Dork, December 2023 / January 2024 (Nell Mescal cover)

** PLUS **

2023... AT ITS VERY BEST

DOWN WITH BORING.

READERS' POLL 2023: THE RESULTS

CAROLINE POLACHEK

SPECTOR

CHAPPELL ROAN

+ LOADS MORE

ISSUE 83 · DECEMBER 2023 / JANUARY 2024 · READDORK.COM

LIST 2O24 THE HOTTEST NEW TALENT FOR THE YEAR AHEAD WITH...

HOTWAX PICTURE PARLOUR GRETEL HANLYN D4VD CAITY BASER FAT DOG SEKOU VENBEE NEWDAD NIEVE ELLA DEADLETTER PANIC SHACK + LOADS MORE

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Get ‘online’ and head on over to shop.readdork.com and find our complete back catalogue, available while they last.

Issue 83 | December 2023 / January 2024 | readdork.com | Down With Boring

Hiya, Dear Reader.

Lists. Everyone loves a good list at Xmas. So while most of you work on the important one (Dear Santa, given you've already brought back Girls Aloud, can we have a new My Chemical Romance album?), we'll deal with the rest.

As ever, our double December / January issue features the two big ones - namely our Album of the Year list for 2023, and our new talent tips in the 2024 edition of the Hype List. Both are packed with brilliant names, including our five - FIVE - ace cover stars d4vd, HotWax, Gretel Hanlyn, Nell Mescal and Picture Parlour - dive in and discover something new.

So as the year winds up, and we start to look forward to the next one on the horizon, we'd like to take a moment to thank you for reading our silly little pop magazine in 2023.

Be you a regular subscriber or just someone picking up a single issue on a whim, you're part of a gang that understands that music is best when it's big, brash and bold. Feel free to get excited, because there are some records coming early in 2024 that more than fit that brief.

readdork.com Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jake Hawkes, Jamie Muir, Martyn Young Scribblers Abigail Firth, Ciaran Picker, Dan Harrison, Dillon Eastoe, Emma Quin, Jake Hawkes, Josh Crowe, Finlay Holden, Jessica Goodman, Kelsey McClure, Minty SlaterMearns, Neive McCarthy, Rebecca Kesteven, Sam Taylor

Top Ten. 04 06 07

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM EVERYTHING EVERYTHING CHARLY BLISS

36 40 42 43 44 47 48 50 SPECTOR 51 DAY OF THE GIRL 52 DORK LIVE 55 56 58 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 59 60 CAROLINE 62 POLACHEK 66 BLONDSHELL 68 CHAPPELL ROAN 69 DREAM WIFE 70 CREEPER 74 FIZZ BLACK HONEY READERS' POLL 2023 75

Intro.

08 10 12

Best of 2023.

14 15

‘Editor’ @stephenackroyd

21 22 25 26 31 32 33

Hype List 2024. Incoming.

HOTWAX NIEVE ELLA SWIM SCHOOL LIP FILLER GRETEL HANLYN HEARTWORMS PANIC SHACK SEKOU LUCY TUN D4VD UNIVERSITY FAT DOG HANNAH GRAE DEADLETTER NEWDAD NELL MESCAL CAITY BASER VENBEE CHARLOTTE PLANK PICTURE PARLOUR MARY IN THE JUNKYARD DIVORCE

76 76 77

REVIEWS PINKPANTHERESS O.

Get Out. 78 78 79 79 79 80 80 80 81 81 81

CMAT LOUIS TOMLINSON FALL OUT BOY BABY QUEEN ICELAND AIRWAVES BLINK-182 THE JAPANESE HOUSE IDLES LAUREN MAYBERRY THE LAST DINNER PARTY BEYOND THE MUSIC

82

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Snappers Dan Bassini, David Richardson, Derek Bremner, Frances Beach, Grace Equi, Holly Whitaker, Jamie MacMillan, Jennifer McCord, Kelsey Ayers, Lola Webster, Nick Walker, Nicole Osrin, Patrick Gunning, Sarah Louise Bennett, Siân Adler, Steve Gullick PUBLISHED FROM WELCOMETOTHEBUNKER.COM

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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 The Bunker Publishing Ltd. 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 The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Dork or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.

TOP TEN. THE BEST HAPPENING

STUFF N O W.

A WHOLE LOTTA HISTORY Words: Ali Shutler. Photo: Kelsey Ayers.

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM make their electrifying return with new album ‘History Books,’ where they infuse fresh energy into their iconic sound.

→ “We have to prove that we still belong here and that we’re still adding

something new to the world,” Brian Fallon considers. The Gaslight Anthem are about to release their first album in nine years. And it’s an absolute corker. Different to what’s come before but instantly recognisable, ‘History Books’ sees the New Jersey rockers comfortable with who they’ve become.

The band have found comfort in the past before, though. The Gaslight Anthem went on hiatus in 2015 after getting burnt out, releasing five increasingly bigger albums in just seven years. Still, they reunited in 2018 for a tenth-anniversary run for breakout

4. DORK

"WE KNEW THAT IF WE WERE THE UNDERDOGS, WE’D BE GOOD UNDERDOGS" B R I A N FA L LO N

album ‘The ‘59 Sound’. “The shows were great, but it just reaffirmed that we were still burnt out,” Brian explains. However, last year’s massive reunion tour came alongside the promise of new music.

“We’re very much looking forward to the future,” he said in a statement at the time. “All the bands I admire are either still making music, or they stopped,” he

tells Dork today. “For me, it can’t just be about nostalgia.”

Going forward, the live show’s energy is all about “blowing everybody away,” says Brian. “We want to keep it the most exciting thing you can see. We’ll still play all the songs you want to hear, plus some cool ones from the new record.

And maybe that’ll change every night.

We just want it to be fun."

Immediately following the split, Brian started work on a solo career that went on to span four records, but he started missing the camaraderie of being part of a team. “There’s a collective nature to being in a band. Everyone has something to gain, and everyone has something to lose,” he explains. “When you’re doing your own thing, you find yourself by yourself a lot of the time, and after the pandemic, being by myself was not a thing I was looking forward to.”

After seeking advice from his wife and Bruce Springsteen, Brian set himself the task of writing four songs worthy of getting The Gaslight Anthem back together. “Having new demos to show the rest of the band was really important,” he explains. “I wanted to show them I was serious but also give them something they could judge.”

Guitarist Alex Rosamilia, bassist Alex Levine and drummer Benny Horowitz were soon on board.

Brian admits there was a degree of nervousness as The Gaslight Anthem started working on new music, with questions about their abilities and relevance hanging over them. “Every time there was a new song, and it didn’t suck, everybody was so relieved,” laughs Brian. For each song, he would record the lyrics and an accompanying guitar line on his phone, then send it to the rest of the band with a brief description of the vibe. Dinosaur Jr. meets The Smiths, for example. Each member would then write their own parts. “From there, we figured it out in the practice room."

“When you’ve been in a band for a bit, you get to know your audience,” he continues. “I don’t know about newcomers, but I think the people who like this band will like this album. It feels

.

like the next logical step. It’s not a wild departure from anything.”

‘History Books’ is inspired by the likes of Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam and Nirvana alongside Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. It’s the same sonic pallet The Gaslight Anthem have always dabbled in, but this time the band were also inspired by themselves. “I felt confident this time around,” says Brian. “When you’re in your 40s and making your sixth record, you do feel like an underdog a bit, even if your band is big. But we knew that if we were the underdogs, we’d be good underdogs. We might not be young, shiny, pretty and new anymore, but I still felt like we could give these kids a run for their money.”

That bristling excitement can be felt across The Gaslight Anthem’s new album. “We were writing music again, we were working with a new producer [Peter Katis], and we were playing shows. There was just this excitement on every level.”

Because of this, at no point does ‘History Books’ feel tired or uninspired, with a joyous sense of fun driving each moment forward. “I am not ready to put on my mature shoes,” says Brian.

“That’s the thing about being in a rock’n’roll band. You should absolutely put thought into your ticket prices, what you’re saying in your lyrics and where your fans are, but sometimes, it should be dumb. ‘That sounds cool, let’s do it’.”

In fact, the title ‘History Books’ came from the fact it sounded cool (“I wish I had an interesting, deep answer for you,” Brian says with a grin), while collabs with PUP’s Stefan Babcock (‘Little Fires’) and Bruce Springsteen (the title-track) were chosen for a similar reason.

“Maybe the lyrics are where we start to get a little mature,” adds Brian, with ‘History Books’ wrestling with a lust for life, change and growing older. “You can’t run away from that ticking clock that you can feel in your head. It sucks, but everybody over the age of 30 will know exactly what I’m talking about. It does propel you towards immediately feeling alive as well, though,” he explains, with a ‘do it while you can’ mentality.

“One of the special things about The Gaslight Anthem is that we’ve always been able to write about pretty morose stuff but still have it feel celebratory,” says Brian. “It would be stupid if I was writing a party record because I’m not sure that translates when you’re in your 40s. Even though there are songs about negative or hard subjects, the vibe of ‘History Books’ is very positive.”

There’s also a hard-fought sense of freedom across ‘History Books’. The band are comfortable with who they are, confidently playing to their strengths and inspirations rather than trying to chase whatever scene is popping off on Spotify. “The older I get, the less I feel tied down,” explains Brian.

“We actually started this whole process off by asking for our freedom back,” he continues. 2014’s ‘Get Hurt’ was released by Island Records, and they still had first refusal on whatever came next. So, before the band had written a single note of music for ‘History Books’, they called them and said they didn’t want to be on a major label anymore, which Island agreed to.

“We’ve made five records, and we don’t own any of them. We really wanted to do this one for ourselves,” says Brian.

“We wanted that." ■

UTOPIAN DREAMS

→Yard Act have announced their

second album, ‘Where’s My Utopia?’.

The album will be released on 1st March preceded by the single ‘Dream Job’, and accompanied by a new Leeds show at Millenium Square on 3rd August.

Speaking about ‘Dream Job’, James Smith says: “‘Dream Job’ feels like an apt introduction to the themes explored on Where’s My Utopia? – though not all encompassing. In part I was scrutinising and mocking myself for being a moaning ungrateful little brat, whilst also trying to address how the music industry is this rather uncontrollable beast that hurtles forward unthinkingly and every single person involved in it plays their part.

Myself included, obviously. As with pretty much everything else going through my head last year, trying to find the right time to articulate the complexity of emotions I was feeling and the severity to which I was feeling them couldn’t be found – or accommodated, so instead I tried to capture it in a pop song that lasts less than three minutes once the fog had cleared a bit. It’s good and bad. I’m still glad that everything that happened to me happened.”

The band are also taking the album on the road in spring 2024. The dates include their biggest London headline show to date at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith on 27th March.

DINNER IS SERVED → The Last Dinner Party have announced their debut album.

Produced by James Ford, ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ will be released on 2nd February via Island Records. The record features their early singles ‘Nothing Matters’, ‘Sinner’ and ‘My Lady Of Mercy’, as well as latest drop ‘On Your Side’.

The band say of the full-length: “Ecstasy is a pendulum which swings between the extremes of human emotion, from the ecstasy of passion to the sublimity of pain, and it is this concept which binds our album together. This is an archeology of ourselves; you can exhume our collective and individual experiences and influences from within its fabric.

We exorcised guitars for their solos, laid bare confessions directly from diary pages, and summoned an orchestra to bring our vision to life.

“It is our greatest honour and pride to present this offering to the world, it is everything we are.”

PARK LIFE

→ Live At Leeds: In The Park has

made its first announcement for 2024. Taking over Temple Newsam

Park on Saturday 25th May, the alldayer will host sets from The Kooks, (Dork cover star) Declan McKenna and The Cribs. Plus, Future Islands, Melanie C, White Lies, Mystery Jets, The Academic, The Mysterines, Vistas, The Slow Readers Club, Sprints, Antony Szmierek, Flowerovlove, Nieve Ella, Cosmo Pyke, Matilda Mann, Michael Aldag, Somebody’s Child and more to come.

READDORK.COM 5.

GO GIRLS

IN THE TANGK

→ IDLES have announced their new album ‘TANGK’.

Set for release on 16th February, the news follows the band’s intimate show at Village Underground, London where they performed under the name TANGK. You can find a review for that later on in this issue, 'FYI'.

Vocalist Joe Talbot says: “TANGK. I needed love. So I made it. I gave love out to the world and it feels like magic. This is our album of gratitude and power. All love songs. All is love.”

6. DORK

EVERYTHING FLOWS With their seventh album on the way next year, EVERYTHING EVERYTHING are still pushing at the boundaries. → As they approach their seventh studio release, Everything Everything

"I NEVER WANT TO MAKE A RECORD THAT’S ONE TONE"

aren’t slowing down or playing it safe – quite the opposite. With a conceptual vision inspired by an alternate reality, the band find themselves questioning society, tech, and what it means to be human.

J O N AT H A N H I G G S Lead vocalist Jonathan Higgs takes a break from finalising their latest video (“It’s all one shot, so there isn’t much to do!”) to lines here and there on ‘RDF’, and make discuss the forthcoming record. “It’s got a the artwork, but within a very short time, it fairly simple concept; it’s about a fictional became very commonplace to use things world wherein all of society is consumed like ChatGPT and MidJourney." with the building of a giant mountain,” he ‘Mountainhead’ was forged amidst the explains. “The only problem is they have to latest set of challenges to arrive thanks dig a big hole in order to build it, and they to our good friend ‘the pandemic’, in a way have to live in the hole. I wanted something that so many bands may yet find over the monolithic and simple to hang the album coming months. “It knocked us right out around, an easy but strong metaphor that of sync with the usual timings of an album can be applied to a number of things.” cycle,” Higgs recalls. “We never found our A potent metaphor, while the narrative feet properly. So we had to make certain we presents a dystopian universe, the album got the album out at the time we will. This is not without its lighter moments. As meant a lot of late nights – particularly for Jonathan puts it, “It’s not as anxious as Alex [Robertshaw, guitarist] as he produced some of our earlier albums. Yes, I worry this album.” about the future and also the present, but I The hard work was worth it, though. don’t think I’m alone in that. ‘Mountainhead’ Asked if there’s one track Higgs is especially has quite a few moments of revelry and fun, eager for fans to hear, his answer is pretty somewhat divorced from reality, perhaps. I straightforward. “There is a song called never want to make a record that’s one tone, ‘Dagger’s Edge’ which has some good lines.” and my life has been fun and happy recently, In the world of Everything Everything, so there is less negativity coming out of me albums are more than just a collection in the music. I’d say a lot of our records are of songs. They’re an exploration, a more like warnings than despair.” question, and sometimes a warning. For Their lead single, ‘Cold Reactor’, ‘Mountainhead’, while the overarching serves as a doorway into this alternate theme is dystopian, it’s rooted in our current universe, exploring the human cost and realities – capitalism, religion, celebrity the complexities of digital communication. worship, and digital disconnection.

“Isolation and communicating through But, as Higgs points out, the music symbols and screens is talked about a lot,” comes first. “Musically, we never really put Higgs notes. A portrayal of the modern digital age, where a performative projection the concept before the song; it has to be a good song on its own first – even if the of emotion replaces genuine human lyrics are nonsense to begin with. Once we interaction, it turns out the subject matter feel good about the songs, we can thread in is quite literal. “The term “cold reactor” is the larger concept.” how I’m describing a user of social media or “Nobody actually wants to hear a digital communication rather than a nuclear concept album; they want to read one,” he power station. One who types a crying says, emphasising that while the content laughing emoji but does not laugh.” is important, the music shouldn’t be Not new to experimentation, Everything overshadowed.

Everything’s previous work ‘Raw Data Feel’ This might be their seventh outing, but incorporated AI into the creative process.

Everything Everything are showing no signs At the time an innovative, experimental of plateauing. Instead, they continuously approach that quickly became a sort of reimagine and rediscover their sound, unnerving present, it’s something that presenting fresh narratives that captivate doesn’t permeate ‘Mountainhead’. “We felt and resonate. With the album’s release set as though it wouldn’t be interesting to do it for the new year, the band stands ready to now,” Higgs admits, highlighting the rapid climb new heights, challenging us to follow evolution of technology and its integration along. ■ into our lives. “We used AI to write a few

Words: Stephen Ackroyd. Photo: Steve Gullick.

→ Girls Aloud are back! Back!! Back!!! Cheryl, Kimberley, Nadine and Nicola are set to reunite for a massive arena tour next May and June across the UK & Ireland.

Coming after the passing of Sarah Harding, a statement explains: “Girls Aloud will not be releasing any new music around the tour. The band haven’t recorded any new songs or filmed any music videos.

The tour will be a celebration of Girls Aloud’s rich back catalogue and all the ground-breaking success they have achieved as a band.”

Cheryl says, “We all started talking about the possibility of doing something to celebrate Girls Aloud’s 20-year anniversary a few years ago. The anniversary seemed like an obvious thing that we would celebrate. But when Sarah fell ill all priorities changed. She passed away a year before the anniversary and it just didn’t feel right, it felt too soon. But now, I think there is an energy that does makes it feel right. It’s the right time to celebrate Sarah, it’s the right time to celebrate the band and the right time to celebrate the fact we can still do this 21 years later. That’s a big honour in lots of ways.”

Nadine adds, “Girls Aloud are a band that made such a huge impact on people’s lives. We grew up with the band, but so did so many other people. So for us not to do something again feels like such a shame and a waste. We want to have that moment with fans where we can all enjoy it together.”

CHARLY BLISS’ celebratory breakup anthem ‘I Need A New Boyfriend’ might just be your new favourite pop hit.

"IT’S BEEN, BY FAR, THE MOST FUN I’VE EVER HAD MAKING A RECORD"

Words: Jessica Goodman. Photo: Dan Bassini.

their earlier offerings. “It felt cool to go back to when we started the band,” Sam recalls, “going back to being super DIY." ‘I Need A New Boyfriend’ is the second great.” Yes, dear readers, Charly Bliss are back, Back, BACK! and they’ve got a brand new song Charly Bliss have shared this new single in tow. A celebratory breakup year, following the much-anticipated anthem that rocks as hard as it bops, ‘I ‘You Don’t Even Know Me Anymore’, Need A New Boyfriend’ might just be your their first new non-Christmas material since 2019. “So much has changed in our new favourite pop hit.

“This song, I think, is very funny, in some personal lives since then,” Sam reflects. ways,” Eva describes, laughing as she “I’ve had two kids. Eva moved to Australia. recalls her now-fiancé’s reaction to hearing Everyone’s doing different things. To the band write it. Joyously freewheeling, come together and be back on the road just felt like no time ‘I Need A New had passed. We just Boyfriend’ is a picked up right where tongue-in-cheek we left off.” ode to the ridiculous Venturing out relationships we go on tour across the through and getting US earlier this year, it all wrong. If you their time spent on could hear the viral the road was nothing photos of Nicole short of triumphant. It Kidman leaving wasn't just a chance her lawyer’s office to get back to the after finalising her basics of being in a divorce in 2001, this band, but also a first is probably what E VA H E N D R I C K S outing for some brand they’d sound like. new material. It’s been The song arrives a long time coming, complete with a but we can finally say music video that sees the group inhabiting a clay-made that CB3 is, at long last, coming soon.

“It’s been, by far, the most fun I’ve ever Bliss Bar, where the house band Bliss 182 perform while a cast of characters (played had making a record,” Eva enthuses. The by the band) look for love through the as-of-yet unannounced new album was tried-and-tested formula of speed dating. written and recorded over the past few If Whose Line Is It Anyway’s worst dating years, in part while the band was split service skit had been dreamed up on between the US and Australia. At the time of doing this interview, the group report psychedelics, it might look a bit like this.

“I think my bandmates are the funniest they’re just about to go into the studio to people on planet Earth,” Eva asserts. “The finish the record once and for all.

“I think the vibe for the last record saddest part for me about making the video was not getting to be in the room lyrically was very, let me go into the while they were doing all those ridiculous deepest part of myself and rip out the things.” Filming her parts from Australia most painful thing possible and purge while the rest of the group filmed theirs in this,” Eva describes. “I think the vibe for New York, the result is a world entirely of this record is way more like the things that you say surrounded by your friends the band’s own making.

While Eva bought out her local craft when you catch yourself making a joke, store’s supply of clay and built this world but it’s truer than you could have said if by hand, Dan, Spencer, and Sam got you were trying to say the most accurate to work creating their characters of a thing about what you’re going through.”

Excitement within the group for what money analyst, a pickup artist, and a sexy magician. “We were just having a blast,” they’re gearing up to share with the world Sam laughs. “It was just like, let’s just have is at an all-time high. “It just feels like our fun and trust that it’ll come together. number one goal is to have fun,” Sam enthuses. “For the first time ever, it feels Luckily, it did.”

After taking a more cinematic approach like we are totally unafraid to go for what with the music videos that accompanied we really want to sound like, and we’re not their most recent album, ‘Young Enough’, afraid of what people will think or how it ‘I Need A New Boyfriend’ is a return to the will be received. We’re just like, ‘This is character-driven DIY chaos that shaped what we want to do’. And we’re doing it.” ■ → “I first had the idea for the chorus when I was riding an ATV through the rainforest,” Eva laughs. “So that was

WHAT'S YOUR NAME?

SPEED DATE

→ Courting have announced their second album, ‘New Last Name’.

The full-length – which they worked on with Gary and Ryan Jarman of The Cribs – follows on from debut ‘Guitar Music’, and will arrive on 26th January via Lower Third.

“It’s a theatrical play within an album,” frontman Sean Murphy O’Neill explains. “There’s a lot going on. It can be simply enjoyed as an album, but there are characters, acts, stage directions etc. The listeners can decide on the narrative themselves, but we want them to get lost in it.”

LIFE'S A BLEACH

→ Bleachers are set to drop a new album next year. The self-titled effort will be Jack Antonoff and co.'s first for new label Dirty Hit when it arrives on 16th March 2024. The album follows their 2021 release, ‘Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night,’ and will be supported by a headline UK tour in spring 2024. The run is set to begin at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town on March 19th, and will include stops in Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow.

READDORK.COM 7.

INTRO. THE BEATING HEART OF POP NONSENSE.

8. DORK

WARGASM

→ Being a band can be a tough job. Those

first album nerves, the pressure of the follow-up, the ‘difficult third album’ – it’s not all champagne and stadium tours.

For Spector, this journey has often felt like it’s been played out in slow motion. In fact, their fourth album, ‘Here Come The Early Nights’, is coming a full decade after they stormed onto the indie-rock stage with their polarising debut, ‘Enjoy It While It Lasts’.

The intervening years have seen new music, new band members, and a global pandemic.

But with their latest LP coming less than two years after album three, have things finally stabilised for the band?

“I think we felt very geed up during the last album, ” says vocalist and frontman Fred MacPherson as he waits for an order of Turkish eggs with guitarist Jed Cullen in a North London cafe. “We did a new album tour straight into the anniversary shows for the debut, and it really felt like the completion of a circle. To see ten-year-old songs resonating with people at the same time as having just come off a tour where a lot of new stuff was resonating made it all feel like a worthwhile pursuit.

“We recorded it quite quickly, and I’m still at the stage of not being bored of it and feeling a genuine excitement that it does something that none of our albums have done before.

Whatever that may be.”

Jed nods his agreement. “We only had thirteen days to record it,” he says. “That meant we weren’t spending a whole day changing the bass sound and then changing it back again, or other pointless distractions.

“Over time, we’ve learned to trust in the process a bit more and not get too caught up in it all. If someone had told us that we had thirteen days to record our debut album, we’d have point-blank said that wasn’t possible.

But we’ve realised there’s just as much integrity in capturing the initial takes of stuff and that overthinking doesn’t necessarily make things better. The end result, to me at least, is that it sounds less contrived than some of the other things we’ve done – less overthought and less overwrought.”

It’s a limitation the band have turned to their advantage, but one that comes borne from necessity. Major label backing and a lack of commitments may let some bands spend months whittling away at a new project, but as time marches on, things change.

“We both work outside of the band,” says Fred. “I’ve got a family; we’re all in relationships. We need to have a healthy approach to songwriting because it isn’t the one focal point of our lives any more.”

“I always remember something my dad told me,” adds Jed. “Taking a break is just as productive as actually doing the thing because that’s just how the brain functions.

"THE CHOICE IS BETWEEN MAKING MUSIC WE LOVE OR WATCHING DISNEY+ IN MY UNDERWEAR" F R E D M AC P H E R S O N

Monty Python used to write comedy every he didn’t tell me. single day, and apparently, Terry Gilliam “The title ‘Here Come The Early Nights’ would turn up at the end of the day after had a very literal meaning about going to hours in the pub and just come out with an bed early once you have a kid, but to me now, idea that was better than everyone else’s, it feels like a reference to dying earlier than which is inspiring for all sorts of reasons.” expected – not getting to live out the night The result of this pressurised timeframe as you expected it to be. Nick Cave always is the band’s most accomplished album yet. talks about how he feels his songs have It’s still shot through with Spector DNA like brought stuff into existence or at least had a musical stick of rock, and lyrics like “Fear some underlying sense of what might happen and loathing in Lea Valley / Sean Williamson’s in the future. Without wanting to sound like Mustang Sally” from ‘Not Another Weekend’ a crazed hippie, it really does feel like an are as evocatively ironic as anything Fred has energy that’s worth attempting to wield. To written in the past. listen back to something you’ve written and Alongside this, though, there’s a experience it as being about something else, melancholy earnestness which stops ‘Here about someone else – it’s genuinely special.

Come The Early Nights’ from devolving into “All of this feeds into why making music pastiche. For every sarcastic aside about still feels worthwhile, even if we’ll never the drudgery of 21st-century life, there’s a headline arenas. Going into the studio is moment of genuine depth right around the a private moment where, for just a couple corner to throw everything into sharp relief. of hours, we go and take something super ‘Some People’ is so steeped in nostalgia and seriously and argue relentlessly about a sense of world-weariness that it’s easy to something as silly as a song. But along with forget that just a few minutes earlier, you that, you disengage from life, you reflect on were listening to lyrics about limousines things and celebrate or commiserate what with stained glass windows on the preceding life is all about, before going back to all the track ‘Driving Home For Halloween’. other boring or amazing or shit stuff that This depth and expansion in lyrical content makes up the real world.” is most obvious on the title track, a piano-led It’s a worldview on making music reflection on fatherhood which swaps out the equivalent to something you’d expect a keen typical ironic smile for an unexpected level angler or painter to say about their hobby, but of vulnerability and emotion. Are Spector clearly, one that works for both Fred and Jed. (whisper it) maturing?

Ten years ago, they were touted as the next “We were writing songs about our life big thing, promised huge headline slots and and grappling with trying to find meaning a glittering career in music. It isn’t quite how in things,” says Fred. “But what’s funny is things have panned out, but by the simple that these songs already feel to have more virtue of still being active and reaching new meaning to them than they did while I was audiences, they’re doing better than most writing them. ‘Here Come The Early Nights’ bands a decade into their existence. was written as a song about parenting and “If we were making music that we could being a father, obviously. But then a friend fully live off of, it wouldn’t be able to sound of mine died a couple of months ago, and anything like it does at the moment,” Fred suddenly, all the lyrics have taken on a new says with a slight smile. “Even ‘Chevy meaning to me. One of the opening lines is, Thunder’ wasn’t a proper hit, so to be the ‘You didn’t say it was your birthday’, and the ultimate commercial version of us, we last time I saw him was on his birthday, but wouldn’t… be us.

“Something gets in the way of working on that scale, and once we realised that, everything became so much easier. Now we know we aren’t going to be pop stars; we know we can actually just make the thing that sounds like us, and people will still enjoy it. We’ll never be Cliff Richard, but we’ll still find an audience.” (Nice up-to-date reference there, lads – Ed).

It’s an attitude that’s seen them through the lean times, and if festival lineups are anything to go by, has started to see them being given their flowers. 2022 saw them play the main stage at Truck Festival to an absolutely massive crowd, while 2023 saw them headlining one of the tents at both Truck and Tramlines. “It definitely feels good,” acknowledges Fred. “I think that’s the other reason we were keen to make another album so quickly because playing those shows and feeling that connection was so great.

“Having said that, we’re careful not to only ever look at it as going up or down because if you’re going up, it’s only so long before you come crashing back down. When we first started, our record label was obsessed with the number of likes we had on Facebook, but now nobody even cares that we have 50,000 likes on there! What a waste of time.

“I guess I’d say this: for other people making music, don’t judge yourself on where you are on that ladder because you could slide all the way down to the bottom and then make ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and shoot back up to the top. Complacency doesn’t lead to good music. After our first two albums, we could have decided to call it a day, but those bits which felt like our lowest were probably where we wrote some of our best songs.”

“It’s about bringing a non-careerist mentality to it all,” says Fred. “Of course, we’d love to be huge and be making exponential amounts of money, but that isn’t really the choice. The choice is between making music we love or watching Disney+ in my underwear.

“Being in a band is a psychic deal with yourself, where 90% of it is wanting to throw in the towel, and the other 10% makes it all worthwhile. You drive to Glasgow, and you think the drive will never end, then you soundcheck, and you feel really cold and eat a weird chilli con carne, and you’re still wishing the gig didn’t have to happen and wondering what went wrong with your life and then you walk on, and it all makes sense.

It’s the full spectrum of hopes and fears – wait, that’s the name of a Keane album, isn’t it?” He pauses, searching for another way of putting it.

“Life isn’t always good, but sometimes… the worst moments have a lot of beauty?

Everything I’m saying sounds like a cliché now; I’m trying to give a grand sweeping statement to end the interview!” ■

SPECTOR are back with their fourth album ‘Here Come The Early Nights’. Recorded in less than two weeks, it’s also their most accomplished work yet.

By Jake Hawkes.

READDORK.COM 9.

GIRLS FRONT TO THE

This October, Dork teamed up with WarChild UK for their annual Day of the Girl series. With three shows across London and Manchester, featuring some of the hottest new talent, here's what went down.

THE MYSTERINES + LIME GARDEN + HANNAH GRAE GORILLA, MANCHESTER, 12 OCTOBER 2023 The perfect finale.

NILÜFER YANYA + LÉA SEN + TROUT + JAZZI BOBBI

BUSH HALL, 11 OCTOBER 2023

A poignant celebration of strength, resilience and the power of music to drive change.

CAITY BASER

+ BELLAH MAE + CHARLOTTE PLANK LAFAYETTE, LONDON, 9 OCTOBER 2023

It’s a kick-off perfect for a week where superstars in their own right stamp their mark in emphatic fashion. → If you’re looking for shows that aren’t just rare moments to catch exciting artists take on intimate stages but also stand for something more, no organisation has owned that mantle quite like War Child.

Over 30 years, they’ve stood side by side with music to champion and support their life-changing work supporting children affected by war across the globe. With their work possibly never more important than right now, Day Of The Girl is a series of nights focused on celebrating girls and women carving their own paths to success.

It’s vital work that’ll help create safe spaces around the world.

It’s a spirit perfectly captured as Caity Baser headlines a storming opening night at London’s Lafayette. Already pointing to the big leagues with every single move she makes, her last headline show of the year fizzes with excitement.

Queues form around the block, fans bring their own signs and merch, and there’s an energy that comes from a phenomenon playing out in front of our eyes. It’s a kick-off perfect for a week where superstars in their own right stamp their mark in emphatic fashion. The future is here.

Practically beating with the release of late-night release, Charlotte Plank sets the tone for a week of celebration. Effortlessly fusing every corner of club culture into one, it’s a spinning take on pop that revels in turning Lafayette

10. DORK

into a glorious rave. Next, Bellah Mae carries a pop presence that immediately feels arena-sized.

Jumping between electric partystarters like ‘Date Your Died’ and ripped-raw ballads like ‘Feels Like You Died’ and ‘On Purpose (For My Future Daughter)’, Bellah is the powerhouse hit-maker the whole world is destined to discover very shortly indeed.

We’re three-quarters of the way into Caity Baser’s set, and Caity catches herself. “Honestly, I need to stop talking so much,” she grins.

Yet it’s that charm seeing so many flock to every move she makes.

Part superstar pop show, part night out with your best mate who just happens to be incredible at finding the greatest time possible – Caity Baser is nothing short of a tour-deforce in modern pop perfection.

Cracking jokes at every turn and jumping between the sugariest of sweet-pop power, it’s both infectious and undeniable. With tales of terrible boyfriends and awkward romances, tracks like ‘Leave Me Alone’ and ‘DILF’ show just how effortless it all is to Caity.

Treated to new cuts such as ‘Grow Up’ before a whip-quick run of ‘Kiss You’, ‘Why Can’t I Have Two (2468)’ and ‘Pretty Boys’ – it completes a night celebrating that raw original fact. Being yourself and celebrating highs and lows are a direct route to the biggest of stages. It’s what Day Of The Girl is all about. JAMIE MUIR

→ The night begins with the enigmatic Jazzi Bobbi, a London-based solo artist with a burgeoning reputation as one to watch. Bobbi’s abstract technopop, pulsating synths, and R&B-inflected vocals perfectly kick off the night as the hall fills out, her commanding presence teeing off the night perfectly.

Next up is Trout, the creative alter ego of 23-year-old Cesca, who takes to the stage donning a beanie. They get through some initial nerves to deliver a truly memorable set. From the painstaking commitment to the passionate delivery of each song, there’s no question they know how to gig like no one’s watching. The crowd revels in a set that’s a seamless blend of post-punk with electronic motifs.

French-Martiniquan musician Léa Sen graces the stage to deliver a spell-binding set showcasing her multifaceted talents, not just as a vocalist but as an instrumentalist. She perfectly flaunts her abilities, melding dream-pop-infused melodies with rippling vocals.

Léa is at the peak of her powers in a live setting; her indie-folk guitar drenched in piercing vocals blows everyone away.

Nilufer Yanya closes the night, marrying indie-rock, soul, jazz, and trip-hop elements.

It’s a trademark performance that champions a sound that bathes in a medley of references, cascading from King Krule to PJ Harvey.

A testament to a musician following their instincts, she carries an undeniable charm, endlessly expressive, letting her life experience unfurl into something timeless.

The night is a celebration of strength, resilience and the power of music to drive change.

JOSH CROWE

→ As the final night of War Child’s Day Of The Girl pulls around, a feeling of community thrives through The Bread Shed in Manchester.

With a stripped-back setup, Hannah Grae’s opening slot showcases a fresh new side.

Crunching riffs are traded for something more intimate, and it’s a testament to just how sky-high that potential is that it doesn’t feel like you’re missing out but seeing Hannah at the core of the artist she is. Commanding the room with ease, cuts like ‘I Never Say No’ and ‘It Could’ve Been You’ are distilled to the emotional heart that beats through everything Hannah Grae has created – capturing a special look at an artist already with her eyes firmly fixed on meaning a great deal to a great number of people.

Here at Dork, we’ve followed the story of Lime Garden from the early days of shining first discoveries alongside each momentous step.

As they take to the stage tonight, it’s a thrilling new chapter cranking up the speed as debut album ‘One More Thing’ gets closer. ‘Marbles’, ‘Surf N Turf’, ‘Clockwork’ and ‘Pulp’ rip with a newfound buzz that sets them apart as a band bringing the dancefloor to the moshpits, effortlessly weaving with brand new cuts that take Lime Garden in essential new directions. ‘Love Song’ and ‘Nepotism (baby)’ are soaring, while unreleased numbers like the scuzzy-sharp ‘Mother’ and the baggy-pop dreaming of

‘Pop Star’ already feel primed to take over. A band in full flight and thriving with the confidence that comes from it, Lime Garden are doing something very special indeed.

With The Bread Shed stacked to the very back, The Mysterines take to the stage with an effortless aura that immediately grips each person in front of them. From the first note, Lia Metcalfe leads a night soaked in the influence of a huge year for them. ‘Dangerous’, ‘Old Friends Die Hard’ and ‘Hung Up’ punch and kick their way to the front of the queue, while the cinematic flourishes of ‘On The Run’ put a marker down for just how wide that ambition could manifest into. Drenched in swagger, the ripped-raw heart of every move is stunning. ‘Reeling’ and the singalong refrains of ‘All These Things’ signal a night of pure celebration, but also look to what’s next. Most recent single ‘Begin Again’ already points to their next evolution, and ‘Goodbye Sunshine’ and ‘Jesse You’re A Superstar’ perfectly showcase how they’re expanding that world after embracing the journey that’s got them here.

As ‘Life’s A Bitch (But I Like It So Much)’ sends the night (and for that matter, War Child’s Day Of The Girl series) to a close, The Bread Shed is left with the memory of a really important moment for The Mysterines. They’re off to build the foundations of what comes next and how thrilling their future is set to be. JAMIE MUIR

FIRST UK APPEARANCE IN 20 YEARS

FINAL UK FESTIVAL

311 Alien Weaponry All Them Witches Alpha Wolf alt blk era atreyu bleed from within BRAND OF SACRIFICE calva louise Celestial Sanctuary charlotte sands Counterparts Crystal Lake deathbyromy defects Delilah Bon Dream State Dying Fetus Dying Wish Elvana Erra Fit For A King frozemode gel halocene Hanabie Harper Heriot HOLDING ABSENCE hoobastank HotWax Imminence karnivool Kelsy Karter & The Heroines KNIFE BRIDE lord of the lost MAKE THEM SUFFER MISSIO NOAHFINNCE OXYMORrONS PEST CONTROL Pinkshift RØRY Royal & The Serpent Scene Queen Scowl Shadow of Intent Silverstein SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL Speed STORM The Blue Stones the callous daoboys Those Damn Crows tigercub Underside Until I Wake Urne VUKOVI wargasm zulu

PLUS MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED

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Words: Chris Taylor, Jamie Muir, Neive McCarthy. Photo: Patrick Gunning.

DORK LIVE DOLORES FOREVER BRING JOY TO DORK’S NIGHT OUT

→ Remember, remember, the 9th of November!

Maybe not the words of historical figures, but here at Dork, we’re about making our own history. With Dork’s Night Out returning once again at London’s Colours Hoxton, the November chills are swapped for a swooning world of undeniable excitement.

Feel-good fun and beaming smiles are a guarantee with Dolores Forever. For their last show of the year, it’s an all-systems-go celebration that puts exactly what marks them out from the pack at the fore. ‘Good Time All The Time’, ‘Baby Teeth’ and ‘Conversations With Strangers’ are met with party-popping joy.

Not adhering to any sound or scene but their own, it’s impossible to pin them down, and they’re all the better for it. Gorgeous harmonies are spell-binding but always follow with a disco-soaked invitation to let loose and revel in the here and now. ‘I Love You But You’re Making Me Sad’ is a soaring ABBA-esque spinner, while the fizzing ‘Rothko’ and ‘Funeral’ are hypnotic and triumphant in equal measure.

Already packed with a catalogue of earworm hits, Dolores Forever seize the moment tonight to point to what’s next. It all continues a whipping eruption of a band firmly in control of how special they’re becoming. Who else could start a chant of “Shut up and eat the pasta!” from a brand-new track? As more and more fall into their unstoppable world, Dork’s Night Out is born witness to future greats. Now, where’s that pasta? JAMIE MUIR

LIVE AT LEEDS: IN THE CITY 2023 SHOWCASES A HOST OF BUZZY NEW FAVOURITES VARIOUS VENUES, LEEDS, 14 OCTOBER 2023 From Nell Mescal and Picture Parlour, to The Last Dinner Party and HotWax – Live At Leeds: In The City 2023 is packed full of new talent.

WALT DISCO AND FEET TEAM UP FOR NIGHT OF THE LIVING DORK II

→ Here’s a question. What do you get when you mix the cast of Star Wars, a gang of undead nuns, two shambolic Scream DJs and a whole lot of Halloween party-goers in one place? The answer is the return of Dork’s Night Out’s, Night Of The Living Dork II. With ‘What’s Inside Is More Than Just Ham?’, FEET laid out their stall to embrace cracker-box indie fun.

All dressed in synchronised nun outfits, tonight that shines brighter than ever. An undeniable statement of intent for what comes next, they play a range of brand-new tracks that signal a laser-focused future that distils their pop brilliance into a clear knockout winner.

Walt Disco always bring their A-game, whether it’s the immediate hooks-galore that comes from the singalong ‘How Cool Are You?’ or the pounding breakdowns of ‘Macilent'. Hits that laid out the path to this point are unstoppable in their power – the likes of ‘Cut Your Hair’ and ‘Selfish Lover’ early on are shining in their disco-pop power – while new cuts point to a hypnotic and shimmering new era. Walt Disco stand as one of the most interesting bands to have emerged from the UK in the past few years.

As the ‘Time Warp’ plays and some incredibly scary tunes are dropped, revellers leave a packed-out Colours Hoxton and a Night Of The Living Dork that was no tricks, just treats. JAMIE MUIR

12. DORK

→ It’s 12pm, and HotWax are kicking off Live At Leeds: In The City with the sort of knockout punch that comes with the best in new music. It’s an opening challenge they seize with both hands – crunching riffs and electric punk ferocity shaking off any cobwebs to set the tone for the day. ‘Phone Machine’ and ‘Drop’ perfectly nail what makes them so fun, throwing themselves into a firecracker set that lets loose in the best ways and captures a rock revolution that’s only getting bigger and bolder. As a buzzy new favourite, it’s a statement of intent. There may not have been a set better as an opening to a whole festival.

With Nation Of Shopkeepers well and truly at capacity, Picture Parlour are the talk of the entire festival. Ever since the release of debut single ‘Norwegian Wood’, their world of cinematic flair and stunning slick-rock has seen them arrive in style to a new music world searching for big ambition and big moments – and from the first note today, Picture Parlour have that and more.

Over at Belgrave Music Hall, Nell Mescal‘s indie-pop sound proves even more impressive in a live setting. Her vocals are incredibly powerful, and the glittering soundscapes are amplified by her live band. She apologises to those who relate to her tracks but provides a soundtrack so exhilarating it undoubtedly makes it an easier pill to swallow for those resonating with Nell.

With their biggest UK headline tour on the horizon, English Teacher (cheekily billed as “Parents Evening”) take an early

surprise slot at The Wardrobe. Zipping through a tight setlist full of playfully punchy tracks, from the beat-poet stylings of ‘Yorkshire Tapas’ to the gloriously cinematic ‘A55’, English Teacher look every bit a band whose star continues to rise. mary in the junkyard can only be described as magical. A constantly shifting set between delicious riffs and soul-stirring violin moments, it’s a truly mesmerising set.

Gorgeous tones and endless amounts of talent, their songs are hushed but have a hold over the audience.

Oporto’s gig room doesn’t leave much room for dancing, especially when it’s at capacity as it is for much of the day. But, for Jessica Winter, the crowd makes room.

Decked in a leather trench coat (later stripped off to reveal… another trench coat), Winter brings a brand of wonky, avant-garde pop that’s impossible not to be hypnotised by.

There’s one band around which there has been a buzzing anticipation all day – or, more accurately, all year. They made their Live at Leeds debut last year at the Brudenell before having even released a single, but The Last Dinner Party are back and faced with a devoted, frenzied crowd. They built their name on their live shows, so it should come as no surprise that the group continue to wow each time.

Nevertheless, this is a formidable set.

The Stylus sound desk is a long way from the stage, elevated on a mezzanine above the crowd. So reaching it from the stage should be challenging, right?

Not for Shame frontman Charlie Steen.

Shirt still firmly on his chest, he’s already crowdsurfing three songs in. Using the frenetic energy of ‘Concrete’ to push him forward before diving back into the crowd from the sound desk’s balcony.

It’s a rollicking set, with tracks from all three albums, including more downtempo treasures like ‘Orchid’. Sweaty and raucous, they have the entire crowd wrapped around their finger from start to finish.

There’s nobody quite like Fat Dog, as their set at Brudenell Social Club quickly proves. It’s inimitable, to say the least, and otherwise entrancing – there’s just no telling what the band will do next. Decked in cowboy hats and dog masks, with minimal effort, they incite the crowd to fall into absolute derangement. It’s noisy and boisterous and immensely impressive.

It’s rammo around the blocks as Gretel Hanlyn takes the stage. Compacting the energy of a shaken fizzy pop can into one set, cuts like ‘Drive’ breathe with unstoppable fun, and more than most, it captures the mood in the room. Everyone has to see Gretel Hanlyn, and they have to see her now.

To draw the night to a close, a certain level of energy and hysteria needs to continue. There’s no one better suited for the job than Lynks. It’s camp, theatrical, and a stupid amount of fun – armed with three trusty backup dancers (affectionately referred to as Lynks Shower Gel), the after-party may as well begin here. Newer tracks like ‘USE IT OR LOSE IT’ and ‘NEW BOYFRIEND’ receive rapturous responses, and the energy in the room just seems to grow with each one. It’s hard to imagine a better way to end Live at Leeds. P

by arrangement with Pure

Friday 15th December

O2 Academy Oxford

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Twelve months.

14. DORK

A whole load of **great** music.

This is 2023 at its very best.

Caroline Polachek's 'Desire, I Want To Turn Into You' is a pop odyssey that marries chaos with clarity, weaving a tapestry of maximalist soundscapes and intimate confessions. It's also our 2023 Album of the Year.

by Abigail Firth READDORK.COM 15.

BEST OF 2023

very now and then, a video of Caroline

Polachek screaming at geese in a park does the rounds online. The clip, also shared by Caroline on TikTok, was part of a set she recorded for an A.G. Cook album release Zoom party in 2020 and has since seemingly made its way into the bridge of her latest drop, 'Dang'.

The single arrives at the end of a magnificent year for Caroline, which has seen her bonkers take on pop go stratospheric. Her second album as Caroline Polachek (seventh overall, she mentions) 'Desire, I Want To Turn Into You' came on Valentine's Day, later than intended and following a lengthy campaign that began in July 2021, but ended up being more than worth the wait.

By the time it dropped, she'd toured her breakthrough album, 2019's 'Pang', supported pop titan Dua Lipa on her massive 'Future Nostalgia' world tour, scored a TikTok hit

with 'So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings', and released five vastly different singles; both her profile and the anticipation had grown considerably.

"Looking back on it all," Caroline reflects on a bright LA morning, "I'm just extremely grateful that I was able to make this album that's really kind of nonsensical, and sprawling and eclectic, and not only to have fans ride with me through it all and really get it but also, it feels like the album keeps unfolding in different ways, in the visual realm and live and in the fan culture, so I'm just very grateful."

Nonsensical and eclectic, it certainly is. Full of curveballs, 'Desire…' is sonically interesting, featuring both tracks with huge diva choruses and ones with no clear melodic through line, instruments rarely brought into a pop record, like bagpipes and the balalaika, sparse, dark ballads and bright, euphoric anthems, multiple invented words, and Caroline's offering to the world of 'scorny' (scary and horny) songs; 'Desire…' is Caroline's magnum opus, and the final result seems to have surprised her as much as us listeners.

"It always has a mind of its own. Always.

I began both 'Pang' and 'Desire...' with a completely different prompt for what I wanted the album to be than where it ended up. I've done this enough times to know that it's not going to behave; it's not going to stick to the memo. And that's the exciting thing about being an artist, too, this constant surprise of where the work leads you."

The journey to creating it began long ago, some of it even during the 'Pang' era, but it was primarily made on the road, with producer Danny L Harle popping out sporadically to work on it. The creative partnership began during the 'Pang' sessions, and by 'Desire…' had developed into an instinctive relationship.

"This album was made under quite stressful circumstances because I was touring 'Pang' while I was making 'Desire'," says Caroline of the album recording. "And so the process of doing sessions, for the most part, was very fractured, and time was very, very precious. There wasn't that much. So, pretty much every song made the album.

"I think the fact that I wasn't necessarily experimenting with collaborators meant that Danny and I could just get right down to business. We were having these long-form conversations about what we're interested in about music and about texture and sound, and that kept things feeling cohesive, even though we'd only get to see each other once every six weeks or something to work together, we'd sort of always pick up where we left off. So it was very fractured but also very tight at the same time."

Towards the end of Caroline's show at London's Eventim Apollo, which took place the same day the album was released, she took a moment to shout out Danny and gave a heartfelt speech about potential, how she felt we were all full of it and it only takes one person to bring that out ("I've only said that once and it was on stage in London and I was like crying as I said it," she recalls). It's the overarching theme that runs through the record, but, as with everything Caroline creates, not in the way you'd think.

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20 years,

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20 songs,

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by arrangement with Insanity Live

BY A R R A N G E M E N T W I T H X- R AY

20 shows,

INTRO

"I really did come to this album quite empty-handed and sort of let what I was thinking about and speaking about with Danny at the time steer the hand a bit.

Potential, really, was the thread that flowed throughout it, and I started seeing potential not just in the way we use it in this sort of workplace environment like, oh, she's full of potential; I was thinking about it more in this, I believe it's the ancient Roman use of the word, potentia, which describes all the things that are sort of embedded within us, but not just within us, within all things. And that could be the potential for disaster, the potential for a seed to turn into a plant…"

Having created the record within the confines of touring and doing so in a world breaking free of a global pandemic, that naturally permeated the record's content.

With that, the meaning of 'desire' changed from the obvious, too.

"I was thinking about desire as this force that gives our lives meaning and guides us into the future as the sort of antidote to nihilism, and depression, and even the kind of flattened digital landscape that we'd all dissolved into during the pandemic, this sort of desire to exist in a physical world. That this world that's full of physical potential was the landscape upon which the album takes place; fertile and unpredictable and vital."

It gave way to blind optimism without ever feeling far removed from reality; nonchalance in the face of danger on 'Smoke', a track that developed in front of an audience as it morphed over almost three years, and the endlessness and immortality presented on SOPHIE tribute 'I Believe'. Then there's the joy of reunion on the only collaborative track here, 'Fly To You', with Grimes and Dido.

While Caroline often pops up on other artists' records – Charli XCX and Christine and the Queens are repeat collaborators – 'Fly To You' is the first time she's brought them into her own world. Going to the artists' houses to write and record their verses for the track (she even snagged Dido's handwritten lyrics from the session and plans to frame them) was a special, personal experience for Caroline.

"I think Dido has touched so many people in such a healing and elegant way throughout her entire career, and just like any kind of cultural cycle, because her music is so emblematic of the early 2000s, I think it maybe became easy to see her within the kind of throwbackerry that we were all living through in the last couple of years, but I think that lens always dissolves.

"It was an incredible experience getting to work with both Dido and Grimes one-onone; both of them were transparently game to work on the song, and not just that, but to do it in a very personal way without a bunch of team in between us. But especially getting to work with these women who are both mothers as well and actually get to speak about their experience of their own sovereignty and romanticism and their own inner world, I think it's an extremely rare perspective in music, and so it was very meaningful to me to get to be in conversation with both of them in that way."

Caroline's own legacy might just be the thing that made 'Desire…' so special, too. 15

"I WAS THINKING ABOUT DESIRE AS THIS FORCE THAT GIVES OUR LIVES MEANING" C A R O L I N E P O L AC H E K

years since she released her first full-length as part of indie-pop duo Chairlift, she's lived many musical lives, putting out experimental records under the monikers Ramona Lisa and her initials CEP before wiping the slate clean and releasing 'Pang' in her own name.

But for all that time, it's only recently that she's connected on such a scale.

"I've gotten the chance to study a lot of different aspects of myself throughout all the different iterations and projects that I've gotten to have over the years. There's a lot of DNA from this album that can be traced back, not just to 'Pang' but to projects I've had before, like Ramona Lisa and Chairlift, where I learned so much about instrumental arrangement and how to scoot around grooves as a vocalist, or how to perform live or how to incorporate theatricality and graphic design in various ways. So in some ways, I feel like it's not so much that this project is better than the others; it's just this is a culmination."

Caroline seems to view everything as part of a cycle; at the start of our chat, she notes the year feels aligned to 2013, and → Released on Valentine's Day, Caroline the year she's spent Polachek's sophomore effort under her devoted to the album given name is a bold step into a lush, is wrapping up nicely. maximalist pop realm. Crafted during It colours the album stolen moments on a tour with Dua Lipa and a global pandemic, the album emerges as a too; melodies that statement of defiant abundance, its songs appear in 'Pretty In sprawling across a canvas of rich indiePossible' pop back up pop that lasts for 45 minutes of immersive in 'Smoke' (the second listening. and penultimate The album marks a departure from track), so it makes the dreamy narrative of 'Pang' into more perfect sense that the adventurous and grounded territory. With track she's released its lead single, 'Bunny Is A Rider', Caroline unveiled a playfulness that hinted at the to wrap up the album album’s broader thematic scope, a duality of cycle was made at carefree spirit and depth that is rare in pop the start of it (and, of music today. course, that it would From the desperate euphoria of feature a clip recorded 'Welcome To My Island' to the shimmering during the pandemic flamenco touches of 'Sunset', Polachek following an album navigates the complex choreography of about it). human connection, crafting a record that’s both a celebration of unity and a deep dive "I was looking back

Caroline Polachek

on the 'Pang' campaign and how good it felt to have 'Breathless' [The Corrs cover] be this single that I could release after the album to work with all the energy that had been created during the album campaign, but to do something kind of fun and unexpected with it. I knew going into this album cycle that I wanted to do that again but in a very different way. So 'Dang' is one of the older songs from this album cycle, but I knew quite early on in the process that this was going to be my postalbum single. Part of the cycle, of course, but just that it would be, rhythmically, its own punctuation at the end."

So, as the 'Desire, I Want To Turn Into You' cycle comes to a close, where does Caroline go next? She mentions she's already got an internal prompt for the next record, but with time running out (we have 15 minutes chatting with Caroline at the end of her whirlwind year), she still leaves us guessing.

"I think it's leading me to a whole new blank slate. I feel so satisfied with how I've gotten to really explore all the nooks and crannies and trapdoors within the world of this album. I feel very ready to go learn and listen to music; I just want to go listen to music for a few months before even beginning anything, but I'm excited for a fresh, clean new world in 2024." P

DESIRE, I WANT TO TURN INTO YOU into the physicality of desire. 'Desire, I Want To Turn Into You' dances on the edge of electronica, with songs that reach out to touch the listener, unafraid of the intimacy that such an act entails.

The album doesn't shy away from the quirks that define Polachek’s unique place in pop. Tracks like 'Pretty In Possible' and 'I Believe' showcase her ability to fuse disparate genres, from UK drum 'n' bass to house piano, into a cohesive and thrilling whole. Meanwhile, 'Fly To You', featuring Grimes and Dido, stands out as a testament to her bridging abilities, melding the experimental with the iconic into a seamless collaboration.

Met with near universal acclaim, 'Desire, I Want To Turn Into You' is a journey through the initial rumbles of infatuation to the volcanic eruptions of love realised. It’s a record that embodies hope, catharsis, and a euphoria so tangible it feels like a physical presence. Put simply, it's bloody brilliant.

Key track: ‘Welcome To My Island’

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PARALLELLINESPROMOTIONS.COM

boygenius → A celestial confluence of indie

rock’s most poignant songwriters, boygenius emerge with ‘the record’, a debut that is as monumental as it is deeply personal.

When Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, and Phoebe Bridgers blend their distinct voices and profound songwriting prowess, the result is an aural tapestry woven with the threads of their individual artistry. Released back in March, ‘the record’ is a 40-minute journey through the interstellar spaces of harmony, emotion, and introspection.

From the opening track, ‘Without You Without Them’, the trio sets a haunting tone of unity and individuality. Each song serves as a passing of the baton, showcasing their unique styles before seamlessly uniting into a collective voice that resonates with a knowing depth and understanding. It's not just an album; it's a conversation, a shared diary among friends who communicate best in melodies and metaphors.

With Grammy nominations for Album of the Year, Best Alternative Album,

THE RECORD and Best Engineered Album, boygenius don't just suggest their collective might but assert their place at the pinnacle of musical storytelling. Their songs, such as ‘$20’, ‘Emily I’m Sorry’, and ‘True Blue’, are less performances and more confessions, declarations of a shared experience that is both intimate and universal. ‘the record’ is an exploration of the complexities of human emotion, a harmonious discourse on love, loss, and the intricacies of being known. It is boygenius standing together, unafraid to question, to comfort, and to captivate, delivering not just an album but a seismic event that ripples through the fabric of contemporary music.

Key track: ‘True Blue’

#3 CMAT CRAZYMAD, FOR ME → World's Greatest Pop

Star CMAT unleashes a torrent of emotion with 'Crazymad, For Me', transforming heartbreak into a theatrical pop extravaganza.

With 'Crazymad, For Me', Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson has crafted an album that's as much about breaking up as it is about breaking free. A bold, cathartic journey through the post-mortem of a relationship, it's a narrative arc that veers from intimate introspection to rock opera scale, reflecting a personal and artistic evolution that has rightly earned critical acclaim.

The record is a meaty offering from Dublin's answer to Dolly Parton, laden with CMAT's dark humour and rich indie-pop sensibilities. Each track is a chapter in a grander story, with 'Whatever's Inconvenient' setting the stage for a deep dive into the complexities of emotional pain and the paradoxes of personal growth.

Described as a concept album with a Meatloaf-inspired rock opera twist, 'Crazymad, For Me' positions CMAT in a hypothetical future, dealing with the ramifications of past choices. 'California' ignites the album with burning anguish, while tracks like 'Such A Miranda' and 'Rent' swell with a poignant sadness that is both enveloping and incisive. 'Can't Make Up My Mind' showcases CMAT’s vocal range and emotional intensity, proving that her voice is as capable of carrying tender ballads as it is of belting out over robust arrangements.

'Crazymad, For Me' is an album that refuses to shy away from the messiness of human emotion, choosing instead to revel in it. It's a declaration of CMAT's ability to harness her feelings into something transcendent, culminating in an album that not only narrates her story but also resonates universally with anyone who's grappled with love's rollercoaster ride.

Key track: 'Whatever's Inconvenient'

#4 THE JAPANESE HOUSE IN THE END IT ALWAYS DOES → Amber Bain

Always Does'.

solidifies her distinctive mark on indie pop with her assured sophomore album 'In The End It

Four years on from her debut, Bain has

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emerged with a record that delves into the depths of personal retrospection and emotional catharsis. Tracks like 'Touching Yourself' and 'Friends' blend pop sensibilities with Bain's signature introspective lyricism, each song a stepping stone on a path towards healing . The collaborations within the album, such as with MUNA’s Katie Gavin, not only complement but amplify Bain's vision, showcasing her ability to synergize with fellow artists while remaining the gravitational centre of her musical universe.

'In The End It Always Does' is a tapestry of emotional honesty, from the poignant 'Sad To Breathe' to the rousing 'One For Sorrow Two For Joni Jones', it’s an album that exudes the joy of selfassurance even as it tackles the remnants of heartbreak. It's a declaration that The Japanese House is not just keeping pace but charting the course for indie pop's future.

Key track: 'Touching Yourself'

#5 BLONDSHELL BLONDSHELL → Blondshell's

eponymous debut album heralds the arrival of a formidable force in alt-rock.

Crafted with producer Yves Rothman, 'Blondshell' is an articulate foray into the emotive landscape of love and its convoluted pathways, articulating a maturity that belies its debut status. It’s a record that deftly oscillates between

the audacious and the reflective, offering a rich tapestry of personal narratives set against a backdrop of lush alt-rock arrangements.

Tracks like ‘Veronica Mars’ and ‘Joiner’ are poised to become festival circuit staples, while ‘Salad’ and ‘Sepsis’ interlace Blondshell’s distinct individuality with quick-witted lyrical prowess, delivering lines that resonate with piercing clarity.

In 'Blondshell', Sabrina Teitelbaum has not only delivered a standout album, but also unleashed a cultural statement that captures the spirit of 2023.

Key track: 'Sober Together'

#6 MITSKI THE LAND IS INHOSPITABLE AND SO ARE WE → Mitski crafts a post-

apocalyptic odyssey of love and desolation with her seventh record.

"I'm excited to write again and to start making another project" Hi Blondshell! How's it going, what are you up to today? Anything fun?

Hey, I'm great! Today, I have a day off in Seattle, and I'm going to walk around by the water and then watch Grey's Anatomy. It's only appropriate.

How has your 2023 been then, what have been your highlights?

My 2023 has been really exciting. I've been playing a lot of shows all over, and so I've been to a lot of new places.

Have you had any unexpected musical adventures this year?

Something I didn't expect was just how many shows I'd get to see this year. I played a bunch of festivals and opened for some great people, too, so I've got to see so many artists I didn't expect to see this year (namely Alex G, New Order, Japanese Breakfast, Jockstrap, etc).

If your 2023 had a theme tune, what would it be?

Our van on another long road.

Your album is one of Dork's favourites this year - what have been your favourites? (Not your own, that's cheating.)

Thank you! Mine are Mitski, Caroline Polacheck, Amaarae, Wednesday, and Olivia Rodrigo. So many artists put out some really beautiful albums this year.

What do you think has been the biggest music-related news story of 2023?

Everything Taylor Swift! Her massive tour, re-recordings, etc. I think everything Taylor has done this year, and the monoculture around her, has been the biggest music story of 2023.

Do you have big plans for 2024? What's on the agenda?

I'm playing some more festivals and shows, but I'm also going to be making the next album! I'm excited to write again and to start making another project.

What one thing would you most like to have done by this time next year?

To have made another album!!

Which album are you most looking forward to being released next year?

Hopefully, Frank Ocean's, right?

Arriving relatively swiftly after previous effort 'Laurel Hell', Mitski continues to sidestep expectations, taking listeners on a journey through an abandoned planet — a high-concept narrative wrapped in her most epic music to date. With a full choir and orchestra, the tracks evolve from tender beginnings to cinematic crescendos, anchored by her intimate lyricism and a fresh foray into country sounds. This sprawling yet intimate album culminates in a trio of expansive final tracks that solidify Mitski as a leading force in contemporary songwriting.

Key track: 'When Memories Snow'

#7 PARAMORE THIS IS WHY → 'This Is Why'

delivers a mature yet defiant evolution of Paramore's sound, blending the raw emotion of emo with the sophistication of alt-pop.

Six years after 'After Laughter', Paramore's big return offers ten tracks that demonstrate growth, wisdom, and a sharpened perspective on the world's state. The album manages to retain the distinctive Paramore essence, thanks to Hayley Williams' poignant songwriting and the band's dynamic instrumentation.

From the introspective 'Crave' to the contemplative 'Thick Skull', 'This Is Why' sees Paramore embarking on an intriguing new chapter without losing the core of what made them beloved to fans worldwide.

Key track: 'This Is Why'

#8 OLIVIA RODRIGO GUTS → Olivia Rodrigo does

more than just deliver a sequel to the stormy narratives of 'SOUR'.

'Guts' builds on the emotional rawness of Rodrigo's debut but with a new-found selfawareness and a slow-burning, simmering fury. The album navigates the heights of freedom and the depths of introspection, producing anthems like 'ballad of a homeschooled girl' and 'get him back!' that articulate the awkwardness and revengeful spirit with biting wit.

Produced in collaboration with Dan Nigro, 'Guts' is marked by Rodrigo’s ability to own her narrative, be it through the angst-ridden lyrics of 'love is embarrassing' or the reflective musings of 'pretty isn’t pretty'.

'Guts' is not an attempt to replicate the magic of 'SOUR' but rather to redefine it, resulting in a record that positions Olivia Rodrigo to face the complexities of her twenties with the same candour and gutsy spirit that has become her signature.

Key track: 'ballad of a homeschooled girl'

#9 SHAME FOOD FOR WORMS → Shame's third album is a raucous celebration of life's chaotic beauty.

'Born from a challenge to rapidly create new material, tracks like 'Fingers Of Steel' and 'Six-Pack' stay true to Shame's post-punk roots while venturing into fresh territory with beer-stained anthems and math rock influences. 'Yankees' and 'Adderall' exemplify the band's dynamic range, from slacker rock beginnings to crescendos that echo the brilliance of Pavement, all delivered with the band's signature vocal intensity.

With 'Food For Worms', Shame not only tackle the expected themes of life and introspection but do so with a new-found maturity. Plus, there's that Phoebe Bridgers' guest appearance that absolutely is really there. Promise.

'Food For Worms' is not just a testament to Shame's ability to innovate under pressure; it's an album that captures the band at their very best.

Key track: 'Six-Pack'

# 10 ARLO PARKS MY SOFT MACHINE → A deeply personal

narrative that captures the essence of young adulthood.

Described by Parks as exploring the mid-20s anxiety, love, and the complexities of navigating life's challenges, 'My Soft Machine' was written and recorded over 18 months and marks a significant step forward from her Mercury and BRITwinning debut 'Collapsed In Sunbeams'.

With singles like 'Weightless', 'Impurities', and a collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers on 'Pegasus', Arlo has created an album that's both soothing and uplifting, with a tone that belies the depth of its subject matter.

Key track: 'Pegasus'

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by Martyn Young.

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'll be honest, and I know this sounds cocky, but I'm not that surprised people like it because it's really good."

Bold, brash, bonkers and brilliant, Chappell Roan is one of the biggest sensations of 2023 and has made one of the best records of the year with her flamboyant and inspirational debut album, 'The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess'.

She's currently riding a pop wave, having worked incredibly hard for almost a decade, and it came close to never happening at all. Chappell's story is one of perseverance and the importance of staying true and expressing yourself in the best way possible.

Of course, the music on the album is amazing. Turbo-charged pop bangers full of wit, vitality and in-your-face exuberance mixed with dramatic, emotionally charged balladry for the perfect pop confection. The songs are only half the story, though. The real joy of Chappell Roan is the aesthetic and community the 25-year-old singer has built, influenced by her passions, which have informed the world she's cultivating.

"I love going to drag shows," she begins as she tells Dork about one of the guiding lights of the whole Chappell Roan phenomenon. "I feel like when I was 7 and I saw Princess Jasmine at Disney World for the first time; that's the feeling I get when I watch drag. It's like seeing a reallife princess. I just have the best time watching a drag show. I love seeing queens express themselves in such a dramatic and campy way. It's so joyful.

It's very inspiring for my show. Also, the fashion and the dancing, I love everything about drag."

In many ways, the art of drag was the primary inspiration for her vision for Chappell Roan. "I just wanted a girl who was free and unapologetically herself. I wanted to create concerts where people could dress up and have a blast. I just wanted to be a drag queen," she laughs.

The journey to the point where Chappell is free to express herself in such a positive and joyful way was difficult, though. From her earliest musical exploration doing covers on YouTube, Chappell was identified as a star, but the last decade has seen a number of roadblocks as she tried to navigate the perils of the modernday music industry. The album was a

"I WANTED TO CREATE CONCERTS WHERE PEOPLE COULD DRESS UP AND HAVE A BLAST" C H A P P E L L R OA N

long time in the making. "It was a very big relief. I could finally breathe for a second," she sighs.

Despite years of slow-burning as a bit of a cult niche legend, the time since the album's release has seen something of a skyrocketing rise for Chappell. "It feels like a whirlwind, but at the same time, I'm very at peace with how everything turned out. I couldn't really have asked for a better release.

Everything has gone so well."

There was a time when things were very much not going well, and a less confident character may have just packed everything in. "The past few years have been very hard," she reflects.

"I got dropped in 2020, and I ran out of money. I had to move back in with my parents. I'm so lucky. I'm really proud of myself that I stuck with it because it was pretty bleak for a long time."

Faced with darkness and turmoil, Chappell decided the only way forward was to embrace silliness and excess and become the star she knew she was destined to be. "Writing the album has just taught me to let go of being so serious," she exclaims. "I've allowed myself to write things that maybe some would say is tacky, but actually, I just think it's camp. It's been a growing

#11 Chappell Roan

THE RISE AND FALL OF A MIDWEST PRINCESS → A pop

masterpiece for 2023.

Chappell Roan's debut album encapsulates a transformative journey through self-discovery and empowerment.

Infused with her experiences, it embraces the tumult and ecstasy of young adulthood, queerness, and personal growth. Roan’s work is both an uproarious celebration and a thoughtful introspection, merging pop's infectious energy with the raw honesty of alt-rock.

It’s a record that enthralls with its unapologetic embrace of life’s messiness, all while her compelling vocals and introspective lyrics navigate through themes of love, identity, and self-acceptance.

Key track: 'Red Wine Supernova'

process of allowing myself to just have fun. I think the music industry, especially in the US, is very serious, and they don't want you to have fun."

So, how did she keep the faith that she would succeed in those dark moments? "It was just grin and bear it," she says.

"This is horrible, but I have to give it a shot. I gave myself a year. I moved back to LA, and if by this time next year, I feel the same and I'm not anywhere new in my career after I've tried everything, then I'm going to take that as a sign that I need to step away. I think I had to honour the inner child in me who had to be obnoxious and loud and wear gaudy outfits. I was trying to do her justice and try my best to get there. Oh my god, it was horrible.

It was so bad. I was grinning through the pain of it all."

These ups and downs are reflected in the story of the album. It's a rollercoaster of emotions. "It represents me as a person," she explains. "I'm very sensitive. I'm definitely romantic.

That comes with high highs and low lows. That's where the album title 'The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess' comes into play. The songs capture that feeling. It showcases how I'm threedimensional."

Chappell has always had great songs and an ear for pop hooks. You can hear that all over the album, but what really brought her fully into the pop consciousness was her personality and everything that encapsulates the world around her music. Chappell Roan fully understands the inherent ridiculousness of pop and the mad world it inhabits and isn't afraid to embrace that every step of the way.

"I got on TikTok, and I also got to show my personality and how I love to thrift and have style and do makeup and stuff," she says. "I saw that people were not only connecting to the music but this aesthetic I was building of this DIY pop girl. I was like oh, I have more to play with here than just music. I have a whole world that I can build. I just filled that out and used drag and burlesque as stakeholders."

Chappell Roan is making capital P pop redolent of a different era of pop glory but with a very modern and knowingly smart vibe. "I love 2010s pop when the pop stars were ruling READDORK.COM 23.

BEST OF 2023

"I HAD TO HONOUR THE INNER CHILD IN ME WHO HAD TO BE OBNOXIOUS AND LOUD AND WEAR GAUDY OUTFITS" C H A P P E L L R OA N

the world," she enthuses. "Gaga, Katy, Kesha, Rihanna. It was pop central. I admire and really respect that craft."

While acknowledging that level of gargantuan success might not be possible in the very different landscape of 2023, there's a more important and vital success in the connections she has fostered with the people who have fallen in love with her and her music and been inspired by her stories like the revelatory anthem of 'Pink Pony Club' or the ecstatic dance release of 'Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl'.

"People feeling seen and feeling acknowledged," she answers when explaining what she cherishes most about her adulation. "People feeling safe at my shows to dress up however they want and be who they are. I love that people feel free and accepted, and that's all I could ever ask."

Nowhere is Chappell Roan more free than on the uproarious and outrageous opening track and defining statement 'Feminininomenon', a song that encapsulates everything about Chappell Roan. "That's why I opened the record with it," she says. "If you're not cool with this song, then you're probably not going to like the rest of it. It's very dramatic. It's so wild and weird."

Now that she's firmly blown the doors open, Chappell Roan is in a hurry. "I don't want to wait too long to release music," she says excitedly. "I definitely want to release a song in the next six months. I never want to stop.

I want to expand the genre. I really want to write a country song. I want a real dance club song. There's so many things I want to do."

She also wants to play shows. Lots of them. A Chappell Roan show is a real event, and she's excited to take it across the world next year. "You better be ready to party," she says with a knowing grin. "We're bringing it.

Every show has a theme, so prepare to dress up and prepare to have fun. We're coming in hot."

In 2023, there are fewer artists hotter than Chappell Roan, and her stunning debut album is an ode to all the transcendent joy of pop set to take her from niche legend to global superstar. P

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"I'M GONN

A BE A BA SIC BITCH I' M G O N N .

A S AY L A N A D E L REY'S ALB UM. IS TH AT COOL T O S AY ?

I D O N 'T K N O W, I J U S T L OV E L ANA D E L R E Y." KATHERIN E PARLOU R, PICTURE P ARLOUR

# 12 LANA DEL REY DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE’S A TUNNEL UNDER OCEAN BLVD → An opulent journey

through a richly woven tapestry of Lana's signature atmospheric pop, challenging the depths of her artistry and the listener's engagement.

Lana Del Rey is an artist who has defined a generation with her cinematic soundscape and baroque pop sensibilities. Her ninth studio effort, this sprawling 77-minute odyssey is both a continuation and a deepening of one of modern music's most compelling enigmas.

Described as among her most revealing work yet, 'Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd' stitches together the ethereal with the raw, the indulgent with the introspective, capturing the essence of an artist who operates in her own league.

Key track: 'A&W'

# 13 OLIVIA DEAN MESSY → A tapestry of soulful

pop that celebrates the beautiful complexities of the human condition.

Olivia Dean's first studio album 'Messy' is a vibrant journey through a spectrum of emotions, underscored by her luminous and soulful vocal prowess. It's a record that eloquently navigates the ebb and flow of human experience, from the dizzying highs of new romance to the profound connections of friendship. With the lead single 'Dive' setting the tone for an album of both introspective ballads and exuberant anthems, Dean showcases a musical versatility that belies her newcomer status.

Every track on 'Messy' is a chapter in a story of self-discovery, with Dean's voice serving as the guiding light through varied moods and styles. The album not only marks Olivia's entry into the music world but also earned a distinguished place on the shortlist for the 2023 Mercury Prize, signalling a promising start to what could be a long and illustrious career.

A debut that stands out for its candid storytelling and emotional heft, it doesn't just resonate with listeners; it sings to the soul and dances with the spirit, making it one of the best records of the year.

Key track: 'Drive'

# 14 KILLER MIKE MICHAEL → 'MICHAEL', Killer

Mike's introspective odyssey, marks a triumphant return to his solo roots, blending the rawness of Atlanta's streets with the finesse of a seasoned hip-hop maestro.

Killer Mike's sixth studio album, and his first in over a decade, is infused with the wisdom of his years and the hunger of his youth. An autobiographical work, it sees Mike delve into his formative years with a candour and vigour that's both nostalgic and sharply relevant, as he describes it as his "comehome moment musically".

From the outset with 'Welcome To My Island', the album pulses with the rhythms of Atlanta's heart, marrying the city's vibrancy with Mike's piercing insights. 'Motherless', a heart-rending tribute to his family, showcases his versatility, while the inclusion of features like Young Thug and 2 Chainz on tracks such as 'Run' and 'Spaceship' exemplify the richness and dynamism of Atlanta's hip-hop scene.

Nominated for multiple Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album, 'MICHAEL' is not just a retrospective. It is a declaration, a statement of evolution and endurance from an artist stepping into a new era of recognition and influence.

Key track: Motherless'

# 15 INHALER CUTS AND BRUISES → Inhaler sprint

bearers.

through the sophomore slump with a vigour that cements their status as indierock's new torch-

Not content with resting on their laurels after a chart-topping debut, Inhaler delivered a follow-up that continues their breakneck rise. 'Cuts & Bruises' is a robust step forward that showcases the band's evolution without losing sight of the sound that propelled them to stardom.

Building on the defiant spirit of their debut, 'It Won't Always Be Like This', Inhaler celebrate liberation and the raw energy of being onstage. The album is a testament to their relentless touring and the growth that comes from such a rigorous journey. Tracks like 'Just To Keep You Satisfied' and 'Love Will Get You There' are not just songs but declarations, anthems of the times, while 'These Are

TOM RASMUSSEN - DYSPHORIA The poetry of this song is astonishing.

Tom's super intimate holding of some big earth moving themes centring trans bodies and aliveness brings a tear to the eye. How amazing to have such tenderness in such a banging floor filler.

JESSICA WINTER - FUNK THIS UP Our friend and Lucky Number label mate Jess is the best of the best when what you're after is wonky, freaky hip thrusting pop.

Great tune for a combination of activities.

Funk This Up will get you moving whatever state of mind you're in, it's got a bit of an unhinged edge and a filthy beat.

ELÍN HALL - MANNDRÁP AF GÁLEYSI Loosely translated from Iceland to English as ‘involuntary manslaughter’ (it’s about a heartbreak) by newcomer to the Icelandic

music scene that has been captivating audiences with her dark lyrics & charming melodies. This song was produced by Árni Hjörvar from the Vaccines. I, Rakel, actually introduced the two of them, they hit it off and this song is their first collaboration. And it’s probably my most listened to song of the year even though it’s only been out for a month.

DREAM NAILS - FEMME BOI Dreamy eh? It's a dream come true to have Dream Nails join us on tour next year! We’ve been playing their music in the van a lot on the road and this track is so much fun and really affirming and exciting to hear music expressing the desirability of femme transmasc-ness. Very hot, very sexy, very cool.

ANOHNI - SLIVER OF ICE The legend Anohni is back with this blisteringly evocative and painfully beautiful track. In Sliver of Ice the icon, once again supported by full band, finds the power and enormity in the simple, sensual metaphor of ice melting on her tongue. Haunting and arresting all at once.

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BEST OF 2023

The Days' capture the zeitgeist. The record's textural diversity is evident in tracks like 'If You're Gonna Break My Heart' and 'Dublin In Ecstasy', showcasing a band that can balance the intensity of rock with a nuanced exploration of the heart. It's the sound of a band that's not only embracing the rigours of the road but also using them as a forge for their artistry, proving that 'Cuts & Bruises' are not just marks of battle but also symbols of growth and endurance.

Key track: ‘Just To Keep You Satisfied’

# 16 MAHALIA IRL → A soulful chronicle of personal growth, steeped in empowerment and the multifaceted nature of love.

Mahalia's sophomore studio album, 'IRL' is not just a collection of tracks but a voyage into the heart of contemporary R&B. A powerful continuation from her acclaimed 'Love and Compromise', it signifies a period of profound personal evolution and raw emotional honesty.

With 'IRL', Mahalia articulates the complexities of modern relationships, transforming her experiences into anthems that resonate with authenticity.

The album title's broadness reflects the artist's intent to encapsulate the entire spectrum of real-life experiences, creating a universal soundtrack to the vicissitudes of the human condition.

From the defiant opener that asserts her unwavering presence to the sweet serenades of 'November', each song on 'IRL' feels like an intimate conversation with a friend. Tracks such as 'In My Bag' celebrate self-assertion, while 'Cheat' channels righteous indignation, both reflecting the album's emotional spectrum. It’s a testament to Mahalia's unwavering commitment to her craft and her ability to turn personal strife into a universal message of resilience.

Key track: 'Terms and Conditions'

# 17 ROMY MID AIR → A triumphant

elevation of dance music, infused with emotional depth and a distinctive voice.

Romy Madley Croft's debut solo album is an exhilarating homage to the transformative power of dance music. 'Mid Air' is crafted as a physical and emotional experience, a masterclass in dance music that elevates feelings to a transcendent plane.

Working with dance music luminaries such as Stuart Price and Fred Again.., Romy distils deeply personal tales into songs that radiate with sharp, crystalline clarity. Tracks like the effervescent 'Weightless' and the anthemic 'Enjoy Your Life' serve not just as music, but as mantras for embracing the visceral nature of our desires and the beauty of living in the moment. The album's closer, 'She’s On My Mind', encapsulates the full spectrum of love's emotional journey, from the heights of joy to the depths of introspection, marking 'Mid Air' as a declaration of Romy's artistic identity and her personal manifesto.

Key track: 'She's On My Mind'

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# 18 GEORGIA EUPHORIC → 'Euphoric' captures

the sublime elevation of dance music into a realm of introspective splendour, marking her most personal and profound work to date.

Georgia’s musical evolution has always been tightly interwoven with the pulse of dance music. With 'Euphoric', she transcends to a space that intermingles the primal energy of her debut with the hedonistic heights of 'Seeking Thrills', bringing forth an album that touches on a more spiritual and introspective plane.

Her collaboration with the likes of alt-pop visionary Rostam has allowed her to delve deeper into her artistry, presenting an album that’s both reflective and expansive.

This album stands as Georgia's finest assembly of tracks, a testament to her growth as an artist during the reflective times of the pandemic. The album’s closing song, 'So What', is a vulnerable and evocative piece that signifies Georgia's journey and her new-found openness.

Introspective yet filled with wide-eyed wonder, 'Euphoric' is a dynamic record that encapsulates Georgia's vivid musical vision and her ability to invoke a profound sense of euphoria.

Key track: 'So What'

# 19 BLEACH LAB LOST IN A RUSH OF EMPTINESS → A tapestry of

shoegaze nostalgia and indie rock introspection, offering a beautiful soundscape.

Bleach Lab capture an ethereal magic with their debut, delivering a sound that's both nostalgic and distinctly their own. The album is a rich blend of '90s shoegaze, dream pop, and indie rock, presenting a sonic identity that's as unique as it is resonant. Tracks like opener 'All Night' envelop the listener in a dreamscape of bright guitars and breathy vocals, creating an intimately bittersweet experience that's evocative and immersive.

While the album's sound may be dreamy, the lyrical content delves into darker, more complex human experiences, addressing toxic relationships, isolation, and more personal struggles. The record's expansive instrumentals, combined with the band's musical synergy create a soundscape so vast it gives the sensation of floating, making 'Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness' an album that's not just heard but felt deeply.

Key track: 'Everything At Once'

# 20 CREEPER SANGUIVORE → 'Sanguivore' is

Creeper's theatrical masterpiece, a rock opera that immerses listeners in a narrative of vampiric grandeur and gothic romance, soaring with stadium-sized ambition.

Creeper's third album, 'Sanguivore',

SANGUIVORE'S RELEASE In many ways, releasing the new album feels like the accumulation of all of our work the last decade. It felt so nerve-wracking to release something so ambitious into the world, a record that could maybe feel a little out of place in today's climate. To have it be as well received as it was truly touched us and has breathed new life into the band.

SACRED BLASPHEMY TOUR This tour felt different to others we'd done in the past; it kinda felt like people were really ready to come back to a creeper show. These big headline affairs are always such a labour of love for us, and for that to be reciprocated in those huge rooms each night was surreal for us. This new era seems to have our fans the most excited yet, and performing with them each night was pure magic.

hard not to feel the most lucky in the world.

RECORDING AT ROCKFIELD Of all of the incredibly lucky things we've been able to do this last year, recording at Rockfield Studios with Tom Dalgety definitely sticks out. When we met Tom, it was like meeting a musical soulmate. We had so much in common with him and such admiration for his work, and he became such an integral part of the new album. So much so that we made sure that even the sticker on the front of the LP mentioned his name.

He not only allowed us to push our boundaries musically, but he also opened doors for us to record at the legendary Rockfield Studio. To make a record as ambitious as the one we were making in the same studio that Queen recorded Bohemian Rhapsody and The Damned recorded The Black Album was surreal for us. There was so much history in that place that it felt like it bled into what we were doing, too.

DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL SECRET PERFORMING WITH VAMPIRE DANCERS AT WEMBLEY ARENA HEADLINE SET Performing at Download festival is always a special privilege for any band, but to be asked to be the secret headliner of a whole stage was just surreal for us. We weren't announced till the day itself, and part of us was worried if people would even show up!

We need not have worried though, as not only was the tent overflowing, but it was one of the best shows of our career. We constantly feel so grateful and fortunate to be in this band, and on nights like this, it's

Over the years, our aspirations have become grander and more over the top than ever.

To bring the vampire dancers from our Cry To Heaven video to the HMA's this year at Wembley Arena this year was so much fun.

Creeper's new era is a world of decadence and excess, so what could be more perfect than to bring that to life on stage? It was such a spectacle to have them on stage with us; I really hope we can do it again in the future!

BEST OF 2023

sound that defies imitation. With 'Heavy Heavy', their fourth studio effort, the trio doubles down on this distinctiveness, delivering an album charged with a vital energy that is simultaneously direct and richly layered. It is an audacious journey through sound, blending punk's raw power, cinematic expansiveness, and the immersive whirlpools of rhythm and melody that define the band's unique aesthetic.

The album thrives on a thrilling tension, achieving a cohesion that explodes into moments of pure euphoria. This tightness is a hallmark of Young Fathers' work, showcasing their ability to be outspoken, defiant, vulnerable, and raw in equal measure. 'Heavy Heavy' stands as a testament to their musical DNA, with tracks like 'Rice', 'I Saw', and 'Tell Somebody' highlighting their ability to pull listeners into a sonic landscape that feels expansive and extraordinary. Young Fathers remain true innovators and authors of our time.

Key track: 'Tell Somebody'

transcends the conventions of genre to create a soundtrack for the most dramatic of paranormal punk-rock operas. Drawing inspiration from the dark corners of the supernatural horror classics of the late 80s and early 90s, it's a record that conjures up images of 'The Lost Boys' and 'Interview With A Vampire', enveloping listeners in its cinematic scope. Each track is a scene in this grand production, with the opening song 'Further Than Forever' setting a high bar with its nine-minute epic sweep.

The album oscillates between the darkly poetic and the fiercely energetic, with songs like 'Sacred Blasphemy' and 'Teenage Sacrifice' delivering potent doses of horrorpunk. 'Black Heaven' delves into a darkwave gothic-rock nightclub scene, while the spectral piano of Hannah Greenwood on 'More Than Death' brings the album's narrative to a haunting climax.

Moving away from the themes of isolation that permeated their previous work, 'Sanguivore' is a celebration of community, love, and redemption. It's an album rich in salacious harmonies and Cohen-esque lyricism that elevates Creeper beyond their contemporaries, offering a listening experience that is as cathartic as it is empowering.

Key track: 'Further Than Forever'

the art of the chorus and the anticipation of the hook, with Owusu sometimes seemingly eager to rush through verses to unveil the chorus's full bombastic potential. The album's strongest tracks, such as 'That's Life (a swamp)' and 'Stay Blessed', showcase the duality of his sound, blending deep grooves and post-punk bass lines that draw the listener back to the present.

Key track: 'That's Life (a swamp)'

# 22 GRACIE ABRAMS GOOD RIDDANCE → A mosaic of delicate

storytelling, weaving together moments of longing and profound introspection into a fabric of evocative songcraft.

Gracie Abrams has cultivated a universe brimming with poignant vignettes in 'Good Riddance'. A debut that captures the essence of emotional turbulence with winsome charm, it stands as a testament to her ability to distil youthful desires and escapism into heartstopping musical narratives.

A journey through a spectrum of emotions, each song blossoms from a whisper to a

crescendo, encapsulating the most simple yet resonant feelings. Tracks like 'Best' offer a gentle touch that escalates to an exhilarating rush, akin to a film score's climactic moment, while 'Difficult' sends a thrilling shiver down the spine. The core of 'Good Riddance', however, lies in its quieter moments, where the subtlety of Gracie's voice and lyrics shine, supported by the sympathetic production of Aaron Dessner.

'Good Riddance' is not merely an album; it's an immersive experience that showcases Gracie Abrams' prowess in crafting songs that resonate with a rare depth and sincerity. It's an album that illustrates the transcendent nature of her songwriting, inviting listeners into a world of introspection and raw beauty.

Key track: 'Difficult'

# 23 YOUNG FATHERS HEAVY HEAVY → A visceral and varied album that solidifies Young Fathers' unique position in the tapestry of British music.

Young Fathers have long established themselves as purveyors of a

# 24 TROYE SIVAN SOMETHING TO GIVE EACH OTHER → An audacious nightout narrative transformed into a liberating musical journey, celebrating self-discovery and joy.

Troye Sivan's latest offering is an immersive experience, a soundtrack to a night that promises both the thrilling high of freedom and the raw touch of vulnerability. A serenade to the dancefloor where muscles ache and emotions run high, it's encapsulated in tracks like 'Rush', which captures the serotonin-induced highs of dance-pop, and 'What's The Time Where You Are', with its disco beats that embody the yearning of a night's transformative power.

The album maintains this electric energy in 'One of Your Girls', while also delving into the poignant depth of emotions in songs like 'Still Got It'. It's a journey that revisits the emotional weight of Troye’s earlier work in 'Blue Neighbourhood', yet with a more assured and mature perspective. 'Can't Go Back,

# 21 GENESIS OWUSU STRUGGLER → A vibrant tapestry of

genre-bending tracks, embodying a free-spirited fusion of hip-hop with the raw energy of live instruments.

Genesis Owusu has firmly established himself as a pioneering force with his sophomore album, 'STRUGGLER'. The record defies conventional genre boundaries, melding the worlds of pop, rock, and funk into a relentless auditory thrill ride. Opening with 'Leaving the Light', an arpeggiated synth-pop track that sets the stage for a diverse and energetic journey through Owusu's creative psyche, he harnesses a palpable energy that maintains a thrilling pace. This constant momentum is complemented by the use of live instrumentation, a decision that imparts the album with a distinctly human touch and a nostalgic nod to the angular indie sound of the 2000s. Tracks like 'Old Man' and 'Tied Up' highlight Owusu's ability to craft music that's not just heard but felt, commanding listeners to move with their groovy, off-kilter rhythms.

'STRUGGLER' is a record that celebrates

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of personal evolution, reflecting the significant changes she's undergone since her early days of songwriting. Forging a path of transformation, the album links the intimate, organic moments that defined her early music with a brighter, bolder sonic landscape. Tracks like 'Kissing In Swimming Pools', 'Elvis Impersonators', and 'Room Service' blend romantic nostalgia with courageous, candid lyricism, allowing Humberstone to express thoughts most shy away from.

Exploring new sonic territories, songs like 'Flatlining', 'Baby Blues', and 'Into Your Room' diverge from Humberstone's previous work by incorporating dark electronica and beats.

Peeling back the layers of human emotion, they invite listeners on a journey through her intricately crafted musical universe. 'Paint My Bedroom Black' stands as a chronicle of a pivotal moment, on the cusp of reaching new heights of stardom, and showcases Humberstone's readiness to embrace the full extent of her artistry.

Key track: 'Into Your Room'

# 28 DREAM WIFE SOCIAL LUBRICATION → 'Social Lubrication' is

Dream Wife's audacious charge into the fray, a raw and visceral album that captures the livewire energy of their performances and channels it into a studio record brimming with attitude and connection.

Baby' becomes a mantra for moving forward, urging listeners to embrace progress and the promise of tomorrow.

As 'Something to Give Each Other' progresses, it captures the cyclical nature of a night out – the intense emotions, the rallying recovery with friends, and the reinvigoration found in a favourite song. An album that invites you to be consumed by its slick, euphoric revelry.

Key track: 'Rush'

# 25 BABY QUEEN QUARTER LIFE CRISIS → 'Quarter Life Crisis' encapsulates Baby Queen's distinctive blend of alt-pop charisma and lyrical introspection.

Baby Queen’s debut album, 'Quarter Life Crisis', marks a significant evolution in her songwriting. Exploring themes of adulthood and the pressures of youth, Bella ventures across the pop dial with energetic tracks like 'I can't get my shit together'. The album’s progression signifies a maturation, with songs like 'Grow Up' revealing a new depth to her artistry, reminiscent of her idol Taylor Swift's personal and vulnerable lyricism.

'Obvious', described as her saddest song, offers an introspective look at her past life in Durban and the sacrifices made for her music career.

As the album closes with 'A letter to myself at 17', it becomes evident that Baby Queen has not only created an album that resonates with coming-of-age struggles but also showcases a pivot to a more nuanced and personal songwriting style. This crisis looks more like a revelation from here.

Key track: 'Obvious

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# 26 PRIYA RAGU SANTHOSAM → A debut that fuses South Asian rhythms with Western pop sensibilities.

Priya Ragu's 'Santhosam' emerges as a radiant blend of cultural heritage and modern pop. It's an album that defies expectations with its fusion of Tamil beats and R&B, an auditory feast that Ragu describes as "total ear candy". A testament to her skill and dedication, each track pulsates with confidence, vitality, and an unrelenting brilliance.

The album journeys through various emotions and themes, from the joyous and club-ready 'One Way Ticket' to the introspective and melodic 'Mani Osai'.

'Santhosam' captures Ragu's range, not just vocally but thematically, celebrating independence, life, and the joy of coming into one's own. Each song is a unique facet of Ragu's artistry, from danceable tracks that ensure repeat plays to those that showcase deep personal reflections.

Key track: 'One Way Ticket'

# 27 HOLLY HUMBERSTONE PAINT MY BEDROOM BLACK → 'Paint My Bedroom

Black' captures the transformative journey of Holly Humberstone, intertwining her breathy, emotive vocals with a bold new sound.

Holly Humberstone's debut album, 'Paint My Bedroom Black', is a narrative

Dream Wife's third record, 'Social Lubrication', hits the ground running, as opening track 'Kick In The Teeth' sets a defiant tone. A pure, unadulterated expression of what Dream Wife stands for - it's a record packed with fiery rebuttals to casual sexism and gender stereotypes, transforming frustration into anthemic sound bites that resonate as a soundtrack for this generation.

The album's strength lies not only in its high-octane moments but also in its capacity to slow down and introspect. Songs like 'Mascara' reveal the band's tender side, while 'Curious' celebrates the diversity at the heart of the band's ethos. 'Social Lubrication' balances raw, thrashing energy with these moments of reflection, showcasing Dream Wife's dynamic range and their ability to craft an album that truly embodies their explosive live reputation.

Key track: 'Kick In The Teeth'

# 29 POPPY ZIG → A genre-defying

spectacle, channelling raw emotion into a dance-infused odyssey that cements Poppy's status as a chameleon of modern rock and pop.

'Zig' opens with a jarring juxtaposition of cheer and nihilism, setting the stage for an album that traverses a spectrum of emotions. Poppy's exploration of comfort amidst chaos is palpable throughout the record, especially in the closing track 'Prove It', which leaves listeners in a state of "pretty euphoria". Between the edges of rage and empowerment, the album delves into peace and ecstatic joy, showcasing Poppy's versatility and her ability to upend expectations with each track.

The record is a testament to Poppy's evolution as an artist, drawing on her rock roots while embracing her love of dance.

Tracks like 'Motorbike' and 'Hard' are laced

with confident pop energy, while 'What It Becomes' and 'The Attic' offer a more ambitious and narrative-driven approach.

'Zig' seamlessly integrates elements of garage rock and rave, particularly in songs like 'Linger' and 'Flicker', creating a complex yet coherent soundscape that is both innovative and assured.

Not just an album; 'Zig' is a multi-layered journey that reflects Poppy's mastery of reinvention and an unapologetic embrace of self-assurance. With each song, she confidently steps into new realms of creativity, resulting in a work that's as impactful as it is unexpected.

Key track: 'Prove It'

# 30 RENEÉ RAPP SNOW ANGEL → 'Snow Angel' marks

Reneé Rapp's emphatic declaration of artistic individuality.

From the first few notes of 'Snow Angel', Reneé Rapp dispels any notion of this being a mere side project. Opening track 'Talk Too Much' sets a defiant tone, with Rapp's raspy and robust delivery capturing the attention. The album dances through moods, from the tropical vibes of 'Poison Poison' to the assertive 'So What Now', each song rippling with authenticity and raw, unfiltered expression.

'Snow Angel' is a deeply personal journey that stands out for its heartfelt honesty and storytelling. Tracks like 'The Wedding Song' and 'Pretty Girls' display Rapp's knack for catchy, resonant music.

Title-track 'Snow Angel' is a standout, a piano-driven piece that evolves from poignant vulnerability to a bold

declaration of self-assurance.

Rapp's debut is more than a collection of songs; it's a narrative of growth, selfreflection, and emotional depth. It's a document of an artist's rise, with Rapp proving that, actually, she has nothing left to prove. The start of what promises to be a significant musical legacy.

# 33 KOYO WOULD YOU MISS IT? into the golden era of punk rock.

Key track: 'Talk To Much'

# 31 ASHNIKKO WEEDKILLER → A conceptually rich

album that traverses a fantastical soundscape.

Ashnikko's debut album is a musical and visual saga set against the backdrop of a fantasy universe. Drawing inspiration from a wide array of influences, from fantasy novels to epic films, Ash crafts a cohesive narrative that is both visually and sonically engrossing. Songs like 'World Eater', 'Super Soaker', and 'Possession Of A Weapon' are set in this thematic realm, while others delve into deeply personal and autobiographical stories.

'WEEDKILLER''s thematic core is centred around control and freedom, reflecting Ash's personal journey towards spiritual, emotional, and bodily autonomy.

It's an era that sees her confronting various characters from her life, using the album as a platform to grieve, speak to past abusers, and reclaim her autonomy.

Key track: 'Possession of a Weapon'

# 32 BLUR THE BALLAD OF DARREN → A poignant journey

through blur's storied legacy, infusing the freshness of the present with the nostalgia of their past.

blur's ninth studio album emerges not just as a nod to their storied past but as a statement of continual evolution and relevance. 'The Ballad of Darren' is a seamless blend of nostalgia and novelty, with the band proving that their journey is far from over.

Songs like 'St. Charles Square' show blur haven't lost their edge, combining punk scrappiness with unapologetic vigour, while 'Barbaric' and 'The Narcissist' reflect a mature perspective, blending bright melodies with introspective lyrics.

'Avalon' and 'The Heights' serve as emotional anchors of the album, pulling at the heartstrings with their vivid imagery and resonant storytelling. 'The Ballad of Darren' stands as a testament to blur's unceasing creativity and a connection with fans that spans across generations.

Key track: 'Barbaric'

"MY FAVO URITE ALB UM OF TH YEAR HAS IS BEEN JAM ES BLAKE ALBUM. G 'S OD, IT'S SU BEAUTIFU CH A L-SOUNDIN G RECORD AND IT RE , ALLY EVO KES THE SOUNDS O F UNDERG ROUND ELECTRON IC LONDO N. IT'S THE FRESHEST , MOST INS PIRING BIT OF MUSIC I'VE HEAR D THIS YE THANK YO A R. U, JAMES."

→ A high-octane foray KOYO's 'Would You Miss It?' revives the Long Island punk scene's heyday, melding hardcore, emo, and pop-punk into a sound that honours their forebears while firmly establishing their own identity. It's a record that thrives on the live energy of the genre, featuring wall-to-wall anthems that demand to be experienced in the crowded, pulsing heart of the pit. With songs like 'You're On The List (Minus One)' and 'Message Like A Bomb', they demonstrate their prowess in creating tracks that are both infectious and intensely emotive.

The album strikes a balance between homage and originality, capturing the essence of what makes melodic hardcore endure. 'Would You Miss It?' is not only a nod to the past but a defiant step towards the genre's future, showcasing KOYO's ability to find the sweet spot between melodicism, accessibility, and raw power.

Key track: 'Message Like A Bomb'

# 34 SAMPHA LAHAI → An intimate

exploration of Sampha's sound and soul, a record that delves deep into personal narratives against a backdrop of rich, eclectic musicality.

After a six-year hiatus, Sampha's 'LAHAI' emerges as a testament to his sonic exploration and personal growth. Named after his paternal grandfather and reflecting his own middle name, the album is a profound journey into both his worldview and self-reflection. An elemental force, grounded in his iconic piano melodies and expanded with diverse influences ranging from jazz and jungle to hip-hop and traditional African music, it makes it a record that envelops the listener in a deeply human and evocative nature.

Sampha's vocal prowess shines throughout, particularly on tracks like the anthemic 'Over' and the impassioned 'Suspended'. The presence of guest artists like Yaeji and Morgan Simpson of Black Midi adds layers to the album's textured soundscape, complementing Sampha's vision and reinforcing the album's spiritual and questing essence.

GEORGIA

into anthems of strength. Songs like 'Ice Cream Man' highlight her vocal prowess while navigating the complexities of womanhood, infusing pain with power. But it's 'Hard Out Here' that epitomises the album's ethos, with RAYE channelling her scorn into a scalding force that dismantles all obstacles in her path. Try stopping her now.

Key track: 'Hard Out Here'

# 36 FALL OUT BOY SO MUCH (FOR) STARDUST → A masterful reconciliation

of Fall Out Boy's past and present, crafting a nostalgic yet forward-looking pop-rock saga.

'So Much (For) Stardust' is the sound of Fall Out Boy not just revisiting their roots but reinvigorating them with the wisdom of their journey. Marking at least a partial return to a guitar-centric sound infused with the energetic pop and punk spirit reminiscent of their earlier work, it branches out with disco, soul, funk, and orchestral flourishes, signifying their evolution. Not a retreat into the past, it's a homage to all the eras of Fall Out Boy's storied career, from the punkfuelled anthems of their beginnings to the polished pop experiments of recent years.

The album kicks off with lead single ‘Love from

the Other Side’, delivering an urgency that recalls the band’s early days, yet it's matured with lyrical depth and sonic complexity. ‘Heartbreak Feels So Good’ and tracks like ‘Hold Me Like a Grudge’ and ‘Fake Out’ showcase a playful yet sophisticated approach to their signature style, proving that they can evolve while still maintaining the core elements that got them this far. In 'So Much (For) Stardust', Fall Out Boy have not only created an album, but a harmonious bridge between two eras. It's a culmination of their pop-rock prowess, a vibrant celebration that's as much about honouring their history as it is about writing the next chapter.

Key track: 'Love from the Other Side'

# 37 JORJA SMITH FALLING OR FLYING → A daring leap into a

kaleidoscope of emotional depth, pairing vibrant R&B with indie rock to chart the trials of the heart.

Jorja Smith's second studio album emerges as a tapestry of human experience, woven with threads of jazz, soul, R&B, and an invigorating splash of funky house.

'Falling Or Flying' articulates the intricacies of personal growth, with Smith stepping into a new-found certainty in her womanhood,

Key track: 'Suspended'

# 35 RAYE MY 21ST CENTURY BLUES → A riveting chronicle

of personal liberation, melding sultry jazz vocals with contemporary beats to craft a narrative of empowerment and catharsis.

With 'My 21st Century Blues', RAYE invites listeners into a narrative steeped in resilience and liberation. The album, longawaited due to RAYE's battle for artistic freedom, showcases her full range of talent, crystallised by the viral hit 'Escapism'. It's an record that confronts pain and betrayal, as heard in the emotionally charged 'Black Mascara', transforming personal anguish

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BEST OF 2023

A REALLY CLEAR WIN NER FOR U FLY TE’S SE S IS LF-TITLED ALBUM. TH UNAPOLO E GETIC FRA GILITY AN RAWNESS D OF THE LY RICS FROM LIKE DEFEN SONGS DER AND SP ARE NOTH EECH BUBB ING BUT H LE EA RT-WREN IN THE MO CHING ST BEAUTI FUL WAY. SPENT MY I EARLY TW ENTIES UTT ENTHRALL ERLY ED WITH TH EIR EARLIE RELEASE ‘T R HE LOVED ONES’, AN MOST DEF D THIS INITELY C OMPETES. JENNA KY LE, BLEACH LA B

navigating themes of breakups and selfdiscovery with unyielding candour. Songs like 'Try Me' deliver direct and incendiary energy, setting a tone that resonates with both vulnerability and strength. 'Feelings', featuring J Hus, is a personal pinnacle, while the likes of 'Backwards' and 'What If My Heart Beats Faster' offer a cinematic scope, elevating the record's emotional landscape. Smith's blend of club-ready tracks and soulful R&B, tinged with indie rock's raw edge, creates a soundscape that's as challenging as it is enthralling, marking a comeback that's both striking and robust.

Key track: 'Try Me'

# 38 DO NOTHING SNAKE SIDEWAYS → An electric foray into

the world of post-punk, showcasing Do Nothing's knack for melodic innovation and lyrical vulnerability.

Nottingham's Do Nothing deliver a debut album that defies easy categorisation. 'Snake Sideways' is a dynamic blend of post-punk tradition and an experimental edge, resulting in the band's most melodic and refined work to date. The album manifests as a poignant reflection on creation and the anxieties therein, with frontman Chris Bailey's

signature vocals delivering a narrative of everyday struggles and existential musings.

At the core is a reflection of the band's journey, charged with an anxious energy that captures their most vulnerable moments.

Tracks like 'Nerve' and 'Happy Feet' demonstrate the band's ability to create a sound that's rooted in their identity yet pushes beyond into new territories. It's a project tinged with both the fear of failure and the thrill of creation, a balance that Do Nothing strikes with compelling authenticity.

Key track: 'Happy Feet'

# 39 BULLY LUCKY FOR YOU → A raw and unfiltered journey through grief, change, and sobriety.

'Lucky For You', the fourth studio album from Bully, marks a significant evolution in Alicia Bognanno's musical journey. Known for her unvarnished honesty, it's perhaps her most open and reflective work yet. Following her first solo release, 'Sugaregg', which delved into her mental health struggles, 'Lucky For You' continues this trajectory of personal exploration and authenticity. The album was created over seven months, a period marked by significant life changes for Alicia, including the loss of

her beloved dog Mezzi and her journey to sobriety.

'Lucky For You' tackles the theme of loss with raw emotion and poignant lyricism. 'Days Move Slow' stands out with its punchy, 90s-inspired alt-pop sound, infused with restless energy and contemplations of the afterlife. In contrast, 'A Wonderful Life' offers a more cinematic and emotive experience, showcasing Alicia's signature vocal style that oscillates between heartbreak and hope. It's a record that captures the challenges of revisiting places and memories associated with a previous life, underlining the transformative and sometimes overwhelming process of rediscovering oneself without the crutch of alcohol.

Key track: 'Days Move Slow'

#40 SLEEP TOKEN TAKE ME BACK TO EDEN → A thematic

exploration of longing and escapism, intertwined with religious symbolism.

An enigma wrapped in a mystery, Sleep Token's album 'Take Me Back To Eden' delves into the complexities of obsession and connection, weaving these themes with religious undertones. The album's title itself is a metaphorical reference to a yearning for a return to a more peaceful, euphoric stage in a relationship, symbolising an escape from the current turmoil. This overarching theme sets a backdrop for the album, offering a multi-layered narrative that explores both personal and broader existential dilemmas.

The musical journey of 'Take Me Back To Eden' is marked by a mix of alternative metal and indie pop, continuing the trajectory established by their previous albums. However, this third LP, concluding a thematic trilogy, has been noted for its more standard approach compared to their earlier, more innovative works. While the album is well-produced and features some standout moments, it’s regarded as the band's most forgettable work thus far, lacking the distinctive qualities that made their previous albums, like 'Sundowning', feel like impactful and innovative journeys.

Key track: 'Chokehold'

#41 GABRIELS ANGELS & QUEENS → A cinematic and

soulful exploration of love and loss.

Gabriels' debut album 'Angels & Queens' emerges as a unique blend of soul and cinematic soundscapes.

Released in two parts, the album explores themes of love and loss through the diverse perspectives of its creators - vocalist Jacob Lusk and producers Ari Balouzian and Ryan Hope, alongside hip-hop producer Sounwave. The result is a record that resonates with emotional depth and musical richness. Each track is marked by lush orchestration and dramatic composition, creating a sumptuous platform that elevates Lusk's powerful vocal delivery.

From the energy of the opening title track to the emotionally intense 'Taboo', the record showcases a range of dynamic and evocative moments. Songs like 'Remember Me' and 'If You Only Knew' continue the trend, offering a blend of rhythm and sublime piano ballads, further enriched by celestial strings and choir arrangements.

Key track: 'Angels & Queens'

#42 FIZZ THE SECRET TO LIFE → A bold and refreshing debut from the indie pop supergroup.

'The Secret To Life', isn't your typical indie pop record. A super group of Greta Isaac, Martin Luke Brown, Orla Gartland, and dodie, Fizz are a confluence of diverse musical talents and perspectives.

Each with a strong individual presence, their combination brings a fresh and dynamic

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BEST OF 2023

energy. Characterised by its mature ideas and a mix of delicacy and confidence, it stands out with its open spaces, rattling guitars, and genuinely vulnerable vocals. An explosion of creativity, born from a collective rebellion against the algorithm-driven music industry, it's a testament to what artists can achieve when they are free from external pressures and are driven purely by their passion for music and collaboration.

Key track: 'High In Brighton'

#43 JPEGMAFIA X DANNY BROWN SCARING THE HOES → A raw and unapologetic foray into experimental hip-hop, challenging mainstream norms.

DODIE The biggest highlight of this year would be recording the live sessions particularly 'The Grand Finale' - in the very place we wrote the whole album. We took a shot before the final take, so all expectations and nerves were numbed and twisted into wonky carelessness - which worked perfectly. At the end of the song, we ripped out our in-ears, climbed through the set and wires and ran outside, gasping and laughing from the adrenaline of finishing a take and the RIDICULOUSNESS of it all. Definitely a core memory.

MARTIN My highlight of this year was probably our first show at Hoxton Hall. We'd only just announced we were starting the band five days before, and to be on stage with my best pals and look out to a room so full of love and excitement was so joyous. So many good moments, tho.

GRETA A huge highlight for me was getting to headline a stage at Latitude Festival this year. The tent was absolutely rammed,

and getting to see people receive the songs so openly this early on in our story as a band was so incredible to experience. There were a few moments during the set where we'd look at one another in complete shock as if to say, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!" I feel warm and fuzzy just thinking about it, tehe.

ORLA It's been an incredibly beautiful (and busy) year. A consistent highlight for me has been the goofy ass moments we've shared as friends in between all of the band madness. There was a phase during the summer where we would burn ourselves out on band admin, work all day and in the evenings get giddy and play this game where we blindfolded someone and made them chase us around Dodie's flat. It was unhinged; I loved it.

THE BAND Getting to release our debut album, 'THE SECRET TO LIFE'! We've had the maddest year, and we owe it all to our amazing audience (or our Fizzlets as they call themselves, lmao) We can't wait to bring Fizzville to life on our UK and Ireland tour - it's gonna be big!!!

A 'collab' album by JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown, 'Scaring The Hoes' is an audacious entry into the realms of alternative hip-hop. A blend of aggressive production and content, it reflects a tribute to creative synergy that defies mainstream expectations. The album encapsulates the ethos of going against the grain, with tracks that are dark, raw, and satirical. Brown, known for his eccentric style, finds a kindred spirit in JPEGMAFIA, resulting in a project that oscillates between moments of brilliance. The partnership yields a record that is at times a brash and modern art-like concoction of high-brow references and ironic subject matter, pushing the boundaries of artistic independence. A unique blend of humour and musical experimentation.

Key track: 'Lean Beef Patty'

#44 PVRIS EVERGREEN → A genre-defying

journey through eclectic sounds and emotive storytelling.

'Evergreen' is a testament to Lynn Gunn's refusal to be pigeonholed into a singular musical genre, weaving together a rich tapestry of sounds that pushes the boundaries of what PVRIS has been known for. This fourth album marks a significant evolution in sound, delving deep into hip-hop and R&B influences to create an electrifying collection that stands out as their most mature work to date. Characterised by a dynamic tug-of-war between different musical styles, the first half of the album is energetic and confrontational, with lyrics that challenge and instrumentals that are almost tangible in their intensity. Tracks like 'I DON’T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE' and 'TAKE MY NIRVANA'

are infused with cathartic electro-pop and rage-filled energy, creating an irresistible urge to dance despite the darker themes. 'HYPE ZOMBIES' stands out with its sinister vibe, combining sludgy bass and wailing synths underpinned by Lynn's powerful vocals.

The latter half of the album shifts into a more introspective mode without losing its compelling nature. Songs like 'SENTIMENTAL', 'HEADLIGHTS', and 'LOVE IS A…' blend PVRIS' rock roots with broader musical influences. 'Evergreen' triumphs in its ability to inhabit the spaces between, finding strength and excitement in the moments of combination and contrast, rather than adhering to one singular musical identity.

Key track: 'HYPE ZOMBIES'

#45 CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE → A deep dive into

emotional landscapes, blending pop with introspective storytelling

'Paranoïa, Angels, True Love' represents a bold leap into the expansive potential of pop music. Building on the abstract themes of previous work 'Redcar les adorables étoiles', it's an album that marks a return to a more distinct and overt pop style, infused with Chris's unique touch.

Spanning 20 tracks over 90 minutes, rather than relying on forceful beats, it elegantly weaves soft, meditative, and sensual sounds with grand, cavernous epics. At the heart is a profound exploration of grief, following the loss of Chris' mother in 2019. It's clear that he has poured every ounce of his being into the recording, crafting an album that is not only emotionally resonant but also stands as the most powerful in Christine and the Queens’ repertoire to date.

Key track: 'To be honest'

#46 THE MENZINGERS SOME OF IT WAS TRUE → An introspective dive

into the intricacies of ageing and the bittersweet nature of nostalgia.

'Some Of It Was True', the seventh studio album from The Menzingers, encapsulates the band's journey and evolution over more than a decade. Imbued with a sense of maturity and introspection, the band members grapple with the complexities of growing older and the attendant nostalgia. Greg Barnett's lyrics, wistful and reflective, ponder on the notion of ageing

FOR ME IT ’S ‘3D COU

BY GEESE NTRY .I THINK T HEY'RE AM I HADN’T LI AZING. STENED T O MUCH O MUSIC BU F THEIR T I SAW TH EM WHEN WITH THE WE PLAYE M IN HAM D BURG AT R FESTIVAL. EEPERBAH EVERY SIN N GLE ONE O THEIR TEC F T H E M, HNICALIT Y IS AMAZ FRONTMA ING. THE N’S VOICE IS SO ENT IT’S THE P RANCING, ERFECT B ALANCE O PROG AND F LISTENAB LE. ITS VERY PLA YFUL.

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OUR SESSION AT MAIDA VALE → It's been a dream to do Maida Vale.

This was our second but our first full session, and I wanted to do it before it moves to Stratford. They said they are gonna build it identical, but how can it possibly be the same? I adored the session despite every single part of our kit breaking individually, and we didn't get our first take till 4pm (load in was 10am). We got a tour of the rooms.

Loads of the gear is antique and custom to this studio, and I like the feeling of the hundreds of recordings passing through the walls over the last hundred years.

PUTTING OUT 'A FISTFUL OF PEACHES' AND MEETING FANS AT THE INSTORES → This was equally exhausting and mental as it was beautiful and fun. I loved meeting everyone and hearing everyone's stories. I would deffo not recommend two shows a day in different cities to anyone hoping to maintain mental wellness. (We're too far gone anyway.)

WE SOLD OUT KOKO!! without necessarily adhering to societal norms of 'growing up', acknowledging that with time, one realises how much less we actually know.

The album is characterised by its 'big Menzingers energy', blending themes of love, longing, and the paradoxes of life on the road. Songs like 'Hope Is A Dangerous Little Thing' and 'Alone in Dublin' explore themes of unrequited love and the pain of separation, set against a backdrop of Americana. 'Come On, Heartache', 'Nobody Stays', and 'Take It To Heart' showcase the band's ability to blend jubilant melodies with themes of nostalgia and introspection.

A window into the band's current state, reflecting who they are as individuals and artists at this point in their careers.

Key track: 'Hope Is A Dangerous Little Thing'

#47 BLACK HONEY A FISTFUL OF PEACHES → A bold, world-

building album that balances raw emotion with a ferocious musical edge.

Black Honey's 'A Fistful of Peaches' is a grandstand moment for a band known for creating immersive worlds with their music. Following the success of ‘Written & Directed’, the album represents the band's biggest statement yet, combining widescreen ambitions with a more introspective approach, striking a perfect balance between personal storytelling and punchy, powerful

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soundscapes.

Tracks like ‘Charlie Bronson’, ‘Tombstone’, and ‘I’m A Man’ offer stomping hooks and furious intensity, while ‘Heavy’, ‘Out Of My Mind’, and ‘Up Against It’ provide a deep emotional resonance. The album's refreshing honesty is captured through Izzy Bee Phillips' unflinching lyrics, exploring life's highs and lows with a hint of knowing pop sensibility.

Musically, 'A Fistful of Peaches' is a kaleidoscope of genres, merging rock, glam, and early-00s indie. In that, the heavy and unexpected ‘Nobody Knows’ stands out, showcasing the band's ability to surprise and captivate. An album that is raw, swaggering, and natural, Black Honey have crated a world that resonates with the joys and pains of real life.

Key track: 'Nobody Knows'

#48 GORILLAZ CRACKER ISLAND → A fusion of genres in a signature Gorillaz style, maintaining familiarity while exploring contemporary themes.

'Cracker Island', Gorillaz's eighth studio album, features an array of collaborations, melding different genres into a cohesive whole. True to Gorillaz's style, it traverses emotional, colourful, and funky melodies, touching on themes like media overconsumption and technology addiction while staying aligned with the band's well-developed sound. Notable tracks

That was crazy, as well as having Elvis and Bad Nerves support us. We had just found out we were the Number 1 independent album and it felt surreal.

I feel undeserving of this still / about everything all of the time, but also like it was my perfect red velvet golden plated vintage gig fantasy. If I could draw you a dream show at age 6 in crayon, it would have been a stick man version of Koko.

PLAYING KENDAL CALLING'S MAIN STAGE WITH CHIC This was unreal, a massive main stage with great sound, there was a wicked crowd, and we watched Nile Rodgers side of the stage and had this crystallising moment where I realised I might just be watching the best musicians in the world from a perspective that no one gets. Emily, our tour manager, made friends with the whole band, and they sent her cookies.

I've never been more jealous.

OUR ARENA TOUR WITH GRETA VAN FLEET As I'm writing this, it starts tomorrow, so I'm going on a limb here and will probably break my leg or something from this jinx. But I feel like an arena tour with Greta Van Fleet will be 100% something we will look back on as a peak for this year. Now I've said this, keep your eyes peeled for what karma I've now caused myself. It was nice to know y'all.

like Oil', featuring Stevie Nicks, and 'New Gold' with Tame Impala and Bootie Brown, contribute to the varied musical landscape, while 'Skinny Ape' stands out as a particular high point from a group who continue to do things mere mortals never could.

Key track: 'Skinny Ape'

#49 BETHANY COSENTINO NATURAL DISASTER → A poignant and

introspective journey into Americana, marking Cosentino's transformation from surf-rock stardom to solo authenticity.

The announcement of 'Natural Disasters' coincided with the news of Best Coast going on an indefinite hiatus, marking Cosentino's foray into a solo career.

The title-track opens with a kick of pop energy, combining smart literary references and global warming metaphors.

Cosentino's songwriting shines as she seamlessly merges clever phrasing with catchy melodies. The tracks 'Outta Time' and 'It's Fine' lean towards Sheryl Crow's territory, showcasing Cosentino's unique voice and evolved perspective, while the piano ballad 'Easy' highlights her lyrical prowess, touching upon familiar themes but acknowledging the desire to avoid repeating past mistakes.

Key track: 'It's Fine'

# 50 MAISIE PETERS THE GOOD WITCH → A reflective and

transformative journey through the highs and lows of early womanhood.

Maisie Peters' sophomore album, 'The Good Witch', offers a profound and emotional exploration of personal growth and the complexities of young adulthood. Drawing from her own experiences over the past year, it's a heartfelt chronicle, weaving tales of heartbreak and joy, loss and resilience. It stands as a striking contrast to her debut, 'You Signed Up For This', which was an ode to her teenage years, encapsulating the innocence and simplicity of that time. 'The Good Witch', however, reveals a matured Maisie, one who has transitioned from a girl to a woman, embracing a new-found wisdom and restraint.

The album's lyrical content delves into the nuanced emotional landscape of a woman in her early twenties. It balances the pain of lost love and the complexities of moving on with the invigorating sense of self-discovery and empowerment. Unlike typical breakup albums rife with anger and resentment, 'The Good Witch' opts for a more introspective approach. Maisie reflects on her feelings without succumbing to bitterness, capturing the essence of healing and growth. It's a perspective that imbues the album with a sense of authenticity and relatability, offering listeners a mirror to their own experiences of love and self-discovery.

Key track: 'Lost The Breakup'

BEST LIVE ACT 1. Arctic Monkeys 2. The 1975 3. Louis Tomlinson 4. Inhaler 5. Rina Sawayama

VIDEO OF THE YEAR 1. Olivia Rodrigo - vampire 2. Declan McKenna - Nothing Works 3. Yard Act - Trench Coat Museum 4. Paramore - Running Out Of Time 5. The Last Dinner Party - Sinner

BEST BAND-SLASH-ARTIST

BEST SOLO

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

1. Boygenius 2. Paramore 3. The 1975 4. Inhaler 5. Shame

1. Taylor Swift 2. Olivia Rodrigo 3. Louis Tomlinson 4. PinkPantheress 5. Caroline Polachek

1. Boygenius - The Record 2. Paramore - This Is Why 3. Inhaler - Cuts & Bruises 4. Lana Del Rey - Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd 5. Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You

MOST ANTICIPATED ALBUM BEST FESTIVAL

TRACK OF THE YEAR

1. The Last Dinner Party 2. Sam Fender 3. Yard Act 4. Crawlers 5. IDLES

Glastonbury

1. PinkPantheress ft. Ice Spice - Boy's a liar, Pt. 2 2. Boygenius - Not Strong Enough 3. Paramore - C'est Comme Ca 4. Lana Del Rey - A&W 5. The Last Dinner Party - Nothing Matters

BEST DRESSED

UNDISPUTED CHAMPION

BEST NEW ACT OF 2023

BEST NEW ACT FOR 2024

Hayley Williams

Taylor Swift

BEST HAIRCUT

VILLAIN OF THE YEAR

Harry Styles

Matty Healy

1. The Last Dinner Party 2. Chappell Roan 3. Holly Humberstone 4. Blondshell 5. Crawlers

1. Picture Parlour 2. Caity Baser 3. HotWax 4. Nell Mescal 5. Panic Shack

BEST TV

BEST FILM

BEST ACTOR/MUSICIAN

BEST 'AT THE SOCIALS'

1. Heartstopper 2. The Bear 3. Succession 4. Sex Education 5. Big Brother

1. Barbie Reneé Rapp 2. Oppenheimer 3. Asteroid City 4. Bottoms 5. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Charli XCX

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As the nigh ts draw in a nd the light ranks of ne s go up, we w artists to trawl the find the be make an im st of the be pact on the st, set to twelve mon is no differe t hs ahead. T nt. Prepare his year to find you r n ew faves in Hype List 2 the 024.

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→ Between a pair of incredible EPs,

The South Coast's new rock heroes, HotWax mix effortless cool with a razor sharp edge.

by Ali Shutler. photography by Derek Bremner.

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tours on both sides of the Atlantic with Royal Blood and their urgent, energetic and often chaotic shows, HotWax have earned themselves a reputation for being one of the most exciting new guitar bands around. But what do they make of the buzz?

"I hope it's true," grins bassist Lola.

"I think we're exciting." Drummer Alfie agrees. Vocalist and guitarist Tallulah takes a slightly more diplomatic approach, though. "I mean, there are a lot of good bands around at the moment, but… yeah," she adds with a smirk. That exhilaration and self-belief can be felt across snarling tracks like 'Rip It Out' and 'Treasure', but it's been a journey.

Lola and Tallulah were introduced at school because they were the only two people who played guitars. Things didn't click straight away, but the pair quickly became inseparable after Tallulah gave Lola a bottle of Matey bubble bath ("I'd said how much I enjoyed baths, and I was touched by how she'd paid attention"). "We'd write songs together and gig at every opportunity we could," says Tallulah.

"We basically grew up together." Their love of guitar music saw them labelled as odd by their classmates in secondary school. "We literally just had each other," says Tallulah.

"Having that friendship and discovering music together spurred us on to keep doing it," says Lola. HotWax want to create that same sense of belonging with their listeners. "The best thing about the Royal Blood tour is playing to kids who wouldn't usually be able to see us, 'cos most of our shows

"ALL WE WANT TO DO IS MAKE MUSIC. WE'VE NEVER BEEN INTERESTED IN ANYTHING ELSE" TA L L U L A H S I M - S AVAG E

have been 18+. Hearing them say they've been inspired by us, it feels amazing."

HotWax officially formed in 2019 after their previous band drifted apart.

Their first gig at local pub Crowleys in Hastings followed the same year before a sporadic string of singles were released across 2020 and 2021. "We never had a plan," admits Tallulah, with the band releasing music whenever they saved enough to afford a session in the recording studio. "They're all quite different from what we do now," says Lola, with those early tracks confidently working through psychedelic rock, dreamy indie, funk and thrashing rock'n'roll. "We were just figuring out who we wanted to be," she adds.

Even back then, you could hear the excitement.

"We were doing it because we enjoyed it," Tallulah says. "It definitely felt like a hobby, but at the same time, we weren't doing anything else."

"Yeah, we never thought we would still be doing it now, but I don't think we ever thought we wouldn't be either," continues Lola.

The band were eventually drawn to big, chunky rock bands like Foo Fighters, Muse, Rage Against The

Machine and Blondie, with their music scuzzy but ambitious. "They just made me feel something," says Lola. "They were the bands that made me want to pick up my guitar and play in front of the mirror."

"I used to be really shy, and I'd only ever play acoustic guitar," explains Tallulah, but that shifted when her mum gave her a copy of Hole's 'Live Through This'. "I had to listen to it in my room because that's where I felt safe, but there was something about Courtney Love's vocals that felt so powerful and intense, and that really interested me."

It led Tallulah down a rabbit hole of heavier bands. "There was something about the energy and the anger of it. I never felt like I had that within myself, so listening to it was therapeutic."

"For the longest time, no one even heard me hum," says Tallulah, but HotWax gave her space to come into her own. "We didn't really start sounding like we do now until I became more confident singing and shouting," she continues. One of the first songs they wrote was 'Stay Cool', a riff-driven hunk of basement rock. "I didn't feel comfortable singing a heavier song, so I had to lock myself in the toilet by myself

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to figure it out. I just had to find my voice." That attitude of trial and error in the pursuit of want is something that's become a throughline of HotWax. "Now we have songs that have loads of actual screaming," grins Lola. "I mean, if we play 'Barbie', 'Drop' and 'Rip It Out' back-toback, Talulah will die though."

Alfie rounded out the lineup for HotWax in 2021 after meeting Tallulah and Lola either at music college or on the side of the road, depending on who you ask. "His style just fit perfectly with what we were trying to do," explains Lola. "He's the first drummer I've felt connected to. Plus, we get on really well and haven't had any terrible dramas."

"Yet," grins Alfie. He'd been involved in various Brighton bands, but something about HotWax felt different. "People were just always going crazy at their gigs." There's a shared drive as well. "All we want to do is make music. We've never been interested in anything else," explains Tallulah.

With Alfie in the fold, the band threw themselves into playing as many shows as possible and this year, HotWax released two EPs. The first, 'A Thousand Times', drew inspiration from Pond and Wolf Alice, bringing together unreleased songs from across HotWax's career. "We didn't have a plan or a schedule, so it felt like we had all the time in the world to write that," says Lola. By comparison, 'Invite me, kindly' was created over two months and sees the band trading in happier, light melodies for something more ferocious. "We were listening to a lot of Queens Of The Stone Age, Jack White, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Strokes," says Lola. "We wanted it to feel raw and not too overproduced."

Both EPs explore "the intensity of your emotions when you're a teenager," says Tallulah. "'Mother' is about being a woman, knowing you're capable of having children but feeling guilty about wanting them because of global warming and the general state of the world right now, while 'Rip It Out' is about contraception. Things like the pill can really mess with your mental health," she adds.

There's never an overarching theme, just things the band needs to get off their chest.

"I always feel like I could go even more honest," Tallulah continues. "I definitely prefer performing songs that are about really personal things because 38. DORK

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"I DIDN'T FEEL COMFORTABLE SINGING A HEAVIER SONG, SO I HAD TO LOCK MYSELF IN THE TOILET BY MYSELF TO FIGURE IT OUT" TA L L U L A H S I M - S AVAG E

you can really tap into that emotion.

It's like therapy for me, writing down such honest thoughts and turning them into art. Even if it starts negative, it always feels like a good thing to do."

There's escapism to HotWax's music, but there's confrontation too, with the music giving both band and listener permission to be larger than life. "With songs like 'High Tea', I really want people to feel empowered," says Tallulah.

The band had planned to write music for their debut album while on the UK leg of their run with Royal Blood, but things didn't work out.

"It was our first proper tour, and it just felt a lot, but in a good way," says Tallulah. "I was expecting it to be emotionally draining, which it was, but it was also just so much fun." Playing those shows "never felt daunting," she continues. "It was always just exciting. Performing to thousands of people who are all watching you - it just feels powerful."

There's no vision for the album yet, says Lola. "Every song we've written so far is different, but they're all more developed than what's come before. We want the new stuff to be richer and really lean into the emotion, whatever the emotion is."

There's even talk of a stripped-back number.

"One day I'd love to write a record that has an overarching theme but right now, I'm just trying to write words that I like," says Tallulah, still trying to come to terms with just how busy the band have been this year. "I'm trying not to think about it because otherwise, it's too overwhelming."

"Everything has happened so quickly, but it does spur you on," adds Lola. "There is that fear of losing what you've got or being left behind, though." Still, HotWax aren't the type of band to be ruled by anxiety.

"It does feel like a lot of people have put their faith in us, and I hope we can live up to their expectations."

"Those expectations can feel like a lot sometimes," admits Tallulah before that exhilaration and selfbelief come creeping back in. "I guess we'll just do what we do." P

LAMBRINI GIRLS → With a snarling vocalist delivering charged lyrics about social and political issues, it’s easy to compare Lambrini Girls with the likes of Idles. And yes, fans of thundering post-punk will fall head over heels for this Brighton two-piece but there’s more to them than repeating the fury of what’s come before. Alongside the rage, there’s giddy humour and swaggering riffs, making for a menacingly good time.

LISTEN TO: 'Boys In The Band'

METTE → Mette Towley has been releasing music as METTE for a couple of years now after a stint as an in-demand dancer.

After a few experimental songs, she finally seems to have figured things out with the release of her massive pop record ‘METTENARRATIVE’. A sleek, discoinfused collection of songs that switches between the strobe-lit dancefloor and a stadium-sized communal party, the EP is lush, joyous and undeniable.

LISTEN TO: 'MAMA'S EYES'

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SPIDER → Paving her own way for Black girls in the alternative scene, SPIDER’s grungy bangers detail personal tales of familial trauma, her experience in the alt world, and hating your mates’ exes. Growing up perpetually online, SPIDER’s music is an amalgamation of everything she obsessed over on Tumblr; think Halsey at her heaviest with a DIY edge.

LISTEN TO: 'America's Top Model'

PARIS PALOMA → Paris Paloma is smart. Very smart.

With a knack for illuminating storytelling and an intoxicating dramatic flourish in her music Paris is making big music for weighty times. Evocative and challenging she's a multifaceted songwriter ready to take the viral notoriety of her stunning breakthrough 'Labour' and sky-rocket to the next level.

LISTEN TO: 'Labour'

THE ITCH → We're all bored of post punk, right? Well so are The Itch, a new Luton-based group rising from the ashes of Regressive Left who are determined to stop the tide of mediocre guitar bands with shouty lead singers.

Catch them at sweaty shows airing as-yet unreleased material, some of which even features that serrated wooden instrument shaped like an egg which school music rooms used to have (you know the one).

LISTEN TO: nothing yet, but 'No More Sprechgesang' is likely to blow the roof off once it sees an official release

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→ Nieve Ella has been at home for a couple of days. For most people,

that might not seem like a big deal, but following her whirlwind rush of 2023, it's become a rarity. Instead of screaming fans, it's the screaming of her brother playing FIFA next door that greets her on this weekday morning. In a few days, Nieve will be back on the road with Inhaler rounding out a support run across Europe, which winds down a year that has seen her every expectation knocked squarely out of the park.

It's a dizzying time in the best way possible. "Like, is this actually real?"

"I feel like..." Nieve begins before bursting into a smile. "It's DEFINITELY not what I expected this year to be. I keep saying to people it's like a dream. I wake up, and if I'm playing a show, I will be like, 'Is this real?' I just can't even... I keep showing my mum all the gifts I've been given on tour. Look at this!" she says, holding up a forearm covered in handmade bracelets that fans have given her over the past few weeks. "She was like, 'What on earth is this?' and I'm like, 'I DON'T KNOW!'" It's a level of connection that back in January may have seemed far away for Nieve, yet now feels like the rightful result for an artist whose heart-on-sleave tales and soaring anthems have made their way to fans looking for someone to perfectly distil grounded raw emotion.

With her debut EP 'Young & Naive', Nieve announced her arrival into the ring. With follow-up 'Lifetime Of Wanting', she delivered the knockout blow, and there's no stopping her now. "It's just so cool," reflects Nieve. "I don't expect anything from it, really. I'm just a normal person. I get starstruck over anybody and everything, but more than anything, I get starstruck so much over the people who support me. Just the fact they listen to my music and support me when actually, I want to support them. It's been incredible for that to come with every release.

"You know when you're a kid, and you watch movies - the Justin Bieber movie was one I always used to watch - and they all say, 'I wouldn't be anything without the

Nieve Ella has captivated fans with her hearton-sleeve tales and soaring anthems.

by Jamie Muir. photography by Patrick Gunning.

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"I'M AT THAT AGE WHERE I'M FINDING MYSELF PROPERLY, AND IT'S SO COOL TO FEEL THAT" NIEVE ELLA

people that support me'. I used to be like, erm, what do you mean? Now I'm like, yeah, that is so true. I would not be anything."

Much like that Justin Bieber movie, the early days of High School Musical watchalongs and a kinship with Hannah Montana look even more critical after the year Nieve has had. Growing up in a small village where becoming a musician can be seen as pretty unrealistic, she "wanted to be Hannah Montana, not realising that you could actually be Hannah Montana."

"I remember family members asking me at a BBQ about what I wanted to do when I left college, and I'd say that I wanted to travel the world but also wanted to do music. In the back of my brain, I just wanted to go on tour!"

If Nieve wanted to tour, well, the past 12 months have delivered on that with two live stints alongside Inhaler, one with Dylan, and several festivals, including Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds. It all serves as a full-circle realisation of everything Nieve dreamed about from the beginning; she's always wanted "people to understand, connect and feel safe in the music and like they can resonate with everything I'm saying.

"It literally has been that this year.

Everybody that I speak to, even if it's somebody who has just listened to my music at a show and didn't know who I was before. It's everything that I could ever dream of. Everybody is a normal person…" Nieve pauses. "Well, most people are, BUT I think of myself as that person in the crowd watching someone.

That's all I want them to feel, to feel that connection. When they feel it, it's perfect."

With a connection already setting up a sold-out start to 2024, each moment Nieve takes with a laugh and a hilariously bemused take on everything. "Luckily, this has all worked out, haha," she cracks.

Following a year of transformation and evolution, Nieve Ella is ready to welcome 2024 and every grandstand moment

destined to come. "I've changed so much.

Even this week, I was thinking that I've changed so much since before October, never mind the start of the year!" says Nieve. "I'm just constantly changing because I feel as though, y'know, as a human, we go through so much stuff every day.

"I feel as though even before music, I could see myself changing all the time.

I'm at that age where I'm finding myself properly, and it's so cool to feel that. I'm so much more confident. Honestly, a chat like this would literally make me want to throw up because I'd be so scared. I would be scared of saying the wrong thing, but now I just say how I feel because I trust myself and everyone around me, too. It's such a great feeling to have that."

Gazing around her bedroom, the journey to now may still be sinking in ("I've still got some more dates in Europe, so NOT YET!" she cracks), but the future is bursting with possibility. With 'Lifetime Of Wanting' signalling an artist stepping into her own voice, finding the confidence to go into what's next is currently the focus. "I just want to be more confident.

I just want to be able to be in rooms with people and feel like I belong there because I've spent a lot of time feeling that imposter syndrome. Thinking that nobody really knows who I am and that I'm just someone from a small place that's not London at all, but I just want to feel confident. I want to feel like I belong in the places that I am.

"I want to write music that I play live and have so much fun. People can come to a show, have fun, forget about everything else and feel so content in that moment. To dance and sing, that's all I want."

Nieve Ella doesn't just belong in these places now; she owns the whole damn building. If it's going to happen, keep happening and stay happening, then the world better be ready. Nieve Ella is ready to take what's hers in 2024. P

WASIA PROJECT → Wasia Project, a dynamic sibling duo formed by Will Gao and Olivia Hardy, blend a global pop sound with their British-Asian heritage and classical training. So while, yes, you will probably know Will from his role in the zeitgeist dominating Heartstopper, this is no side project. Their music, a unique mix of bedroom DIY and sophisticated jazz-disco, captivated audiences with their debut EP 'how can i pretend?'. Fusing playful energy with deep musicality, they promise an exciting fusion of classical elegance and modern pop.

LISTEN TO: 'Petals on the Moon'

MASTER PEACE → Hailing from Surrey, Master Peace known offstage as Peace Okezie - has immersed himself in indie music, drawing inspiration storied legends like Bloc Party, The 1975, and Arctic Monkeys. Shaping his musical journey, Peace's teenage years were spent locked into the local rave and house party scene. The powerful and deep connections formed in those years are more than mere memories; they represent a cornerstone of his push towards a more positive modern masculinity. With his upcoming debut album, 'How To Make A Master Peace' set for release on 1st March, Master Peace is ready to kick off big time.

With bangers this massive, there'll be no resisting.

LISTEN TO: 'I Might be Fake'

READDORK.COM 41.

Edinburgh trio Swim School are poised to make a splash with their vibrant guitarrock.

by Ciaran Picker. photography by Grace Equi. → How do you even begin to describe the year that Swim School have had? Support slots for Pixies, Lovejoy

and Inhaler, slammed-out festival tents, releasing one of the best EPs of the year in 'Duality' – and all while working day jobs.

Their year is far from done, too, as they take to the road again in December with The Amazons across the UK. Guitarist Lewis Bunting is chomping at the bit to get out there. "Their first album was so important for me musically, and we're getting to go to a whole load of places we've never been before, so I can't wait!"

Swim School aren't the first band to work multiple jobs while trying to find time to write and play live, but it's hard to think of anyone working as hard as them right now. "We get back home mid-December; we'll probably take a few days off then

42. DORK

be back in the studio," levels frontwoman Alice Johnson. "It's the Hannah Montana lifestyle," she jokes. "We don't care about making millions; we just do it for the love of music, and if we can do that full-time, then that's the dream, really".

There are so many signs that their gruelling schedule is paying off, especially with regard to the band's confidence in their ability and their trajectory. Not only have they personally been through a rollercoaster of a twelve months, but they've had to put up with a lot of external pressures that they frankly wouldn't get if they had a male lead singer, particularly when it comes to comparisons with other female-led bands. "I get less of it now," Alice reveals, "but it's like women can't be original or talented in their own right. It's just such lazy misogyny, it's like, 'Oh, you must be inspired by them because she's a woman'." The fact that these comparisons are dying off, though, shows that Swim School are now icons in their own right.

Confidence is oozing from this band, more so now than at any other time in their history and it's reflected in both their writing and live shows. 2024 promises another new body of work, their fourth multi-song release in as many years, but this one brings with it a real sense of ownership and self-assuredness that can only spell great things for the new year.

"IT'S THE HANNAH MONTANA LIFESTYLE" ALICE JOHNSON

Struggling to not give too much away, Alice teases that "it's more inspired by 90s shoegaze. It's more energetic, heavier, more mature, and more genuine." Lewis agrees, adding: "It's just us saying what we want, the way we want to do it. It's the music we've always wanted to release."

Their newest work will not only feature a super personal, stripped-back moment but also harks back to the band's roots by re-releasing an earlier track. "We went into the studio when we originally released the song and weren't comfortable enough to say 'no' to producers. But now, we're using the original room record, so it's the way it's supposed to sound." Taking their cues from Alice's long-time idol, Taylor Swift, they're not only taking charge of their own future, but they're also entering their superstar era.

Outside of the studio, their nonstop live schedule will kick back into top gear, with a UK headline tour on the cards.

"We'd love to get back over to Europe.

We had so much fun over there, and of course, we're manifesting Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds!" says Alice. Festival season this year gave the band a host of "pinch me moments", not least making a main stage debut at Glasgow's TRNSMT Festival, with their family and friends in the front witnessing them take the leap into the upper echelons of today's immensely exciting guitar-rock scene. "It's so hard to imagine what's next. Everything's so good already; how can it get better?"

So, basically, 2024 is going to be another huge year for Swim School. Alice knows that "all my lyrics are really depressing", but at the band's heart is a genuine love for what they do and for each other, which allows them to be bold, brash, and brilliant.

"We don't want to be the next 'insert female-fronted band here'. We want to be the first Swim School." If 2023 was the confidence boost Swim School needed to climb up to the high board, then 2024 will be the year they dive off it into stardom. P

LIST 2O24

Energetic Chess Club-signed upstarts Lip Filler are bringing their own take on dance-punk.

by Ciaran Picker. photography by Jennifer McCord. → One year ago, Lip Filler had played a handful of gigs around London with

only one released song to their name.

They were also knee-deep in dissertations and trying to get used to life in the Big Smoke. Fast forward to November 2023, vocalist George Tucker and guitarist Verity Hughes are holding a copy of their debut self-titled EP in Rough Trade East as they prepare for their December headline at the now-prestigious Windmill in Brixton. Across those twelve months, they've moved flats and found jobs, played about a million London shows, supported the likes of Alfie Templeman and Picture Parlour on tour, and even made liberal use of the free bar at their first European show. But that's only the start.

"I love the reciprocal experience of playing live", Verity states, "especially at our stage, we just want to give energy."

Being life-long friends who, until recently, shared a flat, the chemistry on stage comes naturally, allowing them to be the freest versions of themselves. They're also a band

"WE'VE GOT SUCH A COCKTAIL OF INFLUENCES; I STARTED OFF AS A SOUNDCLOUD RAPPER" GEORGE TUCKER

that can fit onto pretty much any line-up at any venue and make it their own. "Our first show in Rotterdam, we played in a salsa bar," George laughs, "but we love those long, thin, sweaty venues".

Lip Filler epitomise energy, both live and on record. Their debut EP was a rip-roaring indie-rock success, combining heavy guitar lines with electronica and hip-hop lyricism that makes it impossible to pigeonhole this jack-of-all-trades collective. "We've got such a cocktail of influences; I started off as a SoundCloud rapper," George admits candidly. "We're so much more confident and comfortable with them all now." Talking through their albums of the year, artists such as Sampha, boygenius, Arlo Parks, and Fat Dog are all namechecked, highlighting the eclectic and diverse context of Lip Filler.

This past year has seen the gang throw everything they have into Lip Filler,

speaking to their youthful hunger and joy for the music they make, firing sparks off all around the band that feel destined to ignite and catapult them into the stratosphere.

2023 is only the first phase, though, with their house party at their old West London flat rounding off EP1 with their now trademark swagger, frenetic energy, and enough Jägermeister to sink a battleship.

Reminiscing about the night, it was clearly a seminal moment for both George and Verity: "It was such a special moment; I don't think we can ever do it again because it was just so full circle. Like, that's where Lip Filler was born."

The ability to take a breath is crucial for new bands, especially ones who have built up such expectation. As such, 2024 is more about curating a direction than anything else. Verity acknowledges how difficult but necessary that is: "It's so hard to rein it in, but we're happy with where we're

going next. We've got so much material, but it's about being patient and timing it right." Don't worry, though; you're still going to hear a lot from Lip Filler over the next twelve months.

EP2 is well and truly on the way, with George and Verity giving a tentative nod to a springtime release. Where EP1 was about making the move from Somerset to London, EP2 is a more introspective body of work. "The word to describe this EP is vulnerability," George surmises. "It's lyrically more personal and heartfelt, but it came quite naturally." Musically, they both agree that it's unpredictable. "Don't listen to [new single] 'Limelite' and think you've figured it out," George teases. Verity adds, "It's a showcase of what we can do; it's all guns blazing." Frankly, who'd expect anything else?

Naturally, new music means new live dates. Breaking out of London has brought a greater desire to tour the UK, with Verity making reference to their Live at Leeds performance. "It was just sick; we loved going up north and getting that warmth from fans." When asked about festival season, in unison, they say, "C'mon Glasto!" so no prizes for guessing what their dream for the coming year is.

As 2023 bleeds into 2024, the consistent factor for the band is that they stick to the vision of what they are and want to be. "We're an indie-rock band, and we're going to own that; we don't need to overcomplicate it or justify it to anyone.

We're being more daring and distinctive; we're super excited for what's next." Pucker up, world, Lip Filler are coming for you. P

READDORK.COM 43.

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Bat-cats, Gothic tales, and altpop brilliance: welcome to the darkly enchanting world of Gretel Hänlyn.

by Martyn Young. photography by Sarah Louise Bennett. make up by Louisa Copperwaite using Fenty Beauty 44. DORK

→ Gretel Hänlyn is drawn to

darkness. Not like in a bleak, existential misery kind of way, more as fantastical storytelling. One of Gretel's favourite things is bats. They're pretty dark, right?

She's also obsessed with cats. Primarily cats that look like bats. We'll let her fill you in, "Anyone who has followed me on social media will know that I'm obsessed with cats," she explains. "I like all cats, but I've always quite liked those ones with no hair. The ones that look like shaved rats or something. I think they're perfectly freaky. I've always thought, even though they're not cats, that bats look like cats, and they can fly and are adorable and can wrap themselves up in their wings."

When she's not thinking about bats or cats or cats who look like bats, Gretel is also making music. Really good music. Music that marks her out as one of the most exciting talents making indie alt-pop today. She's spent the last few years turning Maddy Haenlein into the alluring and richly evocative music of Gretel Hänlyn as she has expanded her beguiling folk-tinged indie songs into ever greater and more ambitious visceral rock music. As we talk to her in a Mexican restaurant on her first American tour, waiting for a very large margarita to arrive, the twenty-yearold singer, songwriter, guitarist and newly minted alt-pop star is reflecting on a very good year in which she has released her stunning second EP, 'Head Of The Love Club', as well as a string of killer singles. "This year has been a really lovely build from last year," she begins. "I really love how steadily it's been going. It hasn't felt like anything has spiked in an uncontrollable way. It's been an incredible year of doing lots of shows, meeting lots of fans, building my fanbase, and really getting into writing and challenging myself as a writer."

Her songwriting and storytelling abilities and knack for bewitching wordplay mark Gretel as a special talent.

It's a craft she's spent years honing and is forever evolving. "I've been going into rabbit holes left, right and centre and trying to find that thing that I want to have when I'm writing," she explains.

"I've definitely almost had it, but I'm

"I'VE BEEN GOING INTO RABBIT HOLES LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTRE" G R E T E L H Ä N LY N

trying to refine it and find the purest form of writing I possibly can." There's a constant desire within her music to take things further, either musically or thematically. In 2023, she felt like all the pieces that make Gretel Hänlyn so exciting were falling into place on the back of the most productive year of her career so far. "It's been a year of artistic discovery," she smiles. "Just before going on tour, I finally came home to myself as an artist. I feel like I really understand myself and the fundamental values of what I want as an artist. I want to enjoy writing and get some catharsis from it. It doesn't have to be anything other than pure writing. It doesn't have to be clever. That's what 2023 has been for me. Discovery and building, building, building."

The thing that Gretel is building, is music in its most primal form. Powerful emotions distilled to their purest qualities. The realities of trying to make it in the music industry, though, often force artists to second guess themselves or subconsciously work against their natural impulses. As her nascent career has progressed, Gretel's development as a writer has seen her fully realise that those early impulses are most potent.

"It's so interesting because when I first started writing, it was what I think of as really pure, just feeling your way through the dark type of writing," she reflects.

"Feeling it out and using instinct. That's when I first started going to the studio and challenging myself with writing parts for instruments other than just guitar and vocals. As my musical tastes developed, I naturally put more pressure on myself to be smarter with my songwriting. Even copying certain sounds or certain atmospheres for songs and getting inspired by other things but feeling my way through the dark around

it. I went down a rabbit hole of feeling like nothing was right, and nothing was ever enough. I was never clever enough, and it wasn't leftfield enough. That's the rabbit hole I went down this year, and I've come out the other side and I'm back to feeling my way through the dark and not knowing or trying to force my writing anywhere. I'm not pressuring myself to compare myself or my career to other artists that are maybe the same age as me or have a similar sound."

There might be some artists out there who have a similar sound in that they also make music primarily focused on guitar, but there's no one out there quite like Gretel Hänlyn. Distinctive and singular in a way that makes her stand out, she's continuing a lineage of women making exciting indie music while also forging her own path. "I always had obsessions growing up with artists in the same way that a lot of quite young women obsess over a certain band or another female artist or a boyband, or an emo band. I always had those obsessions, and I would deeply follow the characters," she remembers. "I don't think it actually clicked with the writer inside of me until I started listening to Wolf Alice. Female-fronted guitar bands. I looked at it, and I was like, wow.

That sounds absolutely incredible, the amount of energy and female rage. I found it all very impressive. I was also getting into a lot of folk music when I was 14, and that inspired me to start writing. It was a combination of having that representation in female guitar bands plus the songwriting inspiration of people like Tim Buckley and Nick Drake. Nico was a big influence earlier on because she had a low voice, just like me. That encouraged me to feel allowed to sing. It was that musical and songwriting element, plus I was writing

LIP CRITIC

→ Normally we run at the first sign of a band “jamming out” but few do it with as much giddy merriment as Lip Critic. Blending the aggression of post-punk with the free-spirited euphoria of electroclash, this New York-based fourpiece make hedonistic dance music for the end of the world, perfect for a live show that’s as unpredictable as it is fluid.

LISTEN TO: 'It's The Magic'

COLE BLEU

→ After causing a buzz with alt-rock group The Let Go, Cole Bleu switched things up with a more poptastic solo project. Proper debut EP ‘CRUSHED!’ came earlier this year, a fearless, cinematic record dripping in ambition and coming-of-age angst, with Cole sounding every part the pop star of her dreams. With those glittering foundations setting up the next era perfectly, those lofty arena dreams won’t seem out of reach for long.

LISTEN TO: 'HEARTBREAKERS'

a lot of gothic stories at the time, as well inspired by Nick Cave. It all had a bit of a folky beginning, and then I got into the studio and started using other instruments, and it all got a bit grungier and full band-y."

Those gothic stories are what became the heart of Gretel Hänlyn; from her debut EP 'Slugeye' to the grand flourishes of her latest work, it's all there.

It's not just despair and sadness, though; despite the emotional resonance of her music, often it's playful and funny and engaging. There's a gothic underbelly READDORK.COM 45.

LIST 2O24

which allows her to take her songwriting stories to wonderful places. "It's a bit cheeky," she laughs. "It's just being real because one thing that I love is the beauty and the humour in the grotesque.

It's making jokes about something bleak because nothing is ever black or white; nothing is ever just completely shit.

There's always something funny; there's also always something depressing about something really happy that's happening. There's always something incredibly pretty about something horribly ugly. It's using the contrasts to make people smile or cry if they feel like they shouldn't be smiling." It's these amplified emotions crashing into each other that make her songs such rich tapestries. "Exactly! Black looks blacker next to white, and white looks whiter next to black."

As the world of Gretel Hänlyn becomes more expansive, she's looking for ever more elaborate ways to take things further. This may or, intriguingly, may not involve a debut album in 2024.

"I'm currently working on a body of work, and I'm deciding what I want it to be," she says. "Whatever it is, it's the final milestone of me building the base of what my music is going to stem from.

This is the last chapter of the beginning.

It's a mixture of both challenging and really great, well-written music, and then from there, the main thing for me is touring and playing music live. That's my favourite part of all of this, playing live and travelling."

Nothing is certain right now other than the possibilities are endless. "I want to develop it more as the budget allows. I want to get stuck into maybe choreography; that might be a mad one for me, but I just want to dig around and see. This project is an honest representation of me as a person and the world around me, so it's hard to predict exactly what is going to come because it depends on me. It's a very human thing, so it depends on life."

Does she think she's now found her voice as Gretel Hänlyn? "I didn't realise I had found my voice until very recently," she replies. "All it's going to take is just releasing more of the stuff I have for people to understand what that voice is, but I'm using it already. It's about making my music connect with people and making them feel things, especially young women like myself; that's such a demographic that I love to reach out to."

Let's talk about that voice for a second. It's a staggering thing. Forced to sing in a particularly lower register due to medical issues earlier in her life, Gretel has used this in increasingly inventive ways, particularly in how she uses her vocals as texture in her work. "As time goes on and my body heals from the issue I had with my diaphragm, I don't need to think that way to be able to sing, but I still may," she says. "It became very liberating being able to pick and choose the way I sing and choose 46. DORK

"IT'S BEEN A YEAR OF ARTISTIC DISCOVERY" G R E T E L H Ä N LY N

different characters depending on the atmosphere of the song and what kind of presence I wanted it to have. Each song needs its own personality and its own atmosphere. It's an instrument, isn't it? You wouldn't play a saxophone solo one way the whole way through; you'd add a bit of vibrato here and there."

Rather than purely a solo endeavour, Gretel sees her project and the people who contribute to it, like her incredibly powerful touring band, as an amorphous thing, with each part enriching the others. A key part of this process is her relationship with super producer and sonic visionary Mura Masa, who is her closest collaborator.

"Gretel is also the people I work with that help me produce; for example, Mura Masa, I consider him the second member of Gretal," she confirms. The dynamic between the two artists is an interesting one in which they both complement each other. "Honesty is what he would learn from me," she says.

"Honesty and actually trying to connect before trying to be smart and outsmart someone. He's hyper-intelligent, but sometimes when we're talking, I'm like, 'Yeah, but no one's going to get that. It's not going to connect. If it's for you, then totally do it, but if you want it to connect to someone, then maybe do something a little more realer'. This is why we work so well together because we both love finding that balance."

"I've learned tenfold from him," she continues. "He's one of my favourite people ever because I've learned so much from him. He's taught me to do things in one take. He's a serial one-take wonder.

He says, 'Okay, it sounds shit now, but the second you finesse it, it will lose all the imperfections that you thought were mistakes'. The way that I write now is improvisation."

Content not to be a fleeting viral sensation, Gretel is in the process of building something to last. There's no magic secret to success other than trusting your own judgement. "I think it's much harder to be successful when you're trying to be above people," she ponders. "If you're trying to be the most this or the most that. What works is when you're just being real and being

HYPE LIST LIVE!

→ Want to see some of this hot new talent in person? Good! On 25th January, we're bringing two of our 2024 Hype Listers, Gretel Hanlyn and Slaney Bay, to London's iconic 100 Club. With more names to be announced 'in due course', tickets are available at £12 + booking fee from readdork.com now. You won't want to miss out. Promise.

yourself. Sometimes, things align perfectly. You have what you need at that moment. There's not a checklist to follow. It depends on you. It depends on the way you like to phrase your sentences or the way you dress. It depends on so many things. You never know which variable is going to be the thing that makes you stick out and gets your head above the water."

In 2024, Gretel's main ambitions are to continue building and reaching new heights. She's already played her biggest London show this year at Village Underground and is looking to step up to the next rung on the way to her ultimate goal of headlining a stage at Glastonbury. But what about some of the new music she's working on right now? "I'm not sure yet that this is the debut album. All I know is that I've got

loads of songs, so it probably is. When I was writing it, I was thinking it's a cult classic," she laughs. "It's a collection of songs; some of them have some really gnarly parts. Each song is quite fearless.

Each song sticks out like a sore fucking thumb. I love it." She also excitedly teases what might be her best song yet, "I have written a six-and-half-minute track that feels brutally Gretel. It's called 'Shame'."

At one, with herself as an artist and the world that she's inhabiting, Gretel Hänlyn is setting a marker for other new pretenders to try to reach. Good luck. "I just want to release loads of music and just throw shit at the wall and see what sticks. I'll use that to write a big body of work. This is the first chapter of this next bit where I'm fucking Gretel Hänlyn." P

→ When Jojo Orme was in primary school, she made a clay mould of her hand.

Her teacher told her she could use three colours to decorate it. Deciding to ignore the rules, Jojo used every single colour that was available to her. "I've always been like that," says Jojo. "I see something I like, I take it, and I add to it."

That rebellious freedom has since become central to Jojo's Heartworms project. Debut EP 'A Comforting Notion' was released earlier this year, twisting and reshaping what post-punk could be, while new single 'May I Comply' is a spiky, electronic, groove-driven track. "I don't know what I was trying to do with that track," admits Jojo, who tends to create first, ask questions later. "I was really stressed, and that song just came out." In the studio with Speedy Wunderground founder and producer Dan Carey, their only note was to make it sound like "hell".

Before Heartworms, Jojo would try and write songs with a specific emotion or scenario in mind. "Now I just trust my instincts. Songs don't have to be about

Heartworms' latest single ‘May I Comply’ is a raw and electrifying expression of emotion, setting the stage for an exciting journey into uncharted musical territories.

by Ali Shutler. photography by Patrick Gunning.

"I'M NOT EVEN A TINY BIT AFRAID" H E A R T WO R M S

anything bigger than what I was feeling in that moment," she explains.

In the build-up to writing 'May I Comply', Jojo was living at her father's house for the first time and was choosing his happiness over her own comfort. "There was just all this frustration building up inside of me," she explains, going through a break-up around the same time. "I didn't know how to deal with those feelings," she admits, pouring it all into that snarling, swaggering new track. "The lyrics describe that feeling of frustration and seeing things differently.

It's really angry, but it feels more acceptable to do that in a song than in real life."

'May I Comply' is the first song Heartworms has released since her

celebrated debut EP blew up. "I had an idea what post-punk was, but I listen to so many different things that have influenced me," she explains, shrugging off the label.

"People always say that I came from that South London scene, but really, I've only played three gigs at The Windmill. I love it there, but if you know what you want to do, you shouldn't stick in one place." Instead of trying to fit in, Heartworms is all about Jojo following her gut. "If a sound or a lyric makes me feel something, it stays."

The expectations that have come since the release of 'A Perfect Notion' have sometimes "ruined the magic" of creating, says Jojo. "I sometimes forget why I'm doing this." Still, there's nothing about 'May

I Comply' that doesn't feel brutally real. "I never fake things. I'm afraid of it. My music, the way I perform, it all comes from the very core of my being. It's everything I've felt, but never been able to express before," she continues. "There's such freedom to that."

Despite being aware of the expectations of others, "I don't feel any pressure," says Heartworms. "There's just excitement. I'm looking forward to showing people all the different things I can do. I'm not afraid of changing things up either."

Her latest standalone single is designed to act as a stepping stone between that debut EP and whatever comes next. "A lot of the music I'm writing at the moment feels different. It's slower, way more emotional," says Heartworms, who's also thinking about a debut album. "I don't want to say too much about it because it'll ruin the surprise. 'May I Comply' is a bridge to the chaos that's yet to come," she adds.

Before all that, though, Heartworms has a massive London headline show at Village Underground ("I'm very nervous, very excited") and next year, she's set to support The Last Dinner Party at The Roundhouse.

Then there's the small matter of touring North America, opening for The Kills. "It's all very strange. I lived at my bassist's house for a while, and we'd always talk about one day maybe going to America and playing these beautiful venues. Now it's happening, and I feel so prepared."

"I'm not even a tiny bit afraid," she continues. "I'm going to meet so many new people, and there are going to be so many things that are going to happen. I just can't wait."

From the moment Heartworms released the poetic yet furious political track 'Consistent Dedication' last year, her music has resonated with other people. "I don't really know what I want them to feel when they hear the music," she admits. "When I write things, I don't think about what other people want."

"Maybe they feel the same as I do," she continues. "If people can see that you care about something, they might follow. I don't like to think about it too much, though; it makes me nervous." She does want Heartworms to have an impact, though.

"I want people to see how confident I am.

Growing up as a mixed-race kid, I hated how I looked. I hated my nose. I couldn't see anyone who looked like me on social media to make me feel better about it all." Writing songs for Heartworms and the stylised imagery that came alongside it gave Jojo a new sense of confidence. "Now, I love expressing my features. I love close-up photos. Maybe people will be able to look at that and be able to feel cool, powerful and beautiful within themselves."

"Heartworms is my way of being in control," she adds. As bleak and dystopian as Heartworms' music is, there is also a sense of euphoric joy to it. "It's about not taking the darkness that seriously," explains Jojo. "You can find humour in those deep, dark feelings. Heartworms is about playing around with it. There's always a light," she continues. "It can't just be darkness." P

READDORK.COM 47.

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Panic Shack channel joy, fury, and freedom through snotty punkinfused songs.

by Ali Shutler. photography by Siân Adler. → "It's wild how far the songs from the 'Baby Shack' EP have taken us," says

Panic Shack guitarist Meg Fretwell. The vision for the band's debut record? "There wasn't one. They were the first songs we'd ever written, and we wrote them before we'd ever played a gig. We couldn't really play guitar either," adds Romi Lawrence before breaking into a grin. "We were a bit crap back then."

A lot has changed for the Cardiff-based four-piece since they wrote the likes of 'Who's Got My Lighter' and 'Jiu Jits You', though. Sure, the number of songs they've actually released still sits in single digits, but Panic Shack definitely aren't crap.

Instead, they've become a must-see live act, channelling joy, fury and freedom via snotty punk-infused songs. "We've been so busy playing those songs, we didn't leave any time to write new ones," admits Meg. "This year, in general, has been a bit wild."

Ahead of the usual buzzy chaos of festival season, the band went on their first headline tour in February. "That felt like the end of the first era of the band," says Meg. "We called that first EP 'Baby Shack' because we felt like babies, but being able to do that tour felt incredibly special.

"Every night, we walked onto the stage and were able to feel the excitement from the crowd," she continues, with that energy continuing at festivals across the country.

"Before this year, it always felt like the crowd was there for other people, and we'd have to win them over," adds Romi.

"Now, they're there for us. There's always been an element of imposter syndrome, but we must be doing something right if people are paying money to come see us."

"It's been great for my ego," says Meg. Panic Shack didn't expect to be where

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they are today, sold-out shows and the looming pressure of a debut album, when they first formed. Instead, their friendship came first, with vocalist Sarah Harvey, bassist Emily Smith, Romi and Meg going to weekly karaoke sessions and watching their mates play gigs around Cardiff.

Eventually, they decided to give it a go themselves, but mainly as an excuse to spend more time together. "We never thought this was going to happen," admits Romi.

"No, but at the same time, I always knew we could do it," continues Meg. "I didn't

know things like playing Glastonbury were a dream I wanted, but if we were going to be in a band, we were going to go all in."

Panic Shack were inspired by the likes of Amyl And The Sniffers, The Clash and The Slits, but as well as those punky influences, the band also drew from Confidence Man ("They've got such a party vibe, and we wanted that as well") and 00s girl bands. "We basically wanted to be a girl band with guitars," says Romi, namechecking the likes of Girls Aloud, Sugababes and Spice Girls. "We didn't know much about music, but guitars felt

like the easiest way to do something," adds Meg. Romi knew Panic Shack were special after they wrote their first song, the rumbling revenge anthem 'Jiu Jits You'.

"I just thought it was hilarious, and no one else was doing anything like it," while Meg's mind was made up after a lastminute appearance at Cardiff's SWN Festival in 2019, where the band played to a packed room. "Very quickly, it felt like we were on to something," she explains.

"Perhaps people were drawn to the authenticity of it."

"IF WE'RE NOT HAVING FUN, THEN WHAT'S THE POINT?" HEMLOCKE R O M I L AW R E N C E

"We sing about mundane stuff that people think themselves, but nobody has put into a song," continues Romi. "Some people might think it's too silly or on the nose, but we think it's hilarious."

"I think because we're so close as friends, people feel like they know us. It's easy for them to feel like part of the party," she continues, turning to look at Meg. "I do think there's something pretty magical about our friendship."

It's not all been plain sailing, though. A professionally filmed clip of Panic Shack performing thundering anti-romance song

'The Ick' on the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading 2022 was shared on TikTok and saw the band flooded with hateful comments. "It's just misogyny at the end of the day," says Meg with The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg and countless other bands facing the same braindead hostility online.

"There's literally no point in arguing either because that's all they want from it."

"We had to get thicker skin," says Romi. "Now we don't give a shit," she shrugs. Following the backlash, Panic Shack's fanbase founded The Baby Shack Facebook group, which has grown into a close-knit community that exists online and in the physical world. It's typical of Panic Shack to find positivity in shitty situations. "Our whole ethos is if we're not having fun, then what's the point?" explains Romi. Things may have shifted from playing gigs in their local pubs to appearing at massive festivals, but that ethos hasn't changed. "It turns out there's always something to laugh about."

Across their songs, Panic Shack wrestle with everything from catcalling to capitalism. "I don't think we ever set out to write a political song, though," says Meg. Take 'Baby', which challenges gender roles and the expectations of women.

"That one started because Emily really didn't want to hold someone's baby, but then we started talking about those experiences, and it evolved," says Romi.

"We wrote 'Meal Deal' because we were skint and pissed off about it."

"We've all come from working-class backgrounds. I didn't realise this until we got more involved with the music industry, but there really isn't that much representation. People don't get the same opportunities. It feels like being women and working class, you have to work twice as hard for half as much," continues Meg. There's fury in their music, but onstage, it's transformed into joy. "That really is how it feels to be performing," says Romi. "Part of it comes from the fact we can't believe we are able to do this though."

Still, the band have always thrown themselves at every opportunity, which isn't changing now either. "We know where we want to take this, so you just have to keep working towards that end goal," she adds.

"I'm excited to show people who we've become and what we're capable of now," starts Meg, with Panic Shack currently working on their debut album.

"That first EP does sum us up. It's all a bit silly; it's about having fun. It was a really good introduction to who we are. I'm excited for people to hear what we do next; now we've got the experience of playing live and are much better musicians," continues Romi. "Mature is not the right

word. They're definitely not mature, but we know how to write songs now. They're still going to have this funny sort of social commentary, but nothing too poetic. The sound feels elevated," she explains.

Over the past year, the band have been collecting ideas while on tour, and when they finally managed to find space between day jobs and gigs, they sat down with a giant piece of paper and "wrote every single random idea out. We then just went with what felt most exciting," explains Meg. "There's no overriding idea; it's just our own personal beliefs and experiences."

There are nerves about the debut album, but the band aren't going to let that spook them. "Hopefully, there's something for everyone on the album to resonate with, but it's all for us," says Romi. "There is this feeling that because we've come this far, we don't want to lose anyone, though.

And because we've been doing this for so long without an album, it feels like there's more pressure," she continues.

Luckily, the new songs they've been playing live have been going down an absolute treat, which has helped calm those concerns.

After the success of this year, Meg's ambitions are just to make things "bigger and better". "We don't want to be a flash in the pan," she explains, with the album bouncing between their everyday reality and where they want the band to one day be. "We want longevity."

Speaking about what she wants Panic Shack to mean to other people, Romi explains: "I want them to be able to see themselves in us. I mean, if we can do it…" she says with a grin. "It would have been nice when we were younger to have had that. The scene has changed a lot in recent years, which is amazing, but when we were younger, it felt like guitar bands were just men. Being in a band, especially with my friends, it just didn't feel like something I could have ever done."

It's one of the reasons Meg and Romi are so quick to talk about how crap they used to be at playing guitar. "I felt like I didn't deserve to be where we were because there were these people looking down their noses at us. I've learnt there's a big difference between writing a really good song and being a really good musician, though. It would have meant the world for me to see someone who wasn't an amazing guitarist but was onstage just having the best time possible," says Romi.

"Confidence has been a big thing for us," continues Meg, with the band putting the work in to get to where they are today.

"We're not shit," she says with a grin. "Now, I love it when I see teenage girls who've come to our shows with their mum or dad. I want it to mean something to them." P

SPRINGS

→ With all the jubilant chaos of nu-rave, hemlocke springs’ debut EP ‘going… going…gone’ is a vibrant introduction to an artist who’s extremely confident doing things their own way. Standing alongside the likes of Girl In Red and Remi Wolf as an odd-pop star, the music is colourful but deceptively deep while a big ol’ tour with Ashnikko has only increased that confidence.

LISTEN TO: 'girlfriend'

EAVES WILDER

→ On the Sunday of this year’s Glastonbury, you may have noticed a pink-haired fairy-styled rock star opening the Other Stage in place of an absent Japanese Breakfast. That was Eaves Wilder, on only her 11th gig. Devoted to 90s icons like Kathleen Hanna and Courtney Love, Eaves’ sound pulls from riot grrrl with a dreamy shoegaze twist.

Fearless, feminist, fucking brilliant.

LISTEN TO: 'I Stole Your Jumper'

VICTORIA CANAL

→ Victoria Canal is a multifaceted talent, blending her roles as a singer, songwriter, producer, and activist to create deeply emotive pop music. Born in Munich and of Spanish-American descent, Canal's global upbringing — spanning Shanghai, Tokyo, Amsterdam, London, Dubai, Atlanta, New York, and Fort Worth — has significantly influenced her artistic and personal identity.

Embracing her diverse heritage as a queer, disabled, mixed-heritage woman, she's also turned her and to acting, appearing in Apple's 'Little America' anthology, and supported the likes of Self Esteem and The 1975. A proper pop superstar in waiting.

LISTEN TO: 'Shape'

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With ridic buzzy cosigns, rising teen pop phenomenon Sekou's ambitions are skyhigh.

by Jamie Muir. → When you think of first shows, many

artists cringe at the mere thought of looking back to a time when so many lessons were still waiting to be learnt. But what if your first set was arguably the biggest of them all, Glastonbury? For Sekou, it set the bar for the sort of game-changing takeover that only the most significant festival on the planet can bring, and it fit him like a glove. In the space of months, his towering voice has already signalled for the superstar stages, just waiting to be marked with his name. For a future pop phenomenon, look no further. "I know it's easier said than done, but I need to be the biggest artist in the world."

Ambition is writ large in the mind of Sekou, and it's clear from the first note how huge things are about to get. Since that debut show at Glastonbury, rooms have been stacked, and plaudits have flown in for a voice that cuts through the noise. "It's just a whirlwind," he notes. "Really quick. It's been all over the place. I've been working on music for about two years, and I remember when it was January, thinking about how I wanted to release my first song and how it would all roll out in my head. Now it's really fun, but bigger things keep happening each time."

Growing up on a mixture of soul, alternative pop and superstar divas in the small market town surroundings of Ashby in Leicester, a desire for performing meant there wasn't any other option but to follow the voice he found himself honing at church every week. "Honestly, I'm not good at anything else," Sekou laughs.

"I didn't get any A-Levels or GCSEs. I tried to do food tech, but even that didn't work… don't expect any cooking skills from me!" Watching Whitney Houston's Super Bowl Halftime show cemented it. "I was like, I need to do something like that. I want to perform for that many people. Ever since then, it's always been about that goal."

"I was and still am really supported by my hometown," he notes. "My friends and family knew I wanted to do music, but I was really just doing my own thing. It was when

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there started to be this reaction outside of my hometown that people started to see where I wanted to go. I was working hard to get to those places and get into the rooms I needed to get into."

With attention drawing in from clips he was posting online (whether that was performances in a car park or cover versions of tracks which began to draw legions of fans), it was clear that the big leagues were destined to call. After all, the co-signs singing his praises read like a welcoming party for ultimate pop supremacy. Dua Lipa? Yep. Sam Smith? Yep. Anderson Paak.? Yep. Bruno Mars? Yep. "Honestly, it was so weird," smiles Sekou. "People were saying these things before I put anything out and when I was just sharing clips on Instagram or TikTok. Each time, it felt more and more surreal from people you just never expect to even know who you are. Listening to someone's music for a large part of your life and then actually meeting them and having a real conversation…"

Of course, Sekou was ready for the conversation with Bruno Mars, as you'd expect. "I didn't know what to say! We ended up speaking for 30-40 minutes, but I'm 6ft 7, and he's in the 5ft range, so the height difference was crazy. We laughed about that for a while, haha."

Finding his voice proved to be a pivotal moment. Moving to London, "it was really difficult to understand what I wanted to do," he reflects. "I didn't know what I wanted to sing or what I wanted to say, but I knew that I loved to write. I knew that I loved to tell a story, but working out what genre that fell into was difficult."

Embracing his raw and vulnerable side, the result found him more connected than ever. "I knew when I first wrote 'Better Man' that it was the right song and the right thing that I was trying to say," he recalls.

Three minutes with just Sekou, a piano and a soaring choir, it's a timeless, knock-out track of jaw-dropping emotion.

Debut EP 'Forgiving Myself' jumps across potent grooves, effortless R&B and electric alternative twists as the world slowly turns into Sekou's playground. It's a desire he's not taking lightly. "I only just turned 19, and I've got to make sure that I'm on it," Sekou states. "You have to work, work, work for everything that you have, and you've got to be prepared to work that extra mile because there's always going to be others willing to if you don't."

"I honestly make music, will continue to make music and want to make music for the rest of my life to help people," he notes, taking a moment to think back to those early first steps and where he now finds himself on the cusp of. "That's all I want, to do music. Whether for 1 person, 10,000 people or 100,000 people, you know?

You may have a song that can change somebody's life like songs have done for me, and that's amazing. I felt like that many times; when I needed it the most, I go to listen to Adele, and I'm ready. I'm ready after that." P

SHELF LIVES → “Everything is fucked,” says the intro to Shelf Lives’ chaos-inducing second EP ‘You Okay?’ but the electro punk duo constantly refuses to give up hope. The band make ferocious, urgent music that teeters on the edge of carnage, but never gives in, with Shelf Lives wrestling back control with a knowing grin. There’s plenty of menace in their glittering, industrial stomp but it stands alongside a sparkling ambition.

LISTEN TO: ''Off The Rails'

"I ONLY JUST TURNED 19, O. AND I'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M ON IT. YOU HAVE TO WORK, WORK, WORK FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE" S E KO U

→ Emerging from the lockdown-induced stillness of London, O. Are a duo that thrives on spontaneous creativity. Joe and Tash, seasoned musicians from various bands, found themselves in a bubble together, creating a sound that defies conventional genres. Their debut at Brixton Windmill marked the beginning of a journey that soon saw them sharing stages with acclaimed acts like Black Midi on their UK and Ireland tour. O. also curate their own live music nights, O Zone, at the Windmill, where they collaborate with a host of talented musicians, further exploring the bounds of their unique sound.

LISTEN TO: 'Slice'

With a knack for larger-than-life storytelling, Lucy Tun's sonic tapestry is as diverse as her talents.

by Martyn Young. photography by Patrick Gunning. → Lucy Tun is one of those exceptionally talented people who can seemingly do anything. She's a DJ,

a producer, a singer, a songwriter, a sound engineer, a classical music expert, and she's also really good at knitting. In 2023, though, Lucy began to make the leap from the alternative electronic music scene under her previous musical alias of LCYTN into the bright alt-pop wonderland of 2023 as Lucy Tun, flourishing under her own name and using her distinct talents to create an immersive world of eclectic and genrebending pop on her stunning EP, 'Unreal'.

Lucy has always been very busy and remarkably creative, regularly recognised for her DJ and production work over the last five years, but it's now that everything is coalescing into one glorious package with her refined creative vision. "This year has been pretty explosive," she begins, characterising 2023 as the moment she gathered all these ideas and feelings and began piecing them together to really make it happen. "A lot of first times happened this year. Some of this music is two years old. There was a lot of thinking involved in the previous years and not a lot of doing, while this year is a lot of doing and not much thinking. It's been a transformative year."

Lucy's musical exploration has always seen her follow her own path. "My music journey has been quite colourful," she explains. "I've tried, and I still am trying as many things as I can, from how I started to where I am now and the communities that I operate in. I feel like I'm always trying to put myself in different shoes. Music has always been like that for me. When I was a teenager, I was really into classical music. I was a violin player, and I played piano for my school. I ran my school choir, and I was in orchestras.

I was a sound engineer for a year up until the end of 2022. I was working as a sound engineer in a recording studio. Before that, I did a mixing and mastering course. The year before that, I was heavily into DJing.

I've gone through all these different phases.

It's really helped me in that it's pushed me to focus this year; as much as doing all these cool things has been fun, there has to be some form of continuity, and you have to stick to something."

"WORLD - BUILDING IS IMPORTANT. THAT TAKES TIME" LUCY TUN

The thing that she's stuck to is 'Unreal', her first collection of music released under her own name. A culmination of years of experimenting, honing her craft, musical discovery and personal reflection.

To illustrate the disparate sounds and influences that make up her music and her whole expansive sonic tapestry, Lucy uses a film analogy that highlights the blockbuster potential of her stories coming to life. "I saw the first Avengers film when all of the Avengers came together, and it was this mind-blowing thing of five superheroes who all had their own little worlds coming together to build this bigger world, and I thought how amazing that was," she smiles.

"In a way, I planned this EP and this project with a little bit of inspiration from that."

"I feel like each single has its own journey and personality. Even sonically and genre-wise, they sound not too similar. I got inspired by how each song had its own feeling and each character in Marvel has its own personality and story," she continues expanding on the film analogy. "When a really good story is told, whether you're a musical artist or an artist or a writer or producer, telling a good story is the main thing, if you're able to expand that story enough so people can find all these details and take that for themselves then that's a really good piece of art. The details are important, and world-building is important.

That takes time. The main thing for me was coming to terms with the fact that good things take time. There isn't really a rush to put something out. I've taken my time to build as much as I can with the songs I have now."

The songs themselves feature the kind of wide-eyed ecstasy and endless possibilities of dreaming that characterises her best work, like on previous banger singles like 'Kulture Klub'. You can hear the genremashing sounds of guitar-led rock track 'Rabbit Hole' or the disco swoosh of electro turbo banger 'Diary'.

It's intoxicating stuff.

As well as being a

visionary artist in her own right, Lucy is also part of the loose collective of artists that form the Loud LDN scene focusing on high energy, DnB-driven pop but with an experimental and refreshingly forwardthinking outlook. "It's a crazy time," exclaims Lucy. "It feels amazing to be coming up with people at the same time that I know and I'm friends with. It's all happening at the same time." Lucy also stresses how hardworking and self-nurturing these artists are in spirit and work ethic, with people like Caity Baser, Charlotte Plank, Issey Cross, and Venbee truly infiltrating the mainstream.

A new generation of artists thriving in a new musical ecosystem. "For some of these artists, people will see them and think they have a huge team behind them, but it's literally just them. The do-it-yourself energy is so high amongst all of these artists coming up at the same time. When you think about how music was consumed 25 years ago, it's a completely different market. The entry barriers for making an album, recording it, producing a CD or vinyl, getting it in shops and

having people buy it or stream it is completely different now. A track can literally be done in your bedroom on your phone. That's so crazy. I feel really excited to make art like that as well alongside my friends."

Going forward, Lucy wants to continue to mesh genres and sounds and warp them to fit her own singular vision. "My idea was if I set the parameters so wide, then can anyone put me in a box?" she asks. "I wanted to put everything out there and get everything off my chest with 'Unreal'." So, what's next, then? "There's a lot of music, she smiles. "This year was the beginning, and next year is going to be much more honed in. I want to do storytelling on a larger scale and make something more conceptual.

That's something that I'm working towards at the moment. This project is testing out the waters, but the next project after that is going to be much more polished." P

READDORK.COM 51.

d4vd's cinematic journey is swiftly taking him from cult bedroom pop fave to global sensation.

by Ali Shutler. photography by Nick Walker. → d4vd's life is a movie. This time

last year, he only had a handful of songs to his name and had never even been to a gig, let alone played one. Now, he's just wrapped up a celebrated arena tour supporting SZA and played headline shows across Europe, North America and Australia.

He's also released ambitious debut EP 'Petals To Thorns' alongside sprawling companion record 'The Lost Petals'.

By the time the 2023 is out, he'll have released 'Call Me Revenge' with 21 Savage for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and 'The Line' with The Kid LAROI, performed at Tyler, The Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw festival and played shows in the likes of Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and South Korea.

He isn't using a few days off between shows to chill out, though.

"I'm in LA right now, writing," he admits. "I'm feeling motivated. I want to get back on the creative grind. I'm feeling like it's time to put my foot back on the gas." d4vd's journey so far has rarely dipped below breakneck. Growing up, he wanted to be a professional streamer, but after his gaming videos kept getting taken down from YouTube for using copyrighted music, his mum suggested he make his own. Armed with a phone and the headphones that came with them, he started creating gloomy bedroom pop, adding lyrics to help capture people's attention. It worked better than he could have ever imagined, with people demanding less Fortnite compilations and more brooding anthems.

A string of singles followed before 'Romantic Homicide' swiftly blew up (800 million streams and counting).

From there, the success came in thick

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and fast with d4vd using every one as a learning experience.

He describes supporting SZA as a dream and still isn't sure how best to put the experience into words, but d4vd always felt like he deserved to be up on those massive stages. "There were no nerves, and her fans were so receptive. They rocked with my music so much, it almost felt like a double headline show," he explains. "I was taking notes on stage design and how she changes songs to fit the live arena," he continues, believing it'll be a case of when, not if, he'll be playing arenas on his own.

"Playing shows has been beautiful," says d4vd. "It lets you be passionate about your own work. It lets you know what kind of music you need to be making because you can see which ones connect with people. It does feel like I'm building a community," he continues. "It's more of a family than a fanbase."

Rather than chasing numbers by releasing songs for people to listen to, d4vd cares more about each track truly connecting. "It's always amazing to see people react to your music in realtime. They're not just connecting with me at gigs; they're connecting with a room full of like-minded people who are all sharing an experience. They're also connecting with themselves."

For the first time, d4vd's writing music after seeing that connection firsthand. "It's about finding a balance between making music you love and what your fans will love. It's easy to get caught up in the noise, but it's so important not to lose the magic that people gravitated towards in the first place."

Despite describing himself as an

"IT'S EASY TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THE NOISE, BUT IT'S SO IMPORTANT NOT TO LOSE THE MAGIC" D4VD

analytical guy obsessed with data, d4vd still doesn't know exactly why his music is connecting as widely and passionately as it is. "Music is a universal language, though, and I feel like what I make describes what a lot of my generation is going through right now. There's loneliness and a sense of not being able to fit in anywhere. There's so much FOMO going on, and my music is FOMO central," he explains, pointing to tracks like 'Romantic Homicide' and 'Don't Forget About Me'. "It's super Gen-Z, but with a touch of nostalgia.

It feels old but new at the same time."

Throughout his supercharged journey from bedroom amateur to global star, d4vd has been transparent about how much he's learning in real-time. He's entirely self-taught using readily available software, and he didn't go to hundreds of gigs growing up. Rather than hiding these shortcomings, he's celebrated that DIY attitude without it hindering his ambitions.

"My mom keeps telling me that not many people can do what I did, but I

don't agree with that at all," says d4vd.

"The reason I make the music that I do, in the way that I do, is because I want you to feel like you could have made it. I want to try and inspire people."

"There's no such thing as making a hit. You just make music that connects to people," he continues. "You have to want to do it, though. Most people don't."

As well as taking him around the world and onto the front page of Spotify, making music has helped d4vd in "so many ways," he says. "It's the only real outlet I have. Sometimes I don't know what I'm feeling until I make a song," he adds, comparing his music to a diary.

Debut EP 'Petals To Thorns' explored the ups and downs of a relationship, with 'The Lost Petals' acting as a five-track epilogue. "I wanted to show people that it's okay to be sad, but it's not okay to be sad forever. You don't have to force yourself to be happy," he explains.

"Whatever you're feeling, you're feeling for a reason, and not everything has

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"THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS MAKING A HIT. YOU JUST MAKE MUSIC THAT CONNECTS TO PEOPLE" D4VD

an explanation. I still don't know why I was sad when I made 'Romantic Homicide'; it was just a collection of feelings that built up over time, but it's important to know that feeling isn't going to last," he adds.

"I think 'The Lost Petals' has served its purpose," d4vd continues, wanting his records to feel more like eras. "I think it's time to move on from that, and I think it's time to make some happy music now." d4vd isn't lacking inspiration, either.

He's currently sat on 175 unreleased songs, including two finished EPs. "I love making music, but releasing it is the hardest thing for me," he explains.

Rather than dropping standalone singles, though, d4vd is more interested in large cinematic projects.

"It's all about the worldbuilding. You have to put ideas behind the songs."

"As well as a place to express myself, music is also a way to express my love of film," he continues, with a multicharacter lore around 'Petals To Thorns' that includes d4vd playing his own antagonist. "Everything has to be a staircase," he says. "Just dropping a single every 30 days is more like an escalator because an escalator cycles back on itself and doesn't really go anywhere. But a staircase is constantly going up."

"I'm deliberately making the different aesthetics of the different eras pretty obvious, so it's going to be cool to see where the worldbuilding goes next," he adds, still undecided about what his next move will be beyond heading forward.

"I'm in a weird place right now where I have so much super raw music," says d4vd. "The stuff that connected this year won't connect next year. You can't stick to one thing either; you have to be open-minded.

I'm trying to stay out of my own head," he admits. "I just need to embrace 54. DORK

whatever comes next and not force anything."

Rather than chasing trends, d4vd has always just done his own thing.

"I let trends chase me," he says with a grin, knowing he needs to make music he likes first and foremost. "No regrets, that's the motto." This year, he's collaborated with the likes of Holly Humberstone, 21 Savage, The Kid LAROI and Laufey. Rather than clout, he's more interested in artistic conversations.

"I'm trying to be really precious about where I share my voice. I only want to do things I'm passionate about. I'm really excited about a couple more things in the works, but features have to make sense for me and for the audience." d4vd still isn't sure, but he thinks he might skip the finished EPs. "I'm working on an album right now," he starts. "It's album season. I feel like when I dropped 'Petals For Thorns', the response was 'Okay, this is d4vd', which is cool to have that artist's voice, but with the album, I want there to be so many questions. I want a shock factor. I don't want it just to be accepted; I want people to question it."

He goes on to describe what he's working on as "super different" and is currently trying to figure out just how far he can push it. "Some of it feels great; some of it feels like it'll be part of something in the future. It's evolving very quickly," he says. d4vd isn't worried about the audience keeping up, though. "I feel like my listeners are supportive of anything, as long as it's not trash. It's all about your people," he adds. "You can't promote the right music to the wrong people."

Sticking to Hollywood rules, d4vd wants the sequel to 2023 to be the same, but bigger. "I want this year, times two," he says. "I just want to keep that ball rolling." P

Newly signed to Transgressive, noise merchants University are an undeniable force.

by Jamie Muir. photography by Holly Whitaker. → When it comes to band introductions,

UNIVERSITY may just have the best one going. Laying out their manifesto as an act hell-bent on doing exactly what they want, when they want and how they want, the four-piece describe their sound as, "Like getting punched in the face by a gorilla but then being cuddled afterwards."

Huddled in a room adorned with cut-out pictures, scribblings, video-game posters, garden chairs and signs you'd usually find adorning the walls of public buildings, it feels like a true creative hub. "I think people want people like us to push the boundaries of what people can take and enjoy," states drummer Joel Smith. "We like the idea of breaking the rules a little bit."

Drenched in a world of mystery, in the past 12 months, UNIVERSITY have laid themselves out as a must-see live force. Pounding hooks, electric guitars and an unstoppable eruption of sound surround their every move. Along with guitarist/singer Zak Bowker and bassist Ewan Barton, their early years were spent navigating high school and college in various bands (in some cases "the worst band ever made", Joel recalls) before being joined by fourth member Eddie Leigh, regularly found on-stage at gigs either playing video games or sat at a laptop. It was only then that UNIVERSITY properly locked in. "I think the main change was probably the philosophy around it," explains Joel. "Before, there was a bit more of those dreams of like…"

"WE'RE GOING TO BE THE NEXT NIRVANA!" dives in Ewan. "WE'RE GOING TO BE THE NEXT GREEN DAY." The smiles ring out through the rainy winter evening. "That shit!" points Joel.

"After that, we just kinda stopped caring what people… like, we're from this town that nobody's heard of [Crewe]. Nobody comes from here. We're just gonna write and play songs that we want to hear from the music we were listening to then, and only after we'd written those songs, we noticed a massive change in how we wrote music."

A melting pot of different styles and genres, they took influence from fuzzing alternative cult bands such as Hella, Dilute and Nouns, as well as witnessing the rush from the early days of black midi. The result seen across debut EP 'Title Track' is nothing short of a revolution. A made-live, born-tobe-experienced-live and unstoppable-live statement of intent from a band taking musicianship to stunning new heights.

When experiencing a UNIVERSITY show, "We never want people to have a certain expectation of what we can do," lays out Joel. "We always want to make sure we can continue to surprise and deliver."

Honing their craft by relentlessly playing together in a rehearsal room for seven hours a day every day for an entire year (until noise complaints became one of their first experiences of making an impact), the core fundamentals of being a band and carving their own path ring true.

Thrashing vocals on cuts like 'Notre Dame Made Out Of Flesh' and the crunching history of 'Egypt Tune' have one focus only: making you move.

"The first festival we did this year, that was definitely a key moment, even if the show was shit," recalls Zak. "It was an important one, though, because it taught us how to show a room of complete strangers who we are. How to introduce ourselves."

Joel remembers it as, "The noisiest, most outrageous set, but not in a good way. It was very confrontational."

Wearing their passions firmly on their sleeves, UNIVERSITY feel like a kick against everything else right now, a reaction to the norm that screams and pulls at the foundations people have come to expect, delivered like an earthquake. Letting the music do the talking is critical to everything they're about.

"We like to be mysterious and not give out our secrets too early," says Joel. "When you see how some bands promote music nowadays, it's a bit dystopian. Bands like Hella and Dilute, it's just there staring you in your face. You just have to give it respect, and you get something out of it all by putting yourself in the line of fire."

It seems over-the-top to suggest one night at a UNIVERSITY show could alter everything else to come, but that's exactly what they represent. "We get a pretty mixed

"WE HAD SOMEONE COME UP TO US AND SAY, 'I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW MUSIC COULD SOUND LIKE THAT', WHICH COULD MEAN ANYTHING!" Z A K B OW K E R

reaction," laughs Zak. "We had someone come up to us and say, 'I didn't even know music could sound like that', which could mean anything!"

Meeting every occasion head-on, they're whipping up their own exciting lane away from the pack.

"In ten years, we're going to look back on a band like Black Country, New Road and be like, 'Wow'. Even if you're not into them, it felt like something important," explains Joel, as he ponders the wider scene UNIVERSITY are stepping into, both feet first. "But there are so many bands now trying to be like them, or Thee Oh Sees, or The Chats, or IDLES, and it feels like if you're not like them, then you're not a band. Don't get me wrong, those bands are pretty good, but it's been done."

With debut 'Title Track' setting a marker for who UNIVERSITY are at this very moment, what comes next could be anyone's guess. "We're a band who are, like, throwing something in the machine.

You throw all this different music into the machine, and it grinds out into something completely different," says Joel. "We had our sound a year ago. We have our sound now. We'll have our sound in a year's time.

It's all about evolving."

Vital. Invigorating. Fiercely essential.

UNIVERSITY are ready to rip apart any preconceptions, and they've got one goal for those leaving after a show in the years to come. "To not be listening to the same shit you did before you came here." P

READDORK.COM 55.

With a reputation for causing chaos both onstage and off, South London's Fat Dog are gearing up to whip 2024 into a frenzy.

by Neive McCarthy. photography by David Richardson. → "The behind-the-scenes of cheese is fucking brutal. I've seen someone

break their entire foot because they dropped the cheese on it. They're like 40 kilos, some of them, the big wheels of Comté, or a big cheddar. Parmesan can weigh like 50 kilos!"

The perils faced by a cheesemonger are not to be taken lightly, as Fat Dog's resident keyboard and synth player Chris Hughes makes clear. It's not an occupation for the weak, and neither, as it happens, is being a member of Fat Dog. When frontman Joe Love joins the call, it becomes apparent that the explosive last year in the world of Fat Dog has been full of unexpected twists and turns, and seemingly falls.

"Was it this tour, Joe, that you completely decked it?" Chris asks. "That was a life highlight, you jumping back on stage and slipping in your own sweat.

That's some You've Been Framed bullshit.

Where's the £150 for that?" "250!" Joe chips in. "We'll have to call Harry Hill for that."

Anyone who has managed to catch a Fat Dog show over the last couple of years will perhaps not be surprised at that kind of incident taking place mid-show. Building a reputation upon raucous proceedings long before they even released their first single, the band's live performances are nothing short of a fever dream. Joe has a penchant for throwing himself into the thick of the crowd, drummer Johnny dons a latex dog mask, and there are impressive mid-set dance routines – if you can imagine it, it probably exists in a Fat Dog set in some capacity.

The result is a performance that's difficult to look away from, and that high-

56. DORK

voltage approach has encouraged a spirited conversation around the band.

Through support slots with the likes of Sports Team and Viagra Boys to sweatsoaked festival sets, they've carved a name for themselves purely based on that commanding stage presence. In the midst of their very first headline tour, they've brought that kinetic mayhem to a new level.

"It's been surprisingly good," Chris muses. "When you're on a support tour, you're playing to way more people, and some of them might know you, but most of them don't. I've been surprised with the headlines how many people in the crowds have come just to see us, and people are singing the lyrics to songs we haven't released. That's pretty cool."

Some have genuinely gone barking mad over Fat Dog, a select few more so than others if you consider the woman who kindly gifted Joe a boiled egg. "It's a burgeoning romance," Chris smiles. "It's very intense," counters Joe. They're a band revelling in avoiding convention, so it makes sense that they'd inspire that kind of reaction.

One such example of their unique approach lies in their choice to make the mammoth, seven-minute chameleon-like 'King of the Slugs' as their first-ever single earlier in 2023. It's a sprawling effort, a song constantly shifting until its close is unrecognisable from the way it began. A striking, bold decision, but one that has no doubt paid off.

"I thought it was a bad idea, to be fair," Joe recalls, with Chris confirming that they

TROUT → There’s a dreamy sense of wonder to Trout’s music. The solo project of Cesca, Trout’s debut EP ‘Colourpicker’ has all the bone-scratching honesty and raw introspection of the bedroom pop greats, but filtered through grunge then polished up, it’s robustly epic. There are, of course, moments of spiralling despair across the record’s gorgeous six tracks but they’re offset by the defiant joy. Get lost in the magic.

LISTEN TO: 'garden'

"YOU'VE JUST GOT TO BE TENACIOUS! IT'S CONFIDENCE OVER COMPETENCE. THAT'S ALL THAT REALLY MATTERS IN MUSIC" CHRIS HUGHES

were in agreement on that front. "I'm glad we did it now; we got the hardest one out of the way."

Chris continues: "The thing about 'King of the Slugs' is it's a seven-minute song, so that's why we thought it was a bad idea releasing that as a single. It's just fucking long, and I think some people might think it's almost an arrogant move.

I think it worked out quite nicely, though; it's one of the songs that sums us up quite well. It's very danceable songs that aren't necessarily about anything important."

It's a very specific blend that stems from their myriad influences and tendency to dip between genres with little care for how naturally they might come together.

It begins with a riff that practically snarls, tension rising immediately before Joe's scorching vocals even come in. The fraught mood doesn't last long, however – release is quickly found as the track descends into a swirling, cathartically klezmer-esque cacophony.

It's a statement above all else – of who Fat Dog are, of what they're capable of, of how far they are willing to push things away from their expectations. It's darkly cinematic at times, and at others, it chooses rave-fit beats that encompass you completely. If there were ever a track to epitomise Fat Dog, 'King of the Slugs' is it.

With such an array of influences, it's impossible to pigeonhole Fat Dog, but many are wont to do so regardless – they found themselves labelled as post-punk, specifically in the country of France, but the musical world of Fat Dog extends far beyond that.

"I kind of do feel like it's redundant," Chris says. "I think people just for their own little brains like to catalogue things…"

"Don't say your little brain," Joe jumps in.

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"That's so condescending."

"Your tiny little mind!" grins Chris.

"Yeah, people like to categorise things.

Everyone wants to have some sort of genre to put music under to explain it to their friends, but outside of that, I think it's pointless. Listen to the tune; if you enjoy it, you enjoy it. If you don't, you don't."

Thankfully, it seems a lot of people are enjoying it. It was a seemingly

impossible task taking the track from its original two-minute version, which Joe assures "sounded like arse", to something resembling the sprawling sonic bedlam of its live counterpart. Eventually, however, they managed to capture the essence of that.

"It was long, not to moan or anything," Joe laughs. "When we first got in the studio, I thought it'd be a few days, bish bash bosh. We'll just make it sound like it does live. Then we listened back to it, and we were like, 'Fucking hell, that is awful.

Is that how we sound?' It's completely different because live is about energy and loudness and visuals."

As is perhaps the nature of the everchanging, ever-shifting band, that recorded version has, in turn, prompted even more change.

"We've improved the klezmer bit based on the recorded version, so we've mixed it up again so that the live version is slightly more like the recorded version," Chris explains. "I'm like a sweet summer child, though. I joined way after all that graft. I just press the buttons – they had a hat of instruments and just let me pick one."

Claiming to play the viola (but actually sounding "like the worst piece of shit I've

ever heard in my life," according to Joe) was Chris's way in, a move that sums up the ethos of the band quite well. "You've just got to be tenacious! It's confidence over competence. That's all that really matters in music."

Luckily, Fat Dog do have a bit of both, or they might have had a considerably quieter year. It's looking set to be an even busier 2024, with promises of even more pandemonium to come and their debut album looming ever closer. There's just the small task of getting that done yet.

"I'm the only one that goes into the studio," Joe says. "These men are so annoying in the studio. It's too many cooks in the kitchen. They're always like, 'Can we get some more crunch on that?' What does that even mean?" Chris concludes: "It's like we're ordering really shit drinks from Starbucks for Joe to make."

Fortunately, it won't be all slaving over caramel macchiatos and no play – with gigs taking them to caves in the Arctic Circle on Joe's birthday and a whole host of new music to unleash on the world, Fat Dog are set to send even more people barking mad for them in 2024. At this point, it's just what they do – that's Fat Dog, baby. P

BLUSHER → Every Blusher track should come with a BANGER ALERT warning. The Aussie trio are Robyn’s seminal sadbanger ‘Dancing On My Own’ in girl band form, portrayed excellently on debut EP ‘Should We Go Dance?’, which shakes off any breakup cobwebs beneath stroke lights and crashing synths. Blusher are capital-F Fun, and if you’re not immediately moved by the future gay club staples on record, get to a show stat - they’re bringing back dance routines.

LISTEN TO: 'Backbone'

KENYA GRACE → Earlier this year, Kenya Grace became the second ever British female to hit number 1 with a self-produced and written song. The track was the infectious liquid drum’n’bass ‘Strangers’, only her fourth solo single. Her socials are filled with song snippets, impressively played live on AKAI controllers, guitar and even, erm, oranges.

Effortlessly fusing emotional lyrics with homemade drum’n’bass beats, Kenya Grace joins the generation of women reshaping British dance music.

LISTEN TO: 'Only In My Mind'

AZIYA → Bursting onto the scene with her electrifying debut single 'Slip!' in 2021, Aziya has swiftly established herself as a formidable musical force. Her first EP, 'We Speak of Tides', showcased her dynamic range and cemented her status as a triplethreat. Drawing inspiration from the multifaceted talents of Prince, she's already supported Florence & the Machine at the O2 Arena, and toured with Nova Twins and The Vaccines. Driven by a desire to challenge norms, Aziya is not just entering a new phase, but is also defining a space for herself where artistic freedom reigns supreme.

LISTEN TO: 'Wundagirl'

READDORK.COM 57.

Welsh pop-punk storyteller Hannah Grae is carving out a bold, rebellious world of her own.

There's a new project on the way as well. Launched with 'Screw Loose' back in August, Hannah has since released 'Could Have Been You' and 'Who Dunnit?'. "It's all very fearless,"

by Ali Shutler. says Hannah, photography by Lola Webster. who has had the whole thing → "I just create weird fireworks out of a figured out for a tiny feeling," says Hannah Grae. "Some hot minute now. of my tracks have been written from such "If I write a song small fragments, and then I just milk it," she that I'm not excited adds with a grin. This approach of blowing by two weeks later, her own diary up seems to be connecting, it's going in the bin though. 'cos it's clearly not Hannah Grae's debut EP 'Hell Is A right," she explains.

Teenage Girl' was a snotty, revenge-fuelled "All of the tracks for this drama played out over snarling guitar riffs, next project form a world leading to a busy summer spent touring that I'm really proud of." countless European festivals. Coming from a It wasn't an easy process, small Welsh town, Hannah found the whole though. "'Hell Is A Teenage experience "strange", but that didn't stop her Girl' was fueled by anger and from throwing her all into every set. Seeing pettiness. I was scared I didn't have people sing along "was kinda unbelievable," that for my second project, but I clearly she says, while winning over new fans felt needed music," she explains. Written more like a game. before she was signed to Atlantic Records, Playing those vulnerable songs about her Hannah says there was "no pressure" when less-than-ideal teenage years to crowds of it came to her upcoming record, but being strangers was "incredibly cathartic," says able to create songs Hannah, who's that felt confident driven by being and badass helped as raw and honest her feel like "she as possible. "I've had something to moved on from offer" after moving whatever I was to London to chase feeling back then, her dreams. "I wasn't and now I just want in a good place," she the audience to admits. feel some kind of Rather than way," she says. "I dwell in the fear and want people to feel frustration, Hannah alive when they came out swinging. listen to my music, Recent single 'Who basically."

Dunnit?' hits back at When she first expectations over wrote 'Hell Is A music inspired by Teenage Girl', a Queen and Blondie's record that doesn't 'Heart Of Glass'.

HANNAH GRAE shy away from "People don't really being petty or take you seriously pissed off, Hannah if you're 5ft and a had dreams of playing London's massive babyface," Hannah says. "It's smug but also O2 Arena. You can hear that ambition angry." There's an unreleased track that's across the EP's nine theatrical tracks that "huge and devastating", while 'It Could've channel the likes of My Chemical Romance Been You' is full of deliberate hope. "I wanted and Olivia Rodrigo, but at the time, Hannah a song that actually felt glad," says Hannah. had never performed live. Sure, she had "It's the only one on the record that isn't a blossoming following on TikTok and laced with regret. It's a breakup song, and YouTube that she engaged with regularly, but finally getting able to play gigs changed I still sound slightly pissed off, but I'm also aware of the brat I was and the things I did almost everything for her. "Seeing five wrong. And it was a great relationship," she people on the front row give it their all is adds. "Considering where my head was incredible," says Hannah. "It's more than at, I needed to write something hopeful enough for now," she adds, those arena just to feel good." Released at the end of dreams postponed rather than cancelled.

"I WANT PEOPLE TO FEEL ALIVE WHEN THEY LISTEN TO MY MUSIC"

58. DORK

SLANEY BAY September, 'It Could've Been You' has already become Hannah's most-streamed song. "I think people like the hope rather than the regret," she says.

She's already drawing up plans for what comes after that second project as well. "I've barely scratched the surface, but the vision right now is that I want it to be more fun and playful because I'm in such a great place right now. I want it to radiate that comfort," she says. "I've thought a lot about who I am, and I really like exploring those growing pains. Right now, I'm excited about the future. I'm not dreading it."

The community that's connected with Hannah's music has helped with that.

"Releasing music rarely feels tangible," she explains. "A lot of the time, it feels like I'm just playing pretend. I release these silly songs, and I can see people listening, but it's just numbers on a screen. When you play a show, you realise how real it all is. That's when it hits you, and I want to chase that connection forever."

"2021 is when I started writing music, and it felt like a whirlwind. 2022 was the same.

This year, it's felt believable," says Hannah.

"I've always had a strange feeling about 2024, though. Even when I was a kid, I felt like something big was going to happen. I'm excited to see what that is."

Bring on the fireworks. P

→ South-West London's Slaney Bay blend introspective lyrics with catchy, vibrant riffs, as showcased on their latest release, sophomore EP 'Why Does Love Mean Loss?'.

Having already established a fearsome reputation for their live performances, with notable support slots for artists like Sinead O’Brien, Bleach Lab and Coach Party, Slaney Bay are all set for a big 2024.

LISTEN TO: 'Move On'

ISSEY CROSS

→ Issey Cross is another from the current super exciting crop of UK banger merchants making rave infected drum and bass beats with a super pop sensibility. She's already featured on a few hits with people like Wilkinson and Nathan Dawe before a summer pop rave classic this year with her Verve sampling anthem 'Bittersweet Goodbye'. A member of the already legendary Loud LDN collective, Issey's way with a hook and ability to harness it to some of the freshest beats around mark her out as one of the most vibrant talents, sure to carry on her chart bothering form.

LISTEN TO: 'Bittersweet Goodbye'

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After years of hard graft, DEADLETTER are finding their feet with a potent garagepost-punk mix.

by Finlay Holden. photography by Sal Redpath. → For many bands, writing and performing is the easy part of being a creative, but getting people to take a

first look is where things become difficult.

For vocalist Zac Lawrence, drummer Alfie Husband and bassist George Ullyott, those two sides to their hobby became relevant at significantly different times.

Having kicked about Yorkshire together as teenagers in punk outfit Mice On Mars, gigging in local pubs was how they discovered their passion. After moving to South London to indulge in the cultural capital, though, it became increasingly apparent that they needed a new mechanism to deliver on years of learning.

"We were 16 when we started our first band, and what we were doing was starting to wear a bit thin," Zac reflects. "Not only had we matured as human beings, but even more so as artists. That name became associated with a very specific moment in time for us: something raucous, something hectic, and perhaps something not taken as seriously as we would've liked. We took it upon ourselves to start a fresh slate with a new approach to music."

Although reinvention was the aim of the game, past experience was vital to sharpen the skills of stagecraft. Walking into a DEADLETTER show, you can quickly notice key traits that other groups have worked to focus in on; the relentless

drive of Fontaine's D.C., the witty selfawareness of Viagra Boys, and the aptitude for commentary shared by Yard Act. Progressing forward with the tools they've made for themselves, this new entity is one armed to the teeth with performance chops.

"We were playing three or four gigs a week for three years, so it adds up to a lot of hours on stage trying to… not necessarily master your craft but trying to make people care, more than anything," George summarises. "That was always the task for us, to persuade just one person in the room. We've really honed that ability in for what we're doing now. The music took a very different route with the addition of the sax, and the six-piece now fits as this new thing."

The graft put in has given them an advantage despite their relocation, and the hard, long grind certainly permeates through the DEADLETTER discography, but it hasn't been a simple transition; moving into an overwhelming world with a gig a minute on every street corner has been, "humbling, I would say," George offers.

"It was hard work," Zac agrees. "We were all wearing rose-tinted glasses when we made the move. In reality, it was like; we're six months in, and there are more than three people at our shows; that's great!

Having time to find yourself, to figure out who and what you are artistically – which we're still working out, by the way – is crucial. Different experiences shape you, and the way you live shapes you.

"Ultimately, your output is a reflection of you and what you're doing. Through the urgency within our music, you can hear that we do work hard. We don't have all the time in the world to rehearse and write together, so when we do, it's got that immediacy, that 'let's make it happen now' feel to it."

Labouring 9-5 alongside sustaining an artistic endeavour is not a unique circumstance in this age, but it palpably

"THIS MODERN-DAY THING OF HAVING TO WRITE A QUOTE ABOUT EVERYTHING WE PUT OUT IS BULLSHIT" Z AC L AW R E N C E

adds some texture to DEADLETTER's output. The six band members may not live a life of glamour, but they've already collected enough stories to justify the hardship; spotting BTS pole-dancing next to them after performing at Paris Fashion Week is one such surreal encounter.

In climbing on up in the world, DEADLETTER have made a conscious effort to ditch some of the scrappiness of their youthful efforts in favour of a more polished strategy that respects the contributions of their increased membership. They don't diss the rawness of a live recording, though, and are trying to find that balance themselves while remaining realistic.

"What you're able to do in the studio can just be a matter of the circumstance you're in," Zac explains. "We haven't exactly got the money, the time, the resources to get an orchestra to play behind one of the songs."

It is the lyrics that add the final ingredient to this growing recipe of garage, post-punk goodness, and Zac evidently isn't shy to express his opinions. Debuting with 'Good Old Days' two months into the pandemic and following it up with 'Fit For Work', musings on toxic nostalgia and

governmental failings have since taken a backseat to something more ambiguous.

"One thing I absolutely love is reading when someone has completely interpreted it in the opposite way to how I've tried to lay it out," the frontman grins. "I like that; that's what art is. It's there to be interpreted, reinterpreted and misinterpreted. This modern-day thing of having to write a quote about everything we put out is bullshit; your ideas have already been hung out on a washing line before they even have a chance to be digested or grown into something new. It completely takes the essence of creativity away from it by having to explain yourself. Why should you?"

The band are beginning to enter album territory after the release of a few standalone singles in 2023. With successful headline tours across the UK under their belt, the resources for recording a fulllength project are soon to be allocated.

It's not been a straight road to this point, but George explains that the romanticism remains very much present. "We've been working towards a music career for 11 years, so another year doesn't matter to us that much. We'd be doing it whether we got paid or not." P

READDORK.COM 59.

With their debut album 'Madra' on the horizon, Irish quartet NewDad are bubbling over with potential.

by Neive McCarthy. photography by Patrick Gunning.

60. DORK

→ Sometimes, your emotions and the experiences tied to them stick to you.

Days, weeks, months, even years later, and they can still linger, the after-effects vividly felt. In the thick of it, they can feel like your shadow. For NewDad, however, that haunting feeling is something more akin to a dog following you around, an inescapable companion cementing itself by your side.

The Irish translation for 'dog' is 'Madra', and with that, NewDad had a title for their debut album, due to release in January. "'Madra' was the first song we wrote," explains singer and guitarist Julie Dawson.

"It defined the album as a whole and what it became, but the thing with the actual title is that it felt like it was ours. Having an Irish title, one that's simple and ties in with the themes of the album, it just felt like the right fit."

For Julie and her bandmates, Sean O'Dowd, Fiachra Parslow and Cara Joshi, finding the right fit and the right time was fundamental for their debut effort. There's no denying that the album has been a long time coming – their first single, 'How', was released at the beginning of 2020. Yet, the last few years have proven absolutely vital in terms of learning. Now, NewDad emerge with a debut album of formidable heights.

"Ideally, we would've put it out earlier," Julie reflects. "We were quiet for a bit. We wanted to make sure we put our best foot forward. A year ago, we would've been able to release an album, but it wouldn't have been what this album is. It's the best bits of two years of writing. We needed that."

'Madra' sees the band coming out swinging. It's darkly candid, relentingly atmospheric and sees the band craft the bubbling potential they've always had into something completely compelling. Above all else, it's steeped in who NewDad are – as a band, as people, as friends, through good and bad, the album puts it all on display.

"We weren't exactly sure what we wanted to be," Julie explains.

"Did we want to be an indie

"PEOPLE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO BE FUCKING ANGRY" J U L I E DAW S O N

band? Or a rock band? Our favourite music is old rock, shoegaze, and the grunge bands from the 90s. We wanted to have that, but a bit cleaner. It's still grungy, but it's really clean, which makes it feel new to me. It was important to have those guitars sound amazing. We wanted to define ourselves as a rock band. We were more in the indie lane when we released our EPs, but we wanted to show people that this is a really great rock record, and that's the music we wanted to make."

Settling in at Rockfield Studios in the Wye Valley, the band worked with their longtime collaborator Chris W Ryan to curate an album that is hauntingly powerful. This is NewDad at their most polished and spellbinding. Tracks like 'Nightmares' crawl into being – their guitar lines are crisp, for sure, but they're also menacing and stormy.

'Let Go' is perhaps NewDad at the peak of their rock world. Julie's vocals are as spectral and stirring as ever, but combined with the snarling guitars of the track, it's truly world-shaking. The single's artwork recalls Saint Brigid's Cross – an ancient Irish symbol thought to ward off evil and bring on the protection of the saint. It's a perfect example of how, in this new, more expansive musical world, the band have also found space for their identity to be expressed more than ever.

"We wanted to show more of ourselves in this," Julie confirms. "I feel like before, we did keep things under wraps a little bit. This feels more like we're pulling more from our interests and shared experiences growing up in Ireland. The Brigid's Cross, that's something we used to do in school, making a bunch of them every year. It's cool to be using that as an image for our music, and it's a nice full circle of using these funny little things from home."

There's always been an element of earnestness to NewDad's music, but

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'Madra' sees the band venture further into themselves than ever before. It's an act of peeling back the layers to get to the crux of who they are with each track. It's a foray into the psyche – being unwilling to move on and let go, feeling like a burden, grappling with mental health and relationships in a manner that cuts to the core. There's an unguardedness to the album that feels new, and paired with the foreboding soundscapes populating the album, that unguardedness becomes powerful. It's potent and without fear, making the burning need to unleash those feelings even more fierce.

"I think music is such a great outlet for coming to terms with things and accepting things in a way," explains Julie. "Even now, when I'm having a bad day, I'll go back and listen to one of the songs that shows you can be there, move on, and it's fine. It was very therapeutic to get that into a bunch of music. That's when I am most creative when I have loads of things to get off my chest.

It's good to look back and see how you've come a lot further from where you were."

Over the course of the album, Julie also found other ways into those emotions and other ways of perceiving her own experiences. For tracks like 'Angel', she turned to TV to force some more introspection.

"With 'Angel', we hadn't written anything in a while. It was a very quiet spell where nothing was really going on in my life, so I was rewatching 'Euphoria'. I think the dynamic between Rue and Jules is something a lot of people can relate to – you feel like you're bringing your partner down or you're a bit of a burden because you have bad mental health. It's something I've touched on in songs like 'Blue', but it sparked something in my brain, and I think a lot of people relate to that. Whenever I'm quiet or haven't done anything in a while, I usually will get inspired by things on the telly."

TV often offers us comfort and solidarity in our own experiences, but diluting that into a song can make those messages hit home even more. 'Madra' chronicles the kind of happenings that are pervasive and evocative.

"A lot of the album touches on difficult relationships either with other people or with yourself," shares Julie. "It's nice to hear someone else say it, and that's almost why I would go back to it – it's a comfort to hear someone else saying those things that you might be afraid to admit that you feel. I hope it can be a comfort to people as well because it definitely has been for me. It's the same way that TV shows are when you see pieces of yourself in characters – I think that's important for people."

'Madra' shines for its ability to articulate

"OUR FAVOURITE MUSIC IS OLD ROCK, SHOEGAZE, AND THE GRUNGE BANDS FROM THE 90S" J U L I E DAW S O N

those experiences so starkly – they drill down to the core of the issue every time, but with their complex sonic world, it is infinitely more palatable. It's a fine balance to strike, but over the past few years, NewDad have undoubtedly learned to toe that line exceptionally well. 'Where I Go' is this at its finest.

"I was quite reluctant to have it on the album," Julie admits. "I think maybe because it's a touchy, hard subject to talk about. Feeling used by people is something a lot of people experience, but I was

reluctant. It's an important track on there because it's a different story. It was quite hard to put into words, so I was almost worried that I wasn't putting it into words in a good way. It's the angry song. So much of the album is like, 'I've done this, that wasn't good, I hate myself'. This one is like, no, fuck those people. People should be allowed to be fucking angry. I think it's an important song on there. It's a funny one; it's the track that, for ages, I wasn't used to the idea of it being on the album, but I'm glad it is. It's a big swell in the album, and it's a moment

where you get to be angry, which I think is important."

Having the courage and knowledge to give space to those emotions, regardless of how daunting it might be, is a testament to their growth as a band over the past few years. As Julie rightly attests, they couldn't have made this album before now.

It's dedicated to showcasing who NewDad truly are, but without the experiences of the last few years, it might've been more difficult to pin that down. From a move to London that proved to be an invaluably refreshing change of scenery to understanding how to take care of themselves on tour to playing huge stages with the likes of Paolo Nutini, it's been a crucially enlightening few years that has brought them to this point.

The sum of the world around them and the people they've become, 'Madra' is an immaculate introduction to who NewDad are and who they have the potential to be in the future. It is its very own entity, something to get lost in and come out of having done some real discovery. "A lot of the inspiration is cinematic, and it feels all-consuming in a way," Julie muses. "I hope that when people listen to it, they really are just in the world of 'Madra'." P

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Nell Mescal is dishing out pinch-me moments and indie-pop triumphs at an unstoppable pace.

by Neive McCarthy. photography by Sarah Louise Bennett.

→ For many people, playing beer pong with HAIM is the kind of bucket

list item you wouldn't even think to put on your bucket list. For Nell Mescal, it's one of many she has ticked off this year, alongside supporting the likes of Florence + the Machine and playing her biggest Irish headline show yet. Yeah, all in all, it's been a pretty big 2023. For the Maynooth native, it has equalled pinch-me moment after pinch-me moment. Rest assured, though, there can only be more to come.

"Right before we went on tour, I went away with my mum for a week," Nell recalls. "It was the first time I realised what I'd gotten to do. I was looking back at photos and just thinking that it's so cool; I would never have imagined doing anything like that before. That was the first week where I was like, okay, I've done some really cool stuff this year, and I really have to be grateful for it, and I have to remember it and not let anything get into my head."

Nell kicked off 2023 with the release of 'Homesick' in January, and from that point onwards, it's been nothing short of madness in her world. A string of impressive singles followed, and the last twelve months have proved fundamental to Nell's artistry and paved the way for what comes next. It's been a time of truly learning her craft and understanding herself, and her audience has come along with her, growing rapidly with each release.

"The past year for music was really just putting out feelers and introducing myself to people," Nell says. "Like, 'Yeah, I write music, here I am, I want to do this 62. DORK

forever'. It was a lot of different things, and I worked with a lot of different people who I love very much, and I love each and every sound, but I'm definitely finding my own pace now. I know what kind of artist I want to be right now, and I know that will change, but right now, I have my vision, and I'm working on something for next year that I'm so excited for. I've wrapped myself up in this world, and this is where I'm staying for the next few months."

With this year's releases, Nell has demonstrated how multi-faceted and capable she truly is. 'Homesick' is an upbeat, effervescent bop navigating living on your own for the first time, whilst its follow-up, 'In My Head', deals with heartache and the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, favouring a more cinematic soundscape than before. Nell shifts and tries on different versions of her artistry, peeling back more and more of what she wants to embody along the way.

'In My Head' proved to be an exercise in learning to drill things down to specifics, to be as true to herself and her experiences as possible, something she realised she had been missing previously.

"I wasn't being specific, and I wasn't actually putting the story on the page," she explains. "It's like how they say in therapy to imagine all your thoughts and everything that's happened to you are pieces of paper crumpled up, and they don't all fit in the jar. So, you have to take them all out and fold them all up, and immediately, there's more space to fit in the jar, more space to think.

"I KNOW WHAT KIND OF ARTIST I WANT TO BE RIGHT NOW" NELL MESCAL

The jar is your brain. I don't fucking do that! I just say everything, throw it in and hope I haven't missed anything.

When I started listening to more music, watching more things and reading more, I realised I actually just need to put a place in and say, 'This happened here; let's talk about it'. It immediately opened up a whole different world, and now when I write music, I want to put a place, a person, a thing – something that's tangible so that the person who is listening to it can be like, 'Oh I've done that, I've been there'."

That resonance is of utmost importance in Nell's writing. It's something she seeks in the music she chooses to listen to, and the need for people to find that comfort in her own music becomes paramount as a result.

She might be supporting some big names and hopping off on tour, but the parallels between Nell's teenage years and coming-of-age and her peers' are still reassuringly palpable in her music. She's rewatching Gilmore Girls (importantly, she's Team Jess with a soft spot for Logan, if you were wondering), she's trying to tell her mum not to post on TikTok, she's dealing with the gut-wrenching hardships of friends and

relationships that many of her audience have. Of course, it's partly because of that understanding and grounded nature that so many listeners have been drawn to her.

"Other than people like Taylor Swift, I found it really difficult to find music that wasn't about a relationship," Nell recalls. "When I was fourteen or fifteen and going through friendship breakups, it was hard to find music showing how much it can affect you. Talking about my experience helps me, but it's cool that I get to talk to other people about it, too. I'm not glad that they can relate to it, but I'm glad that if they do relate to it, they've got a place to go and let those emotions out."

While Nell had the likes of 'Mean' and 'Fifteen' growing up, the young girls listening to her are fortunate enough to have an array of other hauntingly realistic songs that offer a real sense of solidarity.

"It's really difficult, and everyone always underestimates the power of a friendship breakup because it's so difficult. I sing about more than just that, but this past year has definitely been about that for me. I've got so much more coming up, and I do talk

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about a lot of different things, and I'm approaching different topics, but I think that it has been really important for my fans to see where my background was with my writing – that's all I would write about for three years. It's been really cool to see how that has developed and how people have reacted to it. You talk about relationships to your best friends, and you talk about that kind of intimate part of your life to those people, and they're the people that know how to hurt you the most – for a teenage girl, there's nothing scarier."

'Punchline' grapples with trying to win those kinds of wars while still being plagued by memories and thoughts of that friendship, a punchier version of Nell than seen before. Her songwriting is her weapon through these experiences, a way of manifesting how she might feel and reminding herself, mantra-like, of how this can and will go if she just gives it time. 'Teeth' is a similar addition to her arsenal. "Call it off, can't lose any more sleep," she reminds herself, and in writing those words, she unlocks a power that only comes to the surface after the fact.

"When I write the song, it's the pretend phase where I say enough is enough, but for sure it isn't. I'm only now at the point where I'm like, okay, I don't think about that anymore. I've moved on. Writing it is the hope that I will call it off and say enough is enough.

It's always a few months or weeks later

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"IF YOU TOLD ME LAST YEAR THAT I WAS GOING TO PLAY GUITAR IN FRONT OF PEOPLE, I WOULD HAVE BLOCKED YOU" NELL MESCAL

when I make that decision, but writing the songs helps. It puts everything I'm thinking on a page, and it's like, this is how I'm feeling, don't forget it."

After making the track, Nell listened to the demo for a month ("My Spotify Wrapped is going to be so fucked"), needing to hear that reminder from someone, and it just happened to be from herself. There's a unique strength in her songwriting ability to offer up that beacon of light even when she is in the pits of an experience, and that element of hope has proven vital for Nell. Often finding herself labelled as part of the sad girl indie brigade, for Nell and many others alongside her, there's far more complexity to her writing than just those emotions.

"It's not good to feed that emotion all the time, but obviously, it's warranted a lot of the time – a lot of the time, that's

all I want to listen to, and you cannot tell me to put on anything else," Nell laughs. "But I think having hope there, even if it's just underneath the sadness of it all, is so important. It's never ever going to be just doom and gloom. There is always something to feel good about; you just have to find it. I guess that's cringey, but that's just how I like to write music. I definitely think hope is a really important part of my songwriting process because it's why I'm still here."

Some of the vulnerability that comes as she recounts her experiences in tracks like 'Teeth' is striking, but those reminders that things will be okay hit harder. Nell's particular brand of 'sad girl' is a call to arms to feel your feelings and express them as honestly as you see fit, but to remember that things will pass and in acknowledging these things, they are released.

"Sadness is so much more than just being sad," Nell continues. "It's always just people saying 'sad girl music' and then picturing a girl, sad at home, but that's not it. It's for everybody, and it's not just about crying; it's about feeling angry and feeling lonely and all these different things, but it's also about trying to be happy."

That beacon of light is always lit in Nell's music, and a lot of her fans are moths to a flame in that sense. Those who have discovered her have cemented themselves as here to stay, and that kinship has been a shining part of this year for Nell.

"I've done so many support tours this year, and you see the people that find you there and then continue that support. I think that's so cool. I'm so grateful now because I'm still at the start of my journey in music, and it's so nice to see people that are in it and are like, 'Yeah, we're here now, and we're going to be there whatever you're doing'. It's so nice."

"It's so cool to see people come to multiple shows – I find that so bizarre.

There's a girl called Amber who comes to a lot of the shows, and she was like, 'Yeah, I'm coming to this one, and this one, and this one'. I was like, 'Why? Why are you doing that?' That's so crazy to me. I feel so grateful. Every day, I think about it because they truly do know me, which is so bizarre. I sometimes really want to have the mysterious, you-don't-

know-who-I-am thing on Instagram, but I just can't – I post everything I think of. It's so funny that they truly do see a lot of the sides of me, so it's cool that they do, and they want to stick around."

That authenticity is particularly special about Nell. On 'Teeth', she sings, "I think you read my journal", and it's a sentiment that rings true for most of her songs – they're as raw and uncut as a conversation with a best friend, but with gorgeous indie-pop tones and delivered with powerhouse vocals to make those sometimes-difficult words easier to hear. It helps, of course, that she's found her feet in the last year, too, and found a clan of kindred spirits to surround herself with and give her the support to be so earnest.

"I moved [to London] over two years ago now," Nell notes. "When I think about how I was when I first moved, it's like a completely different person. The people that you surround yourself with are so important. If they're speaking negatively or positively, it impacts you in a huge way, and I'm so lucky that my friends are so cool, sweet, and supportive."

Those people have been major players in Nell's life throughout this crazy year. Be it her band, her family or her friends, many of them have been there to make the magical moments shimmer a bit more. One particular highlight was All Points East in the summer. She had one of her first-ever festival appearances there just last year, but this year, she headlined a stage in support of Haim, and the visualisation of how far she'd come was made all the more special.

"I got to share it with so many people I love," says Nell. "I had loads of friends there; my brothers were there, their friends were there. It was really cool to see my brothers' friends from home, whom we all grew up with, be at a show.

Sometimes I can get this weird thing where I think no one believes I do this stuff, so it's cool to see people be there, and my band had people they knew there too."

There have been some truly huge moments for Nell this year. Sharing a stage with idols like Florence + the Machine ("I didn't know how to breathe"), or Dermot Kennedy, whose photos she has had on her wall since she was fourteen, have been major, careershifting instances - ones that Nell is finally allowing herself to acknowledge as cool. As the year draws to a close, however, Nell's focus is shifting to her solo shows. An Irish headline tour rounds out the year before she heads back to the UK in the new year for some more shows where she tops the bill.

"I find headlines so weird," Nell muses. "You see everyone from the stage, and you're like, 'Oh, fuck, everyone is here for me'. That's really exciting and really scary. But it's going to be so much fun. I've learnt so much with performing – getting to do the

amount of shows that I've done this year has changed that for me. It's made me so much more comfortable on stage and helped me realise I'm there for a reason. I still get imposter syndrome, but I think it helps getting to do so many shows. At each show, it goes away a little bit, then you do something crazy, and you're like, I shouldn't be here at

all! The performing side of it has taught me so much, and it's given me more confidence – if you told me last year that I was going to play guitar in front of people, I would have blocked you. I would never have believed it."

2023 has been a journey for Nell through the highs and lows of life and finding her place in this industry. It's

been a cocoon, and as she emerges more settled and surer of herself and her artistry than ever, 2024 offers Nell Mescal the chance to well and truly spread her wings as she continues on her path as one of the most captivating songwriters around. "I've got stories that I want to tell," concludes Nell. "I feel like I'm finally ready to tell them." P

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Caity Baser is a whirlwind of energy, radiating excitement as she heads into her breakout year.

by Abigail Firth. → "Life for me is honestly the best thing ever," says Caity Baser. "I wake up

every day, and I'm breathing, which is nice.

And on top of that, I get to sing and write songs, and I get to go on tours and connect with people. It's just the best thing."

It's safe to say Caity is living the dream.

With a huge year behind her, you'd be hardpressed to find anyone more excited about their job right now. So far, proving herself to be an unstoppable pop force, Caity's 2023 has consisted of an EP drop, 'Thanks For Nothing, See You Never', featuring the Top 40-cracking 'Pretty Boys', her first headline tour that ended at London's O2 Forum Kentish Town, collaborations with dance heavyweights Joel Corry and Sigala, and a festival season that put her in the running as the hardest working pop star in the business.

She's doubled down on that with the announcement of her upcoming mixtape 'Still Learning' and her biggest tour yet, showing zero signs of slowing down. We meet Caity just a few days after getting back from her first Australian tour, and unbelievably, jet lag appears to have evaded her.

"I've been busy every single day; the year has actually felt like a month," says Caity. "But it's been a year to remember.

And I feel like a year where I've achieved a lot of things that I wanted to achieve, and now it's just time to make a new list of things that I want to achieve and do it all again next year."

Relentlessly driven from the jump, Caity worked one day at Co-op before attending a songwriting session that would flip her life upside down. She'd uploaded a TikTok of her song 'Average Student', which racked up a million views overnight on the app, leading to a DM from a management agency and a meeting with producer duo Future Cut, who'd notably worked on Lily Allen's debut album 'Alright, Still', who Caity would draw immediate comparisons to when her music arrived.

An impulsive decision to upload the track spiralled into the push she needed to go all the way. To Caity's shock, Future Cut immediately wanted her on board and have continued to work with her on practically her entire discography so far.

They've helped shape her sound, which is

"IT'S LIKE HAVING A BONSAI TREE, AND YOU WANT IT TO GROW. AND THOSE FUCKERS TAKE AGES TO GROW" C A I T Y B AS E R

distinctly British in her delivery, much like the aforementioned Lily and Kate Nash, with a splash of do-wop pomp borrowed from Meghan Trainor.

"It was the end of lockdown that really kicked me up the arse. I thought, I'll just send [the TikTok] out, and the second I got a chance, the second I literally got a little glimpse of what I could have, I just quit everything and put all my attention and time into it. It's like having a bonsai tree, and you want it to grow. And those fuckers take ages to grow."

While Caity is keen to constantly keep going these days (she mentions it only takes her a couple of days to recharge after a tour before she's ready to get back on stage or in the studio), her Duracell bunny energy wasn't always channelled into music. As a child, she took on sports, acting and dancing, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Every day of the week, I had a different thing to do, but I didn't really give a shit about any of it. The only thing that I really cared about was music," she says. "I used to put on little performances in front of my family. And then I used to sit there, and I'd go, 'Mum, what do you reckon to this song?' and it would be like the worst song in the world, and she'd be like, 'Yeah, it's fine. It's good'. Look at me now, Mum." Caity grew up in Southampton ("Fuck that place," she says of it now) with her mum, dad and two older brothers, one of whom is, according to her, a great singer, and the pair would try to outdo each other in the vocal realm. She might have kept her real voice under wraps, though, until

she got on stage and fully let loose in front of them.

"You know what it was, I did a show at my school, and I sang a solo, and it was a fucking massive song like a musical theatre song, and my brothers, my dad, and my mum were in the front row. And I remember, I opened my mouth and started singing every single one of them just went," she drops her jaw. "And then I got off when I finished it, and my brothers went, 'Caity, that was alright. That was really alright'.

That means it was fucking class."

Despite her confidence now, it's surprising when Caity admits she never really felt like she fit in at school.

Struggling to express herself back then, she says she knew exactly who she was but didn't have the confidence to live as her most authentic self. Coming into the music industry changed that perspective drastically, as she found a community of fans who embraced her exactly as she was.

"I felt like I've never really belonged anywhere. Like at school, I didn't feel like I could be myself. Now my fanbase is like an army of people that I just…" she trails off.

"Everyone's friends and we're all nice to each other. No bad vibes, just good vibes only. I love them. I was a sheep when I was little, I would do whatever, wear whatever, just so people would like me. I'd be nice to everyone; I wanted to be everybody's friend, even if they were dickheads. Then lockdown happened, and all those people that I actually never liked, we stopped talking. I thought, oh my god, I don't miss you. I literally had nobody for a while and

then started doing music, and I found a beautiful community of people that are just amazing."

That community came out in their droves when she started playing live shows, and that initial bug for performing she caught clearly stuck with her. Caity really thrives when she gets on stage and has proven that time and time again this year, undertaking a mammoth festival season bookended by her own headline tour this spring, and a brief stint in Australia this autumn. In 2024, she'll be going on her biggest tour yet, 12 dates winding up at London's Eventim Apollo.

"I have no words. I'm so excited. I find it crazy that last July, I did my first-ever show, and it was to 150 people. And then in about six months, I did a big tour, and it was like 15,000 tickets, and now I'm going on another tour, and that's fucking 40,000 tickets. Like, phwoar, it's amazing, honestly."

She continues, "Going on tour is like the most magical experience ever. It's the driving there; I'm with my band, and with my manager, and with my videographer.

We're all like this big family on the road.

I'm pretty sure I've been to every service station in the UK by now; we get a little Maccies. We get to the place, and then I get ready. Every single day is just beautiful.

And every single day is the best day ever anyway, but every single day on tour is like the extra best day. It's so much fun."

The tour will be in support of her upcoming mixtape 'Still Learning', featuring 14 tracks, some of which we've heard plenty of; breakout hits 'X&Y' and 'Pretty Boys' make the cut, plus this year's ubercatchy '2468'. Although Caity's brutally honest lyricism has played a huge part in her come-up, 'Still Learning' turns a new page as her most vulnerable release.

"It's about me not having all the answers, me fucking up, upsetting people.

You know, doing all these things but owning every single mistake that I've made and growing along the way. I think so many people are afraid to admit that they don't have all the answers, but why would you want all the answers? It's fucking boring.

It's about fucking up and living as hard as you can and just growing… like a bonsai tree!"" P

READDORK.COM 67.

Venbee weaves narratives of life in modern Britain with a hugely charismatic take on D&B.

by Martyn Young. → In a banner year for a new generation of British artists making thrilling dance

music, Venbee has been leading the charge.

Continuing to rise since her breakout in 2022 with chart smash 'Messy In Heaven', the singer and songwriter from London has been refining her craft and her skills as shown on her dynamic and varied debut project 'Zero Experience'.

"It's gone really fast," she begins as she attempts to summarise the last couple of years. "I haven't had much time to process it because it feels like everything has happened at once. The journey has been wild. It's not something I ever expected would happen to me. Now that I've got a project out, I feel relieved. There were times I didn't think this project would come out.

I'm excited to see how people react to it. I'm proud of the body of work that I've done."

It's important for Venbee to emphasise the mixtape as a real cohesive and structured project that tells a story. The

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rising drum'n'bass scene that is storming the charts has loads of killer singles, but Venbee is breaking out and showing her supreme talents as a songwriter and lyricist, making resonant songs that speak to life for a young person in modern Britain like inspiring anthems 'Gutter' and 'Die Young'.

Telling stories has always been at the heart of her creative expression.

"The first song I wrote was a rap about climate change, and I didn't know what climate change was," she laughs. "It's never seen the light of day. I was 8, though; I just found the word climate and started to rhyme it with something. I just never stopped after that."

While spending her childhood experimenting and writing with the support of her family, the time afforded by the pandemic allowed Venbee the clarity and environment to truly refine who she was as an artist and a writer.

"My mum, dad and my grandad would listen to my songs and say, 'Oh, that's really nice, Erin, well done'. I knew I always wanted to be a songwriter for a career, but the first part of me that believed I could actually do it was when lockdown hit. I took that opportunity to run with that and that situation."

For an artist so young, the progression in Venbee's songwriting is striking. "With anything, over time, you improve," she says. "When you've been doing something for a really long time, you're just going to

"I HAVE GOALS. MY DREAM IS TO PLAY BRIXTON ACADEMY" VENBEE

get better and better at it. Practice makes better. Over time, my songwriting has developed, and it's going to continue to develop. Who knows what the future holds?

I'm just going to keep writing about what I feel. I don't really think about it too much.

I just write about how I feel, and then the song comes out."

The songs collected on 'Zero Experience' highlight this instinctive and personal approach. "These are situations that I've been through and stuff in my life story. How I felt about situations that have gone on and about life in general, which is why I called it 'Zero Experience'," she explains. "No one has an absolute clue what they're doing in life.

No one does. It's a misconception in society that everyone knows what they're doing.

There's a lot of pressure on adolescents and kids in school as well as adults to have it all figured out by the time you turn 16, or when you turn 18 or when you turn 21, and you're supposed to be a proper adult. I've never

had a clue what I'm doing in any part of my life, and I don't think I ever will, so I just want people to be ok with that. It's essentially just my life story."

One of the most important elements of Venbee's artistry is her capacity for collaboration and fluidity, being able to work with a range of different people, whether it's established legends in the game like Rudimental or the rising crew of inventive female and non-binary musicians that make up the thrilling Loud LDN collective of which Venbee is a driving force.

"When I collaborate with people, I like to give creative freedom," she says. "I look for good people, and everyone who has collaborated so far with me has become a really good friend of mine. I've worked well with them for the last year and a half now.

A lot of the time, it's me writing a song with a couple of friends or even on my own and then going, 'Okay, who can we send this to to elevate it?' And that's how it works."

It's an inspiring time for artists like the Loud LDN collective with a pioneering spirit for musical exploration married to a sharp pop sensibility with everyone lifting each other up. "It's very exciting for the drum'n'bass community, and I'm so gassed to see some of my friends do really sick things this year. I just get gassed for other people when I see them doing well. There's a lot of new music coming out now, and it's great. The world's a better place with music."

Looking forward to 2024, Venbee has a clear plan for what she wants to achieve.

"I'm going to keep releasing music, playing shows and doing what I'm doing, and hopefully, it gets bigger. I'm going to write a lot of songs and then hopefully an album."

There's one ambition she has, but Venbee is typically to the point as she outlines her future dream. "I have goals.

My dream is to play Brixton Academy, but there's no way I'm doing that next year being realistic," she admits. "I'm very logical with my train of thought, and that's one thing I feel not many people are like. I'm delusional as fuck, but I'm also very logical.

For next year, I'd like to collaborate with some other artists and maybe dive into other fanbases. Just vibe with it and go with the flow." P

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→ It's the day before Charlotte Plank's debut mixtape drops. This time last

year, she'd released one single, and now the full-length 'InHer World' showcases how far she's come in that short time.

"A nine-song mixtape? Including songs with Rudimental? And Turno, Skepsis and Hybrid Minds? I couldn't be prouder of it, really," says Charlotte, seemingly taken aback by her fast rise too.

Although she's swiftly humbled by her current situation, which sees her sitting at home with toothpaste on her spots, slogging her washing around other peoples' houses as her washing machine is broken, and she needs to prepare for another hectic week ahead. She's joining her good pals Venbee and Piri on their respective, separate tours and will be bouncing up and down the UK for a fortnight.

This kind of 100 miles an hour approach to life has become the norm for Charlotte this year, as she's rattled through releases from January onwards before hitting the festival ground running and coming out the other side raring to go in the clubs.

After dropping a series of singles introducing her indie-tinged brand of drum'n'bass, her career was propelled skyward when she was scooped up by chart-topping electronic trio Rudimental to work on the track 'Dancing Is Healing'. It dropped in April and earned her a top-five chart hit, setting an enormous precedent for the rest of the year.

"The Rudimental thing came way sooner than I ever thought," she says.

"I thought we'd work together at some point, we obviously had met last summer, but I didn't think we'd collaborate so quickly and the tune would do what it did.

Obviously, Rudimental are known for sort of hand-picking and developing young and upcoming artists, and most of them have gone on to do great things like Anne Marie and Jess Glynne, so I guess having that on my head now, you've got to live up to everyone else's expectations. So now I've gotta go do my own thing."

Keen to get cracking with releasing her own tracks, she dropped 'White Noise' shortly after and followed it up with two more bucketlist collaborations, 'Rave Out' with DJs Turno and Skepsis and 'Let U Know' with drum'n'bass producer Danny Byrd. Although there was undeniable pressure to deliver, she wanted to prove she could stand on her own two feet.

"I'm just glad that I'd released stuff before ['Dancing Is Healing'] because I feel like it's very easy being female in dance to get labelled as just a dance feature, which is definitely much better now," explains Charlotte. "Girls in dance music definitely have much more of a space to be respected, and their own artists' projects are taken a lot more seriously. I'd already kind of built my sound; I'm not just jumping on anything. Obviously, it was still a drum'n'bass track, so it still felt relevant to me. I'm in a really lucky position to be able to do both and have people loving both."

Part of a generation ushering in a new era for British dance music, Charlotte is a prominent part of the Loud LDN collective – a group of London-based female and non-binary musicians, which started as a humble group chat and has since started hosting events where its members perform and DJ, the first of which

was organised by Charlotte herself – and regularly speaks about the support they have for one another and the ways the tide is turning for women in dance.

"It's just really great to see that females in dance music are finally getting their voice heard a bit now and aren't having to rely on male features. I'm really grateful to be in this world at this point where you're making music whilst everything's shifting."

She continues, "I met Becky Hill for the first time the other week, and she was saying dance music, in general, is in such a nice space because it used to be that all the girls were kind of pitted against each other, and it wasn't very friendly, apparently. But it really feels like a proper community we're building all together.

There's me, Venbee, Piri, A Little Sound, and Emily Makis; we're all friends, we come together for events, and all support each other, and I think that counts for so much more than being in competition with one another."

It makes perfect sense, then, that Charlotte's love of music comes from one particular female figure in her life. "I owe all my music tastes to my mum", she says, recounting how her childhood years were spent going on camping holidays with her mum's uni mixtapes playing in the van on the way there. "There was only a tape player in there, and she would play all her little compilations from the 90s.

Stuff like The Cure, Nirvana Unplugged, Edie Brickell, I remember that being such a crucial part of my musical DNA." But the defining characteristic of her music, the rapid-fire drum'n'bass beats, came from much further away from where she now calls

"GIRLS IN DANCE MUSIC HAVE MUCH MORE OF A SPACE TO BE RESPECTED" C H A R LOT T E P L A N K

home. "I was born in Australia because my mum went travelling over there, and my uncle was a DJ there [playing] sort of 90s acid house raves, so he has a lot of his old records from then. He's even now sending me songs like, 'Sample this!' He openly says he hates drum'n'bass, but he likes house, and he's just like, when are you gonna make some four-four music!"

To her uncle's dismay, no house music

makes it onto 'InHer World', just the seven bangers she's released so far – including 'Dancing Is Healing' and the infectious 'Rave Out' that dominated festival stages this summer – plus two new songs. It's deliberately short and sweet as she's holding back releases for next year, and displays her artistic development so far, from DIY beginnings with debut single 'Hate Me', to latest club banger 'Lights'.

"I guess this EP is just my life up until now in a little box, essentially. I've been doing music since I was really, really young, and obviously, I've gone through phases of falling out of love with it and getting frustrated, as everyone does, but it's always been there. When I first started doing gigs when I was like 14, that's when I opened myself up to that world of watching how you can impact people directly. You can see their live reactions, and just getting that buzz and energy off other people when you perform live is a whole other thing. I want this all the time, and to be able to do this to more and more crowds, having your music resonate with people is honestly the best feeling."

She's been doing exactly that at her recently launched 'Skank 4 Plank' parties, with a clear intention of taking over 2024.

She wants more summer anthems, more collaborations, more festivals, and an international tour that'll see her revisit her hometown of Melbourne. "I'm manifesting more chaos, more hectic energy," she says, "to go back to all the festivals, hopefully on bigger stages, building my little Skank 4 Plank army, I guess.

Here we come." P

Rising D&B star Charlotte Plank is living life in the fast lane.

by Abigail Firth.

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LIST 2O24

They arrived into a tornado of buzz, chaos and badly-targeted social media outrage, but you can ignore all of that, Dear Reader. Picture Parlour are the real deal.

by Finlay Holden. photography by Sarah Louise Bennett.

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→ Exploding from the live circuit into the wider industry zeitgeist back

in June, London-based outfit Picture Parlour have dominated internet conversation with an all-consuming storm of buzz. Vocalist Katherine Parlour and guitarist Ella Risi are the creative drive behind the group, and their giddy, infectious chemistry and electrifying writing sessions have resulted in two tracks released to date.

Previously, they both existed within their own musical entities up in Manchester, but that was until a pretty brutal accident rendered the former sofa-bound. "Oh yeah, I've got titanium metal in my right femur bone now! It makes going through airport security a nightmare," Katherine quips, seemingly miles past what must've been a fairly traumatic period.

After slipping into a muddy pothole at Sziget and breaking both her legs, she was forced to put her music – as well as everything else – on hold. "Out of life for a year and a half," she grimaces. "If you're gonna break both legs, though, do it at a music festival."

Shortly after "learning how to walk again", Katherine met Ella through mutual friends in the Manchester scene.

"I saw Ella play guitar and knew I had to get my hands on her; we had to work together. We lived in Fallowfield on adjacent roads and went through uni side by side without ever knowing it, but we finally met properly in 2020 during the pandemic."

The admiration was instantly mutual, as Ella recalls. "When I heard you sing for the first time, I was really taken aback. I was like, I haven't heard a voice like that come from anyone in my lifetime. There was something raw and gritty there; I have never heard anyone, especially a woman, sing the way that you do."

"THE PICTURE PARLOUR WORLD COMES FROM THE THINGS THAT EXCITED US AS KIDS" K AT H E R I N E PA R LO U R

Shortly after meeting and with little else to do ("the live music scene was dead and out of action, getting a whole band together wasn't a priority"), a three-week period of drinking, partying and songwriting began and solidified the future potential of Picture Parlour; not only were everlasting bonds formed, but much of their intoxicating material developed while… well, probably while they were intoxicated too.

"Those three weeks were enough for me to realise, this is it," Katherine reflects. "This is something that I would be willing to put everything into. It felt like a magical escape that neither of us had felt before in any of our past projects. I'd written songs since I was a kid, but it never felt that electric before."

Classic influences from their similar regional histories fanned those growing flames of friendship, with the union of groups like Fleetwood Mac, T. Rex and The Smiths, as well as the individuality of artists like Joan Jett, David Bowie and Elton John providing some common ground, but the aim was never to impersonate.

"The songs come from such a raw place," Katherine describes, "it can't come from influence outside; it's too much of an insular thing. But the Picture Parlour world, the clothes we wear or the mood we're trying to create,

100% that comes from the things that excited us as kids. I remember watching the likes of Marc Bolan onstage and thinking, that's a true rock star.

Glamorous but not in a shallow way; it was just this pure power. I think we try and capture that, for sure, because we love seeing it ourselves."

As the pair began to funnel their idols and experiences into something truly fresh and special, the question that remained was one of their immediate futures. Although a career in music was but a twinkle in their eyes, a move to London was on the cards, with both women starting part-time masters' degrees and investing that student loan straight back into their creative exploits.

Outside of smashing out assignments fuelled by copious Red Bull, the duo were busy trying to fathom a city they'd never experienced the scale of before.

"We didn't know anyone; we didn't have a live band. We knew the Manchester and Liverpool scenes, but where do you even start in London?"

Ella asked herself. "Lots of Googling, Facebook forums, emailing venues… the one place we had heard of before moving down was the Windmill [in Brixton]. It's so iconic, and so many of our favourite bands have come out of there. We thought if we could play there for our first show, it'd be insane, but it

seemed so far out of reach."

After recruiting drummer Michael Nash through Facebook groups and poaching bedroom bassist Sian Lynch from social media, Picture Parlour were nearly ready to get on a stage. After sending over some self-made demos, they were booked to play the Windmill show they'd fantasised about.

"We practised for six months because we didn't want to embarrass ourselves doing gigs in random venues and being shit," Katherine says. "We were finally ready to hit the stage, but unfortunately, my dad became sick, so I had to move back to Liverpool for months to look after him full-time. We'd got the band together but hadn't even done a show yet; we were sure they were going to leave. It was a nightmare scenario."

Three months later, and with another kind invite extended, Katherine's father urged her to take the leap and chase the dream. "For us, we knew this was our last chance," she admits. "If we really wanted to do something in music, and we believed in something like this as much as we did, we had to make sure everything was right. We had to get it right because we wouldn't have the opportunity to again."

Rehearsals paid off, and Picture Parlour stunned the crowd with a refined performance that turned their Windmill headline into a regular fixture, generating their initial excitement and earning fans in the industry and beyond. Long-standing icon Courtney Love attended their sixth-ever show and went on to declare, "There's no more mojo to go around. It's all gone.

They ate the mojo." It's fair to say things were looking up, then.

Winning over an audience that knows you only by reputation had the quartet spinning with satisfaction. "It's a different level of excitement when I can

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see that I've locked someone in during a song they've never heard before," boasts a gleeful Katherine. "They don't know our songs, they don't know who we are, they don't know what it's about, but there's still some interest. That indicates to me that we're moving in the right direction. If our songs can grab that attention while no one knows them, what will it be like when people warm to it and actually learn the words, sing along to the guitar solos, and do all the things we're obsessed with for the bands we love?"

They didn't have to wait too long to find out. Debut single 'Norwegian Wood' has been regularly recited back to them since its release in summer, and it's easy to see why – atmospheric rock with a soulful presence underpinned by severe vulnerability? A winning formula, for sure, but it took its creator a minute to accept that herself.

Having written it while wallowing in homesickness during that threeweek period in Manchester, Katherine allowed her swirling thoughts – feeling out of place, trying to centre yourself with the tunes of your hometown, questioning your own self-worth – to manifest into what she deemed to be a throwaway track.

"I'd written on my own and was not even gonna show Ella because it's shit, that's what I genuinely thought," she reveals. "Ella came home, and she was like, 'What have you been up to?' Well, I can't say I've done fuck all yet again tonight, so I showed her my work on

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"THE SONGS COME FROM SUCH A RAW PLACE" K AT H E R I N E PA R LO U R

an acoustic guitar. She wanted to jump straight on it but said the name has to change," they laugh, debating whether The Beatles would be offended, "but then it almost stuck as a joke."

The song itself details the delicacy of love, faith or "whatever you put your belief in. It is so pathetic," she laughs, "The beauty in it is that everyone feels that shit; everyone feels sorry for themselves sometimes. We're all multifaceted, right? You can have days where you've got confidence and cheek, and that's still you, but everyone can have a bit of a down day as well."

It details anxieties that many a youth has internalised, offering broad and accessible lyricisms that make the narrative feel as if it could have almost spawned from your own brain.

"They're my favourite type of song, to be honest," Katherine notes. "Stevie Nicks is my hero, and she has this way with lyrics where I'm always like, I could have said that; I've probably said that to myself before, right? But then they put it into a song. Suddenly, it feels like it's a brand-new thought. I really rate it when a songwriter can do that.

I love clever lyrics, wordy lyrics, but there's something so beautiful about a

songwriter that can just go, there it is."

That direct delivery mechanism struck a chord for some; meanwhile, the press campaign that bolstered the big debut had specific online communities furiously bashing their keyboards.

Lurkers on the social platform formerly known as Twitter refused to believe that a band could accrue so much devotion so quickly and started pointing fingers at how this could have happened – without ever considering hard work or talent as potential factors. At first, Picture Parlour themselves thought it was a joke, but soon, it had them questioning their choices.

"I literally could not care less about what everyone and the dog thinks about Picture Parlour because that's just life; you're gonna have people who like it and people who don't," Katherine begins. "There are bands I like and bands I don't; that is fact. When it's a personal attack and an erasure of some part of you… I've been instilled with so much love for the city where I'm from and my working-class background; that's part of who I am. To have strangers on the internet be like, no, no, no! I don't have a clue who she is, but she's definitely a nepo baby because of

a magazine online cover of the week?

That, to me, is crazy."

In reality, the music industry is a relentless machine looking for fresh meat to take to market, and these four determined artists worked to ensure that their moment in the spotlight would be utilised to its full extent. As Ella explains, "After COVID, the live scene is bustling again with all these new acts. A&Rs are going into these little underground gigs looking for the next big thing. There's an element of a lot of hard work - we didn't want to do our first gig until we were at the point where we'd be happy if anyone did happen to be there – and there is some good luck, too."

The industry plant discourse has latched onto many women-led projects in recent years, a symptom of longrunning misogyny, which is still very much present in many of the arts.

"It's sad because you'll see your male counterparts who actually do come from privilege – which is fine, privilege or no privilege, people are still entitled to make art and pursue music - but the witch hunt for them isn't the same.

It makes you want to go online and go, okay, here's my family tree. Here's my history. Why do you owe that to strangers on the internet?"

As they demonstrated during those three weeks spent back in lockdown, Ella and Katherine would be singing these songs regardless of who's watching. "Like anyone making music, you're not making it for something. It's

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a very selfish art, or at least it is for us," Katherine confirms. "We're making it in lockdown, just us two doing it ourselves - no one else is listening to it; it exists solely for our own entertainment and satisfaction. Everything we put out is to the void; you never know who or what is going to consume it. If there are people at the gig, that's great. Honestly, though? We'd do it either way."

The fact of the matter is, fans are now showing up. In the case of their recently-concluded sell-out UK stint supporting label mates The Last Dinner Party, sticky bar floors are rapidly filling with gig-goers curious to get an early look at the next big thing. Although Picture Parlour do enjoy revelling in the energy of their honeymoon period, recent feedback has them looking to the future.

"It's all good market research," the singer smirks. "Those shows were the first ones where we left the tour, and we know at least two songs we should definitely release. They're the ones that people clearly clicked with, which immediately indicates we're doing something well, so we steer into that.

We're starting with songs from a pocket of time I am fond and proud of, but then we just keep getting better and releasing better music – at least we got to show who we were at the beginning of it all."

As a strong vocalist and formidable frontwoman, too, Katherine inevitably seizes the bulk of a crowd's attention and with that comes the comparisons.

As a strong personality with unique storytelling abilities and a regional dialect, Alex Turner has become an obvious point of reference for fans, but that's about where the similarities begin and end.

"There are two sides to every coin, aren't there?" she considers. "The bottom line for me is that it's a massive compliment because Alex Turner is the leader of a generation for a whole lot of people musically. But yeah, it gets kind of tedious. I don't know; I'm still grappling with it. I've never had this before, being perceived by other people. I am a singular person doing my own thing. I'm a woman – why are you comparing women to their male counterparts?

"Someone yesterday said about me that if you like Alex Turner, you're going to like the new female version. Loads of people like Alex Turner, so if they're gonna like us by proxy, then great, that's cool, but I think there are so many more elements to what Picture Parlour is than just having a confident frontwoman with a Northern accent who croons."

Sharing that she's also just been told she sounds like Bon Jovi ("I don't know, people see different things in different people"), the one attribute that rings true across all those attempts at relation is an assured creative force delivering their vision with conviction.

Perhaps her years spent in football built up a resilience and determination to succeed? "It puts a fire in your belly,

so it's deffo shaped me," she supposes.

"The pitch prepared her for the stage," Ella interjects before the pair crease with laughter.

Once again, huge performative chops confront an intimate thematic on the recently arrived single number two, 'Judgement Day'. On first listen, it is a simple love letter, but it shows Picture Parlour continuing to open up more questions than answers with a context that only unfolded for Katherine much later.

"I feel like that's how you find the most out about yourself," she depicts of this conceivably signature style. "You're left with loads of questions about yourself that you have to fill in along the way. Every time someone asks, 'What's

this song about?' I can't answer right away because I write from an unknown space.

"With 'Judgement Day', I can look back now and realise that it reflects the queer experience. There are thoughts on being observed and feeling exposed, judged - all those things. Amongst all that, it's an unashamed, dramatic declaration of love. That was me saying, I don't care about any of it; this is a feeling that I've got, and it's valid and it's normal and it's vulnerable. At the time, it did just feel like a love song, but it's become much more than that. Words mean a million things at the same time."

A crystal clear sincerity permeates each word Katherine and Ella utter as their intertwining voices shimmer and

overlap throughout the conversation, bouncing the ball of chatter between them midsentence with affection and charm. Far from the smooth ride gifted to them from upon high, Picture Parlour are a band that, starting with their live shows, have grafted and collaborated for years to achieve more than they could ever have envisaged.

"Performance itself is an act," Katherine concludes. "It's an art. When something comes from a genuine place, it cuts through all the bullshit. That's what we've got, and that's why we've got a good shot at this. You can't deny that when we're stood on stage, we're giving it a good fucking go." They're confident, they're capable, and they're barely getting started. P READDORK.COM 73.

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Mary In The Junkyard are a vital part of the next wave of guitar brilliance from South London.

by Ali Shutler. photography Patrick Gunning. → "This band feels like the real deal,"

says Mary In The Junkyard's Saya Barbaglia, her voice dripping in sarcasm. She's been friends with vocalist Clari FreemanTaylor since the pair met as teenagers at a youth orchestra (playing viola and flute, respectively), while drummer David Addison met Clari in a previous project. "This feels more like we've accidentally formed a band of weird children," adds Clari.

"We're not clean-cut professionals. We're pretty grubby," she continues. Despite their broken instrument cases and a tendency to act like hyperactive kids whenever a camera is pointed their way, Mary In The Junkyard are the next great guitar band to come from the South London scene. Previous alumni include Shame, The Last Dinner Party and

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Black Midi.

Mary In The Junkyard played their first show last summer and have racked up over 50 gigs this year alone in London, including a stint as The Windmill's unofficial in-house support band. Away from the comfort of that venue, there have been busy, buzzy appearances at The Great Escape, Green Man and End Of The Road, with debut single 'Tuesday' finally being shared in October.

The "angry, weepy chaos rock" trio released 'Tuesday' first because, well, "It's huge," explains Saya. And it really is.

Flickering between ominous, ethereal folk and chunky, hypnotic rock, it's escapist, confrontational, and utterly bewitching.

"We wanted to make it fun to play," explains Clari of the switching genres. "Ever since we wrote it, we've been playing it last at the gigs," says Saya. "It always feels like a huge moment. It's a big release." It also leaves the door wide open for whatever comes next.

"I wrote it thinking about the city sky at night," continues Clari, reflecting on her move from the countryside of Hertfordshire to London. 'I wanted the song to float within that industrial environment."

"Whenever I write music, I'm definitely chasing a feeling," she says. "I'm always trying to seek out something that really hits me in the stomach." Alone, it takes her a

"THIS FEELS LIKE WE'VE ACCIDENTALLY FORMED A BAND OF WEIRD CHILDREN" C L A R I F R E E M A N -TAY LO R

long time to fine-tune that excitement, but it comes quicker when Mary In the Junkyard are together. "Then it's about searching for what energises us."

Earning a reputation for killer live shows without releasing any music might sound like a carefully curated plan to trade mystery for hype, but Mary In The Junkyard's delayed introduction to the world was really down to them not having any money to record. "Beyond that song, we don't have anything else ready to share with people," admits Clari, but they'll hopefully be spending the rest of 2023 rectifying that.

"Luckily 'Tuesday' is a meaty enough song to keep people going," says David. They're eager to record an album but have such a backlog of demos that an EP will probably come first, acting as a permanent snapshot of those early gigs.

"Playing so many shows has allowed us to really gain confidence in our music," says David, with Clari describing a typical Mary In The Junkyard gig as "sick" before admitting

the occasional one does go wrong. "We just get lost in our own little world," David continues. Channelling whatever emotion they're feeling in that moment through the songs is "therapeutic," according to Saya.

There's a lot of hard work that goes into Mary In The Junkyard, with the trio having to fit all the touring, practising and plans for new music around uni and day jobs. "If it wasn't fun, though, we wouldn't be doing it." Seeing the reaction from fans has also spurred them on. "It does feel like we're building this live culture," says Saya.

"It's becoming this exchange of giving and getting."

"It would be great if watching us play live or listening to our music made people feel free," Clari continues. "By doing this band, I hope people feel a bit more understood. It's okay to feel lost or confused," she says. "It's okay to be a flawed, strange human."

"The music is definitely wonky and weirdly shaped at times," adds David.

"Hopefully, people can embrace it." P

Divorce aren't trying to be cool, instead aiming for a much-needed dose of warmth and kindness.

by Finlay Holden. photography Patrick Gunning. → Nottingham-born, London-based quartet Divorce have crafted a fine balance

between alternative, country and grunge elements through their first year of releases, and with a second EP, 'Heady Metal', just now arriving, it is impressive how far they have come in so short a period.

With co-vocalists Tiger Cohen-Towel and Felix Mackenzie-Barrow coming straight in from their previous collaborative project Megatrain, much rejigging needed to be done in the wake of a forced reset. Adam Peter Smith and Kasper Sandstrøm were pulled in for guitar and drum duties respectfully, chosen as skilled friends from the local scene, and ever since, they've been together riding the waves of chaos with releases, festivals and tours.

"I think most bands have a pretty chaotic first year," Felix responds to the idea that things got hectic fairly quickly. "It has been nice how quickly people have got the music and how quickly a team's formed around us.

We've had a really nice amount of control over what we're doing."

That passionate team was shaped from the get-go as Divorce pestered interesting contacts via email, recruiting a manager and finding their first label in the most DIY way possible. "People who really engaged with it got involved, rather than it feeling like we've ever had to try and convince someone that it's worthwhile," Tiger adds. "Consistently, we've just taken that approach of finding the people who really love it. First and foremost, we want a shared vision with anyone we choose to have on our team, which is important to us all."

Fleshing out a space for the eclectic fourpiece to thrive as their own self-controlled entity was a priority when their members weren't sure how many more bands they could be a part of. Sustaining a creative spark is one challenge, but finding sufficient backing to make that your sole focus has proven to be an even bigger issue.

"We spent a long time experimenting in Megatrain and never really made it out of Nottingham," Felix admits. "The pandemic forced us to be a bit more real about stuff.

When you're faced with that much time not doing the one thing you love… I was seriously questioning how much longer I could keep doing music if I didn't give it a proper go. I think all of us were of a certain age where those kinds of life pressures come in; you see your friends starting to move their way off the rental market, or they settle down into proper jobs…"

So what makes Divorce stand apart from other projects from an internal perspective?

"That comes down a lot to our relationship as a four," Felix suggests. "Without being too wet, there is a huge amount of love. You have to love the people that you're working with in this world, and we're very lucky to do so."

A hunger or craving for the arts is truly a necessity in a world where everyone is fighting for your attention through one channel or another. The word "luck" has been thrown around a few times already, but no

"I'D QUITE LIKE TO SEE PEOPLE BEING KIND TO EACH OTHER" F E L I X M AC K E N Z I E - B A R R OW

band gains a career in music through divine intervention; "Not these days anyway; there isn't enough money in the industry side of it to spend resources on people who don't really want to be there," Felix states matterof-factly.

Debut single 'Services' immediately offered a fairly theatrical take on the mundane but foundational aspects of pursuing this lifestyle. As Tiger explains, "The song is about going from being an adolescent to being an adult and feeling quite trapped. It definitely came from trying to be a musician, and things sort of muddling along and not really progressing. That notion of being constantly on the move was comforting and made it easy to find some escapism from the shite jobs that I was doing."

Felix adds: "Newport Pagnell service station is always going to look pretty much like Newport Pagnell service station, no matter how messy the rest of your life is."

Unveiling a style born from "alt-country with slight moments of grunge and grittiness," that special take on a comingof-age tune set a trajectory that the band wouldn't follow too strictly, but it certainly hinted at the range of juxtaposing sonics and leanings for personal storytelling that would only widen later on.

Divorce's success with 2022's debut EP 'Get Mean' has since seen them get picked up by an imprint of major label EMI, but from checking out a few songs, you might think that Divorce are a fairly edgy entity aiming for something niche. On the contrary, there is an accessible element to their nature that allows crowds from any walk of life to jump in on the infectious joy on display.

"We're not trying to write songs with the intention of making people like them," Tiger interjects, "but we aren't trying to be edgy either. Sometimes that culture of cold coolness, slightly peacocking… I don't think any of us want to do that."

This recognisable air of appreciation is as far from the 'I don't give a shit' attitude as you could get. "People are looking for something a little different to the hyper-masculine, super uptight men making loud noise thing," Felix agrees. "A little more softness and warmth; maybe that is kind of in right now.

The world has been so consistently horrible

for a long time now, so I think people are like, I'd quite like to see people being kind to each other."

"Being a little cringe also means being

free," Tiger proposes. "There's been such a massive thing about being cringe lately. That has spread so far that doing harmonies could be seen as cringe. We're not Glee, but just being a bit less bothered about being a bit soppy and wet at times… it doesn't have to be a bad thing if it's done right."

Dodging around expectations with every word, Divorce have nothing set in stone, and make no promises about their upcoming moves. With two EPs down, the next logical step would be an album, but Divorce are clearly focused on discovering new sides to themselves. "Why not do that in an album?"

Felix teases. "The exploration continues!" P

READDORK.COM 75.

INCOMING. THE NEW RELEASES YOU NEED TO KNOW

WHAT DO THE SCORES MEAN? ★ Rubbish ★★ Not Great ★★★ Fair ★★★★ Good ★★★★★ Amazing

Spector

Here Come The Early Nights ★★★★

Pink Pantheress

Heaven knows ★★★★★ → When PinkPantheress' music started gaining traction online just a couple of years ago, it was immediately obvious how unique her talent was. A strikingly impressive ability to snag samples from 90s dance classics, 80s Michael Jackson, ambient electronic works and more, and turn them into her own brand of melancholy emo jungle soundbites captivated audiences and took over For You pages globally.

Her DIY attitude, shrouded in mystery and revelling in the confinement of her bedroom's four walls, brought her to 2021's mixtape 'To Hell With It', but it's her sheer creativity, consistency and promise that shines on debut album 'Heaven Knows'.

While her eclectic sound couldn't really be pinpointed, she initially stood out as a jungle, drum'n'bass and garage revivalist; that takes on a whole new life now. 'Heaven Knows' retains PinkPantheress' creative spirit but repackages it in a much slicker, Mura Masa-assisted production.

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Some tracks, like first offering 'Mosquito', are classically PinkPantheress, featuring a 2-step beat and UKG staples like record scratches, smashes and Spanish guitar a la Craig David. Some hang onto that rapid beat but merge it with a dramatic organ intro, a guitar solo and a verse from Afrobeats star Rema ('Another life') or warp it into something both more R&B, interpolating British dance-rap charttopper Example's 'Kickstarts' along the way ('Blue').

The more striking moments arrive when she ditches that almost altogether, though. The airy bubblegum rock of anthem 'True romance' captures teenage innocence (and hysteria) in a way we've never heard PinkPantheress before. Peppier and groovier, 'The aisle' with its darting synths and disco stabs is more dancefloor-ready than anything else here, then at the other end of the spectrum, 'Feelings' is a much darker club anthem in the album's final moments, and Kelela collaboration 'Bury me' offers something glitchy and sultry mid-way through.

Pulled together in an album format, we learn more about PinkPantheress on 'Heaven Knows' than was ever possible on individual track drops. Although the melodramatic lyricism has always been present in her music, the consistent use of death (and more specifically, dying for love) as a

subject matter here makes her My Chemical Romance influence ever clearer.

That theatrical lyricism can sometimes mean more stark tracks, like the frank commentary on a loved one's alcoholism in 'Feel complete', can fly under the radar. Other tracks like 'Blue' see her expand on the insecurities that kept her from revealing her face fully for the first year of her career, whereas 'Feelings' addresses her rapid rise to fame, and interlude 'Internet baby' hits back at the pressure stan culture puts on artists.

In the closing chapter, 'Capable of love' feels like the intentional end of the record. It's her longest song ever (at a whopping 3 minutes and 43 seconds) and features the most obvious nod to her emo favourites in its huge distorted crescendo, before the church bells at the end mirror the organ in track one, so it feels unnecessary to tack 'Boy's a liar Pt. 2', as wildly successful as it's been, on the end. It's the only part of 'Heaven Knows' that feels like an afterthought.

Still, the artists who can score such consistently viral hits and maintain their critical acclaim are few and far between, and for PinkPantheress to be of that calibre on her debut album is no mean feat.

An entirely limitless record, it's always been impossible to put a finger on what PinkPantheress' sound is, but on 'Heaven Knows', she blows the doors off. ABIGAIL FIRTH

→ After supply chain issues delayed 2022's aptly-titled 'Now or Whenever', new album 'Here Come the Early Nights' is another fitting title for Spector's latest record; it's a more reflective affair than the onslaught of bangers we've become accustomed to from the quartet, ruminating on the tension between the rock'n'roll lifestyle and the more adult concerns of fatherhood, property and balding. Musically, there's a more considered production featuring a lot of (previously unthinkable) acoustic guitar and laid-back drum beats, which give Fred Macpherson's trademark one-liners more room to breathe ("Who needs a surveillance state when he's got your location tracked," he smirks on the brilliant 'Driving Home for Halloween'). Having wrestled their destiny back into their own hands over the past 5 years, Spector have earned the right to change things up a little. DILLON EASTOE

University

Title Track EP ★★★★

→ Wailing distortion and thundering white noise is a fitting introduction for a band who describe their sound as "like getting punched in the face by a gorilla but then being cuddled afterwards". University's debut EP, 'Title Track' rumbles with a perfectly measured chaos. Hitting play is like being pushed straight into the middle of a raucous basement show full of flashing lights and thrashing bodies. 'Egypt Tune' explodes onto the scene with blown-out pupils and a skittish spitting energy. Lyrically standing between spoken and shouted word, the moments in between crackle with a barely restrained desperation. The sixminute closing track 'The History of Iron Maiden Pt.2' is multifaceted, with distinct yet intersecting chapters. Noise punk's most promising new band, it's clear that University truly enjoy what they do, throwing themselves head-first into their music and having fun while they do so. KELSEY MCCLURE

RECOMMENDED

RELEASES The albums out now you need to catch up on.

SIPHO.

Prayers & Paranoia ★★★★

→ Welcome to the tender, yet fierce world of SIPHO. With earthshattering vocals and big, booming drums, ‘PRAYERS & PARANOIA’ is a deliciously devastating work of art. The energy poured into this album runs like a live wire, creating a level of intensity few can master.

Bombay Bicycle Club

My Big Day ★★★★

→ Beloved indie darlings Bombay Bicycle Club are back with a beautiful bang. ‘My Big Day’ explores a more offbeat sound alongside the familiar, cosy indie-rock they are loved for. Endearing, dreamy, yet in places boisterous, it’s a welcome ray of sunshine.

Dream Nails

Doom Loop ★★★★

→ Dream Nails are back with their venomous second album, ‘Doom Loop’. On first listen, it might seem pretty depressing. Musically, it could fit into any of the previous five decades, carrying the swagger of 1970s punk and pairing it with lyrics deeply rooted in a queer, feminist struggle that is as needed now as it was then. It’s a timelessness that speaks to the band’s talent for social commentary. When you dig under the surface, though, hope and humour is the album’s lifeblood, cementing Dream Nails’ position as one of Britain’s brightest punk bands.

INCOMING

aespa

Drama ★★★

→ Arguably the most exciting girl group of their generation, aespa have every right to be opening their fourth EP with the line “I’m the drama”. It’s another explosive title-track in the group’s arsenal as they lead into the next phase of their ever-evolving story.

Where their other releases this year – spring EP ‘MY World’ and summer bop ‘Better Things’ – strayed slightly from aespa’s signature sound, ‘Drama’ flings us right back into it with its twitchy electronic instrumental and girl power lyrics. Unfortunately, ‘Drama’ falls slightly short in the ways second EP ‘Girls’ did, it feels less focused, losing its way (and some of the high concept aespa storyline) in the second half.

ABIGAIL FIRTH

O.

SLICE EP ★★★★★ → With what's probably one of the most exciting, experimental, and intense releases of the year, Speedy Wunderground duo O. demonstrate a level of musicianship which borders on the outrageous with their debut EP 'Slice' - a collection which is as unnerving as it is spectacular.

Consisting of drummer Tash Keary and baritone saxophonist Joseph Henwood, it's incredible how two people can create such a cacophony - but it's clear that there's no space for anyone else. The slow-building title track commands attention from the offset, with Henwood's ever-intensifying sax and Keary's frenzied drumming making for a crescendo which could easily fill a dancefloor.

Divorce

Heady Metal EP ★★★★

→ Change is something Divorce have taken in their stride as they divert from the character studies of their earlier works and instead embrace all the elements of being human on their new EP, 'Heady Metal'. There's vulnerability from the second the play button is pressed, with 'Sex on the Millenium Bridge' a gorgeous opener with its slowpaced melodies and lyrics about messing up and being held accountable. The four-piece may have shifted slightly away from what they know, but the overall message of embracing your humanity is never lost, and the signature elements of their discography, like jangly guitars, stay put throughout. MINTY SLATER-MEARNS

The unequivocal highlight of the EP, 'Moon', is aptly named - entailing soaring, spacey, sci-fi sounding sax which groans eerily over equally effects-laden drums. The track's production is also immense, and King Tubby's influence is unmistakable with all the dub elements which can be heard throughout. The fuzzy, gritty-sounding sax on 'Grouchy' could be confused with an overdriven guitar as it plays an unnervingly repetitive riff atop dubby drum beats, and sensory overload prevails in the 6-minute masterpiece of chaos, 'ATM'.

Perhaps best suited for a live show, 'ATM' signifies the frenetic climax of the EP. Drums eerily flit between thrashing and ticking like a clock, and the sax has moments of such intense distortion it's almost impossible to believe all the noises are actually coming from it.

'Slice' is a musical language of its own. It's a funky, perfectly ordered disorder, which feels on the brink of falling into total chaos at any given moment. Stellar. REBECCA KESTEVEN

Human Interest

EMPATHY LIVES IN OUTERSPACE ★★★★

→ One of East London's most exciting upcoming fits, Human Interest's trademark scuzzy rock'n'roll sound appears to have fully crystallised with the arrival of their second EP 'EMPATHY LIVES IN OUTERSPACE'. Adding yet more charm to their already-addictive discography, this six-track collection oozes cool and character, and entails some of their catchiest hooks to date.

Throughout, instrumentals create a warm sonic ambience that feels almost summery, like it could be a cosy accompaniment to the winter months. It's safe to say that for Human Interest, an exciting future awaits. REBECCA KESTEVEN

Bear's Den

White Magnolias ★★★★

→ Where Bear's Den 'First Loves' EP, released in June, was a longing for the heady days of young romance, the sequel 'White Magnolias' is an embittered look back at where it all went wrong.

The doe-eyed characters that the duo inhabit in 'First Loves' contrast greatly with the cantankerous minds of those portrayed here. It may not be a joyous project, but at no point is it bleak or hopeless; the EP is full of rise and fall, both in terms of sentiment and soundscape. As a standalone EP, 'White Magnolias' is a lamenting, cynical look at lost love. Pair it with 'First Loves', though, and it becomes a poised yet heartbreaking ending to what has been a very impressive year for Bear's Den. CIARAN PICKER

Oscar Scheller

Coming Of Age ★★★★

→ Dreamy, swirling pop deliciousness.

The latest release from Oscar Scheller is a beautiful, romantic pop album reminiscent of Y2K pop icons.

Listening has never been so easy as he floats through each celestial track, and Oscar's exceptional production skills shine throughout.

The shimmering 'Practice Run' is sugary and sweet, while 'CPR' takes a more reflective tone, and 'Hole In My Jeans' feels pixelated and precious, with a foray of layered synths. With 13 tracks, there is a lot for listeners to sink their teeth into. The bouncy, brash 'Nightmare Blunt Rotation' again extends Oscar Scheller's range.

'Coming Of Age' is an absolute delight, guaranteed to pierce hearts. EMMA QUIN

Palace

Part II – Nightmares & Ice Cream EP ★★★★

→ As the nights draw in and winter takes hold, we crave unctuous, laidback tunes to warm us up in the dark and the cold. Palace's newest EP, 'Part II – Nightmares and Ice Cream' brings just that. A sequel to their summer release 'Part I – When Everything Was Lost', their latest four-song selection takes over from where the first chapter left off, bringing bluesy swagger to the trio's usual indie-folk offerings. It's frankly wondrous; laid-back yet thoughtprovoking, laying bare both incredibly personal themes and beautifully adept musicianship. If you've ended your year as strongly as Palace have ended theirs, then you should be immensely proud.

CIARAN PICKER

COMING

SOON What’s out in the next few months you should have on your radar.

Marika Hackman Big Sigh

→ Singer, songwriter, multiinstrumentalist and producer Marika Hackman is opening the year with what will likely lofty statement alert - be one of the Albums Of The Year 2024.

Released 12th January 2024

Declan McKenna What Happened To The Beach?

→ Look who it is, Dork favourite and regular cover star, Declan McKenna, back with a new record and a whole lot of beach-themed goodness.

Seagulls. Pebbles. The sea.

Right up our street.

Released 9th February 2024

Yard Act

Where's My Utopia?

→ It seems like next year's albums are posing a bunch of big questions - what happened to the beach? Where's my utopia? Thankfully, Dork has answers for both - the seaside. Obviously.

Released 1st March 2024

Humour

A Small Crowd Gathered to Watch Me EP ★★★★

→ This tiny EP from Humour packs a powerful, poignant punch; it's a rollercoaster ride of beautiful misery. Sharp twisting vocals coil like barbed wire, around noisy, ceaseless riffage; each track ruthlessly moves forward with relentless force. Humour love to tell us a story; lead single 'Big Money' was inspired by the historical figure Carlos Fitzcarrald, a rubber baron from the 19th century. With melancholic bass tumbling in the background, 'Take A Look At My Tongue' meanwhile is outstanding, capturing bleak, raw emotion as Andreas Christodoulidis's bewitching vocals wail in fierce agony. This EP is post-punk at its absolute finest.

EMMA QUIN

Soft Lad

Give It A Go ★★★★

→ 90s pop has received something of a reputational rehabilitation, and nowhere is that clearer than in SOFT LAD's EP, 'Give It A Go'.

A walking tour of dating, relationships, and the unravelling thereof, 'The Human Condition' and 'Least Of My Worries' explore the guilt associated with being in love while you struggle to even like yourself sometimes. 'MUNA' is an eye-roll at people who get the ick and immediately dart, while 'Tell Me If You're Over Me' shows the frustration of someone sick of getting mixed signals. '365', though, is a love letter to SOFT LAD's fiancée.

As an ode to 90s/00s pop, this EP is pretty much faultless. CIARAN PICKER

SOFY

Chaos and Commotion ★★★★

→ With 'Chaos and Commotion', SOFY returns bigger, bolder and brasher than ever. She's always been blatantly honest, tumultuous and a deft hand at lifting your spirits, but these facts are truer than ever on her first mixtape. Opening track 'Yoyo' is a rocket launching, an announcement of her arrival as she returns with some of her slickest, confident tracks. There's no doubt that 'Chaos and Commotion' contains some of her best work yet, as SOFY does what she is best at – taking relatable, relevant scenarios and completely animating them. The bad and the ugly are definitely there, but it'd be a disservice to say the rest is just good – it's pure brilliance.

NEIVE MCCARTHY

READDORK.COM 77.

GET OUT. LIVE MUSIC, FROM THE FRONT

LOUIS TOMLINSON PULLS OUT ALL THE STOPS

THE 02, LONDON, 17 NOVEMBER 2023 At London’s O2 Arena, Louis has it all.

CMAT LIVES UP TO HER POP STAR DREAMS O2 SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE, 16 NOVEMBER 2023

Photo: Frances Beach.

The World's Greatest Pop Star is coming up big. → “My favourite musicians have always swung big,” CMAT told Dork earlier this year. After her 2022 debut album ‘If My Wife New I’d Be Dead’ made her a hometown hero, her second album ‘Crazymad, For Me’ dialled up the extravagance via a sprawling 12 tracks. Channelling iconic pop stars and intricate cult musicians, the jagged record explored a terrible sevenyear relationship with wit, humour, vulnerability and resolve. Tonight, at a very sold-out and suitably sparkly Shepherd’s Bush Empire, CMAT continues to take those big swings.

Early airings of ‘California’, ‘Whatever’s Inconvenient’ and ‘Vincent Kompany’ show off her range, with the new tracks pulling from the fringes of country, folk, pop and indie but twisting it into something far more instant while beloved classics like ‘Nashville’ and ‘2

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Wrecked 2 Care’ make perfect sense in these lush surroundings.

With a ribboned red curtain behind her and a four-piece band, there’s more than a hint of theatre to this CMAT show, especially when the centre of the stage is filled by a five-tier podium with a mirror on top. It’s lavish Las Vegas opulence, but CMAT bends it into something more intimate. She admits that tonight should be terrifying, but CMAT couldn’t look more comfortable embracing the front rows while singing ‘Can’t Make Up My Mind’.

Before CMAT can kickstart the encore with a pained ‘Rent’, a fan throws a Palestine flag onstage. Without thinking twice, she proudly holds it up before putting it centre stage. “There’s been a lot of political punk bands recently that have refused to do something as simple as that,” she explains, once the

applause has finally died down. “If you’ve known me for longer than the pop star stuff, you’ll know this is something I’m all about. I don’t think calling for a ceasefire should be controversial.” Later, she explains that ‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby’ is about “not having freedom, and desperately wanting it,” before a bristling ‘Stay For Something’ tries to find joy in the confusion and heartache.

CMAT has never shied away from silliness, and while tonight is littered with moments of unbridled glee, the entire 100-minute gig is a carefully curated show full of ambition. With one eye on the future and another on the cowboy-hat-wearing fanbase in front of her, tonight sees CMAT live up to every one of her pop star dreams while also creating a safe, vulnerable space – and finding time for her to pretend to be an aeroplane. ALI SHUTLER

→ “I’ve got these lot behind me, who the fuck is gonna stop us?” This question, asked by Louis Tomlinson moments after headlining his Away From Home festival for the first time two years ago, has become something of a mantra for his fans. It’s been shared on social media ad infinitum, worn on homemade merch, waved proudly on banners and signs, and shouted to the rafters at his concerts. Headlining a sold-out show at London’s O2 Arena, it seems clear that the answer to his question is that no one ever will.

From the moment he walks out on centre stage in front of his fans, Louis Tomlinson is at home – and his fans make themselves at home right along with him. Opening with ‘The Greatest’ – a song written for and about crowds and nights like tonight – it’s clear that stages like this one are where he belongs.

For tonight’s landmark show, he pulls out all the stops. A specially recorded video introduction? New and improved light shows? Pyrotechnics? A strings section on stage?! At London’s O2 Arena, Louis has it all. His dedication to making the night special is met by his fans in equal measure, using phone torches and synchronised apps to create light shows of their own.

A distinctive figure in trackies and a vest, Louis commands the room with ease. Playfully flipping fans off while singing, crouching down between songs to be closer to the people he’s talking to, he’s the star with his name in lights, but his show remains just as much about celebrating with the people that support him as it is about celebrating the music. “This might be the first time in my career where I have been under pressure tonight, and I feel fucking great about it,” he says.

“You don’t have that confidence onstage unless you know you’ve got the best fucking fans in the world. I never feel like I can find the words to ever truly thank you, but thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Restyling old songs to fit the sound he found for himself on his latest album (sir, we’re going to need a recording of ‘Back To You’ rock version ASAP) and giving a nod to his home county with a cover of fellow South Yorkshire sensations Arctic Monkeys between leading rapturous crowd singalongs to fan favourite hits, this is Louis Tomlinson at the top of his game.

“Look at what we’ve fucking done!” he yells to the room mid-set. The message, it seems, is clear: ain’t no one stopping Louis Tomlinson now. JESSICA GOODMAN

GET OUT

Photo: Frances Beach.

Photo: Patrick Gunning.

ICELAND AIRWAVES IS GENUINELY BABY QUEEN HITS SUPERSTAR SPECIAL STATUS

02 KENTISH TOWN FORUM, LONDON, 15 NOVEMBER 2023

FALL OUT BOY CELEBRATE WEIRDNESS

Stacked to the top, tonight is Baby Queen embracing pop star status in a way only she can.

THE 02, LONDON, 28 SEPTEMBER 2023

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

→ We know what you’re thinking: a pop-punk band relying on nostalgia? How original. But Fall Out Boy have always been more ambitious than that, and tonight’s show proves that time and again.

The band’s impressive, varied back catalogue has always been driven by a need for reinvention, but recent album ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ saw them finally take a moment to reflect and bring all those different elements together. On it, the urgency of their hardcore punk beginning sits neatly alongside grand moments of theatrical rock'n'roll and the need for community. It’s a celebration of the band and their refusal to do what’s expected.

Rather than leaning on their many breakout anthems, tonight is a showcase for how wonderfully weird Fall Out Boy are. They open with a big swing from each of their three eras – ‘Love From The Other Side’, ‘Sugar We’re Going Down’, ‘The Phoenix’ – before diving deep.

A trio of songs from 2003’s debut album ‘Take This To Your Grave’ are delivered under a lighting rig that makes the giant stage feel like a basement club, but the hammering tracks never feel out of place in the arena.

‘Bang The Doldrums’ and ‘Golden’ from ‘Infinity On High’ are played instead of ‘Hum Hallelujah’, ‘Folie A Deux”s ‘Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet’ is aired instead of ‘I Don’t Care’ or ‘America’s Suitehearts’. They might not be how FOB made it big, but these deliciously odd tracks are why they’re still so beloved.

The energy never dips either, with breakout anthems like ‘Thnks Fr The Mmrs’ getting the same

reaction as old skool deep cuts like ‘Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes’ and new album tracks ‘Fake Out’ and ‘What A Time To Be Alive’.

There’s a wonderful sense of fantasy to tonight’s show. A giant dog’s head appears at one point; there are bubbles and a rotating starfish, as well as a wise old oak tree. A Magic 8 ball is used to dictate part of the setlist, while Pete disappears into a piano after a moody ‘Baby Annihilation’ and appears at the over end of the venue for ‘Dance, Dance’. As well as being wonderfully entertaining, there’s a bigger purpose to this sense of wonder.

“A lot of ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ is about the monotony of the human existence as we trudge slowly to death, which is not that great to talk about,” admits Pete midway through their set. The other part of their latest record is about encouraging the part of you that “existed before you knew what the rules were,” he adds, reflecting on playing The Floor Is Lava as a kid and bending the rules at will.

“We don’t tell people that the stuff they make is fucking awesome. TikToks, bracelets, art, or just imagining being a football player, that’s incredible. The weirdness of [dreaming], and all of us being a little bit different but coming together, that’s very important,” he continues. Right on cue, a fan throws a handmade doll of Pete onto the stage that Andy quickly collects and hands to him.

“This is definitely strange, but in a good way,” he beams.

After years of wrestling with being outsiders, Fall Out Boy are now just proud of how weird they’ve always been. ALI SHUTLER

Photo: Patrick Gunning.

Fall Out Boy set out to roll back the clocks on Friday night at London’s O2 Arena.

→ It’s three songs into her headline night at London’s Kentish Town Forum, and Baby Queen is standing front and centre with her hands on her head, gazing across the huge room. Screams ring out, applause bounces around the room in what could possibly be her grandest pop star moment to date. “This has been the most insane and incomprehensible week of my life,” Bella Latham grins. “This is the crowd I always dreamed of playing to.”

Debut ‘Quarter Life Crisis’ plays out like a diary of teenage headiness and the realities of adulthood, and songs like ‘Dream Girl’ are sung back like a generational stamp. ’23’ is an assured whip of darkness meets sugar-sweet hits, and ‘every time i get high’ prowls and soars in equal measure. ‘Buzzkill’ bubbles across the room (there’s someone blowing bubbles in the middle of the crowd), while ‘Internet Religion’ finds bold new teeth as part of a slick and powerhouse show.

At its beating heart, though, is an artist who takes rawness and vulnerability and turns it into a superpower. The achingly real moment where Baby Queen stands centre stage to play ‘a letter to myself at 17’ and fans hold up signs saying “If only you knew your wildest dreams came true” takes the night to something altogether bigger.

From there, it’s a takeoff through ‘Raw Thoughts’, the dazzling earthquake stonker that is ‘i can’t get my shit together’ and the brilliance of ‘Dover Beach’.

Draped in gold, ‘Want Me’ and ‘we can be anything’ round out a night of celebration. “I think of the teenage version of myself looking at this now, and I don’t know what she would do,” Bella notes. Tonight is Baby Queen saying, bring on what’s next.

JAMIE MUIR

REYKJAVÍK, ICELAND, 2-4 NOVEMBER 2023

If you don’t want festival season to end in September, next year’s Iceland Airwaves may be the place for you. → In a crowded field of European festivals, Iceland Airwaves is both an outlier and an institution. Taking place in November in a country that’s not exactly renowned for tropical heat at the best of times, it’s necessarily an indoor affair.

Straddling venues, bars and even an art gallery in Reykjavik, it can feel a bit like a Scandinavian version of Brighton’s Great Escape – they even have the same massive seabirds prowling the harbour.

On day one, Yard Act are safely tucked away in the North Atlantic and debuting new album cuts in the cavernous hall of Reykjavik’s art museum. A band who have grown massively from the scrappy upstarts they were just a year or two ago, tonight feels like a real victory lap. ‘Dead Horse’ and ‘Dark Days’ sound absolutely huge, but also serve to show just how different album two is set to be, with new cuts delving far deeper into dance and rave music than anything they’ve done before.

With a well-warmed-up crowd, Bombay Bicycle Club show that six albums in, they’re still at the top of their game. It’s a set of old favourites coupled with cuts from brand new project ‘My Big Day’, with both received with equal joy.

Across the road from the art museum, Lime Garden are tearing the roof off of a tiny punk bar, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that they’d spent most of the day wandering around near a glacier outside Reykjavik. What we said earlier about this being an eclectic festival? We weren’t kidding – on the same stage after is Kneecap, a Belfast-based rap trio

who spend as much time rapping in Irish as they do in English.

Lyrics about Republicanism are juxtaposed with asides about fermented whale meat between songs, in what has to be the most chaotic show of the weekend.

Iceland Airwaves may have an incredible roster of international names, but that doesn’t come at the expense of homegrown talent.

All genres are represented across the weekend, from the beautifully understated music of Elen Hall to the ludicrous Eurodance of late-night party duo ClubDub. A particularly special moment is when Nanna from Of Monsters and Men brings out multi-instrumentalist Ólafur Arnalds during her set in Fríkirkjan, a church by a lake in the centre of town.

Arguably the biggest Icelandic act of the weekend, though, is Daði Freyr. Known for his Eurovision performances, Daði’s set steps out of the song contest’s shadow with electronic bangers from his latest LP ‘I Made an Album’, backed by a stage set up consisting of a huge inflatable of his own head. It’s great fun from an artist who clearly knows that putting on a good show should be the number one priority.

Flying a load of bands to a country just south of the Arctic Circle in November sounds like a recipe for festival disaster, especially when a pint can easily set you back a tenner. Iceland Airwaves manages to make a virtue of this isolation, though, with each show feeling genuinely special. If you don’t want festival season to end in September, next year’s may be the place for you. JAKE HAWKES

READDORK.COM 79.

GET OUT

Photo: Patrick Gunning.

THE JAPANESE HOUSE IS INCOMPARABLE HERE AT OUTERNET, LONDON, 23 OCTOBER 2023

BLINK-182 OFFER UP A GIDDY, JOYOUS EVENING

The Japanese House feels born for this stage of her career.

THE 02, LONDON, 12 OCTOBER 2023

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if I wanted to keep on living,” says Mark with surprising directness.

He goes on to explain that singing about those feelings saved his life. “A few years ago, I was in chemotherapy for stage 4 cancer,” he continues. The treatment was a success, but Mark still felt “empty and shitty” until Blink-182 started writing new music and touring again. “This band and all of you are saving my life a second time,” he admits.

It’s perhaps the first time in Blink’s career that they’ve really broken through their goofy exterior and highlighted the emotional weight that underpins a lot of their music. It continues on new song ‘One More Time’, the title-track to their new album, which closes out the night. The brooding song sees the band reflect on their turbulent history but focuses on celebrating the now, while fellow newies ‘Edging’, ‘Dance With Me’ and ‘More Than You’ take the familiar into vibrant new directions.

There’s a powerful sense of comfort throughout the night. Mark blindfolds Travis while he’s halfway through the rumbling ‘Violence’, Tom is teased for quitting the band but is also celebrated for his work investigating UFOs (“he was right”) while the setlist confidently rattles between the tightly wound punk numbers that started their careers and the sprawling arena anthems that followed, with covers of The Ramones and Taylor Swift thrown in for good measure. It’s a giddy, joyous evening that feels optimistic and communal. ALI SHUTLER

Photo: Patrick Gunning.

→ “No one can do what we do,” declares Blink-182's Tom DeLonge onstage at London’s O2 Arena.

It might be said with a smirk, but there’s a whole lot of truth behind that bold statement. There were pop-punk bands before them, but the trio really nailed the formula of angsty teenage rebellion and huge, radio-friendly hooks with 1999’s ‘Enema Of The State’ and 2001’s ‘Take Off Your Pants And Jacket’.

But Blink-182 were always so much more than dick jokes, which is why their music still connects beyond wide-eyed nostalgia and why there’s so much excitement around the reunion of the classic line-up. Tonight, Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom take to the stage for the second of two very sold-out shows at London O2’s Arena as part of a very sold-out world tour. They open with ‘Anthem Part Two’, a frustrated anthem about being let down by those in charge and feeling helpless to impact meaningful change. Over twenty years later, it’s as relevant as ever. The answer? Snotty, guitardriven catharsis.

As you’d expect from a Blink-182 gig, there’s plenty of onstage banter between Mark and Tom while Travis holds it down at the back with a grinning flamboyance.

Rather than trying to prove they’re the same goofy kids they’ve always been, though, the pair seem more interested in trying to put one another off.

Things shift ahead of ‘Adam’s Song’ though. “I wrote this song a long time ago when I wasn’t sure

VILLAGE UNDERGROUND, LONDON, 17 OCTOBER 2023 If they sound an awful lot like IDLES, it’s probably because they are… → It’s been seven years since 5 Seconds Of Summer last played The O2. In 2016, they were a very different band and have undergone quite a transformation on the journey back to the top.

Who are TANGK? Filling Village Underground to the rafters with no music to their name may be a bold move, but you never quite know what may happen in London’s buzziest venues. Any expectat…

Okay, fine, it’s IDLES. Dropping hints yet not making things wildly obvious is certainly an achievement, but for eagereyed fans, tonight is the start of a new chapter – a left turn that acts as the perfect reset for a band who’ve done it all. Having grafted their way to the top, after all the adulation and acclaim, what do IDLES do next? Taking to the stage as TANGK for a secret show at Village Underground, they answer that question clearly, setting up what could end up as their greatest era to date.

Opening track ‘Gratitude’ immediately sweeps away any preconceptions. It’s a brand new number that takes crooning swagger and turns it into dancepunk discos. A natural next step from previous album ‘Crawler’, it’s a vibrantly fresh path. If that record opened the door, then new album ‘TANGK’ is blasting it down, surging with a newfound hunger. Moody, fizzing, distorted guitars and a bouncing heartbeat of electronica and dance, it sets the tone for a set that both promises the new and still finds room to run through the band’s greatest hits. “I, for one, hate new music and love hearing the old

stuff,” jokes frontman Joe Talbot.

With only one UK show to refer to this year (supporting Jamie T in Finsbury Park, no less), it feels like a homecoming that’s made the heart grow even fonder.

Time away clearly has been met with a firecracker response. ‘Mr Motivator’ is jubilant. ‘I’m Scum’ erupts in every direction possible.

‘Grounds’ roars to life and drowns out any naysayers. ‘Crawl!’, ‘Mother’ and the hypnotic ‘Car Crash’ are like bulldozers ripping through anything in their path. Tonight serves as the ultimate reminder of IDLES’ brilliance live, matching the ferocious with the unflinchingly honest and vulnerable.

Before ‘The Beachland Ballroom’, frontman Joe explains how important nights like this are.

Shining in the darkest moment, it seems almost a cliche at this point to state IDLES’ importance to so many, but just two minutes standing in the heart of Village Underground tonight is enough for that to ring true. ‘Dancer’ is given its live debut (minus the recording version’s assist from James Murphy and Nancy Wang LCD Soundsystem) and immediately feels like a shot in the arm. A perfect bridge between chapters, it fuses dance and ripping hooks for something impossible to resist.

With ‘Never Fight A Man With A Perm’, ‘Danny Nedelko’ and ‘Rottweiler’ putting yet another exclamation point on the evening, it proves that IDLES aren’t comfortable with resting on their laurels. They ain’t done yet, in fact – they’re just getting started.

JAMIE MUIR

Photo: Nicole Osrin.

Photo: Frances Beach.

Back in their prime form and with a new album for good measure, Blink are back at the top of their game.

→ Since those early days of mysterious buzz and word-ofmouth gigs where cramming in the back of the room would be lucky, Amber Bain has cut through the noise. Firmly planting herself at the heart of something truly unique, there’s a steadfast dedication to turning everyday emotion into glorious alternative pop that jumps between the dreamy and direct.

With ‘In The End It Always Does’, The Japanese House has a stall to take on the world, and judging by the sold-out confines of HERE at Outernet tonight in the heart of London, one thing is clear: The Japanese House is incomparable.

With the freedom to delve across a rich catalogue, there’s a sense of letting loose. It’s panoramic in ambition and cult classic in emotional connection.

‘Sad To Breathe’ and the electric pop hooks of ‘Touching Myself’ set the course for an evening of grandstand moments and gutpunching rawness. A set doused in sprinkles of magic, the likes of ‘Follow My Girl’, ‘Saw You In A Dream’, ‘You Seemed So Happy’ and ‘Maybe You’re The Reason’ perfectly mix with ‘Morning Pages’, ‘Friends’, ‘Over There’ and ‘Baby goes again’ for a set that sees Amber thrives; The Japanese House feels born for this stage of her career.

Whether it’s ‘Something Has To Change’ punching to new levels or the swirling embrace from ‘Boyhood’, tonight at her biggest headline show to date, The Japanese House affirms a refreshing new chapter. ‘Worms’ effortlessly bubbles into a gripping ‘Chewing Cotton Wool’ and surging ‘Dionne’ before a defining moment comes in the encore. Stepping out behind the keys for ‘one for sorrow, two for Joni Jones’ as the spotlight shines across the room, it’s a goosebump-inducing moment for an artist reaching jawdropping heights.

As ‘Sunshine Baby’ rings out, one statement remains defiant: comparisons are impossible when it comes to The Japanese House. JAMIE MUIR

'TANGK' OFFER UP A NIGHT OF SURPRISES

GET OUT

LAUREN MAYBERRY WIELDS POP AS A WEAPON KOKO, LONDON, 9 OCTOBER 2023

This feels like the start of something special.

Photo: Frances Beach.

→ CHVRCHES have been making scrappy punk disguised as pop for over a decade. Driven by cinematic ambition, full of shiny synths but always with an underlying grit, the three-piece have bounced between worlds but never really settled.

And before that, Lauren Mayberry spent her teenage years drumming in various local Glaswegian groups. As she explains onstage at KOKO, “I’ve never been in a band that would let me cover The Spice Girls” – which is where her new solo project comes into play.

Described as her “fun, freaky, sad, weird, joyful pop playground”, tonight’s show at KOKO starts with a dose of melancholic Hollywood glamour as Liza Minelli’s ‘Maybe This Time’ plays through the venue’s PA system before Lauren makes the sort of grand entrance usually reserved for West End musicals. Kicking straight into the pulsating, guitar-driven ‘Bird’, that glittering sheen is quickly

twisted into something with a little more bite.

From there, the show regularly flickers between fury and freespirited fun. There’s deliberate choreography but also several spoken-word interludes that ask questions about the expectations behind it. The closest Lauren comes to her day job in CHVRCHES is “depressing banger” ‘Under The Knife’, while covers of Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’ and Spice Girls’ wistful ‘Viva Forever’ feel like a deliberate sidestep from what’s come before.

Despite the eclectic styles, there’s a clear vision running through the show. It’s familiar, but this first glimpse at Lauren’s solo project also sees her confidently breaking new ground. Wielding pop as a weapon, there’s gnarled joy behind the rage and the release that underlines every glorious high of the set. This feels like the start of something special. ALI SHUTLER

THE LAST DINNER PARTY AND PICTURE PARLOUR DESERVE THE HYPE THE 02, LONDON, 2 OCTOBER 2023

it’s with the crooning pull of latest cut ‘Judgement Day’ (just over 24 hours old) or the swinging finale of ‘Norwegian Wood’.

Transfixed would be an understatement for how EartH feels from the moment The Last Dinner Party take the stage, and the result is yet another elevation into the theatrical and star-studded tapestry they’re painting their masterpiece on.

Tracks jump from soaring ballads – including standout ‘Beautiful Boy’ – to bubbling pop-soaked hits, feeling like the moment when they evolve to a whole new level. A spinning ‘Nothing Matters’ ends a show where ambition is a way of life.

With The Last Dinner Party and Picture Parlour, the era of the blockbuster show is back, and we’re all getting front-row seats. JAMIE MUIR

AATMA, MANCHESTER, 13 OCTOBER 2023 Your friendly neighbourhood Dorks are along for the party → Manchester. One of the world’s most influential music cities has had its fair show of landmark moments, and it’s the perfect home for Beyond The Music. Not just a fresh new music festival, there's also a conference focussing on the future of the industry - and Dork's along for the party, taking over the graffiti-soaked Aatma.

Arriving in a wall of scuzz, CHALK are a riotous ball of whipping punk energy. Calling to mind the distorting world of Gilla Band, it’s an in-your-face riot that, even before 5pm on a Friday, is kickstarting the weekend like few can.

Junodream‘s spectral and cinematic sound meanwhile acts as a comforting embrace, while Cody Frost‘s big-time alt-pop energy takes Aatma to every corner of the alternative.

Manta‘s cocktail of genres sits as a crowd-pleasing jolt in the arm, and when Frozemode arrive, Beyond The Music is lifted to another level of hype.

Chiming explosive raps across heavy drops, fizzing live energy and more – they take the stage like a Premier League team with one thing on their mind: taking over. After, a palpable buzz emanates from Talk Show from the moment they take to the stage. A band who’ve evolved with each step into a bonafide force, live they take a sledgehammer to everything you’ve known or seen before.

It falls to Daytime TV to put a bow on the very first Dork showcase at Beyond The Music, and they grab that grandstand moment with ease. Harmonies blend, hooks ring out, and a swagger of showmanship is front and centre. Bringing together artists pushing at the fabric of genre, it’s the music that truly soundtracks these streets. JAMIE MUIR

READDORK.COM 81.

Photo: Patrick Gunning.

Photo: Patrick Gunning.

The era of the blockbuster show is back. → If there were an award for the venue in London giving off the most buzzy energy, then tonight it would go to EartH in Hackney. As the rain slams down, its downstairs hall serves as a ‘have to be there’ melting pot of two bands blazing a trail. With each show that’s gone by, The Last Dinner Party have taken another step up, and tonight’s mood is one of searing ambition.

That expectation also sizzles off of Picture Parlour from the first note. Taking bigger stages with ease, it secures the idea that here is a band on their way to glorious cinematic screenings. Much like The Last Dinner Party, the consistent and quick-fire evolution that comes with each gig is there for all to see.

Oozing with confidence and swagger, Picture Parlour seize attention and blow people’s socks off, whether

BEYOND THE MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS THE ARTISTS SET TO SEIZE 2024 AND BEYOND

ANY FESTIVE QUESTIONS?

MIMI WEBB Yes, Dear Reader. We enjoy

those ‘in depth’ interviews as

much as anyone else. But - BUT - we also enjoy the lighter side of music, too. We simply cannot go on any longer without knowing that MIMI WEBB really, really, really likes pigs in blankets?

What did you last dream about?

I had a dream about releasing my Christmas song; I'm just so nervous and excited about it. Whenever I'm about to put something new out, I start having very stressful dreams about it.

Do you have a favourite Christmas movie, and if so, which one is it?

Love Actually; it's just perfect. Living in London, it really helps you get into the spirit.

Who were you in your school's nativity play?

I was an angel.

Do you have any homemade Christmas decorations?

I love getting all my friends together at Christmas to drink some wine and decorate the flat, and we always end up doing some DIY decorations.

What do you always have in your refrigerator during Christmas?

Champagne and pigs in blankets - I LOVE them, a classic Christmas staple.

If you could choose anyone in the world to do a Secret Santa with, who would you pick, and what would you get them?

Kendall Jenner. She's a horse girl like me, so I would get her something for her horse.

What's the weirdest Christmas gift you've ever received?

A very odd board game that I could never work out how to play.

If you were tasked with creating a new holiday tradition, what would it be, and how would you convince others to adopt it?

I volunteered at a soup kitchen recently, and it was amazing, no doubt something I will do every year. It was a really rewarding experience, but I also loved hearing the people's stories and spending time with them. I think everyone should do it, especially around the holidays.

What would you most like to find in your Christmas stocking?

Lots of sweets and chocolate. I have a very sweet tooth.

82. DORK

If you were to design your own ugly Christmas jumper, what would it look like?

It will have a reindeer, for sure. And lots of pink and glitter. It would have to be so over the top and sparkly.

What's your idea of the perfect Christmas morning breakfast?

A full English breakfast cooked by my amazing mum, with mimosas, of course.

If you could time travel, which historical era would you like to spend Christmas in?

I am from Canterbury, which has such a rich history, so I will probably go back to the Tudor times and see how Canterbury looked then.

What's the best part of a Christmas dinner?

I love pigs in blankets.

If you had to hide a present so nobody ever found it, where would you hide it?

Inside one of my shoes.

When was the last time you were late, and what was your excuse?

I was late to see the November fireworks with my friends. I had a classic London excuse, "My travel plans didn't work out".

Santa's reindeer are on vacation, and you need to choose new animals to pull his sleigh. Which animals would you pick, and why?

Horses. They could probably do a better job than reindeers, and they are cuter.

What do you put on the top of your Christmas tree?

An angel I made in school when I was a kid.

What's the best thing to find in a Christmas cracker?

The jokes.

What's your stance on regifting, and have you ever done it?

I think if someone goes through the trouble of getting something for you, even if you don't like it, you should appreciate the gesture and cherish what they gave you.

If you could invite any three fictional characters to your Christmas dinner, who would they be, and what would you serve them?

Harry Potter, Frodo and Edward Cullen.

They all look like they could do with a nice Sunday roast.

Why are you like this?

Why not?

Mimi Webb's single 'Back Home For Christmas' is out now.

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