DIY, July 2012 by DIY Magazine

E D I TOR ’S L E T T ER A bit of sun makes everything sound better. There’s a point during the summer months, when the light is dimming, that it’s factually impossible for any music what-so-ever to sound anything other than amazing. Honestly; that’s the scientific explanation for The Twang. Well, maybe not The Twang. One of the best things about running a music magazine is being able to get behind acts that really make you excited. If any song was made for the summer, it’s almost certainly Icona Pop’s ‘I Love It’. That’s why we’ve stuck the Scando-popsters on the cover. If you don’t listen to that track immediately or sooner, we promise you’re going to have a crap time. That’s just part of our ultimate guide to the summer months. There are also interviews with Passion Pit, The Gaslight Anthem, Metric, Dirty Projectors and more, previews of new records from Bloc Party, Jessie Ware and Yeasayer, and introductions to new favourites DIIV and AlunaGeorge. Add to that our definitive verdicts on Field Day, Dot To Dot and Primavera, amongst others, across the festival circuit and really we’re more important than sunscreen. Though, y’know, use that too.

CONTACT For DIY sales: email: rupert@sonicdigital.co.uk tel: +44 (0)20 76130555 For DIY online sales: email: lawrence@sonicdigital.co.uk tel: +44 (0)20 76130555 For DIY editorial: email: info@thisisfakediy.co.uk tel: +44 (0)20 76137249

staff list Editor: Stephen Ackroyd

Games Editor: Michael J Fax

Deputy / Online Editor: Victoria Sinden

TV Editor: Christa Ktorides

Senior Editor: Emma Swann

Editorial Assistant: Jamie Milton

Features Editor: Harriet Jennings

Art Director: Louise Mason

News Editor: Sarah Jamieson

Head Of Marketing & Events:

Film Editor: Becky Reed

Jack Clothier

Contributors: Alex Lynham, Aurora Mitchell, Bevis Man, Danny Wright, Derek Robertson, Digby Bodenham, El Hunt, Gareth Ware, Greg Inglis, Heather McDaid, Hugh Morris, Huw Oliver, Jack Parker, Joe Skrebels, Katie Shepherd, Kosta Lucas, Kyle Forward, Lauren Down, Linda Aust, Martyn Young, Max Baker, Merlin Jobst, Simone Scott Warren, Skye Portman, Tom Baker, Wayne Flanagan, Will Graham Photographers: Richard Isaac, Sinead Grainger, Skye Portman

Cover photography: Sam Bond DIY is published by Sonic Network Limited. All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of DIY. 25p where sold. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which Sonic Network Limited holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of DIY or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.

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A l b u m s

L i v e

in The Studio...

gallows Ever since replacing their frontman, every move Gallows have made has been followed by all manner of watchful eyes. Releasing the ‘Death Is Birth’ EP back in November, we were given a taste of a new band; fierce, fresh and still with a mouthful of blood. However, now the pressure is on, as they head into the studio to work on their highly anticipated new full-length. “For the EP, it was definitely as though no one knew where they were in the band,” begins guitarist Laurent ‘Lags’ Barnard. "It was pulling in all these different directions," new member Wade MacNeil elaborates. "But I think that’s what it’s like when a band is finding their way. It was a big seven minute long ‘Go f**k yourself.’”

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After such an introduction, where is it the band will go from here? “We’re trying to write a record that builds on the best parts of the first two Gallows records,” explains MacNeil. “Those weird angular guitar moments from the first record. Then the second record has this anthemic quality that’s kind of like that first wave of punk, but with a smarter way of doing it. It’s a little more intelligent, more modern. “So taking those things and then building on them and trying to do them better. I think it’s the best record I’ve ever made. It’s the record I’ve always wanted to make. I think that everyone in the band can say that, and that doesn’t happen every day.”

Returning to their home of Watford to record, the band have set to work with local producers Steve Sears and Thomas Mitchener, which, as Lags explains, was an obvious decision: “I think they’re really talented dudes and they know what we want. Sometimes you can go into the studio with a big producer and they’ve got their vision...” “You’re trying to make their record - not the other way around,” interjects MacNeil. “Absolutely,” Lags continues, “but they know exactly what we want. It’s super laid-back and it’s just a really good working environment. We’re working really hard really quickly.”

“Being able to play music for a living is the most unbelievable thing.” And has such an environment made for a positive mentality? “It’s definitely an inspiring time for all of us,” states the frontman. “Being able to play music for a living is the most unbelievable thing. I think with this massive shake up for the band, we had to make some hard decisions and really think about our place in music, and the way it sits in our lives, but I think that all of us can safely say that it’s the thing that gets us out of bed every morning. It’s like starting a band again.” It’s on that same principle though, that a lot of bystanders have asked the question, why didn’t the band just start again? Lags finds the answer easily: “We built the name of Gallows together. There’s no point in just starting again. Gallows, for us, is aggressive punk rock. What’s the point of the same people playing aggressive punk and rock and just changing the name? We’ve still got the same ideas.”

"It's the record I've always wanted to make." So, what do the band – as artists themselves – want to produce with their third record? “For a long time I’ve been waiting for a young band to come along that looks at everything the way that me and my friends did when we were younger," says MacNeil. "[A band] that shines a light on some things that are wrong in the world. That just doesn’t seem to happen, so I think we’re going to make that record, even though we’re not eighteen anymore. There’s still enough to be angry about. “When you make music and put it out into the world, all you want to do is strike a chord. That’s the whole point of this. I think that, when you do that, and you put out a record that people identify with and it means a lot to people, those songs stop being yours. They’re everybody else’s, and that’s why I think the band is stronger than it’s ever been.” Gallows’ third album will be released in September via their own label Venn Records.

animal Ta l k N e w A l b u m , Online Leaks Animal Collective are getting ready to unleash their brand new album, ‘Centipede Hz’, and we’ve got ourselves a little insight. “There’s a theme about radio,” Josh Dibb, also known as Deakin, tells DIY. “We talked a lot about the radio stations we listened to when we were growing up, the effect of listening to late night radio mixes.” And after having had their last album - 2009’s ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ - leak right before the release date, how are the band feeling about things this time around? “[With] the last few albums, we’ve had the experience of finishing a record and then being really concerned about it leaking,” he explains. “The reason why that becomes distressing to us is because when you put so much work into it... For us it’s never been about losing money from illegal downloads or anything. We grew up in an age where an album would come out a certain day and sometimes you’d line up at the store to go get it – [it was] a real excitement, an experience.” So, will there be a certain way in which fans will be given access to the album itself ? “We want it to be a real surprise,” enthuses Noah Lennox, aka Panda Bear. “But we do have plans to do something.” Animal Collective will release ‘Centipede Hz’ on 3rd September via Domino Records. The band will also be touring the UK later this year.

NEWS

the xx To ‘Coexist’ This September

Fans of black, white, more black, and lower case typography rejoice! The xx are returning! The world’s favourite moody south Londoners will release their second album, and follow-up to their 2010 Mercury Prize-winning debut, this autumn. Titled ‘Coexist’, it will be out on 10th September, and was announced with this message from the band: “After a long time on the road, we took a break, created our own studio and wrote these new songs that we’re so looking forward to playing to you. We will be touring throughout the summer and beyond, and hope to play somewhere near you soon.” The xx have a mammoth summer of worldwide live appearances - including a brief North American tour, and festivals including Bestival and Electric Picnic. They’ve already unveiled several new songs live this year, including tracks unofficially dubbed ‘Closer’, ‘Devotion’ and ‘Leave’. The xx’s new album ‘Coexist’ will be released on 10th September.

funeral for a friend Tal k Drum m e r ’ s De par t ur e : “ T h i s Ban d I s M o r e T han J u s t T h e Peopl e I nvolve d ”

Last month, we were greeted with some surprising news when Funeral For A Friend – who have been holed up in the studio for recent months – announced that drummer Ryan Richards would be leaving to spend more time with his family. His position is to be filled by exRise To Remain drummer Pat Lundy, who made his live debut with the band at Slam Dunk. Sitting down with frontman Matthew Davies-Kreye, DIY found out just what this means for the five-piece. 8 thisisfakediy.co.uk

“I think a lot of people thought we would just let the band go at that point,” he says. “We feel we’ve got a hell of a lot more to give. With Ryan opting to step out to look after his family, it made sense to find somebody who shared our enthusiasm and brought something special, and Pat was a no-brainer.” However, with their latest album – the follow-up to 2011’s ‘Welcome Home Armageddon - all wrapped up, what’s set to happen next? “Ryan was in the studio

with us,” explains the frontman, “but we’ve decided to go back in to re-record the drums. Just so that, when the record comes out, it feels complete." What does this mean for the future of Funeral For A Friend? “This band is more than just the people involved in it: it’s the songs, it’s the music, it’s the vibe. I think that the band, right now, is as strong as it’s ever been.” Funeral For A Friend’s sixth album is due later this year.

novella

Begin Work On Their Debut Album Former DIY First On interviewees Novella may have only just released their new self-titled EP - which they recorded with Rory Attwell on his Thames-dwelling Lightship95 boat studio - but they’re already busying themselves with more writing. Speaking to guitarist and vocalist Hollie Warren, she explains what the band have on their minds when it comes to their next release. “I think that when we wrote the songs for the EP, we wanted it to be a collection of songs that we had spent a bit more time thinking about and putting together. I think they definitely reflect where we were, in January…,” she laughs. “I think our sound and the new stuff that we’ve written has moved on even further. “What we’re most excited with is thinking about the new stuff fitting together as an album. We’re imagining it on an album more than even playing it live. A lot of the stuff that we’ve written so far has been to play live; be a part of our live show. “Now we feel like we can take our time a bit more. Even the songs that we’ve written, one of them has been a work in progress for a few months now, so there doesn’t feel like there’s a massive pressure to get stuff written. Hopefully [we'll] be back in the studio in the summer.” Novella’s new self-titled EP is out now via Italian Beach Babes.

n e w s in

b r i e f Bloc Party have revealed that they will release their brand new album ‘Four’ on 20th August. The band’s aptly titled fourth full-length was recorded in New York and will be released through Frenchkiss Records. Beach House have plotted a full UK tour for November, based around their already confirmed appearance at London’s Roundhouse. To find the complete list of dates, simply head to thisisfakediy.co.uk.

We Are The Ocean have parted ways with frontman Dan Brown. In a statement made by the band they say, “his passion lies behind the scenes as a manager, as opposed to musically.”

Becoming Real has been invited to play as main support for Grimes on her forthcoming UK tour. The five dates will take place throughout late August and early September.

The Killers have revealed the title of their forthcoming new album. The follow-up to 2008’s ‘Day & Age’ will be called ‘Battle Born’. No release date has yet been confirmed.

refused will play a handful of UK live dates this August. Catch them at: London HMV Forum (12), London HMV Forum (13) and Manchester O2 Apollo (14).

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NEWS

twin atLantic

Aim To Finish New Album This Year

Twin Atlantic have been one of the busiest UK rock bands over the past year, and they show no signs of slowing down. Having released their debut album ‘Free’ back in the first half of 2011, the Scottish four-piece are already looking ahead to what comes next. “When we were in America, we supported You Me At Six and then recorded for a week,” explains drummer Craig Kneale. “So, our week off, we just did work anyway!”

What was it that the guys were recording? “We were just demoing. Sam had quite a few songs that he had been working on. We did about ten songs - just demos, but they’re pretty good.” And could the demos be the basis for the next Twin Atlantic album? “We actually quite like them all, but there are four or five tracks that are really strong. There’s always the fear that you won’t be able to outdo what you’ve done before. Because we were really proud of the last

The Return Of

Bat For Lashes

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album and it was received quite well, you wonder, how do you? In a perfect world, we’d have [the next album] finished by the end of this year.” Twin Atlantic have just released a free five-track live EP, and will be touring the UK in October and November.

Bloc W hat were at in o Party d g s? rt a w Hog

For Hunting . Snitches

Having been quiet for a little while now, Bat For Lashes has finally unveiled plans to release her brand new album ‘The Haunted Man’. The singer revealed details of her third full-length release on the eve of her intimate comeback show at Cambridge Junction, detailing the due date as 15th October. On the release of her critically acclaimed effort ‘Two Suns’ back in 2009, she earned a slew of nominations and prizes, including a Mercury Music Prize nod and an Ivor Novello award for ‘Best Contemporary Song’. Not too shabby, right?

It’s now though, in 2012, that Natasha Khan will release her third record, supported by a rather sizeable UK tour. The twelve date run will see her play: (October 18) Inverness Ironworks, (19) Edinburgh Picture House, (21) Glasgow O2 ABC, (22) Manchester Cathedral, (25) Leeds Metropolitan University, (26) Norwich UEA, (28) Leicester O2 Academy, (29) London Forum, (November 01) Birmingham HMV Institute, (02) Bristol Anson Rooms, (03) Portsmouth Pyramids, (04) Brighton Dome Concert Hall. Bat For Lashes’ new album ‘The Haunted Man’ will be released on 15th October via Parlophone.

. .

Begin Work On Second Album

S.C.U.M are already hard at work coming up with ideas for their second album - the follow up to last year’s debut ‘Again Into Eyes’. DIY tracked down frontman Thomas Cohen to find out what we can expect. “We’re going to go for a lot more of a natural recording environment,” he explains. “Whereas before it was all tracked, now we want to do it a bit more live; get a big group feeling to it. We’ve also been talking about using synthesisers as a form of

orchestration and song craft, since the first record is a bit more - I suppose – noisy.” And why would a live approach be preferable for record number two? “There’s a certain feeling, and a mood. There’s those magical moments that you can pick up on that happen by accident when you’re all playing together. “Even if we just do it like that and then strip it back, often I feel like it’s those little things that are wrong, and the things that are broken within songs and music, that I think are amazing. It’s just a progression. We don’t want to replicate what we’ve done. We want to move on from there in whatever way we see fit.” S.C.U.M’s debut album ‘Again Into Eyes’ is out now via Mute.

pure love To Release Debut Album This Autumn

If there's one band who are keeping their cards close to their chest right now, it's Pure Love. Having played their debut show back in February, the duo – Frank Carter and Jim Carroll – recently returned to the UK for another handful of appearances, giving fans just enough to whet their appetites in anticipation of their first full-length. However, the band know exactly what they're doing when it comes to the buildup. “Everybody is so eager to give everything away,” says Carter. “It's very strange how it's come full circle now. Really, you can have nothing and be a rock star, thanks to social media. You can have 100,000 fans and you're a 'somebody'. I just find that really obnoxious and really irritating. I see a lot of people with very little talent that are very good at playing the game. “We specifically held back as much as we could for as long as we could. Even now, we're holding back. The album's done, but we want to make sure that the run up is fed through properly. It's nice to have everything done.” “People still think they have it figured out after one song too...” adds Carroll. And that they do. Following the first 12 thisisfakediy.co.uk

size. Now, we're playing rooms this size, with music that's intended for stadiums. It's going to be a nice slow and steady climb for us.” How does it feel to finally be sharing Pure Love with an audience? “I've said it before,” starts Carroll, “but this is the band that I've wanted to be in since I was fifteen years old.” “It's just nice to be playing really honest rock songs,” sums up Carter. “We've really poured our heart and soul into them.”

airing of their first track 'Bury My Bones', a flurry of commentary followed, some heralding the track as brilliance, with others a little more in doubt. “Obviously, as soon as we released a single, everyone was going to jump to say, 'Oh, they sound like this.' That was partially why we put 'Bury My Bones' up front - because it's such a poppy, simple song,” says Carter. “It's the simplest song Pure Love's self-titled debut album will be on the record. We thought, 'We'll throw released in October via Vertigo Records. ourselves to the wolves and get all of the really harsh critique out of the way up front.' We're letting them write us off, and then they won't bother listening to anymore. “The people who are interested - the intelligent people - will come back and pick the record up and realise that it's really diverse, across all of the tracks. There's such a breadth of influence there.” The pair both laugh. “Not just The Darkness...” n to The takes exceptio Erykah Badu -filled ty di “In our pasts, we've both been in nu r afte F laming Lips bands where we got to play fairly r I Saw Your ve E e im T t bigger stages, but the music was r 'The F irs aks without he always intended for rooms of a small Face' video le

"Kiss my glittery ass." approval.

Grizzly Bear

plan First full-length In Three Years Brooklyn indie types Grizzly Bear are to return this Autumn with their first album in three years. We know the record, the follow-up to 2009’s ‘Veckatimest’, will be ten tracks in length. We know it’ll be out once again via independent label Warp. We know it will be accompanied by a massive international tour.

We even have some idea of what it might sound like – track ‘Sleeping Ute’ was unveiled with the announcement, and we’ve already dubbed it “a glorious sign of things to come.” What we don’t know, among all this excitement, is what the record will be called. According to Warp, “the album title and other details will be revealed soon.” Anyone fancy a flutter on inter-band ‘heated discussion’? Grizzly Bear’s UK dates take place this October: Gateshead Sage (17); Manchester Academy (18); Glasgow Barrowlands (20); Warwick Arts Centre (21); London Brixton Academy (22). Listen to ‘Sleeping Ute’ and read our verdict on thisisfakediy.co.uk.

Lucy Rose

Samples Dog On New record That got your attention, didn’t it? OK, so we may be stretching the truth a little with that title, but our pants aren’t quite on fire. DIY’s Martyn Young tracked down Lucy Rose at RockNess festival, where she was performing a few weeks ago, and she told him about her forthcoming debut album. “I knew for a fact that I didn’t want this to be a glossy album, and have that very clean, beautiful tone to it, because I wanted it to be very full of character,” she explained. “I didn’t want to do it in a big expensive studio; we did it at my parents’ house, in the family room, and we did a lot of things in the village hall. It was really a DIY album. We just piled together all our gear, everything we had, and recorded an album at my parents’. “You can hear the dogs, you can hear some birds on it… I was insistent things were captured, and not too perfect. That moments were made. I just hope that comes across.” Lucy Rose’s debut album ‘Like I Used To’ will be released on 24th September via Columbia / Sony. 13

WUB - IN '

BABY To tease fans about their new album, Muse revealed a special ‘teaser video’. A wonderful work full of subtle messages and easy to miss subtext, our greatest minds have analysed it so you don’t have to.

Have you ever seen a dubstep robot? Because it appears to be the way Muse are alerting us to the existence of a new album. The laser-loving, alien-friendly rock trio are never known to do things by halves, they couldn’t do so even if their space-age stage setup depended on it. So the announcement that they’re going to release the follow-up to 2009’s ‘The Resistance’ later this year was suitably bombastic. Not only is there a video that switches from Doctor Who style scenes to Al Gore’s nightmares, but they’re followed by an angry-looking robot who soundtracks the kind of breakdown that even Skrillex would shake his wonky mane at - and that has Muse, or their A-Ha style drawn versions (ask yer Mum) trapped inside. Accompanied by the altogether more sensible text of ‘Muse’, ‘New Album’, ‘The 2nd Law’ and ‘September 2012’, at least part of it makes sense. And, if all that excitement hadn’t been enough, the day after the video surfaced, we discovered they’d be arena-hopping across Europe from October onwards.

1. Some people running. We’re assuming Dom Howard is out of shot with an amorous expression and some handcuffs. 2. An eye. Because they’re looking at you. Like Big Brother. Oppression. Grr.

3. You may think this is all about fossil fuels and big industry - actually, this is just where Matt Bellamy keeps his hair gel.

4. Muse have been selling the tears of their fans on the black market. Scientists used them to grow Skrillex.

5. These are ‘bankers’. The subtle subtext is that ‘bankers’ are ‘evil’. We know, we missed it the first time too. 6. BLEEDIN’ HECK! IT’S A DUBSTEP ROBOT!

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Muse's new album 'The 2nd Law' will be released on 17th September via Helium 3.

muse

Return With New Album

n e w s in

b r i e f How To Dress Well has confirmed details of his new album, the follow-up to 2010’s ‘Love Remains’. The Chicago producer will release ‘Total Loss’ via new label Weird World this autumn. The Antlers have unveiled - via a mysterious teaser trailer - that their next release will be a four-track EP entitled ‘Undersea’. Their latest effort will be released in the UK on 30th July.

Beck is back! The singer - who has been rather MIA of late - has returned with a brand new track, ‘I Just Started Hating Some People Today’. The single has been released as the latest instalment of Third Man Records’ ‘Blue Series’, whilst an album seems to be on the way. Kevin Devine has released a

win

Tickets For DIY And Merc Live Gigs This SummEr DIY has teamed up with clothing brand Merc to host a series of gigs this summer. We kicked off on 19th June with a super-special night featuring The Heartbreaks, Dexters and - believe it or not - England’s crucial final Group D clash against host nation Ukraine. Next up we’ll be putting on The Milk and Me (3rd July), Sissy & The Blisters and SULK (31st July), and another we’re not revealing just yet (17th July), all at The Social in London. You won’t be able to buy tickets, however, you can only win them.

nine-track live album through Big Scary Monsters. The Brooklyn singer songwriter has made ‘Matter Of Time: KD&GDB Tour EP 2012’ available for digital download for just £3.49.

Radiohead have been debuting

new material during their world tour. The band - who will perform several UK dates in October - recently played new tracks ‘Identikit’, ‘Cut A Hole’ and ‘Full Stop’. Curious as to how they sound? Check them out on thisisfakediy.co.uk.

st vincent and david byrne have announced plans to release a joint album. The release is titled 'Love This Giant' and looks set to be released on 10th September through 4AD.

ROCk NESS

For your chance to win tickets to any of the Merc Live gigs taking place this season, simply visit thisisfakediy.co.uk or merc.com and choose the band(s) that you would like to see. Lucky winners will be notified 1-2 weeks prior to the gig. Good luck!

Please note that to enter this competition you must be at least 18 years of age. All attendees of the Merc Live gigs must also be at least 18 years of age.

The flaming lips have signed to Bella Union. Together they will release an album called 'The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends' - featuring Bon Iver, Neon Indian, Tame Impala, Nick Cave, Ke$ha and more - on 30th July.

japandroids and grimes are

amongst the long list nominations for 2012's Polaris Music Prize, the Canadian equivalent of the Mercury Music Prize. Last year Arcade Fire won for their album 'The Suburbs'. 15

diy live japandroids

diylive The weather has been a little all over the place for the last few weeks, but remember when we had that ridiculously hot week at the end of May? That week where most people abandoned all rule and rhyme when it came to appropriate attire, everyone had a pink nose and, hell, even flip-flops were donned? Well, that was when we threw the most ridiculous show we could think of. In the Old Blue Last, AKA primary sweatbox spot numero uno. And who did we invite along for the fun? Japandroids. Returning to Europe for a handful of dates ahead of the release of their second album ‘Celebration Rock’, the mighty Canadian duo joined us on one of their only evenings off, and laid waste to the tiny room. Joined by impressive Oxford band Gunning For Tamar and incendiary newcomers Splashh, as soon as Brian King and David Prowse appeared it was evident that it was a bit of a special night.

Blasting through an explosive set made up of all manner of old and new tracks, their moments on stage were coloured by raw singsongs, sweat and an absolute sense of euphoria. Songs like opener ‘The Boys Are Leaving Town’, ‘Wet Hair’ and ‘Young Hearts Spark Fire’ are a mass of chaotic but familiar energy, whilst any new offerings go down an absolute treat. The night is frenzied, cathartic and all kinds of crazy, but it really is something you wouldn’t want to have missed out on, even if we did have to wring our t-shirts out at the end...

seconds with...

japandroids

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We might’ve had a ruddy good time in the Old Blue, but how was it for Japandroids? We had a morning-afterthe-night-before chat with Brian King and David Prowse in a sunny London park to find out... You played at the Old Blue Last yesterday, for our DIY Presents show. How was it for you guys? David: Hot! It was quite hot, yeah. Brian: Very hot.

brainlove Brainlove Festival, as you may have guessed, showcases a variety of both friends of and bands signed to Brainlove Records - the best and brightest of the underground scene. And this year DIY joined in.

AK/DK crushed beaks

Divided into two sections (three if you include the BBQ), it’s held at the Windmill in Brixton, with the pub’s back garden surroundings allowing performances outdoors from poets and kooky singer-songwriters; it’s charmingly chilled out. From Magic Eye’s 80’s funk and fusion to acts including AK/ DK and Napoleon IIIrd providing abstract electronics and energy, the music is versatile; the main room sweaty but controlled. Tall Stories provide a rockier vibe, setting a boundary that distinctively makes their presence known, before rolling into Crushed Beaks, a two-piece that clearly need attention with their pop noise that sets a different standard. Dad Rocks!,

Bleeding Heart Narrative, Väljasõit Rohelisse, Andrew Paul Regan and Enjoyed also enjoy a rapturous reception.

It’s a pleasing experience with the alcohol and sunshine flowing equally. To describe Brainlove Festival for all of those debating already on 2013 festival dates – it’s a little like a smaller, less formal, more charismatic version of Jools Holland’s show, with a free BBQ to boot. (Skye Portman)

D: So hot. B: It was good though! The crowd was really fun, they were really into it. It was just so hot, and very packed. You’re coming to the end of your UK run, and you’ve played some pretty tiny, sold out shows on this tour. What’s it been like? D: It’s been really fun. I mean, it’s been a while now since we’ve been in the UK. We toured a little bit while we were working on the new album, in the US and Canada, but we haven’t been to the UK in two years, so it’s been really exciting to come back and visit a lot of different towns, see old friends. Tonight’s your final UK date, but your last official show is when when you play

Primavera in a few days… B: Primavera doesn’t really count! It’s on a massive stage at an outdoor festival and totally, almost in every way, different to all of the other shows that we’re playing on the tour. I kind of think of it as a different beast. D: It’s like a rock and roll fairy tale magical world that we get to go into. How do you feel about playing those sorts of shows, on such big stages with an audience that might not necessarily know you? B: I think now we like it. It was pretty nerve-wracking in the old days when we first started doing it, but I think now we like it. We’ve played Primavera before so we know what to expect. It’s not going to be such a foreign experience as it was

the first time we played. Now, I think we can walk out onstage with a lot more confidence and play possibly even better then we played last time. That’s exactly what you want. B: In theory! I wouldn’t want to play worse than last time. So, what’s the plan following the release of the album? B: Just touring. And do you plan to be back in the UK any time soon? D: We should be back at least in the fall! Basically, it looks like we won’t be home between now and Christmas, so we’ll be all over the place for the next six months.

festivals 2012

FEstiVALs 2 0 1 2 Priding itself on its choice of setting (Oxfordshireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s picturesque Cornbury Park), as well as a series of non-musical highlights such as an impressive array of talks and theatre, Wilderness continues to strive to offer something different in an increasingly crowded festival schedule. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edition features a suitably eclectic mix of musical start turns from the likes of Wilco, Spiritualized, and Rodrigo Y Gabriela. Wilderness will take place at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire from 10th - 12th August.

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Wilderness Festival

Summer Sundae Now in its 12th edition, this year's Summer Sundae comes armed with bewildering array of acts, from Billy Bragg celebrating Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday through to Django Django's art pop, Deer Tick's boozy Americana, Public Image Ltd's provocative electronica and Stay+'s own distinct brand of provocative electronic. Summer Sundae will take place at De Montfort Hall & Gardens in Leicester from 17th - 19th August.

By now firmly established as Wales' premier music festival, Green Man has pitted the likes of pop survivors Dexys and Jonathan Richman against alt-heroes such as Stephen Malkmus, Mogwai and The Walkmen. Non-live highlights include comedy sets from the likes of Robin Ince, and Pete Paphides bringing his fabled Vinyl Revival to Glanusk Park. Green Man will take place at Glanusk Park in Wales from 17th - 19th August.

Green Man 19

festivals 2012

VFestival V Festival has, for a long time, been billed as the UK's premier festival for mainstream pop. This year's is no exception, with headline slots from The Stone Roses, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Snow Patrol and The Killers being backed up by an all-star cast of chart stars past and present in Madness, Ed Sheeran, Keane, Tom Jones, and James Morrison, to name but a scant few. V Festival will take place at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and Weston Park in Suffolk from 18th - 19th August.

Creamfields If V can lay claim to being the nation's biggest exponent of mainstream pop, then Creamfields can do the same for electronic and dance music. This year's edition boasts the likes of Skrillex, Deadmau5, Paul Van Dyk and David Guetta alongside old favourites and radio personalities Pete Tong, Annie Mac and Zane Lowe. Creamfields will take place at Daresbury in Cheshire from 24th - 26th August.

Rock En Seine

Already established as one of Europe's better festival experiences, France's Rock En Seine is probably going to also be the only festival this summer to have Sigur Ros followed by Placebo. Other notable inclusions are quasi-shoegaze exponents Beach House, Maximo Park, the recentlyreformed Grandaddy and The Shins. Proving it's an event for the whole family, there's also a freeentry mini festival for the 6-10s. Rock En Seine will take place at Domaine National De Saint-Cloud in France from 24th - 26th August.. 20 thisisfakediy.co.uk

FESTIVAL Reading & NE W s LeedsFestival

ATP curated by The National has been through a bit of drama this month, with “Butlins [deciding] to end their six year relationship with the festival.” Instead, the event will now be held at Pontins’ Camber Sands. This year’s Underground Festival - in association with

DIY - has announced the line up for 2012. Playing on the very special DIY mainstage this September will be the likes of previous First On-ers Bastille and PEACE, as well as Lower Than Atlantis, Canterbury and many more. Able to lay claim to be the UK's 'second festival' after Glastonbury, the Reading & Leeds philosophy of mixing popular alternative, chart pop and American rock has done them proud to date. This year's no different, with festival staples Foo Fighters and Florence & The Machine and The Cure backed up ably by The Vaccines, The Gaslight Anthem and Kasabian. Reading & Leeds Festival will take place at Richfield Avenue in Reading and Bramham Park in Leeds from 24th - 26th August.

Underage Festival Making sure that the summer festival season isn't the over-18s' exclusive playground, Underage Festival once again opens Shoreditch Park to the 10,000 13-17 year olds with no parents or guardians allowed. For many it'll be their first independent musical experience, and as a result there's a suitably instant and accessible line up including the likes of Jessie Ware, Willy Moon, Theme Park, Summer Camp, and Spector. Underage Festival will take place at Shoreditch Park in London on 31st August.

The newly established John Peel Festival Of New Music is set

to take place in Norwich this year, from 11th - 13th October. Around fifty bands playing across ten venues in the city.

Hevy Festival has announced another wave of acts, including Hundred Reasons (performing ‘Ideas Above Our Station’) and Gnarwolves Across the channel, Pitchfork Festival Paris has announced

details of some of the artists that will be performing this year. The first list of names released includes M83, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Robyn and Sébastien Tellier.

T In The Park have confirmed some last-minute additions. Teengirl Fantasy, Dry The River and Dot Rotten will now appear at the three-day event. Japandroids, Lanterns On The Lake and Veronica Falls are amongst the final bands to be added to Beacons.

Florence & The Machine have been announced as one of the headline acts for this year’s Bestival. The band will take to the stage on 6th September.

'Most ten year olds want a bike for their birthday, or maybe a game or two for their XBox, but when DIY dons its own 'I AM 10' badge later in the year, we've decided that instead of the latest Malibu Barbie and/or roller skates, we want GIGS. Lots and lots of gigs. Being the brattish tweenagers that we are, we're busy making sure we get exactly what we want. We took a peek at the last decade's worth of reviews to see what we've rated over the years, what we still rate now - you know the ones, the records that never leave your turntable, the CD you leave playing in your car stereo for months on end - and we're very pleased to announce the first few of a series of special birthday parties. Cue the fanfare: Jeffrey Lewis will be playing the entirety of 'A Turn In A Dream-Song' (which we gave a glowing 9/10 review less than a year ago) especially for us at the Borderline on 5th September, for the meagre sum of £12 in advance. But not only this! Oh no. Our good friends in noisy trio The Xcerts will be driving through their 2010 sophomore effort 'Scatterbrain' - which just so happened to top the DIY Readers' Poll that year - on 13th September, for just £7 in advance.

COMINGUP…

3RD JULY The Milk + ME

20TH - 21ST JULY Truck Festival

7TH JULY Pop Bubble Rock!

31ST JULY Sissy & The Blisters

The Social, London ..............................

Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes, London ..............................

7TH JULY Alcopopalooza The Windmill, London ..............................

11TH JULY Howler

Lancaster Library ..............................

Hill Farm, Steventon ..............................

The Social, London ..............................

5TH SEPTEMBER Jeffrey Lewis

The Borderline, London ..............................

13TH SEPTEMBER The Xcerts The Borderline, London ..............................

30TH SEPTEMBER Underground Festival

Tickets are bound to be snapped up fast, so we'd suggest you get yours quick, and don't forget; we expect you to bring us cake.

17TH JULY TBC + Life In Film

But our birthday presents don't stop there, make sure you watch this space over the coming weeks, we've got even more surprises up our sleeves.

For up to date listings, visit thisisfakediy.co.uk/events.

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The Social, London

Guildhall, Gloucester

first on alunageorge

“I’ve got a very bad joke repertoire, so I try not to talk too much.”

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AlunaGeorge London duo AlunaGeorge speak to Jamie Milton about their origins, and working on their debut album.

t’s not as if Aluna Francis and George Reid are an odd fit, but if convention were to put together one expressive beatsmith and one shiny pop vocalist, it might have to think twice. Yet when it comes to one of 2012’s most refreshing success stories, we’re presented with a case of two musicians at opposite ends of the spectrum, helping to further each other’s talents, the final product being the perfect fusion of sharp beat-led backdrops and glossy R&B vocals - and it calls itself AlunaGeorge. Reid and Francis met through the once invincible music platform that now limps by on its very last limb: MySpace. Mutual appreciation of each other’s solo projects led the two to convene in London, where they now work prolifically towards the release of a debut album. It’s easy to identify where each other’s strengths lie. George, who in this very interview declares that his “good ideas run out at music,” works together a magnificent arrangement of beats and samples, on top of which Aluna will place a distinct melody or a dozen. “We each have our strengths but we’re always there to poke holes and help each other,” claims Reid, as Aluna is keen to wax lyrical on The Knife, who are a clear influence on her vocal style: “There’s a simplicity to it, a danceable-ness to a song like ‘Heartbeats’... Wherever I am, it will always be the perfect track to play me.” On the subject of odd combinations, eyebrows were raised upon seeing news of the pair’s new EP and, more notably, the label which would be releasing it. Tri Angle, responsible for Balam Acab, Holy Other and oOoOO, decided to depart from indistinct synthetic experimentation, with AlunaGeorge being something of a landmark signing. “Robin, the founder, had been talking about his interest in the

pop side of music,” explains Aluna, “he’s fascinated with the purist idea of what pop music is, but he’d never actually gone out and found a band that fitted this definition.” Validating this signing is the fact that the pair are now within walking distance of the charts; radio airplay growing by the day and anticipation heightening towards the first full-length. The two sound giddy with excitement, not quite gathering their bearings after an overwhelming few months. “I got a call from my Dad yesterday and he heard us in his car on the way home. It’s funny how it can reach so many people,” says George, before Aluna elaborates by detailing just how many times her Grandma has read about the band in the paper - she then adds, with full awareness of the ridiculousness of her statement, “it means a lot when an old lady can get in touch with your music.”

to let the music do the interaction,” says Aluna, coyly, before admitting a lack of confidence in terms of talking to the audience. This is strange, considering how concise and assured Aluna is in conversation. One interviewer does not equate to an intrigued audience, this is true, but both her and George are brimming with confidence when talking about their music. Aluna says that the “goal of songwriting” is to write pop songs which “you never get bored of hearing,” citing The Knife’s ‘Heartbeats’ once more as a perfect example. George, meanwhile, puts more emphasis on the importance of the album. He details a recent experience in the middle of putting “finishing touches” to the debut record: “I got a bunch of tracks that I put together as a potential album tracklist and then I listened to it back-to-back, non-stop. It makes you appreciate the intricacies of trying to make an album work, track after track, rather than forcing the listener to skip to their favourite songs. It needs to hold your attention and change enough to keep the listener interested.”

Then proceeds the laughter. Aluna and George are on the same wavelength. They giggle at the smallest of things and this only goes to add further evidence of how well they work together in the All of this hints studio. It’s difficult "It means a lot at a band keeping to establish where their feet firmly on they differ, besides when an old lady the ground, despite their individual roles can get in touch networks of radio in the project. I ask DJs singing their them both if they can with your music.” praises, despite pick out a turning label after label point: George cites “a rabidly clawing at moment about a year the pair to put out and a half ago when this potentially we started writing sensational debut. music that was closer Citing both “a to the sound that collection of we’re making now... ditched songs” and Everything suddenly describing recent tours as a means of clicked.” Aluna is still buzzing meanwhile “reconfiguration,” learning curves are still from the recent tour with Friends. being experienced. Yet if all goes to plan How does the AlunaGeorge live for these two young, gifted musicians, they experience compare to seeing Samantha will soon be a thing of the past. Urbani and co. chat back and forth with the audience before inducing everyone AlunaGeorge’s new EP ‘ You Know You Like in the room to get up and dance? “I tend

It’ is out now via Triangle Records.

So how does xxyyxx manage to stand out from this thick and full cast of budding electronic geniuses? The rumours that he’s only 16 years old help to add momentum to the cause, but the sheer fact is that beyond his self-titled debut, there’s very little that transgresses soul, pop and minimal electronic dub with such brilliance. ( JM)

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Every dog has its day, or so someone clever once said. So with Birmingham’s Peace and Swim Deep putting B-Town on the map, and Patterns, Shinies and various others doing the same for Manchester, it's only right that Nottingham sees its own uprising.

After changing monikers from Infinity Hertz and adding a couple of new members, this five-piece’s new name also brings with it a slick change in direction. Wanderlings are more assured for a start, with plenty of bouncing percussion, dream like synth textures and an aura of nonchalant cool. Their new vibe is perfectly typified by standout track ‘Swingin’, which incorporates nimble guitar work and Coors light vocals to perfectly make its way on to your summer 2012 playlist. (WF)

MS MR

There are millions of producers out there, basing themselves in the not-so distant havens of the internet, sampling Aaliyah and associating their work with 23/4 or whatever the hell that day was where if you were cool, you bought drugs and listened to “slow jams”. Few of these producers nail it to a T like xxyyxx does: hell, he’s even got a fancy, HD video of topless girls smoking blunts with his ‘About You’ song in the background. At the time of writing, over 50,000 people have watched that video: quite a feat.

Wanderlings

xxyyxx

first on profiles

With the same management team as those behind Death Cab For Cutie, Cloud Nothings and Surfer Blood, standing beside a series of pop-culture referencing music videos and one aesthetically pleasing tumblr page to boot, it’s sensible to assume that MS MR, an ‘unsigned band’ of distinct pop stardom potential, have all the groundworks for a whirlwind next twelve months. The New York duo fit into the postLana flurry of acts taking on a DIY approach when arriving on the scene: if everything’s in place - the image, the songs, the videos - then a small fanbase will soon appear. In this instance, the pair’s songs have been ready for almost a year now, but it’s only now that the masses have begun to fall in love. Their most recently-unveiled song, ‘Hurricane’, is a track of depth and subtlety, a breathtaking love song. ( JM)

Something different: that’s crucially what’s at play here with ILLLS. They don’t actually need the sickly rep to enhance their brilliant sound. It’s all there: oddball anthems for the deranged. One play of their their forthcoming EP with Sounds Of Sweet Nothing and you feel rejuvenated by the grimy garage rock sound. It's fresher than anything else out there; with greater potential for drawing big crowds than falling into obscurity like all the rest of guitar music’s supposed anti-heroes. ( JM)

Behold the beauty of eclecticism, for it has its advantages. Best Fit Recordings arrived as a newly formed label at the beginning of March, welcoming the ghostly synth-pop of I Ching and the charming alternative rock chimes of Fanzine to their roster. Their third release might unite all three artists in terms of their ability to write effortlessly catchy songs, but otherwise, Sweden’s Faye is a polar opposite to those who arrived before her. In new single ‘Water Against The Rocks’ - the follow up to the equally astonishing ‘Come To Me’ - she recruits the assistance of production duo Montauk, breaking free from her roots as part of girl band Play, emerging with a stunning song, resplendent in haunting synths and a skyreaching chorus. This is far from squeaky chart-ready pop; lyrics such as “I’m drowning, I’m so scared” are barely a sound for sore ears, but the surrounding instrumentation quintessentially Swedish in its blend of dark and beautiful - is enough to awaken the most trodden down of listeners. ( JM)

childhood

Faye

ILLLS

I’m trying to imagine an ILLLS concert and my stomach isn’t feeling particularly cheerful as a result. So far, the band have allowed pink goo to grace their artwork, and enjoyed a gag-inducing all you can eat contest as part of their debut music video. So in this game of self-oneupmanship, how on Earth will they top such queasy feats? Will they throw live cockroaches into the audience? Will a curtain of mould form the backdrop of their set? Will each member of the crowd be encouraged to sip on a carton of curdled milk? It’s a nauseating series of possibilities, but I suppose it might make for something different.

For decades now it has almost become a formality for northern-based bands to up sticks and move to the capital. However, in Childhood’s case they’re seemingly doing things in reverse. While studying away from the big smoke at Nottingham University, Leo Dobson and Ben RomansHopcraft (who become a four piece when performing live) are now producing some of the most heartfelt, melodic pop gems around.

Take their first demo for example, ‘Blue Velvet’, which popped online back in 2010 awash with fuzzy guitars and ultra melodic pop choruses. Other tracks like ‘Semester’ and ‘Paper Wave’ followed suit, keeping in theme with the bands well-crafted, hazy indie buzz. Until now, education has ranked highest on the band's list of priorities, but with lectures now over for good you can expect a better prepared, more focused outfit to appear throughout 2012. (WF)

first on sunless 97

Sunless ‘97 talk control, comfort-zones, and why not even they’re sure what’s to come from the band next.

As the year commenced, DIY included London’s Sunless ‘97 amongst a cluster of new bands, together classified as a Class Of 2012. Since January, we’ve seen the likes of DZ Deathrays and Niki & The Dove putting their stamp on things with the release of debut albums. All while this fizzling of activity persists, the London trio have kept at their own pace; slowly and surely unveiling their plans. Said plans are rarely calculated, more the product of spontaneity and instinct, as well as a desire to do everything in the correct and proper way: “We don’t like just handing things over for someone else to do. We’re involved with every aspect, visually and musically,” says Alice. This involves everything from designing flyers to meticulously planning the visual aspects of last year’s ‘Making Waves’ EP. The band have spent the best part of 2012 working on their live show, following gigs riddled with technical issues - to the band’s admission - but the live experience is progressing at a satisfying rate. Alice explains, “I think we’ve just been so selfabsorbed with it all that it’s only the 28 thisisfakediy.co.uk

last few shows where we’re able to start appreciating what’s going on in the room.” Fleshing it all out into live shows has proven the biggest challenge, but working on new music is where the fun begins. Again, planning isn’t an option: “We never know what our next song will sound like,” quips Alice. Ed adds, “we never really discuss whether it’s a single or an EP, it’s just referred to as a ‘release’.”

“It takes you outside of yourself - you stop being so self-centred.” Ed continues: “It’s really important-”, before Alice finishes his sentence: “-to get out of your comfort zone.” This very much sums up Sunless ‘97’s work aesthetic, their love for new experiences and inspirations. So when it comes to entering the studio, Ed explains, “we’re not sure what’s going to come out because in reality it’s a digestion of our eclectic listening tastes. It’s something that’s buried deep within us.”

‘Body Weather’ is "We don’t like just 2012’s first example of this; a single released Such eruptions of handing things on Moshi Moshi musical consumption over for someone imprint Not Even, with can take their time, glorious saxophone and while Alice else to do.” solos encapsulating promises “an album will the sheer level of fun definitely happen,” you and exploration that make your average can bet on any first work being a product Sunless ‘97 song. But it’s far more of exactitude and eclecticism, and in an than average, this one. It feels like the age where bands' careers can come and gauntlet’s been thrown down. go in mere months, it’s refreshing to see a group working at this alternate pace, In our conversation we talk travelling enjoying themselves in the process. and in particular, Ed’s love of Mexican literature. Alice expresses excitement Sunless ‘97’s new single ‘Body Weather’ / when talking about visiting new places: ‘Azul’ is out now via Not Even.

Doldrums A preferable Doldrums interview experience would involve getting into the very depths of Airick Woodhead’s mind, stumbling upon the little pieces of genius that exist within. This would unfortunately encounter various legal issues, even if DIY were, somehow, to gain Woodhead’s consent. Instead our First On talk takes place some 100 miles or so apart, as the Doldrums' tour van busies itself towards another awaiting destination, this time Dot To Dot’s Manchester leg.

Doldrums’ Airick Woodhead tells us about finding inspiration in unusual places.

Spending a good part of the past two months driving from place to place could easily take its toll, however Airick is upbeat throughout our conversation, probably counting down the days before he can go home and master his debut album which, at the time of print, might just be completed. Writing songs is his biggest issue. Usually, there’s a daily Doldrums routine when at home, where the Canadian artist will make a beat, go out for a walk, expand on it and work into the night. “But I find it nearly impossible to have a song come to fruition on tour,” Woodhead stresses. “I can make a lot of sketches and do a lot of little ideas and build loops, I’ll write lyrics, but there’s no possible way for me to complete a song.”

exercise when locked up in the back of a van. Of what we’ve heard so far, these are wild, vivid experiments put into a recording. From last year’s ‘Empire Sound’ EP (released through No Pain In Pop), to most recent single ‘Egypt’, we’ve barely been able to predict a single one of Woodhead’s next steps. A lot of this is to do with samples, and the broad spectrum from which Airick sources these. “It’s very difficult because I have the entire recorded music catalogue of humanity at my disposal, so basically the more finite and specific I can get my materials, the stronger the thing I’m making will be,” he explains. One specific song, ‘I’m Homesick Sittin’ Up Here In My Satellite’, has a Bollywood sample discovered through a single use of the Shazam app in a club. Such a twist of fate can rarely be repeated, so Airick deems it paramount to put his own spin on each song: “Materials are one thing, but the spin of it - that’s my own mark."

Doldrums’ set-up is hardly an acoustic guitar plus a four-track tape, so it’s easy to see why writing songs is such a futile

This personal stamp is of intrigue in itself: Woodhead’s Dad is a musician and he’d often go to music festivals,

newsi n b r i e f Dog Is Dead’s

forthcoming debut album will be titled ‘All Our Favourite Stories’. The full-length doesn’t currently have a release date, but will be preceded by single ‘Glockenspiel Song’ on 22nd July.

Frank Carter’s Pure Love have announced their first single proper, which will be released this July. The track is called ‘Handsome Devils Club’, and it follows on from their previous free download ‘Bury My Bones’.

Torches have unveiled details for their debut single too,

due this July. The London-based five-piece will release ‘Sky Blue & Ivory’ through new London label Fractions Of One.

where “there’d always be these all-night, fireside raves, with everyone playing and drumming and singing and dancing.” Only up until recently, Airick never owned a computer. He also admits to not purchasing a record since the age of 14, yet his attitudes on the digital age are compelling. At one stage in our conversation he raises the possibility of an “anti-altriuism, anti-connection” art movement emerging in response to the restrictions networks like Facebook and Twitter place on individuals and our friendships. “To me it’s still a fictional, future thing,” he concedes, before adding “I just feel lucky that I have real friends that I can talk to and hang out with.” Woodhead remains an enigma of sorts, his relationship with technology hard to pigeonhole (he describes his music as “my own reaction to technology and style in general”). The songs themselves are often wildly different in sound and atmosphere, leaving us even more dumbfounded when it comes to categorising the guy. The desire to locate yourself in the very depths of Woodhead's imagination becomes even stronger as the chat progresses. For the time being, we can expect a debut full-length to expose more parts of this fascinating, exploratory character. Doldrums’ new EP ‘Egypt’ is out now via Souterrain Transmissions.

Azealia Banks has announced that her forthcoming mixtape (due 4th July) has had a title change. Originally set to be called ‘Fantastic’, the rapper tweeted that she’s changing it to ‘Fantasea’. Manchester-based producer Holy Other has announced details of his first album, which follows on from last year’s ‘With U’ EP. Due on 28th August, the release is titled ‘Held’ and will feature nine tracks.

Beat Connection are to issue their debut album this

summer. The band, who previously put out a mini-album, ‘Surf Noir’, back in April 2011, will release ‘The Palace Garden’ via Tender Age on 6th August.

Spector

have finally unveiled details surrounding the release of their debut album. ‘Enjoy It While It Lasts’ will be released on 13th August through Luv Luv Luv / Fiction Records.

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Not content with giving you a free magazine, we've put together a free mixtape full of our favourite new bands; download from thisisfakediy.co.uk/mixtape

first on mixtape

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2/Shoeb Ahmed Falling Fast

1/Deap Vally End Of The World

Jack White, if you’re reading this: Send this band into that plush studio of yours, give them a glass of whiskey, and lend them the finest of your equipment to work with. Deap Vally trade poor spelling for an incredible array of back-breaking riffs; giant in proportion and rough in texture. Bold declarations such as “hate is a parasite, hate will eat us alive” are bellowed above sweeping blues rock structures. One listen will have Mr. White sweating at the collar, ready to pick up the phone.

Every single element on ‘Falling Fast’ is exact in application and minimal in style. Canberra, Aus-born musician Shoeb Ahmad is responsible for such cinematic brilliance, with this, the lead track on forthcoming debut ‘Watch/Illuminate’, lending beauty to experimentation. Ahmad’s vocals are innocent, barely noticeable amongst a rinsed backdrop of light, fidgety percussion and the hypnotic daze you’ll soon fall into won’t be pure coincidence.

3/Anja McCloskey sunset No.73

Anja McCloskey - formerly of The Irrepressibles and Haunted Stereo, now under a solo moniker - plays bookshops (whole tours’ worth of bookshop gigs, to be precise), but don’t allow that to distract you from the fact that a song like ‘Sunset No. 73’ is virtually impossible to pigeonhole. Folky, sweet, smart - yes, all the things you’d expect from a serious literature lover - but its layers of atmospheric instrumentation gradually amass, leaving the listener short of breath and taken aback by the sheer level of beauty being showcased.

5/ Moons Bloody Mouth (Watchtower Version)

4/ Playlounge Conor Oh Burst

The shortest track on this month’s mixtape and easily one of the sweetest. Playlounge are a two-piece who get kicks from adrenaline rushes, hence why they tend to sound like a compressed, even more excitable version of Japandroids each time they emerge with a new track. Pun heavy ‘Conor Oh Burst’ might be, but its divisive title is contrasted by the kind of energetic, gung-ho sound that’ll only unite crowds into a frenzy of youthful, joyous skirmishing.

The kind of song that’ll make you want to start a record label. That’s exactly what Boston-based No Recordings went ahead and did upon hearing the debut track from Moons aka. Patrick Canaday. There’s a refreshing blend of Twin Shadow at his most dramatic and cinematic, Memory Tapes at his most escapist & Phoenix at their most exploratory: So ‘Bloody Mouth’ might seem like a glorious melding together of influence upon influence, but it’s even better than that.

6/Midnight Davis Need U Tonight

First On will always love an electronic producer who pushes boundaries, and Midnight Davis might be one of the finest modern examples of such a feat. Fresh from releasing an ‘Aftershocks’ EP, next work ‘Need U Tonight’ is a perfectly held together work of multiple facets; a ghostly blend of dark synthetics and indistinct vocals. The title track is defined by a trembling guitar line - half Dirty Beaches, half the xx - contributing to a redefining of parameters, a desire to challenge convention. A thrilling listen.

8/GHXST Doomgirl

7/Erika Spring Hidden

Erika Spring makes up 1/3rd of Brooklyn dream pop group Au Revoir Simone. But not settled with satisfying adoring crowds of heady synthpop lovers, a solo guise has emerged, with a release due out on similarly pristine label Cascine. ‘Hidden’ is a blaze of fiery percussion and light, dashing synthetic patterns, combining to form a work of honest beauty, virtually unrivalled by contemporaries. This may not declare “Au Revoir” to Au Revoir Simone, but it’s good enough on its own merit to warrant a flurry of praise.

Grab a leather jacket, put a pack of smokes in your pocket and head over to New York’s grimiest basement club, for this is where you can expect to stumble upon GHXST. Here lies a grunge trio just as focused on style as they are scuzzy riffs; every split-second of rough-edged guitar is dripping with sweat. ‘Doomgirl’s ferocious three minutes of whiskeybreath & cuts and bruises is enough to leave you convinced that dark, filthy basements might just be your scene.

9/Dark Horses Boxing Day

Dark Horses are fronted by Swedish singer Lisa Elle, who does her finest to create the most haunting of atmospheres throughout ‘Boxing Day’. Think the electronic tinges of Liars’ latest, ‘WIXIW’, running alongside a well-grounded layer of harsh, worn melody, courtesy of Elle herself. We’re talking post-punk, with the sweet addition of skyscraper choruses and darkening synthetics. It’s The Horrors’ ‘Sea Within A Sea’ with a stricter cut-off point; a desire to stay succinct. In other words, it’s terrifying yet fascinating.

11/Mammal Club Painting

10/Plant Plants

Embrace The Real

Compressed within an inch of life, the beats which grace Plant Plants’ ‘Embrace The Real’ are perfectly constructed snippets of sound. It makes sense, then, to make these the centrepiece of an electronic-heavy opening track from a forthcoming EP, produced by Simian Mobile Disco’s Jas Shaw. Muted guitar lines and sleight, melancholic vocals compete for attention against the aforementioned body of percussion, but the final result is a brittle little pop song; so sweet you could knock it off its feet with the slightest of touch.

Extravagant pompous pop that’s only ever been rivalled by Everything Everything; Newcastle’s Mammal Club have been championed by DIY’s First On for a while now, but just in case you’re unaware of their magnificence, we deemed it sensible to include recent ‘Painting’ in the mixtape. Exploding with a renewed sense of experimentation, virtually non-existent in other young upstarts’ work, here exists a song with a serious desire to revel in the untried and untested, and all the better for it - it’s a work of theatrical, complex brilliance.

12/Born Blonde Dreamland

“You’re living in a dreamland” goes the fluttering chorus, as a hazy blend of organic and synthetic collides into view - it’s a beautiful moment, one that lifts you out of the lull that the song’s verses lure you into. Born Blonde, set to release an album this Autumn, are responsible for flirting with our eardrums with such confidence; playfully sending us from states of calm into mild euphoria. If there’s one song on the mixtape that you’re hoping to ease your severe insomnia, this is it.

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summer guide passion pit

It's sunny out, viewers! A time for balls. To celebrate, we've put together bringing you everything you'll need to

SUMMER

GUIDE

BBQs, beaches and big bouncy our ultimate guide to your summer, get through to the autumn. Enjoy!

Pa s s i o n T h e E n v e lo p e n ot every day do you encounter an album

put together with such attention to every microscopic detail as Passion Pit’s sophomore effort, ‘Gossamer’ but then that’s Michael Angelakos, through and through. The talented songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and frontman obsesses over the minutia of most things, or so we’re led to believe. We catch up with Angelakos in his swanky label HQ to talk through the new release, writing for Jay-Z and being best mates with Diplo. Fancy. The first thing I wanted to clear up was that most of the information about Passion Pit seems to just be talking about you at the moment. Are Passion Pit still a band or is it a solo project now? It’s always been me in the studio and a live band. I guess we just were never asked. Everyone was working on their own stuff, and I felt like I didn’t want to take away from what they were doing. They know that this is my writing project so it’s totally an amicable thing. They’re a really awesome live band. I didn’t talk to them for almost a year and a half - we needed that break after that amount of time together - and they were all like, “Yeah, let’s do this!” They’re totally behind it, and it just feels like such a huge leap from where we were when we ended the touring cycle. I consider us a band because live it’s an interpretation of what I do in the studio. Most people see you live, they don’t buy the record. So the instrumentation on the album, is that all you as well? Yes, it’s all me. I don’t play a violin but I wish I did. I have horn sections come in and Chris Zane, who co-produced it with me, he plays drums on the record, just because he’s better. But I do everything else myself. And when it’s all written and recorded, do you then go and teach it to everyone else? No, I’m the only one who didn’t go to music school so when I explain things to people about how to play music, it’s more emotional than theory based. So they’re like, “Ok, we’ll just listen to the tracks. Just give us all of the stems and we’ll figure it out.” But I’ll go and I’ll advise and we’ll figure it out together because there’s

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H a r r i e t J e n n i n g s ta l k s t o M i c h a e l A n g e l a ko s ab o u t t h e mak i ng of ‘G o s sam e r ’ . stuff that they’ll do that won’t fly but mostly they’re dead on. They know what they’re doing. I trust them completely and they trust me. It’s just such a good vibe this time around. We’re really excited. You mentioned working with Chris Zane but I heard you also worked with a number of other producers in the beginning - is that right? It’s pretty chronological. I had this opportunity to work with other people, co-production, because this is my project and I don’t want anyone to take it away. But no one could really because it’s a little weird. When you walk in with a hip-hop producer, you have to have a lot of direction, you have to have a strong sound. Really, all they were saying was, “I don’t know what to do here. You can pretty much do this yourself.” And so, after months of trying that, I was like, “I’m doomed. Passion Pit just can’t work with anyone else. Is it me? Is it the project? Am I the project?” That was a big crisis. Where did the move to work with Chris Zane and Alex Aldi come from? I realised at a certain point, I guess I’m gonna work with my friends. Chris is my friend. Alex Aldi is one of my best friends, and he’s an amazing engineer that has helped me throughout the entire process. I remember calling him and telling him, “Hey, I think we should work with Chris on the rest of this record.” We were thinking it’d be like a month or two. It ended up being six months. Poor Chris. Poor Alex, it was 13 months for him! He knows what went into the last record and how hard we worked on that. It was five times as much work for this record because it’s just so much more ambitious. You mentioned the word ambitious there, and there were a lot of instruments that went into this record. We’re told you reckon up to 200 and Alex thinks 120? Ok. That’s an annoying detail. I liked it because it plays into my brain a little bit. What happens is, when you have a ProTools system that can only do an output of 120 tracks stereo tracks. So that’s two tracks for one instrument sometimes. You have to bounce down. Alex was being technical, I was being honest.

With so many different tracks, how long did it take you to make one song? Sometimes it would take a week. ‘It’s Not My Fault I’m Happy’ took about a week and a half, just for one song. I listened to the last record and I was like, “Oh my God, I can’t do it the same way!” so I made sure everything was perfect. Actually, in the end that was great because mixing was so much better. I think that’s a real difference between the two records; I don’t think they could’ve done a good mix with ‘Manners’ because it was crazily recorded when we were trying to figure out what Passion Pit sounded like. You want to go insane? Come to a studio with me for six months. I’m terrible. One of my best friends is Diplo. He does everything on his computer and he knows exactly what he’s doing. And then there’s me, going through all 8,000 kick drums to find the perfect one. It’s so crazy. And no one’s ever even going to know. But I know and I can sleep at night. Would you ever want to work on a Passion Pit track with Diplo? I work with him, but on other tracks for other people. I’d let him do a remix but I wouldn’t let him touch a Passion Pit track. I remember he was going to work on stuff and I was like, “Bro, let’s just hug it out.” You mentioned earlier about this record being very different to ‘Manners’. Was there anything you learned during the writing/ recording of the first album that you wanted to apply this time around? Well, time. Sometimes it can be detrimental to an artist, but I think taking time with this record was really smart. I think I needed to have these jarring experiences, get really unhappy, experience my life and have all of these things happen to me that ended up becoming the story of ‘Gossamer’. Everything happens for a reason. ‘Manners’ was put together very quickly. I was very naive, I had no idea what I was doing and it was all about my afflictions and things that I couldn’t control, and actually stuff that to this day, I still don’t understand where it came from. It was a stream of consciousness record. I find that

What’s the plan for the other tracks? Do you know what? I have this terrible problem where I’ll write a song, and then I’ll be like, “Meh, I’m done,” and I won’t work on it ever again. Alex is like, “But the song’s good, why don’t we just try it?” He talked me into a couple of songs on ‘Gossamer’. And so did Zane. They were like, “You need to do this song.” And I listen to people because if I listen to myself, I’m never going to put out anything because I’m extraordinarily prolific and terribly stubborn. I’m also the most indecisive person I know so I need guidance all of the time. I’m probably going to release a solo record in four years, three years, maybe two, depending on the cycle. Lyrically, this is quite a personal album. Was that a concern at all when you were writing? Not really because I’m tired of hiding what I’m writing about. Art is about exposure. It’s a really tough job because you put yourself out there

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beautiful actually. I wish I could’ve recorded it a little better - I think we all do - but I think it’s a really interesting stamp on a captured moment. I learned a lot because I had to play it for two and a half years. I kept thinking to myself, “I know exactly what I’m going to do with this next record, I’m going to write better songs!” I’m a real song person. I love production but the song’s got to be there for the production to be there. Here I am whittling away at over 200 songs, thinking to myself I could release like eight albums right now. Everyone’s saying, “This is your Tom Petty record, this is your Joni Mitchell record, this is your Laura Dalton record, this is your Wilco record.” I was all over the place with my music. R Kelly was a huge influence, and Usher. A lot of hip hop and R&B. I think what happened was that ‘Manners’ made me want to explore, and I went too far into the exploration process and then I brought it back in and we have ‘Gossamer’.

for people to shoot you down or sensationalise. It’s really f**ked up, actually, if you think about what it is that you’re actually doing. I had to think, “Well how open do I want to be?” because I’m talking about someone else now, someone very close to me, my fiancé, and my relationship with her and my problems that affect her. She can’t listen to the record. She loves it but she just can’t listen to it because it’s all real. And I don’t like making things up for the sake of making things up. I just write about what I know. What happened to me was, I thought, tremendously scary and beautiful and interesting and riveting to me, and made me a better person after I was able to deal with it. Dealing with it was making music and writing music about it. When I finally heard the record in total, it’s the saddest thing I’ve ever put out if people actually listen to the lyrics, but it’s also a triumphant record. I’m still getting married. I finished my record. I’m talking to you right now. I’m still alive. I didn’t go overboard. I’m cleaned up. It’s a triumphant record because ultimately, that is where I was and this is where I am now. I can look back and go, “Wow, I’ve grown quite a bit.” And I’m really proud of myself for that. I hope that’s something I can connect with because I think low point records are the most inspirational ones to me. I never want to preach. It’s never preachy, I just want people to think that there can be a good outcome, you don’t have to kill yourself over it. You worked with a Swedish trio [Erato] and a well known composer [Nico Muhly] as well this time around. What was it like letting other people get involved in the album? With them it was different because Erato were just like, “What do you want?” And I was like, “Whoa!”. They’re very Scandinavian. I would just sing out harmonies and they would do it perfectly. They had really sweet, soft voices. The androgyny is one of my favourite parts of the record. My friends went two weeks without

noticing that they were on two tracks. And Nico Mulhy is by far one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever worked with. I can’t say enough amazing things about him. He’s become a good friend of mine and an inspiration as well. He really understood where I wanted to go. There’s quite a lot of variety between tracks across the album. Was that a conscious decision? Yes. Even though Phoenix is one of my favourite bands ever, I never want to make a record that’s that cohesive. I went the 90s route, where you could put people in a room that like a band and everyone has a different favourite song but they all like the record. I love that idea. There’s no way that it’s not going to sound like me. The one thing that bothered me about ‘Manners’ is that it’s too much of the same vibe the entire record. I was like, “Alright, I’ve got nothing to lose, I’m going to write the record that I’d like to write, which is a record that shows diversity in the songwriter and producer.” There’s not a lot of that today so if I get hate for that, whatever. If I get love for that, then that’s great too. I don’t really care. Finally, what’s next for you this year? Touring. I’m really excited. I’m terrified but I’m excited. We went back on the road and did a load of college shows and it was so fun. I haven’t had that much fun with the guys in like so long. We were like, “What happened? Why are we having this much fun?” I was like, “Wait a year.” We’re all older, one of us just got married and I’m getting married, hopefully next year some time, and I think we’re all in good places. We’re taking advantage of the situation and we’re having fun. Passion Pit’s new album 'Gossamer’ will be released on 23rd July via Columbia Records.

Passion Pit Gossamer

Want to know a secret? We’ve heard ‘Gossamer’. Well, they wouldn’t let us speak to main man Michael if we hadn’t; there’s like a law, or something. And, for a while it was beginning to get a bit strange: there were none of the highpitched sped-up vocals we’d come to expect from everything Passion Pit. “What?!” We didn’t cry, because we were, of course, listening intently to the record. “How could it be?!” And then they returned from their rest, as a pun on breakthrough track ‘Sleepyhead’ would have it, once again the indie Chipmunks were alive, well and releasing a record this summer.

summer guide friends

SUMMER

GUIDE

As summer approaches, so too does the chance for more social sunworshipping; and whether a pint, a Pimms or a picnic is more your thing, we’d chance our arm that dinner with Friends would be right up your street. The Brooklyn band, fronted by the formidable Samantha Urbani, are late. We’re due to meet Friends at an East London eatery where we’ve been sat frantically refreshing our Twitter feeds and desperately trying to avoid the eye contact of the waiter we’ve already assured a good few times that yes, we really do need all those seats. And then all of a sudden, amidst the sounds of crying babies and cutlery, chaos tears through the room; Friends are, without a doubt, here. Through the frantic ordering of food and the gushes of apologies, the quintet settle down on the sofas opposite us. With their recently released debut album firmly on the shelves, we put it to them that it’s almost a bit like a sharing starter: nice and varied, with not too much of any one thing. “It wasn’t a concept of ‘let’s put as much on there as we possibly can’ but it was important to us to not have any rules with what was and wasn’t ok,” begins Samantha, as we make a note that not having rules seems one of the central perks of being

“It was important to us to not have any rules.” in the band. “We didn’t write it as an album, we just kept writing songs as we were playing live shows,” she continues. “It’s like a mixtape. I think that’s a cool idea for a record.”

F R I E

Working alongside four of your mates is bound to have its fair share of pros and cons but perhaps the most interesting thing about Friends is how they blend together their veritable melting pot of influences to create this one solid sound. “Each one of us loves a lot of different music,” explains Samantha. “I think that the album reflects all of our tastes: that we don’t define ourselves by any one genre. We’ve all had different phases of our lives where we’ve been really passionate about one thing or another, and now we’re super open to anything... as long as it’s good.” 36 thisisfakediy.co.uk

Samantha smiles, when we ask what the band have taken away from the whole experience. “I’ve never tried to record music before and the whole thing was a learning process. It was very frustrating because at times, I had a vision of what I wanted to do or say but I didn’t know how to articulate it.” “We’re just negative people, on top of everything, chimes in Nikki Shapiro, the group’s guitarist. “I was thinking about that,” confirms Samantha. “As a band, we’re all very negative people, nihilistic style. None of us are just happy-go-lucky optimists.”

Nikki shrugs, “We’re typical New Yorkers, basically.” “I just look at it as a creative process,” bassist Matthew Molner offers. “You have to just put the songs out and let go; move on. I want to keep making great records, and in order to do that, you

relationships, you say? “We hear this record’s about boys,” we jibe to an audience of eye rolls, accusations flying decidedly in Matthew’s direction. “I don’t remember saying that!” he objects, but it’s too late, he is almost definitely getting the blame. “There are definitely songs about relationships but they’re not usually about the person, it’s about the situation,” Samantha says. Lesley nods. “And there are songs that aren’t about any boy.” “And maybe there are songs about girls. And there are songs about death. And songs about being existentially freaked out. And all kinds

"We’re super open to anything... as long as it’s good.”

just have to get the first one out and take it from there.” “If you’re an artist, whether you’re a musician or a painter, nothing’s ever going to be finished; you’re just going to stop doing it,” adds Lesley Hann, who also lists bass and percussion among her contributions to the cause. “Especially when it’s five people working on something together,” Samantha rounds up. “It’s constant compromising. Interpersonal challenges are important because they add dynamics to a band.” Aha! Just the opening we’ve been looking for. Interpersonal

of s**t,” Samantha continues. “Mind control! And the f**cked up objectification that women receive. There is definitely a certain sense of politics. There might be two songs about the same situation but they’ll be totally different tones. ‘Home’ and ‘Proud/Ashamed’ are about the same break up." “And ‘Stay Dreaming' and ‘I’m His Girl' are about the same thing,” Lesley offers, tentatively. “And then ‘Friend Crush’ and ‘Sorry’ are about the same person. There’s literally like three people who the album is about,” Samantha confirms. We can’t help but ask if those three people have been informed, and Lesley backs us up, turning to her bandmate, “Do they know? All of them? Do they all know?” she exclaims excitedly. “Yes!” Samantha says grinning. “It took me a while to tell the person who ‘Friend Crush’ is about because I really did have this stressful infatuation with him and he’s a close friend of all of ours but he really appreciates it, I think. It’s weird when you write a love song about somebody and they’re at your show and they don’t know it’s about them and they’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s a really great song!’” Regardless of the topic in hand, Friends are keen to stretch themselves to the limit of their capabilities through both writing (“the more varieties of songwriting processes, the more opportunities we’ll have to stay creative”), recording (“we’ve been talking to other bands about the idea of producing us”) and collaborating (“I’d like to do something with Charli XCX”). And sitting still is definitely off the table. “We don’t want to get bored,” Samantha explains. “There are a million ways to not get bored so we’re going to try at least half a million of them.” Friends’ debut album ‘Manifest!’ is out now via Lucky Number.

summer guide the gaslight anthem

SUMMER

GUIDE

Rock and roll is undoubtedly alive, well and on your doorstep.

The Gaslight Anthem are back and raring to go with their fourth album, ‘Handwritten’.

For years, for decades, music has been defined by its origins. Whether it's the Louisiana blues, or the Los Angeles punk scene. The Baggy capital of Manchester, or the grunge birthplace of Seattle. There’s something inexplicably special about the inspiration these locations hold. But then again, there really is something magical about New Jersey. Whether brought up on Springsteen or The Misfits, Bon Jovi or The Bouncing Souls, rock and roll is undoubtedly alive, well and on your doorstep in the Garden State, and The Gaslight Anthem are the most invigorating of modern bands proving as such. Born into the New Brunswick scene in the mid-2000s, the punk rock four-piece – consisting of Brian Fallon, Alex Rosamilia, Benny Horowitz and Alex Levine – have gone from strength to strength. Emerging from the underground with their 2007 debut ‘Sink Or Swim’, it’s through their honest and compassionate brand of punk that we meet them today, five years on, ahead of the release of album number four. “Most people think it’s the third. Isn’t that weird?” remarks

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Fallon, as the corners of his mouth turn up in a smile. “It’s alright though.” For the recording of their fourth album, things definitely changed. Having signed their first major label contract, the band also tried their hand at a host of new

“People need to get back to some sort of semblance of caring about each other.” approaches. “We tried to figure out,” begins Fallon, “what would we do if this was our first record? Everything was new. New producer, new label, new writing style. Everything went. There were no rules.” And with their whole new outlook, came a whole new recording space. Having previously worked with Ted Hutt in both New York and Los Angeles, it was time for the band to head somewhere different:

Nashville, Tennesee. “It was tough recording the last album [‘American Slang’] in New York and just going home every day,” explains Levine. “Your head wasn’t in it 100%. You’d go back and forth, but down in Nashville... It’s a totally different pace down there.” And as for the new producer they’ve already spoken so highly of ? Well, he holds quite the resumé. Having produced everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Neil Young, Rage Against The Machine to Bob Dylan, there was surely something surreal about working with Brendan O’Brien. “I mean,” begins Rosamilia, “after we got to know him, he made it noticeable that...” He turns to Brian. “What did you say when he called you that one time?” “He called me at eight in the morning, because we had done a song the night before and he was really excited about it. We had finished tracking the song, so he called me at 8am - which is not an appropriate time to call me,” he laughs. “And he goes, ‘Brian Fallon?’ And I go, ‘Yeah?’ And he goes, ‘It’s Brendan O’Brien, Grammy Award Winner.’”

masses, and even titled their last album lyrics also remain key: “I talked about my ‘American Slang’, it’s no secret that they family and my upbringing,” says Fallon. have something to say. But it becomes “My parents got divorced right before all too easy to wonder, why keep singing I was born and I never knew my dad. about it? That’s always been kind of like a weird “I want my country little dog that follows “It was super easy,” Fallon assures us. “I want my back.” Fallon sounds me around, and I’m “Everyone would think, ‘Oh, you made exasperated, but honest, imagining a lot of this big major label record, in this major country back.” and to hear such a line other people feel that label studio,’ but it sounds like a bunch is heartbreaking. “I miss way too. It doesn’t of us just playing guitar. If you messed the times when I used even have to be about anything up, you could just go back to feel that my country in particular was a parent, it could be about anything that and fix it, but sometimes we didn’t. a place where everyone could go for a safe follows you around: drug addiction, a Sometimes, we would leave it.” haven. Where you could go if you weren’t break up, a divorce or, maybe the loss of happy; America was the place that you someone. “That’s the cool part about the way it could go to and find opportunity. Now, worked,” Horowitz chimes in. “It’s not it’s not like that. People need to get back “I tackled every day topics: there’s even about how perfect a take is, or how to some sort of semblance of caring about one little snippet about the way that perfect a track is, it’s how it feels.” each other.” people live their lives on the computer now. They don’t see each other or touch And was this reflected by their It seems like 'Handwritten' deals with each other. It’s odd! approaching this much larger themes than you'd first guess. There’s a thing on the album like a debut? “It’s not about how But, for a set of songs with such largely last song on the record “Yeah, there’s a personal influences, what do the band that’s kind of like, hey, rawness to it,” begins perfect a take is, or themselves hope listeners will take away this is American life Fallon. “We knew from it? “I try to be as specific as possible now. That’s why the that Brendan was how perfect a track so that, if you want to, you know exactly song’s called ‘National going to give it a big what I'm talking about,” summarises Anthem’; because the rock sound; that’s is, it’s how it feels.” Fallon. “But I try to spin that with a national anthem of what he does best. little bit of vagueness so they can take it America is kind of So in a juxtaposition in their own lives. Because, truthfully, a devoid of emotion.” to that, we played like a raw, rock band song only ever means what you want it so that it didn’t get all crazy. There’s not to mean.” So, almost unsurprisingly then, the ideals unnecessary crap all over the record. of American living must find home Everything got to breathe.” The Gaslight Anthem’s new album throughout the themes of this album ‘Handwritten’ will be released on 23rd July too. For a band who have been heralded Whilst Gaslight have forever been known via Mercury. as the new heroes of the blue collared for their raw but impassioned music, their Rosamilia continues: “But when we first met, I couldn’t get over how just regular he seemed. He didn’t have a big head about it. He was real cool, and open to anything.”

The Gaslight Anthem Handwritten

It was back in 2010 when The Gaslight Anthem truly solidified their place as some of rock’s main forerunners. With the release of their third effort ‘American Slang’, the band reached new horizons within the mainstream whilst still successfully flying the flag for the traditions of punk. So, what can we expect from album number four? From what we can tell so far, ‘Handwritten’ is set to be a rawer and, no doubt, more powerful effort. Working with a new - but legendary - producer, the band look able to push themselves to new levels, whilst stripping back entirely. Self-admittedly approaching it as though it’s their first recordings, the album promises to encapsulate everything grand about The Gaslight Anthem, whilst standing as a truly great, simple and honest set of songs.

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SUMMER

GUIDE

DIrty Proje 42 thisisfakediy.co.uk

North American tour to get amped up for, it’s no wonder David is a little knackered. After a few swigs of coffee, though, he seems newly revived. Faced with the prospect of living up to ‘Bitte Orca’, many bands might be more than just a little decaffeinated, but not the boundlessly creative Dirty Projectors.

El Hunt tal ks to Di rt y Projectors ab out the i mp ortance of movi ng on.

“I seem to have hit some sort of jet-lag wall. I feel like I’m DJ Screw, talking really slowly,” laughs David Longstreth, lolling in a padded leather lounge chair sipping a much-needed coffee. It is a dreary grey morning in Hackney, and the Dirty Projectors’ lead singer seems relieved to be able to put his feet up. The clock is ticking down to the release of ‘Swing Lo Magellan’ and the band are rushed off their feet. With the mountainous task of moving forward from the insanely popular last album ‘Bitte Orca’, and a huge

“I like changing my approach, I like to surprise myself and change it up every time,” says David on the band’s departure from the “explicit references to other musical styles” that took centre stage on their last record. “The minute you start repeating yourself is the minute you stop being surprised.” Having won Dirty Projectors legions of new fans, ‘Bitte Orca’ is often heralded as somewhat of a breakthrough album, but David says that the band were not particularly interested in re-hashing those sounds. “It was important to move on. It all happened a while ago, the world has moved on - it’s a different time period. This album is much more of itself, it’s much more about human experience as opposed to deconstructions of different styles and tropes.” Known for their characteristically ‘pick n’ mix’ approach to genre, Dirty Projectors are a band notoriously difficult to define, and I’m curious to know how David feels about critics’ varyingly successful efforts to pin down his experimental style. “You’ve got to compress information nowadays, there’s a world of stuff out

ctors

there,” he says, shrugging matter of factly. “It would probably be better if I was the one who compressed our entire work into a single soundbite” he adds, whilst trying to balance his espresso cup precariously on his kneecap, and then looking pensive for a second. “‘Swing Lo Magellan’ is about figuring out what the good of instincts are in a world that’s pretty well mapped,“ he concludes in typically concise fashion. The title track, he clarifies, is a “kind of totem of the album as a whole” after a five-year love affair with Bob Dylan’s 1967 record ‘John Wesley Harding’. “In the same way,” adds David, ”[the Portuguese

he explains. “I don’t place a lot of value judgment on the way that those patterns have shifted, but I don’t know whether that had something to do with the fact that I didn’t really conceive this album as a unified concept.” Dirty Projectors’ latest album, he says, places most emphasis on songwriting, and is very much an album of songs. “In contrast to earlier records that really were concept driven, this one is more about writing songs, one at a time, and letting each song be its own universe. These songs are all emotionally so different - which is why it’s hard to

appears in my head when I’m walking around or sitting on the edge of a canyon somewhere with a guitar” he laughs, before continuing to cast aside any further romanticised notions of songwriting. “Writing the demos was just me sitting for a long-ass time on the couch” he says bluntly – fully aware that in actual fact, you could never accuse Dirty Projectors of being couch potatoes. Far from it - it’s clear that David Longstreth is hugely passionate about songwriting. He is particularly animated when I ask what draws him to the human voice as an instrument, only pausing in his waxing lyrical to order

"Writing the demos was just me sitting for a long-ass time on the couch"

pioneer and explorer] Ferdinand Magellan is a presiding figure over this album. I don’t know if [Bob Dylan] influences the record beyond that, but he’s inescapable and I love him.” While David might covet Bob Dylan albums - as well as other classics from what he calls “the album period” - he seems very laid back as we move onto the sometimes-touchy subject of the album format. With the convenience of iTunes and Spotify, there’s no denying that the way people listen to music has changed, but for Dirty Projectors it’s business as usual. “Although I did listen to the last Beach House record as an album, normally that’s just not the way I listen to contemporary music” 44 thisisfakediy.co.uk

define this record in a single stroke.” Dirty Projectors have shifted their approach to songwriting, and also moved away from urban areas for the recording process. “When we made ‘Rise Above’ in 2007, that was recorded in the house we lived in, in Brooklyn, and you can hear the bus going by in that album a number of times,” says David. “To be in the middle of nowhere in a functional dairy farm was a nice change of place.” It seems that moving away to the picturesque Delaware County provided David with the “certain kind of clarity” that he needed to write. “I start from the melody, and that just

another espresso. “I think the voice is the simplest instrument but it’s also the most sophisticated, the most diverse and direct. It’s the most varied too; every person’s voice is a different instrument. I love harmony and counterpoint, changing one note in a harmony and watching the colours shift. There’s no more powerful, stark way of demonstrating colouristic changes than with voices.” Not only have Dirty Projectors been busy polishing ‘Swing Lo Magellan’ over the past year, they have also been mingling with some other fairly colourful characters. In the gap between

‘Bitte Orca’ and this follow-up, the band recorded ‘Mount Wittenberg Orca’ with the queen of avant-garde, Björk. “She’s been a hero of mine for about 15 years. It was mind-blowing, to make an album together, the coolest thing ever,” gushes David, clearly full with nothing but praise. “She’s incredible, a really kind woman, and just a great artist." Dirty Projectors' alliance with Björk seems to have unearthed more than just admiration though, as he tells me about the band’s green credentials; “We donated all the proceeds of the record

II... lots of video phones, and virtual spaces, some of the fashions seem to be kind of similar." "But we don’t have hovercrafts,” he adds, with a poorly disguised hint of disappointment. Despite having to travel by lowly bus rather than a Dirty Projectors hovercraft, David is excited about touring too. “It’s very extroverted kind of activity and it’s way more about the energy of social exchange,” he says. “I like intimate venues, a sense of connection is nice.”

cut for ‘Swing Lo Magellan’. “We’ll put it out in little dribs and drabs, a bit at a time. I mean, some of the best songs from the last several months of recording are still to be released.” Dirty Projectors also have no plans to rest on their laurels - far from it; they can’t wait to get onto with the next idea. “There’s no other experience like [being in a band], connecting with people every night, getting to play this music around the world. It’s the best thing in the world,” he says. “Writing, touring, rehearsing, they’re all amazing in their

“The minute you start repeating yourself is the minute you stop being surprised.” I did with Björk to a charity that deals with the preservation of the ocean”. I ask if he thinks the environment should be a bigger concern. “Oh it has got to be” he says firmly. “I care about preserving the environment because I love being in nature. On a philosophical level I think that wilderness is a crucial counterpoint to civilisation. I don’t want to live in a world that doesn’t have wilderness.” Whilst David talks about the importance of preserving open space, he hastens to add that he loves the pace of modern life. “It’s pretty thrilling to be living right now. It occurred to me the other day that we essentially live in the future of Back To The Future

I ask David if the band have to rethink certain songs for the stage, given the complexity of the music. “Sometimes there’s really a thrill in rendering the minutiae of a recording live, and sometimes there’s a real energy in reinventing something really works as a recording in a different way for the show,” he says. “I could see certain songs from this record translating from either approach. I’m really excited about doing ‘About To Die’ very much as it sounds on the recording, but a song like ‘Irresponsible Tune’ would be fun to really play around with.” We can expect a lot more music from Dirty Projectors in the future, and David reveals that he has a hard drive full of demos that didn’t make the final

own right, it really is like a cycle and you have to kind of respect that. It’s all really neat, really special and I feel really lucky to be allowed to do this.” Although David clearly lives and breathes everything in music, I ask if he can choose a favourite part of the cycle. Slyly David smiles and looks up from his coffee. Given his boundless enthusiasm for the experimental, there is already an inkling that Longstreth’s heart lies with the craft of music. “If I had to pick a favourite, I’d say writing,” answers David Longstreth quietly, and it’s clear we have a dedicated songsmith in our midst. Dirty Projectors’ new album ‘Swing Lo Magellan’ will be released on 9th July via Domino. 45

summer guide 100 tracks of the summer

Icona Pop I Love It

Those all too rare prolonged sunny spells aren't a time for fey acoustic guitars and quiet introspection; more hedonism and reckless abandon. That's precisely why Icona Pop have unleashed the true anthem of the summer. "I crashed my car in to the bridge. I don't care" is the kind of bratty refrain that belongs within fifty feet of a thundering airhorn of a synth line of all times. Even its title knows no shame. 'Call Me Maybe'? Nah. Call this awesome.

tracks of the

SUMMER 2/Sunless '97 Body Weather

Lianne La Havas Is Your Love Big Enough? We're not sure whether

As blissfully mellow, hypnotic tracks go, 'Body Weather' may well be the one that captures your attention whilst 'chillin'' poolside.

she's being rude or not but Lianne La Havas belts out this one like it's nobody's business. Which, if she's talking about what we think she is, it would be.

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in need of some funktastic party pop then look no further. Sangria-fueled girls are going to dance to this and you know it.

Driftless, warm, fuzzy. An ideal partner for Sunday afternoons in the park while drinking cider and laughing about how good the lyrics "sweet cherry, extraordinary" are.

3/Friends Mind Control

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5/Splashh All I Wana Do

SUMMER

Icona Pop

GUIDE

EVERY SUMMER NEEDS AN ANTHEM, AND IN 'I LOVE IT' ICONA POP HAVE CERTAINLY GIVEN US JUST THAT. DIY CHATS TO caroline and aino to find out MORE.

So the song in question, ‘I Love It’, was produced by Patrik Berger - was he an obvious choice for the new material? Caroline: It was a little bit different with this one because we were in session with Patrick and he showed us a song that he did with Charli XCX, and we were like, "Oh my God! What’s that song? We want that song!" I mean, usually we write everything ourselves but we heard the song and could really connect to it so much. So we, together with him, took it to our friend Linus [Style Of Eye] to do a new version of it. But he’s [Patrik] like a brother to us so we love to work with him. Speaking of Charli XCX, what did she make of you wanting to use the track? C: She was happy about it! We’d played with her at the same [festival] stages a couple of times and she’s really nice. We met her for the first time in Sweden about two years ago, and we were like, "Yeah, we’re going to move to London so we have to hang out!" She’s been very cool. What’s the story behind the song? There’s some very illustrative language in there… C: First of all, it was something that one of us went through with a man but also it’s more when you get a little bit tired of an older person telling you, “Oh, girl, you don’t really know. You won’t understand.”

Aino: You’re like, "f**k you." C: If we really like each other, I can’t see why it isn’t working. Age ain’t nothing but a number, right? A: Aaliyah said it and that’s true. C: It’s also about when you’ve been down and a little bit hurt, you’ve had your heart broken by someone and you’re tired of being that and feeling down, and you take that sadness and turn it into a strength instead. Just stand up and say, "I don’t care, I love it!" You just trash stuff instead of crying. Has the success of this song had any impact on the material you’re working on now? C: I don’t think that track will affect what we’re doing right now. A: It’s different. C: When you write a lot with a lot of different people and you travel around, it’s great to try different things. So I think it’s more, where do you get your inspiration from at the moment? A: And we DJ a lot, so it’s kind of a natural process to do something that’s a faster BPM because we wanted to record something we could dance to. Speaking of dancing, ‘I Love It’ seems to have become the highlight of your live sets too. C: Yeah, it’s so fun to do this one because

Grizzly Bear Sleeping Ute

This might not be one for the family BBQ - sultry melodies may not be Granny's cup of tea. 'Sleeping Ute' is overcast and humid, and it's a wonderful summer storm of a track. You can hear the thunder already.

Hot Chip Look Where We Are Hot Chip go 'R&B slow jam' - yes, it's different, but by golly does it work. Maybe they really are a boy band after all.

Azealia Banks 1991

Another numerically titled song from this year's hottest rapstress; another trampling of sassiness and house samples from Miss Azealia Banks.

Dirty Projectors The Gun Has No Trigger Spiralling melodies and colourful inkblot harmonies bleed into one another perfectly in this off-kilter piece of songsmithery.

it’s got this kind of rebelling punk feel to it and we totally get into that mode when we’re on stage. We’re just like, "Yeah! Jump!" Everybody tells us that we cheers [toast] with the audience too much but we just get swept away by the feeling. What are your plans for the summer? More live shows? C: This summer is going to be crazy. We are based for almost the whole summer in Sweden because we’re doing a lot of festivals here but we’re also going to travel to New York, LA, Italy, Spain, Germany, England. So it’s going to be a lot to do but we’re so looking forward to that. Will you be putting the finishing touches to the album as well? C: I think our album is going to be done on 1st July. But we are going to keep on writing because that keeps you creative. For us it’s really important to concentrate on being creative and to develop our live set, and so it doesn’t matter. When the album is done, we’ll keep on writing until our next album. It’s a way of getting stuff out of your system or if you have something to say. Finally, can you tell us when we might be expecting the full length? C: Very soon, very soon. We’re very happy about everything going on at the moment.

Little Boots Headphones Little Boots has gone all meta with

new single 'Headphones'. It's music about the thing that you listen to music through. Clever cheesy pop with a credible edge.

Doldrums Egypt

If music was colour, Doldrums’ ‘Egypt’ would be the whole rainbow chopped into little pieces and thrown at your face like confetti. It’s vibrant and it’s bouncy and it’s exciting.

Willy Moon Yeah Yeah

As slick as the white suit he wears in his video, Willy Moon's 'Yeah Yeah' is the sharpest pastiche of hip-hop and rock 'n' roll.

Animal Collective Honeycomb Animal Collective's 'Honeycomb'

is the usual blast of colour and noise we've come accustomed to from the Domino darlings. But with added summery percussion. 47

summer guide 100 tracks of the summer

14/ Lemuria Varoom Allure

'Varoom Allure' may be a little rough around the edges, but all is part of this track's garage punk charm. Standing as more than a simple form of indie rock, this is a truly compelling taste of what's to come.

ROCK...

you're unlikely to come across any of these hard-hitting tracks on the radio, but if you're in need of something heavier...

15/Mixtapes Hey Ma PT. 2

Rocking up at just a minute and a half in length, this wonderfully boisterous, bouncy track is a perfect example of how punk rock is done right.

16/Make Do And Mend Lucky

The first track to be taken from their new album, 'Lucky' is a strong, compassionate and compelling example of just how great Make Do And Mend are at making honest rock music.

17/We Are The Ocean Bleed

'Bleed' is a powerful and punchy effort from We Are The Ocean, allowing vocalist Liam Cromby to finally take full grip of the reigns.

18/Hot Water Music Drag My Body

Proving the power of these punk rock connoisseurs, Chuck Ragan's vocals are wonderfully jagged against the smooth basslines, making 'Drag My Body' a true diamond in the rough.

19/Sharks Able Moving Hearts

Shining brightly but tinged with the kind of nostalgia that's envious, 'Able Moving Hearts' is a just a little bit epic with its soaring guitars and storytelling lyrics.

20/

mewithoutYou Fox's Dream of the Log Flume Defined by the fascinating cadence of frontman Aaron Weiss, this dark poetry is delicately woven together with the soft and subtle addition of guest vocalist Hayley Williams.

21/Deaf Havana Little White Lies

Another testament to how far this band have come, 'Little White Lies' is massive; an undeniably catchy yet meaningful track that proves just how promising this UK band are.

22/Daytrader Firebreather

Born from the ashes of the late, great Crime In Stereo, Daytrader have produced one of the most exciting post-hardcore debuts of 2012 so far, and 'Firebreather' proves that entirely.

23/Set Your Goals Only Right Now

We all know what pop-punk means to summer and there's no doubt in our minds that this is a track â&#x20AC;&#x201C; produced by Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory - perfect for warmer months.

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the gaslight Anthem 45

Based on the simple narrative of trying to overcome heartbreak, The Gaslight Anthem have made one of their best tracks yet with this eloquent but insatiable brand of punk rock.

Charli XCX You're The One

Charli XCX's bass-driven 'You're The One' is a summer hit in waiting. Go on, stick your arms in air and pretend you're at a silent disco, knee deep in mud.

Japandroids The House That Heaven Built

Taken from the untameable beast that is ‘Celebration Rock’, ‘The House That Heaven Built’ sees lo-fi punk meets Springsteen-influenced rock to loud, riff-heavy and utterly glorious effect.

PINS Shoot You

Harsh, relentless and without the slightest bit of mercy: ‘Shoot You’ is a glorious, garage-punk throwback gem that spans just over two minutes.

Best Coast The Only Place

Best Coast’s love affair with sun-drenched California is a fairly obvious one. In fact, the two are like a musical jelly and ice cream.

DIIV Doused

DIIV's sonic monster may scare some, but when the clouds inevitably come together, there aren’t many others that capture the overcast feel so well.

M83 Reunion

As euphorically led, sun-setting highs go; you’ll struggle to find a more crowd-pleasing four minutes than ‘Reunion’ (apart from ‘Midnight City’, obviously).

A$AP Rocky Goldie

As rappers go, there aren’t many doing it better than young A$AP. The mellow, smoke-fuelled ‘Goldie’ is perfect for when you're, err, relaxing.

Fear Of Men Green Sea

We don't really have green seas here in the UK. And if we did, we'd imagine they'd sound a bit wet. But the new track from Fear Of Men is nothing of the sort. Lovely stuff.

Swim Deep King City

Perhaps the quintessential ‘dance to when you’re pissed’ track. As if the lyrics "…with the sun on my back it’s a nice day" - couldn’t be more apt.

Parakeet Shonen Hearts

If you like your guitars all fuzzy and your vocals honey-soaked, then look no further than ‘Shonen Hearts’ by Mariko Doi’s ‘other’ band Parakeet.

Alt-J Breezeblocks

Deck your garden with delta symbols and rejoice in the shape-shifting brilliance of Alt-J: ‘Breezeblocks’ is a highlight of their recent debut album.

Jai paul Jasmine

Dark, apocalyptic pop might not seem like standard summer fare, but Jai Paul’s voice - dipping in and out of consciousness - can accompany virtually anything.

2:54 Creeping

It's as brooding and as moody as you'd expect with a title like 'Creeping', but there's definitely a lingering power within this duo that makes them more than just another set of numbers.

Metric Synthetica

The title track from Metric's latest album, 'Synthetica' is exactly what you might expect from the Canadian collective. Lively, driven and just a little bit... well, synthetic, actually.

summer guide 100 tracks of the summer

SUMMEr CAMP's picks... It's summer, so it's all about 90's rave, right? Well it is for us anyway. bomber jackets at the ready!

Shannon Let The Music Play

Let it play! What's wrong with you? Why can't you accept the music into your life? Apparently this is the first freestyle record in history, released in 1983. As soon as you look into Shannon's career you realise, wow, she did everything!

Snap! Rhythm Is A Dancer

When I [Elizabeth] was a kid this was my jam. And that was in the days before people had jams. I love the way the drums at the beginning sound like someone throwing a telly down the stairs. I also love that it's a song about dancing, but the feel of it is so sinister.

Haddaway What Is Love?

Thanks to the Will Ferrell movie 'A Night At The Roxbury' where he and Chris Kattan bounce their heads to this in purple shiny suits, you can have this song playing for ten hours on YouTube. Only problem with that? Ten hours just isn't enough!

Guy Called Gerald Voodoo Ray

I'm not 100% sure, but I think this might be one of the most perfect songs ever written. Hang on, let me check... Yep, yes it is. It's so freaking cool, it feels like the music is just dripping out of the speakers.

Candi Staton You Got The Love

Candi's voice breaks my heart. She was 51 when she recorded this, and it's her rough yet sweet vocal performance that makes this track such a stomper. I get more moved by dance music than I do by any other genre. I'm a terrible person to take to a club.

808 State Pacific State

Never before has a sexy sax solo worked with such aplomb. This is an all-time classic. You're on a tropical island, you're with all your friends, you're falling in love, then this comes on. Boom. Mind. Blown.

Baby D Let Me Be Your Fantasy

Ooh it's so sensual. I wish I could have been in the studio when they recorded this and decided whispered vocals at the beginning were a good idea. Because they totally were! I would never have the guts to murmur "let me be your fantasy" on one of our songs.

Happy Mondays Step On

We DJ'd recently and a guy working at the bar asked us to stop playing, "f**cking R&B" and put on Happy Mondays. This was all we had on us, but luckily it appeased him. The legendary Tony Wilson (R.I.P.) famously described Shaun Ryder as being a new generations' Yeats or something. I don't know about that, but I like it when he sings. He sounds like he's spitting all over the mic.

Primal Scream Loaded

End on a high. We watched the Creation Records documentary last yeah, it's brilliant. I'm so jealous of bands who are part of "scenes" and all seem to be friends and play Top Of The Pops together. It must be really fun and you can borrow each others' clothes and have loads of in-jokes about cheese and stuff. Hah. Cheese.

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Of Monsters And Men Little Talks

If foot tapping and casually nodding along is your bag, you probably won't find a more pleasant accompaniment than Of Monsters And Men's 'Little Talk'.

Savages Husbands

Good things come to those who wait and when it comes to Savages, we're in for a right treat with 'Husbands'. Pop Noire, in more ways than one.

Blood Red Shoes Lost Kids Incessantly eerie but insatiably powerful, the strength

of the drums alone is enough to have chills running down your spine, and surely anyone that can manage that in the height of summer is impressive?

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Stronger A pulsating dance anthem that can be enjoyed morning, noon and night. Just make sure you remember your dinosaur costume.

Haim Forever

‘Forever’ is a perfect example of Haim's perfectly smart, carefree pop sound.

Yeh

Graham Coxon Ooh, Yeh

As if the second coming of the second coming of Blur (confused yet? - Ed) wasn't enough, the guitarist's most recent solo album throws up this brilliantly-titled gem.

Love

Hooray For Earth No

If you like your synths large, well, mammoth actually, then Hooray For Earth’s stomping ‘No Love’ is absolutely for you.

Fanzine L.A.

Sing-along vocals, catchy guitar hooks and even some delightful backing "ooh"s – if 'L.A.' fails to get you feeling all woozy on a hot summer's day then, frankly, give up now.

Jessie Ware 110%

Lyrics like “Cutting your initials in my forehead” are too dark to be sung by festival-going masses, but ‘110%’ itself is sonically gorgeous.

Outfit Drakes

Perhaps one that won’t please everyone at a BBQ, Outfit’s ever diverse, lustful tones will sound best well into the early a.m.… with rum.

Niki & The Dove Tomorrow Do you remember when Niki & The

Dove went into space and then wrote a song about it? Well, it ended up a bit like this. Big notes, great melody, lots of bleeping.

Reading &Leeds...

some of the best from one of our favourite festivals.

Foo Fighters Big Me

There may be 'bigger' songs in the Foos' back catalogue, but when it comes to summer, nothing hits the mark quite as well.

The Cure Just Like Heaven Elation, ecstasy and the enigma that is Robert

Smith. It even starts with a line about the sun.

The Black Keys Gold On The Ceiling Reading & Leeds might have a

distinct lack of ceilings on which to host twinkly things, but by the time The Black Keys take to the stage, you might be seeing stars anyway.

Mystery Jets Flash A Hungry Smile Two words: cider hangover. By

the time Mystery Jets finish their early afternoon set, we'd bet you'll be flashing a hungry smile of your own.

At The Drive-In Pattern Against User Sure, you could go for 'the obvious one', but where's the fun in that? Likely to be the talking point of Reading & Leeds 2012.

Saves The Day At Your Funeral If Saves The Day only had one song... When you've got an anthem like this, what else do you need?

Grimes Oblivion

We may have been good mates with 'Oblivion' for a few months now, but it's time to get serious. Expect a packed tent.

Paramore Misery Business Reading & Leeds is all about having fun

and leaving any pretence at the gate. The number of bands more fun than Paramore? Zero.

The Shins pink bullets

Pretty much anything James Mercer cares to offer will sound good in the sun.

Bombay Bicycle Club Always Like This The ideal crowdpleaser;

cheery guitar music that won't give you a migraine.

summer guide 100 tracks of the summer

Twin Shadow 5 Seconds Leather jacket-

clad George Lewis Jr. previews a forthcoming full-length on 4AD with this dramatic track, paying full respects to the glam of the 80s.

Zulu Winter Silver Tongue Contrary

Aiden Grimshaw Is This Love Yes. We know. But on the strength of 'Is This Love?' maybe it's time to leave that TV talent show stigma behind. The boy from Blackpool's done good.

Walk', the first song from Passion Pit's new album, is full of sunshine.

FAYE Water Against The Rocks Newcomer

Django Django Default As far as

psychedelic pop goes, there aren't many new bands around right now that manage it better. ‘Default’ is more of the same – catchy, weird, ace.

FAYE took us all a bit by surprise with her first single 'Water Against The Rocks'. Dreamy, lo-fi goodness, perfect for a lazy afternoon.

Virals Gloria With standout

Santigold The Keepers You can always

Lana Del Rey National Anthem Perfectly capturing both sides of songstress Lana Del Rey, 'National Anthem' is sultry and smooth whilst being unforgivably funky. Plus, its soaring chorus is enough to have you swooning all summer long.

Purity Ring Belispeak Purity Ring’s

sparse, synth stabbing 'Belispeak' is one for all kinds of summer playlists. And one guaranteed to get the "who is this?" question from a friend.

The Antlers French Exit More a track for the 4am sunrise than the 7pm barbecue, this chilled-out effort from The Antlers is utterly blissful.

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Tri Angle signings with an eye on the charts: AlunaGeorge’s finest song to date is a sparkly work of glitterball, R&B-tinged pop.

passion pit take a walk 'Take A

to their frosty name, Zulu Winter bring warm melodies abound. They're a talented, rather handsome bunch too; and what better than a bit of indie eye-candy this summer?

count on Santigold to produce a big-chorused pop song. ‘Keepers’ is no different; just don’t take the line "our house is burning down" too literally.

alunageorge you know you like it

track ’Gloria’, Shaun Henchers’ Virals may have written the most radio friendly, ear pleasing guitar lines of summer 2012.

Liars No.1 Against The Rush

Ever the freaky forward-thinkers, Liars turned heads recently with an electronic regeneration, this song being the focal point of new album ‘WIXIW’.

Polica Dark Star Blippy, bouncy and full of beats. 'Dark Star' is everything you could want from a summer hit. And there's echo.

Fixers Really Great World Unbounded optimism is always nice - but oddly enough Louis Armstrong's 'Wonderful World' can be a bit of a mood-killer. This is v2. courtesy of Fixers, who package the same sentiments in a twinkly casing.

Summer Camp Always So imagine if Summer

Camp spent their nights listening to The Human League. Got it? Good. Now let us introduce you to 'Always'. The resemblance is spooky, no?

Kindness House Over the past few years

you have to ask, has anyone managed to capture ‘effortlessly cool’ better than Adam Bainbridge’s Kindness? You’ll find ‘no’ is the short answer.

Chairlift Amanaemonesia

If you're partial to the odd tipple during the summer months, we'd advise requesting this track before the third drink. Dribbling on yourself isn't the best look.

everyone loves a cheesy summer pop hit, right?

Taking It Too Literally...

87/Bryan Adams Summer

Of '69 It may not be cool (it is, most definitely, not

cool), but when it's the closest that any track at the office summer barbecue comes to a guitar solo, 10p says you'll be air guitaring with Joe from IT before the night is out. 10p.

88/

the beach Boys All Summer Long Hey, fact fans, here's one for you:

the thongs referred to in 'All Summer Long' are not the same kind of thongs referred to in Sisquo's 'Thong Song'. You're welcome. Proceed to imaginary surfboard 'til your heart's content.

down an Italian highway and wearing sunglasses. But only if you want to, of course.

92/Mazes Summer Hits

You can't have a list of summer hits without popping in a song with that exact title now, can you? Well, we can't. And it's a good job too because this one's a corker.

93/

Johnny Foreigner Feels Like Summer

Like your vocals fast and shouty and your guitars with an air of the screechy about them? Well, look no further.

Will Smith 89/Queens Of The Stone 94/ Summertime

Age Feel Good Hit Of The Summer Josh Homme et al have always been the kings of the rock anthem, and this is no different. From its hypnotic vocals to its explosive guitars, this one does exactly what it says on the tin..

90/Pavement - Summer

Babe You know that you're on to a winner when

you find a summer song with a winter version. A summer song for all seasons, if you will, in the form of Pavement's classic 'Summer Babe'.

91/Don Henley The Boys

Of Summer We hate to burst your bubble but DJ Sammy didn't write 'Boys Of Summer'. Shocking, we know. But it's still ok to listen to it whilst speeding

DZ Deathrays Dollar Chills If anyone knows how to soundtrack a summer

party, it's these boys. And don't be misled by the title; 'Dollar Chills' is one noisy track that's meant to get sweaty and messy to.

The Cribs Glitters Like Gold Not quite as sparkling as the title

may suggest, 'Glitters Like Gold' is one to drink, dance terribly and sing along with, even if you don't know the lyrics.

Jack White Freedom At 21 Jack White and summer aren't things you'd often pair together, if at all. But this rant against the influence of new technology (apparently) might just fit when your iPhone's overheated in the sun.

Yeasayer Henrietta

Yeasayer's return comes with a lot of picture perfect, lounging synth-pop. Great when doing, err, not a lot basically. Sit back, relax, enjoy... simple.

'Summertime' has been given a fresh (geddit?) lick of paint this year with its jazzy new verse (sorry). A groove sightly transformed perhaps, but a good one nonetheless.

95/

Deftones My Own Summer (Shove It) Unforgivably

heavy whilst being perfectly sultry, 'My Own Summer' is an anthem unto itself, but granted, it's not quite the track that'd have you mentally conjuring up sunshine. Still though...

96/Mungo Jerry In The Summertime

There is only thing more likely to put a smile on your face than hearing this song on a warm summer's day whilst sipping a cold cider: the sight of Mungo Jerry's sideburns.

summer guide aiden grimshaw

SUMMER

GUIDE

An ex-TV talent show contestant returning with one of the songs of the summer seems unlikely, but then Aiden Grimshaw always was a little different from the rest.

The search for so-called ‘credibility’ and pop music don’t always sit well together. Just look at Matt Cardle. An X-Factor winner with all the dynamism of an especially stale sausage roll, his constant search for some kind of witless authenticity made him just about as palatable in the personality stakes. Nobody wants to hear their superstars talking about ‘keeping it real’ - they expect larger than life wonderment. That doesn’t mean that you can’t make a potential pop star more interesting by trying to buy them a bit of street cred. Part of Cardle’s crop of talent show alumni, Aiden Grimshaw always seemed a little different. Still, 18 months on you wouldn’t expect to see him supporting Niki & The Dove, appearing on The Guardian’s music pages or having adverts plastered all over de facto bible of all things ‘alt’, Pitchfork. If anything, how the 20year old from Blackpool been packaged on his return is almost as interesting as the music itself. Of course there’s no avoiding where he came from. But then, even Grimshaw is not trying to deny that. By his own admission “there are stigmas around it,” but when it comes to getting attention, it’s hard to find a more effective way to get yourself seen by millions. “It’s an opportunity,” Aiden admits. “It’s an amazing show, man. I reckon it’s the best show on TV for that sort of thing. When I went on the X Factor, I was just some guy who worked at Pizza Hut and all of a sudden, I’m on TV every week.” What’s happening now is arguably worth even more attention. ‘Is This Love’ - his debut single - stands out as one of the songs of the summer. That it seems almost in spite, rather than because

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of what came before only serves to make it more refreshing. “It was weird,” Aiden recounts. “I think we waited for so long that I don’t feel famous anymore. I don’t feel like ‘that guy from X-Factor’. We didn’t really decide on a single until we had delivered the whole album. Then, it was up in debate a little bit, of which we should go with. Now though, it seems like that was the obvious choice to go with.” As the saying goes, one swallow doesn’t make a summer; the pressure is on to prove this isn’t just a case of the one hit wonder. With a full length album, ‘Misty Eye’, on its way, Aiden has a very unique way of explaining the demands. “ It’s pretty freaky,” he explains, “especially because we delivered the album a couple of months ago, so I’ve had a lot of time to just sit with it. It’s like my little baby. My dad rang me the other day and asked, ‘Are you nervous?’ I said, ‘Imagine how you’d feel if I was a thirteen year old girl and just before I had started secondary school, I’d grown these massive boobs. You wouldn’t want me to go to school because all the boys would look at me.’ That’s kinda how I feel. I want it to go, but I’m like, ‘Ahh!’”

"I don’t feel famous anymore.”

Poliça Poliça’s ‘Give You The Ghost’ may well be the most talked about debut album of the year so far. Huw oliver catches up with the duo.

Aiden Grimshaw’s debut album ‘Misty Eye’ will be released on 20th August via RCA.

Aiden Grimshaw Misty Eye

Let’s be honest for a change. When we saw Aiden Grimshaw’s quiff standing to attention on that TV talent show, we were expecting a micro-pop Depeche Mode to emerge, all dark electronics, fake leather trousers and pained expressions. While that last one might still crop up within his debut, ‘Misty Eye’ – even the name itself is more than a quick wink at the sadder side of life – if single ‘Is This Love’ is any indication of what to look out for, it’s more the soaring pop of cult Bros lookalikes Hurts we’ll get. Wonder if he’ll continue wearing his hipster bobbleless hat through the whole summer?

With a singular sound encompassing auto-tune, R&B and two drummers, and having a celebrity fan-base that includes the likes of Bon Iver and Jay-Z, Poliça recently wowed sold-out crowds with their first ever UK shows. Speaking to DIY, Channy Leaneagh said of their visit to our capital: “This is my first time in London ever. Walking through the city, I absolutely love it here, and I love Paris and Germany. It’s an absolute pleasure to have people come and see you. It’s an honour to play here.” Channy, who also reveals that the duo are already working on the follow up to their recent album, says that teaming up with musical partner Ryan Olson was a natural step for her. “I think that right away Ryan and I got along well even though we’re very, very different people. He’s an extreme extrovert and I’m an extreme introvert, but musically we clicked. “It doesn’t always happen like that. You won’t always have chemistry with everyone that you work with, even if you love what they do. We noticed that we had that natural chemistry,” And lucky for us they do. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for the next of many releases from the pair, as they prepare for a stellar summer packed with shows. Poliça’s debut album ‘Give You The Ghost’ is out now via Memphis Industries. 55 55

summer guide metric

SUMMER

GUIDE

It’s The End Of The World ME T RIC ' S E m i ly H a i n e s a n d Ja m e s S h aw ta l k l a n d m a r k a l b u m s a n d t h e a p o c a ly p s e w i t h H u g h M o r r i s .

“I’m just as f**ked up as they say,” sings Metric’s lead singer Emily Haines to open the band’s new album. Before the interview, I would not have been inclined to agree. Having listened to the band’s music since the early-or-so noughties, on the whole, she seems pretty on the ball. I don’t recall the last time I overheard somebody in a supermarket aisle make small talk with the shopkeeper about just how f**ked up ol’ Emily Haines is, nor can I remember seeing #f**kedupMetric trend on Twitter. T-Pain? He’s f**ked up. Or so he says. But Metric, nah. This is before you scratch the surface of what motivates this Toronto-based four piece - at least, they might be a Toronto band but Haines explains they do not like to link themselves to one geographical area. In fact, they don’t think they’re based or originate from anywhere. Their music is global and so are their problems. “By saying that opening line, there’s no turning back,” Haines explains during a whistle-stop promo tour of our capital. “It’s said with a certain amount of pride. It’s not just me who’s f**ked up, it’s everyone I know.” As long as we’re all f**ked up, that’s ok then. But this isn’t flippant indulgence for the sake of songwriting, this is philosophising. Metric are a band whose subtlety does more to the reflect the times of change we live in than any disaster video montage could ever do. In 2005 they were preempting the financial collapse (sort of ) with subversive songs like ‘Handshakes’ and ‘Glass Ceilings’ and now, with their fifth album, ‘Synthetica’, they are forecasting the destruction of all things and the eventual internal apocalypse of the collective human soul. Heavy stuff, right? 56 thisisfakediy.co.uk

“The general consensus among the thinkers of the world is everything’s bad and it’s getting worse. I don’t feel like there’s a spirit among our generation that we’re striving for. At best, we’re striving to conserve what remains,” Haines muses. Guitarist and eBay enthusiast James Shaw enters the fray: “I think we’re all fascinated by what’s happening in the world. What’s profound and what's not, and what's real and what’s not.” Shaw, one of the founding members of Metric along with Haines, says ‘Synthetica’ is a culmination of the first four albums and it is, he says with a thoughtful smile, where he’s wanted the band to be throughout. “This is it, this is what we wanted. This is a landmark album.”

“It’s not just me who’s f**ked up, it’s everyone I know.” So, where exactly is this landmark? Well, Metric, I’m told, are huge in America and Canada, yet remain a somewhat peripheral band in Britain. They draw the crowds when they fly over here but they are, as Haines says, “under exposed.” “It’s interesting and unusual to have a band that’s under exposed, especially if you’ve made five albums,” she says, on her umpteenth cup of tea. “People are still discovering us. We can still surprise people over here but we still stay true to the people who have been with us since the beginning. We’ve never strayed from

ourselves.” And that’s true. Ignore all the mentions of nu wave Google will throw at you. Yes, they use synths, but the band’s sound is founded on much more than retro revival. And this is what makes ‘Synthetica’ such a landmark album – it embodies all things Metric. It has the disarmingly epic synth chords, Haines’s husky growl, the strength of melody, but it also has that sense of desperation. But not desperation on Earth; more a desperation in space. “Like the artwork [an upside down photo of a landscape-type thing, or so you think], the music is meant to make you question what’s real,” says Haines, as we enter the metaphysical portion of the interview. She and Shaw, who has just punched the air having sealed the deal on an eBay synthesiser, hypothesise about the facade of nature in music. “Synthesis is the creation of something which isn’t real,” Haines begins, “we’re using old analogue synths which sound very organic but they are not.” Shaw chimes in: “Pure electricity is almost our version of nature.” We all agree, some more aware of what we’re talking about than others. What you can be sure of, is that nothing is accidental in Metric’s music, nothing is out of place and nothing is surplus to requirements. Because of its energy and occasional euphoria it might not sound it, but everything on ‘Synthetica’ and everything about Metric is very deliberate, very exact. Everything is thought through. There is much more to Metric than just nu wave synths and maybe this is what Britain is yet to truly appreciate. Metric’s new album ‘Synthetica’ is out now via Metric Music International.

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summer guide new bands

SUMMER

GUIDE

DIIV is the brainchild of Beach Fossils guitarist Zachary Cole Smith. Originally called Dive and still pronounced as such, they are a guitarpop project that is building a steady underground support. With an edgy atmospheric sound that is both recognisable yet unconventional, DIIV are at times dreamy, at times urgent, but always easy to get lost in. “DIIV was a band before it was a band,” Cole explains. “It started as a home project about a year ago, and the band played the first shows near the end of July.” The line-up is completed by Devin, Andrew and Colby, but Cole is the one who creates most of the material, so is this a full band or a solo project that he’s roped in help for? “It’s not a solo project, but it sort of was out of necessity at first. I’d been gone from New York for a while, I wanted a band but I had a hard time convincing “It’s much easier to people to play music with me. get a band and a label So I made the music first; it’s much easier to get a band and when you have the bulk a label when you have the bulk of the songs already of the songs already written.” written.” It’s not long before the topic of being in two bands at once arises. Is Cole still in Beach Fossils? “I haven’t left the band, but there are already conflicts. I didn’t write any of Beach Fossils’ songs, so given the choice between the two I’d obviously choose DIIV. But the Beach Fossils guys are still my best friends.” It’s good that we’ve got that settled, but in what way do the two bands differ for Cole? “I think the attitudes are different. DIIV is about freaking out for 30 minutes. Upbeat songs get people’s attention, but I think it’s important to expand on that." A notion that’s evident in DIIV’s sparsely used lyrics.

andy vale speaks to smith ahead of the

It’s corny to say that Cole says more with his guitar than with his words, but the overall impression is of a musical feel rather than an opined message. founder zachary cole Cole explains: “The aren’t the focus band's debut release. vocals of this project. It’s an important feature, but I utilise it as more of a texture than something that’s being highlighted.” This minimalism allows the songs to ride out in a manner that few singles are given the opportunity to. With the debut album ‘Oshin’ out soon, Cole chooses the title track as his personal favourite. It’s a swirling, layered number that adds density to the earlier sections of the album. “It came out of nowhere and surprised me; it was just an experiment in the studio. It’s an intense song that breaks our mould a bit.” DIIV’s debut album ‘Oshin’ will be released on 26th June via Captured Tracks.

58 thisisfakediy.co.uk

bands:

Location: London For Fans Of: GIRLS Why: Part GIRLS, part all out slacker-pop. Former Lovvers frontman Shaun Hencher has struck gold with his first solo venture. Live Dates: Hackney Downs Studios, London (19th August). Buy: Debut EP ‘Coming Up With The Sun’ was released through London label Tough Love in May: toughloverecords.bigcartel.com.

Location: London For Fans Of: Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees Why: Despite not having a single song online until recently, the group have managed to acquire a solid reputation built on their exceptionally raw, intriguing live performances. Live Dates: Beacons Festival, Reading & Leeds Festival, 1234 Festival, Festival No.6. Buy: The band's debut 7” AA-side single, ‘Husbands’ / ‘Flying To Berlin’ is out now on singer Jehnny Beth’s very own Pop Noire Records: popnoire.com.

Location: London For Fans Of: Yuck Why: The project of Yuck bassist Mariko Doi, Parakeet adopts a style not too dissimilar to her primary output, with an abundance of grunge-laced guitars and added pop splendor. Live Dates: White Heat at Madame Jo Jo’s, London (24th July). Buy: The self-released ‘Tomorrow’ 7” single can be ordered from parakeetband.bigcartel.com.

summer guide make do and mend

SUMMER

GUIDE

make

“We’re four of the luckiest humans in the world.”

and 60 thisisfakediy.co.uk

m e n d

year and a half. A real shakiness. That’s sort of what brought about a lot of the writing for the new record.”

Being in a band isn’t all free travel and screaming fans, as Make Do And Mend tell Sarah Jamieson, it’s also really hard work… Chances are you won’t be overly familiar with Make Do And Mend, so let’s get you up to speed. Forming in 2006, the Boston-based four-piece – originally comprised of brothers James and Matt Carroll, Mike O’Toole and Mike Poulin – had already released a handful of EPs, along with their debut album, before they’d even stepped foot in the UK. It was in early 2011 that the band made that first trip; minus two members. As Poulin toured Australia with his other project Defeater, O’Toole was forced to stay behind in the US to finish his degree, both circumstances portraying perfectly one of many hardships of being in a band full time. “‘End Measured Mile’ was really a product of coming to terms with, and starting to realise and understand how life changes when you do start playing in a full time touring band,” explains vocalist and frontman James, speaking of their debut. “That was something that none of us had ever really dealt with before. There are a lot of songs on that record about the pitfalls, but also, a lot of the really cool things that are a product of not being home very often.” Now the band are getting ready to release their second full-length - the aptly titled ‘Everything You Ever Loved’ - and with it, an utter gem of a post-hardcore album. “This one is very different in that I think all of us really started to get our feet underneath us, growing accustomed to how our lives have changed and continue to change.” James stops. “But for some reason, I felt a real sense of uncertainty over the past

And for anyone who has been uprooted constantly, a feeling of uncertainty would be no surprise, but the frontman doesn’t simply account it to that: “I think it’s a product of just being human. I’m pretty confident that even if I was at home, working a desk job, making a ton of money, there would still be something I would be freaking out about. I think as people, there are so many different balls in the air that it’s hard to feel secure and like we’re headed in the right direction.” Did those feelings of uncertainty affect the shape of the record? “With every record that we’ve ever written, I’ve had a bit of a big picture vibe to it. For this one, I was having a lot of trouble sorting through the songs and their meanings and how they all came together. I gave it a lot of thought, but it actually came to me once I looked over all of the songs from a sort of bird’s eye view; the tangibility and the connection all became very clear, but it took a minute.”

"We have the most clear minded, honest notions and I just hope that people can see that.”

And as for the making of the record itself, a lot of things changed. As O’Toole puts it simply, “It came together a lot differently than our old records. We just felt more comfortable making it.” Was there any particular reason? “I think it just happens,” adds drummer Matt Carroll. “We’ve talked about it a few times and it really wasn’t a conscious thing. As you progress as a musician or an artist, you tend to want to try out different things and you start being influenced by different things in life, and in music. So naturally, we just made something a little different than what we had made previous to this.” “That’s the thing,” says O’Toole. “We made our last record in a garage.” The change of recording environment wasn’t the only shake up. In late 2011 Poulin decided to concentrate his

efforts on his other project, leaving the band about to enter the studio without a bassist. It was then that they permanently recruited Luke Schwartz, who visited the UK with them back when Poulin couldn’t make it. “It’s definitely a funny line to walk,” starts James, “to make sure you’re not hurting anybody’s feelings. Being in a band and doing what we do can be a really stressful thing, and really tenuous. Yeah, we’re four of the luckiest humans in the world and we get to travel and play music, but there’s a lot of tension that comes along with it. If everybody’s not playing on the same team, it just makes it 100% harder. To be able to have that and enjoy a sense of 100% camaraderie, where I can say without any shadow of a doubt that the dudes in my band – in our band - are all of my complete best friends, is the most powerful thing in the world to me.” It is, however, undoubtedly difficult for a band to have changes embraced by their audience. In a genre where the words ‘sell out’ can be utterly poisonous, there will always be a lingering sting when a change remains unembraced. “I’m gonna be real,” begins Matt. “There’s been some negative feedback on the single that we released. At first, it was really bringing me down. It’s a hard thing because we’re all human beings. Yes, we play in a band, but these people go online and start hating you. ‘They f**king suck. They changed. They sold out.’ It’s like, dude, f**king relax. You don’t know me. You don’t know us. You don’t know our motives. We have the most clear minded, honest notions and I just hope people can see that, and that nothing has changed with us as a band.” And he’s entirely right. Whilst ‘End Measured Mile’ packed a cathartic punch of raw emotion, their sophomore effort feels like a band more grown, more experienced, perhaps more weary. ‘Everything You’ve Ever Loved’ provokes questions of morality, whilst spreading messages of hope, and, in the same manner as the band themselves, we can only hope their audience will give it the respect it deserves. “We recorded the record that we wanted to make,” says James. “It’s an honest portrayal of our band at this time. What we hope to come of it, I don’t know...” “It’s an honest record,” confirms Schwartz. “That’s something that I want people to see.” Make Do & Mend’s new album ‘Everything You Ever Loved’ is out now via Rise Records. 61

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Bloc Party Four Imaginatively titled 'Four', Bloc Party's new album (don't

call it a comeback - Ed) was recorded in New York with producer Alex Newport, best known for his work with the likes of At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta. As quickly as you could ask 'does that mean they've 'gone rock'?', a trailer appeared, with audio clips suggesting there'll be some angular bits, some screamy bits (one part seems to stop just before Kele's about to let rip), and some quiet bits. Does anyone really know what 'Four' will sound like? With Bloc Party's recent habit to do the opposte of what everyone expects, it could be all orchestral strings, with what we've heard so far on the cutting-room floor. Are we looking forward to it anyway? You bet! Bloc Party's new album 'Four' will be released on 20th August via Frenchkiss.

A l b u

THE SUMMER STILL HAS A PLETHORA OF ........ALBUMS TO COME. WANT TO KNOW MORe

Lianne La Havas Is Your Love Big Enough? We keep getting the title of this one wrong. Why is it not 'Is

Your Voice Big Enough?'? Because the answer, with Lianne La Havas, is definitively YES. Specifically a long, drawn-out, soulful “Yeeeeeeeeeeeeees” (that's our text-based impression of her, like it?), Lianne La Havas' debut album 'Is Your Love Big Enough' will be released on 9th July via Warner Bros.

Spector Enjoy It While It Lasts Who'd have thought one of 2012's most divisive artists

would've sounded so goddamn normal as this? Spector's few singles sum it up perfectly; the London five-piece make unashamed pop music. Not the cool kind that uses fancy electronic gizmos and isn't really pop at all, but cookie-cutter guitar pop: big choruses, sing-alongs and woah-oh moments. Like having corn flakes for breakfast, it ain't fancy, but you know precisely what you're getting. Spector's debut album 'Enjoy It While It Lasts' will be released on 13th August via Polydor.

62 thisisfakediy.co.uk

Jessie Ware Devotion She may be in the unfortunate position of being the second pop Jessie to come along in as many years, but by the end of summer, south Londoner Jessie Ware should be hogging the airwaves for all the right reasons. Breakthrough hit 'Running' provided one of the biggest cheers we heard at this year's Field Day, and if the rest of the record's as sultry as this and relative newbie '110%', this summer you can pretend you've got a garden, pretend you've got a pool, and pretend you're sunbathing to it. Jessie Ware's debut album 'Devotion' will be released on 20th August via Island.

p r e v i e w s AMAZING, EXCITING AND MUCH ANTICIPATED ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT? READ ON.

Yeasayer Fragrant World Our overriding memory of Yeasayer's 2010 release, 'Odd

Blood', may be the strange spherical character starring in the even stranger video for 'Madder Red', but thankfully we also remember what the Brooklyners sound like. Which is a good thing, given that what we've heard so far of newbie 'Fragrant World' is immediately familiar. The first track to emerge from the record, 'Henrietta', couldn't be by anyone else if it tried. Yeasayer's new album 'Fragrant World' will be released on 20th August via Mute.

The Cast Of Cheers Family

Once we'd got over our initial disappointment that this band did not in fact feature call-andresponse vocals from Kelsey Grammer and Ted Danson along with back-up whooping from Kirstie Alley, we realised that they were actually rather good. The Dublin five-piece have described their music as “robot rock”; if they're thinking more Bender from Futurama than Daft Punk (or any other kind of punk, for that matter) then they could be on to something – it's a little more laid-back than that suggests. Think Foals after a much-needed holiday in the sun. The Cast Of Cheers' debut album 'Family' will be released on 23rd July via Schoolboy Error. 63

extra fashion

1. Dip Dye Open Shoulder Sweat, £28, topshop.com 2. Poppy Denim Jeans, £82, frenchconnection.com 3. Models Own Peach Ruby Sunglasses, £15, asos.com 4. Tiger Lily Tee, £60, allsaints.com 5. Nine Lives Vest, £40, allsaints.com 6. Drawstring Bag, £39.95, gap. com 7. Vans Authentic Lo Pro III Trainers, £40, schuh.co.uk 8. Original Neon Boots, £85, hunter-boot.com

f e s t i va l

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1. Claude Zip Jacket, £45, scottsmenswear.com 2. Dunston Harrington Style Jacket, £110, merc.com 3. Green Hoody With Printed Hood, £34, topman.com 4. Earl Polo Shirt, £55, exclusive to scottsmenswear. com 5. Tudor Drums T-Shirt, £25, merc.com 6. Stripe Grandad Tee, £90, prettygreen.com 7. Hunter Shoreditch Boots, £95, hunter-boot.com 8. Kangol Aviators, £30, eyewearbrands.com

e essentials ssentials

extra tech

T ec h The gizmos and gadgets worth g e tt i n g e xci t e d about this month

Apple MacBook Pro From £999.99 RRP

Overlords of everything computer-based that's as sleek and stylish as it is powerful and ergonomic, Californian supergeeks Apple have upgraded their MacBook Pro line. Their 13- and 15-inch notebooks are now thinner, lighter and more powerful than before. What's more, the Retina display on them is capable of dealing with a whopping 5.1 million pixels: your videos and photos will have never looked as good as this.

Crosskase Solar 15 Backpack

ION Water Rocker

£139.99 RRP

This beast of a backpack not only holds laptops up to 15” in size, it also features a solar-powered battery that's able to charge all kinds of gadgets – most notably your phone. The manufacturers reckon its best use is when you're at a festival, stranded from your mates on the way to a band. We say sod your mates, get to the music: then use the fancy attachments to charge batteries overnight ready for the next day's festivities.

£69.99

Bare Conductive Paint

From £6, bareconductive.com

Have you ever thought of drawing a pattern on the wall and having it conduct electricity? Probably not, because that would be silly, right? WRONG. Bare Conductive have developed paint that can do just that – conduct. On their site you'll find tutorials for miniature houses, Halloween decorations or, and this one's our favourite, a robot greetings card with flashing LED. The magic black stuff is available in both paint and pen form, meaning your scribbling will never be the same again. 66 thisisfakediy.co.uk

If, like us, you find doing anything without having worked out a personal soundtrack pretty damn difficult, you'll love this. Want to laze in the sea while listening to Wavves? A bit of Splashh in the paddling pool? Diiv in... you get the picture. The ION Water Rocker is a fullysubmersible waterproof stereo wireless speaker working from a dock up to 100 feet away, where you'll connect your iPhone, iPod – or any other device with a regular output.

reviews backstory

BACK s to ry

The

Plot

It’s fair to say that Future Of The Left, and Falco in particular, are very much about personality. During this interview his scabrous wit and willingness and passion to talk about what he views as his finest work to date, makes this a fantastic insight into the mind of a person who 68 thisisfakediy.co.uk

B e h i n d e v e ry a l b u m t h e r e ’ s t h e s t o ry o f i t s i n c e p t i o n . G r a n t e d, s o m e t i m es i t ’ s b o r i n g , b u t o c ca s i o n a l ly i t ’ s ac t ua l ly q u i t e i n t e r es t i n g . Da n n y W r i g h t cat c h es u p w i t h F u t u r e O f T h e L e f t t o f i n d o u t j u s t h ow t h e i r l at es t a l b u m ‘ T h e P lo t Ag a i n s t C o m m o n S e n s e ’ ca m e i n t o b e i n g .

Against

may be the most unique (and, perhaps, most undervalued) voice in rock music of the last 15 years. That’s not to say that new record – ‘The Plot Against Common Sense’ - is all about him: “The focus in general has to be the band. As much as I might be the filter the other people in the band have a big say. Julia and Jim’s personalities are a big part of this record and, somewhere in the distance, is Jack underpinning the whole thing

Common

with a hairy grace.” Together they have created an album which they are rightfully thrilled with. After the leaks of the last records, strict measures of security had to be imposed to avoid it coming out early (“But you know, mediocre times call for appropriate measures”). Now they can’t wait to get it out there. “I’m very, very happy with it. You expect people to say that. Nobody says their record’s

Sense

s**te. But everything on it works perfectly for me. When it’s a little bit longer, both in terms of number of songs and minutes, it’s not going to deliver as consistently for every listener, especially when it leaps about a bit. We’ve definitely bettered the last record and that will be thrown into even more relief when people see us live.” It‘s an album that ebbs and flows more than any Mclusky or Future Of The Left record ever has. It blasts at the right

moments but bounces and swaggers through others. Put simply, give it a few listens and you’ll realise it’s the best thing they’ve done, perhaps the best thing you’ll listen to this year. “We’ve been living with it for six months and I’m happier with it than any other album – but that’s not to say that I’ll feel like that in five or six years time. There were two songs ‘Cosmo’s Ladder’ [which made the album] and ‘New Adventures’ [which featured on the ‘Polymers’ EP] and there was a moment of disorientation when we didn’t know what to leave off. But no, I wouldn’t change anything. If I have any regret it’s a tiny-little-dyingsquirrel-at-the-bottom-ofmy-yard of regret as opposed to a towering Joey Barton.” This quote highlights Falco’s renowned mordant wit and way with a phrase. A lot has been made of his lyrics – funny and ferociously abstract they are often the centre point of songs (one track on the new album is entitled ‘Robocop 4 – F**k Off Robocop’). On ‘Common Sense’ he has a lot to get off his chest. It’s a record which sees him cast his eye over what has been happening in the world more explicitly than he has ever before. So we get songs about the May Day riots (‘Sorry Dad I Was Late For The Riots’), the riots of last August (‘City Of Unexploded Children’) and the Olympics (‘Failed Olympic Bid’). Was this a conscious thing? Does he approach albums with a definite theme in mind, topics he wants to cover? “It just happened really. You have to be careful. If something’s too glaringly contemporary it gets ludicrous. I mean when Catatonia got big it was so boldly contemporary to the point of ridiculem. They have a song called ‘Mulder & Scully’ because the X-Files is popular. Oh, and road rage, that’s in the papers. It’s like calling a song ‘The Leveson Inquiry’.”

“For me, you just write music. You apply your character and self-respect and standards to it and you just want it to be better than the last one. Sometimes it feels correct to write about things but sometimes you want to write about things and it feels forced. For every successful time I manage to tackle a subject there are five or six times it didn’t work, usually because by the time it gets to the point of alighting on the finished song somebody has said it better than you can, even if it’s not in the same medium.” And then there’s the cover. An apocalyptic scene showing a man holding hands with a penguin, futilely staring at the end of the world. “I wanted a cover that at first glance just looks like some ridiculous still from science fiction. Then if you look again see there’s a penguin involved. It’s ridiculous but it’s straight faced. It has a sense of the epic with the stupid. I wanted that contrast. A lot of people will look at it and say ‘What’s that?’ – then they’ll say ‘That’s a f**king penguin.’” That probably just about sums up Future Of The Left. A band apart from any scene, who seem to have carved out their own niche. They mix the ridiculous and the straight faced, the funny and the ferocious. They are serious without ever taking themselves too seriously. “We’re the kind of band for people who, in general, are really into music. You won’t find many people who only know four bands – Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Future Of The Left. That’s generally not the way it is. "We want to be great. You don’t always succeed. But if you don’t go into it with that mindset, then what’s the point?” Future Of The Left’s new album ‘The Plot Against Common Sense’ is out now via PIAS.

Future Of The Left

The Plot Against Common Sense Cardiff ’s finest seem to have been on a quest to become the most idiosyncratic band in the world for some years now. After two albums of unhinged, no-holds-barred rock ‘n’ rage, the sound of Andy Falkous and co. has become theirs and theirs alone, a stomping, militaristic assault that’s always been as funny as it was terrifying. The Dennis Hoppers of music. But after a change of line-up and an introductory EP that hinted at new developments, Future Of The Left’s third album suggests that they’re on a new hunt altogether, this time to take other artists’ sounds rather than cultivate their own. Opener ‘Sheena Is A T-Shirt Salesman’ might set that stall out most obviously, but it’s in the songs that follow it that this magpie style becomes clear. ‘Cosmo’s Ladder’ augments the happy return of the creeping keys ‘n’ bass sound we haven’t heard fully since 'Curses' with Orange Juice guitar jangles, ‘Goals In Slow Motion’ could be early Feeder if they’d had a major psychotic breakdown and ‘Robocop 4 - F**k Off Robocop’ (which may be the greatest song title of all time) is probably the sound of the songs Captain Beefheart is making wherever he is now. Yet, despite the constant references, this still sounds like only Future Of The Left could have made it. Perhaps it's Falkous’ uniquely brilliant take on lyrical delivery, alternating between evisceratory screams and dark whispers as his own brand of beatdown poetry requires. Perhaps it’s the way every sonic suggestion is part of a wider whole – ‘Beneath The Waves An Ocean'’s use of the sort of overwrought melodic guitar last seen in an Avenged Sevenfold anthem is subsumed by two-tone crunches whilst ‘Sorry Dad, I Was Late For The Riots’ shimmers with math-rock phrases even as it becomes the band’s most selfconscious pop song. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because Future Of The Left have finally completed their original quest. Not only do they not sound like anyone else, no-one else can sound like them. It’s an odd thing to say about a band quite as aggressive about their outsider status, but it’s entirely possible that by proving they can make anything their own, they’ve become one of Britain’s best bands. Mission accomplished, guys. ( Joe Skrebels) 69

reviews albums

Bright Light Bright Light Make Me Believe In Hope

'Make Me Believe In Hope' is, at its core, danceable pop for grown ups. Futuristic beats race in from opening track 'Immature', sounding a little like The Postal Service’s 'Such Great Heights'. It’s not long before the album gives way to more familiar dance allusions. Close your eyes during 'Feel It', and you could be listening to one of the Pet Shop Boys' catchier tunes. It’s not hard to see why Bright Light Bright Light's acclaim includes comparisons to Robyn, and even Kylie. This is an album that revels in its inspiration, and is all the better for it. (Max Baker)

Gaggle

From The Mouth Of The Cave

Gaggle have gained an impressive reputation. There is much creativity here on their debut, each song containing an element of intrigue. Occasionally they fall foul to the pitfall of trying to cram too many ideas into one song, but this is a minor blip in an emotive musical journey rich with discovery. 'From The Mouth Of The Cave' is one of the most unique collections of songs you are likely to hear for a very long time from a collective impossible to pigeon hole. (Greg Inglis)

Crocodiles

Meursault

The poppy noise-punk revival of the last two or three years is shedding its reverb-laden skin and slinking itself into a newer, cleaner and shinier outfit. Crocodiles’ latest effort, 'Endless Flowers', seems to nail the middle ground in a big way and as a result, masterfully takes its place as one of the best albums of the entire noise / 60s pop / beach / post-punk movement. A perfect mix of pop immediacy, punky sneer and shoegaze whimsy, this album deserves to be heard and loved. Do yourself a favour and get yourself a copy. (Kosta Lucas)

Though 'Something For The Weakened' isn’t immediately a departure from the ‘epic lo-fi’ that has characterised Meursault’s previous offerings, it is still quite a change. Firstly, gone are the urgent electronics, and secondly there is a marked improvement in the production values, as well as the odd string section flourish. The effect is rather like when The Crimea moved from home demos to Warners and had the ability to add a greater timbral depth to their already intricate compositions. There’s less to really get the blood up, but it’s a minor gripe for what is an exceptional follow up. (Alex Lynham)

Endless Flowers

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Something For The Weakened

Light Asylum Light Asylum

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of 80s electro will have heard most of the stuff on Light Asylum's self-titled album before; the good work of constructing catchy songs such as ‘A Certain Person’ is undone because the tracks already feel too familiar. On the surface, the record presents an accurate and attractive take on it’s influences, but in the 80s there were elements of electropop that represented the light and dark of technology and parts that reflected an aspirational futurism. These are issues that are still relevant today, unfortunately Light Asylum’s album doesn’t offer a contemporary mirror. (Digby Bodenham)

Milk Maid Mostly No

It must be very easy to make a lo-fi melodic rock album these days. The hallowed combination of cheap instruments and cheaper recording equipment has proved to many that just enough fuzz can cover a multitude of sins. Milk Maid plough a difficult furrow, as their second album 'Mostly No''s own distortion-addled style actually conceals some clever little virtues. Employing summery grunge crunches, trundling Americana and shrieking noise to add some intrigue to songs that could otherwise seem lifeless, Milk Maid bring moments of smiling recognition alongside smiling at how fun it all is. ( Joe Skrebels)

Beachwood Sparks The Tarnished Gold

After a decade away (presumably in space or something), this merry band of psychedelic country cowboys have reunited for their third album, 'The Tarnished Gold'. It’s tempting to say that nothing much has changed – slide guitars, whistling Hammond organs and woozy atmospherics - but there’s a new-found sense of urgency to much of the material. Where the band used to be content with a melody idea and a long runtime, these are far more structured affairs, pushed hastily along by percussion. What results is beautiful, hazy country-pop, like Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips stuck on a prairie somewhere. ( Joe Skrebels)

A Place To Bury Strangers Worship

New York drone dons A Place To Bury Strangers release their new album to high expectations. After the 2009 scuzz rock masterpiece ‘Exploding Head’ they set the noise bar extremely high. ‘Worship’ is an entirely a self-produced affair, and unfortunately this hasn’t done them any favours. The sound structures are nowhere near as tight, and the songs tend to spill over their musical confines, lacking direction. Dream-pop numbers such as the uncharacteristically tender ‘Dissolved’ stand next to drama drone rock such as ‘Revenge’, which unfortunately makes for an exhaustingly incoherent listen. (Linda Aust)

Funeral Suits

Lily Of The Valley Funeral Suits follow along in a procession of bands that purvey seductive, mysterious and slightly dangerous sounding pop music. Once upon a time, a flavour of the insane meant getting carted off to the territory occupied by maverick visionaries, with no further attention paid. On the ominously named ‘Lily Of The Valley’ - with all its symbolic associations with death and mourning - the listener happily gobbles it up. This is in part due to the band’s impressive command of their craft, and also the album’s place in the almost foolproof hands of Stephen Street. Funeral Suits clearly have potential in the bucket-loads. (El Hunt)

Bear Driver Bear Driver

Frankly, it can be challenging detailing the minutia of a release when all you really want to do is scrawl "for God’s sake just listen to this"; a sentiment that’s definitely applicable to the eponymous debut album from Bear Driver. From opening track ‘Big Love’, with the frantic and endearing honesty of Johnny Foreigner, to the sun-soaked gorgeousness of ‘Impossible’, ‘Bear Driver’ is a record that’s practically bleeding with character. It isn’t entirely unreasonable to think that Bear Driver - a name fittingly taken from a constellation of stars - may easily be a name you’ll be seeing a lot more of in the future. (Merlin Jobst)

The Hundred In The Hands Red Night

The hype that surrounded Brooklyn duo Hundred In The Hands’ 2010 debut was, if you were to evaluate the band based on this second release, slightly misplaced. Starting off with standout track ‘Empty Stations', those initial comparisons to hometown peers Sleigh Bells would appear well justified. Yet Hundred In The Hands quickly shy away from the initial bullishness, much to their detriment. As it stands it is a passable if disappointing montage of mid-tempo electro-pop that flirts dangerously close to dull trip-hop. (Bevis Man)

My Tiger My Timing Celeste

You can tell My Tiger My Timing have come from a hotbed of different musical influences, but far from being a hotchpotch of wildly plucked elements, they are carefully crafted here and all bond together cohesively. ‘Celeste’ is full of bold, glittering disco-pop, suited to the Parisian clubs, but with just a hint of reverb-soaked grit that brings them right back to dingy haunts of South East London. While this album might have an inbuilt potential to send you longing for sunnier climes – which could be problematic come winter - right now the sun is shining, and this couldn’t be a better soundtrack. (El Hunt) 71

The Narrows

Twin Shadow Confess

Artists find inspiration in the most unusual places. After a motorcycle accident, Twin Shadow's George Lewis Jr. purchased a new bike and moved to LA to record his second full-length, and it seems that ‘Confess’ is a new chapter in his life. Packed with massive choruses, the album sees Lewis Jr. grow into his music, but at the same time he stays firmly on the ground. There are strokes of brilliance here, as he blends 80s influences with dashes of funk and pop to create a largely cohesive record that is steeped in lustful atmosphere. (Aurora Mitchell)

The Eve Of Invasion It wouldn't be unfair to describe The Narrows' sublime debut, 'The Eve Of Invasion' as a pop record. Its influences are less marked in terms of bands and artists than by films and atmospheres, characters from TV shows and subtleties of the zeitgeist; in other words, popular culture. If that sounds needlessly pretentious, ignore it completely - for the other meaning is true as well. Boasting melodies and textures aplenty amid their eclectic electronica, this is also pop music proper, if a little sinister. This is an enthralling and atmospheric record - even if you're not a conspiracy theorist, The Narrows might make a believer of you yet. (Alex Lynham)

Dawes

North Hills

Dirty Projectors Swing Lo Magellan

David Longstreth has long had a history of confounding fans and critics, infuriating and intriguing in equal measure with Dirty Projectors’ compositions. However, if the art-pop of ‘Bitte Orca’ involved discarding his too-clever-by-half tendencies in favour of blissful melodies, then ‘Swing Lo Magellan’ fully cements his reputation as one of indie’s finest songsmiths and instrumentalists. Effortless and catchy, the twelve tracks here flit between playfulness and a dead-eyed seriousness – proper songs that soar and swoon and hit you right in the heart, fully justifying the royalty status Longstreth and his band now enjoy. (Derek Robertson) 72 thisisfakediy.co.uk

California fourpiece Dawes describe themselves as an "American rock n roll band," both an entirely geographically accurate statement and an apposite description of their sound which could only come from the heart of America. Intriguingly, ‘North Hills’ is actually the band's debut which was given a very low key release in 2009 but is now being rereleased to follow the success of their 2011 album ‘Nothing Is Wrong'. It's an album full of subtle wonder and in its evocative charms you can easily see how Dawes have become so feted. A very lovely listen indeed. (Martyn Young)

Hervé

Pick Me Up, Sort Me Out, Calm Me Down

Hervé’s first solo venture should be a walk-in-the-park blueprint for high-octane electro – but in reality it’s like an E number-fuelled child let loose on a synthesiser and drum machine. It would be unfair to say that the entirety of the album is as dire as the level achieved by the fairly head-in-hands ‘Gnarly’ or ‘Better Than A BMX’. ‘Return Of The Living’ is, despite its unsteady lyrical grounding, an entertaining ode to the living dead, though the popularity of producers like SBTRKT only serves to highlight that this is a serious case of bass quantity over quality. Hervé might well need picking up and calming down after all. (El Hunt)

Reverend & The Makers

@Reverend_Makers

When bands take a break from the touring circuit while working on new material, it can shroud their musical direction in mystery. With no live previews as such, indie rockers Reverend & The Makers prefaced the release of their third record ‘@ Reverend_Makers’ with a mixtape of experimentation that left fans suspecting a more modern electronic vibe. This isn’t wholly off the mark. The album title alone hints that this is something new; though whether fans will be welcoming to these new ideas is to be seen. At the very least ‘@Reverend_Makers’ marks a new chapter of diversity for the band. (Heather McDaid)

Shrag

Maximo Park

The National Health Post-punk revivalism spent years dictating alternative music. From The Strokes to Editors, Bloc Party to The Rakes - it was undeniable, and inescapable. Fast forward a decade and it seems few of those have maintained respectable reviews whilst carrying a fanbase. Maximo Park are one of them. And hey, they've stayed in the charts as well. Their latest offering is polished, refined, and almost... sterile? For every slavedover bassline, there's a wasted opportunity for angularity and ruggedness. At the end of 'The National Health', you won't be disappointed, but you won't be itching for more. (Kyle Forward)

Canines

Scissor Sisters Magic Hour

Scissor Sisters' ‘Magic Hour’ is an album that equally frustrates and enthrals. The collection of excellent electro-pop tracks shows the band still know their way around a melody, but the record is let down by a few too many tired and morose ballads and witless appropriations of chart successful sounds. Perhaps the band should have cut down on the collaborators (Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams, Diplo, Azealia Banks) and stuck to their own instincts. Still, ‘Magic Hour’ is a good album that shows there is still plenty of life left in Scissor Sisters. (Martyn Young)

Dent May

The Beach Boys

Do Things

Dent May’s main forte used to be playing the ukulele – he once released an entire album titled after the instrument’s magnificence. Three years later, and he appears to have had a change of heart, trading in his undersized guitar for disco aspirations. It is hard to shake off the amusing idea that 'Do Things' would be a perfect soundtrack for a modernday Grease set in Shoreditch. Not only would it be hilarious watching hipsters trying to attend a school dance ‘ironically’, the doo-woppy tambourine spangled title track sounds uncannily fit for Rydell High School. However, there’s also no avoiding the thought that this album, like the hypothetical modern-day Grease, is a poor, and rather boring imitation. (El Hunt)

If we had to describe the genre of music Shrag made, we would call it "dance-indie-sexy-funny-popmusic." If we had to compare Shrag to a handful of other bands, it would be the best British pop from 1989-2005 mixed with equal parts post-punk. If we had to awkwardly insert Shrag into the lyrics of a Queen song it would go: "Shrag! Aa-aa! Saviours of indie-pop!" The songs on 'Canines' swerve through the sexy to the sublime, fronted by Helen King's bratty vocals, and travelling via some riot grrl-esque speed and noise. But, like, if riot grrl was as interested in writing hooks as it was espousing the radical possibilities of pleasure, babe. (Tom Baker)

That’s Why God Made The Radio

lemonade Diver

With ‘Diver’, Lemonade have made their defining statement. Not just because the record sounds, in places, rather triumphant but because a lot of the songs are solid hits in the making. The record veers from rather scatter-brained beat patterns to more laid back sonic-seducers. Fresh takes on R&B manifest themselves in musicians minds all the time. And yet a lot of the time, they are so busy trying to make something new that they forget what makes R&B so soulful in the first place. Lemonade ever so slightly bend the boundaries of the B. This means that the record sounds new without challenging our tiny minds too much. ( Jack Parker)

If we're honest, the first half of The Beach Boys' new album, title track aside, is slightly cringeworthy. Thankfully the record is redeemed, beautifully, by the last three tracks. 'From There To Back Again' is no 'God Only Knows', but it is pretty darn exquisite. We were never going to get another 'Pet Sounds' or 'Smile', and anyone labouring under that misconception was always destined to be hugely disappointed. But, whilst this might not be what God actually made the radio for, if this record turns out to be their swansong, it's a far more fitting end than 'Stars And Stripes Volume 1' ever would have been. (Simone Scott Warren) 73

reviews live

Photos: Emma Swann

Field

"This is just like the pied piper, but for hipsters," observes a girl as we scuttle along trying to keep up with the procession of achingly cool music fans crossing the bridge over a slightly murky looking lake. Indeed, it wouldn’t be a total shock to see headliners Franz Ferdinand trotting ahead tooting a tin whistle to lead the way to Victoria Park, because despite the somewhat gloomy conditions, everyone is on a mission, determined to have an absolute Field Day. We dash over to where hotly tipped Scouse band Outfit are setting up. Managing to bag a place near the front, we notice we’re stood in a sea of close friends of the band, along one of the member’s Dads shouting hearty words of encouragement. The supportive atmosphere spreads across the tent as the jaunty piano riff of ‘Two Islands’ starts up, and all the nonsense we’ve heard about Outfit squatting in mansions and dressing up as aliens goes flying out the window. Outfit don’t need the gimmicks any more. The whole set is a delight. Heading towards an over-spilling Shacklewell Tent we stumble upon Jeffery Lewis & The Junkyard, catching the last half of a cheerful and upbeat set. Lewis and band finish to rowdy applause, and amid the confusion we worm our way into the tent. Zulu Winter takes to the stage next. Rattling through majority of songs from debut album ‘Languages’, they seem entirely at home on the stage, and are the best thing we’ve seen so far today. We dash over to Village Mentality, seemingly along with every single person at Field Day. Everyone is vying to see one lady, Grimes. Managing to get within about 20ft of the tent opening, we crane our necks, and can just make out Claire Boucher clad in camouflage beginning her one-woman onslaught of banging drums and blooping noises. ‘Oblivion’ starts up, and with the half-muffled quality of being outside the tent, the whole effect is eery and haunting. Playing extended live jams of the much-loved material from ‘Visions’ along with a couple of old favourites, Grimes is doing a stellar job. Just before the exit stampede begins, we hurry away to catch Metronomy, who deliver the goods as soon as the funk-infused bass of ‘Heartbreaker’ kicks into life. They might be reeling out the tunes, but the crowd seem slightly distracted, and start to move off in dribs and drabs after the final chords of ‘The Look’.

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It’s no wonder the punters at Field Day can’t settle down, because Metronomy’s set marks the beginning of some fairly horrendous stage clashes, with a difficult choice between SBTRKT or the Laneway Stage. Military organization becomes paramount as we beat the less prepared crowds, opting for the nearby Laneway. Dense smoke and strobe lights fill the place, and Alexis Krauss bounds onto the stage wearing an incredible studded jacket. Sleigh Bells have arrived. Rattling through ‘Infinity Guitars’ and ‘Tell ‘Em’ in quick succession, this set is a slash guitar filled frenzy, and the tent is going insane. The moshpit reaches fatal energy levels, and security stick up some shoddy A4 signs meekly stating that the tent is full. The thing is nobody really gives a stuff. Sleigh Bells put on an incredible live show without fail

Bastille because they are having just as much fun as the audience. Back at Eat Your Own Ears, the mood is serene. As the pomp of Beirut's ‘The Shrew’ rings across the site, people hold ciders aloft and sway from side to side, having sing-alongs with their neighbouring spectators. As daylight fades and the tell-tale accordions of ‘East Harlem’ come to life, a line of migrating birds fly over

the stage, and everybody exclaims “ah!” at the beauty of the moment. For a lot of people the chance to see Beirut at the top of a festival bill is a very special one, and musical prodigy Zach Condon is having a great time up on stage. As the night closes in there is one final choice to make – the dark psychedelic fuzz of Mazzy Star, or the shamelessly feelgood wares of Franz Ferdinand. We decide to observe from a safe distance, a wise choice as the crowd goes completely nuts for the opening riff of ‘Take Me Out’. After seeing so much up-and-coming music we almost need a taste of slightly dated pop, and in a surreal way Franz Ferdinand is akin to being back at tween festival T4 On The Beach, but this time surrounded by grown-ups. Rattling through ‘the hits’ in quick succession, Franz Ferdinand wrap up what has been a rather excellent and utterly jam-packed day of new music. (El Hunt)

slam

Ah, Slam Dunk, the festival where all your pop-punk dreams come true. Where else would you get the chance to be within two feet of a certain Mr Adam Lazzara? Nowhere, that’s where. And we can tell you that because we have tried. Lots of times. Kicking off a sunny Sunday, Make Do & Mend take to the Vans stage in the Hatfield hall, thrashing out noisy hit and after noisy hit to the more than receptive crowd. With the heat proving a little unbearable, Say Anything gather one of the biggest audiences of the day on the outdoor main stage, leaving frontman Max Bemis well, beaming actually. The horrendously catchy ‘Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too’ alongside the crowd-pleasing ‘Shiksa (Girlfriend)’, show former Academy Is... bassist Adam Siska to be fitting in nicely. Headliners Taking Back Sunday deliver the closing performance you’d expect from the distinguished veterans. Despite Lazzara’s damaged leg, the band tear through the set, providing something for both old (‘You’re So Last Summer’) and new (‘You Got Me’) fans alike. If this show is anything to go by, Taking Back Sunday, when they’re back on true form, are still worth telling all your friends about. (Harriet Jennings)

photo: Sinead Grainger

reviews live

The Throne T h e

photo: Richard Isaac

Ah, Primavera. An urban, and urbane, soirée by the sea, famed for seeking out artists unafraid to push boundaries. 2012 is no different, with an eclectic mix of rising stars, electronic whizz kids, and established heavyweights. The calypso-indie funk of Friends kicks off Thursday, a confident set despite the unfamiliarity with their material. It’s in contrast to hype machine Grimes, who, delayed by technical difficulties, struggles to replicate 'Visions'' magic blend of pop, dance and electronica. The returning xx give a masterclass in tense, seductive pop, before Franz Ferdinand up the ante, ripping through their greatest hits, plus a few newbies, with gusto. Day two has a definite US feel, with Girls delivering a joyous, hit-laden romp before M83’s widescreen, Technicolor synth-pop, Anthony Gonzalez & Co. skilfully replicating their expansive sound of buzz and towering guitars. The Cure live up to everyone’s expectations with an epic 3 hour set, a timely reminder that the only thing that really matters is the music.

Primavera Running them close for best set, Chromatics’ dark, noirish stylings are a revelation on day three, their slow-glide funk standing in complete contrast to Justice’s decadent disco rock, a spectacular audio-visual extravaganza that borrows heavily from their 2008 heyday. Moving on isn’t a problem for Beach House, Alex Scally and Veronica Legrande’s voices gliding clear above hazy melodies and a taut, expansive sound. Their shimmering set perfectly captures the Mediterranean vibe and what makes Primavera such park anmaximo enthralling event. (Derek Robertson)

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O 2 ,

L o n d o n

Watching 20,000 people throw their “diamonds” in the air without so much as an awkward pause, ala “why doesn’t everyone take a few steps forward, we don’t bite,” does rather put the idea of a bunch of scruffy looking, guitar wielding indie kids moping around on stage into perspective. But then a gig at The O2, particularly one that bears witness to the two biggest egos in hip-hop, was never going to be like anything else. If I had to choose just one word to surmise the evening it would be “ridiculous”: the displays of bravado, shark projections, flames so hot you can feel them from the back seats, giant American flags and blinding laser shows. Arriving at either end of the arena, Kanye West and Jay-Z play out the most epic rap battle, spitting the lyrics to ‘H.A.M’ in sync with what seems like a mile between them before they arrive side by side like only old friends could. It is unreal. They are unreal, their unfathomable celebrity status detaching them from anything we would encounter in our everyday lives and so their appearance, together, right before our very eyes is certainly surreal. Their two-hour tag-team routine really does highlight just how much they have defined hip-hop over the last decade and the thousands of people here tonight reflects not only the growth of the genre, but the evolution. (Lauren Down) photo: Silvia Pascual

photo: Paul Campbell

Rockness

patterns photo: Victor Frankowski

After two days in Bristol and Nottingham, Dot To Dot Festival 2012 made its way up to Manchester for its concluding day. A different kind of festival from the start, all of the acts perform indoors, distributed among the best venues Manchester has to offer. My one complaint would have to be that there were simply too many performances and not enough time to get to them all. But alas, as only one of me exists, I made it to as many sets as I

D o t To D o t

Manchester

RockNess is a festival famed for its beauty and mix of dance and guitar music, but on a grim Friday night with a grey torpor of cloud any beauty is in short supply. Mystery Jets and The Drums deliver admirably rousing sets on the main stage; however, a general soporific air blights the rest of the evening’s proceedings. Noah & The Whale and headliners Mumford & Sons rarely sparkle and both suffer from a nagging listlessness. Saturday is all about dance music but before we get to the behemoths of Deadmau5 and Justice there are well-received sets from Sound Of Guns and Lucy Rose whose ever more compelling gentle storytelling grows in stature with every show. Deadmau5’s set is accompanied by a stunning mesmerising mix of visuals, but the night’s real stars are Justice who deliver a headline dance set of masterful control and skill. Sunday is all about dancing and lots of it. Friendly Fires keep up the party vibe with their brand of hi-energy dance pop, and while Biffy Clyro may not be a party band, their headline set is a fitting end to a weekend that got better and better. (Martyn Young)

could starting with This Many Boyfriends from Leeds. The guys, known for their high energy performances, draw forth a sizeable crowd and start the day off with a buzz as lead vocalist, Richard, wanders through the audience singing for the finale. Manchester’s own Patterns take the HMV Ritz stage next offering forth their lo-fi indie rock mixed with fresh pop beats. Tucked away in Sound Control, Clock Opera have the room rammed for their

early evening set. Every single second of their performance is packed with energy. Whether it’s beating on silver cups, breaking drumsticks on the metal bars on stage, or simply mixing the beats that make their progressive sound, not one moment passes in their thirty minute set in which I’m not completely captivated. I sneak over to catch a few songs from Lucy Rose. Well-known for her vocals on Bombay Bicycle Club recordings, Rose has taken the folk singer-songwriter persona of Laura Marling and made it a bit more edgy. She’s 100% worth the trek. Coming out of Birmingham, Peace have been compared to other bands with dreamy pop sounds like Wu Lyf, however, their most well-known track ‘Bblood’ has an upbeat motion to it comparable to Two Door Cinema Club. Their set could have gone on for another half an hour and I don’t think a single person would have had enough. I end my night early but not before hearing what The Drums have to offer. The room is rammed for frontman Jonathan Pierce’s moves as well as crowd favourites like ‘Money’ and ‘Let’s Go Surfing’. Absolutely exhausted, but perfectly happy with the packed day, I call it a night. If the biggest complaint with Dot To Dot is that there are too many quality bands to see them all, I’d say there’s not much complaining to do at all. (Katie Shepherd) 77

reviews films

Your Prometheus Questions Answered... Or Are They? It was a pretty big day at DIY Towers when we were granted an interview with Damon Lindelof, the writer, showrunner and cocreator of Lost. Lindelof is in town to promote Prometheus, Ridley Scott's return to the Alien universe, after crafting an entirely new story out of what was originally conceived as a straightfoward prequel. Needless to say, our chat is full of spoilers, so if you haven't managed to catch Prometheus in cinemas, turn the page. However, if your mind is racing, and you have burning questions, Lindelof may, or may not, be able to provide answers. What the hell was going on in the opening scene? Who are the Engineers? Why are they trying to kill us? The self-effacing Lindelof is quick to respond when inevitably asked about the loose ends. "I think Ridley's instinct kept being to pull back, and I would say to him, 'Ridley, I'm still eating s**t a year after Lost is over for all the things we didn't directly spell out - are you sure you want to do this?' And he said, 'I would rather have people fighting about it and not know, than spell it out, that's just more interest-

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ing to me.'" While Prometheus contains hints of the Alien universe, Scott was keen to explore Lindelof 's idea of using creation myth as a springboard for something new, but harking back to Greco-Roman creation or Aztec creation: "The opening of the movie is basically this idea of dissolving one's self, sacrificing one's own protoplasm or genetic material in order to become the birth of a new life form." With bigger themes at play than Alien's straightforward, but brutally effective, visceral, psychological horror, Lindelof continues: "So I said, let's take these big grand themes of creation and 'Who am I? And who made me? And why hath thou forsaken me?' that are here embedded in this draft, and bring those themes up and sort of push all the Alien stuff - the chest-bursting and the face-hugging, the xenomorphs, the acid blood - all that stuff down because we've seen that a billion times before. If there was a sequel to Prometheus it wouldn't be Alien. Because it's moving off in its own direction." Lindelof understands that Prometheus

poses the big question - what have our creators got against us? "That's a question that Ridley wasn't interested in answering with this movie. He liked the idea that that was the question that Shaw wanted answering at the end of it. Some people will be completely totally creatively engaged by it, some people are going to be pissed off by it. That only galvanised him more because if there is one thing Ridley loves doing, it's pissing people off !" He points out one of the many things that may be missed on first viewing, while taking in the awe and spectacle. "For example, when they do the carbon-dating on the dead engineer and realise he has been dead for 2000 years, then you wonder about when, 2000 years ago, the Engineers decided to wipe us out. What happened 2000 years ago? I think it's a very interesting question to leave dangling."

Killer Joe 29th June

The Exorcist director William Friedkin reunites with Bug playwright Tracy Letts for this grimy, dirty 'hicksploitation' flick, which features a show-stopping, careerreviving performance from none other than Matthew McConaughey. We thought we'd lost the actor to romcom hell, but he's back as a seductive, psychotic Dallas detective who moonlights as a hitman in this frequently hilarious, deliciously warped drama. Thomas Haden Church and Emile Hirsch are the simpleton father and son who can't afford to pay McConaughey's Killer Joe for his services, accepting his request for naive little sister Dottie ( Juno Temple) as a retainer. Grotesquely violent and simmering with a dangerous sexual edge, Friedkin manages to keep a grip on the tone of this potentially offensive material, taking the viewer on a dark, cynical journey. Gina Gershon co-stars as gleeful trailer trash and makes quite the entrance, but it's young British actress Temple who shines in a brave, sultry yet unnerving performance that lingers. McConaughey is astounding, a wild force of nature in what is essentially a filmed play, building up to a disturbing moment of aggression involving a bucket of fried chicken. Best watched on an empty stomach. (Becky Reed)

God Bless America 4th July

The premise is simple yet deadly: a man with an inoperable brain tumour is so fed up with reality TV, spoilt youth and the willful ignorance of his fellow American he sets out to murder a bratty teenage girl on a My Super Sweet 16-type show. Character actor Joel Murray (brother of Bill) is a hugely sympathetic everyman on the edge in this satire from comedian turned director Bobcat Goldthwait (Zed from Police Academy!). The addition of equally disillusioned schoolgirl Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr) as his eager sidekick moves the film from Falling Down territory to Super's troublesome set-up. Increasingly repetitive, the film's wickedly scripted first half peters out. Not a patch on Goldthwait's truly subversive World's Greatest Dad. (Becky Reed)

The Five-Year Engagement 22nd June

Emily Blunt and Jason Segel are an engaged couple in this bloke-friendly rom-com. Blunt's promotion means Segel gives up his job as a chef in San Francisco to live a life of emasculated servitude in freezing Michigan. Complications mean the wedding is constantly delayed, putting a huge strain on the relationship. A slight plot for a 124-minute film, it outstays its welcome with casual sexism and racism marring the sweet, genuine moments; the script actually punishes a woman for wanting a career and mocks any man who isn't the breadwinner. However, Blunt and her onscreen sister Alison Brie are the comedy highlights - a conversation held as Sesame Street characters is a real treat. Watch the similarly-themed Going The Distance instead. (Becky Reed)

Preview:

The Amazing Spider-Man 3rd July

At time of print we'd yet to see Sony's reboot of the Marvel web-slinger. From what we've seen so far, director Marc Webb of twee indie hit (500) Days Of Summer has fully embraced his new blockbuster budget. We're going back to Peter Parker's high school days less than a decade after Tobey Maguire was bitten, with 28-year-old Brit Andrew Garfield set to discover his father's secrets. Clips so far imply suited Spider-Man is fast with the quips, and Garfield has compared wearing the mask to the anonymity enjoyed by internet trolls. With the re-introduction of Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and Dr Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), Webb has the chance to rid us of the memory of these characters being butchered in SpiderMan 3, but what else can it bring to Sam Raimi's much-admired origins story? 79

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p r e v i e w s r e v i e w s

Dishonored

(Bethesda) – Xbox 360, PS3, PC Release Date: 12/10/12

Bethesda's latest supernatural thriller is set in a whaling city called Dunwall, which sounds like a village in the south of England that frowns upon strangers. As Corvo, the once-trusted bodyguard of the Empress, you're framed for her murder which sends you into a sinister world of masked assassination in a city besieged by plague and ruled by a corrupt government! So, it's a bit like Grange Hill. The game is set to boast a flexible combat system with your gaming choices forging how the story unfolds.

FIFA 13

Max Payne 3

(Rockstar) – Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Watch New York's most troubled cop Max Payne drink himself into oblivion, now working in executive security in São Paulo, Brazil until – oh no – the boss's wife is kidnapped. Cue frantic bullet-time, shoot-dodging and all the slick and beautifully designed gunplay that Rockstar's pioneering series is famous for. And there's no questioning its technical brilliance; Max Payne 3 is gloriously designed. The slow-motion gun battles and addition of Last Man Standing (allowing you to remain alive at low health if you pop a cap in the pr**k who fired the near-fatal shot) are all majestically done. Problem is, you spend twelve hours doing it. There's little in the way of variety here and stages joining the lacklustre story together just feel like charmless shootfests. Max's noir-esque pained character is carefully developed, but the story itself is a nothing-bomb that blows up around the five hour mark. Amazing fun to play, but its repetitive nature becomes a lifeless bore way before the epilogue.

EA Sports) - Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PC, Wii and 3DS Release Date: TBC

The big news about the latest FIFA title is that it'll include Kinect integration on Xbox 360 allowing voice commands. And, get this, due to Referee Feedback, if you curse and swear in your own living room at an official call, you'll risk getting yourself a red card and banished to the kitchen. The first part's true. The kitchen part not so much.

Resistance: Burning Skies (Sony) – PS Vita

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

(NAMCO BANDAI) – Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U Release Date: 14/09/12

Namco Bandai's upcoming fight-fest sequel has nabbed itself the largest roster of fighters in Tekken history. It also plays host to a new Fight Lab mode where players can customise a new training character – Combot. And, of course, there's one-on-one fighting as well as solo VS tag-team battles to enhance the range of gameplay modes. But which is better? There's only one way to find out... FIII... Tekken Tag Tournament 2, tosser.

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The good thing about Sony ushering in its first fully-formed FPS to the hand-held Vita console is that it works. It works! We can all rest easy – Resistance: Burning Skies plays well! The dual analog stick action is as responsive and intuitive as you'd hope, and the ability to swipe the screen to reload guns and drag grenades to targets is actually better than it sounds. Tagging enemies by tapping the screen and unleashing a hail of bullets into their alien skulls is easy to adapt to. The bad news is the game is a flimsy, baseless collection of dark locations joined up by rarely taxing moments of shooting. While the hallmarks of the Resistance series are here, particularly on the weapons front, there's none of the spark or story that go into making them what they are. Still, it proves the Vita is more than capable of handling a demanding FPS, just maybe one a little more memorable.

Retro G a m e O f The Month

Chuck Rock (Core Design, 1991) – Commodore Amiga

Now here's a plot for you – you're a prehistoric and monosyllabic lad called Chuck Rock, sitting at home in your cave watching the big match on TV when your wife, Ophelia Rock (!) is kidnapped by, we s**t you not, Gary Glitter. What else is there to do but pursue her across varying savage stages in which dinosaurs will be your friends and foes while you karate kick them mid-air, throw massive rocks at their heads and use your kettle-drum beer belly to bounce them from Triassic to Cretaceous? Chuck Rock was an iconic game for Core back in the 90s, and its colourful slapstick humour still works. It's a simple puzzle platformer that sees you using the rocks that fill the prehistoric environments as weapons and make-shift platforms while you gather anachronistic collectibles like packets of frozen peas. But, it's no easy-ride. Chuck Rock is nightmarishly difficult at times. Prepare to hear Chuck groan, screech, moan and yelp, just like his modern-day lad counterparts. You'll find yourself just constantly belly-attacking and karate-kicking everything just to be sure you don't lose some precious health. Boss battles can be a painful affair, making Dark Souls seem like a piece of pterodactyl piss. Although ported to consoles throughout the 90s, Chuck Rock's first home was on the Atari ST and the Amiga and it plays wonderfully with some, often hilarious, ideas. The problem is that the puzzles, like Chuck and the whole culture of laddism that it sadly mirrors, are a bit of a nobrainer. Occasionally you'll have to carry a rock for a while to help you get to higher ground, but that's your lot. Fortunately, it sails through on manic charm – riding across a swamp on a brontosaurus' back, or being fired across gaps by an awakened woolly mammoth – there's plenty of imagination, stopping Chuck Rock and his gaming legacy from ever becoming extinct.

THE BEST OF

June saw the world's top developers and publishers show off their recent wares in Los Angeles like digital hookers at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), where not one expense was spared in ushering Usher in to promote Dance Central 3. Everyone whooped in awe at announcements and trailers for Halo 4, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation on the PS Vita and some jaw-dropping treats like Naughty Dog's The Last Of Us on PS3. But, garish behaviour aside, what tickled our fancies the most?

WATCH DOGS (Ubisoft)

WII U (Nintendo)

zombiu (Ubisoft)

Nintendo's new home console features an external GamePad that promises to deliver 'asymmetric gameplay' for new multiplayer experiences. The tablet will allow gamers extra information on the 6.2-inch touch-screen, such as maps and inventories or, with its dual analogue sticks, it can be used as a stand-alone hand-held console. Release Date: TBC.

This open-world futuristic espionage thriller sees you in the lurking boots of 'a man shaped by violence and obsessed by turbulence' as he cyber-hacks his way across Chicago. Release Date: TBC.

BEYOND: (Sony)

TWO

SOULS

From the creator of Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain... That's it. That's all you need to know. Release Date: TBC. Nintendo's new console is preparing for the zombie invasion. Made exclusively for the Wii U, ZombieU is a fearfuelled FPS set in London, 2012 where an undead outbreak has seized the city! No mention of the Olympics, but it's probably the same sort of thing. Release Date: TBC.

Be Sure TO pick up

Mortal Kombat (Warner Bros) – PS Vita

Get your fists around this newly released PS Vita adaptation of last year's Mortal Kombat reboot. While it takes some cues from its big brother, there's enough new blood here to keep you going, particularly the X-Ray moves that show the internal devastation to your opponent's organs and bones as you assault their bodies. Especially welcoming is a bum-load of new Tower Challenges designed especially for the Vita that utilise the touch-screen, and the surprisingly engaging story mode. 81

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Normally you’d take your entertainment somewhere close to civilisation, near people who have seen a shower at some point in the last week. You’d be able to have food that’s actually cooked, then go home to a bed in an actual bricks and mortar building. I’m probably just too old for this kind of thing. Everyone else appears to be either too young to legally drink anything more potent than a Panda Pop or an actual mouth breathing idiot. There’s little less enjoyable than attempting to watch a band you’ve been trying to avoid for six months while feeling there’s a decent chance you’re about to end up on some kind of register. But then it’s always been this way; anyone who tells you by the third day of a festival they’re not thinking about a warm bath is f**king Pinocchio.

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Festivals aren’t fun - they’re the seventh level of hell. At least, that’s what will graham thinks. “Oh goody! Let’s go watch Snow Patrol in a trench footinducing swamp, surrounded by a bunch of Tarquins and Jemimas on a weekend retreat from Mummy and Daddy! Won’t that be fun!” It’s festival season. Festivals are for the kind of people you spend your entire life trying to avoid; tossers, twats and those who think comedy hats are funny. Monumental unitards who are quite happy to spend enough money for a modest holiday somewhere sunny for the ‘once in a lifetime’ experience of s**tting in a plastic hut and watching a bunch of middle of the road acts so inoffensive they probably come with rubber 82 thisisfakediy.co.uk

protectors - just to avoid any possibility of an edge. Last year I went to a festival. A big one. You’ve probably been to it too. I spent three days in abject fear some little toe rag was going to blow my balls off with a camping stove. I wasn’t looking forward to the expensively booked headliner, who didn’t know nor care where they’d rolled up to today on their globetrotting tour. I was attempting to fight sleep deprivation at the hands of the greatest wits of our time - teenage boys who have learnt how to shout the word ‘bollocks’. And then there are the ones with the enforced wackiness.

Fancy dress. What kind of bawdy, flap-mouthed codpiece wants to spend their weekend living in a trench dressed as a wizard? If we ignore Glastonbury, nobody you’d want to be stuck in a field with. But there you are, on the set of Mr Tumble’s Game Of Thrones, and even your best mate is trying to convince you they’re not in fact a towering bell-end, but a creative take on a hippogriff. Nobody actually enjoys festivals. How could you? They’re not fun. They’re not what ‘the summer is all about’. That’s beer gardens, knotted hankies and Andy bloody Murray’s failure to get to the final weekend of Wimbledon.

This year is worse than most. Have you seen the line ups? Kasabian are headlining Reading. Kasabian. That’ll be good, if by good we mean only mildly preferably to sticking hot pokers in our lug holes and attempting to reach the real world by going scuba diving in a porta-crapper. That’s not to unfairly criticise the last big rock event of the summer. Compared to V Festival it’s utopia. There you’ll be able to ‘enjoy’ such delights as Professor Green, Newton Faulkner, Dappy and Olly Murs. Oh, and Dodgy. Because of course we’ve not heard ‘Staying Out For The Bastard Summer’ enough already. But then we all know full well that, despite all of this, I’ll find myself at a festival again this year, and probably more than once. There’s always the chance of missing something amazing - the kind of experience we’ll be talking about for years to come. At the end of it all, I’m almost certainly the biggest tosser of them all.