DIY Weekly, 17th March 2014 by DIY Magazine

W E E K L Y

DIY

I S S UE 51 / 1 7 TH MARCH 201 4

thisisfakediy.co.uk

DOUBLE HEADLINE!

PARAMORE + QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE

FOR READING & LEEDS

SKRILLEX

DROPS HIS DEBUT ALBUM

SKY FERREIRA THE WAR ON DRUGS TEMPLES

AND MORE REVIEWED

Angel being

aze H

“YOU CAN’T TELL ME I’M NOT MEANT FOR THIS S**T.”

DIY

thisisfakediy.co.uk 462 KINGSLAND VIADUCT, 83 RIVINGTON STREET, LONDON, EC2A 3AY EDITOR: Stephen Ackroyd stephen@thisisfakediy.co.uk DEPUTY EDITOR: Viki Sinden viki@thisisfakediy.co.uk REVIEWS EDITOR: Emma Swann emma@thisisfakediy.co.uk NEWS EDITOR: Sarah Jamieson sarah@thisisfakediy.co.uk ART DIRECTOR: Louise Mason louise@thisisfakediy.co.uk ONLINE EDITOR: Jamie Milton jamie@thisisfakediy.co.uk ASSISTANT EDITOR: El Hunt el@thisisfakediy.co.uk SCRIBBLERS: Coral Williamson, Danny Wright, David Zammitt, Joe Price, Sam Haughton, Sean Stanley, Tom Morris SNAPPERS: Abi Dainton, Carolina Faruolo, Nathan Barnes, Mike Massaro, Phil Smithies, Sarah Louise Bennett, Sinéad Grainer COMMERCIAL: Angel Haze: Rock star

WHAT’S ON THE DIY STEREO THIS WEEK?

THE HORRORS ‘So Now You Know’ (Track) With a bit of luck you’ll be hearing this one tonight (Monday 17th March) as Zane’s hottest record on Radio 1. It’s absolutely MASSIVE. FUTURE ISLANDS ‘Singles’ (Album) Newly adored veterans (thanks to that appearance on Letterman), true to its title ‘Singles’ is good enough to be a Greatest Hits. There’s no doubt this’ll be the album that defines these Baltimore oddballs.

It’s been a big couple of weeks in the DIY Bunker. The magazine has come to iPhones, iPads and Android devices, and DIY Weekly is now on the full house of wizzy gadgets too. We’ve announced hook ups with some of our favourite festivals, from Liverpool Sound City and Live at Leeds, through to the Great Escape and Latitude. Over the next few months we’ll be bringing you some brilliant exclusives. Angel Haze is on the up too. After that incident with the leak over Xmas it seems finally everyone is starting to realise we’ve got a proper star on our hands with a great album to boot. This week’s cover feature gets under her skin. AND the sun is out! What else could you want? Stephen Ackroyd, Editor

PRINT / WEEKLY : Rupert Vereker rupert@sonicmediagroup.co.uk (+44 (0)20 76130555) ONLINE: Lawrence Cooke lawrence@sonicmediagroup.co.uk (+44 (0)20 76130555) HEAD OF MARKETING & EVENTS: Jack Clothier DIY is published by Sonic Media Group. All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of DIY. While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which Sonic Media Group holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of DIY or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions.

NEWS EDITED BY SARAH JAMIESON

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE PARAMORE AND QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE LEAD THE CHARGE AT READING & LEEDS 2014.

They co-headline on Friday 22nd August (Reading) and Saturday 23rd August (Leeds). This completes the headliners for 2014 - they top the bill alongside Blink 182 and Arctic Monkeys. Vampire Weekend are set to play ahead of the co-headliners on the main stage. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis play before Blink 182, with fellow main stage additions arriving in the form of Peace, Imagine Dragons, Deaf Havana, Foster the People and The Hives. On the Radio 1/ NME Stage, Bombay Bicycle Club headline, with CHVRCHES, Jungle and Clean Bandit also being confirmed. Klaxons, David Rodigan MBE, Lower Than Atlantis, Drenge, Wolf Alice, Boys

Noize, Danny Brown, Eagulls & Fat White Family are also on the bill. All the new additions are below: A Day To Remember, Eagulls, Neck Deep, Andy C, Enter Shikari, Nero (Live), Flume, Foster the People, Giggs, Paramore, Basement, Gorgon City, Peace, Ben Pearce, Hacktivist, Pendulum, Bombay Bicycle Club, Queens Of The Stone Age, Bondax, Imagine Dragons, Boys Noize, Breach, Jacob Plant, Sleeping With Sirens, Cage The Elephant, Temples, CHVRCHES, Jimmy Eat World, Circa Waves, Joey Bada$$ The Fat White Family, Clean Bandit, Jungle The Hives, Klaxons, The Neighbourhood, Danny Brown, Vampire Weekend, David Rodigan MBE, letlive., Vic Mensa, Deaf Havana, Lizzo, Die Antwoord, Lower Than Atlantis, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Wolf Alice, Don Broco, Marmozets, Drenge.

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP IT’S NOT OFTEN THE ONLY WAY IS UP, BUT IT IS WHERE PARAMORE ARE CONCERNED. 2014 MARKS THE FIRST TIME THEY WILL BE CLOSING PROCEEDINGS AT READING & LEEDS, BUT THEY’RE PRACTICALLY VETERANS. 2007 Back when Paramore had just two albums to their name, they opened the Main Stage with style and ease. Their debut visit to the festival, the first set of the day set was littered with tracks from their astounding second record ‘Riot!’, fresh from release just two months earlier, which undoubtedly packed enough pop punch to wake up punters. 2010 Making a triumphant return to the stage, this time the Nashville five-piece followed Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo and his mud-dancing. Blitzing through a high throttle dose of their greatest hits so far – including those from their Number One album ‘brand new eyes’ – they proved themselves to be future headliners in the making.

Reading & Leeds festival takes place from 22nd 24th August. DIY

PHOTOS: SARAH LOUISE BENNETT

eading & Leeds promised a ‘king’ and a ‘queen’ for their third and fourth headliners, and they’ve lived up to expectations by confirming two brilliant co-headliners in Paramore and Queens of the Stone Age.

2012 After a somewhat unexpected line-up rearrangement in 2011, it was at Reading & Leeds that the new-look Paramore chose to make their UK debut. The now-three piece (and fans) had a lot riding on the sets, but it took only a few bars of opener ‘Brick By Boring Brick’ to have the crowd back on their side. 2014 The stars have aligned and the time is finally here: Paramore will earn their rightful place amongst headliners before them. What’s to be expected is still unsure, but if their recent antics – you know, hanging out on a cruise ship and all – are anything to go by, it’s going to be one heck of a special occasion. DIY

PHOTO: SARAH LOUISE BENNETT

The CURIOUS CASE OF THE KOOKS

omething has changed. It’s hard to explain what, exactly, but the first seconds of The Kooks’ new single ‘Down’ does most of the talking, namely: “Oh-oh-ohhh-oh YEAH! Ibeen hearin’ rown town! Ver’s a rooma baby! Yur plannin to brin’ me dowwn!” As it progresses, it still sounds very different to anything any band - let alone The Kooks - has attempted before. Luke Kook is centre stage. He’s found his mode. The past is nonsense. Before there were too many Kooks in the kitchen. If you dare, hear it on thisisfakediy.co.uk.

DIY GOES DIGITAL OUR MONTHLY PRINT MAG IS NOW AVAILABLE ON YOUR IPAD, IPHONE OR ANDROID DEVICE.

inally, eh? We’ve been publishing DIY Weekly to iPads for over a year now, so it seemed about time we expanded the operation. As of last week, DIY Weekly became available on iPhones and Android devices. Now, we’ve expanded that to include our monthly print magazine. Starting with the March issue (that’s the one with St. Vincent on the cover), you’ll be able to get the mag through the DIY app - the same one from which you download DIY Weekly free of charge. Of course, you can still pick up a physical copy from any of our stockists too, or read online on thisisfakediy.co.uk.

LIFE IN PARADISE TAKING BACK SUNDAY HAVE LIVED THROUGH A FAIR AMOUNT OF CHANGE IN THEIR FIFTEEN YEAR CAREER. FROM MEMBER DEPARTURES TO FULL ON LINE-UP SWAPS, THE FIVE-PIECE HAVE OVERCOME MORE THAN MOST, BUT IT SEEMS WITH THE RELEASE OF THEIR SIXTH ALBUM, THEY’VE FINALLY FOUND JUST WHERE THEY WANT TO BE.

“W

hen you get older, or for me, at least, I started to realise that I can do whatever I want,” begins guitarist John Nolan, one of the original members of Taking Back Sunday who left in 2003, but was invited to re-join in 2010. “You sort of say, ‘Well, what do I want to do?’ I think there’s a bit of that in this album; that realisation, creatively, we were kinda saying that to ourselves.” It’s easy to think that six albums in, one big reunion and a debut record’s tenth anniversary later, the pressure would be piling up, but for the five-piece that

couldn’t be further from the truth. “I think the only pressure is to make something that you’re proud of,” confirms John. Frontman Adam Lazzara concurs. “We just wanted to write the best Taking Back Sunday record yet. That’s kinda always our goal.” That freedom also allowed for them to revisit old friends, ‘Happiness Is’ marking the band’s return to work with both producer Mike Sapone and longtime collaborator Marc Jacob Hudson. “It’s so cool,” explains Adam. “With Marc Hudson, we’ve worked with him for years; he’s been our tour manager and our best friend, so to be able to be in the studio with him without all the craziness going on was awesome. It was also great to be back with Mike Sapone too because, you know, he recorded our early demos, but we’ve never had the chance to work with him on an actual record. It’s funny because right when you walk in his studio, you kinda feel like you’re home because it’s so familiar.” The band also found themselves feeling more comfortable with one another. “We

NEWS IN BRIEF BACK TO CAUSE CHAOS The Orwells have announced details of a new UK tour. The band, who are due to release their debut album through Atlantic around the same time, will return to play five dates in early June: Liverpool East Village Arts Club (02), Edinburgh Electric Circus (03), Nottingham Rescue Rooms (04), London Dingwalls (05) and Manchester Gorilla (06).

knew when to lean on each other,” offers the frontman. “That’s a really important thing, especially when you’re working as a group. There has to be a certain amount of trust.” “When we got back together, we immediately clicked with writing,” explains John. “That wasn’t a problem, but when it came down to recording the songs, because of the other guys’ experiences with recording, I think there was definitely a gap in what Shaun [Cooper, bassist] and I were used to in a studio. That was the big challenge.” As for the title of the record, its meaning is simple. Having self-titled their previous effort, putting their stamp upon it – and their return - absolutely, now they’re happy to let the record’s name do the straight-talking this time. “Well,” starts Adam, “I think it speaks very well about where everyone in the band is. Both individually and then as a group too. It’s just about being in a very comfortable place.” Taking Back Sunday’s new album ‘Happiness Is’ is out now via Hopeless Records. DIY

RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES Friendly Fires are back! Sort of... They’ve teamed up with The Asphodells – also known as Andrew Weatherall and Timothy J Fairplay – for a new single. On 31st March, they’ll release ‘Before Your Eyes / Velo’ through the band’s own Telophase label as both a digital download and a 12” single. ON THE BRAIN BANKS has unveiled a brilliant video for ‘Brain’, her massive Shlohmo produced single which came out in January. The video takes BANKS’ typical black-andwhite gloomy visuals and places them into creepy, smoky, kaleidoscopic territory. Watch it over at thisisfakediy.co.uk. A TRIP TO THE YEAR 2024 Good news for Glasto-goers! The festival has had its license renewed. Mendip District Council has granted Glastonbury permission for another ten years, with organisers being given a new licence for use until 2024. The decision was made without being “subjected to scrutiny in a public hearing,” after receiving no opposition.

BARE BONES: SKY FERREIRA WITH A DIY 5 STAR DEBUT ALBUM UNDER HER BELT (READ THAT LATER ON - ED), THE SKY REALLY IS THE LIMIT, BUT WHAT’S GOING ON UNDER THE SURFACE? TIME TO FIND OUT... When did you know you’d finished the album? The last song I did on it was ‘Night Time, My Time’. I’ve had that song in mind for a while. Not the actual melody, but I knew the lyrics and the concept. Once the track was finished I was like ‘OK, that’s the album title’. It was a very organic process compared to other sessions in the past, which was like ‘Ok, we’re gonna shove these people in a room and see what happens.’ Or it’s so thought out - producers send tracks three weeks before you meet them so that you come in prepared. I don’t really like that either.. With the album I wasn’t thinking about anything apart from what I wanted to do. It was a non-stop session. We’d do two songs in one go. I consistently did it for three weeks. What was your first musical obsession? The first one that I had no influence from someone else in my life - not from school, or my family - was when Fiona Apple came out. I saw her music videos and was like, ‘Who’s that?’ Then I taped it on my VHS recorder. And I watched it over and over again. This was when I was six. I didn’t know what she was talking about. That was the first CD I bought too. I still listen to it if not every day, every few days. How excited are you to try out new directions? It’s always been my issue - not my issue, I don’t look at it as a problem - but it was really hard to be cohesive. ‘I wanna do this, I wanna do that’ and I would do it, but none of it would tie in together. For me it was important with the record to stay focused and get it out of me. Otherwise I’d be overthinking it and changing it. I get bored easily. Or I’ll wanna keep a song as a demo. That’s always been my big problem. Sky Ferreira’s debut album ‘Night Time, My Time’ is out now via Polydor. DIY

THE WAR WITHIN

ON THE EVE OF HIS NEW RECORD’S RELEASE, THE WAR ON DRUGS’ ADAM GRANDUCIEL REVEALS HOW HE DEALT WITH HIS DEMONS.

“A

month ago I was still listening and I heard things that I didn’t like.” The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel is a man of high standards, but luckily, as the release of his newest album rolls around, he finally seems ready to present it to the public. “Then the other night I listened to it and I played it for my friends, and they love it. It was good to hear it in a different way.” ‘Lost In The Dream’ is the sound of an artist obsessing over his craft, and it’s his attention to detail that makes his work so rewarding. Yet the tiny details became a much larger problem. When Adam created his first album ‘Slave Ambient’, no one could have guessed the success which awaited him. Least of all the man himself, who, following its release, found himself buckling under the weight of expectation. “Sometimes it only lasts three minutes,” he explains, “but you spend the whole day worrying that you’re going to collapse in the middle of a supermarket or you’re going to pass out at the wheel for no other reason than that everything’s new.” Finding a way to cope was his only way forward. “I just kind of coped with it and continued to work on the record. And continued to take the advice of my friends. And continued to take care of myself and not, you know – I’ve never been one to cope with anything by drinking or taking drugs but I made a point to not necessarily go down that road too much. I really just waited it out. I’m not really waking up anymore in a state of panic. I just wanted to go about making something that I was really proud of as a writer too.” The War On Drugs’ new album ‘Lost In The Dream’ is out now via Secretly Canadian. DIY

UPRINGING

PERFECT PUSSY

MEREDITH GRAVES AND GREG AMBLER FROM THE SYRACUSE THRILL-SEEKERS REVISIT THEIR FORMATIVE MOMENTS ALONGSIDE THE RELEASE OF DEBUT ALBUM ‘SAY YES TO LOVE’.

here’s method to the twentythree minutes, zero seconds of pure sonic assault that defines Perfect Pussy’s debut album ‘Say Yes To Love’. Of course there is. It might sound like a lifetime’s worth of bottled up frustration being given its first big day out, and there are probably moments devoted to spontaneity - but behind the wall of noise is a whole lot of background. In Upbringing, we ask some of our favourite bands to recall their formative moments. It can be anything from a lifechanging gig to a packet of crisps - doesn’t matter. Answers courtesy of bassist Greg Ambler and singer Meredith Graves. What’s the first gig you can ever remember going to? Greg: Doobie Brothers and Foreigner, and my mum took me. It was at Starwood Amphitheater in Nashville, Tennessee. I remember falling asleep during ‘Cold As Ice’, and some weird old drunk guy grabbing my leg and asking me why I wasn’t

partying. And I thought to myself, ‘why aren’t I partying, ten year old Greg?’ And I went back to sleep. Can you remember the first song you ever developed an obsession over? G: ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ by Coolio. I begged my mum for the tape and she got me the single for Christmas. I knew, because the wrapping was shaped just like a tape cassette. And though she hid it deep inside her closet, every time she left the house, I would carefully remove the tape from the wrapping and listen to it at full volume to the point where my neighbours told my mum, and she found out that I had been opening it. What’s the best and worst show you’ve ever played? G: Definitely, the best shows are the ones where no one shows up and you really have a chance to talk to every person who is there. Shows like NYU are the worst, the stage is too big, the room is too big.

What’s the best piece of advice anyone’s ever given you? Meredith: The power in any relationship belongs to whoever cares less. G: Don’t turn down a free bed. Everyone’s an asshole. If you could be any band from the past two decades, who would you bey? G: Polaris. Inspired an entire generation to grow up into weirdos, including myself. M: Jimmy Eat World. I’m kidding, I don’t have an actual answer, but I realised yesterday that I still know all the words to ‘Bleed American’ and coincidentally, all the air-drums too. I’m an air-drumming world champion. If there’s anything you could tell the person you were when you started writing music, what would it be? G: Get a real job. M: You will live through a lot, but you will live. And it’s going to be ok, or okish, eventually. And you’re totally fine just the way you are, so chill out. DIY

SKRILLEX GOES TO RECESS

READY FOR THE DROP IT’S ABOUT TIME, MATEY. SKRILLEX HAS FINALLY DROPPED HIS ‘DEBUT’ ALBUM ‘RECESS’. TOM MORRIS DONS HIS EAR PROTECTORS AND TAKES SONNY MOORE HEAD ON.

cottish referendum. General elections. Skrillex. Ladies and gentlemen, the divisive issues of our time. But, like all big questions, most people have already decided where they stand long before they have really got to grips with anything. So, what does Sonny Moore’s ‘debut’ album actually sound like? For starters, it’s not a debut. Yes, ‘My Name Is’, ‘Scary Monsters’ and ‘Bangarang’ were EPs and yes ‘Recess’ is the first ‘full length’ Skrillex album, but two Grammies under his belt and a quirky release make this record deserving of its own special category - let’s call it ‘Advanced Learner Entry’. All this to highlight just how our familiar we are with the defining Skrillex characteristic: giantslaying novelty bass drops, the likes of which were previously only imagined in the computerised nightmares of K-holed IT technicians. The result of this familiarity is that ‘Recess’ is unlikely to win Skrillex legions of instant new fans. High frequency squeals, sub-bass thunderings and terrifying digital arpeggios are all on the menu here, and enough to alienate the casual browser instantly. A quick inspection reveals two collaborations with London DnB MCs the Ragga Twins, a quite frankly

unhinged centrepiece courtesy of Diplo, and K-Pop’senfants terribles CL and G-Dragon, and the album’s eponymous track which is nothing short of an open declaration of war on this summer’s EDM jugular. And all these are immensely enjoyable.

Likewise, a reworking of Niki & The Dove’s ‘DJ, Ease My Mind’ and the calmer, cooler house sounds of album closer ‘Fire Away’, both hint at broader musical ambitions that are matched in terms of Skrillex’s touring and output.

With an album opener called ‘All Is Fair In Love And Brostep’ though, you suspect Skrillex has a slightly more wry aspect to his personality than he lets on. While ‘Recess’ certainly doesn’t stray too far from the prize-winning formula, it does begin to reflect on what exactly Skrillex’s music is, as well as the significant influence it has had on other genres. ‘Coast is Clear’ for example, sounds very at home on the record, but with Chance The Rapper and The Social Experiment on board it’s also very clearly a modern hip-hop track.

For sure, ‘Recess’ is not the last piece in the puzzle in terms of artist development. The triumphant announcements from the record label might want you to think that, but as an album it’s nowhere near that grand - which is very much to its credit. Instead, this is the sound of an artist who has allowed himself to take a break and record eleven tracks he would like to release. A fitting recess indeed and as such, an endearing snapshot and promise to deliver on more potential in the future. Tom Morris

ON WAX CIRCA WAVES GUITARIST KIERAN SHUDDALL DISCUSSES HIS VINYL COLLECTION. I first started buying records because I’d listened to all the ones I’d been given. The cool thing about our generation is our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who have loads of vinyl but don’t want it anymore. So I inherited a bunch of great stuff, some not so great. Nowadays, my favourite places to go and buy records are Probe Records in Liverpool, Rough Trade and eBay. My Favourite record I own is Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue’ which is on permanent loan from my mum. It’s an immediate time machine back to childhood for me as it was played all the time when I was a kid. It shows a songwriter in their prime delivering some of the most personal and perfect songs written. It’s a masterpiece that every musician should have in their collection. A friend of mine gave me Arcade Fire’s ‘Funeral’ as he knew I had been after it for a while. It’s heartbreaking, euphoric, intimate and epic all at once. The four to the floor bass drum that sits through most of the songs gives the whole album a sense of urgency. Then take into account Win Butler’s melodies and lyrics and you feel like each song could explode at any minute. If I ever write a song as good as ‘Wake Up’ I’ll probably call it a day. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s selftitled record is an album I did actually buy myself. It’s the album which helped me start writing Circa Waves tunes. I was drawn to the simplicity of the songs and the harmonies. If it wasn’t for this album Circa Waves may never have come about and for that I’m forever in its debt. And the cover art is really cool! DIY

UNCOVERED WHAT’S HIDING UNDERNEATH MUSIC’S DIRTY SHEETS?

LISTEN

UP!

WE HEARD IT ON THE GR APE VINE JOHNNY MARR has broken the one limb that could cause him a real problem: his hand. “I was running pretty fast and just went straight over,” he told NME. “I banged my shoulder and then realised my hand was in a bad way. Obviously we’re hoping there’s no long term damage.” CHARLI XCX has shared some details about her new album, with the follow-up to ‘True Romance’ due sometime in 2014. The starlet recently spoke to Complex for a quick interview, in which she revealed that she’s working with WEEZER’s Rivers Cuomo and VAMPIRE WEEKEND’s Rostam Batmanglij. Fresh from appearing at last week’s SXSW, NEIL YOUNG has confirmed that JACK WHITE is set to appear on his forthcoming album. ‘A Letter Home’ was recorded at Third Man studios in Nashville, with White set to appear on two of its tracks. LANA DEL REY is heating up rumours that her sophomore album ‘Ultraviolence’ is going to land shortly, having announced a massive US tour throughout April and May. The singer herself was previously filmed by a fan, claiming the record would be released on 1st May, but the footage has since been deleted and no official confirmation has landed as of yet.

WHO GIVES A SHEET?

irst it was Beck, now it’s Parquet Courts. There’s something about sheet music at the moment that seems all too alluring to musicians. Granted for the Brooklyn four-piece, they’ve not quite followed in the footsteps of the ‘Morning Phase’ singer. After all, with his foray into sheet music, 2012’s ‘Song Reader’, Beck created an entire album with the intention of not ever putting the tracks to tape. For this year’s Record Store Day, Parquet Courts will follow their last EP – 2013’s ‘Tally All The Things That You Broke’ – with a special single, ‘Sunbathing Animal’. The only catch is that instead of previewing it to audiences by streaming the MP3 straight away, they’re providing fans with a slightly more

DIY-style showcase. “I just thought it was funny because the song was mostly one note,” laughs frontman Andrew Savage, when quizzed on what made the band decide to release it as sheet music. “It looks like a joke, you know? It almost looks like a Steve Reich piece or something, just one note for a couple of pages.” He pauses, “By the way, I’m not comparing Parquet Courts to Steve Reich! But yeah, I just thought it looked funny.” That’s not all they’ve been up to recently. Following on from their RSD single news, the band clocked a bit of a trend in the discussions being had online, and figured they’d put together a blog to celebrate their status as ‘slackers’; something which seems a little ironic, given the nature of the

WHO SAYS MUSIC HAS TO BE RELEASED IN AN AUDIO FORMAT? CERTAINLY NOT PARQUET COURTS. single reveal itself... “I think there’s a certain archetype that people want to see in rock bands, of the slacker, stoner guy who flies by the seat of his pants,” offers Andrew. “It’s a kinda romantic notion of that guy who doesn’t have to work that hard and just writes these songs. It’s a bit ridiculous as it’s not us at all. People wanna attach a certain narrative to the band that will look nice on paper and have that sexy angle, but it’s really reductionist. This is not exclusive to Parquet Courts; everyone has their little sound bites. Ask any musician, none of them really like it, but everybody has theirs.” Parquet Courts will release ‘Sunbathing Animal’ on 19th April via Rough Trade Records. They play Latitude this July DIY

HAVE YOU HEARD? THE BEST NEW MUSIC FROM THE PAST SEVEN DAYS...

NEWS IN BRIEF

TIME TO WORK OUT Arthur Beatrice have announced their return to the UK in the form of a headline show this April. The band, who released their debut ‘Working Out’ last month and have just finished playing at SXSW, will return to our shores for a date at Hackney’s Oslo on 8th April.

TRACK OF THE WEEK

SUPERFOOD (YOU GOTTA) FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT (TO PARTY) Recorded as part of a celebratory 5th Birthday compilation for label Infectious, the Birmingham gang’s take on the Beasties’ 1987 single is a little less intense than expected, but no less brilliant – Dom Ganderton’s lackadaisical vocals proving a worthy alternative to the original rap, and the numerous asides (notably at that ‘porno mag’ line) guaranteed to cause chuckles. THE KOOKS DOWN The title of this segment is ‘Have You Heard?’ and there’s no doubt you’ll know if you’ve heard this. Luke Pritchard and assorted pals’ return isn’t quite the jangly indie they made their name on – they’ve taken up with hip hop newcomer Inflo and attempted to channel their inner... Justin Timberlake? Michael Jackson? Kanye West? Who knows. The Snow Memory Loss Wild Nothing’s Jack Tatum, Beach Fossils’ Dustin Payseur and Andreas Lagerström of Holograms have teamed up to form The Snow; their Record Store Day A-side is a pretty damn good melding of angsty post-punk and dreamy indie-pop.

Fear of Men Outrun Me The B-side to the Brighton trio’s new single, ‘Luna’, and most definitely not featuring on the band’s forthcoming debut album proper, ‘Loom’, ‘Outrun Me’ is a sweet, soothing four-minute track with a deceiving hook for a chorus. ‘Loom’ is released on 21st April via Kanine. Youth Man Wide Awake When Youth Man took to the stage at Neu’s Hello 2014 gig back in January, they obliterated many an ear with their brilliantly thrashy punk racket. ‘Wide Awake’ has the Kaila Whyte-led Birmingham trio showing their quieter side, with its grungy frustration taking hold with increasing intensity.

Fryars Boys in the Hood (Demo) ‘Demo’ usually means muffled vocals and the sound of someone coughing half-way through. But to Fryars it just means ‘won’t feature on the album’, if ‘Boys in the Hood’ counts. All manner of instruments make their appearance in the laid-back five minutes alongside vocoder, keys and classy beats. Brody Dalle Parties for Prostitutes The second track from Brody’s solo debut acts as a counterpoint to ‘Meet The Foetus / Oh The Joy’. ‘Parties For Prostitutes’ is a less in-your-face number, instead building around Dalle’s signature growl. Album ‘Diploid Love’ is released on 28th April via Caroline International.

FOLLOW THE INDIETRACKS Gruff Rhys has been announced as headliner for this year’s Indietracks alongside Allo Darlin’. Let’s Wrestle, Sweet Baboo, Night Flowers and The Yawns are other standout names on the bill. This year’s event takes place in Ripley, Surrey from 25th - 27th July. TRANSITIONING Young Turks-signed producer SBTRKT has announced details of his first physical release since a self-titled 2011 debut album. The masked artist has unveiled ‘TRANSITIONS’, a collection made up of six instrumental tracks that will appear over three different physical releases. The 12”s will land separately on 5th May, 19th May and 2nd June. MØRE SHOWS?! Danish superstar MØ has revealed details for her biggest headline show to date, with the announcement landing just a day after the release of debut ‘No Mythologies To Follow’. Karen Marie Ørsted will play London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 1st November and tickets are on sale now. LOVELY LOVEBOX London’s Lovebox Festival has announced its first batch of acts, with The Horrors leading the way alongside A$AP Rocky and Katy B. Official headliners are Chase & Status and MIA, while BANKS, Kaleida, Bonobo and Crystal Fighters are also set to appear across the 18th - 19th July weekender.

neu

EDITED BY JAMIE MILTON NEW MUSIC.

DISCOVER MORE: THISISFAKEDIY.CO.UK/NEU

NEW BANDS.

RECOMMENDED

DAWN GOLDEN

RECOMMENDED

SOTHKO

For the unacquainted, Sothko is the guise of Glasgow’s Marc Johansen. In simple terms, he’s really, really clever. He calls himself an ‘artist’, and without being all highbrow he has every right to. Songs aren’t just songs, they’re grand ideas arriving alongside smart animated videos that make you think. But it’s not chin-stroking fodder, because there’s actually a very good song each time round too. Check out our recommended bands and more on thisisfakediy.co.uk.

PHOTO: PHIL SMITHIES

Dexter Tortoriello’s name will be familiar to anyone with a passing interest in the beauty-comes-first, emotive blog-pop of Houses. Dexter’s new project is Dawn Golden, signed to Mad Decent/ Downtown Records for a debut album release this May. Lead track ‘All I Want’ shuns Houses’ abstract leanings for something way more direct. If the previous project was about shadowing beauty in shimmering, misty light, this one does the opposite, never holding back. ‘All I Want’ builds and builds with sky-reaching pianos, right up to the point where it reaches M83 levels of euphoria.

RECOMMENDED EP

OCEAÁN OCEAÁN

even months ago, mysterious Manchester based producer Oceaán (aka Oliver Cean) announced himself with ‘Need U’, sent out to the world with love and consideration. A heart-wrenching and hazy track, it convinced many that Cean held an ambition to go up against heavyweights of the genre. Returning in 2014 with his self-titled EP, Oceaán sounds ready to go the full distance. Trusting individual uniqueness challenges you to lay yourself open and Cean certainly lays all his cards out. ‘On Your Side’ and ‘Need U’ possess lyrics of earnestness and yearning, mixed with a cacophony of layered rhythms that

nod to West African music and genres further afield. ‘To Lose’, Cean’s 2014 comeback, is a tale of real pathos and fragility, with ghostly vocals mixed in a veil of synthesised sub-bass, snaps and claps. ‘Basement’ is an underground club hit waiting to happen, with reference to two-step rhythms that would encourage James Blake to get up out of his seat. ‘Turned Away’ marries more enshrouded ambience with dance-floor sensibilities, bookending the release with distorted beats that are dense and immediate. It’s a remarkably balanced release with so much ground covered in so few steps. Sean Stanley

PHOTO: CAROLINA FARUOLO

FAMY

ONE SOLD OUT SINGLE FOLLOWED BY TWO YEARS OF SILENCE - FAMY ARE FINALLY READY TO LAND.

othing quite sounds like FAMY. Blame it on the South of France heritage, the purposefully misspelled name, the chapel walls they recorded their album in. Sometimes they sound as folk-pedalling and gigantic as Mumford and Sons, without the banjos and dodgy waistcoats. Vocalist Bruce Yates is on the brink of alien-like falsetto. His voice reaches notes that border on a literal squeal. None of this should work. Plenty of casual listeners will think it’s a disaster. But at this moment in time they’ve every right to feel like they’re on the brink of an illustrious career - don’t count on it, though.

jargon got in the way. A whole album’s been readied for two years. It was recorded in the summer of 2012, drummer Thomas Edwards confirms. “It was probably the best ten days of our lives,” he follows, with not a hint of hyperbole.

They’ve disappeared once before, after all. Following a sold out debut single - ‘Dogg Dogg’, in 2011 - nothing followed. As it turns out, this absence wasn’t due to laziness or wantaway intentions. Management issues and legal

Thomas, Bruce and his brother Arthur Yates (guitarist) both shadow as members of Los Porcos, disco-obsessed mavericks donning all-white suits and strutting dancehall moves. Part of that project feels like an inside joke.

“That summer was really horrible. But those ten days, we arrived at the chapel, set up and suddenly the sun came out. It was perfectly blue, beautiful! Surrounded by green fields,” follows Bruce. “It was a track a day. We were really focused. We knew what we were going to do. It was the best time of our lives. One of my favourite memories ever.”

This is different. The serious intentions are written on the wall. Bruce recounts a night where the band recorded an ‘Intro’ for the album. “That was the night we lit all the candles in the chapel and… got religious. The vocal booth was on an altar of the chapel. The bass amp was on the bell tower.” It sounds too good to be true. He’s probably taking the piss. But when these songs finally emerge, this one-departed group will announce themselves, here to stay. DIY FAMY, NEED TO KNOW + Despite the rest of the recording process, FAMY “unfortunately” didn’t write their lyrics in a confession booth. + During downtime, chapel walls were used for a game called “Patball”. “It’s wallball but with your hands,” according to Thomas.

TIRZAH HITS BACK Initially arriving last year with her first solo effort ‘I’m Not Dancing’, Tirzah has announced a new EP, out 21st April. Micachu produces - just like on last year’s debut EP and 2009’s ‘Filthy Friends’ mixtape. If ‘I’m Not Dancing’ was a song defined by its fidgety, off-balance nature, this track shows Tirzah finding her feet, vocals coming out of their shell to oversee a sweet-as-bubblegum, understated pop number. Wonderful. TAKE ANOTHER SIP London trio JUCE stepped on the scene with ‘Call You Out’ late last month. Georgia, Chalin & Cherish have wasted zero time in following up the debut. ‘Braindead’ is a song that’s picked up the Speedy Wunderground treatment, meaning the band had 24 hours in Dan Carey’s studio. Usually these things end up in giant proggy triumphs or mind-melting solos, but JUCE have kept it sharp and fresh, like an orange juice stand that stays open all summer. FARE-ING WELL Cambridge musician Farewell J.R. (pictured) has been plugging into heart-shredding acoustic numbers like his life depends on it since 2012. At first, he was compared to Bon Iver, given the cabin in the woods look, dusting snow off his shoulders. He’s since moved away from those simple confines, with new song ‘Slow Breath’ proving as much in spades. A new release is expected to be confirmed in the next few days.

bactrtyle ANGEL HAZE IS GOING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, AND SHE’S DOING IT ON HER TERMS.

WORDS: EMMA SWANN. PHOTOS: MIKE MASSARO.

“I

started off wanting to be a singer,” admits Angel Haze. “And then I thought no, f**k it, I want to do something that I’m obviously not good at!” Angel Haze’s route to the top has been anything but predictable. The Detroit-born, New York-based rapper hadn’t been exposed to any nonreligious music until her mid-teens, having grown up within the “cultish” Greater Apostolic Faith. She’s poured her – considerable, for anyone, least a 22-year-old – life experience into brutally honest lyrics, most notably with her cover of Eminem’s ‘Cleaning Out My Closet’, in which she details the sexual abuse which she suffered as a youngster. Haze – real name Raykeea Angel Wilson – is in London following a string of UK headline tour dates, themselves following a stint supporting BRIT winners and arena-botherers, Bastille. She’s exhausted. “I’m homesick,” she sighs, “so all my enthusiasm is gone. Tomorrow’s my last show, then I go to Paris for a few days, and then I’m going home. Well, then I’m going to America to tour.” It’s a hectic schedule, but there’s the distinct impression that’s just the way Haze likes it. Back in December, frustrated at the apparent inaction of label Island, she uploaded debut album ‘Dirty Gold’ to SoundCloud. “Sorry to Island/Republic records,” she told fans on Twitter, “but f**k you. I got here doing this for my fans and if your guys don’t feel the same, it won’t stop me.” The record was, of course, quickly removed from the site, and then almost as speedily given a ‘proper’ release days later. For many an artist it could’ve been career suicide. For Haze, it’s more proof both of the star’s determination - and an innate intent to challenge herself. “I didn’t expect it!” she remarks, of her success as a rap artist. “But I’ve always had an affinity for words, so not being able to manipulate them in a way that I was used to, especially when it came to putting them over a beat, was insane to me. I became obsessed with it immediately.” She laughs. “I like

challenging myself to learn everything, the inner workings of things. If I don’t know it, then I hate myself.” For a former student of neurology, it’s no surprise she’s treating music like a science.

a particular type of sound.” Except a bit of big, in your face club music? “Yeah,” she remarks dryly, “that’s Markus. Markus thought he was special when he did that.”

And now she’s conquered rap, it’s time for the next step. Guitars.

She laughs. “It came down to us sitting down, me ultimately wanting to make a melting pot of all the things I love about music. We cultivated a sound, and it’s one that transcends me. It’s crazy – for instance I started on [BBC] Radio 1 Xtra with ‘Battle Cry’, and now we’re going to America with it and it’s gonna be on Z100-ish, like very very alternative radio, and it’s on Radio 1 and B-listed over there. It’s one of those things that’s so many different places at once.”

“That’s exactly how I look at it,” Haze admits. “I figure once you conquer something, not that it becomes a waste of time, but the technicalities of rapping, I’ve got them down, I could go perfectly in staccato over, like, anything. I’ve learned every single thing about it, and now I’m probably emotionally exhausted after going over everything I could find, I think it’s time to look forward. For me ‘Dirty Gold’ doesn’t sound anything like ‘Reservation’, and my next project probably won’t sound anything like ‘Dirty Gold’ either.”

“WHO INFLUENCED THE PEOPLE WHO STARTED DOING THIS S**T? THE WRITERS. I WAS BORN A F**KING POET, SO YOU CAN’T TELL ME I’M NOT MEANT FOR THIS S**T.” ANGEL HAZE

The list of artists Haze cites for inspiration is a veritable mish-mash; perhaps unsurprising for someone whose cultural references stretch back “about six years”. “Kanye West,” she lists, “Sia, Adele, Train, the New Radicals. S**t, there are so many different types, it’s also ever so fluid as well. I’m inspired by people who can evoke emotion from me, regardless of what they’re saying, regardless of what type of music they’re playing. So long as I can listen and feel something, I’m into it.” It’s a similar mixture Haze and producer Markus Dravs concocted for the debut. “I make music that’s so genre-defying and boundless almost in a sense. You listen to ‘Dirty Gold’ and you don’t hear

Many places, it would appear, except the American hip hop sphere. Haze laughs. “Yeah. I forgot my niche. But I know it’s not hip hop. I don’t think I’m going anywhere near there. I know it’s crazy, but...” So when Kanye’s bigging you up? “...They’ll be like she sucks, she’s not real hip hop.” “Tons,” apparently, of abuse has been thrown Haze’s way, claiming she was undeserving of the term. “When I was first signed,” she explains, “they were like you don’t deserve it, you’re not real hip hop, you’re a fraud. Obviously because I’m not influenced by the 90s or whatever. But you have to work out for yourself. For me, it was where the f**k does influence come from? Who influenced B.I.G.? Who influenced the people who started doing this s**t? The writers. Like, it was the poets before it was anything, and I was born a f**king poet, so you can’t tell me I’m not meant for this s**t.” Haze enjoys the work of Charles Bukowski, Chuck Palahniuk, Sylvia Plath, and cites Edgar Allan Poe as “the reason I started writing.” Her favourite book, she explains, is Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘The Tipping Point’. “I’ve been reading it on tour for like three months now,” she says. “Like, over and over again. Dan [Smith, Bastille] got really mad at me one night. They were having a party for Woody [drums] in Plymouth, and I was like yeah I’m not gonna go out, I’m gonna stay in. I ended up staying in all night reading Malcolm Gladwell. Then I tweeted about it and he was like yeah, you guys are f**king boring!”

Haze’s bookishness, for want of a better term, hasn’t only got her in trouble with tour mates. The powers that be thought it too much too. “When I made my album, a lot of people told me I was being too lyrical for people, that I had to dumb it down, that I had to say things that the ‘normal’ American population would understand, to be mainstream, that is. And for me I thought OK, I’m gonna split it up. Because you know, people usually hear a beat, and they go f**king bonkers for it. They don’t care what you’re saying over it. Instruments are just as important as the lyrics. I’m never going to dumb myself down, but I’m gonna make it... bouncy, for people who just wanna hear beats, you know? And give the lyrical people who wanna listen to what you’re saying that, and there’s variety for people who want both.

“I VOWED TO POUR MY SOUL IN TO EVERYTHING THAT I DID.” ANGEL HAZE

“It’s like the Bastille track,” she continues, referring to ‘Weapon’, the track Haze collaborated on with the band back in September of last year and performed live for the first time on these tour dates. “The beat’s so catchy, the hook’s so catchy. The words though, they’re real and we didn’t dumb them down for anyone. And it’s gone over so freakin’ well, man.” Collaboration aside, it’s a tour pairing that caused many an eyebrow to raise – not least the respective artists’ own people. “It’s interesting,” she explains, “when we decided to tour together, my agent was going what the f**k, and their agent was going what the hell, dude, and we were going, we have so many mutual fans, it’s hilarious, when we go out to the shows, there’s like half the crowd singing my songs! It’s just one of those things, we blend.”

“To be fair,” Haze quips, “Dan is sort of ghetto. I’m just gonna lay it out there.” And despite the star turns, the catwalk shows, the making friends with international pop stars – Angel Haze’s greatest triumph is probably the intense relationship she’s fostered with her fans. A quick browse of her Twitter feed reveals many a heartfelt thanks. “It’s crazy,” she muses. “I played a show in Manchester the other night, and as I was going to my bus, there was like a hundred kids out there screaming my name. They were losing their s**t because apparently to them, as a person, I mean so much. “And like, I was with Kanye a few weeks ago and like, to have him even given an ounce of a f**k about the music that I make is amazing. So I’m like dude, I’m your biggest fan, I idolise you almost, this is crazy. So to have an effect on people, to come full circle... I still can’t even believe it to be honest with you.” With Haze having offered out her entire life story via lyrics, or, as she puts it “projectile vomiting my demons everywhere I possibly could,” it’s no surprise fans are so ready to open up to her. “Yeah,” she agrees. “I think as far as fans go, the people who are most drawn to you are the ones who relate to you the most, And the fact that they do relate to me, that they come back and say they’re going through X, Y, Z, that I’m helping them through it with ‘Battle Cry’, it’s just one of those things, holy s**t. “I learned first-hand the way that music can transcend your personal pain and become someone else’s literal promise and hope and all that other s**t. So I put out ‘Cleaning Out My Closet’. Then I realised it was real, and from that day forward I vowed to pour my soul in to everything that I did. Regardless of how annoying it is. I think of music as philanthropy. If you’re not doing everything that you can in the world to make it better or easier for people to live in, then you’re not doing the right thing.” Angel Haze’s new single ‘Battle Cry’ is out now via Island Records / Republic Record. DIY

EVERYDAY

OBJECTS AS LA DISPUTE GET READY TO FOLLOW UP THEIR TREMENDOUS SOPHOMORE RECORD ‘WILDLIFE’, FRONTMAN JORDAN DREYER TAKES A LOOK DOWN THE MICROSCOPE AT OUR NORMAL LIVES. WORDS SARAH JAMIESON

the 27-year-old explored darker topics than previously, from the decaying of a local church to the consequence of a drive-by shooting. Each track was weighted upon the stories he had heard in the band’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan and saw him take upon the voice of an unknown author telling short stories of despair.

a Dispute like to set themselves big challenges. With their debut record ‘Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega & Altair’, they dared themselves to be bold within a genre that was growing ever more monotonous; with their second album ‘Wildlife’, they created a more narrativebased full-length, telling true stories through their own post-hardcore filter. Their third is no different, with the Michigan five-piece once again choosing to push against the boundaries of what’s been accomplished before, but this time, by emphasising the more simple elements of life. “From a personal standpoint,” begins the band’s frontman

Jordan Dreyer, “I wanted to focus in and try to develop a more specific idea over a longer canvas. To try to focus in and look through the microscope; to not focus so heavily on the overly dramatic and obvious moments that the previous record ‘Wildlife’ is about, those catastrophic moments. I wanted to – yeah, like I said - stare down the microscope and talk about something that was a lot less obvious and something that was, in a way, more ordinary.” Dreyer has become known as quite the wordsmith. Having established a talent for balancing lyricism and cadence with their first record, their follow-up had much more to prove and so, the subject matter grew more intense. Within ‘Wildlife’,

The band’s third album moves away from grandiose tales of loss and hurt, and moves further into the more personal challenges we, as people, are forced to face every day; right in the very rooms of our houses. He continues: “To try to flesh out everyday tragedy and fall out that we all experience. That was what I wanted to do on my end, and I think on everybody’s end we always want to explore new territory and change the process up a little bit, to challenge ourselves creatively. I think that, in some ways, my bandmates went through the same thing I did, where we wanted to shrink things down and see how that affected their own talents as songwriters. That was really the overarching desire for all of us.” Moving into more intimate realms presented its own challenges. Focussing in on even the smallest details, after all, can be difficult after a lifetime spent concentrating on the big picture. “Once you commit to an idea, you need to delve in and convince yourself of it. It definitely was difficult to animate the inanimate object, and to rely more on the scenery than on the characters,” he explains. “There’s the challenge of making it matter, making it compelling; of making a kitchen scene compelling by making people feel in the moment, then also, giving

people they opportunity to relate to that, and to illustrate, not just the scene, but why it’s relevant to do so. It came with its own challenges, but it was fun. The whole point initially was to challenge our own creative process, so it was really rewarding.” All part of promoting creativity it may be, but it’s easy to wonder what would inspire the vocalist to want to explore such ordinary territory. Granted, following up the intensity of their last album was always going to be a challenge, but why exactly were everyday problems – and, in turn, everyday objects – so important to talk about this time? “Part of it was in response to ‘Wildlife’,” he concludes. “A reaction to that entire experience, and writing about these moments: shootings, mental illness, stabbings. “They’re really, really difficult to cope with, and they’re important to talk about, but I think equally important are the anxieties that we all have going through the course of the day. Just those everyday anxieties and moments of collapse, and things that everybody inevitably deals with, whether or not in that specific context. As universal as the collapse of the relationship is, not everyone goes through it, but everyone has periods of disillusionment and days where the things they rely on - for the purpose to wake up in the morning and go to bed at night disappear in some way or another. It was partly just a challenge to myself to see if I could make those stories as impactful as the stories that didn’t require as much.” La Dispute’s new album ‘Rooms Of The House’ is out now via Better Living / Big Scary Monsters. DIY

Back to

BLACK

EXPERIMENTAL HORMONES PUMPED OUT AT GIGS, A DRINK BANNED BY THE FDA, AND A NEW ALBUM. BLACK LIPS HAVE A LOT GOING ON. WORDS: CORAL WILLIAMSON.

t a certain point, Black Lips became a band that felt like they’d always been around. Maybe it was around the release of fourth album ‘Good Bad Not Evil’. Perhaps it was their spot on the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack with ‘Bad Kids’. Whenever it was, it feels like ‘Underneath the Rainbow’ has somehow snuck up on us. It’s the bands seventh – seventh! – album, and a welcome return after 2011’s ‘Arabia Mountain’. “It’s our biggest gap between albums,” explains bassist Jared Swilley. “I didn’t realise, I don’t know where the time went. The reason the gaps got bigger is because our territory got bigger. We used to only do one or two short American tours. There’s so many damn cities to play! It takes a long time to tour.” It might sound like a complaint, but it isn’t really. “I’m ready; I’m sick of being at home now, I’m going stir-crazy,” Jared admits. “Basically the next year of our lives has just been mapped out. I’ve seen it in an email. We’ve just got a whole lot to do. But we’ve had like three or four months off. It’s almost like we have a teacher’s schedule, they get three or four months a year, but now it’s time to get back to work.” It takes a while to steer talk towards the new album; to begin with, it’s mostly of drugs. Possibly not in the way you’d expect though. While Black Lips give off that particular kind of rock‘n’roll vibe, Jared takes time to point out: “It’s not so much that we do drugs, it’s that we have done drugs. I haven’t done psychedelics in a long long time. I think you can only do them when you’re a teenager or when you’re over 50. Everything in between then, you’ve just got too much s**t to worry about. It’s hard to handle. I don’t even smoke pot anymore. It just kills ambition. I don’t want to sit around in my underwear playing video games and smoking doobies.” So they’re not exactly stoner rock. Instead, Jared tells tales of Black Lips’ dabbles in drug-based band merch. “We did an experiment in Texas last year where we had synthetic hormones pumped through the crowd. But it was way too pungent and made people sick, a little bit. That was in the initial stages,

but after consulting with our factory scientists we kind of called it all in.” That wasn’t even their first attempt at something new, as Jared continues: “A couple of years ago we were trying to patent a Black Lips drink called D-Tune. We could never get it approved by the FDA, because it has a couple of chemicals in it that weren’t approved for use in the States. It was a vodka-based drink but it was infused with... like, aphrodisiac drugs. It was supposed to be a downer, and an upper at the same time. But the first batch we brought to Canada with us, and we tried it with the Vice Canada people, and we got so ill. The next day, it was the worst hangover/ flu feeling ever. And then we started talking to lawyers and people, and... you can get in a lot of trouble for that. There’s all these rules about it, so we just had to throw in the towel.”

“THE NEXT YEAR OF OUR LIVES HAS JUST BEEN MAPPED OUT. I’VE SEEN IT IN AN EMAIL.” JARED SWILLEY

Now, the band are trying something else. Live shows already target sight and sound; now the boys want to hit your sense of smell. “We’re trademarking our own scent, so that a smell will conjure a memory of us,” Jared explains. “The record will smell like that, and the shows will smell like that too. We’re trying to hit up all the senses; I guess we’ll have to work on taste next.” Any other band would just release a beer, but Black Lips aren’t any other band. When it comes to the new album, they didn’t go the standard route of planning it out either. They never do. “It’s always the same; we never have a plan for an album. There’s four of us writing; everyone’s just constantly writing. The music’s broken up into different albums, but it’s all be one long writing process. Whenever anyone has a song, we just try and record it, and whatever current ones we have, we put on a record. We’ve never been, ‘All right, we’ll have a band

meeting, and we want it to sound like this. Let’s make it jazzy’. It’s mostly just writing songs as they come.” The first track to be released, ‘Boys in the Wood’, wasn’t exactly picked for traditional, ‘give the fans a taste’ reasons. “It sounded weird, so it would throw people off. It’s country-ish or southern rock. You ever heard of that movie Boyz N The Hood? ‘Boys in the Wood’ is the redneck, whitetrash version of that. The white ghetto’s the trailer park. It also had cool horns on it, I like the horns.” It seems for every possibly deep or meaningful reason the band have for doing something, they have an equally... shallow isn’t the right word, but picking something because it’s ‘cool’ seems like something the band do quite regularly. Just take the album’s name. “We wanted to call it ‘Dark Side of the Rainbow’,” says Jared, “but then after doing some research, we found out that’s what you call it when you play ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ along to the Wizard of Oz. So we had to call it ‘Underneath the Rainbow’.” He continues: “And people call puking a technicolour rainbow sometimes, so it’s kind of like, you’re lying down and someone throws up on you.” Uh, did you just make that up on the spot? “Yeah, I did kind of just pull that one out my ass,” Jared laughs. “I’m not super happy with the record title but I guess it’ll work.” It’s hard to tell what’s made up and what’s meaningful to the band. Whether that “kind of cedar-y, musky smell, like a dad smell” really sums the band up. But with the continued, enduring success they’ve had, does it really matter? What matters more is that they’re good – still good, after all this time – and they seem to believe in what they do. Jared says his favourite song on the record is ‘Dog Years’, the album closer. “It’s like when Cole does monologues, he gets really into it. And I try not to laugh in front of him because I don’t make him get weirded out, but it’s still hilarious watching him. He tries to do it with so much conviction. That’s like the outro on the record, and that’s my favourite thing.” What one member finds serious, another will laugh about. It’s probably a good way to be. Black Lips’ new album ‘Underneath The Rainbow’ is out now via Vice Records. DIY

REVIEWS EDITED BY EMMA SWANN

eeeee

Sky Ferreira

Night Time, My Time (Polydor)

ky Ferreira was going to release her debut album in 2011. Then in 2012, and finally after a mid2013 release date looked increasingly unlikely, shelled out her own cash to head in the studio with producers Ariel Rechtshaid and Justin Raisen – where, ironically, a record that’s been over four years in the making took a matter of weeks to complete. Even the late 2013 Stateside release of ‘Night Time, My Time’ appeared reluctant. That’s enough to test anyone’s patience – there must’ve been plenty of points where it’d have felt easier to give in, to release a mish-mash of everything until that point. There was already the brilliant ‘Everything Is Embarrassing’, recorded with Brit super-producer Dev Hynes, and material recorded with producers Jon Brion and Greg Kurstin, plus 90s alt-pop queen Shirley Manson. Thank heavens Sky stuck to her guns: ‘Night Time, My Time’ is a triumph. Mixing ‘pop’ and ‘indie’ isn’t easy; purists

from either side will spot a fraud a mileoff. In just twelve tracks, Sky’s mastered it. In one she’s indie Kylie, Debbie Harry’s solo career, a dab of Kim Wilde and Cyndi Lauper. The songs master an equally difficult skill – they’re on universal themes (love, mostly – save a few thinly-veiled references to being out of control of her own destiny) but they’re as confrontational as they are fun. “Boys, I love ‘em / boys, they’re dime a dozen”, she pouts on ‘Boys’, while ‘Kristine’ satirises “A giant comedy with museums and movies with / Hedi, the routines of the young millionaires”. Her choice of production team is spot-on, too, Rechtshaid and Raisen matching Sky’s own Urban Oufittersmeets-Tumblr grunge aesthetic perfectly at every point. It’s slick where it needs to be (see ‘I Blame Myself’, ‘Love In Stereo’) and gorgeously fuzzy elsewhere (the suitably industrial ‘Omanko’ and ‘Heavy Metal Heart’). It’s part dreamy, part hungover on the closing title track. In short, ‘Night Time, My Time’ is stunning. Night time might be Sky’s time, but this record couldn’t belong to anyone else. Emma Swann

eeee

the war on drugs Lost In The Dream (Secretly Canadian)

ow that Arcade Fire have opted to be Talking Heads, it would be easy to say that it’s been left to Adam Granduciel and his War on Drugs to take the mantle as modern-day Springsteen. If only things were that easy. Yes, The Boss’ fingerprints are all over ‘Lost In The Dream’ but the reality of what War on Drugs do is a lot more intricate – of course Granduciel cherry picks from American classic rock, not least Springsteen, Petty and Dylan, but he also manages to reference My Bloody Valentine, The Cure and Neu. Which is to say this is classic rock through a krautrock lens. Motorik Springsteen, if you will. Previous album ‘Slave Ambient’ seemed to push The War on Drugs on to a new level: ‘Lost In A Dream’ takes them even higher. From the misty cover to the dreamy rhythms and hazy melodies, it’s an album that lives up to its title. Opener ‘Under The Pressure’ is what The War On Drugs do best – a sprawling road trip song, the sound of the open road and echoey lyrics about illusions and lines like “when it all breaks down and we’re runaways”. ‘Red Eyes’ could nearly be a hidden gem from ‘The Suburbs’ – it’s a slice of suburban new wave synth greatness, exploding into life with a chest-thumping ‘woo’. The recording was completed between non-stop touring and that sense of movement is there; it’s those steam engine rhythms on ‘An Ocean In Between the Waves’, that reproachful voice (‘Suffering’ is beautifully vulnerable), those layers that build up. It can become a bit wig out heavy, sprawling becoming a bit too blustery, but it’s a journey you want to stay with. Distances have been travelled: ‘Eyes to the Wind’ is the centrepiece; The War On Drugs at their simplest but most effective, an epiphany in an album about confusion. “I’ll set my eyes to the wind, but it won’t be easy to live again ... There’s just a stranger living in me”. Lost in the Dream, then, is an album full of reflections, Granduciel trying to capture memories and moments. These are widescreen hymns to a hazy vision of Americana America. And despite all the doubts and the self-admonishing, in a strange way you won’t find a more affirming album all year. Danny Wright

eee

la dispute

Rooms Of The House (Better Living / Big Scary Monsters)

a Dispute are no strangers to eloquent bursts of emotion. With their previous two records, the Michigan five-piece have stood balanced on the edge of a knife. Dangling somewhere between delicate, almost spoken-word stories of melancholy, and the explosive,

unharnessed spitting of words, they’re a band who have never been afraid to play with the boundaries of concept and cadence. This time, though, with ‘Rooms Of The House’, they push even harder. Their lyrics feel darker, the stories more tangible, more terrifying. Playing with the idea of everyday objects, and their (sometimes huge) roles in our everyday lives, the band’s latest effort is visually thrilling and sonically stimulating, providing even more intensity than their records before. From the subtle delicacy of ‘Woman (In Mirror)’ to the fraught urgency of ‘Stay Happy There’, each moment seems to bubble with a ferocity that only occasionally breaks through the surface. As every track twists and turns, building upon their previous musical accomplishments, this feels like a band who have finally

truly found their stride. Sarah Jamieson

eee

taking back sunday Happiness Is (Hopeless)

here’s no doubt about it: Taking Back Sunday were the young darlings of mid-Noughties emo rock. With their long fringes and skinny jeans, they whipped up a frenzy on every date of the Warped tour circa 2004 and made heartbreak cool again. The challenge then, ten years since their debut first landed, lies in still resonating with the audience that once answered their every beck and call. With their sixth album ‘Happiness Is’, the five-piece – the reunited original line-up, remember – give it a good crack. Big

rock songs resound and their take on life feels a little more grounded, a little more mature. Still, there’s a playful energy that runs through ‘Stood A Chance’, a gripping adrenaline within ‘Beat Up Car’, an enchanting power to ‘Better Homes And Gardens’. They’re still very much the band who wrote anthems like ‘Cute Without The E (Cut From The Team)’ and ‘You’re So Last Summer’, but they’re no longer those same earlytwenty-somethings. Now the thirty-somethings have real lives to deal with, and that’s something that’s fed into ‘Happiness Is’. Yet, never fear: the great, indulgent, yearningfor-something-more that vocalists Adam Lazzara and John Nolan had down to a tee a decade ago still feels present. It’s just a little more grown up. Sarah Jamieson

eeee Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains

Piano Ombre (Domino)

eee

lot of the descriptions for Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains’ previous album ‘E Volo Love’ – and their first for Domino – used words like ‘charming’ and ‘breezy.’ They had a point, yet as Frànçois himself noted at the time, after releasing a handful of sugary sweet albums for King Creosote’s Fence label, “There’s more muscle in what I do now”. ‘Piano Ombre’ shows another work out has been undergone. Sure there’s the same, er, breezy pop tones, yet there’s a honed, muscular edge, a sense that these songs have been worked into shape. Part of the reason may be that this is his first album recorded in a studio proper, and it shows. You see it on opener ‘Bois’ too which builds into something bigger from a shuffling opener to more of a stomp while ‘The Way to The Forest’ sounds like an Animal Collective Jr – in the very best sense, it’s all of the fun and none of that noodly tomfoolery. But Frànçois hasn’t left his heart at home: ‘La Fille Aux Cheveux de Sole’ is a piano led beauty. ‘Piano Ombre’ means to see things in a positive light and sonically this album is all about brightness. And, though it veers a little too close to becoming slight and twee - see ‘Fancy Foresight’ and its “I’ve got a new life and it’s starting with you” - fortunately it manages to remain on the right side of the line. ‘Summer of the Heart’ mixes African rhythms, English lyrics and a Bombay Bicycle Club sound to perfection. And the keyboard squelch of ‘Reveil Inconnu’ could have been produced by Air. Perhaps his current line up of Atlas Mountains have helped him peak. As closing track ‘Bien Sûr’ builds into a Cut Copy

Tycho

eee

disco frenzy to end you realise that, of course, this is his best album yet – a kaleidoscope of charming sounds. Danny Wright

Awake (Ghostly International)

own to earth is a phrase that’s probably used far too often, but Tycho’s music practically embodies the term. Scott Hansen’s eternally chilled-out sounds strike a certain chord; they sound like a million voices despite containing absolutely none. Approaching his records with a slow, ever-evolving lurch, he’s been tinkering around ever so slightly over the years, which all culminated in the gorgeous ‘Dive’. His latest, the shimmering ‘Awake’, is a continuation of that, but presented in a much pithier manner. Cutting the fat off almost entirely, ‘Awake’ is around 15 minutes shorter than ‘Dive’. This works in its favour, allowing the beauty to immediately make itself present, rather than taking time to unravel. This may sound like a negative considering his expansive soundscapes were given a bevy of space in which to breath before, but it allows for much more frequent moments of tranquillity. The waves of organic and electronic breeze together effortlessly, as if to further bolster the qualities of both halves. If a comparison has to be made regarding Tycho’s sound, it’s that of the most relaxing walk in the countryside conceivable. The soft electronics resemble a cool wind, whereas the percussion thuds recall footsteps – the analogies to made with nature, and in general beauty, are pretty much endless. The record surprises far more frequently than his previous material, despite never straying

black lips

Underneath The Rainbow (Vice)

ith their 2011 album ‘Arabia Mountain’, Black Lips looked to be transferring their grubby mitts of a take on garage rock to chart territory. Recruiting Mark Ronson as producer was one thing, simplifying their balls to the wall rock’n’roll another altogether. It worked in one sense - it was a great record, simple as that - but it didn’t win them a flock of new fans as expected. ‘Underneath the Rainbow’ ups this routine. It

too far from his initial sound. Scott Hansen has offered a stunning escape to the most serene place imaginable. Joe Price

eeee

Sisyphus

Sisyphus (Asthmatic Kitty)

ome collaborations are so bizarre that they just have to work. Sisyphus (formerly S / S / S) is a collaborative project between heartthrob and all around adorable indie troubadour Sufjan Stevens, frighteningly talented producer Son Lux, and criminally underrated avant-rapper Serengeti. Coming from three wildly different musical backgrounds, the trio have somehow found a way to make their blend of expansive elegance, experimental production, and surreal lyricism to work superbly well. With vocal duties shared between all three members,

doesn’t doggedly prize chartworthy melodies out of their dirty fingernail’ed clutches, but it’s an overall clean-sounding (by their standards) return. Saying that, ‘Smiling’ keeps the band’s brattish charms in check, and ‘Do the Vibrate’ is an all-out disgusting reminder of just how gross these guys get. Seven albums in, they’re not so much shifting the formula as refining it and waiting for cult stardom to creep up on the scene. Jamie Milton

the record continually shifts between elegantly composed indie, and challenging hip-hop that refuses to abide by any structural rules. These shifts are gracefully executed, allowing none of the sudden changes to ever feel jarring. Partly inspired by the work of experimental installation artist Jim Hodges, the record draws most of its lyrical influences from fragile themes that come as a part of life. Continually referencing temporality and mortality, it’s not a record concerned with beauty, despite frequently embracing it. Finishing with the confessional ‘Alcohol’, the record folds in on itself as Serengeti signs off with a simple, but crass muttering of “I’ll suck at your dick with the devil’s integrity.” Sisyphus is easily the boldest project to come from any three of its members, and that’s saying a lot. Joe Price

LIVE EDITED BY EMMA SWANN

TEMPLES Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London

he psychedelic 60s is an era constantly in revival. From My Bloody Valentine via The Brian Jonestown Massacre to Tame Impala, the baton has passed to many throughout the years. With Temples now signed to Heavenly Recordings and their debut LP release reaching Number Seven in the UK Album charts, we’re not done riding the shifting waves of psychedelia just yet. And yet the quartet from Kettering blow away all preconceptions of contrived artificiality with a tight set that solidifies psychedelic rock’s timelessness. They arrive on stage to the symphonic crescendo of Gunter Kallman Choir’s ‘Daydream’, as well as a deafening welcome from the raucous crowd, and launch straight into ‘Colours to Life’, its crisp melodies catalysing the masses as they progress from mere nods and foot-tapping to jumps and fist-pumps in a matter of minutes. Adam Smith’s kaleidoscopic keyboards continue to hypnotise as James Bagshaw’s distinct vocals and searing licks from his enviable range of guitars soar out to eager throngs. As the set progresses, the crowd wail along to ‘A

Question Isn’t Answered’ before opting for a rowdyyet-wordless appreciation of boisterous b-side ‘Ankh’ as the chorus possesses their flailing limbs. The set is drenched in a haze of purples, greens and oranges, the Temples logo clearly illuminated on the back curtain as they continue with ‘Keep in the Dark’ and ‘Sand Dance’ (both met with cheers and singing). The colours and smoke are suitably disorienting, but the visuals feel slightly static when combined with their dynamic sound. It doesn’t take away from the full set though, a succinct showcase of their combined talents that is tightly performed right from their arrival on stage through to the fittingly-titled finale ‘Mesmerise’. It might be a psychedelic experience that involves beer and distortion rather than blotters and daisychains, but the hedonistic sentiment remains the same. One can’t help feeling, however, that they are a little confined tonight - even in the cavernous Shepherd’s Bush Empire. With the crowd loving it as much as they were, this summer’s festival season is set to be a big one for these boys. Sam Haughton

LONDON GRAMMAR Troxy, London

justifiably claim to be the star. The band must be bored with The xx comparisons, but there’s a more than a little of the Jamie xx about how he builds up the songs to fill the live space, bringing tracks like ‘Wasting My Young Years’ and ‘Strong’ to life and creating something more pulsating than you find on record. But when that energy turns to empty space there’s a stillness to London Grammar’s music that means the crowd can lose concentration and there’s a muted restraint here, especially, and ironically, during ‘Stay Awake’. Halfway through the set Reid tells the crowd that they’re recording a video for next single ‘Sights’ and asks them to go wild. The crowd oblige, yet there’s an even bigger reaction for ‘Nightcall’’s slinky and dark groove. Finishing with ‘Strong’ they return for an encore. We get ‘Sights’ one more time for good luck (and due to ‘technical reasons’ for the video) and they finish with the magnificent ‘Metal And Dust’, Major providing a pulsating beat as the screen behind the stage shines out the band’s name. Their name in ten-feet high lights. It’s been that type of year for London Grammar. Danny Wright

PHOTO: CAROLINA FARUOLO

here’s certainly a sense of an event at the Troxy tonight. A huge queue snakes around the venue, and girls are waiting outside with handmade signs pleading for tickets for this sold out show. The band have a string quartet with them and huge spot lights are trained on the stage with a screen behind them lighting up and words appearing as if by magic. It’s a reminder, if any were needed, that London Grammar are huge right now. A lot more than mere buzz band (and they’re not trying to be hip) they have grown to be a band which the Troxy is no longer big enough to contain. Later during the show guitarist Dan Rothman stares out at the audience and still seems disbelieving at the band’s rise: “This has been the most incredible year of our lives.” He’s not wrong. The band open with ‘Hey Now’, which, since London Grammar first posted it online, has had more than 3 million plays. Tonight it eases the crowd in to the show and gives Hannah Reid the chance to showcase her smoky, deep vocals; a voice that has seemed to define what the band are about. Yet though on record Reid may be the central figure, tonight is proof that Dot Major could

GIG GUIDE

GIG OF THE WEEK

Four Tet

BRIXTON ACADEMY, LONDON SATURDAY 22ND MARCH

MONDAY 17TH MARCH Brighton Franz Ferdinand, Dome Bristol The Notwist, Fleece Exeter Bombay Bicycle Club, Great Hall Manchester Fall Out Boy, Phones 4U Arena Nottingham Metronomy, Rock City Portsmouth Blood Red Shoes, Wedgewood Rooms Salisbury Gnarwolves, Music Box Southampton We Are Scientists, University TUESDAY 18TH MARCH Brighton Bombay Bicycle Club, Dome Bristol Franz Ferdinand, O2 Academy Leeds Metronomy, O2 Academy London Editors, Roundhouse

Not only did Kieran Hebden announce the gig with an impressively budget-conscious £5 ticket price, but the gig’s an all-nighter curated by the man himself, that’s set to host appearances from all kinds of musical pals. Unfortunately for the ticketless, it all sold out in ten minutes.

Newcastle Dan Croll, Think Tank Oxford Maximo Park, O2 Academy WEDNESDAY 19TH MARCH Cambridge Gnarwolves, Portland Arms Glasgow Metronomy, O2 ABC Guildford Charlie Boyer and the Voyeurs, Boileroom London Editors, Roundhouse Manchester Dan Croll, Ruby Lounge Southampton Franz Ferdinand, Guildhall THURSDAY 20TH MARCH Aberdeen The Amazing Snakeheads, Cafe Drummond Birmingham Drake, NIA Bristol Banks, Trinity

Centre Glasgow Dan Croll, King Tut’s London Fall Out Boy, Wembley Arena Manchester Bombay Bicycle Club, Albert Hall Milton Keynes Charlie Boyer and the Voyeurs, Craufurd Arms Newcastle Metronomy, O2 Academy FRIDAY 21ST MARCH Birmingham Franz Ferdinand, O2 Academy Birmingham Metronomy, Institute Bristol Jungle, Exchange Hitchin Charlie Boyer and the Voyeurs, Club 85 Manchester Bombay Bicycle Club, Albert Hall Newcastle Maximo Park, O2 Academy Southampton Johnny

Foreigner, Joiners Arms SATURDAY 22ND MARCH Birmingham Johnny Foreigner, Flapper Glasgow Fall Out Boy, SSE Hydro Liverpool Drake, Echo Arena London Four Tet, Brixton Academy Manchester Franz Ferdinand, Academy Newcastle Maximo Park, O2 Academy SUNDAY 23RD MARCH Birmingham Dan Croll, Institute Glasgow Banks, O2 ABC Glasgow Icona Pop, Arches Manchester Angel Olsen, Soup Kitchen Portsmouth Metronomy, Wedgewood Rooms York Gnarwolves, Duchess