questions?”

What hair dye do u use, Hazza? Used Bleach London ‘Tangerine’ on mine. @abbienirvana You legend. I can’t remember. I was off my bloody head when I dyed it. Denim or fur? @CallumGegg BOTH/EVERYTHING. You should always combine denim and fur and everything you can find. My ideal outfit has every material and texture all at once. When are you going to walk in fashion week? Swim Deep’s done it twice now, c’mon lads. @clairegraing I am not a mannequin. When it comes to models I draw the line at dating. When sharing a cake or a pizza, who gets the biggest piece? @Justdip BOYCIEE. He’s the type of guy who runs in and grabs the biggest slice. Yesterday we were in Costa Coffee Camden and he actually grabbed - with his fingers - the cream from my hot chocolate and ate it before I could. Legend. Next month: Wolf Alice Want to send a question to DIY’s Popstar Postbag? Tweet us at @diymagazine with the hashtag #postbag, or drop us an email at popstarpostbag@ diymag.com. Easy!

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2. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS MADE IN CHELSEAISM Harry’s “not alright, mate”. Thus beginning the greatest televised scene in Peace’s history. Even better than when they were actually on Made in Chelsea.

3. DOUGLASA CASTLE Aka Noel Fielding aka the most confusing part of the track-by-track guide. Is this a dig at Doug? Who invited Noel? Why is he calling himself an “eskimo girl”? Watch the whole thing on diymag.com.

The best new tracks from the last month.

have you heard

A lot happens over the course of a month in the mad world of ace music. You’re busy people, we get that, so we’re here to help. Catch up with the most amazing, exciting or generally ‘WTF m9’ new songs that have surfaced in the last few weeks. No need to thank us. No, really, it’s fine. Hot Chip - Huarache Lights As the solemn robotic speech rolls out the welcome mat on Hot Chip’s return, it’s clear that this song is all about kicking off your heels. The opening track to ‘Why Make Sense?’ sees the band slowly flood the room with glitching electronics. What starts off as a one-two shuffle of summer vibrations quickly swells into dancefloor abandon. Chirpy, upbeat and cascading, ‘Huarache Lights’ is a reminder that while many young pretenders vie for their throne, Hot Chip are irreplaceable. (Ali Shutler) 24

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Palma Violets Danger In The Club

Death Cab For Cutie - Black Sun ‘Black Sun’ is a melting pot of everything Death Cab have put their name to. The electronics that dwarfed ‘Codes and Keys’ have been pulled back, shimmering under the instantly recognisable plucked guitar-work. Ben Gibbard, as ever, is the band’s chief conductor, weaving the undulating influences around his coy lyricism with ease. The barbed solo thrashes like the final throes of Death Cab’s exorcism. (Tom Connick) La Priest - Oino Gone are the days when Sam Dust’s Late of the Pier backdropped Skins soundtracks and house parties. He might be operating in a different zone with LA Priest, but his post-LOTP project possesses the same cheek, attention-todetail and most importantly, back-breaking hooks. ‘Oino’ is intelligent as sin, a masterful blend of funk, Egyptiannodding samples and muted guitar lines that makes Jai Paul look like something of a pretender. (Jamie Milton) Drenge - We Can Do What We Want In many ways, it’s the same old Drenge. ‘We Can Do What We Want’ is still the sound of two cool-ass brothers making ridiculously grimy riffs that snake every-which-way like a punk viper. It all pivots on elephantine dirty hooks, and lyrics that tell the #haters to fuck right off, along with a newfound swagger. Not only can Drenge do whatever the hell they want, whatever that is, it’s bloody fantastic. (Kyle MacNeill)

It might’ve been two years since Palma Violets released their rip-roaring debut album, but with new track ‘Danger In The Club’ the four-piece are proving as bold and brash as they ever were. Chiming guitars and dissonant riffs unfurl in the wake of Sam Fryer’s drawling vocals, instantly distinctive against a hazy backdrop of refrains. As the song’s chant-a-long chorus drifts into focus you can practically smell the elated intoxication. “He’s bad to the bone” Fryer and Jesson repeat, sultry and smooth mixing with spirited and sharp. Rousing and rambunctious, the final chorus draws in a soaring harmonica solo before meandering away into quiet. ‘Danger In The Club’ is inebriation, distilled. Boisterous, clamorous, and addictively confident, it’s a perfectly appetising first taste of the band’s forthcoming second album. (Jessica Goodman)

Speedy Ortiz - Raising The Skate

Young Fathers - Rain Or Shine

Speedy Ortiz’s return is a swipe fired squarely at every guy who’s called his ex-girlfriend “a crazy bitch,” every online comment section loiterer who wastes time haranguing successful, confident women. Hissing cymbals tick angrily along, giving a vital pulse to those fretboard-scaling riffs, and eventually a pummelling wall of fuzzy chaos takes over. There’s a vital message in ‘Raising The Skate’, and at the same time, Speedy Ortiz are busy raising the bar ever-higher in the lead up to their second album. (El Hunt)

Fresh from winning the Mercury Prize, Young Fathers aren’t resting on their laurels. The almost-industrial sounding ‘Rain or Shine’ blunts the edge of Death Grips’ intense volume, and turns an influence into something decidedly more pop. This is a track of dark and light. That “I’ll be there rain or shine” refrain sounds optimistic, but there’s an inherent grittiness that makes it truly compelling. (Euan L. Davidson)

Kendrick Lamar - The Blacker The Berry ‘The Blacker The Berry’ shows off a different corner of Kendrick Lamar’s repertoire, directly and forcefully addressing race and inequality in America, spitting lines such as “you hate me, don’t you / you hate my people” over haunting production from Boi-1da. Lamar himself has said that no single track will fully represent what to expect from his new album, but ‘The Blacker The Berry’ can only be seen as a statement of intent. (Will Richards) Joanna Gruesome - Last Year Breaking the front door down and proceeding to run rampant all over the house is ‘Last Year’, the first single to be lifted from Joanna Gruesome’s new album ‘Peanut Butter’. Presumably as they trash the place, they’re excitedly searching for the spreadable delight of the same name - or at least this highoctane entrance suggests so. ‘Last Year’ sounds bigger, brasher and heavier, yet retains the jangly sense of euphoria and melody that makes Joanna Gruesome’s output so addictive in the first place. (Tom Walters)

East India Youth - Carousel It’s a brave and ultimately triumphant step to see William Doyle lay himself bare in the manner he does on ‘Carousel’, his voice taking centre-stage above a stripped back ebb-and-flow of choral synths. It’s remarkably sparse, Doyle laying aside his bottomless Mary Poppins-esque bag of tricks in favour of a cascade of organs that sound lifted straight from a cathedral, rather than the bedroom in which – as with ‘Total Strife Forever’ - his upcoming second LP ‘Culture Of Volume’ was produced. (Tom Connick)

Everything Everything Distant Past ‘Did you pack your bag or did somebody pack it for you?’ It’s the sort of question that security always asks at airports, and for some reason the natural human response is always mild panic. Even though everyone knows full well that you did indeed pack the entire bag yourself, with no help, it throws them. It’s also the question that Everything Everything chose to pose ahead of releasing ‘Distant Past’, the first single from the band’s new, third album ‘Get To Heaven’, which’ll be out in June this year. Just like those nothing to declare gates and body-searches, ‘Distant Past’ does initially catch you off-guard. It’s heady and pounding like the beginnings of a 3am head-fuzz taking hold in a sweaty European nightclub, and Everything Everything’s sharply pointed elbows are blunted; their angular, tricky to pin-down rhythms in clearer focus. As Higgs put it, talking to his fans, “if you put out a record this year and it’s all smiles, then I think you’re a liar, basically.” Considering that Higgs goes on about bleeding monkey chins and sawing off his own stinky legs on ‘Distant Past’ - given extra sinister welly by robot backing vocalists - it’s safe to say Everything Everything have taken a darker turn, despite the initial euphoric sheen. (El Hunt)

neu PICKS

Everything you need to know about the past month’s #buzz. At the turn of the year, barely anyone knew a thing about Amsterdam punks St. Tropez, and they’re still keeping cards close to their chest. The “facts” so far - they’ve been recording with Spring King’s Tarek Musa, they’ve a studio in an abandoned “dodgy” sauna and their self-titled debut EP is an exhibition in riotous rock ’n roll. Heads are turning for lead track ‘I Don’t Wanna Fall In Love’. The same goes for new Matador signings Algiers. Their self-titled debut is out this June, and it’s being led with ‘But She Was Not Flying’, a showcase of “doom soul” fronted by Deep South vocalist Franklin James Fisher. Very few things match his signature prowl. On that note, try finding another band who sound remotely like Cloud Castle Lake. The Dublin group have been loftily compared to Sigur Rós and Radiohead - good luck matching that, guys - but frontman Daniel McAuley tends to mimic a squealing alien or a castrated cat - one of the two. That doesn’t make what they’re doing any less startling. New single ‘Glacier’ premiered on DIY and it’s picking up serious steam. Elsewhere this month, Black Peaks have been causing waves with their ‘Glass Built Castles’ single. The reaction’s been insane, Zane Lowe acting as the band’s biggest champion. With a tour with Arcade Roots around the corner, the hype’s already in overdrive. And if you think the buzz around Spain’s new wave of scuzzy punk’s stopping short at Hinds, think again - Lois is a musician hailing from Madrid. Best buds with the city’s finest, his ‘Bedroom Recordings’ debut sits somewhere between Mac DeMarco and Sean Nicholas Savage. 2015’s got off to one hell of a start. 25

“I’m equal parts nervous and excited.” - Marina Diamandis

Next month, Marina and the Diamonds will go all fruity on us when she releases her third album ‘FROOT’, but in the meantime, she’s got a surprise up her sleeve - an intimate DIY Presents show.

Everything’s Peachy

ith her last album, Marina Diamandis wrapped herself up in electro-pop, recruited an alter-ego and became her own fullyfledged Electra Heart. Three years on, she’s casting off her the echoes of her former self. “Writing-wise, I felt very unrestricted,” she reveals, of her forthcoming third effort. “‘Electra Heart’, because it was conceptual, was quite limiting in a way. I started writing it about two months after ‘Electra Heart’ came out and I knew that I wanted to write it on my own this time. About a year later, I was almost finished with writing and I went into a studio, and that’s where I decided I wanted it to be more of a live album than an electronic one. In the past, I had done a lot of programming and electronics on the production side.

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“I think lyrically, I’ve always maintained the same vein,” she continues, “‘Electra Heart’ was very open but in a different kind of way about relationships, whereas with ‘FROOT’ it’s got a different tone. It’s a bit more introspective, and talks about general issues and just what it’s like to be human!” With her forthcoming record bearing a much more live feel, Diamandis is already excited about heading out on the road. “I am thoroughly excited,” she laughs. “I actually haven’t performed in two years: I took a proper break which I haven’t done before in my career so it’s going to be really interesting to go back with an album which is so different sonically, and with a different frame of mind. “One of the main aims of the album was

Marina and the Diamonds play a DIY Presents show at Oslo in London on 11th March

HAVE YOU HEARD?

Marina and the Diamonds I’m a Ruin A haunting pop confession in three parts, ‘I’m A Ruin’ sees Marina Diamandis at her most aware. From the opening realisation that she “can’t have it all,” there’s a delicate acceptance to her plight, hidden behind dark glasses and a coy smile. The sparse heartbeat that cuts beneath Marina’s glitz is a subtle, yet looming presence. Despite the darkness, Marina twists ‘I’m A Ruin’ into an ethereal display of light movement. There’s a glitter to the stifled tears and an unflinching confidence that sees her glaring at a bright Froot-ture. (Ali Shutler)

to sound like a band. I said to my producer, ‘I want you to produce me as if I’m a band’. I always felt frustrated that the sound that I love when I perform live, and the energy, was never translated onto record so now I’m really excited to showcase these songs in a different way.” Here’s the best bit though: while fans may have thought Marina would be making her live debut over on the other side of the world during SXSW, that’s not actually the case: she’ll be taking to the stage for a special, intimate DIY Presents show at Oslo in London, on 11th March. “I’m equal parts nervous and excited because it really is my first show back!” she confirms. “I’m just like, ‘Holy shit!’ The main thing is creating an atmosphere that’s really welcoming, both from the audience and me. It’s gonna be a trip! It’s gonna be really amazing to be in such a small space with so many hardcore fans.” Marina and the Diamonds’ new album ‘FROOT’ will be released on 6th April via Atlantic Records. DIY

#INDIEPETE

First he follows DIY, then he discovers Future Islands, now he’s going nuts about Peace - tallest man on earth Peter Crouch’s indie adventures are the stuff of legend. Are you a celeb reader of DIY? Get in touch on Twitter at @diymagazine.

SPOTTED

THIS MONTH ON ‘THE INTERNET’ Gus from Alt-J warns Alana from Haim about her new mates…

It wasn’t us. Swear down.

Hayley Williams, Private Investigator, strikes down hackers with her powers of deduction.

Sleater-Kinney give St. Vincent a nifty new nickname.

WHICH up and coming pop star ignored safety rules and nearly doomed a British Airways flight last month by getting out of her seat early and trying to retrieve her luggage? “Oh shit! Sorry!” she exclaimed, upon realising - someone sure needs to pay more attention to the seatbelt lights. WHO was clocked at a supermarket in South London without his two bandmates, purchasing not one, but two four-packs of Strongbow cider? We’re guessing that there was just no other time to grab the booze, but at least it was probably on BOGOF. WHICH Hollywood actor was spotted rubbing shoulders with indie royalty at the aftershow party of Alt-J’s recent show at The O2? You’d have to be a true detective to work it out. WHICH set of rude boys got all Crazy ‘In Love’ at a special Rihanna vs Beyoncé club night spectacular in Birmingham last month? You can bet they were wearing some snazzy jackets, that’s for sure.

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hanks to the lovely folk at Vans, we’re giving one lucky DIY reader £200 to spend on vans.co.uk. To be in with a chance of winning it, simply tell us who DIY beat at ping-pong this month: the answer’s somewhere in the magazine. Send your guesses to competitions@diymag.com, or tweet @diymagazine using #pingpongpros (and #betheoriginal for an extra entry, if you like).

Bloody Knees? More like BLADdy Knees.

DIY Presents DIY doesn’t just exist on the the paper you’re holding in your hands, and the internet… well, that’s everywhere: we do gigs too. Come see us sometime. Photos: Carolina Faruolo

Hello 2015, The Old Blue Last, London The Magic Gang, Corey Bowen, Felt Tip & Realms Limbs flailing, The Magic Gang triumphantly close DIY’s first Hello 2015 night, adding more fuel to their status as the UK’s best unsigned band. Two songs to the good, there’s not a great deal of mystery surrounding the band: they’ve fast become a reputed live force, with various lo-fi side-projects spilling out. Balancing 90s crushes with an everyday, DeMarcoapproved swagger, they’re a prospect like few others.

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Bloody Knees, Prom, Crows & Our Girl

Oscar, Black Honey, Fossa & Chloe Black

Tonight is one of the most promising, well-rounded showcases of guitar-centric talent in years. Bloody Knees were never going to get drowned out by a strong supporting cast, though. Add their name to an Old Blue Last bill and chaos is confirmed. Members of Wolf Alice and Abattoir Blues throw themselves off stage for a continuous crowd surf, and that’s within the opening twenty seconds. What follows is a bonkers thirty-minute set, surely one of the band’s finest. Without a hint of irony, at one stage Griffiths and co. hand out cans of Stella to the crowd before covering Oasis. Is this lad rock? Is this real life? One thing’s for certain. Bloody Knees capture the madness of the nineties - from the height of teen angst to pop punk obsessions - and they do it brilliantly.

School’s in, January Blues rule the roost, but there’s hope yet in 2015. Oscar, and his brand of brightfaced pop, welcomes in the ‘Daffodil Days’, the kind of refreshing kick in the teeth this year requires. Their set - closing the night - seems to bring together aspects of everything that’s preceded. He has the pop nous of Chloe Black, the woozy quality of Fossa and the hard-hitting zing of Black Honey. Newly signed to Wichita, there’s a celebratory mood in the air, one that enhances the headliner’s quickwitted, charming pop. Drum patterns and bright singsongs define the set, which peaks at the masterful, instant fix ‘Sometimes’.

Girl Band, Demob Happy, Ex’s & Bruising When they started out, there was a nonchalance to Girl Band’s delivery; now Dara Kiely and co. look like they’re beginning to grasp just how far they can truly go. A grip-like power over the crowd defines their set. At times it’s like witnessing a public meltdown. By the end, it feels like being put through a spike-laced washing machine - only you want more, Nothing compares to the experience.

Theo Verney

, Kancho and Gang, The Old Blue Last, London Kancho kickstart the evening. The stage is awash with red light as Gang launch straight into their doom western chronicle. The Brighton three-piece, and the crowd before them, are a blur of banging heads and physical contact. Gang are not to be anticipated. It’s an ethos they live by as songs are blended into one another, whirling, twisting and falling away without warning. A doth of the hat, and a glance at the badge; there’s a new sheriff in town. “I’ve successfully fried me amp,” Theo admits midway through the set. “I hope you’re happy,” he says through a smirk. A brief pause and Theo Verney seems intent on taking noisy vengeance for his fallen amp. A frantic rendition of ‘Sound Machine’ precedes a rattling run through of ‘Brain Disease’ and the confession that changing DIY PRESENTS... amps has left MARCH the Brighton 05 Alex G, Soup Kitchen, Manchester thrasher 11 Marina and the Diamonds, Oslo, London little room to 27 Dutch Uncles, The Ritz, Manchester manoeuvre. It’s ok though, APRIL the crowd 04 Errors, The Deaf Institute, Manchester has made its 09 Bipolar Sunshine, O2 Academy, Oxford choice and 18 Menace Beach, Old Blue Last, London lost itself to MAY movement. 01 Ice Age, Hare and Hounds, Birmingham

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ILMC SHOWCASE W/ STORMS + BEASTS + ASYLUMS + MOVIE

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ANDREW MONTGOMERY SPECIAL GUESTS TUES 31 MAR SOLD OUT WED 01 APR 8PM 18+ £12.50

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F E S T I VA L S 2015

It’s time to dust off your wellies.

B I L B AO BBK LIVE DIY hooks up with Bilbao BBK Live 2015

DIY is very excited to announce an official media partnership with this year’s Bilbao BBK Live. Taking place from 9th - 11th July 2015, BBK is entering its tenth year, with big anniversary plans yet to be announced. We’ll be bringing you the excitement from the July weekender, from backstage interviews to reports on all the action. So far, 2015’s bill includes Muse, Alt-J, Azealia Banks and a full performance of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s seminal ‘Psychocandy’. Future Islands, Ben

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Harper, Counting Crows, The Ting Tings, Zoot Woman, Delorean, Zea Mays, Arizona Baby, Novedades Carminha, The Cat Empire, The London Souls, Triggerfinger, Sheppard and Kodaline are also confirmed for the fest, which takes place on top of a hill surrounded by mountainous regions.

20 0 0TREES

2000trees announces first acts: Deaf Havana and Pulled Apart By Horses The first batch of bands for this year’s 2000trees Festival has been announced. The initial eighteen bands for the Cotswolds-based event include Deaf Havana,

Kerbdog, Pulled Apart by Horses and Arcane Roots. They’ll be joined by Solemn Sun, Rob Lynch, Big Sixes, Allusondrugs, Nothing But Thieves and Milk Teeth. The Computers, The Cadbury Sisters &U&I, Thrill Collins, The St. Pierre Snake Invasion, Bridges, Lonely Yourist and Rozelle will also perform on the Thursday early entry night. 2000trees takes place between 9th - 11th July at Upcote Farm, Cheltenham.

L I V E AT LEEDS

Eagulls, Hookwooms and Swim Deep to play this year’s Live At Leeds The line-up has been

announced for this year’s Live at Leeds, taking place from 1st - 4th May 2015. With the all-day music event running on 2nd May, big names have been confirmed in the shape of local heroes Hookworms and Eagulls. In addition, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Oceaán are on the bill, with Swim Deep - finishing off their second record, due out this year - also set to play. Elsewhere, exciting names include thrashing duo Bruising, Nashville punks Bully, Brighton newcomers Black Honey and big guns Dutch Uncles, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Dry the River and The Thurston Moore Band.

READING & LEEDS

Mumford and Sons to headline Reading & Leeds 2015

T H E G R E AT ES CAPE

The Great Escape announces Alabama Shakes, Tobias Jesso Jr., Girl Band and more Brighton’s The Great Escape has announced its first batch of names, with Alabama Shakes set to play the festival’s biggest stage, Brighton Dome. Having now completed recording on their new album, the Southern rockers head up a bill that also includes songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. and Dublin’s Girl Band, who also recently played DIY’s stage at Roundhouse Rising. Other highlights in the first wave arrive in the shape of London trio Real Lies, Gengahr, Bully, Jack Garratt, Oceaán, Django Django, Flo Morrissey, Menace Beach, Slaves and Soak. There’s also The Magic Gang, Tei Shi, Lapsley, Kevin Devine, Banofee, Yak and Pins The festival takes place from 14th - 17th May.

SPOTLIGHT ON... ALT-J

The cat’s out the bag: Mumford and Sons will return to Reading & Leeds Festival to headline the Main Stage. The band, who last performed at the weekender back in 2010, have risen through the ranks and will now join previously-announced headliners Metallica as two of the acts due to close proceedings. Thunderous duo Royal Blood (playing third from top on the Main Stage) and the chart-bothering boys in Bastille have also been confirmed to make massive appearances during the festival along with DIY favourites Years & Years and Wolf Alice also due to perform during the August Bank Holiday weekend. Elsewhere on the line-up, deadmau5 and Rebel Sound (featuring members of Chase & Status, Rage, David Rodigan and Shy FX) have been confirmed to appear, along with Catfish and the Bottlemen, Pretty Vicious, Jack Garratt and Hannah Wants, who complete the most recent announcement. They join Metallica, Jamie T, Manchester Orchestra, Pierce The Veil, Wilkinson, Run The Jewels and Refused, who were announced to play this year’s event back in December. Reading & Leeds Festival takes place from 28th - 30th August.

There’s no understating the pulling power of Alt-J. The trio have always managed to draw quite a crowd, most recently filling arenas like The O2. Fancy checking out what the fuss is all about? Here are just a few places you’ll be able to spot them this summer: Coachella, California (10th - 12th April / 17th - 19th April); Best Kept Secret, Netherlands (19th - 21st June); Flow Festival, Finland (14th - 16th August); Bilbao BBK Live, Spain (9th 11th July); Melt! Festival, Germany (17th - 19th July); Longitude Festival, Ireland (17th - 19th July).

F E S T I VA L NEWS

IN BRIEF PRIMAVERA SOUND 27th - 30th May

Primavera Sound 2015 has announced its line up for this year’s edition. The Spanish festival, held at Parc Del Forum, will play host to the likes of The Strokes, The Replacements, The Black Keys, Belle and Sebastian, Ride, Sleater-Kinney, Patti Smith, Run the Jewels, Alt-J, Interpol and James Blake.

ARCTANGENT 20th - 22nd August Deafheaven, The Dillinger Escape Plan, 65daysofstatic and Rolo Tomassi are amongst the first acts to be confirmed to play at this year’s ArcTanGent Festival. They’ll be joined at the Bristol weekender by Her Name Is Calla, Talons, Tangled Hair, Helms Alee, Marriages and Black Peaks.

BEST KEPT SECRET 19th - 21st June 53 acts have been confirmed for this year’s Best Kept Secret Festival: Alt-J and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds lead the first wave of acts, with The Libertines, Royal Blood and Death Cab For Cutie also confirmed to play, along with The Vaccines and Future Islands.

Kendal Calling 30th July - 2nd August The Vaccines, Elbow and Snoop Dogg have been confirmed for Kendal Calling, alongside Kaiser Chiefs, James, The Horrors, British Sea Power, Palace and Kate Tempest. The Lake District festival, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, has also confirmed plans to expand to a four-day event.

END OF THE ROAD 4th - 6th September End Of The Road Festival is gearing up to celebrate its tenth birthday this year and they’ve now revealed their three headliners: Sufjan Stevens, Tame Impala and The War On Drugs. Elsewhere on the line-up, you’ll find the likes of live favourites Future Islands, Django Django, Pond and Alvvays. 31

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Bump into this free-minded trio while they’re on tour and you’ll end up in a wild anecdote - Yak’s adventures are just beginning. Words: Jamie Milton. Photo: Emma Swann

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“I like repetitive, stupid music b e a n s m u s i c .” Oliver Burslem

ondon trio Yak are already so experienced with this touring business, they’ve got their own favourite service stations. “We get up to all sorts at those places,” jokes frontman Oliver Burslem, mischievously. “I couldn’t possibly go into it…” All the talk surrounding Burslem, bassist Andy Jones and drummer Elliot Rawson - and there’s a lot of it circuits around their live reputation. Fierce, far-flung shows go into the deep beyond by default. Walls shake, floorboards rattle and lured-in onlookers go cross-eyed. It’s absorbing to an extreme. But that’s just the half of it. It’s when Yak get off stage that things begin to take a life of their own. A hazy-effect video for debut single ‘Hungry Heart’ probably overstates the acid-like trip of it all, but it’s not far off. Among the various stories that Burslem lists off, best of all is “going to a metal night and meeting some guy from Ghana”, partying with Bristol gig-going legend Big Jeff before “going back to the hotel and playing backgammon” and Jones getting lost in a Sunderland casino. Every city brings a new escapade, and with support slots on forthcoming Peace and Palma Violets tours around the corner, Yak aren’t going to keep quiet. The group formed on a whim, according to Burslem, who’s known Jones since they were both twelve. “We gave up playing, and then a year ago we thought we’d get together and have a bit of a bash. Elliot sent us a message saying, ‘Do you want some drums?’ We said, ‘Are you any good?’ and he said ‘Yes’.” Simple as that. When it comes to the true bare bones of these three, the backstory isn’t as unpredictable as their tour anecdotes. Sonically, there’s no fancy stuff, no gimmicks to latch on to. “‘Hungry Heart’ is about two notes. It’s not rocket science. I love simple music. I like repetitive, stupid music - beans music,” says the frontman. “We’re used to doing work. This isn’t work - this is just a big holiday, really. As long as the offers come in, I’ll play every night.” “For any bands who say it’s hard work, it’s fucking bullshit,” Burslem adds. “We went and played Glasgow, I drove all the way there, played the gig, drank all night and made our way to Sunderland, piece of piss, woke up the next morning. It’s really, really easy,” he claims, rocked up in the back of the band’s knackered but loveable tour van, lightbulbs hanging from the roof by a single, struggling wire. It’s not paradise, but it’s clearly where Yak Yak will play The belong. Now the live game’s been Great Escape. See honed to the nth degree, expect this diymag.com for journey to go onwards and upwards. details. DIY 33

HONNE’s music career is going better than the cereal cafe.

NEWS IN BRIEF

THE ALMOST RETURN OF LATE OF THE PIER It’s not the actual comeback of beloved late ‘00s nutter Late of the Pier, but it’s close. LA Priest is the new project of Sam Dust, loopy lead vocalist for the group. He’s signed to Domino, with a debut track (‘Oino’) streaming now. A bundling together of psychnodding synths and tightly-wound guitar patterns, it’s not the full “Late of the Pier never left” effect, but it’s undoubtedly the next best thing. Listen on diymag.com.

BEST FRIENDS ANNOUNCE DEBUT LP Sheffield garage punks Best Friends have signed a deal with FatCat, announcing their debut album in the process. The brilliantly titled ‘Hot. Reckless. Totally Insane’ is out 18th May. It includes fan favourite ‘Happy Anniversary’ and the bonkers ‘Shred Til You’re Dead’, which premiered on DIY. New song ‘Fake Spit’ goes even further into the murky depths - listen on diymag.com.

WHO IS HANNAH DIAMOND? Back in 2014, Hannah Diamond came off like the most hyper-real, digitised strand of internet label PC Music. Cut to twelve months later, and she’s the complete opposite, evidenced in a new four minute video where she tells fans everything they need to know about her creative inspirations. In ‘Who is Hannah Diamond?’ - the first of a series of HDTV videos - the London newcomer talks about her interests and her working relationship with PC Music head A. G. Cook. She also says there’s something in the works with SOPHIE that’s a “really special project.” 34 diymag.com

HONNE t o p p l e t h e h y p e at s o l d o u t L o n d o n s h ow

The capital’s Electrowerkz hosts a showcase in smoky soul

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Lake District duo Honne played just their second London show to a sold out Electrowerkz crowd. Going on first name terms (Andy and James) the past few months hasn’t exactly been all smoke and mirrors for the duo, but tonight’s showcase is all about clarity. First off, it’s a show defined by slick, IRL instrumentation - a big feat, given every one of Honne’s showy soul tracks sound digitised to an extreme. Detailed production finds a perfect home on stage, Andy’s vocals being the kind that could break glass or at least change mood lighting, on demand. Seductive so and sos, their already heated-up tracks fit snugly into a packed out setting. Best of all is ‘The Night’, a brutally honest, slick-as-hell showcase of just how far these two could go. Expect them to be right at the front of every 2016 tip list.

MOURN Catalan Captured Tracks signings are readying their first LP.

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Carla Pérez Vas and Jazz Rodríguez Bueno form half of MOURN, a duo who met in school and immediately bonded over anger, boredom and a love of ironic criticism of their schoolmates. That, and “90s sounds and punk”. The next logical step then was to start making music. It all amounts to their first full-length, a riotous self-titled album. It arrives with little to no build-up, just a selection of no-bullshit, brutally raw punk tracks. In an interview with DIY, Pérez Vas lifts light on how the group came to be. Alongside explaining the decision to write and sing in second language English, and why she didn’t think the band would get everywhere, she reveals that there’s a new EP on the cards. Read the full interview on diymag.com.

The world according to Oscar

Whether it’s meditating, hanging out with his dog or writing songs for MKS, Oscar Scheller gives the impression of a guy who’s got the world solved. Words: Jamie Milton. Photo: Emma Swann Oscar Scheller is just as likely to be glued to a screen or in the doldrums as the rest of us, but his sunny-aesthetic pop brings a new neu perspective. By the close of his headline set at DIY’s Hello 2015 show, beaming smiles are replicated from stage to crowd. The songs he sports don’t glaze over sad stuff and nasty reality, but the ‘Daffodil Days’ are near - Oscar wants the world to know. Given his history, it’s mad that it’s taken so long for this North Londoner to find the spotlight. Now signed to Wichita, for the past couple of years he’s been uploading quick-witted pop songs online, progression marking every move. But beyond that, his old band had an EP produced by near-neighbour and PC Music head A. G. Cook, Scheller penned a song for MKS that lost out to Dev Hynes, and he found solace from rejection in various dub-inspired side-projects. The guy’s been around - only now are heads truly beginning to turn. “I guess there’s a lot of R&B-infused electronic stuff that’s super popular. It ticks boxes and it’s sad and sexy. The music I’m making - I don’t think you could call it sad and sexy,” he says, trying to explain 2k15 trends and blog hype. “I don’t really understand that world. I don’t think I ever will.” Don’t label him old fashioned, but Oscar has a thing or two to say about this generation’s screen-tapping default mode. Part of his university dissertation was on “how spiritually bereft the 21st century is.” He’s not alone in digesting music with scatterbrained, everything-at-once enthusiasm. Pretty much

everyone in their twenties has ten tabs open and a Spotify playlist at the ready. “It’s a Tinder ethos to life,” he reflects. There’s a couple of solutions to that. First is the songs Scheller’s put to his name, which tackle heavy topics with a day-glo, anthemic mood swing. When it comes to Oscar’s own personal means of escape from the online world, he’ll always opt for music and meditation. One thing’s for certain - there needs to be an escape. “It’s so quick, the turnover. There’s a trend, another article, another Vine,” he lists off. Or another buzz act - but Oscar’s got more behind his wings than everyday hype. His music doesn’t sit in one defined era or bracket, leaving him free to go just about everywhere,

FLATLINED Oscar’s big ambition is to write massive pop songs for other artists. He came close in 2012 when a postSugababes MKS had to choose between a song by him or Dev Hynes, when deciding how to launch their new career. “I wrote them a sassy UK garage track, very English. It would have got them back on the map,” he says. Instead they went for ‘Flatline’ and a Kendrick Lamar cover, and the rest is soon-to-beforgotten history. be it meditative dub or clickhappy, perky pop. Now the wheels are turning, Scheller’s referring to a couple of trusty routines in order to stay grounded. “Scrubbing the kitchen floor” and “picking up your own dog shit” are his two picks. “My dog is the best thing in the world. He looks stoned and dopey most of the time. That’s why dogs are so good for humans. They’re so basic, in a way. If only we all lived like dogs. They don’t have to check Facebook or anything.” Oscar’s new single ‘Daffodil Days’ / ’Caramel Brown’ is out now via Wichita Recordings. DIY 35

YUNG neu

Yung preach from the same sheet as disillusioned post-teens from any part of the world, not just Scandinavia. But already they’re being billed alongside fellow punk stalwarts from that side of Europe, Iceage and Lower. Part of this stems from their hectic live shows - a guaranteed source of refuge.

Frontman Mikkel Holm cites the group’s debut show as a turning point. Throwing a release show for his own label, Shordwood Records, it was a “landmark” moment, he says. “It was at that show I realised that there were endless possibilities.” And given their clattering first work, they sound like they have the potential to go anywhere. He cites hometown Aarhus’ “large forest areas” as a big inspiration for escape. “I wouldn’t have been the same person if I hadn’t grown up in Aarhus,” Holm says. “The people I’ve been surrounded by in the scene have moulded me.” It’s here where Yung have built a rep as one of Denmark’s brightest forces. “For a long time I didn’t want to play music simply because I didn’t want to be like my dad,” he says, but at the age of sixteen he formed his first band. Cut a couple of years forward and he admits he’s writing songs “to escape from the banal aspects in my everyday life,” and it’s blazingly evident on ‘Alter’, a release that paves the way for something even bigger. Yung’s new EP ‘Alter’ will be released on 2nd March via Tough Love. DIY

WHEN WE WERE YUNG

Mikkel Holm discusses his early days. First musical crushes: “I grew up listening to New Model Army, Adam and the Ants, Killing Joke, Bad Brains, Abba, Nirvana, Gorilla Angreb, Weezer, New Order.” First musical experience: “I’ve always been surrounded by music; pretty much everyone in my family is in someway involved with music. When I went to kindergarten my dad used to pick me up on the way to his rehearsal space. I remember sitting in the back of the room at another drum set pounding along, while his band were practicing.”

LIT TLE L A B E L Neu takes a look at the record labels responsible for breakthrough releases, big or small.

Steak Club is a newly-fashioned imprint devoted (so far) to one brilliant band. Boston trio Krill prove that it takes just one act - and one record, ‘A Distant Fist Unclenching’ - to get the label wheels turning. We spoke to Joe Parry about starting Steak Club up with Blood and Biscuits’ Simon Morley. 36

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How long have you been wanting to start a label and how did Steak Club come together? I’d always wanted to start releasing records, but it wasn’t until I heard Krill that it made sense. I was attempting to get Simon and after chatting to him over some Wetherspoons pints, Steak Club was born. We both loved Krill so much that we just couldn’t do nothing. What would be your biggest tip for anyone looking to start something up like Steak Club? You have to love everything you do, start small and do your research! You’ll

soon realise there are a lot of boring parts of running a label, so it’s important you are passionate about what you’re doing, otherwise it gets old quickly. it’s also really easy to waste money in the wrong places. What’s next? Any new releases in the pipeline? There’s a few things we’re looking into at the moment, so keep your eyes peeled. We’re thinking about doing a split/compilation which should help to further define what it is we’re all about. A release show for that would be amazing.

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R EC OM M E N DE D

THIS MONTH IN

EPS Baby steps or bold next moves, there’s a bunch of exciting new releases out this March, from disco-led nostalgia to raucousness defined. Here’s our pick of the bunch:

Lon d on O’C on nor A space invading, genre-hopping rapper like few others. London O’Connor’s burst out of nowhere as a multi-talented bolt out of the blue. The guy can direct his own videos, skate like a pro and make music that links up with Raury in being rap-led before steering off into countless directions. His first ever track, ‘OATMEAL’, was about a fictional uncle who did nothing but eat. Second self-produced number ‘love song’ upped the stakes, diving between Frank Ocean-style sentiment and spacious electronics. “This song is about romance,” reads a description, like this guy is ever the type to stick to one subject. Listen: ‘OATMEAL’ is available to listen to in video game form. For Fans Of: Sedated trips into the future. Truth-spitting, brutally honest garage punk.

Di et Cig .

Diet Cig don’t fuck around. Take ‘Harvard’, for example, a song that has Alex Luciano damning a dick ex-boyfriend with an “Ivy League sweater” for choosing a boring girl over her. “FUCK YOUR IVY LEAGUE SWEATER, YOU KNOW I WAS BETTER” she bursts, in turn announcing her band as one of 2015’s most forthright names around. Listen: EP ‘Over Easy’ is out now on Father / Daughter. For Fans Of: Interventions, being sassy on social media. Clattering into view, one reality-check at a time.

.the . mo on .

Last month, Our Girl stood out as one of the best acts to play DIY’s Hello 2015 showcases. It’s not the only project Soph Nathan’s putting her name to. She’s also in The Moon, a London-based, fully-charged prospect. ‘Eureka Moment’’s fuzz-inclined sound recalls early PJ Harvey, but The Moon’s revelations arrive in a dastardly, devilish form. Listen: Debut ‘Eureka Moment’ is a special epiphany. For Fans Of: PJ Harvey.

F o r m at i o n Young Ones

One sold out white label to the good, South London duo Formation are one of the hottest prospects around. Their nostalgialaced, strutting take on funk does everything but directly look back to the past. On new EP ‘Young Ones’, they successfully channel disco fever while showing the way forward. It’s out 23rd March.

ElEL ELEL

Eight-piece group ELEL give off a deranged, tribal effect on their debut EP, a self-titled first work with one foot in summer camp and the other firmly on the gas pedal. This bunch like to look forward, as evidenced on their delightfully unorthodox first work, out 3rd March on Mom + Pop.

Yumi Zouma II

A bright spark from the other side of the world.

. Savoir.

Something’s stirring Down Under. Savoir are a trio of producers and experimental pop addicts, striking fast with a groove-led debut release. They’re led by Mei Swan, whose own solo material recalls Björk on her first ever Arca binge. Together, with James Ireland and Andrew Sinclair in tow, they make for a transformative project worthy of obsession. Listen: Debut track ‘Zinli Rhythm’ remains a standard-bearer. For Fans Of: Peaking Lights, dub-led pop.

Following one of last year’s most hyped first releases, airmile-racking trio Yumi Zouma’s second work is a similarly glossy, dreamabsorbed take on pop. Out 10th March on Cascine, honesty is countered with glassy-eyed synths and arms-wide-open melodies. 37

Travelling around America, weathering a hurricane and nearly joining a cult; Laura Marling has had a hell of a couple of years. Now she’s back and comfortably settled in London, about to release her fifth album, ‘Short Movie’. El Hunt popped round her house to find out more… Photos: Mike Massaro

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“ n y o n

or a while, I thought I wasn’t going to come back to music,” states Laura Marling, taking a drag of a cigarette, before tossing her lighter off to one side to provide dramatic emphasis. “I really thought that.”

f o r

h u m m

Aged just 16, Laura put pen to paper, signing a fivealbum contract with major label Virgin Records. Music quite literally became her life. Over the next eight years she travelled and played huge iconic venues across the world in several drawnout stints of touring, and released four albums; three of which were nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize. A staple artist on the folk scene by the time she turned 20, she seemed to have everything. Everything, that is, except roots.

“I was so exhausted and out of touch with the pace of normal life,” Laura says, sitting crossed-legged, surveying her Bethnal Green living room. She’s watched back by a quizzical-looking stuffed owl on a table across the room. “I was dealing with a lot of shit, and feeling like I wasn’t part of the planet in any way. I was like, what the fuck am I doing with my life? I had to think, am I interesting? If I took the music away, and the travel away, and I had to sit down and actually chat to somebody, would I be able to do it? The conclusion that I came to is that I would. But I don’t need to. It makes me really grateful that I do what I do. It fits me pretty perfectly.” She might be gladly back in London now, but Laura’s vague wandering search for belonging took her to a peculiar destination; the thronging, neon-lit

dreamland of Los Angeles. While she was there she took up “a fairly odd, specific kind of transcendental yoga,” and she adopts a theatrical faux-whisper for a second, “marijuana. Psychedelics and stuff. But that was only very occasional,” she hastens to add. “I was pretty close to joining a cult,” she says casually, as an aside. “If you aren’t attached to anything, you can dangerously teeter on the edge of becoming a professional vagrant. It feels a huge relief to be back. I found LA liberating, and actually too much, in the end.” “And,” laughs Laura, continuing, “I quit smoking for eight months. A lot of stuff comes up when you don’t have a cigarette in your hand.” She pauses to blow a puff of smoke out of the window as if on cue. Evidently she’s over being straight-edge these days. Throwing herself into LA life and occult extra-curricular pursuits, in the middle of what she dubs her quarter-life crisis, Laura didn’t end up over-doing the wacky-baccy and wandering round barefoot in white robes - though she points out that, in LA, that would probably be acceptable. She didn’t end up finding spiritual enlightenment, either. “Psychedelics, transcendental yoga, silent retreats - whatever takes you to see the face of God - that’s cool. But you have to be able to take it into modern life. I started to feel that this isn’t the way, or the answer. Nature isn’t good or kind. People have darkness in them. The message in that, and all of the occult stuff, is just be human.” “It’s given me such a fresh love of people,” she concludes. “I value human connection now, above all other things. My criteria for judgement of other people, and myself, has changed.”

onnection, context and rewriting your own narrative is the crux of Laura Marling’s fifth album, ‘Short Movie’. While travelling around the East Coast of America and touring fairly anonymously “on my tod”, she befriended an old hippy in Mount Shasta, where “a lot of hippies moved in the 60s, because they believed that an alien spacecraft lived at the top of a mountain. It’s on Wikipedia.” Her new acquaintance apparently bookended almost every farfetched tale with “it’s a short fucking movie, man.” It became, explains Laura, “the over-riding sentiment of what was driving me to do what I was doing,” and it tellingly became the bookend of her own record, too. “I just got really into the idea that the life we live, as contemporary humans, is constructed,” she expands. “We build our reality, and give ourselves a story. We tell ourselves who we are in context to where we’re born, or what we do. I took myself out of that, and gave myself a new context. Human life is so short, and silly, and insignificant, in an enormous and incomprehensibly expansive universe. I still feel really strongly that I can get really dark, and at that time,” she says, referring to the last two years, “I was really dark. But I need to believe that there is fantasy; a surrealness to life beyond our control... a creative force in the universe.” Since returning to England, Laura’s been reading lots of occultist literature, she says, brandishing an arm to wave roughly in the direction of Gurdjieff’s Collected Works; a ridiculously proportioned book the size of a very square-looking cat. It’s currently acting as a doorstop. ‘Gurdjieff’s Daughter’ - a song where she recites mantras like “don’t be impressed by strong personalities” and “never give orders just to be obeyed” - is inspired by the writing of Chilean spiritual guru and avant-garde film-maker, Alejandro Jodorowsky. She tosses this into conversation lightly, as if referring to her personal recipe for guacamole. “He was tracked down by [the mystic,] Gurdjieff’s daughter. She shoved him into a taxi after the premiere of one of his films, took him off to a hotel room, and...” she hesitates, attempting to form the right words, “did some... acts, upon him,” she coughs. “It’s really weird stuff that they were doing, and she was proving her capacity for sexual - and therefore, creative - power,” she goes on. “She said, I’ve tracked you down because you have to learn these moral values and put it into your art form, get it into the world.”

litting between tiny American towns, in a car stacked up with old records from 1969 (“I just noticed I was buying a lot of records from that year,” she shrugs) and textbooks by mystics, Laura had a sort of existential revelation, and eventually she returned to writing with a new outlook. She allowed herself to “fall in love” with a 1959 Gibson 335 electric guitar, and in doing so, had to adapt to a totally new way of playing. “Shaking it up a bit, and rolling the dice again,” opened her eyes to music again; she stopped feeling weary and contractually obliged to write. “I’ve got the joy back,” she smiles. “I think my reality bounds got taken down to an extent where I felt like I wasn’t constricted to

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I need to believe that there

is fantasy; a surrealness to

life beyond our control.â&#x20AC;? -

Laura Marling

“I was like, what the fuck

am I doing with my life?”

Laura Marling

anything,” she adds. “I don’t think I took a particularly wide step out of what I was doing before, but I made the beginnings of a step. I hope to expand on that.” “Complete insignificance is really liberating,” she nods emphatically. Laura says she takes herself less seriously these days, and she openly admits that in the past being a musician felt a little too ego-driven. “[The last two years] took away my own selfimportance, and lightened me up a bit, made me a bit more playful,” she says, “‘Short Movie’ is less Romantic. The pursuit of Romanticism didn’t appeal

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to me anymore, and I mean in a poetic sense. I wasn’t trying to make gods of men anymore, or poetry of situations. I was just observing.” She pauses. “It’s allowed me to take myself less seriously. But,” she adds as a disclaimer, ”not to the extent that I’m a complete goof.” It’s safe to say that Laura Marling is in no danger of being a goof. Between albums she applied for a poetry course in upstate New York, under a pseudonym, and was flat-out refused admission. “I thought it’d be the perfect thing to distract me from actually having to sit still. I worked really hard for it, but I didn’t get in.”

She shrugs, and throws her lighter up in a somersault. “It was a challenge to myself, to see if I could be vulnerable in a different way. And I was vulnerable,” she concludes. For the first time Laura took up a seat in the production chair for ‘Short Movie,’ a transition which she openly admits was daunting, too, “because I didn’t want to waste people’s time, I didn’t want to dither.” ‘Safe As Milk’ by Captain Beefheart, she says, is a huge influence on this record. “They went mental with panning - they have a kick drum up here, and snare drum down there,” she enthuses, picking random points

in the air. “When you listen it’s like he’s in the middle of your brain. It’s really disorientating and brilliant. We were playing with panning a lot on this.” “[Producing] really took away the mystery, in a good way,” she adds. “Who’s the guy with the beard?” she asks, moving towards the window for yet another smoke. “Rick Rubin. He’s the ultimate mystery.” It helped her to get right underneath the song’s skin, then? “Yeaaah,” she says slowly, turning the question over. “Under the song’s skin. I was like, ‘oh, you don’t know anything’, Again, proving to myself that I don’t know anything.”

aura has a reputation for being fiercely guarded about her personal life, both in interviews, and as a songwriter. Today, though, not so much. On her last album, ‘Once I Was An Eagle’ she transformed herself into a bird of prey, a master hunter, and the water spirit Undine. ‘I Speak Because I Can’ - a song she released aged 18 - was delivered through the voice box of an aging, “poor and lonely wife.” It would be wildly exaggerating to call ‘Short Movie’ - or indeed Laura Marling - a totally open book, but the arm with which she holds back her audience has grown

shorter. “Definitely,” she laughs, “yeah.” ‘False Hope’ she explains, is her most patently autobiographical song, a panning camera following three days that she spent trapped in a New York Air BnB during Hurricane Sandy. “Is it still ok, that I don’t know how to be alone?” she asks, and it soon transforms into “is it still ok that I don’t know how to be, at all?” She’s fearful, upfront, and unmuddied by complex imagery. On ‘Short Movie’ Laura Marling doesn’t speak because she can, she speaks because she needs to know that she’s not alone.

Laura’s Mardy What gets

“Nature isn’t good

up in Laura’s grill?

or kind. People have

Herself “Anybody who reminds me of me. People who threaten my individuality. That’s definitely the most annoying thing.” When the feng shui’s off “I have a habit of constantly rearranging furniture. I don’t think I’ve ever been happy with an arrangement of furniture, anywhere. I’m not happy with this right now.” Going to huge gigs “I hate going to big venues. I really don’t like shows in that environment, I want to feel special in the audience.” A distinct lack of marriage offers “No marriage proposals yet on this tour. I must’ve lost my edge.”

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darkness in them.” -

Laura Marling

“I was with a boyfriend who I’d only just met, and we were stuck in this tight, dark apartment,” she says. “At the end of the street there was a Trader Joe’s [grocery store], and there was a queue round the block to get in, and there were only candles. There was this woman,” she says, “who was downstairs, and not with it at all, and she came and knocked on our door. She was just terrified. We checked on her a lot. I didn’t like the idea of someone living in this horr..” she stops herself suddenly. “Harsh, not horrible. Not being looked after. It had such an effect on me, those three days. They did what they did in the movies, they fucking cut off the bridges!” she exclaims. “We had to get on this dodgy mini-van that was leaving to the airport. I think we went to Canada, because... oh, he’s Canadian! Escape to Canada.” She laughs to herself. If her old friend from Mount Shasta was here, he’d undoubtedly be shaking his head, and adding “it’s a short fucking movie, man.” “I think I could get away with saying only half what I say, no?” asks Laura on the title track, over grating strings, gathering motion, eventually deciding “I don’t mind”. Her convoluted journey to this record took her from Hollywood and the Flintstones landscape of Joshua Tree, to mountain carparks for UFOs and finally, back to London. Along the way “I lost my shame about being afraid, or being lonely, or being weird,” she says. “It’s probably the most important thing that I’ve learnt so far.” For the first time, Laura Marling seems to have written an album that she hopes liberates other people as well as herself. “I hope that, should anyone have experienced anything similar to what I’ve experienced, that they feel comforted by it, or liberated by it, and unashamed of anything to do with the darker sides of being human.” “Right,” says Laura, rising from the sofa and making for the kitchen. “I’m hungry. Crisps and hummus?” Laura Marling’s new album ‘Short Movie’ will be released on 23rd March via Virgin Records. DIY

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He’s six foot seven, one record to the good and his serious 70s songwriter style doesn’t hide a goofy ‘Goon’ behind the wheel. Words: Jamie Milton. Photos:

T o b i a s

J e s s o

M e e T

J r .

Emma Swann

obias Jesso Jr. doesn’t mess around. He’s about as direct as a suckerpunch to the chest, from songs to sense of humour. As tall as Peter Crouch (#indiepete), as likeable as your next best friend, his early days were defined by smoky demos, detuned pianos and just enough mystique to lure in a loyal crowd. Now the cards are on the table, first album ‘Goon’ being the most pronounced, heartbroken debut since Bon Iver dusted the snow off his laptop and cried in a cabin for several weeks straight. Serious isn’t his style, mind you. The draw of Tobias Jesso Jr.’s music is the honesty factor, truths flung out song after song. Emotions are wrung dry, the odd tear guaranteed, but behind the music is a good-humoured guy just looking to get by. Case in point: A new video he’s thought up by himself to help promote a tour in Asia. “It starts with a marquee, saying “Tobias Jesso Jr. plays live tonight” in Japanese writing,” he begins. “It shows everyone running away, screaming, bursting out of the marquee. And then it shows me and I’m taller than the buildings.” The punchline? “It goes: ‘Tobias Jesso Jr. - he’s huge in Japan!’” By this point he’s guffawing, almost rolling on the floor in fits of laughter. “Huge in Japan!” he repeats. “That’s so funny. I love that stuff. That’s just silliness.” He’s serious in saying that it’s being commissioned. Going on the music alone, it’s an instinctive reaction to imagine Tobias as a slightly reclusive, torn up soul, someone who can only project his true thoughts in song. Nobody would have known better when things started out a few years back. So the story goes, following an unsuccessful fame chase in LA, he moved back to home town Vancouver to help look after his mother, who was ill at the time but has since recovered. During that period, he started penning songs on piano, scratchy demos recorded in one single take, which he then sent on to Chet ‘JR’ White (formerly of Girls). It was this that helped put a music career in motion. Back he went to LA to record what would become ‘Goon’, a fuller-sounding, direct-ashell introduction that topples the hype. Now he’s hanging out with Haim, picking up praise from Adele 47

and being dubbed as a potential songwriter of his generation.

TOBIAS OR NOT TOBIAS

Beyond ‘Goon’, the Canadian’s already thinking big for future plans. Working with Haim? “We’ve been sitting down at the piano a couple of times. I’ve written a couple with Alana. But they’re totally able to write their own songs and you realise that when they’re all sitting in the same room. They work in a crazy, mysterious way that I don’t quite understand. It doesn’t really lend to my style of writing. I like to sit at a piano and work out a certain part. Theirs is very much about you playing something and they’ll riff and riff and riff and come up with something. I would just play the same three chords over and over, they’d come up with a million ideas and I’d wanna stop and focus on one thing. And they’re logging them all, playing their little recording devices. We’ll see - maybe. I could only hope to god that they’d do something at some point.” Meeting Adele? “She’s top of my top. When I saw her tweet about me, it was a winning moment. It was like, ‘Oh, can I talk to her?’” More songs? “I had forty-five, forty-six songs written for the album. I want to get them all on flexis, and put them into LPs at random, as we print them out. People could start trading them, you know? And since the first album there’s been another fifty. I don’t know what I want to do.”

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It’s a sentiment that he shrugs off. Compared to Randy Newman and 70s stalwarts from day one, Tobias says he “can’t compare to those guys - they’ve had the time to wear into people’s hearts.” The parallels crop up, he says, simply because his producers were sending him seventies classics at the time of recording. “I’m not gonna lie about the music I grew up listening to,” he starts. “I’m not gonna go, ‘My parents played me Bob Dylan when I was three years old.’ No - I was listening to Vanilla Ice. Sum 41, Goldfinger, Blink-182, Red Hot Chili Peppers - that’s what me and my friends were listening to.” Shunning the seventies for a second, the one song he’d always play in the studio as a reference point was Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’. “I was like, ‘This is it. This is the one. That’s got it’.” The guy shouting “How could you babe?” in sky-reaching hysteria? The songwriter who says he thinks he’s “gonna die in Hollywood” over gloomy minor keys? That’s one side of Tobias Jesso Jr. - here’s the rest. Those early songs, penned way back when in the Vancouver days, became a source of refuge for anyone discovering Jesso Jr. online. Creaky, intimate takes, they’re a huge reason why the Canadian is where he is today. Listening to a song like ‘True Love’, which didn’t make the full-length, it sounds like someone’s peering into a stranger’s living room, hearing him pour out his soul like nobody’s watching. With that in mind, ‘Goon’ is a risk. Tobias ditches the demo quality for something richer, backed by strings and booming horn sections. “I’ve seen it already, people asking why I’ve added more to songs they already like,” he says. “People going, ‘I think he’s mucked it all up’. These guys might get demoitis. And it’s a way of saying, ‘I was listening to the demos before you’. But I was proud of how the record came out. Same with JR, same with the mixer. And if the label likes it, fuck it, people don’t have to like it.” There’s a surprise in store for anyone approaching the album like they know Tobias Jesso Jr. inside out. And it’s easy to get that kind of impression from someone who writes so honestly as a default mode. That’s not to say ‘Goon’ isn’t as heart-on-sleeve as early material. “I thought this was my last shot,” he says, referring to the second trip to LA, when things finally began to come good. “I thought things might just blow into smoke and disappear all of a sudden.” With that, there’s an anxiety to the record, an urgency that sweeps up the demo cobwebs and produces a nervous, excitable debut. For the first time in memory, he seems to know where he’s heading. Since recording the debut, he went straight into writing fifty more songs. One of these is called ‘Where Will I Be’, a selfexplanatory extension of the album’s self-doubt. “It’s something that for me was a big issue when I had no idea of where things were going. I was 27 and I had no idea. I think a lot of people feel that way. So a song that goes into that is a pretty universal theme.” Now, things are falling into place. “I kind of know what my next year looks like,” he understates, still buzzing from just hearing the news that his first London show sold out in an hour. “If we have to grow the venues already, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I’m just getting used to playing for thirty, forty people. I don’t want to play for three-hundred yet. I’m just making sure it’s good enough to stick by it for a long period of time. I’m playing my first tour solo, just because I don’t want these people coming to see this big band with huge expectations. I’m introducing people to me first.” Tobias Jesso Jr.’s debut album ‘Goon’ will be released on 16th March via True Panther Sounds. DIY

Tobias Jesso Jr. will play Live at Leeds and The Great Escape. See diymag.com for details.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Tobias explains the meaning behind ‘Goon’’s title. “I just came up with a word in my head. It’s a nice word. I like the ‘G’ and the ‘o’’s. It was so small. It was something I knew I would never say in a song, either. Strictly a title. I thought of “fool” as well, but I might say that in a song. I could never call it “love”. I tried to think of a meaning for it, and it’s about a thug who just simply cannot express love. And there’s the reference to the Goonies, which I loved as a kid. They’re these lovesick teenagers in this fantasy world. So I thought it worked. But realistically, it was just a word I liked. When I told JR the title he was like, ‘I love that, it’s making fun of yourself’, which I suppose it is.”

“Fuck i t , people don’t have to like it.” Tobias Jesso Jr. 49

PEDESTRIAN AT BEST

Courtney Barnett adopts a defensive mentality for table tennis.

50 diymag.com

With her dry wit and knack for self-deprecation, Courtney Barnett is anything but pedestrian. Words: El Hunt. Photos: Mike Massaro

here are lots of things that Courtney Barnett claims she’s not very good at. Anyone who’s seen the video for ‘Avant Gardener’ from 2013’s ‘The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas’ will know she’s rubbish at using inhalers and smoking bongs, not to mention that her two-handed backhand shots leave more than a little to be desired. As evidenced by the video for ‘Pedestrian At Best’ the first single from her debut album - clowning isn’t her ideal profession, either. She can’t make balloon animals, and she has a tendency to misfire water pistols. Fair enough. “I’ve got such a bad memory,” she says. Later on she concedes “sometimes my brain doesn’t work with words,” along with “I’m not a great artist or anything.” Now she’s just being very selfdeprecating.

“ I t ’ s

l i k e

t u r n i n g m y

b r a i n i n s i d e

o u t

a n d

s h o w i n g i t

t o

e v e r y o n e . ” C o u r t n e y B a r n e t t

She might not enjoy sitting on a pedestal, but Courtney Barnett is wrong on that last point. She is a great artist, as it goes; though she deals in words and killer guitar lines rather than standardissue paints. Her music regales bizarre, witty little stories in brief snapshots. Her album opener tells the story of a man who’s sick of his 9-5 job and dreams of being an elevator operator (with clear skin) instead. When he stands on the roof of Melbourne’s Nicholas Building watching the ants below, he’s mistaken for somebody contemplating suicide. Really, he’s just skiving off work, and he’s never been happier. Elsewhere, on ‘Dead Fox’, her thought-tracks wildly career from nicotine-injected apples to taxidermy kangaroos lying at the side of Hume Highway - the ten hour long freeway that links her hometown of Melbourne with Sydney - in the space of a couple of sentences. She’s an artist, alright. She might not have a natural flair for tennis, or in fact ping-pong, but when it comes to serving up wry observations she outplays everyone else on the clay. “It’s like turning my brain inside out and showing it to everyone,” laughs Courtney Barnett, speaking with the same meandering drawl that characterises her music. “I try to keep my eyes open and take it all in when I see things. Even if I do see something I love, I forget I walked by it straight away, but I always remember the feeling that things give me. I keep a little book and write down absolutely everything,” she says. “A lot of the songs and ideas come from those ideas, and my drawings. I work on them, and…” she hesitates, tracing a shape on the table. “What’s the word? Elaborate. Yeah, I elaborate on them more, and they turn into something else. That ‘Dead Fox’ song grew from taxidermy kangaroos, that one line. It took me another year to figure out the rest.” That one line, indeed. “Taxidermy kangaroos are littered on the shoulder / a possum Jackson Pollock is painted on the tar / sometimes I think a single sneeze could be the end of us.” It’s a bizarre, macabre mirror image, but it’s disconcertingly funny, too, like a warped hall of mirrors in an episode of Happy Tree Friends. “So much roadkill!” cackles Courtney, before scrunching up her face in an unconvincing effort to look more reverent. “So many dead animals, it’s so sad. But then you see all these stiff…” she grins again, thinking back, “… and I just thought it was the funniest line. And the possum, Jackson Pollock, as well,” she smiles, “it’s so fucking gross because there’s blood all over the highway from a dead animal, with gaps everywhere, and crows eating it.” She laughs, “No, it’s sad.” She falls silent for a moment as if paying her respects to Jackson. “I thought it was good imagery.” It’s just one still from the flickering stop-motion book of ‘Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit’. “All those different pictures, even though they’re so simple, you can sorta 51

What a racquet! Courtney’s new album doesn’t hold back

Aussie quickfire

diymag.com

see what they mean,” says Courtney. “It’s nice being able to say so much with so little. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what a song’s about,” she adds. “The songs off the last two EPs [‘I’ve Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris’ and ‘How to Carve a Carrot into a Rose’] have grown into totally different things over the last two years. They reveal themselves in different ways, I reckon. It’ll be interesting to see where these songs end up.” Letting her songs grow into wild little roaming creatures that make their own way through the world, Courtney Barnett is a relentless documenter, and she’s more interested in capturing specific moments than big floating concepts. Everything, she agrees, is in her songs already. Her lyrical stream-ofconsciousness, and her unfussy approach to tidying up a recording’s edges means she’s received comparisons in the past to antifolk outsiders like Daniel Johnston and Jeffrey Lewis. Courtney Barnett, though, has found her own distinct voice; an unpolished and

and Sometimes I Just Sit’.

“When I sing I try to keep my own [first-take] vocals, but sometimes they’re shit so I have to re-do them,” she laughs. “But yeah, I try to capture that moment of the songs coming together, and those small imperfections. I’m not too precious about my vocals. I only do them two or three times - and actually it’s the same with everything. I try not to let anyone get too precious about stuff. Otherwise it gets way too polished and perfect. I only showed the guys [in Courtney’s backing band] the songs a week or two before, so it was all fresh and new. I think it comes across that way,” she says decisively, “to me it does. It feels like there’s energy, and everyone’s kind of on the edge of their seats, wondering if they’re gunna fuck up or not.”

“It fucks you up!” she exclaims. “Everyone used to talk about jetlag, and I was like, whatever. Stop whinging. But yeah, ‘Illustration of Loneliness’,” she says, referring to an especially dazed song on her record, “that’s very jetlaggy. It really messed me around, I have always worked to a weird time, with weird hours, but it’s so spacey, it feels like some other world.”

“I’m happy with the energy that we captured,” she concludes, laughing. “I’m really annoying in the mixing process. I’m like, nah! Make it shitter! I want it to be kind of shit!” Despite her relaxed approach to recording, Courtney Barnett’s been busy sharpening up elsewhere; namely Milk! Records, the label that she runs, and uses to release all of her music. “It’s going really well, actually!” she enthuses. “We re-grouped and tried to write a business plan...” She stops mid-sentence. “Business plan?” she asks herself with some disgust, “gross. It’s more like a manifesto. We’ve found more clarity. I feel this year it really dawned on me what Milk! Records is. It’s this amazing platform that has been created, that we can produce art from without any of the bullshit, or people wanting money, or all that other boring stuff, y’know?” Frequently Courtney Barnett is asked why she decided to start up Milk Records!; when really, she agrees, the question should be ‘why the hell not?’ Above everything else, there’s a sense that Courtney Barnett likes to keep things grounded and importantly, in the moment. Last summer, she says, her and her band ended up running around the hazardous and watery streets of Venice, because they only had two hours to look around the whole city. “It was like express Venice,” she grins. “We went to the Grand Canal, or whatever, we got in a gondola, did a quick ride, headed to the square, and then ran into another boat. Then we left. I was like, what just happened? Is that real?” Though she’s played on radio waves worldwide these days, Courtney still runs things herself, as much as possible. She still draws her own artwork like she did at the very start, and she releases her own records on Milk! too, along with all her other musician friends from Melbourne. Touring last year was the first time that Courtney had ever travelled outside of Australia, and the wacky old world of jetlag played a big part in ‘Sometimes I Sit and Think

Courtney Barnett first started writing for the same reason that lots of people start writing songs; because it felt like the most natural way to express herself. What began as “mucking around and experimenting with different ideas,” has grown into something far greater, and her inner thoughts resonate with a lot of people; not just in Melbourne, but across the world. “It’s very surreal,” she agrees. “It definitely gives you a happy feeling inside. Everyone’s so nice, they know what I’m talking about, and they get the humour, and come and talk to me. I feel like I’ve got quality over quantity of audience,” she says with a smirk. “I’d way prefer a small amount of awesome people to like my music. Rather than a thousand redneck idiots buying my records, and being like,” she giggles, “derrrrp!”

“ I t ’ s

n i c e

b e i n g t o

s a y

m u c h s o

a b l e s o

w i t h

l i t t l e . ”

C o u r t n e y B a r n e t t

Aussie quickfire

acutely observational vernacular.

Who would you rather fight against, a Tasmanian devil or a kangaroo? Kangaroo. It’s more my size. I’d feel bad being in a fight with a Tasmanian Devil! He’d probably still savage me, but I love Tasmanian devils, they’re so precious. I wouldn’t want to hurt it anyway, but a kangaroo would be a fairer fight. Ok, ding ding, next round. Kangaroo or emu? A kangaroo, still. Emus are fucking scary. They can run as fast as horses, but they can’t walk backwards. And finally, the biggest philosophical question of all. Vegemite or Marmite? Vegemite. It’s way better, it tastes better, and it’s Australian.

“I feel like I’ve achieved so much already,” says Courtney Barnett, looking back at her whirlwind year. “Songwriting wise, and musicallywise,” she adds, “is that a word? It was a new experience and it feels like I’ve already achieved something. Hopefully people will find something in there that means something.” Courtney Barnett’s debut album ‘Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit’ will be released on 23rd March via Milk! Records. DIY

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l o t

o f

a l b u m ’ s s e x

t h i s

D u n c a n

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t h e

a b o u t t i m e . ” W a l l i s

K C

With their fourth album ‘O Shudder’, Dutch Uncles are growing up. “That’s

our response to trying to make a mature statement: we’re shuddering at it,” the band explain. Words:

’

Andy Backhouse

ntrepidation. You might not have heard the term - in fact, we may have made it up - but you’ve probably felt it. It’s those butterflies of anticipation and trepidation in the pit of your stomach when a band you love is coming back. It’s when that band re-emerges from the blackness of the studio, blinking and rubbing their eyes at the sun, with their new album in hand. But never mind the sandstorm-hype in the media, or the band’s indifference because they’re-making-music-forthemselves-and-if-anyone-else-likesit-that’s-a-bonus - will you love the album? The greater an artist’s body of work is – sure, the more you anticipate their new ventures – but with that, there’s the cold dread it’ll be a dead dud. Should you have bundled them back into the studio and thrown away the key? “Four albums in is a long time,” states Duncan Wallis, the frontman of returning Manchester popologists Dutch Uncles. “We know it’s a long time. We feel like it’s four albums, and I think we want to come across as more mature and more relaxed about doing things. But then again, to say that 55

defeats the whole notion of being like that! Which is kinda where the whole album title comes from; ‘O Shudder’ – it makes me cringe to think we’re trying to make a mature statement, but we are.” So it’s not about sex? With tracks like ‘In N Out’ and ‘Babymaking’, Dutch Uncles are, erm, up against the wall. “A lot of the album’s about sex this time,” confesses Duncan. “I had it on the brain. For example the song ‘Drips’ is all about getting the chance to re-do a sexy fumble, but the idea of getting the drips at the end of the sex dream is a bit of ‘well, be careful what you wish for’.” Seeing as Dutch Uncles’ ambition is to “make [their] dads proud”, despite the album’s bawdy humour, they might just get away with it. In the same way that Roald Dahl can smuggle barbaric murder into bedtime stories about chocolate factories, Dutch Uncles’ dancefloor dynamite deal with death and incest. “That was an idea when we first started Dutch Uncles,” states Duncan. “The idea that it would be a bit bouncy, but I would be a bit sick with the lyrics.” For any dads still reading, bass player Robin Richards is the McCartney to Duncan’s Lennon. “If there was a song that sounded particularly happy, then Duncan would try and do the complete opposite.” “I don’t know why I did that,” frowns Duncan. “We looked at the meaning of Dutch Uncles, where people basically criticise others to educate them. But I think nowadays – with the newer material – if it’s dark, it’s just the soul, baby!” Dutch Uncles aren’t making life easy for themselves. From their self-titled debut to ‘Cadenza’ to ‘Out of Touch in the Wild’ – picking up fans such as the godfather of minimalism Steve Reich and popsmattered emo-kids Paramore - Manchester’s maestros of minimalistopuses have set the bar of expectations dizzyingly high. But no matter how high the expectations, Dutch Uncles pole-vault over them. The florescent orchestral swarm of ‘Babymaking’ kicks ‘O Shudder’ into life, displaying all of their joie de vivre at its classiest. Four albums in, you’d forgive a band to indulge in their signature sound. Not Dutch Uncles. Being the magpie-minds they are, Robin has plundered his music library - from Kate Bush to Japan to Stravinsky - to unlock new doors in his songwriting. Duncan, meanwhile, has been studying John Cooper Clark and Ian Dury for his frontman showmanship. But don’t expect Dutch Uncles to do a Sam Smith anytime soon. “Those styles don’t come across on the album, because I didn’t want to try and emulate them whatsoever.” For Duncan to copy-cat such alpha-males of the flamboyant frontman game would be selling ‘O Shudder’ short. In Duncan Wallis, we have one of the most electrifying live performers in action right now. “They’re gifted with having very gritty, natural voices,” credits Duncan. “I feel like I was being very tight on the last album, and soft, and safe, and I didn’t want to worry about being complementary to the music this time.” While many an artist will insist they don’t care what people think about their music – that they only make music for themselves - Dutch Uncles aren’t afraid to admit they read their own reviews. “We know we shouldn’t, but we still will.” After four albums, six years of grinding graft, in the weeks leading up to an album’s release, it only takes

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w a n t e d

a b o u t

t o

b e i n g

w o r r y i n

t u n e . ”

D u n c a n

one crusty critic to puncture the parade - and they can’t do anything about it. “That was a very bad day,” Duncan laughs, recalling a scathing review of their second fulllength, ‘Cadenza’. “I won’t say what magazine it was, but it was written like a one out of ten. It was given a five out of ten, which was a bit annoying, because it just meant people wouldn’t even read the review. The opening line of that review was ‘shut up about time signatures!’.” And their response? Release a pop song about it.

Pristine pop doesn’t get. tougher than this - Dutch. .Uncles try out Masterchef.

l e s s

But we’re not talking Frankee/Eamon’s pop spat. Dutch Uncles are far too smart for that: they smuggle their dark lyrics in a Trojan horse of infectious pop, so it would only make sense to respond with a cover of Grace Jones’ ‘Slave to the Atypical Rhythm’. Not only did it fight the good fight for Record Store Day in 2013; it was a middle finger up to the naysayers to ‘Cadenza’. “That’s why we did that song,” Robin grins, referring to its myriad time signatures. “It’s a kind of pisstake.” But Dutch Uncles are one of the few bands to take their criticism on as constructive. “People said we sounded like Hot Chip. And at times, I have to agree - but at other times, I was annoyed at myself for almost whispering some of those songs. I wasn’t opening up my voice enough.” Thanks to advice from fellow

W a l l i s

frontman, Manchester citizen and tourmate Jonathan Higgs from Everything Everything, Duncan realised the best remedy for this. “He said we sound best when we’re really trying to sing loud,” recalls Duncan, “and I really wanted to try and get that out on the record more.” He pinpoints ‘Face In’, the single from Dutch Uncles’ 2009 self-titled debut that propped them firmly on the map. “That’s when I bellow out, and that’s when we sound like a rock band for three minutes, as opposed to new wave math-pop geeks. I wanted to worry less about being in tune all the time.” This time round, it only seems fair that Dutch Uncles should have a voice. If they had our desks for the week, what would Dutch Uncles write about ‘O Shudder’? “I’d probably lie about the meaning of every song, so everyone’s left on the other foot; they’d have to figure out what they like about every song and what they think it’s about.” Okay. Maybe there’s a good reason to feel antrepidation. Dutch Uncles’ new album ‘O Shudder’ is out now via Memphis Industries. DIY

Dutch Uncles will play Live at Leeds, The Great Escape and Liverpool Sound City. See diymag.com for details. 57

From one of the biggest bands in the world, to his solo debut: Arcade Fire’s Will Butler is forging his own path. Words: Nina Glencross.

s an integral member of one of Canada’s more illustrious exports, Will Butler has always been a bit of a maverick when it comes to Arcade Fire’s live shows. Playing anything he can get his hands on, the multi-instrumentalist will often get so lost in the music, he’ll throw himself around the stage with reckless abandon night after night. So, it was only a matter of time before this rather eccentric individual tried his hand at going solo. “It was something that I knew I would do at some point, for a long time,” he explains, “but I only actively thought, ‘Let’s do this,’ from about a year ago.” “This” would eventually become ‘Policy’, Will’s debut album as a fully-fledged solo artist in his own right. Its eight tracks hop between genres and influences as effortlessly and unabashedly as Will’s onstage antics, from bright guitar pop, through dark, experimental synth numbers, to quaint yet heart-breaking minimalist piano ballads. “It’s just how it is these days,” Will says. “Everyone just listens to such different stuff all the time that it really is just natural to be like, ‘Jingle jangle! Now, basic synths! Now, warm and human!’ It’s just how modern folk music is, it’s all over the place.” There were points, however, when Will had actually considered containing things a little more. “I was like, ‘Let’s sonically focus this,’ and it just didn’t work,” he admits. “Everything I did

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ended up going in a completely different direction,” he adds, citing ‘Something’s Coming’ as a song which did not “sonically cohere” within the album, “but it did feel appropriate.” In the initial stages of ‘Policy’, Will was still touring with Arcade Fire, regularly playing aftershows with bandmates Tim Kingsbury, Jeremy Gara and Richard Reed Parry, where they’d perform the likes of Neil Young and Devo. Along with listening to a lot of Violent Femmes and WWI podcasts at the time, he explains. “Playing all that music was definitely influential in a way that, listening to stuff, it’s just so different to play it.” When it comes to lyrical themes, however, things are a little more consistent. The majority of his songs illustrate some sort of struggle and a feeling of insecurity, from trivial to extreme, with religion, relationships, and the human experience in general. Take ‘Son Of God’ and ‘Something’s Coming’, for example. The former sees Will plead for a sign that there’s more to life than the here and now. “If the son of God would write it down for me in his own handwriting then oh, then I’d be good,” he beseeches. The latter is a little more distrustful, with the line “The Lord, the Lord is watching, but he’s not your friend” clashing against the omission of the word ‘Hell’ from the chorus. He admits these lyrics do reflect his own personal struggles with religion to a certain extent, though is careful to stress he doesn’t feel it quite as acutely as the songs suggest. “There’s definitely a sad, lonely, desperate vibe in there. It’s not reflective of my reality, necessarily, but reflective of, I think, all of our histories.” To make things more interesting, Will cleverly balances these negative feelings with a good dose of dark humour. In ‘What I Want’, an innocent romance turns sinister when Will offers to buy his new love a pony before suggesting, “We can cook it for supper, I know a great recipe for pony macaroni.” And that’s just one song; there’s a generous sprinkling of sarcasm and irony throughout the album. “I like the line in ‘Take My Side’, ‘If I could fly, I’d beat the shit out of some birds’,” he reveals nonchalantly, as if he’d definitely consider it, given half the chance. So where does this dark humour come from? “All the literature I love is super jokey, at least the literature that’s closest to my heart,” he reveals, citing the likes of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. “There’s always an irony but not in a detached sense,” he explains. “There’s a separation but it’s like a terrifying, warm, human separation.” Keeping this in mind when listening to ‘Policy’ creates a whole new experience, one in which the musician’s multi-instrumental eccentricities are juxtaposed with a grounded human perspective. With around half of the songs that would eventually make ‘Policy’ at his disposal, born from ideas almost ten years old, Will was invited by Tom Elmhirst, a resident producer and mix engineer at New York City’s Electric Lady

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Studios, to record the album upstairs in Jimi Hendrix’s old living room, an opportunity Will leapt on. He had spent time at Electric Lady during the mix and overdub sessions of Arcade Fire’s 2013 monster ‘Reflektor’, so knew the studio well. But to use the upstairs living room was very special indeed. “It’s beautiful,” he describes. “It’s on the third story, looks out over the West Village, and there was me and the engineer Ben Baptie just in the room, no control room or anything.” Besides his engineer and a few featured musicians, Will was largely on his own in the studio, with full creative control from arrangements to production. Having grown accustomed to working within a much larger group, the pressure was on. “Arcade Fire has six or seven, maybe eight really artistic voices and it’s amazing, it’s really awesome to work with that,” he says. “But to be the only ‘boss’, it was very different to have there be one voice in the end.” This isn’t to suggest his family of music makers played no part in the creation of the record. “We were on tour at the time so I was playing songs on the bus and I would get feedback,” he recalls. With fellow bandmate Richard Reed Parry having just released his classical album ‘Music For Heart And Breath’, Will explains how it felt like, “a big artistic community of people working on new music.” Arcade Fire drummer Jeremy Gara and the band’s touring saxophonists Stuart Bogie and Bauder all contributed to the record, the latter of which will be opening for him on his solo tour. Speaking of which, it’s clear the shows he’ll be playing on his upcoming UK tour will be wildly different to the arenas and festival stages he’s used to these days. “Normally some people are looking at me, some people are looking at Richard, some people are looking at Win, some people are looking at Regine,” he explains. “Even when we were playing for six people in Rhode Island, the audience was just looking all over, or just dancing. But to have all eyes on you is a very different experience.” Not that he’s fazed by this at all. “It’s not particularly alienating because I’m obviously used to being on stage at this point and doing stupid things in front of tons of people,” he says. “I’m used to tripping over electrical wires and falling on my face in front of five thousand people, thinking ‘OK, whatever!’” Forget all that talk of a “warm, human separation,” and “grounded perspective”. Will Butler is a peacock who just wants to show off his feathers. ‘Policy’ does just that. Will Butler’s new album ‘Policy’ will be released on 16th March via Merge Records. DIY

“ I ’ m o v e r o n

e l e c t r i c a l

m y

f a c e

i n

u s e d

w i r e s

f r o n t

t h o u s a n d ‘ O K ,

t o

t r i p p i n g

a n d

o f

f a l l i n g

f i v e

p e o p l e ,

w h a t e v e r ! ’ ”

t h i n k i n g -

W i l l

B u t l e r

p u

diymag.com

s h

A lot has changed in the world of Purity Ring. With their new album, “it was kind of like starting a new band,” they tell Dominique Sisley. Photos: Emma Swann

t’s been a long and lonely three years since we were last sucked into the galaxy of Purity Ring. With their debut album ‘Shrines’, the ethereal Edmonton pair showed 2012 a glimpse of their brave new world – a windswept paradise comprised of magical melodies and crisp, circuitous production. A lot of people called it the sound of the future, but – as is often the way with time – it all ended up going by in a bit of a flash. After a beguiling few moments here on earth they decided it was probably best to pack up their synths and rocket back into their own Canadian cosmos.

“It took some time for us t o a c t u a l ly learn how to

write songs to g e t h er .” Corin Roddick

Until now, that is. Back with new album ‘another eternity’, Megan James and Corin Roddick have returned from another galactic adventure with even more of that forward-thinking charisma. And today, having chosen what should have been an inconspicuous landing spot amongst the bustle of East London’s Ace Hotel, they still seem light years ahead. Dressed in leather jodhpurs, an impressively huge hat and with an unidentifiable skeletal sculpture pinned to her t-shirt, vocalist Megan looks like some sort of super-svelte space cowboy. “I guess we write really slow, but why not?” she says, her big doe eyes wide with enthusiasm. “It’s like, ‘Let’s just start and see what happens!’” Although the pair met as teenagers in their icy

hometown of Edmonton, it was only after they graduated high school and moved to opposite ends of the country (Megan to Halifax and Corin to Montreal) that Purity Ring began to find its feet. Consequently – and pretty bizarrely – their first record ‘Shrines’ was constructed almost entirely over email: Corin would send across his backing track, and Megan would then begin working on a responsive vocal demo. As Corin explains the elaborate ins and outs of their old system, he starts to laugh – “’Shrines’ was just us each doing our own thing and then smashing it together.”

there’s no denying the importance of aesthetics to their overall persona. “A band is like a brand,” Megan asserts. “It’s about streaming or listening to it the way most people listen to music right now. You don’t pull out the CD and look at the pictures then put the record on. You’re watching shit the whole time. Björk even did an app with ‘Biophilia’, but it was just too soon... She’s way ahead of her game.” At the mention of the Icelandic icon, both of their eyes glaze over dreamily and Corin sighs – “That’s the amazing thing about Björk, but the people weren’t quite ready for it yet.”

With ‘another eternity’ though, the game changed. After a solid 18-month break from writing together, the two began to experiment with actually being in the same room. Corin would fly back to Edmonton especially, and the two would force themselves to collaborate face to face only. “It was totally different. It was kind of like starting a new band,” Megan remembers. Corin nods sharply. “It didn’t work immediately,” he adds, firmly but fairly. “It took some time for us to actually learn how to write songs together. I think that’s probably the same for any new band, though. It really took us a while to get started, but it was like real songwriting as opposed to just laying a vocal track on top of a random beat. The thought went into it to give each part of the song its own space to shine. That was a big thing.”

It’s an adoration that’s not exactly surprising, especially when you take into account how similar their music actually is – comparisons between the two almost feel inevitable. Megan has openly spoken about the significance of the strong female and the overwhelming feminine influence in her songwriting – much like Björk herself. “I’m definitely a feminist, definitely, 100%. I have to be or I would lose too much,” she says, delicately. “It’s a world of people getting called out – it’s not a very sensitive and kind landscape right now, but it can be and I believe in that.” Does she hope to inspire those sorts

This mad old novelty of ‘working together’ has added a new layer of intimacy that is evident all throughout ‘another eternity’. There’s a sense of fun, frivolity and freedom that wasn’t necessarily present on ‘Shrines’ – and also a dollop more bravery. Megan is feistier; her voice is louder and her lyrics more personal than ever. “I feel like ‘another eternity’ is, like ‘Shrines’ was, a phase of my life in the form of an album,” she explains. “The lyrics came from the same place, and I think we’ve both changed so much. We were really young when we wrote ‘Shrines’. Not that we’re old now, but you change a lot in your 20s.” She looks at Corin who nods vigorously in agreement. “’Shrines’ was really my first attempt at producing, too. The first single we released was the first track I ever made really. That whole album was very much a learning experience, whereas on ‘another eternity’ enough time had gone by to build up more confidence as a producer, and just feel like it was something that I could do. So I think that definitely affected the way that it sounded.” It’s not like the sound really needed to change, though. When ‘Shrines’ came out in 2012, it was greeted with a barrage of fawning fans and critical acclaim. There were suggestions that this strange, extraneous pop could well be the sound of the future – the direction that all music was destined to head in. How do they feel now about trying to recreate that same fevered feeling of innovation? Corin gets a little bashful at the thought. “It’s just finding unique ways to use things,” he shrugs. “That’s something that we always aim to do: our goal has been to make futuristic, forward-thinking pop music. We felt that ‘Shrines’ was futuristic in 2012, and now our goal is that ‘another eternity’ is futuristic currently.” A big part of that forward thinking is their otherworldly visuals – with the childlike and fantastical illustrations of Tallulah Fontaine scrawled across their album covers, and the DIY designs of Megan herself draped across their bodies,

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So THAT’S where James . Bay’s hat went..

of beliefs with her songwriting? “That’s not my intention from the outset, but I can’t not imply what I believe when I’m writing something that’s very personal and I feel very genuine about. I hope that it doesn’t mean that our music is for women – it isn’t by any means. I hope that people find what they look for in music across the board. However they identify.” So with the long-awaited release of album number two just around the corner, is there anything they’ll be sure to do differently this time round? There’s barely a second’s hesitation before Megan chimes in. “We need to keep writing. It took too long to get back into it, and I think the only way to maintain our confidence in what we’ve gained in the last year is just to keep going.” Corin agrees, his leg starting to twitch with urgency. “Yeah... After we finished writing for ‘Shrines’ we didn’t write anything again for over a year and a half! It was difficult to get started again. Looking back on it, it’s like, why did we stop? There was no reason to.” He shakes his head. “I don’t want to go a year like that again.” Purity Ring’s new album ‘another eternity’ will be released on 2nd March via 4AD. DIY

ATA R I T E E NAG E R I O T / B J O R K / B L AC K YAYA / CAN C E R B AT S / C H E ATA H S / C L A R E N C E C L A R I T Y / U N C L ES / EC H O L AK E / E R RO RS / E VAN S T H E D E AT H / FAL L O U T B OY / F Y F E / G A N G O F F O U R / G E T L AU R A W E L S H / MAD O N N A / MAT T H E W E . W H I T E / M E N AC E B E AC H / M I N I M A N S I O N S / M O D ES T P U B L I C S E RV I C E B ROAD CA S T I N G / PU R I T Y R I N G / O F M O N T R E A L / S L I P K N O T / S P EC T R ES / T H E

Charli XCX has found her voice.

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C O L L E E N G R E E N / C O U R T N E Y B AR N E T T / T H E C R I B S / DA N D E AC O N / D R A K E / D R E N G E / D U T C H I N U I T / G H O S T P O E T / T H E G O ! T E AM / H I N D S / I N V E N T I O N S / K A R I N PA R K / L AU R A M A R L I N G / M O U S E / M O O N D U O / N I C H ES S L E R / N O E L G AL L AG H E R / PA L M A V I O L E T S / T H E P O P G RO U P / S TAV ES / T O B IA S J ES S O J R / T O RC H E / T R AV I S B R E T Z E R / V ES S E L S / WA X AHAT C H E E / W I L L B U T L E R

TRACKLIST eeee

BJÖRK

Vulnicura (One Little Indian)

1. Stonemilker 2. Lionsong 3. History of Touches 4. Black Lake 5. Family 6. Notget 7. Atom Dance 8. Mouth Mantra 9. Quicksand

and Björk a topic on Mastermind, give her a few weeks of research time, and she’d come back the most unchallengeable of experts. Zero holes spoil her theory and form of expression.

Previous LP ‘Biophilia’ was a bonkers attempt to detail Mother Nature in just under an hour. Follow-up ‘Vulnicura’ tackles a tougher topic: heartbreak. As with anything else she entangles herself in, Björk doesn’t so much embrace the subject as become a part of it. The artwork shows a jet black, alien-like figure standing paralysed, her chest carved open beyond repair. Bon Iver’s wood cabin saucy warbling is old fodder compared to this. Does the world need another break-up album? ‘Vulnicura’ dodges cliche and creates its own ground. In the album’s liner notes, every song comes with a date, putting a timestamp on the brutal bust-up. “I better document this,” she sings on opener ‘Stone Milket’, and there couldn’t be a more thorough exploration of the soul’s most troubled subject. New lows are hit on the stop-start gruesome twist of ‘History of Touches’, the total combustion of ‘Notget’. Throughout, Venezuelan producer Arca executes scattered beats in collaboration with the Icelandic star, each dagger-sharp blow to the system sounding more real than the last. ‘Vulnicura’ is by no means Björk’s most groundbreaking work, but it’s arguably her most beautiful, undoubtedly the most close-to-heart. 2001’s ‘Vespertine’ was the counterpoint, another electronically-led, minimal record that detailed every heated-up moment of intimacy. Its arch nemesis was always going to be messy. Closer ‘Quicksand’ doesn’t hold back on the madness that precedes. It’s the final burst of frustration, a swift conclusion to an emotionally-fraught tale. ‘Vulnicura’ is a no-bullshit, unbelievably tough portrayal of an experience that shouldn’t require repeating. But on goes the cycle, ‘Quicksand’’s broken beats sounding incapable of stopping short. Dense to the extreme, a thick fog of emotions that concedes nothing, this is as uncomprtomising and potentially definitive as a break-up album could ever be. (Jamie Milton) Listen: ‘Notget’

Leak-gate

Didn’t see this one coming, did you? Following a leak less than a week after the album’s announcement, Björk released ‘Vulnicura’ via iTunes in late January, with the physical versions of the record following later this month (March) as originally planned. “I am so grateful you are still interested in my work,” Björk said on Facebook. “I appreciate every little bit.”

eeee

eeee DUTCH UNCLES

ERRORS

Lease Of Life (Rock Action)

O Shudder (Memphis Industries)

‘O Shudder’ is the sound of a band ensnared in a latetwenties crisis, fretting about a future of family-planning, job-hunting and “settling down”. Thematically oppressive, you might think, but all this semi-autobiographical talk of adulthood makes for Dutch Uncles’ most direct and userfriendly album yet. 2015 could be the year the band break out. They have a knack for powerful choruses. Quite often, the lyrics change on each iteration, morphing, evolving as the songs progress. There’s a total lack of regularity. ‘Babymaking’ (whimsical in sound, serious in message) shapeshifts to a backing of luscious string arrangements and piano tinkles; ‘Upsilon’ speaks of the perils of social media with Duncan Wallis’ sensuous, constantly changing vocal once again providing the defining thread; ‘Decided Knowledge’, meanwhile, intertwines chanting backing vocals with Wallis’s lead, narrating the mental knockon effects of a botched job interview. Throughout, the rhythms are complex, the falsetto unpredictable, the melodies unconventional. Dutch Uncles have exhibited a sluggish and rigid rise to fame, similar in that respect to Future Islands. But ‘O Shudder’ could well be the album to break them. Prone to captivating body-jerking himself, Wallis may become this year’s Samuel T Herring and acquire his own hiptwisting dance meme. Well, we can hope. Someone get Letterman on the line. (Huw Oliver) Listen: ‘Be Right Back’

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OF MONTREAL Aureate Gloom

(Polyvinyl Recs)

Like 2013’s ‘Lousy with Sylvianbriar’, Of Montreal’s ‘Aureate Gloom’ was recorded directly to tape, imbuing it with a warmth and a distinctively live feel. It’s all the more impressive given the complexity of the structures on show: every song seems to journey through a multitude of genres and eras, at the same time remaining coherent. While never wanting to wish despondency on anyone, it’s difficult not to when it sounds as good as this. Hopefully Kevin Barnes can find some solace in the fact that it’s thirteenth time lucky with this Technicolor epic. (David Zammitt) Listen: ‘Apollyon Of Blue Room’

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Instantly striking, ‘Lease of Life’ is a record packed full of ambition and imagination, uncovering new ideas around each corner. It’s a journey that unmasks new landscapes as it unfolds before looking back over a rich tapestry of sounds that are as accessible as they are impressive. (Liam McNeilly) Listen: ‘Genuflection’

LAURA WELSH Soft Control (Polydor)

On ‘Soft Control’, Laura Welsh’s debut, her voice is the clear focal point. There’s no doubting her vocals: tracks like ‘Ghosts’ and ‘God Keeps’ show her full range and capabilities. Lyrically she deals with heartache and the confessional, expressed as muted euphoria. Sadly for an album which features a list of impressive producers, it feels as though one of them should have worked on the album as a whole to give ‘Soft Control’ cohesion and the platform for Welsh to jump from. (Sean Stanley) Listen: ‘Break The Fall’

Q&A Considering the year he’s just had, it would be understandable if Kevin Barnes wasn’t in the mood for talking. However, Of Montreal’s principle creative force is in notably chirpy form as he talks to DIY’s David Zammitt. What’s it like taking stock of making thirteen albums in a career? I don’t really keep count. I don’t really think about it like that. I’m always just motivated to make something new for some reason so I don’t really carry the other albums with me. I’m just thinking about what I want to do next. Do you always try and hit a unique style with every album? My mind works in that way. I tend to gravitate towards a collage style of writing because I have a short attention span but for it to have some sort of cohesion is important as well. How do you keep going, this far into a career? Especially with touring. I think I can get into just a good groove with that sort of stuff. Every day you just push the boulder up the hill. And I have all these people helping me so it’s fun. It doesn’t feel too difficult or exhausting. I’ve been doing it long enough now that I don’t have any serious issues with it. I can cope and I typically get into this emotional hibernated state where you’re not really thinking or expecting that much out of your day.

eee THE GO! TEAM

The Scene Between (Memphis

Industries)

eeee MINI MANSIONS

The Great Pretenders

(Fiction Records))

Should time-travel ever make the quantum leap from fantasy to reality, Mini Mansions have earned themselves a ticket back to the birth of psychedelic pop with dreamy second album, ‘The Great Pretenders’. Playing like a soundtrack of the future as imagined by a baby-boomer brain, they repay their debt to pop with a release that brings as much to the table as it borrows. It’s the guest list though that really gets the flashbulbs popping – Brian Wilson and Alex Turner are both Fairly Big Deals, and it’s a relief that neither of them sound like they’ve phoned it in. Here we have eleven songs of depth, colour and excitement that grow more vivid with every listen. (Chris Bunt) Listen: ‘Freakout!’

What do you do when you’re getting older? Especially when you used to be so bright – when you made pastels look like the silent era? And when it was popular, very good, and you want to get back to the easel? The Go! Team’s first album in four years, ‘The Scene Between’, grapples with that. It might not be conscious but it’s obvious – you just have to hear the familiar bright sounds and the incongruous, Graham Coxon-circa-’99 guitars. This is a record trying to bridge light and dark. It’s got moments that sound like life, whatever that might feel like. With so many materials used to build it, ‘The Scene Between’ is pretty close to collapse. But hey, if it falls, at least it’ll look pretty on the way down. (Kyle Forward) Listen: ‘The Scene Between’

eee THE STAVES

eee TRAVIS BRETZER

eeee MATTHEW E. WHITE

The Staves continue to impress with their touching harmonies, bolstering ‘If I Was’ even further by their increased use of strings, electric guitar and drums. You can’t help but hear the wintry influence of recording in Justin Vernon’s isolated Wisconsin studio. Despite the boost in sound coming from the addition of delicate synths and electric guitars, the trio keep a steady connection to their roots in folk music, tethering themselves nicely. ‘If I Was’ is a reflective album, with incredibly emotive tracks like ‘No Me, No You, No More’, ‘Let Me Down’ and ‘Damn it All’ capturing that strange inbetween feeling that happens during or after a relationship breaks down. It sees the sisters continuing to make good music which suits their talents. (Kate Lismore) Listen: ‘Teeth White’

Summer)

32-year-old American singer, songwriter, producer, musician and label head Matthew E. White is a man deeply in love with music: this much is evident. Everything White makes has a clearly defined and pure sound. With his second album ‘Fresh Blood’, he revels in the sheer joy and, at times, heartbreak of music and life. He expands on his critically acclaimed debut ‘Big Inner’ not just in the album’s breadth of sounds and eclectic nature; a delicate balance between encroaching darkness and blissful splendour is at play. This is the kind of album that harks back to music’s glorious history but does so in a way that remains fresh and compelling. (Martyn Young) Listen: ‘Feeling Good Is Good Enough’

If I Was (Atlantic)

Waxing Romantic (Mexican

Travis Bretzer is all loved-up. The awkward 25-year-old slacker from Canada has delivered lo-fi pop, influenced by his trials and tribulations with romance since the release of his first EP, last year’s ‘Making Love’. The songwriter has now moved on from recording in his bedroom, but is still inspired by his romantic escapades. The album sees Bretzer replace his familiar lo-fi aesthetic with a slick, pop sensibility, each track a stand-out inspired from crate digging for his parents’ 70s records. ‘Waxing Romantic’ is Travis Bretzer’s much-needed calling card. Exhibiting effortlessly strong songwriting with infectious hooks, he’s matured into an amorous connoisseur of alternative pop. (Ross Jones) Listen: ‘Lonely Heart’

Fresh Blood (Spacebomb Records)

eee

eeee LAURA MARLING

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

Short Movie (Virgin EMI)

With ‘Once I Was An Eagle’, Laura Marling earned her stripes as one of the key folk artists of her generation: it was a complex, intense, and hugely accomplished record. It came from a place of questioning loneliness, too. She openly admitted several times that she was considering packing it in altogether. Marling’s fifth album sees her falling back in love with music after a long bout of urban alienation in LA. ‘Short Movie’ has a cinematic, wide-eyed joy, and Marling’s writing seems freer, and less rigorous. ‘False Hope’, inspired by the experience of being trapped in a New York Airbnb during Hurricane Sandy, swirls round in a sea of electric guitars. ‘Gurdjieff’s Daughter’ pulls a huge chorus out of its back pocket with the ease of somebody producing a lighter. There’s a strain of playfulness, too. ‘Strange Love’ sees Marling adopt the kind of stilted, burring delivery that should come free with a bit of wheat to chew on. “I don’t love you like you love me, I’m pretty sure that you know,” she shrugs, sardonically and then, just when it seems like she’s messing about, the sincerity returns with one flawless high note. ‘Short Movie’ is wonderfully unlike anything Marling has attempted before. An expert in holding her audience at arm’s length, transfiguring her experiences into water spirits and soaring birds of prey, for the first time she seems to explicitly crave connection. Undoubtedly this will not be the last time that Laura Marling rips up her own rulebook. (El Hunt) LIsten: ‘Gurdjieff’s Daughter’

The Race for Space (Test Card Recordings)

PSB have been raiding the BFI’s archives, and by focusing their attentions on a small but intoxicating part of the age of extremes that was the 20th Century, they, like Sputnik did for space exploration, are pushing the boundaries of what rock music can be. (Will Moss) Listen: ‘The Race for Space’

CANCER BATS Searching For Zero (Noise Church Records)

Cancer Bats have worked hard to build upon their already-solid sound while exploring some new avenues. For the majority of tracks, they succeed in their goals. When looking back at the whole picture however, somehow the pieces don’t quite appear to fit. (Sarah Jamieson) Listen: ‘Cursed With A Conscience’

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BLACK YAYA

‘Short Movie’ has a cinematic, wide-eyed joy.

Black Yaya (City Slang)

The solo project of Herman Dune’s David Ivar, for Black Yaya he gathered his guitar and recording equipment and travelled to California. With the help of his partner Mayon’s vocal, David’s freedom and natural creativity seems to have flourished thanks to the move. An impressive debut. (Ben Jolley) Listen: ‘Flying On A Rocket’

eeee VESSELS

Dilate (Pias)

Vessels capriciously blur the line between instrumental headphone electronic music and post-rock. Resisting the twin urges to oversimplify or over-complicate where inappropriate, they have succeeded in making a smart and beguiling album. (Alex Lynham) Listen: ‘Echo In’

eee

INVENTIONS

Maze Of Woods (Bella Union)

Laura Marling perfects the ‘just got hit in the nuts with a football’ look.

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Just as varied, but perhaps more experimental than Inventions’ previous work, ‘Maze Of Woods’ is never short on ideas. Throughout there’s an impression of wandering through the wilds: a vivid, gorgeous, and multifaceted release. (Louis Haines) Listen: ‘Springworlds’

This is peak Cribs. eeee THE CRIBS

For All My Sisters (Sonic Blew / Sony

RED)

You don’t get many bands like The Cribs. How many others can walk a line between critical acclaim and a sense of fun without falling down the cracks into irrelevancy or self parody? For over a decade now, they’ve been producing albums of such consistent quality, you’d struggle to imagine them even capable of a bad song. They’re not about to break that record, either. But still, for everything that’s come before, ‘For All My Sisters’ feels like another step up. The first taster to hit the airwaves, ’An Ivory Hand’, sold it well. Moving away from their former indie label home to work with a major hasn’t seen the walls of the Jarmans’ bunker torn down so much as beefed up. That lilting, off chord melody remains. There’s no move to mainstream their DIY pop brilliance; instead it’s embraced firmly, ‘Burning For No One’, ‘Different Angle’ and ‘Finally Free’ all packing illicit ear worms early doors. ‘Simple Story’ strips everything back, ‘City Storms’ builds it back up - this is peak Cribs, a distilled version of everything that’s made them arguably Britain’s best band over the last ten years. (Stephen Ackroyd) Listen: ‘Different Angle’

Artattack The man behind The Cribs’ new artwork, Nick Scott discusses the process, and his inspiration. The Cribs and I have worked together for ten years now and this time the band were keen to do something with my screen printing as somehow we had never managed to find the right record for it. We all agreed we wanted to do something which placed the band firmly in view after the previous two records not featuring them on the cover. To me, I was trying to both bring to mind the debut sleeve, the ‘New Fellas’ sleeve, and the ‘Men’s Needs’ (single) sleeve, whilst opening up a new era of the band. Everything on the sleeves for the album and singles have been printed by hand. I was lucky to hear the music very early in the process, and I found it to be very intense and direct. Because of this I wanted to make something that was visually claustrophobic and confrontational: a

sleeve that stares back at you and sucks you in. Initially the sleeve was going to involve a shoot in a pool with water distorting the band (an idea lost in logistics), so the interior of the record was an extension of that idea. I used prisms in my re-photographing of portraits we commissioned to create these confusing compositions. These then they became the foundation for more fluid & expressive print experiments. Designing stuff for the Cribs is like walking a fine line between obsessive attention to details and free emotional expression. Something I think we’ve managed on this one.

eeee

eeee WILL BUTLER

DAN DEACON Glass Riffer (Domino)

Like us, Dan Deacon has probably lost count of the number of his releases over the past decade. Unlike many of his contemporaries, however, his music is not necessarily serial. ‘Glass Riffer’ is just as stupendously mad as a standalone than in comparison with previous works, and demonstrates Deacon’s mind-boggling ability to find order and brilliance in chaos. Sounding like an acid trip in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory gone right, it fizzes with neon colour and chemistry-experiment aesthetics. (Will Moss) Listen: ‘When I was Done Dying’

eee

COLLEEN GREEN I Want To Grow Up (Sub Pop / Hardly Art)

Is growing up just a trivial bit of maths or all about maturing? That’s the – ahem - age-old question that pop-punk cool-girl Colleen Green attempts to tackle with a scrum of fuzz guitar riffs and distorted vocals. Now with a full backing band, the hooks are meatier than a pirate devouring a rack of ribs. Paradoxically, it’s the tracks that don’t centre on the growing up motif that grow on you the most. (Kyle MacNeill) Listen: ‘Deeper Than Love’

eee

ECHO LAKE

Era (No Pain In Pop)

Echo Lake have managed to take a slew of barely-original touch points and make something genuinely intriguing. Woozy, melodic dream pop is once again order of the day, but there’s something considerably more expansive about the band’s approach this time out; where debut ‘Wild Peace’ felt intimate and self-contained, ‘Era’’s soundscapes look outward and reach further. (Joe Goggins) Listen: ‘Waves’

eeee

SPECTRES

Dying (Sonic Cathedral)

For Spectres, the thrill of ‘Dying’ is all in the chase. Opening with a shudder of white noise and the confidence of the undefeated, they veer from post-rock infused soundscapes to twisted chunks of noise-pop and back again without a single, fleeting glance over their shoulder. The four-piece from Bristol know exactly what they want: luxurious, audible excess. (Ali Shutler) Listen: ‘Dying’

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Policy (Merge Records)

Having been in one of today’s biggest bands for over ten years, Will Butler has earned a reputation as one of Arcade Fire’s most creative and passionate members. Whilst it’s unfair to make harsh comparisons between his debut solo effort and his band’s material, it would be naïve not to recognise certain similarities. ‘Policy’’s eight genre-hopping, multiinstrumental tracks clearly illustrate Will’s talent and versatility. The upbeat, sing-as-thoughyour-life-depends-on-it guitar pop of ‘Take My Side’, ‘What I Want’ and gospel-esque closer ‘Witness’ is closest to what would be expected of him as a solo artist. But the deep, lamenting piano ballads, ‘Finish What I Started’ and ‘Sing To Me’, as well as the more experimental, 80s synth efforts, ‘Anna’ and ‘Something’s Coming’ reveal a different side. It’s often the most upbeat tracks that possess Will’s dark humour. Struggle is something which stands out throughout the album, whether it’s with religion, relationships, the human experience, the past or the future. “The Lord, the Lord is watching / But he’s not your friend,” he declares in ‘Something’s Coming’. Whilst in ‘What I Want’, he croons, “I can feel my heart beating out of my chest / I apologise if I get heart blood all over your nice floral dress.” What a charmer. For such a short album, ‘Policy’ covers a hell of a lot of ground. Every song has its own character, with each one further clarifying Will as a great musician and songwriter in his own right, as though there were any doubts. (Nina Glencross) Listen: ‘What I Want’

What a charmer.

eeee eeeee COURTNEY BARNETT

Sometimes I Sit and Think, and sometimes i just sit (milk)

Courtney Barnett’s skill is in making the pedestrian sound poignant. Everyday observations and mundane afterthoughts become focal points. From elevator dings to pressed-metal ceilings, tiny things hog the limelight on debut album ‘Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit’. The real star, however, is the storyteller. She announced herself two years back with a double EP of dry wit and heady rock’n’roll. On her full-length proper, Barnett arrives as a longstanding voice, someone who’s going to long outlive the characters she writes about. Across the record, she’ll flick between bold, ragged chants (‘Pedestrian At Best’) to sluggish jet-lagged drawls (‘Kim’s Caravan’, where she sounds close to collapse). Aspects of her own life filter into focus. Some of the names are autobiographical. The rusty tour sprawl is most definitely real. But more often than not, the spotlight’s reserved for strangers. Whether it’s a barely-enthused prospective first time buyer checking out ‘Depreston’, or ‘Elevator Operator’’s contemplative office worker who’s bunking off, everyone has their place in this record. Make no mistake - this is a debut like few others. In fact, the only way we’ll ever get another record like ‘Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit’ is if Barnett hits Groundhog Day. It’s beyond bonzer, mate. (Jamie Milton) Listen: ‘Pedestrian At Best’

Beyond bonzer, mate.

CHEATAHS SUNNE EP (Wichita)

A band capable of disarming versatility, Cheatahs’ ‘Sunne EP’ comes more as a kiss than a punch, taking nods to Big Troubles as much as it does s/t era My Bloody Valentine. Yet, Cheatahs have harnessed their own sound. At only four tracks in length, contemporaries will struggle to compete with records twice as long. (Euan L. Davidson) Listen: ‘Controller’

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KARIN PARK Apocalypse Pop (State Of The Eye)

Over the course of eleven tracks, Karin Park manages to both call herself a cunt and warn a suitor that “You shouldn’t fuck with my mind.” But she doesn’t just wear these different emotional and sonic guises - she owns them. Sinner, saint, even goth, Park tackles them with grace. (Laura Studarus) Listen: ‘Opium’

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THE POP GROUP

Citizen Zombie (Freaks R Us)

It would be difficult for any band to return with new music after 35 years of absence, but with ’Citizen Zombie’ The Pop Group have succeeded in creating something vibrant, urgent and necessary. This is a sound both like you remember, and distorted almost beyond recognition. (Martyn Young) Listen: ’Mad Truth’

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ATARI TEENAGE RIOT

Reset (Digital Hardcore Recordings)

ATR’s fifth album ‘Reset’ with its venomous attacks on government, censorship and humanity, speaks a maligned truth. The lyrics are spat, spoken, shouted and sung: both revolutionary and approachable. One more reason to stand up. (Ali Shutler) Listen: ‘Erase Your Face’

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GANG OF FOUR

Photo: Mike Massaro

What Happens Next (Membran)

Despite a continued focus on dense political issues, Gang of Four have always kept one eye on the charts. ‘What Happens Next’ is no different: a collage of nails-down-a-chalkboard slogans and textures that has arrived at a watershed moment for the disenfranchised. (Dan Owens) Listen: ‘The Dying Rays’

Mad Sounds Ghostpoet shares his recent listening.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away Saw the video for Jubilee Street and was instantly drawn in. Nick Cave has such a way with words and this album sonically engulfs your soul.

eeee GHOSTPOET

Shedding Skin (Play It Again Sam)

It’s hard to imagine an artist more befitting of their surroundings than Ghostpoet. It’s not just that rough and ready South London drawl which reeks of his home town – everything Obaro Ejimiwe stakes his alias to comes throbbing with that same hypnotic pulse of every major city. But where previous incarnations of Ghostpoet’s work have been characterised by the jarring electronic soundtrack of a city’s digital revolution, ‘Shedding Skin’ sees him map out his stories over an organic, live band canvas for the first time; in doing so, Ghostpoet has created a record that feels timeless in a way his scratchy bedroom productions could never have dreamed of. “It’s what I believe,” he repeats at the record’s close, and it’s that conviction that marks out ‘Shedding Skin’ as Ghostpoet’s masterpiece – with this amount of creative vision and determination to draw upon, surely nothing in the world can stop him. (Tom Connick) Listen: ‘Shedding Skin’

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CLARENCE CLARITY Not Now (Bella Union)

Clarence Clarity is “ready to die”; so says his note shared alongside the debut album ‘Not Now’. Notorious B.I.G. elegy aside, on SoundCloud he also claims to be omnipotent, intense stuff before even clicking play. Once you’ve listened to ‘Those Who Can’t, Cheat and ‘Meadow Hopping, Traffic Stopping, Death Splash’, the impression you get with Clarence Clarity (a misnomer) that “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown”. ‘Not Now’ is fully loaded, but more in a sonic sense than a philosophical one. Not since Late of the Pier’s ‘Fantasy Black Channel’ has there been something in the same scope or executed so confidently on a debut. If they are his closest contemporaries, then it shows that Clarence Clarity is currently without an equal. (Sean Stanley) Listen: ‘Bloodbarf’

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TV On The Radio - Dear Science Such a wonderful album, the whimsical experimentation throughout appealed to me.

Interpol - Antics Discovering this record was the lightbulb moment really. It made the new direction I was heading in make sense. Sumptuous stuff.

The National - Trouble Will Find Me Such a emotional listen, this LP encouraged me in the in the dark days when creativity abandoned me.

eee

NOEL GALLAGHER Chasing Yesterday

(Sour Mash Records)

Britpop titans of the mid-nineties are still, in many quarters at least, the big beasts they were back then - few new acts emerge with the character to deliver that knock out blow. Noel Gallagher, though. That’s one hell of a personality to replace. Only a man with the sarcastic chutzpah of Oasis’ former schemer-in-chief would have the brass to name his album ‘Chasing Yesterday’. In the most part, he’s living up to the name, too. The first acoustic stabs of opener ‘Riverman’ can’t help but mirror the iconic intro of ‘Wonderwall’, while ‘Lock All The Doors’ - originally written in 1992 - unsurprisingly has something of the aforementioned Mancunian mega group about it, echoing the raw bombast of ‘Morning Glory’. Despite that, to write off Noel as a mere echo of the past would be a big mistake. Thieving like a magpie from his own box of tricks, there’s no denying Gallagher is a songwriter from the top of his class. ‘The Dying of the Light’ has the woozy, neon lit vibe of so many Oasis b-sides - far from a criticism, they were often where the band’s best work took place. (Stephen Ackroyd) Listen: ‘Lock All The Doors’

A songwriter from the top of his class.

eeee DRAKE

If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late

(Cash Money Records)

Surprise! The word wasn’t uttered by Drake but the release of ‘If You’re Reading This...’ certainly was. By far Drake’s most dense and complex album, with a title hinting at suicide and beats more akin to his pre-‘Take Care’ era it could be viewed as Drizzy closing a chapter, letting off some steam. Drake goes after those holding him back or down, showing his teeth on a release that reminds the world he’s a rapper first, artist second. (Sean Stanley) Listen: ‘Legend’

MOON DUO

Shadow of the Sun (sacred bones)

Bestial is an appropriate word to describe Moon Duo’s ‘Shadow of the Sun’, their fourth release since Wooden Shjips member Ripley Johnson teamed up with Sanae Yamada. Now joined by John Jeffrey on drums, the album is a result of an uncomfortable rest period, with what the group describes as a beast that emerges from a dark Portland basement. Sadly compared to their previous releases ‘Shadow of the Sun’ is a beast that appears to be tamed. (Sean Stanley) Listen: ‘Slow Down Low’

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TORCHE

Restarter (relapse)

Torche have never been your typical metalheads. Over the past ten years, their melting pot of pop hooks and sludgy metallics has served them well. ‘Restarter’ reverberates with a satisfying sludgy weight. Their newest full-length isn’t by any means leaps and bounds from what they’ve done before, but when they’ve got their brand of pop so well-honed, why would we hope for anything else? (Sarah Jamieson) Listen: ‘Undone’

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NIC HESSLER

Soft Connections (Captured Tracks)

On ‘Soft Connections’, Nic Hessler sounds vitalised. The indistinct showers of haze that drove 2010 single ‘One By Words’ have been dramatically transformed, displaying sharp clarity through power-pop progressions. While the album holds a strong-element of cohesiveness through its tone, each single stands on its own with ease. Hessler’s songwriting is a passionate compliment to 70s FM and 90s mop-top Britpop, an accomplished tale from a troubled artist. (Ross Jones) Listen: ‘Hearts Repeating’

eee PURITY RING

another eternity (4AD)

‘another eternity’ is - like ‘Shrines’ before it - a record about strange love, all-absorbing obsession and fusing body parts, though it frequently turns away from the ready-to-snap tension of Purity Ring’s debut in favour of highreaching, trilling sawtooths on ‘dust hymn’, and the rib-shudderingly euphoric chorus of ‘push pull’. It’s a trade-off that on the whole gives way to a warmer, more idealistic side to the band after the bitter chill of their debut. There’s, perhaps disappointingly, an absence of chilling grandmothers drilling little holes into people’s eyelids, and bizarre inventive Jabberwocky-esque language is thrown out in favour of clarity. Much of ‘another eternity’ has a detached and wide-eyed romance to it, stumbling out of a club as the sun comes up. After a debut that spent much of its time slinking like crawlers out in the shadows, it’s intriguing - if slightly disconcerting - to see Purity Ring in a warmer light. (El Hunt) Listen: ‘push pull’

Detatched and wide-eyed romance.

eeee EVANS THE DEATH

eeee MODEST MOUSE

Strangers to Ourselves

Expect Delays

(Epic)

That 2007’s ‘We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank’ was Number One in the US might explain the pressures that led to Modest Mouse taking seven years to put a new record out. They cancelled a tour in 2013 to finish it; there were even rumours that Big Boi might appear. All the ingredients you want are here; showcasing what makes them so unique as well as feeling like it’s looking back to what they’ve created before. It’s long – a 15 song double LP – but that means it takes you through some sonic side streets you might not have exactly expected. ‘Strangers to Ourselves’ might have been a long time in the making but listening to it, it doesn’t feel like it has – and that’s a good thing. Bruised and brilliant, idiosyncratic and anthemic, sloppy and heartfelt. It’s an album only Modest Mouse could make. (Danny Wright) Listen: ‘Of Course’

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(Fortuna Pop)

Evans The Death’s second album picks up where their self-titled debut left off – the latter’s melancholic closer, ‘You’re Joking’, serves as a neat predecessor to the first 30 seconds of ‘Expect Delays’’ opener, ‘Intrinsic Grey’. After that first 30 seconds though, the guitars and drums kick in, and Katherine Whitaker’s vocals become less delicate and more of the angry yowling sort – in the best way. As she sings about never being enough, it’s hard to tell who she’s angrier at – society or herself. Whether it’s advice to others or to her self, Whitaker ends things on a forgiving note – “Give yourself a chance.” While you’re at it, give this band one too. (Coral Williamson) Listen: ‘Idiot Button’

eeee FYFE Control

(Believe Recordings)

Fyfe’s newest work doesn’t aim to challenge the status quo, even if it does come part and parcel with album art featuring his 100-yard paint covered stare. But while the form may feel familiar (think: a glitch-pop kissing cousin to Rufus Wainwright’s days as a balladeer, or a soft-shoe version of Patrick Wolf’s orchestral manoeuvres) a promising left-of-centre choice sets Fyfe apart from the pack of crooners. Even when attempting the most ambitious of pop statements (see: ‘For You,’ which contains the sincerest sax solo this side of Kenny G) his lyrics are scattered with lonely nights, broken hearts, and melancholia—usually with him cast as the schlub diving headfirst through it all. A divine celebration of ordinary heartaches, ‘Control’ is sure to raise Fyfe’s profile. Here’s hoping he doesn’t recast the central character for round two. (Laura Studarus) Listen: ‘St Tropez’

eeee TOBIAS JESSO JR

Goon (True Panther Sounds)

There’s a fragile voice ringing out in the scratchy, Vancouver home demos Tobias Jesso Jr. made his name on. It might have something to do with the circumstances - these are first takes, penned while the Canadian was looking after his sick mother, following a less-than-successful year in LA where fame couldn’t feel further away. He’d been through his fair share of tough luck by this point. On ‘Goon’, a near whimper is replaced with a booming, character-crammed declaration of intent. His storytelling takes some topping: nothing quite resonates like ‘Just a Dream’, Tobias’ perspective on what he’d tell a newborn baby about the world if he had just a few hours to live. “There’s a thing called hate and there’s a thing called love too / Like the love I have for your mum and for you,” is as no-frills and honest as this songwriter gets, and it’s his finest moment by a country mile. (Jamie Milton) Listen: ‘Just a Dream’

A booming declaration of intent.

001 (Alcopop)

Kent’s Get Inuit pen anthems for fun. Their first EP, ‘001’, suggests this could be the first of at least 100 releases, which is no surprise, really, given the rate at which they’re churning out monstrously huge tracks. It’s an affirmed debut that, at times, sounds like Paul Simon fronting future festival heavyweights. Sounds ridiculous on paper, and there’s certainly something curious to Get Inuit’s strand of anthemia - brutishly big but unorthodox in every other sense, it’s a special introduction. (Jamie Milton) Listen: ‘Coping With Death In A Nutshell’

e MADONNA

Rebel Heart (Interscope)

Over the course of her thirteenth album, Madonna compares herself to: the Virgin Mary, an ‘Unapologetic Bitch’, Joan of Arc, and even her previous career highlights - ”strike a pose,” anyone? ‘Rebel Heart’ largely consists of unhinged and egomaniacal rubbish, all set to an unbearably relentless 4/4 club beat. The finest moments stand out, not for their levels of accomplishment, but for comedy value. Being an unapologetic bitch is all very well, but ‘Rebel Heart’ just doesn’t pack the punch to back up its lofty promises. (El Hunt) Listen: ‘Holy Water’

Recommended

eee GET INUIT

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Charli XCX - Sucker “After years of being synonymous with the prefix ‘ft.’, Charli XCX has found her voice.” (El Hunt)

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Menace Beach - Ratworld “’Ratworld’ has more to love than others find in a whole career, never mind a single album.” (Stephen Ackroyd)

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Peace - Happy People “A record chock-full of invention, a pursuit of the new and - most importantly - gigantic songs.” (Jamie Milton)

live Hinds

Boston Arms, London Photo: Carolina Faruolo

“LEMME TAKE A SELFIE”

ave you ever felt the urge to pick up a guitar and form a band? Hinds’ (FKA Deers) unstoppable formula is guaranteed to tickle almost anyone’s musical bone. These bubbly Spaniards grew up listening to latter-day surf garage (Black Lips, Dead Ghost), but have also carefully studied 60s pop and extracted all those fun choruses - and have claimed them as their own with their ridiculously engaging charisma.

new songs like the beach-ready ‘San Diego’ are received as future classics. Hinds’ skills and dynamic have been honed since their first London show only a few months ago, but there’s something else different about tonight. The crowd sing most of the lyrics back at them and you can tell the quartet feel very emotional about it. “We love coming down to play here, it’s like playing to a big family,” singer Ana says with a huge smile.

This show at the Boston Arms has been sold out for months, the hype might have helped them sell tickets, but when it came down to the live performance they’re as infectious and refreshing as you’d expect them to be. Headbanging, dancing around and smiling at each other, Ana, Carlotta, Ade and Amber go over their (still) small catalogue, throwing catchy riffs in the air and creating a vibrant unique atmosphere both on and off stage.

The final song, a contagious take on Thee Headcoatees’ ‘Davey Crockett’, triggers a massive stage invasion, and even though the ladies try to explain they have no more songs to play the fans aren’t ready to leave yet. “OK, lets play ‘Bamboo’ again then?” An impromptu encore with a chaotic version of their debut single finishes off the proceedings on a remarkable high. For Hinds this is only the beginning of an amazing year, rest assured that the future of carefree rock and roll is in good hands. (Carolina Faruolo)

‘Trippy Gum’ and ‘Bamboo’ get the biggest cheers, but also 78 diymag.com

DRENGE

The Deaf Institute, Manchester Photo: Leah Henson

weeping up adoring fans and critical acclaim comes naturally to the Loveless brothers who make up the tornado that is Drenge. Their swirling winds have even drawn in a bassist. It’s these sort of bold, brave and slightly unexpected decisions that look set to secure the future of a flame that could have as easily flickered out as it raged into an inferno. It’s lucky Drenge are boasting some wise heads and broad shoulders as it seems they’re bearing a the weight of a whole new generation, The Deaf Institute tonight hosting a young crowd. With attempted moshing soon becoming repeated falling, the high octane crowd are greeted with unreleased opener ‘Running Wild’ crashing into a snarling fan favourite, ‘Gun Crazy’. Rory Loveless’ drumming is positively machine-like as he deftly adds the light

and shade to riff after riff from brother Eoin, that pummel and constrict the audience. A cleverly constructed, if slightly formulaic, setlist adds room to breathe for the real peaks. ‘Nothing’ and ‘Face Like A Skull’ find themselves neatly spaced between unreleased songs. It guarantees a certain relentless march, never being far from the next onslaught. As Drenge approach the final stretch, ‘Bloodsports’ is unleashed on the eager mass, a song which has to rank as one of the most achingly brilliant rock songs released in the past year or two. They’ve gained a bassist, rounded out their sound and cut the fat from an already muscular act. And no matter if they’ll sing about nothing other than disappointments, Drenge represent nothing more than incredible promise. Pound for pound they’re a formidable live act, and an increasingly important one. (Matthew Davies)

WAXAHATCHEE

St. Pancras Old Church, London Photos: Carolina Faruolo

he stunning St Pancras Old Church in London is scattered with illumination. Candles, fairy lights and a bedside lamp have transformed the aged venue into a warm and inviting space, making it the perfect place for Katie Crutchfield’s Waxahatchee to preview her upcoming third album ‘Ivy Tripp’. Also making the trip from Philadelphia is Radiator Hospital’s Sam Cook-Parrott. Between songs, Sam busies himself staring at his fingers and feet. This uncomfortable shape is quickly dismissed as, eyes closed and standing tall, he sings at the heavens with harrowing goose bump beauty. Allison Crutchfield joins Sam for a few songs, countering his gruff earnest with delicate flight that manages to lift the sublime performance even higher.

While Sam shirks the spotlighted microphone, Katie relishes it. Taking to the stage with an energetic skip in her step, she wastes no time in turning those spine-dancing shivers into slack-jawed looks of disbelief. She is breathtaking. Bookending the gig with ‘Catfish’ and ‘Noccalula’ from debut, ‘American Weekend’, Katie threads her set with the familiar. Their simple acoustic melodies draw attention to the potent lyrics as a room full of people give her their upmost attention. There’s magic in the air. It’s the second Waxahatchee show of the evening but every moment feels unique as Katie shines a light on both past and future with unflinching verse. The stage is lit but Waxahatchee’s star couldn’t shine any brighter. (Ali Shutler) 79

Billy Corgan’s had better days

SLIPKNOT

Wembley Arena, London Photo: Carolina Faruolo

onight was always going to be a spectacle. Having last performed in the UK two years ago, there’s no way that Slipknot’s show at Wembley Arena would be anything less. That’s a promise they make good on. As expected, their stage set-up is massive: an ornate devilled figurehead sits at the top of their backdrop, which is strewn with ever-changing fairy lights. There’s fire at every suitable opportunity, while both Chris Fehn and Shawn Crahan’s drum risers stand proud on either side of the stage, constantly rising and falling, twisting and turning with each of their drumming blasts. Centre stage, Corey Taylor commands all proceedings. Boasting a mask that looks closer to an extra from Lord of the Rings than his earlier frightful efforts, there’s a more human element about his presence tonight. His chants are still littered with expletives and passion, but there’s no animalistic roar in his throat until he’s singing. There’s not a voice in the house that isn’t hoarse by the end of their set, and that’s what makes tonight a triumph. After weathering the storm that has been their past five years, Slipknot may not quite be the same men they once were, but their place in the higher echelons of metal just can’t be denied. (Sarah Jamieson)

FALL OUT BOY

Islington Assembly Hall, London Photo: Sarah Louise BennetT

t’s an eclectic crowd in Islington’s Assembly Hall - young and old(er) mix in a comfortable atmosphere, sharing the common thrill that they’re the lucky few to see an arena-worthy band in an intimate setting debuting new material. Kicking off with ‘The Phoenix’, the crowd turn from relaxed individuals into a frenzied collective, jumping to the beat with such vigour the floor can be felt vibrating. Vocalist Patrick Stump commands the stage with flair through a versatile mix of tracks from their 2003 offering ‘Take This To Your Grave’ right through to new tracks like ‘Irresistible’. New track ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’, which has the crowd whistling through from start to finish. The set rounds off with ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark’ before an encore of recent single ‘Centuries’ – that has the crowd ‘do do do’-ing along to the clever sampling of Suzanne Vega’s ‘Tom’s Diner’ - ‘Thnx Fr Th Mmrs’ and fan favourite ‘Saturday’. It may have actually been a wet and windy Wednesday night, but safe to say, the crowd left feeling as euphoric as if it were anything but. (Shiona Walker)

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PALMA VIOLETS

Sebright Arms, London Photo: Carolina Faruolo

acked to the brim, as part of Independent Venue Week, the Sebright Arms turns into a pool of sweat and excitement as soon as the Lambeth quartet step foot on stage with an up-tempo version of ‘Rattlesnake Highway’. At the front of the venue, the regulars, salivating with each new track, jump up and down recklessly only supervised by one (very defenceless) security member whose first day on the job he’ll never forget. At the back, the curious observe from a distance but find it impossible not to get involved in the chaos. While there isn’t much verbal communication with the audience throughout the evening, front-men Chilli Jesson and Sam Fryer’s interaction with each other is engaging and powerful. ‘Best Of Friends’ sits comfortably mid set, preparing the mood for a couple of newbies, the Nick Cave-y ‘Matador’ and ‘Danger In The Club’. By the time they get to fan favourite ‘Step Up For The Cool Cats’ Chilli is bouncing between the fans like another punter and probably the only reason why he isn’t crowd-surfing was cause the ceiling is too low. As if the night isn’t memorable enough, the live debut of ‘English Tongue’ finishes off what feels more like a comeback gig than a pub show. Palma Violets 2.0 is officially ready to hit the road. (Carolina Faruolo)

MENACE BEACH

McClusky’s, Kingston Photo: Abi Dainton

t’s just days after the release of debut album ‘Ratworld’ when Menace Beach take to the stage at Banquet Records’ New Slang club night. And so, sensing a crowd who aren’t necessarily there to hear their innermost thoughts, frontman Ryan Needham keeps interludes brief. A quick thank you between each song is all, before Nestor Matthews cracks his sticks together to instigate the next salvo. Opening with ‘Drop Outs’, all woozy cool and hair pushed behind ears, by mid-set the audience are drawn in, as the distinctive personalities on stage serve up their appealing catalogue of fuzzed out gems. Needham’s quirky, jerking lead role contrasts with Liza Violet’s detachment, as they execute their music with a precision that belies the sound. ‘Tennis Court’, ‘Come On Give Up’, and ‘Fortune Teller’ ooze with sloppy nonchalance, the irony of slacker anthems being delivered to an audience of students evaporating as they waft out of the speakers. They tear into each song like they have a point to prove. Back in December they said their aim for 2015 was to “not do anything shit”. Well, Menace Beach have stayed true to their word. (Louis Haines) 81

INDIE DREAMBOAT Of the Month

OWEN PALLETT Full name: Owen Pallett Nicknames: O-Face, OP, Swan. Star sign: Virgo, Libra rising. Pets: None, but I visit a lot of pet stores and play with the shibas and give them names. Favourite film: En Kärlekshistoria by Roy Andersson. Favourite food: Blueberries, soft tofu, eggs, oysters. Drink of choice: I’m easy, but mezcal if it’s time for liquor, sparkling wine if it’s not. Favourite scent: It’s a highly guarded secret. Favourite hair product: Depends on the season but right now it’s just argan oil. Song you’d play to woo someone: If you get me tipsy and excited I’ll probably put on something dateending like Bartok or US Maple and get really tomato-faced and happy about it while you look at your watch. If you weren’t a pop star, what would you be doing now: When my stack of pop star chips has depleted I will likely take up film scoring full-time. Chatup line of choice: “I… want to kiss you!”

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THE NEW ALBUM MARCH 16

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