Dork, October 2021 by Dork

DOWN WITH BORING.

ISSUE 59 · OCTOBER 2021 · READDORK.COM

NiNE8. The Vaccines. Spector. Amyl & the Sniffers. plus 'loads more'

SAM FENDER. Hometown hero.

1 of 8 stages at Long Division 2021 Tickets available now at: longdivisionfestival.co.uk

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1 0 SE PT 2

Low Hummer BDRMM The Lounge Society Georgia Meek knuckle Home Counties In The Morning Lights Mayshe Mayshe 25 September

We proudly present our first collaboration, a new artist stage at Long Division Festival 2021.

Long Division, the long-standing and award-winning music festival and Tileyard North, the new creative destination of the North and the UK’s largest creative community outside of London.

ACCE

£30+BF

A brand new partnership in Wakefield:

Index. Issue 59 | October 2021 | readdork.com | Down With Boring

WHAT'S ON THE DORK STEREO? CHARLI XCX Good Ones

How many times is too many to listen to one pop banger? Because, being honest, since this dropped I'm not sure I've listened to anything else. Was on repeat for the first 24 hours. All that pop potential, finally realised. Fully obsessed. STEPHEN ACKROYD, EDITOR

DRY CLEANING New Long Leg

I don’t think I’ve ever had anything dry cleaned, although I did once go into the dry cleaners to get a jacket mended. I do find myself coming back to ‘New Long Leg’ by the band Dry Cleaning though, and ‘John Wick’ is one of the best tracks on a stellar album – one of the few songs to properly critique Antiques Roadshow, and all the better for it. JAKE HAWKES,

DOWN WITH BORING HOST

readdork.com

USUALLY, READING & LEEDS weekend is a landmark point in the UK music scene’s calendar. Coming at the end of August, it means that festival season is wrapping up. That all-important ‘Q4’ is on the horizon. Everyone needs to start thinking about how and when they’re going to start putting together those end of year best-ofs and new act tip lists. But 2021 is an odd year. After the constant Covid-related delays and cancellations, we only just feel to have started our usual summer activities. Some of the festivals that usually kick off our season will only take place this October, while others won’t happen at all. Release schedules are in tatters as confused artists, labels and managers try to work out which of the usual strategies will even work at a point where every single act on the planet has a lockdown album and needs to get touring at the same time. New talent hasn’t been able to prove themselves in the live arena. Some have more pre-debut album EP releases over the last 18 months than they appear to have actual real-life fans. There’s a lot to untangle. Still, normality has to start somewhere - and the return of Sam Fender suggests that nature is healing. Quite literally, really. Before the lockdowns our Sam was forced to pull shows due to illness, stopping him from fully getting the victory lap his smash hit debut album so richly deserved. The fact that followup ‘Seventeen Going Under’ sees him back in full-blooded voice, smashing out of the park once more is as heart-swellingly brilliant as the wailing sax solos scattered throughout. That’s why we’re delighted to welcome him back to the cover of Dork for the second time. What a champ.

COLDPLAY

DOWN WITH BORING HOST

FIDLAR

Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jamie Muir, Martyn Young Scribblers Abigail Firth, Alex Brzezicka, Alex Cabré, Dan Harrison, Connor Fenton, Dillon Eastoe, Edie McQueen, Felicity Newton, Finlay Holden, Jake Hawkes, Jamie MacMillan, Jasleen Dhindsa, Josh Williams, Liam Konemann, Melissa Darragh, Neive McCarthy, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Bedroom, Breyona Holt, Daniela Monteiro, Frances Beach, Frank Fieber, Jamie MacMillan, Jamie Wdziekonski, Patrick Gunning, Sarah Louise Bennett, Seren Carys , Shy Louise

PUBLISHED FROM WELCOMETOTHEBUNKER.COM

Live In Buenos Aires

I don’t know if it’s something to do with the return of big ‘ol festivals but hearing Chris Martin speak fluent Spanish and sing massive songs to stadiums is getting me weirdly emotional. Actually, it’s probably looking at my bank balance after spending way too long at Reading. Yeah thinking about it, it’s definitely that. Nonetheless, Coldplay have some absolute bangers and I would like huge stadium shows back asap pls. JAMIE MUIR,

Editor Stephen Ackroyd

UNIT 10, 23 GRANGE ROAD, HASTINGS, TN34 2RL

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.

‘Editor’ @stephenackroyd

Too

Great for drowning out Coldplay. SAM TAYLOR, WRITER

GET EARLY ACCESS, OUR DIGITAL LIBRARY, EVERY ISSUE OF THE MAGAZINE *AND* HELP SUPPORT OUR QUEST FOR MAXIMUM POP NONSENSE!

This Month. #59. OCTOBER 2021.

What's inside is more than just Sam.

08 Intro 26 Hype 34 Features 60 Incoming

08.

26.

Willow Kayne

Alt-pop newcomer - and Ivor Novello nominee - Willow Kayne delivers uncompromising takedowns and high-energy bops.

Reading 2021

After a year off for 'reasons', Reading Festival is back. Bands! Bangers! Big fluffy genitalia that dances! Standard.

42.

28.

Evann McIntosh

Teen up-and-comer Evann McIntosh is both prolific and has a formidable hit rate for playful, R&B and funk-infused smooth pop hits.

NiNE8

30.

Building their own universe NiNE8 are looking firmly to the future. We Meet the hottest new gang on the block to find out more

Northern Irish trio Cherym have turned their 'fun' dial up to 11 with high-energy pop-punk tunes that wouldn't be out of place on the best 90s-00s teens flick.

Spector

Cherym

50.

Six years is a long way to wait between albums. Not that Spector haven't been busy in the meantime. We catch up with the indie poster boys who never quit.

31.

SEB

Lo-fi popster SEB has arrived with his debut EP, 'IT'S OKAY, WE'RE DREAMING'. It's "the first act to this whole journey," he explains.

54.

The Vaccines

32.

It's been a big year for vaccines, so with that joke out of the way, we can all concentrate on their Actually Very Good new album 'Back In Love City', right?

ericdoa

Loads of acts claim to sound like the future, but 18-year-old up-and-coming ericdoa could well be it.

58.

48.

Amyl & The Sniffers

Tommy Genesis

Self-described "fetish rapper" Tommy Genesis is breaking into the unknown with her new album, 'goldilocks x'.

Down With Boring. 4. DORK

With their debut album, Amyl & The Sniffers demanded attention. The follow up is coming in no less quietly.

ASHNIKKO SPORTS TEAM MAISIE PETERS DECLAN MCKENNA HOLLY HUMBERSTONE SHAME BABY QUEEN INHALER CMAT EVERYTHING EVERYTHING CLAUD BLACK HONEY TOM GRENNAN GOAT GIRL SPECTOR THE AMAZONS ALFIE TEMPLEMAN THE WOMBATS

NEW MUSIC, STAR GUESTS AND 'MORE' - EVERY MONDAY AT 8PM BST. DORK RADIO. SEARCH DORKCAST AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST NOW.

34. COVER STORY

Sam Fender He might have smashed all expectations with his Really Very Big debut album 'Hypersonic Missiles', but Sam Fender is still that same old hometown hero at heart.

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PHOTOS FROM THE FRONT LINES.

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Girl in Red dives into Reading 2021 ORGANISED MAYHEM. THAT'S what Reading does better than anyone. Returning after a Covid-19 enforced year off in 2020, reworked with two main stages and a more domestic orientated line-up - the biggest festival of the summer proved just what we've been missing. With a standout headline set on the Festival Republic Stage to close down the weekend, Girl In Red made sure things went out with style. While most wait until the end of their show to get up close and personal with the fans, Marie was headfirst into the front rows by the first chorus of her opening song. Have to respect that energy. If that's not enough Reading 2021 action for you, rejoice - turn the page and delve deep into our full report. PHOTO: Patrick Gunning.

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Intro. THE BEATING HEART OF POP.

8. DORK

Back To The Future

WORDS: Ali Shutler, Finlay Holden, Jake Hawkes, Liam Konemann. PHOTOGRAPHY: Frances Beach, Jamie MacMillan, Patrick Gunning.

There have been times over the last year when we’ve wondered if Reading 2021 would even happen. As new variants threatened the coronavirus pandemic would deny us a second straight festival season, the August Bank Holiday bash and its optimistically international line-up never wavered in its confidence. Still, from outside, it occasionally seemed it would take a miracle to pull off. Turns out miracles do happen. Though the line-up shifted considerably in the final few weeks – some chiefly US acts forced to pull out, replaced mainly by domestic talent – this is very much Reading Festival as we know it. To many, the gateway for years to come spent stood in fields, watching bands. For others, an annual event always ringed on the calendar. For bands, a vital and essential part of their journey. We missed it more than we thought. Who knew?

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Reading 2021

FRIDAY Dublin’s finest indierockers Inhaler make a triumphant return to the festival circuit to show off their chart-topping album on Reading’s Main Stage East, proving the 4 Irish lads possess

more than enough live presence for one of the biggest crowds of this summer so far. Starting with title track ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’, the set unfolds magnificently

as outstanding vocals, throbbing bass and addictive riffs come effortlessly. ‘Totally’ in particular brings forth some serious and understated groove; Rob Keating’s elegant harmonic howling from the sidelines almost threatening to steal frontman Eli Hewson’s limelight. Inhaler continue to cement their

charm – a band somehow more than the sum of their already very special parts. Are you ‘Ready For More’? Indie lives, baby. Galloping onto the Main Stage West, the sonic Sea Girls prove that much. Dressed in white, singer Henry Camamile looks like the symbol for new life after a long, long drought. And isn’t

↓ SPORTS TEAM Main Stage West, Friday. Photo: Patrick Gunning.

INTERVIEW

REPORT

Sports Team: Great band, awful at blimps Write a phone number on a giant inflatable. Lose said phone before show. Indie's most chaotic force may be on brand, but they're also brilliant. How do you celebrate graduating to the Reading main stage? If you’re Sports Team, you hire a blimp, write a mobile number on the side of it which doesn’t actually work, then stick it in front of one of the main screens. It’s definitely ‘a look’, especially when combined with Alex Rice’s clip-on bowtie and dungarees. Walking on to ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’, the band don’t waste time, slamming straight into opener ‘Fishing’ – only trouble is, the guitars are completely inaudible. After a few minutes of giving Oli Dewdney’s bass some time to shine, the sound is finally sorted and the party can begin in earnest. The crowd alternate between mosh pits, crowd surfers and sitting on the ground pretending to row a big boat

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(because of course). Throughout the set it’s clear that Sports Team have absolutely earned their spot, with the contrast in crowd size and energy compared to 2019’s set on the Festival Republic stage a sight to behold. Ben Mack’s hair has also had an upgrade, half dyed blonde, half black, with an orange

stripe down the middle. New track ‘God’s Own Country’ leads into early hit ‘Margate’, with Alex pulling out a harmonica for the latter and somehow avoiding alienating half of the crowd in the process. By the time ‘The Races’ rolls around he’s going one better, crawling around on the stage as if he’s at

an ill-fated fashion shoot, pulling down a strap of his dungarees to reveal a nipple, despite the pre-watershed timeslot. “I’m going to try something different and play guitar,” he says between tracks, taking Rob’s guitar and immediately being told it’s out of tune. That’s that plan scrapped then. Instead the double whammy of ‘Kutcher’ and ‘Stanton’ follow, with Rice climbing amp stacks, spinning the mic stand and leaping into the crowd. As he’s buoyed back to the front on a sea of hands wearing an Elmo bucket hat someone has given him, the set comes to a close. Alex often claims that Sports Team are ‘the best live band in the world’. Much as we hate to see him proved right, today’s set was pretty bloody special. P

Ashnikko and the Psychedelic Pussy Bears Who else but Ashnikko would show up to a festival with gigantic walking, dancing genitalia. Insert your own Catfish and the Bottlemen joke here, yeah? How's your day been so far? How are you enjoying Reading? I've been in the makeup chair for like four or five hours. It's been a lot. What's the name of your vulva bear? I'm still spitballing here. I don't really know. I'm kind of leaning towards the Psychedelic Pussy Bear. You got any ideas? James? James is a good name. Something that makes it seem like it's not going to be a giant vulva bear, for maximum impact. Like a Greg... It's supposed to be a little ambiguous. Is it a pussy? Is it a flower? Very O'Keefe. Very psychedelic. It's not a very functional costume, not gonna lie. I feel bad for the person in there. Will the giant vulva bear be joining you onstage? Absolutely. Full choreo, so good luck to them. How does it feel being in the UK, actually playing shows? Weird, really weird. I just did a TV interview, and I was like, I don't know what to do with my hands, y'know? It's super, though; I'm so happy to be here. I'm addicted to performing.

Not performing and not having a crowd interaction is a pretty weird experience as a musician. I'm not complaining. I've been safe and well these past two years, but it has been weird to be putting out music and not actually know what people are thinking. Reading about it online is kinda soul-destroying. Only having likes and views as the metric to show me what people are thinking is soul-destroying. I don't want that. Finally getting a crowd reaction, does that change your perspective on what you're doing? Yeah, it makes it a lot easier to deal with haters. Like, suck my scrotum, we are fine. It makes it all worth it. It's been so insufferable having to talk to a record label when everyone is just in their house. Everyone gets so antsy and like, 'Ohhhh, what's going to happen?' 'How's it performing?' Like, shut up. Are these some of the first festivals you've ever done? Back in the day, when I was a little baby artist, I played some festivals in really bad time slots. Like, 20 people showing up. I've done the rounds. I've been making music for like 10 years. These are my first big kid shows. It must be confidenceboosting as well? Yeah, I'm so excited. I'm going on tour in October, and that's gonna be wild. The pussy bears will be there. There'll be a lot of tentacles, maybe some blood. P

↓ DECLAN MCKENNA Main Stage East, Friday. Photo: Jamie MacMillan.

it great to be back? Bringing new track ‘Sick’ out for a festival run-around, the band give us a tasty preview of their upcoming album, alongside old favourites like ‘Violet’, ‘Do You Wanna Know’ and ‘Closer’ Over the last couple of years, Sea Girls have blossomed into fullyfledged indie stars. ‘Open Up Your Head’ brings things up a notch, and shows Reading what this band are made of. Ground control to Declan McKenna. Lovely, glittering Deccers brings a bit of spacey sparkle to the Main Stage East, opening his set with ‘Beautiful Faces’ and a synthy, fizzing rendition of ‘Isombard’ which gets hands in the air from the off. His set feels like a play, a kind of cosmic fantasy that even a stumble offstage during ‘Why Do You Feel So Down’, briefly knocking the microphone out of service, can’t disrupt. When Declan finds his

REPORT

Stormzy’s one of the biggest hitters now feet the crowd bounce, and he bounces along with them, stage lights sparkling off the sequins in his suit. It’s risky business bringing a track you have to sit down to perform out at Reading, but when Dec swaps his gold guitar for a keyboard for ‘Be An Astronaut’, he more than pulls it off. The track surges along, turning into a 70s glam production. It’s a massive tune that others would no doubt consider the standout of their set, but when he swaps back to the guitar, Declan knows what the people have come for. ‘Here’s your prize,’ he grins, launching into ‘Brazil’ to screams from the crowd. A certified star? You better believe. Over on Main Stage West, Sam Fender’s socio-political thrashers never fail to summon up raucous energy in his ever-growing cult of dedicated fans. At Reading, they’re ready to match his demands of a moshpit for the ages. ↓ INHALER Main Stage East, Friday. Photo: Frances Beach.

When Stormzy headlined Glastonbury in 2019, it felt like a gamble. It’s a testament to the success of that set – as well as second album ‘Heavy is the Head’ – that tonight’s Reading headline slot felt like a natural announcement rather than a reach. In his first gig back since lockdown, the crown prince of grime arrives on to a screaming electric guitar solo, pyrotechnics and fireworks, before blasting through opener’ Big Michael’ with a release that feels like eighteen months of pent-up energy all at once. The word ‘Shoobz’ flashes across the screens which flank the stage and dozens of people pour from the side onto an elevated platform, bringing the crowd’s energy onto the stage. It’s an old school atmosphere that blends the swagger of a huge headline set and the chaotic nature of an underground grime rave. Nods to the genre’s early days are laced throughout, with ‘Mr Skeng’ performed to the instrumental from Dr Dre’s ‘Forgot About Dre’. It’s this

chopping and changing that lends grime freestyles their energy, and it’s a perfect reminder that even though Stormzy hit it big with gospel-laced tracks which mums can enjoy, his feet are still firmly planted in the genre which moulded him. The energy is ratcheted up even further as Tion Wayne bounces onto stage to perform ‘I Dunno’, launching straight through to megahit ‘Body’, joined by Russ Millions, fresh from a set at Leeds earlier in the day. ‘Crown’ signals a dip in the party atmosphere as Stormzy dips into the slower side of his back catalogue, including a rendition of ‘Own It’, the crowd enthusiastically filling in for Ed Sheeran on the hook. After that, it’s back to the bangers as Dave comes out for ‘Clash’, thousands of fans going absolutely ballistic the second his face appears on the big screen. A final one-two punch of ‘Shut Up’ and ‘Vossie Bop’ signals the end of the set, Stormzy grinning from ear to ear as he looks out at the results of yet another massive headline show. P

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The set travels through early hit ‘Play God’ all the way to the Springsteeninspired’ The Borders’. Newer material brings on jazz elements for a sprawling set, with saxophonist Johnny Blue Hat flexing some killer solos. The whole band revel in their act and have their core audience lapping up every minute. After 15 years in the game, Ghetts has a hell of a back catalogue to call on. Despite that, his Reading set leans heavily on new album ‘Conflict of Interest’, accompanied by a live bassist, drummer and keyboard player. On the other hand, why lean on the classics when you’ve got a brand new album full of bangers? ‘Skengman’ is received with precisely the kind of excitement you’d expect, Ghetts bouncing around in all black save a white fisherman’s hat, which he loses just in time for an aggressive rendition of one of the verses. Pacing the front row of the crowd, he reminds everyone there just why he’s stayed the course in the UK music scene – even if the crowd is depleted by a less than ideal clash with certain other UK superstar… Even though AJ Tracey stood us up at Reading in 2019 (long story – Ed), we don’t hold grudges at Dork. We don’t. We’re all about love and light here, and we like to have a good time. So despite old wounds, we head over to his Main Stage East set with open hearts. It must be difficult to judge how to make your return to the same festival you played pre-pandemic after the world has changed so dramatically,

but AJ pulls it off with a mixture of new tracks like ‘Little More Love’ off new album ‘Flu Game‘, and old classics like ‘Pasta’. With backing dancers dressed like cheerleaders onstage the energy is high, and ramps up even further when Aitch appears, fresh from their appearance earlier in the day, to perform smash hit ‘Rain’. It’s a strong return, especially considering how long we’ve all been away. All is forgiven, AJ. Over in the Lock Up, the chanting starts up a full ten minutes before the set. By the time Ashnikko bounds onstage for their first Reading appearance, the energy is at fever pitch; the air filled with the sound of Gen Z screaming. The kids are obsessed. And rightly so. From the opening bars of ‘Tantrum’, it’s clear that this set is going to be a standout. Flanked by a pair of bright pink ‘pussy bears’ (more or less exactly what they sound, one giant clitoral eye perched above a two-foot pink and purple vulva adorning the body of a bear) Ashnikko smashes out the hits. From ‘Stupid’ to ‘Deal With It’, they even ensure an excitable response to a new song by instructing the crowd to ‘act like you know all the words’. Speaking on the state of bad actors in the music industry, on their attempts to reduce women and minimise people, Ashnikko has a clear message; “I refuse to make myself small for this industry”. No risk of that here. As ultra-banger ‘Daisy’ closes things out, it’s crystal clear that Ashnikko is very fucking big indeed. ↓ AJ Tracey Main Stage East, Friday. Photo: Frances Beach.

12. DORK

Reading 2021

SATURDAY ↓ ALFIE TEMPLEMAN Dance Stage, Saturday. Photo: Jamie MacMillan.

Rock’n’roll ravers NOISY feel well placed on a Dance stage that’s trying its hand at a wider brief for the start of Reading’s second day; their thunderous bass achieving its intended dominance in a celebratory midday set. A sunny day down south may not seem like the trio’s usual set-up, but they succeed in bringing their love of British club culture into a world of indie-rock influences. Frontman Cody Matthews encourages the crowd to “dance like nothing matters, because this moment matters”; with mosh pits before the first song has ended and crowd surfers in the air throughout the second, his words ring true. An act that inspires intrigue with an aura of mystery, Police Car Collective play just their second ever show on the BBC Introducing Stage. Indie-pop-rock bathed in nostalgia and forced through a retro filter cultivates a growing audience, with tracks like ‘MINE’ granting a bright, euphoric release to those present.. The Liverpool-based duo operate in complete synergy – bassist Simon churning out smooth and suave bass lines while frontman Frankie embraces the chaos, throwing his body across the stage like a ragdoll. An explosive ending comes with the

impassioned shredding of ‘ALLTHETIME’, an energised finale to an eccentric set. Easy Life‘s Murray Matravers makes sure his entrance to Reading Festival doesn’t go unnoticed, marching on stage while screaming raucously and proceeding to launch tinnies at his loyal fans. A luxurious brass section heightens a collection of indie hits, ranging from old EP material with ‘Pockets’ all the way to tracks from recent debut album Llife’s A Beach’. ‘Ocean View’ creates a soothing festival vibe before ‘Skeletons’ shatters this illusion with pits summoned at will. Murray’s embracing the insanity too; a quick leap into the crowd and he comes back with no shoes and his joggers down to his ankles. Iconic. Say what you like about our endless love for Alfie Templeman, but it’s shows like this that are why we fell head over heels in the first place. There’s no room to swing a cucumber in the Dance Tent for this one, Dork’s Favourite Son rolling out his set of bangers for all to feast on. The ‘something special’ he’d started his own rumour about turns out to be a thrash punk version of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit – a lovely gentle riot. By the end of the set, Alfie’s chucking his guitar in the air, Dork’s photographer is getting

INTERVIEW

The Wombats have some brass Drummer Dan, from The Wombats, is also an octopus. Just so you know. Hello, representative of The Wombats. How are you? How are things? Yeah, really good. It's just so nice to be back in a field, that isn't muddy, which is a bonus. After the last two years, it's been up and down mentally. So this is some good food for the soul. How does it feel coming back to Reading? You've played Reading a few times, did you miss it last year? The last show we actually did was Reading & Leeds two years ago. Last summer, we had some festivals booked in, and then - obviously, as every band experienced - you just get those messages coming through, like, 'Oh, this has been cancelled, this has been cancelled'. Then the messages stopped, and it was like, just assume everything's cancelled from now on. And we were like, right, crack on with just writing and recording, I guess. So is that what you did with that time? Yeah, music's always been an outlet for dealing with all sorts of stuff; it's like therapy. And I think, you know, the last couple of years we needed therapy more than ever. So it's been such a good outlet. As a band, we're definitely very lucky because we finished the last album touring, and then last year was basically just going to be like writing and recording for this album that's coming out, so we weren't that badly affected on the live front. I just feel so sorry for all the bands that worked their arses off, got an album together, ready to go on the road, and then last minute, everything's just gone. You just have to pick yourself up, go in the studio and start making music. And it's classic as well, because like, you go on tour for ages, and then you really want to be in the studio. And then you're in the studio for ages, and you really

want to go on tour. This time we were in the studio for ages, but we couldn't go on tour. So we finished the Wombats stuff, and then me and Tørd did a second album for our sideproject [Sunship Balloon]. And I was doing some solo stuff. He's doing solo stuff. Murph's doing solo stuff. Because, you know, we just had all that time, and you just had to fill it. So, creatively, it's been great. But for everything else, it's been a bit shit.

REPORT

KennyHoopla: A poppunk star is born Though travel restrictions may have limited some of his peers' appearances, KennyHoopla is more than a match for the festival all by himself.

And how are you feeling about playing a set? It's been so long, are you feeling rusty? You're ready to go? Well, we rehearsed this week. To be honest, just being back in a room together making music was the best feeling ever. I feel like between us just being so happy to be out there and the crowd just so happy to be a festival again, I feel like they're going to be very lenient. You know? There's a couple of new songs to play that I was lying in bed last night going over it, because I'm playing keyboards and drums at the same time. And like, some of the coordination things, you know? When it's not like, really deep in your bones, and you're still thinking about it? And singing at the same time? It's a bit of an octopus moment. If they're new, though, the crowd might just be like, this is how it goes! Yeah, they might not even know them. 'This sounds great'. 'That solo in the middle was a bit interesting'. 'When he was screaming at the sky shouting 'fuuuuuuck' that was, you know, interesting'. And you've got the big arena tour as well. Are you excited for that? Yeah, I mean, if we get to next year and we can do any shows, it's going to be an absolute result. I'm sure we will be able to, and we've already started talking about how we're going to make those arena shows take it up a notch. There's a bit of brass on the new album, so you know, brass section. Dunno. Maybe some real live Wombats we get to walk around. Most of our ideas will probably get poo-pooed by the label manager. P

It’ll come as news to absolutely nobody that pop-punk has made a comeback in recent months. Still, thanks to travel restrictions, it’s left to KennyHoopla to represent the whole goddamn scene at Reading Festival this year. Not that he seems to mind. Fresh from a run of shows with Yungblud and with perhaps the most intense headline show in London this side of lockdown in his back pocket, he takes to the Dance Stage today with a certain swagger. The crowd is just as hyped. In the toilets before his set, a group of lads can be heard singing the refrain from ‘How Will I Rest In Peace If I’m Buried By A Highway’, and the cheers when he takes to the stage are the sort usually reserved for headliners. It has all the foundations of a brilliant set but true to form, KennyHoopla over-delivers. This is the making of an icon. It takes KennyHoopla roughly 2 minutes before he dives off the stage and into the crowd. He spends the entirety of the set ping-ponging between the

two, perhaps trying to fit the experience of both punter and performer into his first trip to Reading Festival. He crowd surfs, he moshes, he breaks a microphone. It’s all gloriously chaotic. While his music pulls heavily from the early 00’s scenes that thrived back then on the Main Stage here, KennyHoopla is more than a genre revivalist. Sure, ‘Hollywood Sucks’ is heavily influenced by the pop-punk thrash of Blink 182, ‘Inside Of Heaven’s Mouth, There Is a Sweet Tooth’ has bursts of posthardcore fury and ‘9-5 (Love Me)’ is very Taking Back Sunday but it’s smarter than simple cover versions. Twisting the old with a Gen-Z disregard for history, his music is very much the future. The whole thing is delivered with the sort of melodramatic sincerity that made superstars of Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco and My Chemical Romance (give it time, there’s every chance KennyHoopla will reach the same heights), but there’s power

to be found in that shameless vulnerability. “I just died at the thought of being alive at the same time as you,” he sings in ‘Estella’, a stomping punk number that starts with a backflip and only gets more theatrical. There aren’t many people who can’t relate to such overwhelming emotion, which is perhaps why his crowd is so passionate. From the moment he comes on stage, the entire tent becomes a swirling pit. The curious and the diehard united in excitement. In a brief moment away from the intensity, Kenny tells the everswelling crowd that his walls were covered in posters when he was growing up and he would perform early gigs to them. Today, it’s a dream come true moment. Eager to share this moment, though, he later tells the tent, “you could be here too. All it takes is a lot of purity and embarrassing yourself.” If Reading Festival 2021 represents the arrival of the next generation of rockstars, it’s Kennyhoopla leading the charge. P

lovingly kicked in the face, while his bassist Cameron is in the crowd and everyone’s all giddy. Main Stage next, yeah? By mid-afternoon, It’s clouded over at Reading, but beabadoobee brings the sunshine with her Main Stage set. After opening with ‘Care’, Bea manages to work a moment of gentle respite with a rendition of ‘Coffee’ led by her acoustic guitar. The calm seems set to continue throughout the first half of ‘Sorry’, before the track takes off with the force of a jumbo jet. What with that, plus the summery, sunshine-y ‘Last Day on Earth’ and its eminently catchy chorus, beabadoobee’s set is a breath of fresh air. An hour or so later – weather fans – and the sun has come out. Time for pop bangers. Sigrid never lets us down. Right from the off she has the crowd singing along with ‘Don’t Feel Like Crying’, sending a clear signal that now, at least, is a time for joy. Clearly moved by the size and enthusiasm of the crowd (“thank you! I honestly can’t believe it, what the fuck?!” She laughs), she channels pure power for a massive, shining set. “I’ve been daydreaming about this moment for like two years now,” she says before launching into new single ‘Burning Bridges’. And what a dream it is. The clouds have all but disappeared now, as if the heavens have cleared by pure force of goodwill. The enormous ‘Don’t Kill My Vibe’ reverberates through the festival site, shining a light into every corner. A song that big seems like it has to be the apex, but Sigrid has no shortage of peaks. After a delighted ‘Sucker Punch’, she brings things down a notch with the moving, hometown ballad readdork.com 13.

‘Home To You’. The crowd welcomes her with open, waving arms. Never one to rest for too long, though, soon Sigrid turns things back up as high as they’ll go with self-esteem anthem ‘Mirror’. After such a long time away, this return feels nothing less than triumphant. As soon as Slowthai walks onto the stage, the screams from the crowd are deafening. As the camera pans across the front rows,

the varied sights include a man holding out a t-shirt with a cardboard sign saying “Hold my shirt!!!” and a girl holding up a message on her phone which simply reads: “Spit in my mouth”. Luckily neither request seems to be fulfilled during the set, as the latter definitely goes against the strict Covid-19 guidelines in operation at the festival. The set itself is a blistering run through of Slowthai’s career.

Album songs are jettisoned in favour of collaborations including Mura Masa’s ‘Deal Wiv It’ and Gorillaz / Slaves track ‘Momentary Bliss’. The response is huge, and even new track ‘Gynaecologist’ is received like an old favourite. Unfortunately, the between-track banter casts a shadow, with an aside telling a female audience member to “cheer up and smile”, coupled with the

→ MAISIE PETERS BBC Music Introducing Stage, Friday. Photo: Frances Beach.

↓ THE KID LAROI Main Stage East, Saturday. Photo: Patrick Gunning.

↓ SAM FENDER Main Stage West, Friday. Photo: Frances Beach.

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wince-inducing talk about cancel culture preceding ‘Cancelled’ hitting a sour note in an otherwise electrifying set.

The Kid Laroi

is a genuine global megastar. Collaborations with Juice Wrld, Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus accompany platinum album sales and a social media following which would make most headline acts jealous. He comes on stage

with huge mirrored sunglasses to match his fame, bouncing across the stage and belting out songs which the whole crowd seems to know every single word to. It can be tough to work up a crowd in the middle of the afternoon – The Kid Laroi does it so easily it’s like he was born for it. We’d say he’s a future star, but really, he’s already made it. Why have The Wombats gone the distance where so many

others have failed? Because, friends, they have bangers for days. And they are, objectively, fun. They are fun at their own headline gigs, and bloody great fun at a festival when what you need is somebody who will give you an energy boost and not let you down. Opening with ‘Moving to New York’, the Wombats kick off a set packed with hits from ‘Let’s Dance to Joy

Division’ to the more recent ‘Lemon to a Knife Fight’, bringing out their classic wombat backing dancers to frolick across the stage. It’s the band’s first gig back in two years, but of course you’d never realise. The energy, the polish, has not worn off. ‘Pink Lemonade’ sparkles just as much as it always has, and new single ‘If You Ever Leave I’m Coming With You’ sets the crowd jumping. It’s good to be back.

Danceable indie icons

Two Door Cinema Club, meanwhile, bring an instant sing-along hour to Reading with a curated collection of both hype tunes and chill moments. Having clearly honed their act after a decade in the industry, Two Door utilise sharp riffs and addictive melodies to ensure the crowd is engrained with every lyric. ‘What You Know’ gives the inevitable ending to a scene

defining act proving the distinguished kings of indie have still got it. With the sun having gone down and thousands of overexcited teenagers swarming around the site, it can only be time for one thing; Disclosure on the main stage. Opening with ‘White Noise’, the duo play to a packedout crowd ready for a dance. Good thing that’s what they’re made for. Peppering classic hits

like ‘When A Fire Starts too Burn’ throughout their set, Disclosure fulfil the brief with lasers and smoke machines. Mesmirising, innit? It may have been two years since the last Reading and Leeds, but did the organisers really expect us to forget Post Malone headlined that one, too? He’s had a haircut and changed his outfit, but we’re still not fooled. Megahits like ‘Better

Now’ and ‘Circles’ swiftly win the crowd over despite the lack of novelty, with seemingly every attendee turning out to see Posty. Before ‘Too Young’ he pauses and says with a laugh “Listen, if I sound like shit you gotta cut me a break”. Judging by the response, the goodwill isn’t likely to run out any time soon. A flaming balcony and intermittent fireworks add some visual flair, but really all

Post Malone had to do was turn up and wheel out the hits, which he obligingly does. It’s not a bad set, but it’s hard to get excited about someone who was here so recently. Either way, we look forward to catching his inevitable Reading headline slot next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after that…

← TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB Main Stage East, Saturday. Photo: Frances Beach.

↑ EASY LIFE Main Stage East, Saturday. Photo: Patrick Gunning.

↓ POLICE CAR COLLECTIVE BBC Music Introducing Stage, Saturday. Photo: Frances Beach.

← POST MALONE Main Stage East, Saturday. Photo: Patrick Gunning.

↑ SIGRID Main Stage East, Saturday. Photo: Patrick Gunning.

readdork.com 15.

Reading 2021

SUNDAY “I always feel like Sunday’s the one where you let it all go,” says Lauran Hibberd. We’re ready to do that. Despite having to contend with the sound bleeding from the other stages in literally all directions, her set on the BBC Introducing stage gives the crowd permission to go for it – to not worry too much about looking put together and just do what feels right. Her short appearance hits all the right notes, from the – surprisingly laid-back, given the subject matter – ‘You Never Looked So Cool’, a song about a dream where she was at her own funeral, to ‘Boy Bye’, which Lauran introduces by asking; “does anyone here hate men?” By the time she closes with ‘How Am I Still Alive?’, Lauran Hibberd has the crowd singing along, and has cemented what we already knew – that next year she deserves to be higher up on the bill. She’s not the only one, either. As an act that has grown ever closer to stardom over the last year, Baby Queen‘s live set invigorates her music with a new energy, trading soft synths for a thundering bass that easily riles up a fully packed tent. ‘Internet Religion’ proves that Bella has formed her own online cult, her sixth ever show pulling her biggest audience yet. Picking up a guitar for ‘Want

Me’, the band test their chops and leave no one disappointed. A cathartic half-hour all round, Baby Queen proves that authenticity will never die. After being drafted in to replace Machine Gun Kelly at the eleventh hour, Blossoms have got their work cut out for them, but they manage to pull off a revitalising set. Opening with the bouncing groove of ‘Your Girlfriend’, they also throw in ‘Honey Sweet’ and ‘If You Think This Is Real Life’, stacking up the singles as they build towards the inevitable conclusion of a ‘Charlemagne’ closer. One surprising stand out is latest single ‘Care For’, which for a moment seems set to morph into Bee Gee’s ‘Night Fever’, sending even the somewhat exhausted dads at the back into disco mode. Anyone who has ever stepped foot on site at Reading on the Sunday will know that is no mean feat. Sunday is big indie day at Reading 2021, and Wolf Alice are here to play the greatest hits. As they smash out bangers from across their discography, the band pack in everything from ‘Bros’ and ‘Giant Peach’ to ‘Smile’ and ‘How Can I Make It OK?’, stopping off at ‘Beautifully Unconventional’ and ‘Formidable Cool’ along the way. Stripping things back to just vocals and piano, ‘The Last Man on Earth’

↑ BABY QUEEN Festival Republic Stage, Sunday. Photo: Patrick Gunning

16. DORK

REPORT

Hot Milk refuse to go quietly on a Sunday lunchtime A usually dead Sunday morning shift isn't going to go down quietly.

Hot Milk have not had much luck with schedules this summer. At Download Pilot they were the second band to play, meaning a fair chunk of their would-be audience were dealing with the traffic surrounding the site. And today, at Reading Festival 2021, they’ve got the graveyard slot. The first band to open the Main Stage on the Sunday is always going to struggle to drum up much in the way of a crowd or excitement. Dragging yourself to the arena on day three for midday is always going to be an ask. In recent years, the festival has used this slot to give rapidlyrising punk bands a chance on the biggest platform available, and most just about struggle through. Hot Milk, however, were born for this. They’ve played a couple of stadium shows with Foo Fighters, which probably helps on days like today, but Hot Milk have always

been a confident bunch. Never ones to stick to expectations, they carry themselves with a strict ‘do-whatever-the-fuckyou-want’ vibe. They made a name for themselves with the syrupy punk of ‘Are You Feeling Alive?’ but today’s set takes in moments of stadium rock, SoundCloud rap and anarchic punk. It’s driven by attitude, but they’re always inviting. They charge onto the Main Stage West to the post-hardcore infused ‘What Happens When I’m Dead’, complete with Hannah Mee having her Slash moment, before the big sugary pop of ‘Wide Awake’. Elsewhere a new arena-baiting track inspires circle pits, crowd surfers and friends clambering onto each other’s shoulders, the audience taking the instruction to “pretend it’s your favourite song” to heart. ‘Candy Coated Lies’ starts with Mee promising that “we’re

going to show you why they call it a Hot Milk Party,” before a cry of “eat the rich”. The unfurling emo of ‘I Think I Hate Myself’ is dedicated to “anyone who ever hated themselves. You’re not alone in that ever, ever, ever. Trust me,” and towards the end of the set, Mee dives into the front row turning the theatrical snarl of ‘Glass Spiders’ into an explosive moment of community. Rage, chaos, togetherness, Hot Milk champion it all. When it comes time to leave the stage one song later, there’s a sense that no one wants it to end. “It’s been a shit couple of years,” starts Jim Shaw before the self-empowerment pop of ‘Awful Ever After’, his voice on the verge of giving out (“it’s not COVID, I promise”). “I hope it gets better,” he adds and as if on cue, the sun comes out. One more small victory to finish off a set of ultimate triumph. Welcome to the world of Hot Milk. P

Lauran Hibberd: “I’ve left lockdown a different person” INTERVIEW

With the recent ‘Goober’ EP finally unleashed alongside a brand new stage persona, Lauran Hibberd is taking her first Reading festival in her stride. THE ISLE OF WIGHT’S FAVOURITE slacker-popster Lauran Hibberd recently spoke to us through Zoom to give the low-down on her new six-track release ‘Goober’, but now the virtual barrier has finally been smashed into smithereens… what has she been up to? “Gigs, lots of gigs! They’ve been really fun,” she gushes. “We’ve played loads of festivals and obviously we’re now here at Reading which is just the best, I’m having such a good time.” Having played not one, not two, but in fact three festivals in one weekend after a string of other shows, the Dork favourite is certainly feeling the exhaustion. “It is like a fitness test, I haven’t moved this much and eaten this much pizza in a long time,” Lauran says. 18 months on the sofa has instilled Lauran with a new sense of urgency, and her performances are all the better for it. Describing her post-lockdown transition in one word, she answers: Mental. I feel like I’ve left lockdown a different person. I think if I was to see myself on stage right now pre-lockdown, I’d be like: what happened to her? I’ve gone mental, I’ve fully lost it. I skip out on stage, I dance now? I tell people to jump… who am I? I don’t recognise myself honestly.” The character development is strong here as Lauran desperately riles up every last drop of energy she can muster for each and every stage-dominating show, a vibe she’s struggled to adopt in the past. “I would totally have been too embarrassed before but now I’ve

sat inside for a year and a half and I’m not embarrassed anymore,” she explains. “We have to embrace anything we can get.” Another noticeable improvement to the already great act is the addition of Jess Baker, the bands new bassist who also provides some subtle but elegant harmonies in the shadow of Lauran’s raging vocal lead. “I really wanted another girl in the band, just selfishly; I wanted a friend to hang out with. Someone not to smell in the van,” Hibberd jests. “Jess is a great bass player and also a great singer, so she was just a great fit for us.” One of many new pals acquired as of late, Lauran is an expert at finding companionship in the most regular of places. Having bonded with Linda, the “cute post office lady”, in lockdown, the circle of friendship is only expanded further now that national travel is a possibility. “I know the guy at the petrol station that I fill the band van up at because I always go to that specific petrol station, it’s the only one I feel comfortable driving that big van into. He’s always like, ‘where you off on tour today, Lauran?’ I love these little friends that you pick up throughout just mundane activities.” Making friends at Reading festival could be an interesting opportunity, with the southern fields infected by a swarm of battle-ready sixteen-year-olds finally attending their first music festival. As it turns out, though, Lauran is an expert at dealing with the new generation of trendsetters. “I have a sixteenyear-old cousin and on his 16th birthday he invited everyone round and he made everybody wear armbands,” she reveals. “I got involved but I was like… why? He said ‘it’s just something we do now’ – is it? Armbands? Is that a new a trend? It’ll probably be on TikTok soon. It makes me feel old at 23,

“I'm not embarrassed anymore, we have to embrace anything we can get” LAURAN HIBBERD which is a bad sign.” With lots of wet towels and sweat selfies spread around post-show, the outlandish singersongwriter clearly hasn’t spent too much time hiding away in the van this weekend, and in fact is impressed it has survived her abuse thus far. “It’s an old highway van so it’s kind of a funny one but we’ve decorated it up, there’s stickers everywhere, it kind of smells but it works so that’s always cool.” Lauran also tells us that - as a keen snacker food is a songwriting and touring essential, especially after a big boogie through new thrashers like ‘Boy Bye’. “My favourite snack has got to be just a spoonful of peanut butter. I literally love anything like – Nutella, any kind of spread,

just anything in a jar really.” Some exclusive content for you here, readers. Speaking of thrashers, the band actually debuted a brand spanking new track on the BBC Introducing Stage, a song called ‘Charlie’s Car’. Although she’s unable to share much detail (hush hush, now), it is rumoured to be a fresh snippet of the upcoming debut album which is being gradually carved out. “We’re at the point of choosing tracks and chatting about what I’m going to do about the album. It’s all very exciting!” she exclaims. Having recently featured The Regrettes’ Lydia Night on big-swing-and-big-hit ‘How Am I Still Alive?’, Lauran is keen to continue spreading the musical love. “I definitely want to get some

people on my album, yes. I’ve got some sights set but I cannot reveal them,” she teases. “I think collaborating is such a big part of being a musician now and you may as well share the wealth. People often feel that they’re in competition if they’re in similar genres, maybe just as girls playing guitar, and I think it’d just be so much easier if people just got on the same team.” Opting to grow with rather than against her peers, a keen eye for collaboration is enhancing the Hibberd discography and looks to continue to do so. With a frustratingly exciting tone, she spills some further gossip regarding upcoming features: “I’m trying to work on one right now which would basically change my life, so we’ll see if that ends up happening.” While we all wait for the details on a highly anticipated first full-length record from the experienced rocker, there’s plenty to look forward to in the meantime; namely, a national headline tour and a support tour with The Vamps. As Lauran concludes herself – “buzzing.” P readdork.com 17.

feels enormous and cinematic, every word given room to breathe. It expands into the evening air, floating above the festival site. Wolf Alice have absolutely nothing to prove, but the fact that they still seem astounded to be here might suggest that even now – three albums and just as many Mercury Prize shortlistings in – they still see themselves as on the rise. It’s a startling thought. Standing on stage without any backing band, Holly Humberstone is an oasis of calm on a crowded Sunday night. “I think Gerry Cinnamon is on right now, so you guys are the true fans” she says with a laugh, the crowd cheering her along at every turn. Each track is greeted like an old favourite, with clapping from fans and chants of Holly’s name filling the Festival Republic tent. ‘Deep End’ is a highlight, and

latest release ‘Please Don’t Leave Just Yet’ also goes down a storm. Holly’s one of many acts who have created a fanbase during lockdown, but tonight she proves herself on stage in a way that few will forget. Bringing his usual loud attitude, Yungblud dominates Reading’s Main Stage West with gravelling, raging vocals wrapped in a punk experience that still holds a huge mainstream appeal. A home for the alienated, his set summons modern political rage and rallies it behind a singular icon – as shown by moshpits on every side of the crowd, that message remains stronger than ever. Showing off a large collection of rebellious tunes, Yungblud is spoilt for choice in just how he riles up his fans and although pop hit ‘cotton candy’ is missing from the set, a virtual guest

feature from Machine Gun Kelly proves a hit. Scottish icons Biffy Clyro make a huge return to Reading, maximising everything they have with a stage set to match. Throwing out classic hits and more recent gems, an action-packed collection of riffs serve only to please. Heavy guitar thrashers make way for charming and recognisable melodies, with fan favourites such as ‘Bubbles’ feeling lost in time. Fireworks and extensive pyrotechnics make Biffy’s performance a celebration not to be dismissed. Here it is, though. The big one. Our Sunday night headliner, Liam Gallagher, swaggers onto the stage. Straight away it’s all pints in the air and shredded vocal chords as the crowd screams along to the triple threat opener of ‘Hello’, ‘Rock n Roll Star’ and ‘Morning Glory’. Liam knows what’s

Yard Act: “I reckon we’ll be fourth top of the main stage in 12 years’ time” INTERVIEW

They've just announced their debut album 'The Overload' for next January. Yard Act are ready to make their move - just in their own individual way.

↑ YUNGBLUD Main Stage West, Sunday. Photo: Frances Beach.

18. DORK

DAY THREE OF A FESTIVAL can be a low energy affair. A combination of everyone getting a bit excited in the first two days and the looming threat of a trek home with all sorts of camping gear strapped to your back doesn’t really lend itself to a party atmosphere. Luckily for us, nobody told Yard Act that. Within seconds of arriving, talk has turned to guitarist Sam Shjipstone’s broken wrist, apparently the result of him “messing around on a moped like a prat”. From there, conversation swiftly turns to singer and lyricist James Smith’s previous life as a TV extra - “I used to just stand in the background on Peaky Blinders mouthing ‘I want to have sex with Cillian Murphy’ over and over,” he says with a grin. “You know Cillian Murphy is a fan of Yard Act,” replies bassist Ryan Needham. “There’s probably a high chance you could have sex with him one day.” From standing in the background while Cillian acts to finding out he’s a fan of your band (yes, we are ignoring the other suggestion in the above, thanks for asking). It’s a pretty good metaphor for

Yard Act’s rise over the past year. Forming pre-pandemic and managing to record one song (the brilliant ‘The Trapper’s Pelts’) before the complete shutdown of the whole world, they can’t quite believe they’re now emerging to sold-out gigs and crowds of people who know all the words to their songs. “It’s just all so fucking virtual, isn’t it?” says Sam. “Releasing music in lockdown is like the musical equivalent of being a drone pilot – just watching numbers and feeling complete disconnection from the audience that presumably sits behind those stats. It’s like some hyperreal satire of the 21st century.” “There was some indication that we were heading in the right direction,” says Ryan. “We’ve all been in bands before so we could tell from the engagement and the comments on social media that there probably would be people knocking about in the real world when things did open up.” Despite the relief of walking out on stage and realising they hadn’t been the subject of an elaborate, months long social media hoax, the band are keen to avoid

taking it for granted. “It’s nice to push on really,” says James. “I’m not basking in it, as nice as it is to have people singing along at every show right now. We’ll probably go to Europe soon and nobody will have a clue! “To be honest Reading & Leeds are a bit like that, because this isn’t a line-up where punters will necessarily know who we are, so we’re back in underdog territory. We play Green Man and you know that all of those trendy 6music listeners will have been forced to listen to us via that, but here? As long as people stick around, we’ll be fine.” He laughs. “there’s absolutely nothing worse than people walking around from the sound you’re making, it makes you want to stop the song and shout ‘what did we do wrong? What can we do to improve?’ “So far though, the reaction has been good – I reckon we’ll be fourth from the top on the main stage in 12 years’ time. That’s the plan anyway, then I can retire, or at least navigate a slow decline back down afterwards.” The clock’s ticking then, with fingers crossed for no more lockdowns so that the band can make every second count. Having said that, it didn’t take long after forming the band for James and Ryan to record streamof-consciousness, character-driven banger ‘Fixer Upper’, so if any band can rocket to the middle of the main stage in just twelve short years, it’s Yard Act. “Graham [‘Fixer Upper’s narrator, a stand-in for every yuppie second home owner ever to exist] is a weird one actually,” says James. “the character is rooted in

“I think sonically it's pushing beyond the sound of the stuff we've released, but lyrically it's more of the same” JAMES SMITH, YARD ACT reality, but it’s an amalgamation of 10 plus people, with a little dash of some ultra-specific stuff in there, too. I do try not to take cheap shots at people, and I think I’ve managed that with the track, which – without blowing my own horn – is only possible with layered character development. Having said that, it is nice to step over the line and sneer every now and then. Everyone’s thinks they’re better than everyone else secretly, right?” If ‘Fixer Upper’s Graham is what propelled Yard Act into the hearts, minds, and Spotify

playlists of the public, the band are hoping their debut album ‘The Overload’ will maintain that forward momentum. Due for release on 7 January next year, it’s made up of 11 new tracks, a deliberate choice which reflects the forward progress the band have made since their first singles – not least in adding two more members to James and Ryan’s initial two-piece. “Since Sam joined the band, we’ve really been able to push things a lot more,” says James, to a wave from Sam’s bandaged and broken hand. “I think we also made a lot more freedom for ourselves when we stopped trying to make the drumbeats sound like acoustic drums, because we were doing everything digitally – Jay Russell [drums] hadn’t joined yet when we did the album so we were down a real drummer. But when we just leaned into it sounding like a programmed drum beat, that was the real starting point I think.” “We just started doing really harsh cuts where it’s clearly been looped, just playing around with stuff like that.” says Ryan. “So yeah I think sonically it’s pushing beyond the sound of the stuff we’ve released, but lyrically it is more of the same.” says James. “The main difference is that we recorded it all together, so it’s got a theme running throughout it in the way that the first four songs don’t. “That theme is money and greed – my greed!” He laughs. “It’s me grappling with the idea of these ultimate principles that just do not exist and are complete bullshit. You can totally bend on your own beliefs

from time to time, which I never thought you could in the past. Then I had a kid and I just thought ‘fucking hell, if I wanna actually do this, I have to not be completely stupid with money.’ So I went from doing stuff because it’s fun and not looking at the budgetary side, to thinking about it constantly and staring at spreadsheets for the first time in my life. “Based off of that realisation, the album is just me wrestling with the fact that I’ve had to look capitalism dead on in the face for the first time ever. After living in bliss and never needing anything and having very few material desires, to thinking ‘yeah you know what, maybe I should buy a house and look after my kid’ – it all changes.” “Didn’t you refuse to go on holiday for like a decade at one point?” Ryan asks incredulously, to laughs from the rest of the band. “Yeah that one caused many a problem.” admits James. “Boycotting aeroplanes, which went out the window as soon as we got offered an American tour. Just me chasing the booker like ‘no, no, no, it’s alright now, I’ll fly!’ “I actually pledged to do a year without flying, but then the pandemic hit and it was just a very easy year. Maybe I am the virus in that case? Unless…WE ARE ALL THE VIRUS! We are the virus, nature is healing.” He pauses, adding. “If you put that last bit in you have to say I ‘smiled wryly’ or ‘joked with a laugh’ – people can’t think I’m serious, I fucking hate that shit.” He says, smiling wryly, and also joking with a laugh. P readdork.com 19.

↓ Liam Gallagher Main Stage East, Sunday Photo: Patrick Gunning

INTERVIEW

Girl In Red: Now officially pro people having fun! Nothing like a pandemic to make you appreciate a good time, huh? We're back, it's day three of Reading. It's all going on. How are you doing? I'm doing really good. I've just been chilling this entire day and just been in the in the green room, eating snacks gummy bears, salt and vinegar chips. Just stuff that's not good for me. How are you enjoying your festival weekend? You were here last night as well? I was here last night, and I was in Leeds on Friday. Last night, I saw Disclosure, which was so lit. Oh my god. It was the best time. In the middle of the show we went side stage and we saw the crowd. It was so lit-y. It was so good. And then I saw like a few minutes of Post Malone, and I was like, you know what? I think I need a pizza, man. I left. So how does it feel being back outside in the real world after a long time, and how was lockdown? Were you in Norway? Yes, I was in lockdown in Norway, and I actually had a fairly good time. I got a dog; a big Bernese Mountain Dog, a huge gal. I got a car and I made an album and I got a bunch of new friends. I did a lot of good stuff, but it's really good to be back out here. And to like, see people have a good time? I've never appreciated seeing people have a good time before. Up until now. What was your reaction before? 'Can you just calm down?' No, I didn't care. I was just like, okay, whatever. Or maybe I used to think that, you know, shows and just having fun. I used to be really depressed when I was younger, so I never understood why people would want to have fun. But now I'm like, of course people just want to have fun! People just want to live their lives and just have a good time. I'm all about that shit now. How's it been, playing shows as well? Yeah, it was a little bit of a slap in the face, I'm not gonna lie. Physically, and also mentally, because physically I was one song in and I was like, I think I'm going to throw up,

20. DORK

← WOLF ALICE Main Stage East, Sunday Photo: Jamie MacMillan

because I went full on, 100% in from the beginning of the show. But then like throughout the show, I felt like a little bit insecure every now and then. I was like, oh my god, I don't even know if the crowd likes me. Then I went off stage and I was like, I don't know how this went. Everyone was like, this was the best show ever. I'm my own worst critic. When you put your album out, there was a cake made of your album cover. How was it? It was a really, really good chocolate cake, but the most exciting thing is to eat the figure thing that was on top. What are those, like sugar? Not marzipan, but like the other one? Fondant! It was so good to just eat that head, like, whoa shit. I was playing around with a big knife, giving everyone really good, big ass slices. I just felt really powerful, really happy being able to let them all have some cake. Hmm. That's not a Marie Antoinette reference at all. I need to re-watch that movie. But yeah, it was honestly just a really good cake, I had a really good party. P

expected of him and he holds up his end of the bargain, squaring up to the microphone and belting his lungs out. It’s fair to say that his solo output is never going to be as well received at a festival as Oasis classics with three decades of cultural saturation behind them, but Liam is not one to simply phone in the hits, and he loads up the middle of his set with tracks from solo records ‘As You Were’ and ‘Why Me? Why Not?’

It’s wall to wall Britpop in the encore though, from ‘Acquiesce’ and ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ to the inevitable ‘Wonderwall’ which, despite twenty-seven years of talentless twats whipping out acoustic guitars at parties, still cannot be shaken from its spot as this country’s number one indie singalong anthem. If nobody can speak on Monday morning, we all know where to lay the blame. P

↑ BLOSSOMS Main Stage West, Sunday Photo: Jamie MacMillan.

↑ ASHNIKKO The Lock Up, Friday. Photo: Frances Beach.

↑ SEA GIRLS Main Stage West, Friday. Photo: Patrick Gunning.

HRRRNK! WANT MORE FROM READING 2021? YOU'RE IN LUCK! Head to readdork.com now, and you'll find a Down With Boring podcast special, recorded LIVE from Reading 2021. Your intrepid hosts Jake Hawkes and Jamie Muir are joined by 'big stars' including... ASHNIKKO DECLAN MCKENNA GIRL IN RED HOLLY HUMBERSTONE SEA GIRLS THE WOMBATS

← BIFFY CLYRO Main Stage West, Sunday. Photo: Frances Beach.

↑ BEABADOOBEE Main Stage East, Saturday Photo: Patrick Gunning.

Subscribe to Down With Boring by searching 'DorkCast' on Apple Music or Spotify now.

readdork.com 21.

COLUMN

LIFE LESSONS WITH MEZ GREEN FROM LIFE

find it really fun to work on it and kind of crack the code around it. You can definitely do the learning yourself, but I find that because I'm part of a community, API (All Pips In), the learning goes a lot faster. Plus you have other people to speak to when you fall back on certain things. But if you're someone who is addicted to gambling, stay away.

2:00 pm

THIS MONTH...

Slipping off the bitmap;

It’s back I’m back I’m living in a rucksack Autumns come the tour begun your liver’s fucked son I’m back your back? I’m back your back? I’m living in a rucksack I packed my plants and walked across I cleaned the flat and powered off an empty shelf where Farrah’s clothes lay Gus' room no sound of play I’m living in a rucksack… seize the day Top 40 record and a pint of clay I’m living in a rucksack I’m living in a rucksack For love For you For love For you For love For you I’m living in a rucksack I pull my straps across my back I’m living in a rucksack I’m living in a rucksack I’m living in a rucksack Mez welcome back. Listen to Mez’s Sunday Lunch - every second Sunday of the month on Dork Radio with Jake Hawkes. Grab the podcast by searching DorkCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or other major platforms.

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Photo: Breyona Holt.

musings from a service station behind some tarmac with my rucksack

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...

Aluna You know what’s easier than following around your fave pop stars, day in, day out, to see what they’re up to right that minute? Asking them. Here’s what Aluna's day looks like.

7:00 am

I wake up, and I make a cup of English Breakfast tea with half a teaspoon of brown sugar and milk - and a bottle for my baby. I can't use alternative milk in my

tea; I just love the taste of whole milk in mine. I basically just play with my baby in the morning, then we have breakfast and get her ready until about 8.30am.

8.30 am

Amaya goes to daycare at this time, and then I get myself washed - I do a five-minute skin routine with a few creams, I do the jade roller and put the serum on. I feel like my face gets puffy in the morning, so I feel like it's nice to move my face around with a cool roller. Also, the one thing I have tried that works is using a cool tea bag under my eyes; the caffeine goes into your under eyes - it's crazy! You do need to keep those in the fridge for an immediate effect.

I would usually check

in with my assistant to hear what things I have planned for the day. I'd also maybe do an interview or two.

9:00 am

After this, I'd be filming content, taking pictures and maybe doing a few make-up tutorials for online content until about 1pm. I'd then make some lunch and start getting ready to go to the studio. To prepare for the studio, I'd always try to get through half a gallon of water a day.

1:00 pm

At 1pm, I go to the gym and then leave at about 2pm to go to the studio. I've developed my own personal routine; I combine quite a lot of different things all into one. So, I use the

treadmill on quite a strong incline, but I go at a normal walking pace, so I can do a mile in half an hour. But, I put a resistance band around the machine so that I can do my upper body while I'm doing it. And then, at the same time, I'd be studying crypto and Forex! I started investing in crypto during the pandemic, and because I couldn't stop messing with it, I came across a trading group that was run by Black women, and I just thought that was really appealing, so I felt like, 'Well, I should learn about it if I'm going to keep messing around with it'. I find it really fun to learn about it and the fact that I thought that only white, middle-class/upper-class men only had access to it because they were a mathematician or something and not someone like me. So, I

At this time, I start making my way to the studio. My everyday studio is pretty local to me in Downtown LA, Hard Pink. I use the scooter to get there! It usually takes me about 5 mins or so. I'd usually be in the studio each time, till about 8-10pm. If I'm finishing off a song or I'm working on the very last process of the song, I can get that done by 8pm, but if I'm working on a song from scratch, I'll be there till about 10pm. I tend to eat at the studio, so I'd get a Postmates dinner; something healthy, rice-based with vegetables and protein - but this would be at a very specific time. I think it's really interesting, the science of the chemicals that your body produces when you get hungry - your body produces this motivational chemical which sparks you to go and get some food. So, I use that in the songwriting process - I don't like to eat at the beginning of the songwriting process because I'm not going to get that chemical. Lunch and dinner happen after the first verse and chorus - then you can eat.

10:00 pm

I like to get home by 10.15pm so I can start getting ready for bed. I just watch some TV! I'm really liking the show Vikings at the moment; it's like a History Channel type thing. I'm also watching Glow Up on Netflix. For my creative inspiration, I watch Legendary or Pose... But I also love watching the Great British Bake Off! There's something about those type of shows that emulates how I do my craft creation - in my spare time, I do a lot of crafts, I love making things. Growing up, my mum didn't really let me watch TV, and so I made things! I don't have much of a chill down process; I just like to watch a bit of TV. P

Aluna's single 'Summer Of Love' is out now.

Bangers. THE BEST NEW TRACKS

Griff

Holly Humberstone

One Night

If - and when we say if, we probably mean when; you know what we're like. But IF we were to make a pop star tier list right now, there's every chance that Griff would make the very top of the table. Take 'One Night', her latest solid gold bop. A shiny, stupendous cut of mainstream brilliance, it's run through with the ice cold cool of Robyn, the dry ice drama of MUNA and Griff's very own indefinable but undeniable mass appeal. What a talent, etc.

Thomas Headon

Nobody Has To Know

If you've been on the ol' TikTok 'of late', you may well have seen our Thomas repeatedly using the opening couple of lines of this absolute bop to tease its imminent arrival. Some of Dork HQ hear classic The 1975 meets 1D, others are blathering some old rubbish about a Los Campesinos guitar line? Don't ask us. Either way round - it's an officially certified sing-along banger.

Walt Disco Weightless

Walt Disco are wonderful at taking Actually Quite Serious topics - in this case James Potter's struggle with gender identity and body dysmorphia - and turning them into defiant, euphoric hits. Of new single 'Weightless', the singer explains: "Its message is that it is okay to have not always been sure about who you are or where you are going, and that it's never too late to start finding new parts of yourself." It's a special kind of magic; one they weave with aplomb. Very highly recommended.

Scarlett

Holly Humberstone, it turns out, is a good pal to have during a break-up. A teaser from her upcoming EP 'The Walls Are Way Too Thin' - due in November, 'FYI' - 'Scarlett' is a song for her best pal (of the same name, in case that wasn't clear), penned after a pretty shitty relationship followed by a pretty shitty dumping by a pretty shitty guy. An ode to realising your self-worth and moving on, "it's about her finally letting go, realising his many faults and taking back her life," Holly explains.

Charli XCX Good Ones

We've been waiting a long old time. Of course, Charli XCX has always been a pop icon. HRH Queen of Bangers has long blessed us with a wide ranging banquet of sharp, whipsmart bops from across the sonic spectrum. But - and yes, there is a but - there's always been the nagging feeling that, actually, there was more to come. Like a heroic character yet to evolve to their final form, there was something more about Charli. An indefinable nexus point of pop she was still striving to reach. 'Good Ones' might be just that - the sass, the swagger - it's palpable. With a rolling bassline that owes more than a passing nod to the Eurythmics, it's Charli XCX refusing to bow her head to anyone. Unafraid to embrace her potential, that forthcoming album just got very exciting indeed.

Remi Wolf Sexy Villain

The best track title on Remi's upcoming album, 'Sexy Villain' was always going to be a highlight, right? An early teaser from debut fulllength 'Juno', it'll embed the line "seeeeexxxxy villaaaaain" firmly in your head whether you like it or not. Doin' it right.

Remi Wolf Quiet On Set

Oh it's another Remi song, would you look at that. She's actually dropped four new 'uns since we last sent Dork 'to the printers', but we're being very restrained and only including two here - The One With The Best Title and The One With Lots Of Rude Bits. It's almost certainly in our Top 3 songs on the new record, with several brilliant lines about eg having an orgy at Five Guys. What's not to love?

Vengaboys

1999 (I Wanna Go Back)

MUNA

Silk Chiffon (ft. Phoebe Bridgers) Are MUNA the best band in the world? For the duration of the three and a half minutes of their new single 'Silk Chiffon', there's only one answer. Enlisting their new label boss Phoebe Bridgers, it's also highly probable they're yet to release a single song that's dropped below five star brilliance. With some top tier supports to come over the next few months, the potential for album three to blow our tiny minds seems all the closer.

Sigrid

Burning Bridges

Vandalism is a big problem in pop music. From burning down the house, to disco infernos, some of the biggest names are responsible for some criminal acts of destruction. You wouldn't know it to look at her - the innocent cherub - but our Siggers is the latest to embrace her pyromaniac tendencies, torching vital parts of our transport infrastructure. Or it's about 'relationships'. Either or. Take your pick.

Troye Sivan Angel Baby

'Angel Baby' might just be the most 90s boyband ballad since the actual 90s and actual boybands and actual ballads. It's uncanny, and has more than once pitched us headfirst into an afternoon of listening to old hits from Backstreet Boys and the like. Which we're not complaining about, obviously. It's a great time. "‘Angel Baby’ is my crack at an adoring, doting, love struck, mega pop, gay, power ballad," Troye explains. "I thought we needed a few more of those." Cracked that one, mate.

Not gonna lie, we get sent a lot of songs that aren't all that much cop. Like, a lot. So many. It would have been super easy to skate over 90s pop legends Vengaboys putting their own spin on Charli XCX and Troye Sivan's '1999' when it arrived elbowing for space on that busy Friday morning in early September. Covers, remixes and new takes are often pretty blah, right? But this one, oh my god. So good. A dream team of epic proportions. We're dangerously close to declaring it 'better than the original'.

Yard Act The Overload

The new song from Yard Act - which hailed the announcement of their Very Highly-Anticipated debut album of the same name, due early next year - is obviously very fun and catchy and that, but what we're really into is the video, which is set at one of our very favourite UK attractions: the bootsale. CDs (that we can't play because we don't have a CD player, thanks 'progress') for 50p, weird ornaments you can't figure out why anyone would have made in the first place, cleaning products you'd be better buying at B&M, the smell of burgers at 7am. Count us in. What a time.

readdork.com 23.

Top 10. Martyn Young's

Everyone loves a good list, right? Well, Dear Reader, not compared to Dork’s Listmaster General Martyn Young you don’t. The thing about Martyn, you see, is he’s not swayed by your safe, sanitised opinions. He’s living his best life, loving what he loves, unconcerned by your boring, identikit truths. Each month, we’ll give him a new musical category to rank, then you can send in your rage-filled missives about just how wrong he is. It’s all good fun.

This month...

It's the time of year we all start thinking about what's going to make our end of year lists, so in order to help you remember everything that's come so far, we've asked Martyn to put together his...

Best Albums of 2021 (so far)

It's the thought that counts, right?

2. Halsey. If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power. Now we come to a true legend of the indie-rock game. You don’t need me to tell you why Karen O is so amazing. A true force of nature who will provoke every emotion under the sun, she has mastered whip-smart punk aggression, and tender heartbreaking laments with ease while leading her band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Oh, also, while I’m here, please come back Yeah Yeah Yeah’s. We need you.

1. Self Esteem. Prioritise Pleasure. Ok, so this album isn't quite out yet but will be very, very soon, so you'll just have to take my word on this one. Trust me. When have I ever let you down before? This is obviously amazing and is a blinding pop tour de force from Self Esteem, who has got a lot of important things to say and supremely smart, tender and affecting ways of saying it. Rebecca is firmly following her own path to the top of pop's mountain, making music that is both vital and exciting.

24. DORK

3. Japanese Breakfast. Jubilee. We have all known for a good while now that Michelle Zauner is something special, but the third Japanese Breakfast album is proof that she has taken things to the next level. Bursting with pop hooks, drama, expansive instrumental flourishes and all sorts of shiny goodness. It's the sound of an artist coming into their own in joyful abandon.

7. Willow. lately I feel EVERYTHING. Note the very important use of capitals here. This album is a STATEMENT. A declaration of intent. A clarion call for a new generation of pop-rock artists who are striving for new ways to make their mark and speak their truths. This is a real hook-filled rush of an album with an emotional edge. A triumph all round, and a defining record of the year.

4. Wolf Alice. Blue Weekend. If you are a long time Dork reader, then I don't need to tell you how amazing Wolf Alice are. Actually, scratch that. If you're a human being, I don't need to tell you how amazing Wolf Alice are. I know it. You definitely know it, and they most certainly know it. A fitting masterpiece of an album befitting the title of the best band in Britain.

WTF? Okay, so we don’t all agree. Here’s some official challenges to this month’s list.

5. Chung Ha. Querencia. Chung Ha is one of the biggest stars in K-Pop, and 'Querencia' is her first solo album. It contains 21 songs and lasts for 60 minutes and 47 seconds. It is split into 4 themes titled Noble, Savage, Unknown and Pleasures. Those are the facts. The facts, though, don't tell you how this is an enormous behemoth of a pop album that traverses a wide breadth of global sounds and styles while sounding super vibrant and fresh. Chung Ha is super energised throughout and Imbues the album with an intoxicating sense of wonder and possibility. In what has been a banner year for K-Pop albums (shouts to amazing girl group Twice and their mini-album from this year), Chung Ha stands proudly at the top.

Wolf Alice is better than 4th place, there's no girl in red, which is quite silly. For Those I Love deserves a mention, as does Little Simz, but cheesy ISN'T MUSIC GREAT voice here - hasn't it been a brilliant year for music? Also, I love the Olivia Rodrigo album, so that too. Stephen Ackroyd, Editor Martyn seems to have the memory of a goldfish, or just hate Dork cover stars, because I can't think of any other reason why Shame's 'Drunk Tank Pink' could have been left off of this list. An improvement on the debut in almost every way, it's packed to the gills with bangers AND manages the near-impossible feat of making a six and a half minute song feel worthwhile. Yet another undeserved snub from indie's most chaotic listmaker. Jake Hawkes, Down With Boring host and writer. Disagree? Email your own suggestions, or abuse to us at toptens@readdork.com. We’ll include the best ones in next month’s issue.

8. Dry Cleaning. New Long Leg. Dry Cleaning are clever. They might be the cleverest group who have been listed in one of these top 10s. They are clever though in a way that makes them exciting where others might be noodly and obtuse. They recognise the ridiculousness of some of the minutiae of modern life and revel in documenting it using their idiosyncratic post punky stylings. 'New Long Leg' is a little bit weird and mostly very wonderful.

9. Claud. Super Monster. Claud makes pop in their bedroom. Some people might consider Claud to be the perfect example of the genre of bedroom pop that has been so prominent over the last few years. But that doesn't feel right anymore. Claud is a pop star of the highest order who is bursting out of the confines of the bedroom. 'Super Monster' is a whale of a time. Funny, playful but also heart-stoppingly tender at the same time, it's just the first step for an artist who is about to shoot for the moon. Also, they are bezzie mates with Phoebe Bridgers and signed to her label. A cast-iron co-sign if ever there was one.

6. Chloe Moriondo. Blood Bunny. We all knew Chloe was destined for big things when she first made it onto the cover of Dork way back in 2020. Her debut album does not disappoint and is full of the clever, whip-smart and tender songwriting that made us fall in love with her. A lovely warm bath of an album with the fizzy edge of a particularly explosive bath bomb (think one of those massive deep purple ones that turn your bath into some kind of lost Atlantis), Chloe has the indie-pop world in the palm of her hands.

10. Danny L Harle. Harlecore. Harlecore - you know the score. Number 10 in my top 10 of the year list, to be precise. Harlecore is an immersive world. It's a way of life. A world in which MC Boing is your king, and you will worship at his poppers o'clock alter. Super producer Danny is obvs a pop genius, and his first proper album is an insane journey into the inner workings of his creative mind and is the best electro-pop album of the year. If you don't believe me, then take it up with Mr Boing.

readdork.com 25.

NEW ARTISTS. NEW MUSIC.

WILLOW KAYNE

Alt-pop newcomer - and Ivor Novello nominee - Willow Kayne delivers uncompromising takedowns and highenergy bops. WORDS:

ou can do whatever you want," says Willow Kayne about the culture surrounding music in 2021. A culture in which, by dropping just two peerless pop bangers, she has effortlessly announced herself as one of the most exciting new pop stars going. Willow Kayne certainly is going to do whatever she wants, and we're going to listen. It's hard to overstate just what a character Willow Kayne is. Positively bursting with personality and attitude, Willow is hilarious, completely self-aware, haphazardly chaotic, gloriously inventive and creative and almost cartoonishly fun in the best possible way. In short, she's everything that makes a thrilling pop package, powered on energy and enthusiasm. Like consuming five cans of the more garish technicolour energy drinks, her vibe is always set to maximum. For Willow, her main passions are threefold, and each informs the other. "I really like fashion, graphics and music. Luckily they all work hand in hand," she says excitedly before casually dropping in, "I'll probably end up directing music videos in the future,"

Martyn Young.

like it's super cool, the easiest super strange and most lo-fi rap of obvious 'Gibberish'. thing in the "That song world. You started the Willow's two see, that's whole chain favourite smells are dark woody amber the thing reaction," she think fancy perfume with Willow: explains. "I or a sponge. "I like anything didn't realise the smell of a natuand that it would ral sponge. Like a bath sponge." everything get so much is possible. recognition. Her video for Although At the time, it new single 'I Don't Wanna Know' is she has only only had like amazing. Directed released 40k streams, by Bedroom (who two songs but I was have done vids for properly this like, oh wow, Sports Team and Beabadoobee) year in the 40,000 people it finds Willow in anthemic like my song!" her multicolour 'Two Seater' Songs like wondrous bedroom flying through and high'Gibberish', cyberspace to slap energy and her two down the trolls. middleproperly finger kiss She also made released the song with Dork off for the singles indie hero Oscar trolls of her highlight the Scheller. latest single naivety and It only took 'I Don't enthusiasm her two seconds to Wanna that make instantly declare Know', Willow so her fave flavour of ice cream: pistachio. those two exciting. songs have Most of her She's a new made a earliest music Gen Z icon in gargantuan was made on the making with another new song impression. Garageband on the way "soonFor those "in and a ish" and a couple of the know", "cheekily EPs too. though, acquired" copy Willow has of production been making compelling software programme odd pop for a while on Logic. "Musically, my Soundcloud. Some of structure was just shit," those early songs have she laughs. "If I'm doing disappeared; however, it on my own, it still is a some other examples bit shit, but I've never had of Willow's maverick musical training, so I was genius remain, like the like, 'It doesn't really need

THE WILLOW -DOWN 1.

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Bedroom.

“It's ballsy music; I'm very rude in my lyrics” WILLOW KAYNE a bridge, does it?' It does make a song and is semiimportant stuff to know. I remember I once posted a song where I rhymed a word with the same word, what's going on there?" The combination of that indelible spark of charisma coupled with DIY experimenting helped catch the ear of some music industry bigwigs in America, precipitating a lifechanging moment for Willow. "From 'Gibberish', some people in America found me, and they wanted to fly us out to LA," she says. "Two weeks later, me and my mum are in LA. I was just sitting on a balcony smoking a cigarette next to my mum thinking, I could do this for a career. Little things I put out on Soundcloud got me here." The experience of actually living in LA and recording was a surreal one. "I thought that I would go to LA, and it would be kids taking selfies in the street and everyone sipping kombucha, but I loved it," she exclaims. "One thing I didn't like though and will not do again is you would

do a session, and there'd be 10 kids in the room, just there. They'd say, 'oh yeah, I contributed to the vibe'. What do you mean? I don't know who you are, Marcus!? It's a different vibe." The most important thing for Willow, beyond making actually good, vibrant songs that connect, is creating her own world to accompany the music. The visuals, the clothes and the imagery are just as important. "The people I truly look up to have all built a whole world with an aesthetic to match," she says. "The idea that you can dress the world and pick the soundtrack is exciting to me." Her rise over the past six months has been swift, including being nominated for an Ivor Novello award and being mentored by pop royalty and banger king Nile Rodgers. Opportunities are coming thick and fast for Willow, and it's easy to see why. Her music and attitude resonate perfectly with a new generation of kids who want to take control and express themselves any

way they desire. Those sentiments are at the heart of Willow's music. "It's very ballsy music," she proclaims. "I'm very rude in my lyrics, but it's fun and singalong. My generation is pretty confident and cutthroat." One medium in which Willow truly shines is on TikTok, a platform that she uses in a super engaging way to bring out her personality. She also uses TikTok as a testing ground for songs she's working on, offering fans an intriguing glimpse behind the curtain. "I'm sitting on 50 songs. I like sharing things because I'm impatient," she says. "TikTok is where my personality comes out most because you can just chat shit." It's still early days for Willow, and the possibilities are endless. "I have no idea where it's going to go," she laughs. "Some days I wake up and go, yeah, I'm going to do a punk tune today! It just depends on how you feel. I think about this quite a lot - what is my genre? I don't even know how to describe the music. I'd just like it to be described as Willow Kayne music. I want my own genre." Get ready for Willow Kayne music to take over the pop world. P Willow Kayne's

single 'I Don't Wanna Know' is out now.

readdork.com 27.

Talk Show are back with a new single, 'Underworld'. The track sees them join forces with Hot Chip's Joe Goddard and Al Doyle on production, and it's taken from an EP due next year. It's "a statement of intent", says singer and guitarist Harrison Swann.

Lady Bird have returned with news of a debut album. Titled ‘WE’, the full-length doesn’t have a release date yet, but does have a lead taster in the form of ‘Factory Fool’. The new music follows on from 2020’s ‘BRAINWASH MACHINE SETTING’ EP.

Teen up-and-comer Evann McIntosh is both prolific and has a formidable hit rate for playful, R&B and funk-infused smooth pop hits. WORDS:

verything about 17-yearold Kansas singersongwriter Evann McIntosh is adorable: their output is honest, relatable, and utterly charming; they occasionally wear very good jumpers; they love Remi Wolf. They're basically us if we were way cooler, had better hair and did like, music stuff, instead of writing about music stuff (right guys??). They've just dropped a new project too, coming-of-age romp 'Character Development'.

Hey Evann, what are you up to today?

I just got back from dancing in my garage, and it's like 90 degrees outside.

What first sparked your interest in music?

It was always something I was drawn to, but I think I really knew I wanted to be some sort of artist when my dad first played me the song 'My Drawers' by The Time in his car when I was like, 7.

How did you make the jump from listener to creator?

I was just always writing and making up my own songs. It was a very natural thing because I was so young.

Do songs find you, or do you usually have to find them?

I'm too stubborn to take something when it's given to me, and it is so annoying, and I'm working on it. Because my father was a big fan of [80s Prince collaborators] Morris Day and The Time, and a lot of those songs influenced a lot of my childhood, and yet I didn't really get into Prince until he'd passed away

28. DORK

Felicity Newton.

when I was 12.

Your new project is fun, when did you begin work on it? Can you remember your starting point?

It was two weeks after [2019's] 'MOJO' was released I think. The first song was a song called White, White Velvet, which didn't make it on. And thank you, I think it is fun too.

How did the process of putting it together compare to 'MOJO'? Did you hit upon any unexpected challenges? It was very similar; I was in a similar place. In both of these, I was very frustrated in my environment with no reason why; the only difference is with 'Character Development', I'd begun to pick up on patterns.

You evolve so quickly during your teenage years, how is that reflected in the music you've been putting out? Do you still relate to your earlier material?

I do not. Sometimes I do. My music progresses like I do, whether it's lyrically or sonically. I think I don't realise how much I do like my music until I've stepped away from it for almost a year and come back to it when I've not heard it in a while. I can reflect and give myself the answers to the questions I was asking.

Your influences are pretty eclectic, what have you been listening to / reading / watching lately?

I'm trying really hard to really read and finish my books. I could NOT get through The Hunchback of Notre Dame for the life of me. I got far, but I couldn't do it. I am

“I knew I wanted to be some sort of artist when I was like, 7” EVANN MCINTOSH currently reading The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Which is very nice! I heard it was gay. That is what keeps me going. But they are also cousins, so I don't know.

Are you creative in non-musical ways too?

Yes, I love to draw and write things other than songs; I love to take pictures and dance and everything. I am a very visual person, I see beauty in everything, and I can't help but want to capture it or point it out so people can see what I do.

Who do you think is the most exciting band or musician around right now?

Remi Wolf is really cool. She's an Aquarius, I think; she's crazy. She's killing it.

What's on your music career bucket list?

I do not have one; it's very much to keep my job and do cool things. I think maybe getting very good at performing and making music in general, just be the best I can, overcome a lot of personal fears or anxieties.

Anything else we should know? NOTHING! P

Evann McIntosh's project 'Character Development' is out now.

JORDAN NASH

Described as a "West London performer and producer" - i.e. show off and knob twiddler - Jordan Nash just shared his debut single, 'Nightmares'. It's Really Very Good, too. He's managed by people who were 'involved' with artists such as Amy Winehouse and Adele, so big things should be expected. Think Dominic Fike meets Rex Orange County, and you'll have a decent starting point.

MUMBLE TIDE

Mumble Tide are a duo. Mumble Tide are also a couple. Mumble tide also met on Gumtree. Yes. Gumtree. We have questions. Not about their music, though. There's a mini-album 'Everything Ugly' set to arrive imminently, while recent track 'On My Deathbed There's a Full Page (You Don't Get To Read It)' is a damn sight cheerier than it's Really Rather Wordy title would suggest. With support slots alongside Liz Lawrence and Coach Party to follow later this year, maybe they can stay out of the small ads going forward, eh?

BLEACH LAB

Produced by Stephen Street is usually something that warrants a second glance - and such a tag attaches itself to Bleach Labs second EP, 'Nothing Feels Real'. Already picking up the odd plaudit, you're going to find the odd Wolf Alice comparisons thrown into the mix. They're not entirely misguided too. Loads of promise here.

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CHERYM Northern Irish trio Cherym have turned their 'fun' dial up to 11 with high-energy pop-punk tunes that wouldn't be out of place on the best 90s-00s teens flick soundtracks. WORDS:

Alex Brzezicka.

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Patrick Gunning.

ince 2016, Derry trio Cherym have been standing firmly on their own musical ground, but when Hannah Richardson (guitar and lead vocals) and Nyree Porter (bass and vocals) first met in school, there was nothing to indicate that one day they'd even be friends, let alone start smashing stages across the UK together. "We hated each other," shares Nyree. "It's mad, but she sang, I sang. We were just always in a constant battle with each other." A few conversations later, they realised that they'd got a lot in common and the potential to build something great on their shared ground. Not long after, they scouted Alannagh Doherty

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(drums and vocals). Throwing into the pot of all their, quite eclectic, tastes, they brewed their own delicious mixture with just the right amount of sweetness, sharpness and a tiny pinch of sass. "We all come from very different musical backgrounds," Alannagh explains. "Nyree loves country. Hannah's very into pop-punk, post-punk and alternative. I'm more into metal. Heavy stuff. We all take a little bit of what we listen to and project it onto our band. It makes this wonderful sound that we call Cherym." Hannah adds: "I would say probably bubblegum punk or something? I wouldn't say it's really dark, but it's quite poppy. It also has big, fuzzy guitars and big chunky melodies. Like really, really solid melodies and heavy drums." Lyrically, Cherym don't play around: there are no overcomplicated metaphors, no layers-over-layers of meaning. Every time, it's a real thing that they're dealing with. A thing that their fans can connect to with no unnecessary fuss. Their newest single 'We're Just Friends' and a cute retro-style animated video

for it are prime examples of this no-nonsense method. "We decided that this is going to be a really cheesy, upbeat song about your soulmate or whatever. It came about like that, and then we all just were like, 'yeah, let's go record this because it's class," Alannagh says. The track's title is a parody spin on the heteronormative perception of WLW (womanloving-woman) relationships, often wrongly looked upon as a 'just friends' connection. "A lot of our songs come from our point of view," Hannah explains. "We're talking about friends, and we're talking about relationships. We're talking about experiences in school. A lot of that comes along with the fact that we're three queer women in a band, and I'm mixed raced." "We're not a political band, but we're all very active and politically aware," she continues. "It can be unintentional that we bring our views into songs by just being like 'Hey, I'm queer', and then people are like 'that's very like, out of the norm'. Well, it's my norm.

“This is another wave of feminism” HANNAH RICHARDSON "We've actually done interviews before where it came across as like, 'why would she want to be abnormal?' We were like, 'this is our normal'. It was really, really strange to me, just because I don't know, it wasn't normal for them." As young artists trying not to be defined by their gender or sexuality, it's a struggle to keep nerves calm in front of such ignorance or gather enough willpower to come up with a reply. "Sometimes there's just no response to it," Nyree sums up. Instead of wasting energy fighting with windmills, Cherym prioritise making a change and creating their own surroundings. "If somebody were to come up to us at a gig to say something like that, then they're out of the gig. It wouldn't be fair if another queer person was approached by that person and then felt unsafe," Hannah explains. Cherym's inclusive thinking fused with their heads-on

attitude conjures the ghost of 90s riot grrrl. "This is another wave of feminism," Hannah states. "It's so amazing to see because women are still totally discriminated against, especially within this industry because it is male-dominated. Everything has been a boys' club for so long. All women should be able to take up space and not feel threatened. Just feel like they can do it and that they're at a safe place to do so. We're really excited to be a part of that." When asked to define 2021's riot grrrl, Hannah is quick to answer: "She listens to Cherym. She has a mullet. I think that she has blond hair [laughing and pointing at Nyree]. I would say that she probably doesn't give a fuck about anybody's opinion, and she shouldn't." "The modern riot grrrl has to be all about intersectionality because that's one thing that the first riot grrrl movement forgot a bit, or at least it wasn't brought to the front," Alannagh continues. "Focus on that. It's so important that women of colour and non-binary people of colour are included in that, and also trans people and those from different classes. Of course, the regular movement has always been very punk working class. Including everybody in it and not just the white female that's really important." "There are so many more amazing female, non-binary fronted bands that have come forward," says Hannah. "Problem Patterns, Gender Chores and Strange New Places are all amazing bands based out of the north [of Ireland]. They really take up space and make the scene a lot more queerfocused, which is so important." As for what they want for the future? "Just taking over the world with our music," laughs Hannah. "We just want people to come and know that they're so loved and supported at our gigs. Just fuck all the bastards who think they're going to come and ruin our safe space. Don't you agree?" P Cherym's EP 'Hey

Tori' is out 1st October.

SEB Lo-fi popster SEB has arrived with his debut EP, 'IT'S OKAY, WE'RE DREAMING'. It's "the first act to this whole journey," he explains. WORDS:

SEB'S TOP 5 SEASIDE DESTINATIONS

(WHICH DOESN'T INCLUDE MARGATE, 'FYI')

1. Cannes

2. Malibu

3. Coney Island

4. Miami

5. Brighton

Abigail Firth.

hat could be better than sharing your stage name with one of the UK's greatest pop exports of the 2000s? Maybe creating a viral TikTok hit all alone that kick starts your music career that began mid-lockdown in your bedroom? That's what happened to SEB, and no, we're not referring to Sophie EllisBextor (although they do also share murderous singles on their debut records). Releasing his first EP, 'ITS OKAY WE'RE DREAMING', in July, the project was born out of a lockdown rut and written at the most confusing time of everyone's lives. Featuring the single 'seaside_demo', which blew up when a mashup of the track and Harry Styles' 'Watermelon Sugar' went viral on

PHOTOGRAPHY:

Shy Louise.

TikTok, and five other killer tracks, it's part of a trilogy that he's working on right now. "I was just trying to figure it out," says SEB, who's at home in Los Angeles, where he's trying not to wake his dog up (you could say it's okay he's dreaming. No? Sorry). "In one way, it was good because the pandemic got everything to stop, and I could like sit with myself. But that's also the bad thing where it's like, okay, everything stopped. Like there's literally nothing to do." Stuck at home, making no money after losing his job, and reminiscing about high school, SEB turned the most sour of lemons into lemonade, aptly bundling the bittersweet feelings about growing up, perceptions of other people and desire to explore the world into a

“Skateboarding exposed me to a wide range of music” SEB neat lo-fi, indie-pop EP. Redefining what it means to be a pop star working from their bedroom, SEB isn't necessarily 'bedroom pop' – he'd rather join the big leagues. "Sometimes I feel like there's this notion of pop music that it has to be super clean, super pristine, big studio, big budget. Everything just sounds big. But I'm like, I want the music to be a little more relatable, even in the sonic sense. I want you to hear the mistakes. And then that's still going to feel just as good as, I don't know, a perfect Ariana song or something." Growing up, SEB was always doing something

creative, and always knew he'd end up doing something creative for a living. It started as a child in Haiti, where he'd make miniature versions of sculptures from rocks in the back garden. From there, he got interested in comics and cartoons, spending summers in the comic book shop, and eventually found his musical footing in skateboarding. "It was honestly skateboarding that exposed me to a wide range of music, because when you're watching skate videos, you could hear punk one second, hip-hop the next second, indie one second, just a whole hodgepodge

of things. Eventually, I found my way into music, and that's where the world sort of opened up to me." At only 24, SEB's already lived quite the life. He's lived in (deep breath) New York, Haiti, Miami, Oklahoma, and Chicago, before settling down in LA to start his music career. The influences he's picked up along the way are scattered throughout his music. Oh, and he also worked at Electric Lady studios in New York for a while, learning from the absolute best as Lorde, Lady Gaga, J Cole and more frequented while making their own records. Casual! "From Chicago on, I was really delving into making music and paying more attention to it. Chance the Rapper and Chief Keef were blowing up; I was exposed to this extreme drill music, watching the videos, seeing all that happening is like, woah, what the fuck? After that, when I was in DC, a lot of my friends were into the underground indie DIY scene, and moving to New York, I started delving into more electronic music. I feel like in each one, it's like let's take the gospel chords of Chance's music, let's take the general aesthetics of DIY indie music, let's take some of the sampling and manipulation of the house music, and let's just smash it all together, and then maybe you get some of my songs." There's a new single on the way in October that'll properly introduce us to the main character of the next two acts of this trilogy, and he's working on an art project too, but right now, he's just playing it by ear. "I want to do it one step at a time, because I feel like my brain is so sporadic that I need to bunker down one, figure that out, and then once this part of my life is set, let's move on." P readdork.com 31.

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Pixey has announced a brand new EP, and delivered a track taken from it. ‘Sunshine State’ – the EP, for which a title-track has already been released – will drop on 29th October, and is preceded by a lovely taster in the form of new song ‘Life In Stereo’.

Suzi Wu is back with a new single, ‘LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE’. A co-write with FIDLAR’s Zac Carper, it’s a commentary on mid-00s misogyny. The London-based artist explains: "It made the very idea of being a grown-up woman scary. It still does."

ERICDOA Loads of acts claim to sound like the future, but 18-year-old up-and-coming ericdoa could well be it. Heading quickly for the big leagues, and with a forthcoming collab EP with glaive on the way, the buzz is real. WORDS:

t's all coming up ericdoa right now. Freshly connected with big deal labels and making a whole lot of buzz, the 18-yearold has all sorts going on. From his own fizzbanging efforts to collaborations with fellow hypemerchant glaive, he's part of a wave of acts that rip up genre expectations to make something all together more exciting. That, and he's not afraid to smash up his car in the name of a good pop video. We dropped him a line to find out more.

Hi! How's it going. What are you up to today?

Right now, me and my roommates are eating soft tacos; they going crazy.

What kind of artists inspired you to get into music? Did you have a musical upbringing?

I actually did have a musical upbringing. Being Puerto Rican, it's a very big part of the culture. My family members always had some sort of instrument in their hand. Lots of artists inspired me, like A Tribe Called Quest, Teena Marie, Rick James, and a lot of SoundCloud shit in my highschool years.

What first sparked your interest in giving it a go. Was there a specific artist or song that made you want to try it yourself?

Seeing SoundCloud's culture and how everyone had a community really inspired me. Seeing all these really interesting people make very unique music really made me think, "Damn, I could probably do that", lol.

There's a whole bunch of acts coming through that all feel quite collaborative - you've

Dan Harrison.

done loads with glaive, as well as others. How does that kind of thing come about? It feels to have more freedom and creativity than with lots of traditional artist collabs.

It's really just being friends; I hate when any type of musical friendship is forced because you can obviously tell in the music that there is no personal chemistry. I believe to be creative, you have to understand everyone around you first. Otherwise, whatever you make together comes out awkward.

You're all frequently grouped under the Hyperpop banner - is what you're doing a bit wider and genre-free than that suggests?

Of course. I've spoken countless times about how much it's a blanket term, but what me and the bros are doing is so much more. And I cant wait to show you all.

Are you creative in non-musical ways too?

I like to think so. Before I made music, I used to make cover art for artists and freelance work for companies. I like drawing and writing screenplays that will never see the light of day.

Now you're releasing music alongside a major label - has that changed much about how you're working? Is there more pressure to deliver a certain kind of thing to a deadline, or are you basically free to go where your creativity takes you? Nothing really changed, to be honest. No one can ever change our workflow; I will not allow it, lol.

What's the best song you've

“It really feels like I found my purpose in life, even though that's wild corny”

DAISY BRAIN

Daisy Brain is what us professionals like to call 'an odd one'. You won't find much info searching online. We've not received a single email to our overflowing inbox of new music on the subject. And yet, undeniably, something is happening. Good reports come from early gigs, there's an EP - 'Let's Go Camping' which sounds prime Dork faire, and a support slot with Yungblud is already on the books. Consider this a placeholder, for when we work it all out.

ERICDOA

written so far?

Very hard to pinpoint, but I love the writing on this one unreleased song that you guys will hear very soon.

What's your favourite thing about being a musician? Is it living up to the hype?

It's so cool; I never really felt like I was good at anything. Now that I finally am where I'm at, it really feels like I found my purpose in life, even though that's wild corny. And, ehh kinda living up to it, I wouldn't really glamorise being put in the public eye and being a musician.

GEESE

When we first heard of a band named Geese, we kind of hoped they'd be really bad. The honking jokes write themselves, y'know? But Geese don't honk, Dear Reader. They're actually quite good. Brooklyn buzz-merchants with a debut album 'Projector' out on 29th October, they're worth getting in a flap about. This all went swimmingly, didn't it? Nice to make a splash.

What are you working on at the moment? Are there any big plans afoot?

Currently, we are working on my project titled 'things with wings'. So many big things are coming thing and next year. So happy with how everything is turning out.

In the video for 'back n forth', you blow up your car. Can you get the label to just buy you a new one now? Do we need to start a campaign?

BRO PLEASE. You would think that too, dead might have to text Janick for my one favour. But man, no campaign needed, just need to stop being a cheapskate and bite the bullet.

ericdoa and glaive's collaborative EP is out soon.

SCRUFFPUPPIE

What are you doing, new artists, if you're NOT signing to Phoebe Bridgers' Saddest Factory imprint? Everyone is at it - including, but not limited to, 20-year-old JJ Shurbet. Recording under the name Scruffpuppie, she started posting performances to YouTube at just 16. Over 100 videos later - some with as many as 4 million views - and she's going at it 'proper'. Check out recent single 'Assignment Song' for a taster.

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COVER STORY

Just With his smash hit debut album, 'Hypersonic Missiles', Sam Fender headed straight for the stratosphere.

seventeen. WORDS:

Jamie MacMillan. PHOTOGRAPHY: Sarah Louise Bennett.

One pandemic later, surrounded by division, despair and rampant culture wars, he's refusing to lose track of the roots that brought him here.

(Well, unless he packs it all in and heads to Paulhenge, anyway. Don't ask. We'll explain later)

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SAM FENDER

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COVER STORY

'M GONNA GET

a right slapping after this!" Usually, that's just what Dork likes to hear seconds into a big old cover interview, but it's no juicy bit of Sam Fender gossip that's prompted this worry, and no state secrets have been revealed. Instead, Sam's Big Diva Moment is simply getting a cuppa brought to him. "I'm just being a diva; I cannae make it. I physically can't make the cuppa, me!" He pleads to someone as a cackle erupts off our Zoom screen, and, eventually, a steaming mug is finally presented. Yawningly fresh out of bed, still in his dressing-gown, he's ready to face into the keen eye of the Dork storm. Or, in reality, look at his laptop screen because them's the times we live in. Obvious statement alert, but it's been a while. The last time Dork caught up with Sam Fender, 'Hypersonic Missiles' was preparing for take-off and promising to carry the North Shields singer even higher into the stratosphere along with it. Back then, as we sat in his home studio in the summer of 2019, Sam was a mixture of jittery excitement at the impending release but also carried with him a sense that he'd already moved on to something bigger and better. "Listen to this, I've just finished it!" he said, pressing play on what turned out to be a pretty-muchall-there early version of 'Seventeen Going Under'. With all the momentum in the world behind him, it would only take something catastrophic like a global pandemic to slow Sam Fender down. And then, 2020, and all of its chaos arrived. Like many of us, those initial hopes that Covid would blow itself out like bird flu soon gave way to despair that it wasn't going to all be done and dusted in a couple of months. What could have been a blessing in disguise, giving him a welldeserved break after a furiously relentless and frankly exhausting-just-to-look-at touring period, became, in his own words, 'a fucking nightmare'. "I don't know how I made it through seventeen months of it, to be honest," says Sam today, recalling those early days of feeling trapped and alone as he shielded in his house. With the on and off again nature of that summer as live music seemed like it was returning until the very moment that it wasn't, he played one huge show at Gosforth Park in Newcastle. It was a night that soon felt less like a celebration but rather more an act of defiance. "I live by myself, so being alone and by myself for months and months was all quite… challenging," he offers as an entry into this years understatement awards. After a debut record that dripped with the life and the lives of his hometown, it forced him to look more inwardly for inspiration for the follow-up. This time around, the various characters that popped up and gave 'Hypersonic Missiles' so much of its rich texture are now, mostly, entirely replaced by Sam, something he admits to being a terrifying but very liberating experience. "I had 'Seventeen' and a couple of other songs written beforehand," he says. "But lockdown made it more of an introspective writing experience, looking at my childhood and all of that. I just ended up spending too much time in my own head. "It was quite a self-deprecating experience because I'm quite a selfdeprecating person," he grins self-deprecatingly before explaining the songwriting process this time around more seriously. "I've got a lot of character traits that I'm not very proud of, and I'm kind of working on it. I used to hate myself for not being more of a fighter when I was a kid, and that kind of insecurity bleeds into your adult life. Do you know what I mean?" He asks that question a lot during our chat, but it always seems like he's genuinely interested in the answer rather than it just being a habit of speech. It

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should probably come as no surprise that someone who captures the tiniest, yet most important detail, of normal life in his songs is always listening to others as much as he is talking. But that attention to detail has paid off, and how. Because 'Seventeen Going Under' has, quite frankly, smashed all our hopes and expectations out of the park. Carrying on from where 'The Borders' left off, it is a startling leap forward in scale and scope; the sound of someone escaping from everyone else's shadows and standing free in the light. Those Springsteen comparisons may prove hard to shake just yet (and there is one song on here that is *particularly* Boss-y, though nonetheless glorious for it), but it's a record comfortable in its own skin, written and recorded by a songwriter finding his own track entirely and running down it at full speed. 'Mantras' shows a whole new 'vibey' side to him, while 'The Leveller' sees him shredding like never before ("That song was like taming a fucking snake," he laughs). The title-track you've already heard, of course; it's a run-through of the challenges that life threw at him and his mum back in the day. That was followed quickly by the sucker punch of 'Aye', a savage dissection of how class and politics have been cut in two by the divisive inclinations of 'the world and everyone in it' today. With the album cutting down both paths at times, it's a breathless ride that culminates in the heart-stopping 'Dying Light', a sequel (of sorts) to 'Dead Boys', one that's destined to prise a tear or four from the hardest of hearts. So, where to begin? Childhood, obvs. Describing much of the record as about the fall-out that follows when childhood insecurities are carried through into adulthood, he begins to slowly and carefully unwrap some of the main themes. "I destroyed a lot of romantic relationships through my insecurities, and I let a lot of my decisions get ruled by them, you know?" he admits. "And it ruined a lot of things for us over the years growing up. I'm still trying to figure it all out, still trying to figure out how odd it is to be a functioning man in the 21st century. How you conduct yourself, you know?" He begins to open up more. "I'm still trying to understand what I'm allowed to be upset about? I need to allow myself to be sad about things because I've had that thing before where I'll talk about something really heavy with a girl, and they'll be like, 'you're allowed to cry, you know?'" He starts to laugh it off, "I'll be like, yeah, but I was told boys don't cry and all that. It's mad, innit? I was always asked, 'are you a MAN or a MOUSE?' And I'm like, 'I'm SIX!' I'm probably crying cos I banged my knee!" Those sorts of stories echo through our chat, the metaphorical safety catch and restrictions that too many men often put around themselves in order to stop them from facing up to their real feelings. At one point, he tells an anecdote of his dad kicking drywall off from under his stairs, all in response to accidentally trapping a young Sam's finger in the door. "He just kept booting and booting and booting, so angry at himself! When you feel that thing, those feelings coming up, you just fucking push it back down," he laughs now, doing an impressive mime of someone squeezing a giant marshmallow into a tiny matchbox. When last we spoke, Sam seemed slightly nervous about the response to 'White Privilege', a track that blasted both sides of the Brexit debate. This time around, as the white-hot blast of 'Aye' shows, he couldn't give less of a shit to the

“I'd love to say 'fuck it, we're going off grid'” - SAM FENDER

SAM FENDER

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COVER STORY

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SAM FENDER

“I don't know what I'm talking about; I'm just a fucking kid. I give up” - SAM FENDER

reaction. "I just realised that the people who hate it aren't coming to my house, so why the fuck should I care?" he shrugs. "They put their fucking opinions all over Twitter. The only difference is mine is actually enjoyable to listen to cos it's got a beat behind it." He points out that he lives in a part of the area where the infamous Labour Red Wall collapsed at the last election, shaking his head at it all. "There's a couple of songs on this record that are about the feelings of a lot of working-class people," he says. "Blyth Valley just voted Tory for the first time ever. I think we're in a very, very strange time; the polarity between the two sides has divided the whole world. Even in America, the division is INSANE. And I think the left-wing have sort of discarded the working classes for the culture wars that we're fighting." Treading carefully but deliberately, he continues. "I think we SHOULD be fighting all the culture wars as well, but I also think that the focus needs to be

re-aligned. Because when big companies talk about class, it's dangerous for them. The working-class feel like they've been left behind, and I don't blame them. It's infuriating. So 'Aye' is focused on how the 1% are totally having a great time during all of this. They just watch everything go by, completely untouched by everything. And then the normal people are left with this really embarrassing online presence of the left-wing, which is just so completely snooty, really up their own arses, and really elitist. And the right-wing are just a bunch of racist fucking morons. And that's ALL you've got!" There's no escaping how plainly frustrated and derisive at the current state of play he is. "I'm just fucking sat here going, well this is ridiculous," he gently rants. "I am very left-wing, and I did like Corbyn. But because of the nature of the press, they made sure that he was never gonna fucking win, or be heard. And the irony is, some of the things that

he was doing that were genuinely left-wing, like re-nationalising the railways, I thought that was a great idea. And now, because of the pandemic, Boris has ended up doing loads of socialist shit. But if Corbyn did all of these things, they'd have called him a mentalist. But Boris, he's been hailed as a fucking champion! But the incompetence of the Tories, it's a new level. So that's what 'Aye' is about, that kind of ego death that I and a lot of people are having where I just want out. I don't know where to go, though, so I've just gotta live with it." It's here that things start to get really interesting for big cult fans. "I just get this feeling, and I know I'm not gonna do it, but I'd love to say 'fuck it, we're going off grid'," he grins. "Let's go and live in the wild, start again and start making our own renewable energy. My mate's a fucking legend, right. Sold his house, he's proper working class and a proper geezer. He's got five dogs and a budgie. Two readdork.com 39.

COVER STORY

“I thought if I became a famous rock star, it would just fix everything” - SAM FENDER

lizards, a snake and everything. He sold his house and bought a bit of land and is literally building this secret enclave on the sly," he says, giddily. "He's built a stone circle and everything. He's called Paul. And he's called it Paulhenge. He's gone nuts," he finishes happily. Is this is what the future holds for Sam? Will future releases just arrive in a jiffy bag, location of sender unknown? "Aye, I'll be in the fucking Alaskan wilderness with a bag full of elk. Insane. And anyway, there's another song which is kind of about something similar," he segues with the smoothness of a suddenly upside-down rollercoaster before returning back to his original point. "My music is a snapshot of an opinion of where I was at the time. Things change, your opinions change," he says. "And 'Aye' isn't me trying to politically rally people because I'm fucking not. I haven't got the foggiest. 'White Privilege' was written in my early 20s when you think you know everything, and you're going 'FUCK THE WORLD!' But 'Aye' is me at 25, realising I don't know a fucking thing. I don't know what I'm talking about; I'm just a fucking kid. I give up." Today he shrugs off any talk of pressure in having to follow up 'Hypersonic Missiles' with another success. "I mean, there's pressure to match up purely because of how well it did," he says simply. "But I feel like it is just a better record this time around." 'The Borders' was the moment where he realised that he was onto something special and gave him the impetus for much of what came to follow. "'Play God' and 'Hypersonic' were indie bangers, but 'The Borders' was, for me, the first time that I really felt like 'that's a songwriter's song'," he says, admitting that it fuelled him into the writing this time around. "I was riding off the steam of that to make this album, and there was a lot of steam left over. I felt like it unlocked part of me that I didn't know I had?" Instantly curious as to whether we prefer the second album over the debut (spoiler alert: we do), we recover quickly from the stress of being asked outright what we think as he begins to reveal a bit more about some of the album's highlights. 'Spit Of You' is an emotional journey through the relationship between Sam and his dad, complete with its heart-

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pricking final line of 'One day that'll be your forehead I'm kissing, and I still look exactly like you'. "I played it for my dad when he was drunk, and he loves it," he says. "Even though it's talking about boys and their fathers and that inability to talk properly about emotions. Me and him have had moments in our relationship which were fucking tough, but it's really a declaration of love, you know? It's me telling him how much I fucking love the guy." Sam's mum is also the focus of some of the writing here too, the title-track again touching on those early struggles and his temptation to turn to crime in order to help pay the bills. "It's the thought process you go through when you're seventeen. You've got mates who went into doing stuff that got them into trouble," he admits. "People just end up getting caught in the slipstream, and end up selling drugs." Coming home one day from college to find his mum surrounded by letters from the Department of Work & Pensions, it was a highly stressful point in their lives. "There were court summons to go and do tribunals to try and prove she wasn't fit to work," he states angrily. "This is a woman who's worked for forty years as a nurse, and the one point she ever asked for help, they're treating her like a fucking benefit scrounger? Worked her arse off her whole life, then had a bout of really bad fibromyalgia [a longterm condition that causes pain all over the body], and she got depressed. Struggling to get herself together." Happily, she is better these days. "She dug herself out of that hole herself, and she's great now," he says. "And then I got famous, which helped because I was just wanting her to put her fucking feet up, really. But seeing her crying with letters from the DWP in front her, saying that she didn't know what we were going to do and how skint we were… I knew that some of my mates were making money from doing that [selling drugs]. So I was like, easy money. And there are so many kids who will be in that position. THAT'S the reality of fucking Conservative Britain." It is the final track, 'Dying Light', that forms the emotional heartbeat of the entire record. Shifting from a haunting piano intro to a fists-clenched triumphant finale, it is gut-wrenching in its return to the world of 'Dead Boys'. "For mum and dad and all

my pals, for all the ones who didn't make the night," he sings at the roaring crescendo. "Yeah, it was written when I was going through a time where I realised that I needed a bit of help," Sam says quietly, revealing that personal struggles returned with a vengeance on his return from the 'Hypersonic' tour in Christmas 2019. "I just wasn't dealing with anything, I always just thought that thought that well, everyone has their issues and stuff," he explains. "And I thought if I became a famous rock star, it would just fix everything. What I realised is it fixed my financial problems, and I could help my mum out finally, but it didn't fix the feelings. It didn't fix my imposter syndrome, and it didn't fix the way I felt as a man. It took us a bit of time to sort that one. All of the things you didn't like yourself for before, they don't go away. If anything, it's amplified because you've got MORE reasons to dislike yourself because you're like 'well, now you've got money, you think you're fucking brilliant'." There's almost a sense of survivor guilt about Sam as he talks about this, admitting that he feels like he's left many of his mates "still in the trenches" trying to get themselves out of similar holes. "They're still all my mates," he says. "The only people I really hang out with from the fucking celeb world is like, a couple of other bands that I get on with. I like the lads from Fontaines D.C., and I'm pals with Elton John and that, but my friend group is still very much my mates from home, you know? When I've got trouble, they're still the people that I go to?" Having recently bought a house in his beloved Shields, there's no sign of Sam leaving town just yet even if the brightest lights of all are calling him. "I'm gonna do a stint in New York to do the third record," he nods. "I fell in love with the place when I was out there. But Shields is always going to be home I think; Christmas will always probably be here." New York, and then the Alaskan wilderness? You heard it there first. But by now, it's nearly lunchtime, and the guy's still only had that one cup of tea, so we begin to bid our farewells before we risk another diva moment. Back in the world, and back on top. It's all Sam's world now. P Sam Fender's album 'Seventeen

Going Under' is out 8th October.

SAM FENDER

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London collective NiNE8 are pooling their resources to promote a new, more sustainable way of working - one that puts community, support and creativity to the fore. Some of the group's leading names give us a the low-down. WORDS: Martyn Young. PHOTOGRAPHY: Daniela Monteiro.

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NiNE8

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FEATURES

- LORENZORSV he story of the birth of London's multigenre creative powerhouse NiNE8 Collective is deceptively simple. Founding member and visionary leader Lava La Rue met fellow singer Biig Piig back in music college in 2014 while super-producer, beatmaker and sonic alchemist Mac Wetha just happened to be in the same class too. The three young artists all came from different backgrounds but shared a passion for music from the underground by the underrepresented. They all had a desire to do things a bit differently. From there, NiNE8 was born, and the trio picked up friends and made connections along the way as they immersed themselves in London's multitude of disparate scenes, cultures and gatherings. The group grew in strength and numbers and gradually made their own waves by producing their own genre-fluid and diverse music until the pandemic hit in 2020, with NiNE8 numbering nine idiosyncratic personalities who all came together in the name of one common goal. It's been a long journey, but the story of NiNE8 is just getting started. Rappers LorenzoRSV, Bone Slim and Nige are three of the friends and musicians that the founding trio integrated into the collective, and together, they help form their distinct voice. Despite the upheaval of the pandemic and the curtailment of their plans in 2020, nothing is going to stop NiNE8 in their rise. "I don't think anything has changed," begins Lorenzo. "We always go into these things headfirst when it comes to Nine8. Whatever we can't do, we deal with that when we come to it." He's specifically talking about the added pressures of unlocking and the creative performance culture coming back to life with shows and all the attendant pressure that brings, but the statement is true for everything NiNE8 do. The ethos of the collective is all about rejecting the notion of anything they can't do and forging their own path. The last six years have seen not only the collective rise as a whole with a number of acclaimed mixtapes, including the twin wonders of 2019 and 2020s 'No Smoke' and 'No Smoke Vol 2', but also the individual members' profiles have increased with many of them concurrently exploring their own careers and sounds. Biig Piig, 19-year-old rapper Nayana IZ, and Lava La Rue are among the most exciting new talents in the UK, but their own individual success is only beneficial to the collective as a whole. Everyone is on a slightly different path but making the same journey, or as Lorenzo puts it: "It's a bit like the Wizard of Oz

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really, without the sad stories. Everyone has just came together and is still on their own journey as well," he laughs. "That's been instrumental in the collective's progress because as you've seen the collective grow through our music, you've also seen all the individuals grow at the same time," he adds. "The growth is evident. Not just through the shows and partnerships but through the content we've produced. Even the visuals have scaled up. Even though we're all individuals, we're at the point now that when we all come together. It's like Nine8 has its own sound."

NiNE8

WHO'S WHO IN NiNE8

Lava La Rue One of the founding members and the visionary behind NiNE8, Lava is the collective's creative director and leads the visual side of the collective. Her stage name is an anagram of her name Ava Laurel. Away from NiNE8, she makes alternative hip-hop and all sorts of experimental and exciting productions as an artist in her own right. Also, she was profiled in the May 2021 edition of this very magazine.

Biig Piig Jess Smyth is firmly on the path to global stardom. Since taking the name Biig Piig (she found the name on a pizza menu, apparently), she has wowed us with her evocative soulful takes on experimental hip hop and is maybe the NiNE8 member that has garnered the most solo success. She also has a knack for amazing titles, for example her two EP's 'Big Fan Of The Sesh' and 'A World Without Snooze'.

It's been a relatively slow ascension for the collective as they hustled and slowly built their name and reputation in contrast to some artists in the last few years who arrive in a flash of excitement and are left bewildered in trying to deal with the newfound attention. For NiNE8, their grounding in the underground leaves them well equipped to deal with the pressure of hype.

Mac Wetha Mac Wetha is going to be huge. Like, proper massive. It's only a matter of time. Beatmaker and producer extraordinaire Mac is a 22-year-old genius who started out in rock bands and is now making his own wildly creative warped electronic pop as heard on this years 'Make It Thru' EP.

- Nige "I think you get quite a holistic picture of where you are and the context in which you're making music," says Bone Slim. "I feel like for people that come up quite quickly, it can be good in a lot of ways, but you haven't got any ballast, and people aren't going to know where you're coming from. New fans don't always know the history and context of where you're coming from. Having a backstory helps ground you." All the collective members have been active in making connections and pushing both their own music and NiNE8, and through this, they have been able to support and inspire each other. "NiNE8 moves in one momentum, but the individual

members don't, so that has been quite informative," he continues. "When a member gets new management or a record deal or something, that doesn't happen at the same time chronologically, people learn from those experiences and feed it back into the collective. Working with different creatives, that all feeds back and on the whole, it just makes you a bit more informed on every aspect of the industry and where you're making music and where you fit into that whole puzzle." When the collective was formed, it was in part a reaction against the barriers imposed by the music industry. Simple things like finding somewhere to play and record. NiNE8 had to find readdork.com 45.

FEATURES

a way to break those barriers through necessity. "We didn't have the sources and materials to produce the music we wanted," says Lorenzo. "This was something shared amongst all of us. It wasn't like, oh, these people don't want to give us opportunities, more so that we enjoyed having to go out and do this kind of thing ourselves. We'd have to collaborate with our friends and put on our own shows. That was something we all shared at the start, and it's something we all share now." A fierce drive to do things their own way courses through everything the collective does. "We're still independent," says Lorenzo. "That's where we've come from. We haven't had the sources but have turned it into a positive thing. You can still do it yourself. I think that's important. It's so important to show the youth that are coming up now to not feel shy about working with other people and getting involved with things. Test your own waters and see what you're capable of doing yourself. I think that's what got us all where we are now." Rapper Bone Slim saw NiNE8 as allowing him to break free from the established way of doing things and shake things up. "I came from the old UK boombappy sound when I started making music," he begins. "Everyone was coming from their own lane to it, so at first, it was a big mismatch and a big clash of culture. As we've grown, we've started influencing each other. The whole of London used to be quite cliquey in a way with the genres and sounds coming out, but now everyone is doing different things. You can do what you want right now and when we first started, it wasn't really like that. It's really mad now, and people are open to anything." There isn't really a distinct NiNE8 sound; it's more a NiNE8 spirit that informs everything they do. "I'm looking for something that has an influence but still pushes a boundary," says Bone Slim. "Working with Mac Wetha is great because you can just come in and say I was listening to something, and he can literally put something together, and it will be the NiNE8 version of that sound. It's like our own little world. It's like the Yu-Gi-Oh toon world. It becomes its own thing." Mac Wetha is the man that brings the magic and moulds everything together. Newly signed to The 1975 and Wolf Alice's label Dirty Hit, he's destined for big things himself but has played a key role in shaping the many sounds

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Nayana IZ Nayana is the youngest member of NiNE8 and the 19-year-old rapper is one of the most exciting new talents in all of the UK. Fearless and boundary-pushing, Nayana reps her Indian heritage with a passion while making future-focused hip-hop with an explosive edge. She also directs videos, collaborates with all sorts of creatives and tackles important themes like identity, race and spirituality with burning intensity.

L!BAAN L!BAAN is multi talented. An MC, producer, keyboard player with his own band Sophists AND a model as well. He came to the attention of NiNE8 from being a prominent positive force and all-around enthusiastic legend in the local London hip-hop scenes, and he brings a soulful, funky side to the collective's sound.

- Bone Slim

LORENZORSV Lorenzo has a very long name. Lorenzo Ricardo StanfordVaughan, to be exact. He is a rapper who has his own take on the artform, moving from doing grime at 12 years old to shaping his rhymes and lyrics in his own distinct way, making him a striking presence on every NiNE8 track he pops up on

of NiNE8 from the beginning. "He was the head at first," Bone Slim explains. "His room is where we would always go to. It's been interesting watching him over the years. Me and Mac have known each other the longest. It's been cool watching him change from the background he came from in rock bands to now going back to doing his solo stuff with those influences because now he's singing, and he's making beats for himself. He's made heaps and heaps of beats and instrumentals. Funnily enough, a lot of the time, he would have made a beat for someone that didn't necessarily work out, but he gives it to someone else, and it becomes something like the Amine song 'Burden', which is Grammy-nominated. That beat was originally a NiNE8 beat."

You might think that a group of nine strong characters might have some friction and arguments, but for the members of NiNE8, the vision is clear, and the dynamic is one of support and creative freedom. "There's very little conflict. It's more of a discussion," says Nige. "It is a mad little family when everyone is so creatively minded. The dynamic is very familial. We look out for each other, and we do that beyond music. There's very little that I couldn't share with the collective, and I think that goes for everyone. It's a place of confidence. A place to create but also confide in one another." One thing that they all agree on is that Bone Slim is the member with the craziest ideas. "I'm a thinker, not a doer," he laughs. His latest idea is about

expanding the NiNE8 universe. "I want us to make a market," he says excitedly. "I want to make our shows more immersive. From the moment the doors open, it's welcome to NiNE8 world until the moment that we come off stage and doors close. We were previously offering free t-shirt presses for fans. We want to make things more us." Bone Slim goes on to tell a story that illustrates the collective's scale of ambition and force of personality to make it happen. "When we played Jazz Cafe in London, Lava came in with these big fake clouds ,and we were like 'let's put them up', and people were like 'you can't do that it's an iconic stage', and we were like 'we can, it's our stage, and we're putting these clouds up'," he remembers. "Lava was like, 'let me talk to them'. So we went back into the green room, and we came out, and the clouds were up. The guy who says 'you can't do that' is sat at the back of the rope, and Lava's there smoking going, 'how do you like my clouds?'" One of the key principles behind NiNE8 is the importance of representing the culture and heritage of the members and where they come from. There's no danger of them losing that connection with growing success. "I don't think it's a difficult thing to do," explains Nige. "Our influences are what make and define us. The influence of the culture comes naturally. We're not trying to put something in or push this message forward; this is just generally who we are. We come from all walks of life. There's many different springs that you can tap into with songwriting and producing, but for the most part, we tend to turn to subcultures a lot. It's where we turn to for inspiration when it comes to writing music. We turn to our own backgrounds because that is where we cut our teeth. We're on the cusp of that generation that understands TikTok and putting things up online, but we genuinely met cutting our teeth on circuits. I used to do the Dalston Brick Lane circuit, and Amersham Arms in south London was the site of one of the first NiNE8 gigs. We all met gigging. The physical subcultures are very important to us." NiNE8 are unique in that they are a collective that span appeal across generations from the old school OG's to the new generation of inspired, socially active and online kids. "That's a testament to Lava's creative direction," says Nige. "Being able to meet and

Bone Slim Bone is one of the original core songwriting members of NiNE8 and has had a long career over the last decade running alongside the collective, making complex beats and rhymes on SoundCloud under various different pseudonyms like Phantom Bonehead and OG Slim. Unpredictable with a no-filter style of confrontational storytelling rap, Bone Slim is an enigmatic figure central to NiNE8. He is also rarely seen without his trusty signature mask.

Nige As well as working as an MC, Niall Williams, aka Nige, is also an accomplished producer under his alias Dj Shuka where he makes pure dancefloororiented club music influenced by London's incredible club heritage. Think prime UK garage, for example. Nige is a top student of the game and brings his dancefloor sensibilities to NiNE8.

KXRN Harvey Underwood Caldwell, aka KXRN, probably makes the darkest and strangest music out of all the NiNE8 members with his lo-fi experimental hip-hop sounds. Prolific and a key figure in the underground community, KXRN is a perfect example of how NiNE8 have flourished by evolving to include the most exciting creative people from across sub-cultures and scenes.

build relationships in the physical world and translate that into social media. That's a really strong suit of hers. I get it all the time where people compliment me on Lava's Instagram. It's so genuine but coy as well. She knows what she's doing and how to market herself, but at the same time, it's not manufactured or superficial." All the success NiNE8 have earned has been DIY and powered by the ambition and drive of each of the members. The music is just one part of it. "NiNE8 delivers on a complete package," says Nige confidently. "Going back to our genesis, that's the gist of it. Lava calls it creative currency. It's like an old form of bartering. Say you make music but don't have a rapper for one of your beats, or you don't have a graphic designer for the album artwork, then you all pull your resources, and you end up with a product that looks like a lot more money has gone into it. That was the ethos behind the collective and the genesis of how we started, and that has carried through. Because of our pooling of resources, we understand the merits of having a fully formed package. It needs a really good visual, creative graphics and also sonically. We see it to its natural conclusion." So, what's next for the collective? They have already delivered a trio of stunning new singles this year, with the most recent being the atmospheric dreamscape hip hop of 'Love U Do'. "Our main focus has been rehearsing for shows," says Lorenzo. "It feels like we're going in a more melodic direction, and I think that reflects the times right now. Everything is starting to look up again, and things are looking sweeter. That's where we are going. We're not in

a rush. We want to give back to the fans what we were aiming to give them in the last year." The past 18 months have been difficult for everyone, and NiNE8 certainly recognise that. As they continue on their journey, the importance of the fans who stuck by them patiently as their pandemic struck takes on greater importance. They are pouring everything into these shows, making any NiNE8 performance a must-see occasion. Ultimately though, the future for NiNE8 is as fluid and exciting as their music. The one thing for certain is that they want NiNE8 to stand for something important and represent inclusivity and something bigger than just the music. "We're still in that sense of ambiguity. It really could go anywhere," says Bone Slim. "I would want NiNE8 to become a creative platform for artists and ourselves. I'd want to pass the torch on and create a space in London for young creatives and people to come and work and have everything that they need under one roof that we operate and own as a family. "We want to give an opportunity to the next generation coming up. We want to achieve that timeless influence and be there for the next generation. We want to be community figureheads." P

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48. DORK WORDS:

Abigail Firth.

Self-described "fetish rapper" Tommy Genesis is breaking into the unknown with her new album, 'goldilocks x'.

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FEATURES

nce upon a time, in Vancouver, Canada, a girl by the name of Genesis was born. She had a vision and a mission that didn't align with what other artists were doing yet. She was effortlessly subversive, penning lyrics that'd give Fifty Shades of Grey a run for its money. In a few short years, she'd become Tommy Genesis, an underground icon, flicking her long blonde tresses across stages, catwalks and glossy adverts worldwide. She's living the dream, but like all good fairytales, there's darkness before the dawn, and the world Tommy Genesis lives in on 'goldilocks X' is a grimy night out in sticky summer heat, one that starts with you feeling yourself and ends in tears. It comes as a surprise, then, that Tommy's life while recording this album was almost a direct opposite. She's relaxing in LA with her dog and foster puppy – both of whom felt like contributing heavily to this interview – and generally just being chuffed about her life. "It's a nice place to be when your art kind of becomes your career, and then you can just be creative the rest of your life," she says. "I'm also a very mellow person. I've definitely had my phases, but now, you know, I'm sitting in the sun in LA with my puppy." Tommy Genesis is extremely secretive. Emerging in 2015, Tommy still won't tell the world her age (ideally, no one would know her gender), and she prefers to let her art speak for itself. That's a big ask, because there's a lot to take in. Born in Canada to Tamil and Swedish parents, Tommy knew she was an artist from a young age. She grew up not fully fitting in but always felt comfortable expressing herself. She says there was never truly a plan for her life, but she wound up creating music after stumbling on a SoundCloud stream of Awful Records boss Father, who later asked her to feature on his track 'Vamp'. Soon after came her mixtape 'World Vision', which does exactly what it says on the tin. "I just want my music to make people feel like a bad bitch and make people feel like they are as powerful as they want to be," she says across the pond, in between chatting to her dogs. Following her breakout year in 2018, when she released her debut self-titled album, she received co-signs from Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, M.I.A, and Rihanna (an outstanding Christmas card list), proving her underground success and mainstream potential. On 'goldilocks x', she merges those worlds, making her most experimental, most pop, most danceable and most emotional concoction. "I really liked actually, the concept of the Goldilocks effect, which is used as a theory in a lot of different things. It's more just about something being in

that sweet spot, where it's sort of like the way gravity is with the Earth, where it's just happening because it's perfectly right. And for me, the album, I really liked that idea and that concept of, why is it happening? I don't know. But it's just perfect. It's right. And that, to me, was why I picked Goldilocks. "And then the 'x' is well, first off because if you just Google 'Goldilocks', you know, I'm not trying to taint childhood books with my cover. I'm like, okay, this is my concept for the album. But how do I make it unique? I added the x because x is just experimental. It's punk. It also represents a lot of things; x is usually the unknown factor." On her third full-length, she's exploring a more raw side of herself, opening up to new emotions and new genres and claiming her power. Half the record feels like signature Tommy – ballsy club bangers with bags of attitude – and the other half sees her dip her toe into something new. The single 'woman is a god' sounds made for the dancefloors of New York, with its deep house beat, 'fuck u u know u can't make me cry' nods to the grungey pop-punk revival the mainstream is having a moment with, 'baby' lets her Swedish side shine as the record's pop bop, and closer 'hurricane' takes the album on an emo turn. "It's a little bit more fuck you and rap-based than the last one. There's definitely like, no specific genre. I feel like rap kind of ties it all in together, but it's definitely way more experimental. I feel like if it was a person, I just took all the jewellery off, I took all the lace off, I just took all the extra shit off and was like, what do I just need for it to be done and nothing more?" But dialling back the extra doesn't mean she's going boring. The influx of more organic (read: not electronic) instruments across the pop world finds its way onto Tommy's record towards the end, particularly on 'fuck u u know u can't make me cry', which feels like a sonic switch up for her. It's a trend that she slides into effortlessly, and as it turns out, she's been experimenting with different genres long before these tracks. "I fucking love the end of the album, going from 'baby' to 'fuck u' to 'hurricane'. I just feel like it's so special because, as much as I like pop music, it doesn't resonate as deep to me unless the lyrics really hit. I've always made music that isn't necessarily one genre, and the music I grew up listening to isn't rap music. Whatever trends are happening in the world, I'm not really sure of, but for me, it's just a natural way for me to make music; I don't always put music out like that. If I make songs like that, they just don't always make the album. This time, I chose to put them on there." While there's plenty of sad girl time on 'goldilocks x', there's the other end of the spectrum on 'men'. A track crafted in a group chat where Tommy lists everything she hates about, well, men, obviously.

I just want my music to make people feel like a bad bitch”

TOMMY GENESIS

"I literally was just like, I'm gonna write a song called 'men'. I literally hit a group chat with a bunch of my friends in it, and I was like, 'Hey, I'm in the studio, just send me everything you guys hate about men'. I swear to God, the verse where it's like, 'jealous, insecure, condescending, even when I come, I'm pretending', I was just quoting all the funny shit everyone was sending me. I had so much help writing that song because people were like, this happened to me, this happened to me, and I was just like, man, I'm gonna put that in the song." Throughout 'goldilocks x', Tommy alludes to her own legacy. Whether she meant to or not, when she coined the phrase 'fetish rap', she found a definition for a new wave of female rappers taking ownership of their sexuality. The music of artists like Brooke Candy and Cupcakke, and later artists who'd hit the mainstream like Doja Cat, fit into this sub-genre, categorised by hyper explicit lyrics and heavy electronic beats. On 'manifesto', she proclaims, "I wrote the manifesto so you could feel the hype", 'average' has similar sentiments, and on lead single 'peppermint' she reiterates how she made fetish rap. "I've never been like, 'Oh, I'm gonna fucking start some shit', no, I've never done that. I've never even thought about it. I've never even tried. I love being shocking, and I love being subversive, but I also don't try to be; it's just my existence is subversive. It just happens naturally. "Fetish rap is what I make because it's not mainstream; it's underground. It's a niche, and I feel like if people fuck with it, they really fuck with it. And I also like the way fetish rap sounded because I would say I make art rap, but it just doesn't hit. So I never did it to defend anything; I feel like it just made sense." This record also sees Tommy hit some personal goals as an artist. She often doesn't write about a specific situation or moment, rather pulling from different feelings to create her own mood. She notes that 'hurricane' almost makes her cry because the feeling it gives her is so intense, and she hopes you feel it too. "I feel like I lassoed the feeling and brought it in really pure, and to me as a writer, that's what I'm always trying to do, is just like bring the feeling in as pure as I can, for whoever's listening to it to feel what I'm feeling as purely as I was feeling it. "I really wanted this album to feel perfect and not feel like you wanted something else, but also be surprised at what comes next, but after you're surprised, you're like excited for it to come again." Tommy is the princess, the evil queen, the dragon and the knight in shining armour all in one. She doesn't need true love's kiss, but she wants it. Unlike her titular character, she'll have the biggest bed, the biggest bowl and help herself to the money in the safe too. P Tommy

Genesis' new album 'goldilocks x' is out now.

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WHENEVER WORDS:

Alex Cabré. PHOTOGRAPHY: Patrick Gunning.

Back with their first album in six years, indie darlings Spector are a testament to hard work and not giving up.

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W "I

SPECTOR

WANT OUR CAREER

to be like Kings Of Leon in reverse," quips Spector's Fred Macpherson. "We started with wanting to write 'Use Somebody' and 'Sex On Fire'. Now we're getting to our... what was the second album?" Indeed, the London outfit - co-helmed by Jed Cullen, who joins us in the next Zoom box over - are past the stadium-smashing, everything-plus-thekitchen-sink approach their name was once synonymous with. Their third long-player is 'Now Or Whenever', a pared-back affair whose scratchy lo-fi sound could easily be taken from 'Aha Shake Heartbreak', if not for the cosmopolitan sheen that makes it unmistakeably Spector. 'Now Or Whenever' began when the band came off tour at the end of 2019. Feeling more confident as performers than ever, Fred and Jed aimed to capture the rapturous energy of a Spector gig and channel it into recording. "That last tour we went on... it felt like we could finally play," Fred recalls. "By nature of Jed and I being the last two standing in the band, he's grown as a guitarist, and I've grown as a vocalist. When we started, I was belting out all the tunes, and he was belting out big power chords – bam, bam, bam. We've learnt a bit more restraint, and through that, it's meant we can perform the songs in a way that I'd hope are more akin to the spirit of our live show." "The live shows mean quite a lot to us," adds Jed. "They feel like a big part of Spector. But only a certain amount of people have been to our gigs and seen that." Producer Rich Turvey (Blossoms, Oscar Lang) acted as a guiding hand throughout the process, Fred notes. "[He] was a good influence at reminding us we were there to complete an album. That meant it was the quickest album we've made by a long way. That was a really good part of the process because it meant we couldn't go away picking at it for weeks or readdork.com 51.

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- FRED M ACPH ERSO N

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how relationships change. Friends come and go, and you're left with imprints or talismans of relationships, ideas based on things that have happened that somehow come to mean more to you than the real relationship. We spend so much time narrating our own lives and trying to make sense of them in some romantic fairy-tale way that when reality meets the storyline, you're often left disappointed. When people don't live up to your expectations of them, and you don't live up to your expectations of other people, you can often be left with a kind of sad reality." If there's something 'Now Or Whenever' does better than any past Spector records, it's the one-liners. Fred has always been a pro lyricist, dicing up heartbreak and misery with puns that would make most rappers jealous. 'Do You Wanna Drive' opens with a real gem. "To me, 'midlands summer nights dream' is the dumbest lyric on there. It's so ridiculous in its formation of, like, mixing the two themes. That's why we try and put those in." "It's like when David Blaine does clever tricks that are really simple, then he'll do a camera trick where he flies, and everyone's like 'oh my god, that's amazing!'" Jed adds. "You're mixing in little tricks with things you've thought about so deeply, but those things that happen really quickly can mean so much to people. It's great. And that is a great lyric because that puts you in a real place." "With this album, we were trying to be more chill in the approach. I don't like it when you can hear the writing in lyrics, when it seems like something's the tenth draft," states Fred. "I like it when something feels like it's come naturally. You don't wanna be the guitarist who's solo-ing over everything. You don't

"SPECTOR IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A BAND DOESN'T BREAK UP"

months on end. We had to move on with our lives." You sense the more organic arrangements across the record. Sure, in places, the guitars still fizz like sherbet, the bass still thunders with the heft of an oncoming tube train. But where 2015's 'Moth Boys' got its cool from its sterile disco-chic production, 'Now Or Whenever' feels warmer, more honest. 'Do You Wanna Drive' is a rose-tinted slow builder that invites the listener "back into ubiquity" with a moshpit-ready closing fold. 'Norwegian Air' and 'Funny Way of Showing It', meanwhile, benefit from the input of co-writer Jack Kaye of The Magic Gang. You hear his influence in the latter's sunny, stop-start rhythm. Perhaps the record's biggest twist is 'I'm Not Crying You're Crying'. It's an intimate vignette, a swirling cut of 70s loungecore that was penned with artist/ producer M.T. Hadley, who has also worked on tracks by Metronomy and Nilüfer Yanya. "We did a lot of experiments writing with different people," says Jed. "Martin's influence was what gave 'I'm Not Crying' a really different sound, but it still felt very much like a Spector song." At the other end of the scale, 'An American Warehouse in London' is the album's bombastic climax. "There's sunlight in the lens / You know how this one ends," Fred croons on it, over noxious synthesisers. It reads like a love letter to their metropolitan roots, envisaged in glistening widescreen grandeur, but, like the best Spector songs, there's a bitterness nestled behind its immediate sugar rush. "I think it acts as a kind of coda to the spirit of the album," Fred explains. "The thrust of a lot of what we write about is... a passage of time. How people change,

wanna be Matt Bellamy. I mean, unless you are him, then that's great. "One thing I've realised is how prudish we are in a lot of our lyrics," he tangents. "You listen to Pulp, how much sex there is in everything. Which is the reality of being a teenager. You listen to Spector songs, it's almost implied that teenage relationships are some Shakespearean thing full of honour in a sexless universe. It shows that everyone has things that they're comfortable with or not." "That's what indie music sounds like," Jed points out. "It sounds like people who've never had sex." For the twosome, 'Now Or Whenever' marks a decade of creating music together. As such, it finds them navel-gazing deeper than ever before, as much about the band itself as the events that inform it. "Have you seen the Marvel Loki series?" Fred asks. "No spoilers, but it's written to kind of explain the notion of different timelines. In a similar way, I do believe there are simultaneous versions of Spector that went on to be the biggest band in the world or went on to break up after a few gigs without a first album. Our version of reality is somewhere between the two. Probably closer to the band that broke up

SPECTOR

than to the biggest band in the world. It's strange making music ten years after writing your first songs, and it still existing alongside." Back when Spector began, they were hyped to no end with the suggestion that chart success and world fame were soon to follow. For the most part, they didn't. It doesn't take a genius to see that being in the band all this time has been a hell of a rollercoaster. Have there ever been conversations about packing it all in? "Well, a lot of members have packed it in!" Fred laughs. "Being a touring musician, getting paid very little or trying to maintain a career, it's not for everyone. It just so happens that, for whatever reason, we're still here. I don't think Jed and I have had a discussion like 'shall we end it?' It's more 'shall we do it?', you know what I mean?" "I remember having a text conversation with Fred, trying to figure out what music even means to [us]," Jed starts. "I hold music in such a high place. It's mystical. When I was growing up, it was almost like a religious thing. I still don't quite understand it. It's almost like being together and writing a good song is this release. It's this feeling of touching the

infinite or something. It's really great to have this space to be able to do it with Fred. Without any form to it, it could kind of drive you crazy, trying to grab this thing which you believe is magical, ectoplasm of music. I don't know," he trails

off. "I'm glad for once it's not me talking the most shit!" Fred chirps. During that 2019 tour, Spector played in London to a sold-out Oval Space. It was a raucous evening of wet walls and sad bangers. During the set, Fred commented on the trajectory of the band. He noted how to that point, they'd been playing smaller and smaller venues, but now it felt like they were on the way up again. It was a touching and candid moment, validation of the connection between the band and their deeply devoted fanbase. "Often bands break up when they go to play and people don't care, but we go out and see so many people that this means such a lot to," Fred says now. "When that's reflected back at you, you're like, fuck, this is a privilege. We're definitely not gonna get that forever, so while there are people who can engage with this as deeply as they do, I feel duty-bound to

maintain that connection and experience." The Zoom call times out. He pops back up a minute later. "I was just thinking of a quote for you: Spector is what happens when a band doesn't break up." Life has changed for Fred and Jed since their adolescent days of combed-back hair and smarmy, semi-ironic music videos (find the 'Friday Night...' clip on YouTube, it's a corker). They're in their 30s, calmer and "definitely less arrogant" than back then. The biggest change for Fred is soon to come, though: he mentioned recently on Twitter that he and his girlfriend are expecting. "Yes, it is my baby," he smiles. There are a couple of references to burgeoning fatherhood on 'Now Or Whenever', if you listen closely. "Pregnancy test in the recycling / Avocados ripening," he near whispers on the folky penultimate 'This Time Next Year'. "That song is one I'm most proud of as an exercise in doing something we haven't done before. I said to Jed, I want to write a song that is just guitar and vocal. Jed said that if it's just guitar and vocal, the guitar and vocal have to be really good. That one was like, you sit down, and you don't have a song idea in mind... you just write the first things that come into your head. It's a nice one that has a bit of real-life [in it]." "I think a Spector album about family would be as enjoyable as a Spector album about sex, but we will see how these things influence us moving forward," he says, his tone turning more serious. "I definitely don't know what being a parent is like. Five years ago, if someone had told me that might be something happening in my life, I probably would have tried to run away as far as possible. But much like not being in the biggest band in the world, these are things we get used to as we get older. "You have to live life for the music to stay interesting," he surmises. For now, domesticity can wait. Jed, Fred and the rest of the gang are due to head out on a UK and European tour in a few weeks, with a night at London's Shepherds Bush Empire on the calendar for November. "It would be good to do Shepherds Bush and grow from there," Jed says, on the topic of aspirations. "I mean, that might not happen. Like Fred says, things ebb and flow. We played Shepherds Bush after the first album, and that was the point where we started to shrink. Now we've got it booked [again], it'd be great to sell a lot of tickets and continue where we left off". "It's almost like we're back to the biggest point in England we were at then," Fred adds, optimism in his tone. "It's not like there's a pot of gold at the end of Shepherds Bush..." starts Jed. Fred cuts him off: "We left it backstage last time!" P Spector's album 'Now Or Whenever' is out 1st

October.

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Feeling penned in by everyday constraints, The Vaccines' new album 'Back In Love City' sees them trying on different lives and fictional places for size. WORDS: Jasleen Dhindsa. PHOTOGRAPHY: Frank Fieber.

hen thinking about the inception of The Vaccines' fifth record 'Back In Love City', imagine frontman Justin Young cruising the streets of LA in a fancy car, on his way back from the gym and headed to a swanky apartment. Except it's not his car, and it's not his house. Nor is it his gym membership. No, the brains behind one of the UK's most beloved indie bands didn't develop a kink for burglary and joy riding since the release of their last album [2018's 'Combat Sports']; he did a house swap with a random stranger halfway across the globe. "Daniel [Ledinsky] who produced the record was living in LA at the time, so it's fun to be out there. I [thought] there must be a cheaper way of doing this, [so] I found this website, I guess it's like a dating site. You find out all about a person's personality, and then

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THE VACCINES

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FEATURES

- Justin Young

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THE VACCINES

you send a message saying, 'You look amazing'," he laughs. "I found this guy with a nice loft in downtown LA, and he came and lived in my house. It's awesome. I drove his car and used his gym membership. I left my life pretty much under the mat for him. And he did the same for me. We probably passed each other, somewhere across the Atlantic." And as if the story couldn't get more romantic, there was one more twist of serendipity waiting for Justin. "At the end of it, I was like 'I'm leaving now to Texas to work', and I guess he knew I was a musician because he'd been in my house. He's like, 'oh you're going to Sonic Ranch; I lived there for a month as a videographer for an artist'. He used to work at a record label; he was like one of probably

only about 400 people on this planet that even know where or what Sonic Ranch is." The story of Justin's life swap shows how intimate interactions, like letting a complete stranger drive your car and sleep in your bed, are becoming ever more transactional. It's a concept that inadvertently provides the crux of what 'Back In Love City' is all about. "I wouldn't call it a concept record. I was fighting that a little bit. To a degree, it's conceptual. I'm not sure it's one of those opuses," he admits. "'Back In Love City' is a song on the record, and when I wrote that, I was like, what does that even mean? And then I was like, where is that? What is it that fell out of my mouth? We started to riff on this idea of Love City being this place, or it's a dystopia or utopia, I'm not really sure. Funnily enough, when I was doing the house swap, this big climate march went past. I was watching, and I was thinking about Love City; what if emotions had finite properties? Maybe we might run out of emotion." "It's not just love that you go to find," he continues. "It's any array of emotions or feelings. Love is a reductive word. It's impossible to say what love feels like, or what hope feels like, or hate feels like. It's basically impossible to condense that down into one word. It's almost like there's no direct translation, because actually, it's a completely different thing for everybody, depending on who they're thinking about. That goes for any emotion and feeling. Any song or any feeling could fit into this world. I've always been into assessing the idea of connection and disconnection. "When we were writing this record, we were having so much fun being in the band and really into what we were doing. I felt a real sense of excitement, hope and positivity. I was thinking a lot about rock music and indie rock music. It gets a slap on the wrist for lots of things. The thing that winds people up about it is that it does take itself quite seriously. I really want it to feel like a hopeful, infectious record - like you can't begrudge them. It sounds like they're having the time of their life." 'Back In Love City' was recorded at the famed Sonic Ranch, the world's largest residential studio complex, sitting just outside El Paso in Texas. Though the gadgets inside didn't phase Justin, it was what was going on outside the recording rooms that proved more compelling. "I'm not someone who's into studios, equipment, or anything like that. It's pretty hard for me to get excited about studios; they're kind of nerdy and windowless rooms. If they're in a cool city, then that's an appeal to me. [Sonic Ranch] is on a pecan farm on the border with Chihuahua, Mexico. There's a lot of intensity; there's a lot of death and destruction caused by the cartels that you see on the American side, because a lot of the people working on the farm and in the kitchen in the studio all live on the Mexican side of the border. In Tornillo, the town where the studio is, is where Trump had his internment camps. There's a lot of sadness; there's a lot of darkness. But amongst all this is this amazing place with amazing people that you don't leave for weeks at a time. It's a beautiful environment; you see the desert and the mountains. You do feel like you're checking into another world." 'Back In Love City' is painted boldly with cinematic and euphoric soundscapes, and twanging guitars that amp up the band's penchant for rockabilly, which was only bound to happen when given the wild west-esque environment in which they were recording. "I think that people will assume because we're

in Texas, that's the stuff to make a space cowboy sounding record, and actually we went to Texas because it was already sounding like that. "Every time you make a record, you're trying to push these borders down. You're trying to get better, and you're trying to stay interesting and interested. You're aware that you're slightly being held hostage by your back catalogue, and it's that constant tradeoff or that balance. Primarily, I'm always thinking, what's the through-line? In 20 years, and I look back, what did every The Vaccines record have? How could you describe The Vaccines in three words? We've always been searching, and I'm not sure we necessarily always found it. "Obviously, there's that frenetic energy, and there's that euphoria. That lends itself quite well to the cinematic arrangements. If I think back to when we were first starting the band, and we were writing for [the debut], pretty much everything we were listening to was surf rock and rockabilly. So it's always been there. If I think about 'I Always Knew' from [the band's second album] 'Come of Age', I actually think that sounds like the same band as the band playing 'Paranormal Romance' on this record, like a continuation of that." 2021 marks the release of a new album for The Vaccines and the ten-year anniversary of 'What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?' which became one of the most successful records of that year in the UK. When reflecting on that time, and the time that has passed since, the sanguine narrative traversed on 'Back In Love City' becomes ever more believable. "We only felt comfortable [celebrating the anniversary] because we had a new record coming that we were really excited by. If there was nothing new, I don't think we would have made a noise about the fact the first record was 10 years old. Every time we make a record, it feels like making a record for the first time. You're aware that you're The Vaccines, and you're aware that you have a past. But I think as much as anything, you're like, we still have a present and a future, and what does that look like?" "When The Vaccines first came to the attention of the world of music, there was this intense hype around everything we were doing. As a result of that, we felt very insecure, very anxious. We're very aware of the fact that not everybody agreed with all the great stuff people are saying about us, and there's a sense of imposter syndrome. Coupled with no sleep for like two years, we were pretty fried. If I could go back, I would tell myself not to worry so much and enjoy it more. We spent way too much time worrying about what people didn't like about us and not enough time worrying about all the people who did. Just looking back now and realising how few bands that happens to on that scale, it's a mad situation we were in. It was fucking incredible." P The Vaccines' album 'Back In Love City' is

out now.

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FEATURES

Aussie punksters Amyl & The Sniffers' debut album made enough noise to grab attention. All eyes (and ears) ensured, they're back with a follow up. WORDS:

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Jasleen Dhindsa. PHOTOGRAPHY: Jamie Wdziekonski.

AMYL & THE SNIFFERS

Our kind of record.

Hey Amy! How have the past 18 months been for the band? Have you played any shows in that time?

ustralia's favourite punk band, Amyl and The Sniffers have just dropped their second full-length 'Comfort To Me' - and it has a lot to live up to. The foursome's gargantuan self-titled debut, released two years ago, saw them tour relentlessly and quickly garner a cult following spanning all corners of the globe. Fans quickly took to their assertive, full-throttle, no-fucksgiven energy, propelling them to the front of their very own scene. Their new opus born during both the Australian Bushfire season and an intense but surprisingly enjoyable pandemic period "trapped together for months in this house with sick green walls" - is described by frontwoman Amy Taylor as celebrating "how weird life and humans are. The whole thing is a fight between by my desire to evolve and the fact that somehow I always end up sounding like a dumb cunt."

We did five or four in regional Victoria, and then one in Melbourne. The Melbourne one we got to squeeze in just before midnight lockdown, which was pretty sick because people had been holding on to those tickets since the end of 2019, and we've been dying to play them. Everyone wore masks and shit, but the vibe was fucking good. The regional ones were pretty special because we got to see a bunch of small towns outside of Melbourne. I've never been to any of them; I don't think the boys had either but [they were] classic Australian pubs, right near beaches, right near rivers. It's pretty amazing. They're really fucking beautiful. I remember on the first show we played at this pub which was a great pub. The guy that owned the pub, I think he got into a brawl with someone.

Before we get talking about the new album 'Comfort To Me', you guys had an incredibly successful debut record - how would you sum up the past two years looking back? What have the highlights been?

Before the band, the biggest show that I had ever been to was just 100 people or whatever, and I didn't really read any magazines or anything. So lots of stuff went over my

confident making it.

head. Juliette Lewis is a fan which I think is awesome cause she's fucking sick. Sometimes people send you free stuff, and that's pretty special. Seeing your picture on the cover of a magazine and playing somewhere overseas and people recognising you, or appreciating the music. Sometimes people message us being like, I'm going through a really hard time, and this music has really pulled me through.

'Comfort To Me' feels more diverse sonically than your debut - how did you come to hone in on the sound it has?

This album could come out, and, realistically, a bunch of people are going to hate it, and a bunch of people are going to like it. Same with the last one, we didn't have time to stop and think about it too much because we're so busy. I think we're all proud of it, and it has allowed our lives to go into a pretty weird direction because none of us have jobs. If you worked at a bar and you made a cocktail, it'd be yummy, but then three years later, it'd be really yummy. You wouldn't really notice the difference, but your customers would, and you'd feel more

You've said that the album makes you think of the 90s TV show The Nanny. Tell us a bit more about that.

The main character [played by] Fran Drescher is Nanny Fine. She's hilarious and full of life and quite a style icon. She's living in this rich guy's house as a nanny, but she loves him too, and she wants to get married, but she's just a nanny. It's very funny and very easy to watch. It's pretty trashy, she lies about her age and wears funny skirts and can't really cook, but she's just fun!

Why did you call the album' Comfort To Me'?

"Comfort to me" are the first words of the song 'Capital' on the album. It's kind of an existential song. It's saying "comfort to me", what does that even mean? What reasons do we persevere? Existing for the sake of existing, meaning disappears. Nobody really does anything for any reason, no matter how much meaning they inject into it. We're all just flesh sacks on this hell rock. There's not really any meaning; we just do it to do it. But then comfort to me is a punk album, or a rock album, or speeding in a car. Naughty shit! P

Amyl and The Sniffers' album 'Comfort To Me' is out now.

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Incomin ALL THE RELEASES YOU NEED TO KNOW (AND SOME YOU DEFINITELY DON'T)

WHAT DO THE SCORES MEAN? e Rubbish ee Not Great eee Fair eeee Good eeeee Amazing

SAM FENDER

SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER Polydor

Out: 8th October 2021.

eeeee FOLLOWING THE RUNAWAY success of ‘Hypersonic Missiles’, it would have been dead easy for Sam Fender to double down on the stories built on the shoulders of the characters of his beloved North Shields. But, as a pandemic hit, his songwriting instead took a turn inwards. The main character in ‘Seventeen Going Under’ is Sam himself. Bravely putting his own life under that same microscopic attention to detail that coloured so much of his debut, it is a bold leap forward in all the ways that matter. “I’m only getting started, don’t need to feel disheartened,” he sings, on ‘Getting Started’, and ain’t that the truth. If ‘The Borders’ opened the door to where he wanted to go next with his songwriting, this follow-up smashes them off their hinges. There’s a breathless start to the record, ‘Aye’ with its withering assault on the divisions being forced on the world by the 1%, savage and bristling with confidence. Likewise with ‘Long Way Off’, another track that shows he’s lost none of his fire or ability to cut straight through to the core of the current political shitshow. ‘Seventeen Going Under’ is at its best when he turns to face himself however. Relationships with both parents are explored, and the fallout of his childhood insecurities through adulthood runs through much here. Perfectly picking a path through when to be a motormouth, and when to let the music speak for itself, tracks like ‘Mantras’ for instance threading loosely around a The War On Drugs vibe in a way that’s going to explode live. ‘The Leveller’ feels like the guitar-shredding teenager in all of us let loose. Best of all, the tear-jerking finale ‘Dying Light’ which *yes*, sounds like something Springsteen would have done in his prime, and *no* that isn’t a bad thing when it’s executed with this much precision, heartache and sheer quality. This is very special indeed. JAMIE MACMILLAN

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ng. LORDE

SOLAR POWER EMI Out now

eeee There are worse places to be stuck in than New Zealand, not that Lorde would have told you that on her debut eight years ago, but her time away from her home country and the superstardom that filled the space between album one and three means she’s changed her mind. Re-emerging four years after ‘Melodrama’, a record that doubled down on the success of ‘Pure Heroine’, ‘Solar Power’ is a left turn to say the least. Ridding her studio of the electronic beats her first two records were built on and pulling from an endless stream of influences, its first single is a jigsaw puzzle of references the world is still completing. While she nods to who she used to be by confirming she’s ditched the cherry black lipstick for good, ‘Solar Power’ is still brimming with Lorde-isms, the scenery is just different. Grounded by its lyricism, which sometimes harkens back to her older songs in the form of perfect summers and naked bodies in bedsheets, the subdued instrumentals let Lorde’s greatest talent shine in the same way ‘folklore’ did for Taylor, and ‘Sling’ did for Clairo, the latter who joins

Phoebe Bridgers as a guest vocalist here. She spends ‘Solar Power’ often musing on her own fame, reflecting on her early years and whether ‘all this’ is for her. She’s not the first to do it even this year, but unlike Lana Del Rey, who’d been ‘cancelled’ three times over by the time ‘Chemtrails Over the Country Club’ arrived, and Billie Eilish, who’s barely out of her teens and already looking back on her career, Lorde’s reflections hit a sweet spot, delivered by someone who grew up in the spotlight, wise beyond her years, but still coming of age. She buckles under the pressure of being a teenage prodigy and the voice of a Pluto in Scorpio generation. For those who don’t worship at Lorde’s altar, the album might come across as tone deaf and tacky, although ‘Solar Power’ isn’t as ‘love and light’ as its title-track. There’s grit and heart – as there always is with Lorde records – and like most of us, she’s spent her lockdown grappling with her insecurities and confronting her own mortality. ‘Solar Power’ is exactly where she needs to be right now. ABIGAIL FIRTH

RAY BLK

ACCESS DENIED eeee Island Records Out now Ray BLK has found the secret ingredient to making you feel like the baddest version of yourself, and she’s injected into every single beat of her long-awaited debut album, ‘ACCESS DENIED’. Across fourteen tracks, Ray makes a stellar case for recognising your own worth and taking no shit. Opener ‘BLK MADONNA’ sets the tone immaculately – each track combines a beat primed to dance to with vocals that leave you clinging to every word. Her voice might be deliciously honeyed and sweet, but she explores some underlying frustration with characteristic wit. ‘Baggage’ is intoxicating: a reflection of her past; it’s simultaneously accepting and unapologetic. One thing is for certain: Ray always says it straight, as it is, and it’s unbelievably refreshing. On ‘Dark Skinned’, she celebrates Black femininity and condemns the archaic, toxic place the music industry can be. Each (very much warranted) word of criticism is delivered with a very much ‘over it’ eye roll. It’s a mantra that threads throughout the album, and once you start to embrace that, those dance-ready moments of soul are there to pick you up. On ‘ACCESS DENIED’, Ray BLK euphorically reclaims her power, and she offers the perfect opportunity for you to do the same. NEIVE

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SCREEN VIOLENCE EMI Four albums deep, and CHVRCHES still make pop music unlike anyone else.

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YOU SIGNED UP FOR THIS Gingerbread Man Records Almost the perfect supper pop record, it's a fine start for an artist it's impossible not to root for.

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HOLDEN

Without so much as a whiff of pretension or pompousness, Melbourne-based pub-rock icons Amyl and the Sniffers have exploded back with a lunatic collection of 13 rapid songs on their newest album ‘Comfort To Me’. Each track is packed with enough energy to power a city and an insatiable lust for life that hums from the charmingly brash lyrics and brazen vocals of Amy Taylor. In typical punk fashion, almost every song is a short sprint that establishes its point in an instant and rides high on the pace it produces. Amy's lyrics are eclectic and unmistakably direct; in ‘Maggot’ when she sings, “Come on maggot, put your maggots in me,” it isn’t too

PIP BLOM

MEADOW MEADOW

SILHOUETTES EP eee Practise Music Out now James Green and Peter Darlington continue to craft soft, calm and expansive soundscapes beyond the realm of their past rock projects with Meadow Meadow’s ‘Silhouettes’. Charmingly lo-fi and gorgeously chilled atmospherics are established through the surprising combination of whispering acoustics, sharp beats and even luxurious jazz; backing vocals and deep synths flesh out a more mature soundscape, and this is matched with a mature theme, too - one of acceptance and hope, balancing sombre and inspiring tones on a knife's edge. The result is an eccentric and explorative second EP that is enchantingly simple in its composition, embracing an aura of calmness. FINLAY

AMYL & THE SNIFFERS

LITTLE SIMZ

SOMETIMES I MIGHT BE INTROVERT Age 101 Firmly established as an artist of serious note, Simz's second full-length is one of the standouts of the year so far. .

BABY QUEEN

THE YEARBOOK Polydor Bella's first proper 'project', 'The Yearbook' is a collection packed to the rafters with genuine pop brilliance. The potential is frightning, in the best possible way.

WELCOME BREAK eee Heavenly Recordings Out: 8th October 2021 Amsterdam’s alt-rockers Pip Blom are back with second album ‘Welcome Break’, conceived while touring the country and subsisting off British motorway service stations. Effortlessly upbeat, even the darker moments are painted in decisive and dynamic colours. From the bluesy, rockabilly opening of ‘You Don’t Want This’, to the sour twang of ‘I Love the City’, via the woozy space age breakdown of ‘12’, it’s an album that sounds consistently Pip Blom. It is the brash, ballsy soundtrack to your alternative high school prom, a party for the oddballs and the nonconformists. It is confident and celebratory, looking forward to the future; rippling with cinematic moments, it’s an album to be proud of. EDIE

MCQUEEN

difficult to imagine what’s on her mind. There’s also a new vulnerability that ranges from fighting with the way the world sees her in ‘Laughing’ or how fed up she is of feeling unsafe at night in ‘Knifey’. Despite the bold honesty, the band don’t drop their badass image for even a moment, thanks to the grimy guitar and hectic drums that fill every track with a grotty punk vibe. This is raw, unadulterated, punk with no prefix that can only come from a band with immense amounts of talent and character. Amyl and the Sniffers have clearly put every ounce of themselves into this album, and the product is as unique as they are. CONNOR FENTON

SLOTHRUST

PARALLEL TIMELINE eee Dangerbird Records Out now Five albums in and Slothrust are sounding fresher than ever. With their ragged charm taking on the quest of searching for meaning within this crazy world, there’s a childlike wonder that runs throughout ‘Parallel Timeline’. But that doesn’t stop them toting such sweetly demented exclamations as “buying your brain a cake and frosting it with the cum of angels.” Who said romance is dead? There’s something arrestingly relatable in their attempt to answer that doozy of a question: what is the meaning of life, or more so, what’s it all about? Unafraid of digging into the nitty-gritty, with some softly sung melodies, it turns out scrambling into your consciousness, and cobbling together all the pieces can make for quite the step forward. STEVEN LOFTIN

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SPECTOR

NOW OR WHENEVER eeee Moth Noise Out: 1st October 2021 “Nobody can miss you if you’re never gone,” Fred Macpherson observes on the lead single of Spector’s overdue third album 'Now Or Whenever', which acts as both a sequel and a reboot. With live drums recorded to tape and Jed Cullen’s guitars pushed right to the front of the mix, Spector set out to mimic their live show with a setlist of brand new songs. To that end the attention grabbing ‘Catch You On The Way Back In’ sets the tempo with a pulsing beat and elegant hook. ‘Funny Way of Showing It’ provides a pause to take some fluids onboard, ‘I’m Not Crying You’re Crying’ borrows some 'Tranquility Base...' jazz chords before ‘Bad Summer’ picks the pace up for an excellent encore segment, which even includes an uncharacteristic lighters in the air acoustic number. After an enforced eighteen months away the Moth Boys have emerged from their chrysalis having swollen their already enviable setlist with a clutch of new bangers to parade on their autumn tour; time to get in the mixer. DILLON EASTOE

SHELTER BOY

FAILURE FAMILIAR eee Scruff of the Neck Out now The distinctive cadence of Shelter Boy’s voice welcomes you into the pastel-tinted world of ‘Failure Familiar’. It’s a world that lyrically might send you scrambling headfirst into startling selfawareness, but sonically, it’s lemony bright and full of grooves. That dichotomy is at the core of the album – failure is ultimately inevitable, but important. Once you recognise that, a new shade of optimism has the chance to shine through. It’s a revitalised rendition of bedroom pop, yet it frequently wanders into unexpected musical territories. On ‘Atmosphere’, there are tinges of 90s indierock, but elsewhere it is the easy, jangly guitars that are a mainstay. It might be an album about embracing and understanding failure, but the emphasis is placed on getting back up. There is an abundance of undiluted joy as Shelter Boy urges you to regather yourself and learn the art of acceptance. With his jazzy guitars and shuffling, infectious percussions, ‘Failure Familiar’ is brightness bottled. NEIVE

MCCARTHY

GUSTAF

THE VACCINES BACK IN LOVE CITY AWAL Out now

eeee Five albums in, and The Vaccines have escaped. Both literally to the Texan desert and metaphorically - ’Back In Love City’ is largely set in a fictional pleasure city. At this point, it almost feels like anywhere to keep dodging those difficult questions about what we expected from them will do. Happily, those expectations are matched in both quality and surprise. From the big shiny disco ball that the title-track feels like onwards, Justin and the gang have rediscovered what their biggest strength always was - planetary sized pop choruses and unforget-

table earworm hooks. This is traditionally well past the point of a band living on past glories, when at best you hope for a couple of single bangers to smuggle into a festival greatest hits slot. Far from it here. Not everything lands, but that’s okay - the majority is swaggering and confident, any risks involved in looking in a new direction getting paid off in bucketloads. By ‘Heart Land’, a lovestruck letter to America and all the hopes and dreams that inspired ‘Back In Love City’, it has become their strongest album in years. JAMIE MACMILLAN

AUDIO DRAG FOR EGO SLOBS eeee Royal Mountain Records Out: 1st October 2021 Despite having hundreds of live shows under their belt, Brooklyn art-punks Gustaf are just now unleashing their debut album, ‘Audio Drag For Ego Slobs’. Relying mostly on raw live elements with disconcerting production twisting and stretching their established style, the group here mould something that stands above its peers. While it is very much of its genre, this LP is something that exists outside of its time. The vibe of the sprawling title is very telling of the energy that plays out over these ten tracks - a swaggering vocal delivery has Lydia Gammil revelling in soundscapes stuffed with chaos, adopting a sloppy but knowing approach to composition. Heaps of attitude are instilled into the ludicrous tales of momentous - and perhaps ill-informed - joy, as well as ever-present crippling dread. This is a tight yet loose, concise yet rambling debut that makes an instant impression. Momentum rises and crashes in waves, culminating in an elated and airy high. FINLAY HOLDEN

LUCY DEAKIN

IN YOUR HEAD I’M PROBABLY CRYING EP eeee Scruff of the Neck Out now Lucy Deakin’s second EP, ‘in your head i’m probably crying’ provides further proof of the pop upstart’s rising ambitions. Its bright, tropical pop tones plant both feet in the here and now, references to TikTok and Gen Z culture littered throughout, while remaining indebted to 00s trends such as Avril Lavigne’s pink and black branded pop-punk. It opens with mechanised angel tones repeating the mantra "when you haven’t got the guy", setting the scene for a collection of songs that are broadly punchy break-up pop. And yet, penultimate track ‘i don’t even miss you’ (an assertion that is in fact, probably a lie) is by Lucy's own admission an ode to her parents’ divorce, revealing a poignant and important aspect of her songwriting; they can mean different things to different people. From the acoustic edge of ‘bedroom floor’, to the road trip balladry of ‘i don’t even miss you’, she confidently transforms teenage angst into bubble-gum sweet dancefloor fillers. EDIE MCQUEEN

FOY VANCE

HALSEY

IF I CAN'T HAVE LOVE, I WANT POWER Virgin EMII Out now

eeeee Many of the major pop albums released in the last year have been relatively understated and muted. They’ve employed soft focus, light touch sounds and a retrenchment from any sort of maximalist dancefloor elation. Halsey has always stood out from the crowd though, and on fourth album ‘If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’ they have delivered a bracing and ferocious blast of intense rock and dynamic pop which pushes the boundaries and takes you on a thrilling journey. The album is the sound of Halsey relentlessly exploring the innermost depths of their psyche as they experience the swirling emotions of motherhood and childbirth combined with having a career as a major star. The result is righteous and abrasive but always striking. Produced in conjunction with Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and including a turn from Dave Grohl on drums, it’s both their hardest rocking album and their most fluid as it veers from frenetic pop-punk on

62. DORK

‘Easier Than Lying’ to lithe electro hip-hop grooves on ‘Lilith’ to the gorgeous folky fingerpicking balladry of ‘Darling’ which effortlessly out 'Folklore'’s Taylor. The guitar drenched stormers on this album like the turbocharged enormo shoegazey blast of ‘Honey’ are massive and perfectly chime with this year's buzziest trend but what makes the album even more compelling is the deep and dark emotional excavations that give the album its resonant heart. There is hope and beauty here shrouded in darkness and doubt which culminates in the yearning ode to their child of closing track 'Ya’aburnee'. ‘If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’ is Halsey’s definitive artistic breakthrough. They have always made great music but this feels bigger. More powerful, more moving, more confident and breathlessly exciting. Halsey doesn’t play by pop rules rather bends them to their will through sheer force of nature. The power is all theirs. MARTYN YOUNG

SIGNS OF LIFE eeee Gingerbread Man Records Out now Foy Vance brings us an era of reawakening. Written while struggling with addiction to alcohol and painkillers, ‘Signs of Life’ is an uplifting rebirth, an intense reflection upon life, coming to terms with his demons to create a stunning testimony to resilience. ‘Signs of Life’ marks Foy's own soft revolution with a gorgeous humility. Opening track ‘Sapling’ sets the scene, with every chapter offering an open and honest portrayal of the ups and downs life brings. From the haunting ‘If Christopher Calls’ to the more upbeat ‘Hair of the Dog’, this album is packed with beauty and reflection, conveying the struggles of life with a smooth ease you can’t help but be drawn to. While the superstitious may question the 13-track album length, this is yet another canny detail ‘Signs of Life’ offers. We make our own luck in life – and this album is a testament to this. The perfect soundtrack for weary moments, Foy Vance has bared his soul for us once again, and it is more beautiful than ever. MELISSA DARRAGH

Photo: Seren Carys.

ARTIST’S GUIDE

LAZARUS KANE PSYCHOBABBLE EP Milk At My Door

This was the last track I wrote for the EP. I found the quaint "cottage core" idea of having milk delivered to your door strange, instead of just going to the shop. Taking something from a sort of imagined consciousness of a more pastoral Britain and slapping a subscription service onto it is something I find hilarious. Like renting a cottage and pretending you're in Peaky Blinders for a weekend before heading back to the city for a week of work. This lead to the chorus idea of it being linked to a generic Netflix crime drama set within this imagined universe. I love how uneasy the track feels, especially the choruses, which throw everything off balance. I was listening to a lot of Liquid Liquid when I wrote this, and I think that shows.

Whole Foods

This was actually the first track I wrote for the EP. I'd written the verse lyrics whilst walking around Primrose Hill and seeing all these incredibly well-dressed young couples with kids on these leads. I guess if it was the 80s or 90s they'd be called 'yuppies'. Anyway, I was at a festival and met some parents who were there with their kids, and they told me the only way they got through the weekend was through taking cocaine. I was fascinated by this disconnect between the huge responsibility of having kids and wanting to relive your youth that the chorus lyrics

just came from that. There's a lot of anger in this song, I guess; you can't just dress like you're in a Kooples advert and expect to get away with being an irresponsible parent.

Williston, ND

I read this story about this place in North Dakota that was the centre of a new oil boom, and it sounded like something out of a western. I imagined it to be akin to a Cormac McCarthy novel, something dystopian and brutal with a strong emphasis still on the natural world. Lyrically it deals with some of the terrible events that have happened there since this huge influx of oil companies and workers, but in terms of the music, I wanted to convey the natural, glacial eeriness of the landscape a night. I love the synth line at the end because it captures this mood really nicely and juxtaposes the mechanical feel of the rhythm in a beautiful way.

mps

This song was inspired by Brian Eno's 'King's Lead Hat' off his 1977 album 'Before And After Science'. Sonically I love this track, especially all the cheap-sounding synths and handclaps popping up all over the place. The chorus is amazing as well, it just hits you square on out of nowhere. The second half was inspired by dub production techniques and tracks by artists like Burning Spear. Lyrically it was dealing with

LAZARUS KANE

PSYCHOBABBLE EP eeee So Young Out now A new era has begun for Lazarus Kane (the band), following the retirement from public life of Lazarus Kane (the man, the myth). ‘Psychobabble’, the first EP under the ’new’ guise, shows that the band have lost none of their oddness, and more importantly, their spark. Angular and skittish, ‘Milk At My Door’ shakes its hips in the style of New Wave titans of the past, getting its groove on while casting a side-eye at our twin obsessions of both nostalgia and technology. ‘Whole Foods’ is a kind of madness, while ‘Williston, ND’ is the sound of a band excitedly exploring left turns and side alleys, having a rummage around and seeing what they fancy to do next. There is so much going on in just these four songs, and while it’s not the finished article, that’s hardly important right now. With so much glee and joy in the music, the road to wherever the hell they’re going is the one we want to be on. JAMIE MACMILLAN the idea of someone having a keeping-up-with-Joneses style breakdown. I didn't want to just spout platitudes about social media being "bad" but rather demonstrate that the competitiveness around success, social status and material goods has always existed in modern Western society. Conspicuous consumption will always be with us; it's just the medium that changes, be it coveting your neighbours' garden or your friends' Instagram holiday post. Hot dog or legs, baby? P

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TIRZAH

COLOURGRADE eeee Domino Out: 1st October 2021 Tirzah’s debut album ‘Devotion’ was a critically acclaimed sleeper hit in 2018 and introduced an artist with a distinct singular vision for making emotionally intense and dreamy experimental pop. ‘Colourgrade’ richly builds on that alluring palette and again finds the artist working in collaboration with Mica Levi and Coby Sey. Tirzah’s music is all about sensory responses amplified to almost claustrophobic degrees and here, dealing with a period immediately following the birth of her first child and just before her second was born, the singer dives deep into the depths of introspection in a confusing time. One of the strengths of Tirzah’s music is how she creates atmospheres and textures to really heighten the resonance of her songs. There’s nothing that jars or raises the tempo too much. It’s a record all about the feeling and the vibe and offers you time and space to really engage and get lost in the little world she creates. MARTYN YOUNG

ARTIST’S GUIDE

PORIJ

BABY FACE EP Nobody Scared

PORIJ

Baby Face EP Oat Gang Records Out now

eeee Porridge. Eaten for breakfast. Often lumpy, sometimes

64. DORK

cold, not necessarily the best to look at, and you really shouldn't stuff it into your ears. Porij. Fast rising four piece for Manchester. Shouldn't try to eat them, it's rude. Not that lumpy, really. So hot right now, nice enough to look at. Much better to put in your lugholes. Debut EP 'Baby Face' is perfectly named for a group that show oodles of raw potential. With a command of their 'vibe' that much more established peers would envy, opener 'Nobody Scared'

has that careful poise and precision that makes out an act more than capable of making the big leagues. Smart grooves and blissedout atmospherics abound with 'Ego', while 'Can't Stop' bleeps and bloops with the best of them, whipsmart and infectious. Future pop for the dancefloor, but never so obvious it fails to engage both brain and body - Porij already sound a timeless prospect. Whatever temperature you like your grub, this lot are just right. DAN HARRISON

Eggy: I wrote the lyrics for 'Nobody Scared' after watching a documentary on Netflix about the Yorkshire Ripper. It focused on the Reclaim the Night marches, and it made them remember the feeling of fear of walking home alone at night. The song is about recognising those feelings but addressing the fact that women and girls shouldn't have to live their lives afraid. The original Reclaim the Night march first happened in 1977, but the fact that we're still having to protest over the same issues of femicide is shocking, especially as the advice is still the same. We shouldn't have to take preventative measures in order to be safe; why is no one tackling the issue instead of blaming the victims?

Ego

Tom: I demoed 'Ego' several times over two years before bringing it to Porij; it's an attempt to capture the nostalgia in videogame music, particularly Pokemon. As I converted it into a beat, it evolved into a blend of

breakbeats, a hardcore inspired synth riff and indie guitar. We then took that two-section sketch in as a band and, through a slog of rehearsals, refined it into a full song. Eggy: 'Ego' is about the moment after a complicated relationship has ended and one person has moved on more than the other. I didn't want it to feel one-sided, and it was interesting trying to give a voice to both parties.

Divine

Eggy: I wrote 'Divine' at quite a weird moment in my life. It was in the middle of the first wave of the pandemic when the weather was glorious, but I was trapped inside for most of the day. I was listening to a lot of feel-good indie, like Winston Surfshirt and Cassia, and I tried to make a beat that had that kind of summer energy that people could dance to. It's funny cos I was trying to write quite a "normie" song, and then I showed it to the rest of the band and said it was very on brand and peculiar, to which I was completely oblivious. It's got big queer influences with the Grace Jones-esque

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

BRIGHT MAGIC eeee PIAS Out: 24th September 2021 It’s been a funny old time for Public Service Broadcasting, even before the pandemic, and now after spending some time abroad writing and recording they’re back with new album ‘Bright Magic’ – a triumphant return filled with the sights and sounds of Berlin. Opening track ‘Der Sumpf (Sinfonie der Großstadt)’ sounds more like it was informed by Hawkins, Indiana rather than the German creative hub, but moving beyond that the archetypes of Bowie’s Berlin trilogy, especially ‘Low’, are all over ‘Bright Magic’. Single ‘Blue Heaven’ featuring the luscious vocals of Andreva Casablanca is an absolute anthem filled with hope and love whilst ‘People, Let’s Dance (featuring EERA)’ is made for the dark rooms that modern day Berlin is famous for. The album’s crescendo is formed of the three part ‘Lichtspiel’ telling the sonic story of Berlin and it’s well worth a listen. It’s a magnificent record from the PSB boys and quite frankly it’s an album full of magic. JOSH

WILLIAMS

spoken word sections and bold instrumental. 'Divine' came about after a rocky patch in my relationship, and it kind of preaches selfempowerment in a playful way.

Can't Stop

Tom: I wrote 'Can't Stop' one night almost two years ago as a way of stopping myself from overthinking. Also, just before I made the beat, I heard this Jax Jones song on the radio (I can't remember what it was) that was so annoyingly catchy, and I just wanted to make my own version of it so that would leave my head too! So yeah, 'Can't Stop' is a super intense, pretty relentless dance tune, about uncertainty, changing your mind and being completely consumed by your thoughts - but all while having a pretty sick time.

Heaven Knows

Tommy: 'Heaven Knows' is about the start of a relationship, when it's being kept a secret. I tried to capture the excitement of how sometimes something feels even better when nobody else knows and the intimacy that can bring. It's got a fun juxtaposition between cheeky instrumentals and lyrics in the verses and then the big, heavy, layered outro. This was an interesting song because I didn't want it to have an obvious chorus. It was both a liberating song to write, and to perform live. P

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Any Other Questions? This month...

Courting. 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 Courting's Sean Murphy-O'Neill clearly spends at least 14% of his life thinking about Girls Aloud, or members of Girls Aloud. Here’s some offtopic questions to find out ‘more’. What did you last dream about? I dreamt that 'Say So' by Doja Cat was actually a Sleigh Bells cover and that I was one of the last people to realise that, and I was quite embarrassed.

and us.

toast.

What's your biggest fear? Deep-sea diving.

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you ask for? Comfy socks. A swordfish. A saucepan.

What was the first record you bought? Cheryl Cole's 'Only Human'.

What is your earliest memory? Our last Dork interview.

If you had a pet hippopotamus, what would you call it? Benson H. Hippopotamus.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Knuckles from Sonic the Hedgehog.

What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten? As a band we exist only through photosynthesis.

What's your favourite sports team? The one currently suing us for infringing their intellectual property.

What strength Nandos sauce do you order? Plain(ish). If you could form a supergroup of your choice, who would be in it? The entirety of Girls Aloud

Have you ever won anything? No.

What is the best present you've ever been given? The opportunity to answer these questions for you. What's your breakfast of choice? Four slices of buttery white

What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you? Once fell down a chimney. Have you ever seen a ghost? Yes. What was the last thing you broke? The trust of a close friend.

you most like to reform? Girls Aloud.

would you spend it on? Bitcoin.

you choose? Tenable.

Were you a rebel at school? No.

If you were on Mastermind, what would your specialist subject be? Girls Aloud.

How punk are you out of ten? Hardly.

Tell us a secret about yourself? I can't tie my own laces.

What's your favourite time of day? Dusk.

Have you learnt your lesson yet? No. P

If you had to be on a TV gameshow, which would

Courting's debut EP 'Grand National' is out now.

What have you got in your pockets right now? Petrol receipts. Which defunct band would

Have you ever been thrown out of somewhere? Yes. If we gave you £10, what

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