July 14 by isha shah

plus

issue 14 july 2016

camden rocks black foxxes counting days rough hands doe, and loads more

petrol girls "We need to build our own counterculture"

A NOTE FROM THE TEAM Festival season is just reaching it’s peak, and 2000 Trees is literally just around the corner. We’ve got a sweet little preview of Cheltenham’s most organic and beautiful festival on page 20. If you missed Camden Rocks last month, then don’t worry because we’ve got the whole thing covered for you, also featuring interviews with Young Guns, Counting Days and newbies Black Foxxes (you can find out why they have two X’s). Returning because we have so much love to give, we play a special tribute to Brand New as they recently hinted their inevitable breakup, you can catch that on page 36. If there is one cover interview you have to read, it’s Julys. We grabbed Ren Aldridge from Petrol Girls right before her birthday show at DIY space for London to talk about all things punk rock! Talking about serious, controversial things doesn’t have to be daunting, as Aldridge is now given a very high platform which we could all take notes from. And if you still want to read more about some of the UK’s fiery acts, then Doe are just on page 46 to save you, with a whole load of puns about what their name means.

Editor & Art Director: Isha Shah Features: Josh Jones Sub-Editors: Charys Newton, Natalie Webb, Amy Jones Contributors: Isha Shah, Arriana Corr, Ashwin Bhandari, Mark McConville, Alma Rdgl, Dominic Bevis, Megan McMillian, Courtney O’Flaherty, Josh Jones, Jack Webb, Natalie Webb,

Emily Gunn

Photographers: Isha Shah, Elliot McRae, Ryan Dalton Rodrigues, Ant Adams, Jess Walker, Sam Shapiro, Corinne Cumming, Olly Hanks, Calum McMillan

contents Highlights of the month news priyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s twitter highlights uprooted Grinds my gears Montroze are going to canada 2000 trees festival preview stop abusing your power behind the lens- cornie cunningham camden rocks review cr: black foxxes Q&A cr: counting days q&a cr: young guns Q&A why we love: brand new petrol girls interview behind the lens- Olly hanks interview with doe behind the lens- Calum McMillan album reviews ep reviews live reviews

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH Integrity’s Debut, Those Who Fear Tomorrow 25th Anniversary Re-Release On August 5th .

news

Oxygen Thief Release “You Are Welcome Here” T-Shirts In Wake Of Brexit. Harm Wulf (Solo Project Of Blacklisted) Announce New Album, Hijrah On August 26th. Stuck Mojo Release New Material In 9 Years. Taking Back Sunday Announce New Album, Tidal Wave Via Hopless Records September 16th. Apologies, I Have None Offer Free Download Of New Single, ‘Love & Medication’. Yellowcard Announce Split And World Tour. Uk In December 2016. Less Than Jake Announce October Uk Tour. Every Time I Die Announce New Album, Low Teens Vica Epitaph September 23rd. Amvition Records Website Is Open. Touche Amore Return With A New Album, Stage Four Via Epitaph Records September 16th. Muncie Girls Round 2016 Of With A UK Tour. Drawstring re-released their debut EP, One on cassette via Beth Shalom Records

The EU re will aff music in

eferendum fect our ndustry

Without a doubt one of the biggest changes in the last 50 years of our country has been our swift departure of being a part of the European Union. Given the evermore restrictions of individuals being able to visit the UK, the main factor seems to be that our homegrown bands will now have to apply for visas to individual countries for European tours, as will mainland Euro based bands to come over here. Therefore even big festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds and Bestival are likely to have less international acts coming over, and a greater chance of some washed up Britpop act being a headliner, which we all know is probably a really bad idea. While this may not seem like a big deal to fans of these bands or people who are not involved with the strenuous organization of tours, the potential rejection of Visas from these countries for whatever reason and the time it takes to set up an application to each stop means that bands could potentially have to cancel tour dates along the way. This will particularly affect young musicians who may not have a steady source of income to fund the increase in costs for flights. The drastic drop in the value of the pound sterling to 7% against the euro also means that bands and music labels will lose out on profits, or even being able to break even with the selling of merchandise and records. Pressing plants in mainland Europe such as GZ Vinyl in the Czech Republic, Krakatoa Records in Spain and Vinyl Manufacture in Germany will potentially face an increase in cost to make and distribute physical music if new trade policies are introduced. Despite the fact that there has been a resurgence of vinyl sales in the last 5-10 years, Brexit also means that there is likely to be an even higher cost in import tax for buying records overseas. There is also a counter argument at hand that EU copyright directive which affects the PRS (performance rights organization) has restricted artists from receiving no more than 40% in royalties, therefore in the long run our departure from the EU means that artists could now be getting the profits they deserve from their music. Despite many of these issues having not taken effect as of yet, the cons greatly outweigh the pros of the music industry as a result of this referendum. The EU gives ÂŁ1 Billion to the creative industries, which includes the UK arts funding, and while funds may be set up for bands to tour the EU through big UK based labels, the massive short-term implications of Brexit will be felt for a long time before things start to recover. However, at least we can probably guarantee that with all this political discourse and discontent occurring right now, there will be some great angry punk records released in response to all this. Words by Ashwin Bhandari

The deadliest mass shooting in American history was a queerphobic hate crime during Pride month Every year at the end of June, for one weekend, the LGBT+ and overall Queer community celebrates Pride at public events all over the world ; but the entire month of June is Pride month for our community. Which is why, sadly, the symbolism Orlando shooting goes beyond just a regular mass shooting — which, in itself, is already terrifying — ; this is what mainstream media chose to ignore in their coverage, focusing instead on picking apart the shooter’s life. But don’t be fooled by how our heteronormative society tries to spin this : this was a hate crime. The deadliest mass shooting in American history was a queerphobic hate crime during Pride month. Of course support came pouring in from everyone: I’ve seen enough “thoughts and prayers” for my community in the past couple weeks to last me about three lifetimes; but now everything has (sort of) calmed down, what’s going to happen? What will the aftermath be? For the survivors and the victims’ relatives, it’s going to be a long road to recovery. And in a way, even if the rest of the community didn’t go through this scarring event firsthand, recovery won’t be easy for everyone else either. We grow up in a society that, amongst other patriarchy-fuelled lies, tells us one thing: “you will never fit in”. We grow up not seeing much representation in mainstream media, especially when we’re very young. Best case scenario, we grow up being lost as fuck or ignoring our identities until we find the internet or some other kind of media where we catch a glimpse of someone and think ‘wow, they’re just like me!’ and start recognising our experience as real and valid; worst case scenario, we grow up and heteronormativity gets the better of us, making us keep our identities buried six feet under, and aren’t accepted by our families. All of this is heavy; and even if your parents don’t reject you, even if you’re lucky to have safe spaces, the ghost of society’s latent tendency to make you feel like you’re ‘not the norm’ will always float around you. So when you’ve finally put together a safe space for yourself, a safe circle where you can just be yourself, getting that ripped away from you with events like these is violent. Anyone who’s part of a widely marginalised group can agree: knowing there are people who want you dead because of your identity, something you were born with and didn’t choose, is even more violent. This is where Queer artists come in: often, after a tragedy, we find comfort and catharsis in art, and a lot of the time that art is music. Three of those came along in the week that followed the Orlando shooting: first, self-described queercore duo PWR BTTM started adding a meaningful cover of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ to their set, which took even more meaning when their tour reached Orlando. Then the bandcamp compilation Forever Beautiful: A Collection Of Love For Orlando, with all the proceeds going to the community fund for the victims and their families was put together: artists among the likes of Sorority Noise, The Hotelier, Taking Back Sunday and Bad Religion donated tracks, including unreleased demos and B-sides. And last but not least, G.LO.S.S. dropped a surprise new EP, Trans Day Of Revenge , which could not have been more timely if they tried. From my own selfish perspective, peak catharsis was reached when the latter happened: hardcore in general will always have a place for you when you’re disillusioned, angry, lost, or all of the above, but G.LO.S.S.’ Queer anger is all that times a hundred for people like me. And for LGBT+ artists the question is the same as exposed earlier. Now, after the horror, what? Well the answer is daunting and maybe easier said than done, but to quote G.LO.S.S. : “They told us to die, but we chose to live”; more Queer music will be written and offer shelter to disillusioned kids, whether it’s through Pop with an edge like PWR BTTM or Seafoal, or through heavier music like Senses Fail and Against Me!. This scene can’t afford to give up right now and it won’t; 2016 has also seen amazing moments for the community, like Laura Jane Grace burning her birth certificate and effectively saying goodbye to gender, and in that same vein, the ‘Gender Is Over’ campaign spreading; and despite the fear, Pride was celebrated last weekend. Queer is invincible, whether you like it or not. Words by Alma Rdgl.

Photo by: Isha Shah

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Priyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Twitter Highlights

o r p u

: G N I r R r U u T f A d FE n a , s e i m e n E f o t s e B , r e v o lay 10Photo by: Isha Shah

d e t o o 11

top song: ‘Doormat’ & ‘Lessons I Wish I’d Never Had To Learn’

bad sign

layover layover 2015- Present

Vocals - Luke Rainsford Guitar/Vocals - Jack Thomas Bass - Dominic Cattell Drums - Brad Fisher Punk from Wolverhampton with no room for superficialities. By the end of their song, ‘Lessons I Wish I’d Never Had To Learn’, at Coast to Coast’s release show at The Rainbow in Birmingham (Sunday 24th April), it turns out Luke Rainsford (vocals) hardly needs to be present, while row upon row are making the line “You’re in the back of my head again…” their own as it echoes around the tunnel of this characteristically charming club. “Time for a curveball,” Rainsford soon announces as they begin the first song they ever released, ‘Doormat’, which they usually save for last, with the bitter line: “You wouldn’t learn respect, if it was shoved right down your throat,” which has everyone singing along.

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This is from their debut EP, What Little We Have Left (September 2015, available on Bandcamp and YouTube) and features their t-shirt famous line, “Do you think I like being so damn negative all the time?” and to the point relatable angst that speaks out with “I’m not your fucking doormat, why can’t you fucking see that?” The courageously charming and brutally honest punk band have played many venues in the West Midlands over the past year including shows with Bristol’s Tuskens and the Pop Punk Takeover Tour with Fox Record’s Coast to Coast and Better Than Never. ‘Pigments’ is the band’s first single from their upcoming EP Clarity and is available now on YouTube. Words by Arriana Corr Find them on Bandcamp: http://layoveruk.bandcamp.com/ YouTube: Layover Band Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LayoverUK Twitter: http://twitter.com/LayoverUK

furr top song: The Sharp Kid’ – The only single you can currently catch online, Furr have gone all out to make sure that it’s the best. Filled with a Weezer style riff, the track gives you an instant kick in the back with it’s rugged start and addictive chorus that flows so easily with the track. Furr don’t just stop there with surprises, but are constantly adding and throwing harmonised utterances to the sharp in your face attitude they throw.

2016- present Jack Byrne - Vocals/Guitar Sam Jackson -Backing Vocals/Guitar Guy Read -Bass John Roberts -Drums Undeciding on the bands name and sound, Furr formed earlier this year, made up of four very good friends. “We were originally going to be called Humans As Ornaments, but have you ever tried to get someone to remember that? It fucking sucks. So Furr, double R,” the bands tells us. The unsigned Leeds alternative rock band draw close comparisons to Dinosaur Pile Up, Queens of the Stone Age, Weezer and Foo Fighters, but a resent anything to do with Radiohead. When it comes to their lyrical influences, a large chunk is dedicated to Andy Hull (Manchester Orchestra), Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) and Jesse Lac-

ey (Brand New). While these musicians are great examples, Furr are a current band and sing about what’s happening in their own lives right now, or interests for lyrical content, especially sincere occurrences. With only one song out right now, ‘Think Sharp Kid’ has already had radio time with Huw Stephens on Radio 1, as well as been featured on Classic Rock on their track of the week next to the legendary Iggy Pop. Furr have three more songs to be released throughout the summer, so get ready for more hard-hitting rock hits. As well as heading back to the studio to record a few more, a few EP’s are looking bright for Furr, the band are probably going to be playing a local venue near you, so make sure you catch them when they’re around. Finally we asked the band to sum themselves up in just three words; they came up with, “Loud. Catchy. Coffee.” Words by Isha Shah

Best of of Best 2014- present Sam Christmas - Vocals & Guitar Ben Sapsford - Guitar Christian Kally-Gallimore - Bass Simon Roberts -Drums Like most UK bands who emerge from the scene with such a strong aura, Best of Enemies, hailing from Corydon are another delightful quartet that we are blessed to have blossomed.

ready to explode with each breath they take. Exploring personal stories which the band hold so deep to their hearts is all they want to share. “Telling your own story does put you in a vulnerable position, but it’s an important one I think.” It’s clear from their EP that this four-piece are resurrecting a very dear voice of Deaf Havana, as well as the fresh sound of Fatherson. It’s been a while since the UK had a band who can manage to capture an specific essence of our childhood or adulthood life, without shaming their influential star.

Luckily for us, Best of Enemies have a brand new EP titled Sorry State, which was recorded at Stakeout Studios and produced by Jason Wilson. These four spectacular tracks were brought to life by Wilson, according to the band, “he was great with the drum arrangements and really made the songs sound so much bigger!”

The guys are currently getting stuck into writing more material, whether that will be for an EP or an LP, who knows? But it’s certain that they’re going to produce something of great quality, following Sorry State. “We have a few ideas floating around and we’re really trying to re-evaluate our sound and make music we all like, so it’ll probably be something similar to a Westlife tribute act. (Hopefully not)”

When it comes to putting words onto paper, Best of Enemies voice comes right from the heart, with honest meaning and passion,

Words by Isha Shah

Photos by: Bair Media

Enemies Enemies top song: ‘sorry state’’ – From the very first point of contact, you are hit with a ray of sunshine, followed by laughter from a familiar voice on a warm summer day. Vocally shivers run down your spine in a way that makes you feel young and free again, for just a short moment you anywhere but the cramp corner of your bedroom.

what grinds my gears Stop Being Hypocritical Towards People’s Identities It’s no secret that Alternative music scenes, just like the world in general, are mostly made up of Straight people — well, they’re given more visibility than their LGBT+ counterparts. Now why is that, you ask? Well, because heteronormativity is a harmful, disgusting systemic scheme, but that’s another piece entirely. Who we’re talking about here is a very restricted pool of artists; out LGBT+ musicians are few and far between. Maybe a straight and cisgender person won’t notice as much because everything already caters to them and makes them feel represented in one way or another ; but for people who don’t fit that category, it’s much harder to find representation anywhere. The one thing I really, really have a problem with, though, is straight people’s opinion on these very few artists who don’t cater to their existence. It’s widely known that the most important rule on the Internet is “whatever you do, don’t read the comments”, but sometimes you can’t help but stumble upon stupid stuff, can you? Witnessing a debate about the wonderful duo that is PWR BTTM’s gender identities is crazy, both in the sense that, for a start, total strangers don’t have a say in a person’s identity, and because of how hypocritical that debate is: most straight people don’t care

about us until something doesn’t cater to them. And in a way, it does suck that you can’t relate to their songs ; but good news : the rest of society caters to you, and a quick Spotify search will probably bring you songs written by a straight dude singing about his girlfriend — a privilege that a lot of people don’t have. In light of recent events in Orlando, a lot of sympathy was shared everywhere, but sometimes you can’t help but wonder: are these the same people who moan when a band’s identity is completely different from theirs? Are these the same people who basically call actual human beings’ way of being themselves ‘a bit much’ and wonder if it’s a marketing ploy when a band is gaining success for empowering other people than them? Overall, the problem remains the same; no matter how good their intentions are, people have trouble accepting that sometimes, something just isn’t for them — they also seem to have trouble realising that the world is made up of different identities and different experiences, and they are not the default. We may evolve in an apparently “progressive” environment in our scenes, but there’s still work to be done if truly want to live up to the claim that music doesn’t discriminate. Words : Alma Rdgl

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Photo by: Isha Shah

montroze are go

Bristol pop punkers Montroze are heading out on their biggest tour to date. We grabbed vocalist Jason Bishop, bassist Ben Curd and drummer Jake Matthews for a chat before they fly out about how the hell they pulled this off.

So you’ve been a band for four years now. When you first started where were the places you dreamt of playing? JB: We would have just been happy playing outside of our local town! (So pop punk) JM: My dream has always been to play on the festival circuit, oh and Australia!

This is your biggest tour to date! Who’s support and why? JB: Our dudes in Coming Out Swinging! They came over from Canada back in November to tour with us here, and now it’s the return leg of that. They’re helping us out so much and all credit goes to

them for this really. Alongside that, there’s a bunch of local Canadian bands that we’re really looking forward to meeting and playing shows with. Oh, and a festival with Seaway!

You’re basically a DIY band, so doing this tour off your own back is pretty impressive. What made you want to go for it, and how are you able to fund it? JB: Well, I pretty much sold my life away (by that I mean my TV, PlayStation, all of that crap. It hurt.) But apart from that we knew we weren’t going to have a chance like this again so we just had to make sure that we forced it to happen no matter what! BC: Yeah, it hasn’t been easy but we’ve got Coming Out Swinging to thank for giving us this opportunity.

Do you think more bands need to break out from JUST touring the UK and take a risk like

oing to

canada!

you’ve done? JM: Fuck yeah! If you’ve got an opportunity then do it! JB: For sure. I appreciate it’s a lot easier said than done, but it is possible! I know there’s a strong chance we’ll never get any bigger than we are now, but my goal has always been to travel around the world playing music, so when this even had a 1% possibility of happening, we really pushed to make it happen. So, where’s the next big location for a tour? JB: Haha! Wherever you don’t have to pay for stupidly expensive visas! We’ll take it one tour at a time, but why not aim for global domination, ey? (Getting in the swing of Canadian lingo) JM: Wherever people want us! Give the people what they want!

an album. We’ve started writing already, and we’re super excited to really push ourselves and come out with a cracking record. What are five things you’re most looking forward to doing/seeing once you’re in Canada? JM: Everything! Mainly the sizes of their food portions! Also the scenery, take photos, meet cool people and jump off bridges into water. JB: Yeah, I can’t even put it down to five things because I don’t know what to expect! It’ll be completely new for me; I’m stoked to just experience it all. But most of all, we’re most looking forward to seeing our pals Nic and Shane of Coming Out Swinging again!

One thing you have to take everywhere you go?

What can we expect from you after Canada?

JB: Ourselves.. JM: Jason.

JB: We’re dropping a new song just before we go so people don’t forget about us, but after that the plan is to hide away and record

Interviewed by Isha Shah

w e i v e r p

The multi-award winning music festival, 2000 Trees, offers a lot more than just a beautiful acre of Cheltenham’s woodlands. The 5,000 capacity event has been running for eight years now with show stopping acts such as Frank Turner, Alkaline Trio, Band of Skulls, Deaf Havana and many more treasured bands. 2016 brings a whole heap of chaos with Refused, Twin Atlantic and While She Sleeps. We’ve been attending this festival for the past two years now, and 200 Trees is definitely an all time favourite. The festival itself offers a whole lot more than loud raging music, with spectacular scenery, detailed production and design, and friendly staff who add to the chilled out and relaxed vibe. The early Thursday offers just a snippet of what’s to come with Grumble Bee, Max Raptor, locals Milk Teeth and headliners The Bronx. Then the real highlights are scattered between the Friday and Saturday of the festival, where the line up differs from pop punk with Neck Deep and Trash Boat, to indie rock with The Magic Gang and Happy Accidents, to alternative rock with Mallory Knox and Augustines, and finally to the heavier side with Refused, Zoax and Blood Youth. While the festival is only two nights of camping, you can pack up and go home however early or late you want on a Sunday, so it really is a win/win.

MUST SEE

While there are a bunch of bands I’m sure we’ve all heard of and love seeing countless times, 2000 Trees offers a great deal of hidden talent which you may not be familiar with. So here are out top three recommendations of who to catch.

Happy Accidents This happy indie pop trio are bursting with vibrant colours that will certainly put you in a dancing mood, and what better place to catch them that at The Croft stage on the Friday of 2000 Trees? With a brand new record to explore, the three-piece have a solid set of upbeat, fun-loving bangers you can sing along to with your mates.

Muncie Girls Another equally lively trio is Muncie Girls from Exeter, who bring a whole herd of punk rock noise. Playing alongside Beach Slang, Such Gold, and The Smith Street Band, this three-piece have also just completed sets at both Download festival and The Great Escape. Make sure you catch these rockers on the Friday at The Axiom stage!

Puppy There must be something with trios this year, because we welcome yet another three-piece delight, Puppy, to their first appearance at this festival. Relatively new to the scene, the one year old band have released a short four track EP filled with alternative metal racket. Puppy are not your typical heavy metal band with an EP that says otherwise, they are on the verge of doing something that the UK metal scene really desires. As well as those three it’s definitely worth checking out Creeper, Zoax, Basement, Black Honey, Yuck, Black Foxxes, Moose Blood, Press To Meco and Waco. Words by Isha Shah

abusing your power! A recent matter that’s become a hot talking point is that of bands and musicians abusing their power in relation to their own fans. Many people will be familiar with one of the most recent discussions of this, in regards to the allegations against Front Porch Step, which subsequently caused Jake Mcelfresh to go on a yearlong hiatus, however recently he has returned to the public eye with his new single ‘Help Me to Hurt’ and a much more spiritual angle in terms of his Christianity, and arguably his search of redemption. The real question here is whether as an audience we should allow such figures this redemption and to re-enter the music scene without any repercussions. This is incredibly important a topic that must be addressed due to how commonplace these stories of manipulating young fans have become. This isn’t to suggest however that the sudden surge in such allegations necessary make them false, as you only have to think back to the case of Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins to see how easily unbelievable rumours can manifest into the unthinkable truth. Despite this whenever such accusations occur fan bases are often quick to run to the defence of the artists under attack, such as when this happened with members of the band Neck Deep, as fans began creating a multitude of hashtags protesting the innocence of people that the majority will have never met. This isn’t to suggest guilt however, but simply to suggest that judgement should best be left to the appropriate authorities instead of silencing the voices of potential victims due to reasoning such as “they once replied to my Tweet - therefore they’re too nice to commit such a heinous act”. In these situations it is very easy to forget that public persona is simply a façade, but in truth it is just that, a mask constructed by PR to make them

Photo by: Isha Shah

intentionally seem likeable and trusting, which in turn is likely why this happens so easily. This leads on to the topic of victim blaming as it’s become a staple of such situations to point out how they ‘led on’ or provoked such attention, but in truth if you were a young and impressionable fan of a band and then a member approached you then of course you’d be overjoyed. It’s naïve to assume that anything else would happen seeing as almost everyone would feel flattered if at a young age their favourite band paid them such personal attention, despite having worldwide acclaim, success and often a myriad of choice in terms of people their own age to surround themselves with, yet still they picked you. This is why it’s so important that we then stop pointing fingers at victims for inciting such a situation or giving ‘faux consent’ and instead ensure that they never occur. In order to protect young fans music scenes need to start policing themselves in a sense via boycotting or simply not booking any individual that fits the profile of being a threat to young concert goers, as it must be ensured that they have safe spaces. If this means removing a band from a line-up because they’re known for predatory behaviour, then as inconvenient as that may be for their die-hard fans, too bad. It’s not until actual repercussions are in place for such actions that they will finally stop. Until then though, we must keep discussions and awareness going in order to keep such scenes safe – if then any allegations of abuse of power are untrue then they will be proven as such through the proper channels, but until then it’s imperative for everyone to converse, share experiences and don’t let the conversation die. Words by Courtney O’Flaherty

Hi! I’m Corinne Cumming, better known as Captured by Corinne. I’m a full-time self-employed freelance photographer based in London. When I was 14, my mum and dad bought me a really crappy point and shoot for my birthday, and through it discovered I had an eye for a good photo. At 16 they got me a Nikon bridge camera and I went along to hardcore shows at Boston Music Rooms, and when I was 17, I bought a Canon 1100d and started trying to learn how to use a DSLR. My current set up is a 5Diii, 24-70 f2.8, 16-35 f2.8, 70-200 f4 and a 5Dii as a second body. I do live music photography because every day is different, and even if you shoot the same band every day for a week, each and every shoot will be different and that’s what is so special about this kind of work. Outside of music photography, I also shoot drag and burlesque live shows. In some ways I enjoy those even more than music photography because it’s so different, creative and visually stunning, but it’s always nice to come back to music photography. My favourite venue to photograph is definitely Brixton; the lighting is generally pretty good and the size of the stage can give some really good wide shots. I don’t have a favourite band to photograph, I love my job so much that every show I shoot, I love doing it. The perfect set up for a live show would be an energetic band, lighting that isn’t all from behind and isn’t bright red or blue and something to fix the background. Negative space can work well but on a big stage it can be monotonous when looking at the photos.

behind the lens

I think my main goal would be to get on a few tours and see if I can make photography viable in the long term. I currently earn enough from my photography alone that I came straight out of uni in to full-time self-employment, but if one day I want to own a home and have a family, I need to be sure that I could support that dream.

Corinne Cumming I’ve been on the receiving end of sexism a fair amount. In a male dominated industry it is really tough to get taken seriously and I think you have to work harder to prove yourself as a female. Saying that though, more and more females are smashing the game, and I am very proud to work alongside people like Jenny McCord and Ellie Mitchell. Advice I would give to aspiring photographers is that you don’t have to go to university and study photography, I went and studied geography but spent all of my free time learning and honing my craft. Just put in the hours and you’ll get there.

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Words by Corinne Cumming

Kicking off this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s festival season is Camden Rocks. With over 200 bands performing in 20 venues across Camden, there is sure to be something for every metal and rock fan. While it might be exhausting running from venue to venue at least this festival allows you to keep your wellies and tents at home. As well as being an ideal festival for anyone whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not keen on camping, it also showcases a great variety of talent. Not only is it host to well known bands such as Young Guns and The Cribs, it also allows you to check out new up and comings acts.

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Photo by: Isha Shah

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amaryllis Kicking off this year’s festival season is Camden Rocks. With over 200 bands performing in 20 venues across Camden, there is sure to be something for every metal and rock fan. While it might be exhausting running from venue to venue at least this festival allows you to keep your wellies and tents at home. As well as being an ideal festival for anyone who’s not keen on camping, it also showcases a great variety of talent. Not only is it host to well known bands such as Young Guns and The Cribs, it also allows you to check out new up and comings acts. Starting off at the Barfly (upstairs) is London-based Amaryllis. Vocalist Sante Moonie’s vocals are perfect throughout, reaching amazing soaring highs, her vocals keep you captivated during the entire set. Despite the crowd being sparse to being with Moonie is energetic throughout and engages with the audience, gaining audience participation. She even goes as far to initiate a Slipknot style kneel a jump to get them involved. ‘Drown’ is the highlight of the set, with a catchy chorus that you can’t help but move along to. It hints at an influence of Deftones and Fightstar which really works in their favour. Towards the end of the set, the once empty crowd is now packed and the alternative rock four-piece have succeeded in performing an amazing set.

bad sign A short walk to downstairs and Croydon’s Bad Sign are performing to a packed out crowd. The three-piece are more than just a ‘rock’ band incorporating elements of post-hardcore into their music, alongside a punk attitude. Their heavy riff-filled music is perfect for fans of Black Peaks, Jamie Lenman and Rise Against. Appleford’s vocals are astounding; being able to reach soaring highs, as well as guttural lows, and combining pitch perfect cleans with powerful screams. ‘Unbeliever’ is filled with heavy riffs, soaring vocals and one of the most intense breakdowns you will ever hear. While, the band are hard to pigeon-hole musically, their innovative and unique sound captivated the audience at Camden Rocks.

pretend happy Bringing their unique take on alternative-emo are Pretend Happy. The Barnstaple group play tracks from their debut album Tired Eyes. Vocalist Jack Brown grungey style vocals fit in well with their emo sound especially on ‘Dirt’. The band also incorporate elements of rock with catchy melodies and energetic riffs along side their Moose blood style sound. The trio continue to play through songs from their album including ‘Iced Teeth’ and ‘Turnover’. Despite having only one album under their belt, the emo trio managed to gain attention at The Camden Cavern.

heck Over to the iconic Underword where HECK, formally Baby Godzilla are performing. The place is rammed, unsurprisingly as the four-piece are well known for their energetic and almost dangerous live performances. The most energetic and lively performers you will ever see, Heck certainly know how to connect with their audience, literally as well as metaphorically. Thrashing about on stage and then thrashing about in the crowd, bringing their guitars, and mics with them. The band treat the whole of the underworld as their stage and make sure every single member of the audience knows what they are about, even if they are right at the back. Vocalist Matt Reynolds vocals are powerful throughout, something he manages to maintain even when deep inside the crowd. Guitarist Jonny Hall proves his versatility by thrashing out intense riffs, even while he is also in crowd. This band are unlike anything you would have seen live before and will make you want to keep going back for more, as every performance is different, interesting and thrilling.

palm reader The Bloc Bar is now heaving and ready for British hardcore group, Palm Reader. Vocalist Josh Mckeown vocals are astounding throughout with his harsh, guttural screams conveying the emotions of the lyrics. While most tracks are what you come to expect from hardcore; heavy and loud, the band do slow things down a bit with ‘Black Hand’. Its slow parts show this band are pushing the constraints of hardcore and show their diversity as a band.

Photo by: Isha Shah

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press to meco Following Palm Reader in The Bloc Bar are alternative rock band Press To Meco. Very different in comparison to many of the other acts, particularly as all three members sing. Luke Caley’s, Adam Roffey’s and Lewis Williams’ voices harmonize well, particularly on ‘Family Ties’. Their unconventional and unpredictable style, paired with heavier music elements and extremely clean, smooth vocals is unique and exciting to hear. The Crawley trio manage to get the right combination of heaviness, grove and melody into their sound, especially with tracks ‘Honestly’ and ‘Affinity’. Their interaction with the crowd also makes the set far more entertaining, especially when they start off a ‘monkey’ circle pit which helped to make them the stand out set of the day. Words by Chloe Rose Eaton

the cribs Returning for the fifth year, there are no better headliners to leave the Electric Ballroom with than The Cribs. With a band who has such a strong back catalogue, you would expect the band to start the stage off with some new material, however The Cribs opt for their 2007, ‘Our Bovine Public’. At this point, not a word is spoken, no introductions are needed, the only voices heard are the constant screams from the crowd, showing their excitement through waving hands and reciting back every single lyric. Gary Jarman now grabs hold of the microphone shouting “CAMDEN ROCKS, HOW WE DOING?” The slightly overdone introduction doesn’t seem to bother the crowd as ‘Come On, Be a No-One’ and ‘Hey Scenesters!’ take their place in the bands set. With various other options to close your night with, the venue is now packed to the brim with expressions of all happiness, as The Cribs seem to entertain the crowd without having to say much. As the band sway their limp bodies around the stage, we steady ourselves for the two main songs that everyone really came down here to see. ‘I’m A Realist’ and ‘Men’s Needs’. If there’s one thing that a headliner needs, it’s to leave the crowd feeling entirely fulfilled, and this is exactly what The Cribs has provided, a room filled of excitable faces who have seen one of their favourite bands live play a solid set wrapping up this years Camden Rocks 2016. Words by Isha Shah

30 Photo by: Isha Shah

cused, it’s much more honest - and we weren’t really trying to sound like anything else. Which on the EP… When you start a band you want to sound like Brand New or something… Which is why everyone starts a band. This is a lot more us. YOU GOT DANIEL P. CARTER TO DO THE ARTWORK, HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT, HOW DID YOU GET HIM TO DO THE ARTWORK? Mark: He told us he was doing it. Ant: I don’t know where the idea came from though…? Mark: I think it was a bit of back and forth actually between the two of us, with concept idea. And you know, we said we’d go with Dan and see what comes out and he nailed it. So that was that really. It’s amazing that we got Dan on board with the team though; he’s a phenomenal artist. So yeah, it was cool. Ant: There’s been a lot of feedback from it as well, I mean, a lot of people on social media and stuff saying how much they like it and stuff. Which is quite of cool. Because if we put some artwork out and people are like, ‘Ah yeah…’ So it’s good that it’s… I wouldn’t say it was controversial… Mark: It’s a strong image. Ant: Yeah, it’s definitely a talking point at the same time. So that in itself is good to build hype leading up to it, in a way.

black foxxes After just arriving at Camden Rocks fest, we grab Mark Holley, Tristan Jane, and Ant Thornton for a little chat about the festival and what Black Foxxes are up to in 2016. HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT PLAYING CAMDEN ROCKS FEST? Mark: To be honest, this is the first I’ve heard of Camden Rocks. I’m ashamed to say. It should be good. YOU’VE JUST PLAYED RADIO 1’S BIG WEEKEND, HOW WAS THAT COMPARED TO SMALLER FESTIVALS? Mark: It was a bit weird really, because it was kind of like a pop festival. It was the first time we’ve ever played a show that was filmed and broadcast live, so there was that in the back of our minds as well. I think we prefer doing the smaller festivals to be perfectly honest, they suit our music more… So, yeah, we’re looking forward to today it should be good. YOUR ALBUM’S COMING OUT IN AUGUST, WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM IT? Ant: There are characteristics of the EP, but it’s definitely progressed onto… Mark: It’s more natural. We wrote that EP really quickly as a band, it only took a few months. Trist joined kind of late on. So this is much more fo-

Photo by: Isha Shah

DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IMAGE? Mark: We came up with the kid. Ant: I think we wanted like a portrait of sorts. Mark: But he added the colour and the twist and obviously just made it his own piece. There were loads of people that tweeted us saying, ‘Is that Danny P. Carter?’ Like straight away, because it’s got his mark on it. So he was perfect for it really. YOU’RE PLAYING A FEW FESTIVALS THIS YEAR, WHICH ONE ARE YOU MOST EXCITED FOR? Ant: That’s a no brainer isn’t it? Trist: Probably Reading festival. Because it’s massive, for us. We kind of just leap frogged the Festival Republic, which seems a bit unnatural. But yeah, to open for a stage that large is going to be great. Mark: And probably Bright Fest in Chicago? WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO TOUR WITH OR PLAY WITH? Trist: David Bowie would be good. Mark: I think Neil Young would be good but he’d hate us and that would break my heart. Trist: He wouldn’t give you the time of day. I think someone like Biffy Clyro would be a lot of fun. You’d have a lot of fun on that tour. Mark: We’ll go with Biffy and David Bowie. WHAT ARTISTS AND ACTS DO YOU LISTEN TO YOURSELVES OR TAKE INSPIRATION FROM? Mark: I think we’re all quite eclectic aren’t we. We were just listening to Trist’s country CD on the way up. Trist: Yeah, my dad makes country music compilations. We listened to that on the way up. Mark: It’s so cheesy. We listen to kind of everything. Our love for Alt-Rock is what brought us together. You listen to quieter stuff in general, I think? Trist: Yeah, more acoustic-y, folk-y, Americana kind of stuff. WHY ARE THERE TWO X’S IN BLACK FOXXES? Ant: No reason, at all. Trist: I don’t know. I don’t really know. I don’t know how it got that far… It just kinda stuck. And now we’re stuck with it. Interviewed by Chloe Eaton

IF YOU COULD MAKE YOUR OWN SUPER GROUP, WHO WOULD BE IN IT? Tom: Probably just Counting Days. Charlie: Yeah, all the best members. Curtis: Thom Debaere, Curtis Ward, Charlie Wilson, Alex Dench and Chris Adams. YOU FORMED A BAND THAT WAS SIMILAR TO ALL THE BANDS YOU WERE IN, SO WHY DID YOU WANT TO FORM COUNTING DAYS? Tom: I probably like to think it’s not too similar. It’s more metal than the past. Curtis: I think we kind of wanted to do something more metal, and working with the people we’re working with, it just run its course. Charlie: And we’d all met each other on tours and stuff, so we knew each other and knew about each other. Curtis: It was just a side project, at first and then it kind of just took over. Charlie: Kind of like the way the cookie crumbled, I suppose. WOULD YOU SAY SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NEW BANDS IS MORE IMPORTANT TO BE ACTIVE? Curtis: I mean we just retweet what people say about us. One, because it’s nice… Tom: Only the nice stuff though, we ignore the bad stuff. Curtis: Yeah, we ignore the bad stuff. Charlie: I don’t see any band stuff. Tom: We don’t really get any hate. Curtis: I just know that whenever I tweet a band and they favourite it and retweet it, I know it feels good. So we just like to do that. Charlie: It’s good to engage with people, yeah. Curtis: If they’re kind enough to tweet us and say they like us, then it’s the least we can do. Charlie: I think social media is important than ever. You’ve really gotta be engaged with the people out there. DO YOU PREFER THE WEEKEND FESTIVALS TO THE ONE-DAY ONES LIKE CAMDEN ROCKS? Curtis: Well, it’s more fun to attend, because there’s more of it. But I get to go home tonight. Whereas, with Download I’m in a tent for three days. Which is fun, but…it’s just different, it’s a different vibe. Tom: Download’s nice. It’s nice to play on the Friday as well, so we get our set done and hopefully it goes really well and then we can relax and have fun for the rest of the weekend and watch other bands. YOU JUST PLAYED A FEW SHOWS WITH ARCHITECTS, WHICH IS PRETTY MASSIVE, HOW WAS RECEPTION FOR YOU GUYS? Charlie: Yeah, it was good. I don’t think many people knew who we were. But that’s kind of what you want with a support show. Tom: But they did afterwards. That’s the point. Curtis: After we’d been playing with Coldrain for two weeks, we had fun. Tom: Yeah, we had just come off a softer tour, so to play with a harder band was a lot of fun. And we’ve had people come up to us today and say, ‘Hey, we saw you at Architects…’ So it was worthwhile, definitely. BEING A METAL BAND, DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE UK METAL SCENE IS STRONG AT THE MOMENT? Curtis: We’re too old. I mean personally I’d rather just play with everyone and anyone, I’m not that fussed about scenes really they’re normally just a waste of time. I think there are too many bands out there doing

counting days

3 of the five members of counting days, Curtis Ward, Charlie Wilson, and Thom Debaere gave us a litle insight to how they appeared in the london metro, and gave us some twiter famous advise. what we’re doing at the moment. Tom: I think the UK needs more flat out heavy metal bands. Curtis: I don’t feel like we have a scene we’ve got a scene to go play to. There’s not really a metalcore scene. Tom: Hopefully we can grow one. YOU RELEASED YOUR ALBUM LAST YEAR. HAVE YOU GOT ANY PLANS FOR FUTURE EPS OR ARE YOU GOING TO RELEASE ANOTHER ALBUM? Charlie: Yeah, we’ve got a tonne of new stuff written, dunno what we will do with it yet though. Probably another record, maybe an EP. Charlie: Probably gonna get dropped I think. Tom: Yeah, we’re writing and we want to put out new music. So, hopefully, yeah. you were in the london metro right under tyga, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? Charlie: They were just like, handsome bunch. Tom: Normally you can’t move for Metros on the tube, you’re like trip-

ping over them, and then the one day we’re in it, I couldn’t find a single one anywhere. So I don’t even have a copy. COULD YOU GIVE US ANY NEWISH BANDS TO LISTEN TO? Rough Hands, Splitknuckle, Vaheil. Continents, Shields, Create To Inspire, Lock and Key, Employed to Serve, Napoleon. SO IF YOU COULD CHOOSE TWO BANDS TO GO ON TOUR WITH WHO WOULD THEY BE AND WHY? Curtis: Lamb of God and Slipknot because they’re massive. Tom: Yeah, not bad. I’ll go with that. Curtis: Is that a tour package or two separate tours? Tom: Can we play in the middle? NR: You can decide, you can headline! Tom: No we’ll go in the middle, everyone will go home. SUM UP COUNTING DAYS IN THREE WORDS? Charlie: Riffs. Curtis: Very heavy metal. Tom: Amateur.

Photo by: Isha Shah

young guns YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN A BAND FOR A WHILE, SO YOU MUST HAVE LEARNED A LOT OF LIFE LESSONS ALONG THE WAY. S: Well, you say that… When you’re on the road for a long period of time, over the years you learn to deal with each other. It’s kind of hard sometimes, when you’re on the road and in you’re in each other’s space all the time. I would say the one thing would be learning how to deal with everyone, not pissing off everyone else too much kind of thing. J: I feel like I’ve regressed as a human being. You have so many people looking after you and telling you where to go and where to be and you start to rely on them, so when you come off tour and they’re not there, you’re like, what do I do with myself? I guess, try and remain independent and don’t let it get to your head. SINCE YOUR FIRST RELEASE, MIRRORS, AND ALL OUR KINGS ARE DEAD, YOU DON BROCO, DEAF HAVANA AND MALLORY KNOX HAD A FANBASE THAT WOULD GO TO YOUR SHOWS, IT WAS ALL LIKE FAMILY AND FRIENDS BUT THAT KIND OF DIED OUT. DO YOU KNOW WHY NOW THERE’S NOT REALLY BANDS THAT HAVE THAT SORT OF UNITY THESE DAYS? J: I don’t know. I guess with those three bands, including ourselves, we’ve all diversified and tried to do our own thing a little more. So we don’t end up playing shows together that often, so maybe I guess the fanbase has segregated a little bit. S: Maybe segregated, but I still feel like they’re still there. Like with everyone, everyone does their own thing, people change and musical tastes change as well. But I feel like, with recent shows, especially Slam Dunk we did last weekend, it was kind of reaffirming to see all those people that we haven’t seen for ages come to our shows. They were the same people that came to, like you were saying, with Deaf Havana and Don Broco. They’re still there. As people grow up, they’re kind of through growing up so they start up bands or do their own thing. At the same time you get new fans as well. Hopefully the family are still there. ARE THERE FACES YOU REMEMBER FROM YOUR FIRST GIGS? S: Yeah, absolutely, yeah. We’ve had quite a few people, yeah. J: It’s actually quite nice to see. Because we haven’t played the UK in a while, so it’s definitely nice to see those familiar faces.

Photo by: Isha Shah

we grabbed Simon Mitchell and John Taylor for a little CHAT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF YOUNG GUNS, AND HOW THEY’RE STILL KILLING IT! YOUNG GUNS ARE PARTICULARLY KNOWN FOR THEIR FIRST RELEASES. HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT SOME OF YOUR FIRST WORK IS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE AND PROUDEST? John: I think that was a really important time for us, it was the first time that as a band we felt like we had written some decent material. YOUR LATEST ALBUM WAS KIND OF DIFFERENT IN SOUND. IT WAS MORE PIANO-Y AND SYNTH-Y THAN YOUR OTHER STUFF. ARE YOU GOING FOR THAT KIND OF VIBE FOR MORE RELEASES? S: So basically, the past six months, we’ve written an entire new album in New Jersey. I mean we’ve certainly got elements of what we did on 1s and 0s. We’re still using synths here and there. But I think it’s safe to say, we’re kind of leaning more towards some elements of our earlier stuff, like with the guitars. So imagine elements of early Young Guns but in a 2016 style… So, more refined, but kind of just a bit more rock’n’roll really. But I dunno… I felt that 1s and 0s, it certainly was like a little bit of a departure. But it was still like Young Guns music. I think as bands develop and grow, for us to be excited and constantly be interested and inspired, you’re always going to experiment with things because otherwise it’s like a what if. We’re really proud of that album. But I think this new record, has definitely got elements of 1s and 0s and elements of our earlier records. THE BONES ALBUM WAS QUITE ABSTRACT, AND ZEROS AND ONES WAS MORE SIMPLE AND INTERNATIONAL. DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT PICTURE SUMS UP THE ALBUM AND THEMES IN IT? J: Yeah, that particular one – we were really interested in doing a photo art kind of album cover. I remember there were a lot of options floating around. And when we saw that one, we all found it visually really striking. I think it’s more about the astronauts body language and his surroundings and stuff that makes it seem a little desperate almost. S: Kind of isolated wasn’t it? It wasn’t so much the fact that it’s an astronaut, it was

more his body language. J: But it’s the same with our music, every album we try and do something a bit different and I think we’re going to try and do the same thing with the next one. S: I think at that point as well, everything had been illustration up until then. It was the first time we had done a photo idea. SO WHEN IT COMES TO CREATIVITY AND MUSIC VIDEOS, THE ONE THAT STANDS OUT IS ‘YOU OR NOT’ DO YOU HAVE AN INPUT IN YOUR MUSIC VIDEOS? J: Yeah, a little too much I think. It’s a little hard narrowing down the narrative and stuff like that. We like to have an input in everything we do: music videos, artwork, and the songs obviously - we try and get as involved as possible. SO YOU GUYS ARE REALLY ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND INTERACTIVE WITH FANS. DO YOU FEEL LIKE BANDS THESE DAYS NEED TO BE ACTIVE ON TWITTER AND ENGAGING WITH THE FANBASE? S: I think with most bands yeah, I think it’s just the way it’s changed. I think with social media and the way it’s the way it’s gone, people expect to have that interaction these days. I think you can’t help it, so you might as well embrace that change. But for us, it is nice to be able to have that interaction with the fans and for them to directly say to us how they feel about our music or, you know, the show and for us to respond directly. So we’re always on it, talking to fans, whether it’s social media or after a show, you know, we feel that’s really important. A LOT OF FANS HAVE YOUR NAME IN THEIR @ OR AS THEIR NAME ON TWITTER. WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP DID YOU HAVE ANY BANDS YOU DEDICATED YOUR TWITTER TO? J: My emails were always Blink-182 lyrics, I think they were always the band for me - they were kind of my everything growing up. When I was growing up I don’t think twitter existed. It was like MySpace, wasn’t it? J: Emails? S: Emails - yeah, yeah, yeah. So I guess the same sort of thing, just a different formats. DO YOU HAVE ANY SMALL BAND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE SHOULD BE LISTENING TO? J: I think that Black Peaks band we went to see last night. S: Black Peaks, yeah, Black Peaks are awesome. Yeah, because I went to Deftones last night and they were the support band and it was the first time I’ve seen them and I love the record. So yeah, they’re really good. Of course, Creeper – they’re getting the attention they deserve now. A lot of big bands are talking about Creeper now as well. Finally getting some recognition out there. Is there anything else you’ve been listening to? S: There’s quite a few bands actually. Was it Grumble Bee? He’s like the nicest guy, he’s a really really sincere guy and he writes great music. And I hear a lot of great things about that guy. IF YOU COULD JUST SUM UP YOUNG GUNS IN A FEW WORDS? LIKE WHAT YOU FEEL YOUNG GUNS MEANS TO YOU? J: Unfortunately, it’s everything. It is our life, it’s what we do 24/7. S: It’s what we put all our love and passion in for because obviously this is something we want to make our thing. So yeah, absolutely, it’s everything. Interviewed by Isha Shah

why we

love

Brand New After Brand New released some merch branded with “Brand New 2000-2018” we decided to round up our resident diehard Brand New fan to discuss their discography and what makes them so great. Over their four albums Brand New have amassed a large following of sadboys/girls/people who would drop everything in a heartbeat to see them live. Most people grew to love them during their angsty teenage years where hearts were broken and the ignorance bubble burst. To outsiders Brand New are just another band from the early emo era who whine about love and heartbreak. However, what is special about Brand New is that each album coincides with the aging of the band as well as the fans. Yes, they may have started off as your textbook emo band but each album progresses further into darker themes. Fans who have been with Brand New from 2001’s Your Favorite Weapon up until now have lived through every adolescent stage. YFW is all whiny and about young love – the “GET OUT OF MY ROOM, MOM” phase – but it’s what most people go through. Also you can’t help but shout “OR ME” out loud while listening to ‘Mixtape’. Deja Entendu, as Pitchfork put it, “hints at something more substantial than YFW.” Although still skirting around the topic of lost love, Deja is a step up in regards to lyrical themes and content. The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Of Me on the other hand is just the best: unequivocally brilliant and emotionally draining, just what you want from a Brand New record. Personally, I’m a sucker for anything beautiful and sad and TDAG… is exactly that. It has the emo anthem ‘Jesus Christ’ and the heart-wrenching ‘Limousine’, which is about the death of seven-year-old Katie Flynn. The theme of an ever-present evil and the disillusion of innocence is what makes this album resonate most with fans and it’s seen as arguably their best. Moving on to their most recent (if seven years can be deemed “recent”) album, Daisy, and things are a little less emotional. Daisy shows how Brand New don’t always have to churn out sad songs to make a solid, intense album. Jesse Lacey substitutes soft whispers for frantic screams, which gives the band a whole new dynamic. If we’re taking the “2000-2018” merch to heart we only have two more years with the band. Lacey had already hinted before that the band was coming to an end but it’s still a bit of a shock. Brand New are something more than every other rock band. I’m being totally biased right now but I think it’s important to note that I am still biased even after being a fan for seven years. With other bands you can love them intensely for a year or two but then it goes away. However for many others and myself there is still a strong emotional connection. I’m not saying this feeling is exclusive to Brand New as there are other artists/bands that can have the same effect on others, but on a personal level there is always one band or album that will stick with you forever and for me that band is Brand New. Words by Emily Gunn

petrol gir

â&#x20AC;&#x153;when I was younger, I got patroised, sexualized, assaulted, ignored. I just had to shout so loudly for years and years and years and experienced a lot of sexual violence within the community.â&#x20AC;? 40

Photo by: Isha Shah

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After helping build the DIY space for London, and trying to organise a show as well as celebrate her birthday, vocalist Ren Aldridge of Petrol Girls cheerfully greets us into the not so messy van to have a chat about the past few weeks on tour. “I think I just feel completely tour mad by now. Anything longer than a week and I start to lose my mind a bit. It’s been really cool, really good shows. We played in Liverpool yesterday, and that was awesome. It was at somewhere called Liverpool Social Centre, and then we stayed in a massive housing co-op and it was just really lovely,” Aldridge begins. Petrol Girls are about to release an album that they recorded back in March. Without an concrete name, the band do have some work to do before it can be aired, however their excitement towards it promises a fulfilling record. “There’s a single up for pay what you want on our Bandcamp now, it’s called ‘Treading Water’. I’m so excited about this record. I can only speak about it in terms of the vocal end of it but I really pushed myself on this one and I’m really proud of the lyrics. It’s like a whole mush of different ideas, and writing it sorted my head out about so much stuff.” With an EP released earlier this year, the band are fast on their feet when it comes to releases, so there must be a lot of musical influences along the way. “Generally, I’m literally listening to Tracy Chapman on repeat. I get really obsessive. It’s mainly ‘Fast Car’ that’s been my anthem for the past three weeks! But in terms of more DIY bands, I think Gloss are just incredible. They’ve just released something new which I haven’t had a chance to give more than a quick bash through yet. Their first EP is hands down the best EP I’ve ever heard, I listen to it all the time, I think it’s amazing. Autonomads, who we’re playing with tonight, keep consistently putting out some great stuff. And Perkie is one of my best mates and she’s doing some amazing stuff. I can’t wait for her to record some new stuff, I listen to her album so much, like all the time, it’s like the soundtrack to my life. I actually make her record bits of her songs on her phone and send them to me. If she plays them live, I’m like, “Perkie, I need it now!” Then, Screaming Toenail are another one of my total favourites at the moment, they’re a London based band. Their EP blew my mind and watching them live for the first time was incredible. Jacob is the absolute definition of charisma and they quoted Audrey Lord and loads of feminists that I really respect and their lyrics are so spot on. They describe themselves as anti-colonial, queer, sassy punk and just hit the nail on the head again and again and again - and they make these political ideas totally accessible and you can dance to them, and like celebrate. Coming to the end of a great tour with Joliette and Automomads, the band are now ready for a very special birthday show at a venue they’ve helped form. “Me, Zock and Liepa actually helped out with building it a bit, because we used to live just round the corner. I think it’s just really awesome and important to have spaces like DIY Space, like the place we played in Liverpool yesterday, 1 in 12 Club in Bradford, Cowley Club in Brighton, JT-Saw in Nottingham, all these more collectively run social circle type things. It’s kind of more similar to what you see in mainland Europe. I think it brings politics and music closer together because it’s more of a political space. You have more say in how it’s run. It’s not all about profit, it’s more about the actual DIY culture that’s happening there. I think it’s really important when so many places are changing because of gentrification. I get depression sometimes and I was really bad for a bit of tour, and as soon as we were in that space in Liverpool that really felt like a community space - I felt so much better and I do think it has a good effect on people.” Aldridge has always taken on the DIY lifestyle, especially when it comes to Petrol Girls. Like most of their shows, they welcome those who are not as privileged, a free ticket just to go wild for one night to some post-punk hardcore mayhem. “I just think punk rock is for everybody and it should be totally accessible. ‘Refugees are welcome’ is a really common thing to say across the scene but what are the things we can do to make that a more meaningful thing? We played somewhere in Ohm in Germany and half the people were from Gambia and I think there were a load of Kurdish people as well, and it was just really awesome that they had become part of that community already. I think there are quite a lot of assumptions on our part, people are like, ‘They wouldn’t be interested in this,’ this, that and the other... And it’s just like well, just ask people. Everyone’s different; they can make up their own minds. I think it’s good to just give people the option.” With a strong urge for assisting, donations were welcome for a quick vegan snack. Aldridge’s friend Marcella makes all the food they sell at their shows for anyone take a bite at. “People come straight from work, they’re really hungry - it just makes the whole process easier, and when you’re touring and people feed you it’s

Photo by: Ant Adams

“we need to rethink the hierarchy of punk rock.”

the best thing in the world - ever.” These small additions to your standard gig is what the punk rock community needs, and the jump that more and more shows are starting to offer is really looking bright. When it comes to taking a stand and making a change, Aldridge always has the people’s best interests at heart. Recently making a statement about front man Itch from The King Blues, abusing women has rattled a whole load of victims to come forward and speak out about such a taboo subject that we’re taught to keep silent about. “I was very anxious about posting it, but he’d specifically asked for us to support The King Blues, and I’d heard a lot of stuff in the past anyway. I had my own experiences with him as a younger woman, nothing really bad but I know it could have gone in that direction. I know women personally that have been abused by him. I mean, firstly, it was obviously a ‘no’ in terms of supporting him, and I told that to our booking agent. No, who was it? It was our label,

it was Bomber, I was like ‘No, we’re not doing it.’ Then some stuff came online about some more things he’d done and I was like, ‘Actually, do you know what? Fuck this, it has to be more of an outward statement.’ Because I think if you remain silent about these things then you allow it. “There’s such a hierarchy – he’s a man, he’s in a band, he gets a stage and a microphone, loads of people think he’s really cool. Maybe not so much now, but that is so much status, so much power, so much hierarchy that he has abused again and again and again. I think I feel like I really understand this because I’ve been a part of the punk rock community since I was about 14. Now my situation’s really different, because I’m in Petrol Girls, I’m more visible. I get a microphone and I get a stage and that amounts to some sort of power. Whereas when I was younger, I got patronized, sexualized, assaulted, ignored. I just had to shout so loudly for years and years and years and experienced

“I’m basically not living anywhere at the moment, so that I can do the band. It means the absolute world to me. “ a lot of sexual violence within the community. I think that’s the position that a lot of the people who he’s preying upon are in. We just silently lose women from the community all the time. All the time people just don’t know what they can say. They know that if you speak up, that can sometimes be more terrifying and traumatising than what you’ve even been through, depending on how people react to it. I think we’ve just got to be strong as a community and stand up against this kind of behaviour, because it’s ruining people’s lives and he needs to fuck off.” Whilst Aldridge is very brave for taking a stand on such a pressing and serious issue, there are still people and women out there who will continue to support these monsters. They choose to support these men who have and will abuse more and more females, and without a powerful and determined female figure such as Aldridge, there won’t be a voice for those women who have been battled down to say something.

44 Photo by: Ant Adams

“I think we need to rethink the hierarchy of punk rock as a thing. I think firstly we need to acknowledge the hierarchies that are involved – like if you’re in a big band: stages, platforms – all of these kinds of things. There’s a kind of hierarchy of status and things like that, and it sucks and there shouldn’t be a thing and I think we should work on demolishing that itself. Spaces like DIY Space, where they encourage active participation from everybody, I think that’s really important. “Liepa and me are trying to make a zine and a podcast where we as women in a band we talk to people who are putting on shows or have made food or just random people who meet at shows, because their opinions are just as valid. It’s just a massive mess. But I feel like talking about it and starting a conversation is the first step. Bands like The Tuts are great, because they have got a huge fanbase and a lot of those are teenage girls. I think it’s so important to have inspiring role models like that growing up, so that you

learn from a younger age that this kind of stuff is not okay and for young girls to understand that they have power, and they have a voice and that there’s women that will stand up for them as well.” As important as it is to talk about these things and let people know that it’s not okay to abuse women, the mainstream media does not simply allow us to. When the press doesn’t cover these crucial topics or chooses to take the wrong side, it can be a very dangerous thing for the lives of young victims, and victim blaming is one of the leading attacks that the public do when wrongly swayed. “I kind of keep one eye on mainstream press but I think we have to build our own culture. We need to build our own counter culture to the mainstream press because it reinforces hierarchies that allow and justify things like sexual violence, although I would say things are starting to shift, maybe. But the mainstream press is what keeps dominant things like the gender binary and nationalism. That’s what maintains those values. And I really think we can start to undermine and break them through counter culture.”

to support right now more than ever, with such strong morals and political views, they are essential to who you should be listening to, and not just for their loud passionate music. So we have one final question for Aldridge: What does Petrol Girls mean to you? “I dunno. Oh that’s difficult. I just needed it really badly. We’ve been going for three years or something now and I moved my whole life around it. I’m basically not living anywhere at the moment, so that I can do the band. It means the absolute world to me. I find song writing and lyric writing is really important for my mental heath, in a really political way, because I can throw out all these ideas about all these different things that I have so much anger about into something that’s really cathartic. Then I’ll hear my lyrics as if they’re coming from someone else and they start to mean something else. I sound like such an art wanker but it’s just this on-going journey of figuring stuff out, and the platform is incredible. I feel so much safer in the community being more visible and that sucks, I know. I want to do everything I can to change that for other people as well.”

It’s very clear that Petrol Girls are one of the most important bands

Words by Isha Shah

behind the lens

OLLY HANKS BUCKETLIST BANDS: Morrissey, Deftones, Social Distortion, and The Misfits (original line up) Hey I’m Olly Hanks and I am based in Swindon. I shoot mainly punk, hardcore and metal gigs in the South of England but I also like visiting new towns and new venues under my alter ego The Dude Abides Photography. This isn’t my full time career unfortunately; I also have a Monday to Friday nine-to-five.

LA site Punk World Views who took me on and my first photo pass at a show with a barrier was NOFX in Oxford, August 2014. Since then it’s been non-stop and last year did over 40 shows around the UK as well as holding down a full time job. I am now also rostered with Punktastic; both sites I work for are great and supportive!

For years and years I have been going to gigs, since maybe 16/17 years old (I’m now 33) and the more shows I went to, especially in the punk and hardcore scenes, I always looked forward to seeing pictures and see if I was stage diving or getting the mic in any of them. I decided that it would be cool to capture these images for others to look at and get excited about photos from a show they have been to. I couldn’t really afford any good kit for years but a couple of years ago I took the plunge and bought a Nikon D3300 and it went from there. I did some no barrier shows to start with such as Red City Radio in Southampton and Judge at The Dome, then made contact with Jim from The Ghost Inside through a mutual friend who gave me my first guest list/pass in Southampton. With these photos I then approached

As I previously mentioned, I wanted to recreate the buzz I got looking through pictures from shows and to see whether I was in them. I also love music; it’s one of life’s essential luxuries that I don’t think I could function without. Finally, since starting this I have met some fantastic people, many of whom I can call true friends now, so the social aspect is second to none, especially at all dayers and festivals when there is so much time to hang out.

I currently use a Nikon D750 and my go to lens is a Tamron f2.8 2470mm which is just the best. I also have a Nikon f1.8 50mm which is great for portraits and super low light and a Yongnuo YN565EX Speedlite. Yongnuo are great, reliable and super cheap in comparison

to Nikon branch, I can’t recommend them enough! Going forward I am hopeful to pick up the Sigma Art f1.4 35mm and a f2.8 70-200mm. I think without doubt my favourite venue to shoot at is Koko, that building is simply stunning inside and generally very well lit. The Birmingham Academy main room is also nice to shoot in. In terms of bands, I don’t think I have a specific band I enjoy photographing, I like super active bands that like to do lots of jumps and singers that are super interactive and get in the crowd. Even though it felt like it was about 100 degrees, the Every Time I Die show in Southampton last November was utterly insane and great fun. I also like bands that have an act as well as bands that get up and tear places apart, bands that have outfits and make up in addition to the music such as Behemoth & New Years Day and some of the more metal bands. I also do some promo/portrait work in the music industry and also in the fashion/lifestyle industry, doing a lot of work for the Barberlife brand AONO who are based in Brighton covering pop up events and look book

work which has taken me to tattoo conventions, Groezrock and also the company’s other barbershop in Cologne. I also do wrestling photography which is super fun but probably more tiring than gigs as there is so much more to consider including not blocking the view of the crowd and not getting a bunch of wrestlers flying through the ropes and landing on you... you really need to have your wits about you! Also, being a wrestling fan this is something I enjoy a lot. All my other ventures have been great for networking and it’s nice to have a variation of work to do. Ultimately and I’m sure most, if not all, music photographers would agree, especially the ones that do it on the side, it would be awesome to make photography a full time living whether it be touring with bands, doing regular promo work or another aspect in the trade, which for me would be in wrestling and/or fashion/promotional work. Words and photos by Olly Hanks

doe

A deer. A female deer... IF YOU WOULD MAKE YOUR OWN UNDERGROUND LINE UP, WHAT WOULD IT BE CALLED, WHAT COLOUR WOULD IT BE, AND WHERE WOULD IT GO? Jake: The ‘Thisiswhereidrawthe Line’, blue sparkle, non-stop from my front door to my work. It would always be late. Nicola: The ‘Central Line’, it would be red and always smell of piss. Dean: I loathe the underground. Mine wouldn’t exist and everyone would be more chill.

IF ONE OF YOUR SONGS COULD STAR IN A TV SHOW WHAT SONG AND WHAT SHOW WOULD IT BE? Jake: Like as a person? Probably Julia Survived. She would star in her own show called Julia Survived, which I imagine to be a cross between OITNB and Lady Dynamite. Dean: Redo/Improve as George Costanza. Forever trying to be a better George but failing spectacularly every time.

IF YOU CAN BE TRANSPORTED TO ANY ERA WHERE WOULD IT BE? Jake: The 90’s, but I’d like to go back to a little earlier than when I was growing up so I’d be a slightly better age for all the stuff I was getting into. Nicola: A future time when all the misogynists/racists/homophobes/other enforcers of social injustice have died off. Dean: Summer 1997

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 3 HORROR FILMS? Jake: This changes on a regular basis but at this moment in time it’s An American Werewolf in London, The Thing and The Toxic Avenger. Nicola: The Thing is a solid choice but I’ll go Alien(s), A Nightmare on Elm Street and Braindead. Dean: The Shining, The Shyning, The Shineing.

WHAT BANDS SHOULD WE BE CHECKING OUT? Dean: Teen Suicide, Ricky Eat Acid, Kendrick, Alex G, Wicca Phase, Mitski, Mackned and Morly. The Potentials, Colour Me Wednesday, MOLAR. They all slay. Nicola: Dirty Girl, Pale Kids, Specialist Subject, Dilly Dally.

YOU’RE GOING TO THE SUPERMARKET, WHAT’S THE FIRST 3 THINGS TO BUY ON YOUR LIST? Dean: Lychee Rubicon, banana, cashews. Jake: Pizza, wine, celebrity exercise DVD. Nicola: Pizza, toilet roll, freddos (not necessarily in that order).

We grabbed London rock trio Doe, Nicola (vocals/ guitar), Jake (drums) and Dean (guitar), for a chat about horror movies, TFL and all things DIY.

After recently hitting the road with three other UK bands, Caves, Personal Best and Shit Present, Jake tells us how their cover of Spice Girls’ ‘2 Become 1’ was the highlight of tour, while Nicola reminisces on the special boat show they played, admiring the beautiful scenery. With three years behind the band, Doe have done everything off their own backs, celebrating the fact that they’re a hard working DIY band. “I think it has a broad definition and it means different stuff to different people,” Jake begins, telling us what DIY really means to him. “For me it’s always been about proactively building shit from the ground up and putting it out there yourself, facilitating a way to do the thing you love and share it with like-minded people without having to rely on conventional methods. If you come to something and you don’t know how to do it, getting records pressed, booking tours, printing zines or whatever, you can kind of figure it out as you go along and there’s a strong network of people that you can ask for advice and help and offer help back in return. Everyone kind of fills in the gaps in each other’s knowledge.” With more and more bands taking up this lifestyle the UK is never short of a helping hand, allowing DIY bands such as Doe to do what they love independently. House shows are living proof of people coming together to do something they’re passionate about, even if it’s in your parent’s living

words by Jess Walker

room, with a crappy PA system and a broken microphone. “There’s a certain energy at house shows that is hard to replicate anywhere else, it’s a very intense and immersive experience as you’re playing in tiny rooms that were never intended to accommodate more than 4 or 5 people, let alone 20 or 30 plus people and a band,” Jake starts. “We’ve played quite a few! At least three or four of them at Astbury Castle in Peckham, those ones are always dead fun.” Nicola also emphasises how wild house shows are, and how there’s more of a sense of being relaxed because you probably know the people standing on your kitchen counter. “I was saying to these two the other day, I’d love to do a house show tour at some point (hi people with houses let us come play for you and your mum).” While Jake and Nicola have had their fair share of fun, Dean is yet to experience this wild party. 2016 is a great year for change, and this transformation in the scene is proving to benefit more than just white dudes in bands. “It feels like people are making more of an effort to book bands that aren’t full of straight white dudes,” Dean begins. “Saying that, almost every show I go to is populated by a bunch of white kids (me included). So progress has been made, but there’s still a sense of alienation in places. I think we could all do more to encourage increased diversity in the ‘scene’. Things are definitely better than they were three years ago, but we’re not quite there yet.” Progression is all we can strive to achieve, and if we are opening our doors to just a few more kids then

we’re definitely on the right track. But it’s not just the UK scene whose crowds are 98% white, it’s the music industry as a whole, a much bigger issue which still seems to keep it’s borders shut. Similarly to seeing interviews with female members from bands, we are still asking women, “What’s it like being in a band?”. No bad intentions attached, this question comes from a good place, but it’s 2016, so can we stop being surprised that girls can rock? “Interviewers continue to ask that question, we continue to position women as ‘other’. At worst, it can be used as a way to extract bad experiences for the entertainment of other people and tackles nothing at all. At this point we’ve heard countless renditions of the shitty experiences women face. I think what would be more useful would be for the media to increase coverage of female musicians and turn the question back on themselves - how is my coverage of this musician different because they are female? How can I ensure my approach is not informed by other social factors? Aside from that, it’s just a lazy question.” If all music outlets could just take Nicola’s advise on this, then maybe we won’t have to see women being asked a stupid question that men never have to face. Making your mark and standing out is another thing the music industry keeps telling us to do. No one wants to be compared to Basement or Title Fight anymore, and being called a ‘rip off’ is

something no band can escape, but are these comparisons really needed? “I usually find it flattering,” Jake begins. “We’ve had comparisons to Sleater-Kinney, Weezer, and Helium, and even though we don’t sound exactly like those bands they’re some of my all time favourites and it’s cool that people pick up on those influences in our music. It’s only ever annoying to me when people compare us to a band we sound nothing like purely because they have female members, like that alone somehow makes us the same or that ‘has vaginas’ is a genre in itself. People’s hearts are usually in the right place but still, it’s lazy.” Being compared to Buster by Nicola’s brother’s friend was something that Doe are most definitely okay about. “Jake’s answer is on point but I’m going to be controversial and say I’m bored of people comparing bands to other bands? Like, be inventive – describe how the music makes you feel. It’s all about the intangible junk,” Dean adds. “Be cool to each other and don’t take shit from bad people,” Dean says, informing us of the main message Doe wants to send across to people. To Jake Doe means, “A deer. A female deer.” And to Nicola it’s, “A bloody pain in the arse of a name that has too many potential variations but is good for puns”. Words by Isha Shah

behind themlens

I’m Calum McMillan. Currently I run the editorial department of tech start up TickX. I studied a Masters digital journalism at the University of Strathclyde before moving from a part time retail job into freelance writing and photography work and now my current role. In an effort to avoid studying at Uni I started a music blog in 2012 and then decided it’d be nice to start taking pictures to go alongside my live reviews and I’d always liked the idea of photography. So I bought a DSLR and 50mm 1.8 and went at it. No training. Just a lot of mistakes, reading and watching YouTube videos and shooting every chance I got. I just fell in love with it as an artform, I’m borderline obsessed. Currently I shoot with a canon 6D and a set up of canon prime lenses: a 50mm 1.8 II, a older model of the 24mm 2.8 and the 85mm 1.8. I really like the pressure of having to change lenses or what I’m using at the time making me think about what I can and can’t achieve. I think it keeps me on my toys. Genuinely I just love both music and photography. In a remarkably earnest way. They make me happy, they help me work through stuff, they’re such fun, they’re artistically satisfying…and it sounds a cool thing to say to people you meet in the pub. Heck, Frank Carter and Refused have been the most fun to shoot but actually my favoutire bands to shoot are Banshee and Swallows. They’re close friends and let me on stage and backstage at shows and on tour and the stuff you get from that kind of access is much better than anything within the 3 song rule. As for venues King Tuts and ABC in Glasgow are my favourittes. The perfect set up to shoot is a band who have put some thought into their production and then just throw themselves into it. My job isn’t to design a photo friendly show, but it is to document amazing shows with photographs. So that’s my ideal show: a good one. Though ideally the less red lights the better.

Calum McMillan I do a lot of photojournalistic stuff. Mostly at local events and recently I’ve started moving into doing the odd wedding, with a focus on documenting in that photojournalistic fashion over anything glossy and posed. I also do a podcast called The Crying Beards with my best friend Christopher Patrick who is a filmmaker and writer where we discuss all sorts of creative things and the process of being creative. And laugh at each other a lot. You can find that on iTunes, soundcloud and the other places you find podcasts. I get to shoot live music as a part of my full time job. I would like to do more in depth stuff with bands and more candid things around them in the studio and on tour and less shows with 3 song limits. Collaborating with the band like that is much more interesting to me than live shots. I’ve done a couple of short runs with Banshee and Swallows. They were great fun, sleeping in the van was certainly an experience, but I was a little to reticent with my camera except for during the shows. I need to work on that more I know that. It’s a big learning curve having to shoot day after a day. In a really good way!

Words and photos by Calum McMillan

34 53

ALBUMs

rough h 9/10 Let Me Win Your Hearts And Minds Rough Hands are perhaps South London’s most potent export to the hardcore scene in recent years. Their debut self-titled EP knocked the scene forward with its bare bones approach and all round aural harshness. 2014’s follow up EP Nothing’s Changed could not be further from its name, a refining of the debut’s sound brought the band to the forefront of the UK scene as a whole. Progressing the sound featured on their first release, Rough Hands were able to create a much more layered and textured EP. Let Me Win Your Hearts and Minds is the long awaited debut album from the band, and one that seeks to change the landscape of the scene as a whole. ‘Choke’ is a breath of fresh air for a genre where rehashing the same old ideas is all too commonplace. Starting in the typical Rough Hands style of staccato drums and chugging minor bass guitar parts, it soon bleeds into an atmospheric feel but gives none of its roughened street sound away. ‘Relapsed’ kicks in with a groove so perfect that even the clichéd drum patterns do noth-

ing to take away from its ‘speed of sound’ breed of hardcore. Add in vocals that scream passion and personal fatigue and you have the standout track of Let Me Win Your Hearts and Minds. But then the album throws in a curveball. The melodic and soft introduction to ‘Swim in the Blues’ may sound out of place on an album where speed and aggression is routine, yet it is done so well before common order is restored in the last quarter of the track. It works well as a breather placed in the tracklisting before the sure-fire crowd pleaser ‘Mask of Sanity’. Again, ‘Leaving My Will’ displays a band writing and pushing more mature elements into their sound. Leaving space for the vocal lines so that they can be fully appreciated, and also giving time for the atmosphere of the track to fully come out. The same can be said for ‘The Underlying Negative’, which snakes and flows a dissonant tune before crashing into a huge grove, before mutating again into something else as it continually grows.

Dog Knights Productions august 16th 2016

hands

Both ‘Mind at Large’ and ‘Detrimentum’ showcase just how far Rough Hands have come. Both tracks are able to sit between a mellow personal atmosphere and a caustic sound that comes off as pure unrivalled emotion. ‘Detrimentum’ with its gravelly tinged bass tone wins the awards for heaviest track on the album, but it is not without its moments to really make that aggression and anger hit home. The title track itself makes use of each preceding track to come across as a complete idea of everything that the last 20 minutes have held close. Elements of speed and aggression are played off against moments of introspection and an all round expansive sound. Using Let Me Win Your Hearts and Minds as a sign of progression and maturing for Rough Hands it is clear that they have now created an album that measures far beyond their previous EPs. The true combination of calm and aggression in hardcore is perhaps only let down

by the fact that the most impressive elements of this album remain hidden on an initial listen. The interplay between the calm and the storm can only be truly heard after you get over the initial kick of how impressive of a debut Let Me Win Your Hearts and Minds is. Despite clocking in at just below 24 minutes, Let Me Win Your Hearts and Minds has everything that modern hardcore portrays, all wrapped up in a little bow of individualism and progression. It may take a few listens to fully “get” this album, but it grows on you like nothing else. If there is one album to sum up how far hardcore has come, from its roots to the modern age, then it is Let Me Win Your Hearts and Minds. A near perfect effort that can only whet an appetite for whatever Rough Hands do next. Words By Jack Webb

ALBUMs gates

PARALLEL LIVES Gates are an ambient Indie outfit out of New Brunswick, New Jersey. In 2013 they released their Pure Noise record label debut You Are All You Have Left To Fear. This record introduced gates’ significant, reverberating sound that they’ve carried onto their debut record Bloom & Breath and now their sophomore LP Parallel Lives is here. The different tones you can dissect from gates’ sound often consist of these swelling and dense guitars laying the ground while vocals soar over the mix. It sounds compact but dynamic, and exceeds my own expectations, particularly on tracks like ‘Left Behind’ where it felt as though the songs were following a lineage up to this point, like as if there was a threshold that I only subconsciously placed there because this record relied sonically on the same sounds that you can find throughout gates’ discography This track has a fairly

concave Cardiff’s favourite four lovers are not letting people forget how much the city’s scene is thriving. Concave released a brand spanking debut LP titled Hard to Find after a spell of ambiguous radio silence after 2013’s EP, ridden with slick hooks and catchy melodies. Sonically it’s a lot more complex than earlier material. The vocals, like on ‘See Through You’, are not so front and centre but are not lost underneath the rolling waves of dreamier guitar lines, which are not as crunchy as before on songs like ‘Fade Away’ and overall each accompanying component compliments each other instead of striving for attention. ‘Remember to Forget’ is evident of a band who have matured and grown from their previous projects. The way the song progresses from a soft opener to the subtle use of acoustics and simple chord progressions do little to undermine the complexity in Concave’s sound. There are many bands in the scene integrating shoegaze with grunge

Photo by: Ryan Dalton Rodrigues

energetic stance compared to the rest of the album - initially it reminded me of the very chorus-y and high energy moments of ‘One Day Son This Will All Be Yours’ by Fightstar, but this makes use of an opportunity to create a sequence where it feels like a contained explosion is budding out a whole new layer to gates’ sound. Similar to the way post rock can reach its highest peak in terms of noise and atmosphere. Sweet then melancholy melodies dot this record all over, particularly on songs like ‘House & Home’ where an acoustic guitar gently lays down the chords for the rest of the track to follow which seems to be a consistency in gates’ song writing, although here; the acoustic guitar keeps an almost rudimentary shape in the song structure, rather than building on the initial intervals that an introduction sets, like a lot of other songs on this record seem to do.

Gates will challenge you, but you’ll be comfortable with what you’ll hear, the ambience builds atmosphere and the melodies sway emotion, my initial reaction to this record wasn’t as contextualised but it pulled me in just the same. I’d recommend giving this record a listen as it’s just as ambitious as it is moody and colourful. Words by Dominic Bevis

8/10

HARD TO FIND that are doing well, but Concave are nailing it down hard and carving their own sound out of the woodwork, which is landing them shows with the likes of Superheaven. The way ‘Remember to Forget’ flows into ‘Sleepless’ flows is played with ease, and coupled with the songs’ lyrical direction, in the form of loss and existentialism, ‘Hard to Find’ has a loosely conceptual feel to it through out. The album’s closing title track ends on a high; a sense of positivity and self-assuredness after themes of insecurity have been explored which gives the whole thing a feeling of ‘its not all doom and gloom’ - something that is played out until the very end on a lot of recent releases. The chemistry between Concave and Timothy Vincent is proof of when an artist and producer get it right, and Vincent has

worked magic to bring Hard to Find to life through his producing, mixing and mastering of the entire record. Concave have proven that some of the best sounds are coming from South Wales, let’s hope they don’t lose this momentum in shows. Words by Josh Jones

8/10

Mock Orange

singles

Put The Kid On The Sleepy Horse

beach head

Put The Kid On The Sleepy Horse is a dreamy, laid back indie pop rock fuses with grunge album that was recorded a few years ago but was tragically lost due to hard drive failure. Now recovered and reproduced, Mock Orange (Evansville, NI) present to us their experimental, carefully crafted, off-the-wall indie rock sounds. Despite being a band for over two decades with a strong following and heavy back catalogue of progressively growing and adapting string of EP and album releases - Put The Kid On The Sleepy Horse is quite unlike anything that came before it and each song holds a place of its own among the quirky collection of melodies that sound equally worn out and threadbare as electric, experimental and innovative. From a time (1998) when emo and punk was growing in America and with first releases produced by Mark Trombino (Jimmy Eat World), Mock Orange have earned musical respect and secured an established, dedicated following. Now it has come their time to throw this to the walls and break some sonic windows to see what is out there. Modern art and emo punk meets DIY and indie pop on a slow, blurry light carousel of the 1990s-to a future beyond today, which plays out characteristically throughout the album all the way until the end of ‘Tell Me Your Story’. The delicate math rock pockets of sunshine laddered into more paint-peeling attic spaces of noise are pinnacles of melody that add some polish and shine to these songs. Often careful layering of guitars alongside the soft vocal tones used by Ryan Grisham works to build up a gradual surge of atmospheric ambient chill with some esoteric edge. The indie and pop rock vibes transcend this niche underground experimental playground just enough to provide a more universal framework for their sound, not leaving it entirely out there in a deserted, arid plane to be forgotten about or confused with artful noise. The lack of any real personal emotion makes the whole genre of this being

Tumour

tied to emo kind of empty and lacking it feels a bit bare and the amount of experimentation and lack of drive and real human flaws and emotional dynamics leaves this release feeling a bit tired, lacking lustre, worn out, forgotten, blank and the experimentations simply push this as if trying o rekindle a dead flame but only making it stranger and more alienating to onlookers, creating a wall of sound that is slightly esoteric and as a result hard to hold onto. ‘High Octane Punk Mode’, only the second song on the release is definitely the highlight of this album. This song has some really nice lead synth and guitar that is sweet and melodic rising above the mix, lifting the music more skywards and providing a bit more pop which is comforting and melds into a delectable, delightful substance which uplifts to happier, more floaty tones of The 1975 and Passion Pit. The funky, bluesy-pop rock vibes present in ‘Nine Times’ keep the cheerful melodies surfing over the more subtle, backseat shoegaze punk. These resurge during ‘Chrome Alligator’ and provide a little more energy, just in time - to lift the lid on this dusty coffin of somewhat subdued treasure, just as the album starts to sink into a dreamy epiphany of sounds midway through its experimental progression. If this album were a furniture store it would be a blend of a second hand antiques warehouse and IKEA coming together to make something no longer quite one or the other. Words by Arriana Corr

‘Brain Dead’ six piece from Leeds/ Liverpool, Beach Head seem to be making an impacting start with their first release ‘Tumour’. With a Facebook page only just made in June, the six-piece have brilliantly executed a chilled out summer track that takes us away from Britain’s current troubles. Just this one solo track has enough prospects for these guys to skip an EP and release an album. Words by Isha Shah

puppy my tree

Taken from their forthcoming EP Vol ||, the heavy metal trip from London decided to release a music video for this track, containing a cheeseburger eating competition. Now if that’s not compelling enough for some visuals, then the track gives you all the anticipation and edginess you need to get through torturous eating competition that no one really wins. Words by Isha Shah

montroze somewhere i belong Taking parody to Moose Blood’s ‘Honey’ video, local pop punkers from Bristol are doing things slightly lower budget and staring as themselves as well as characters in their latest music video. From the moment it blasts from your speakers, you can tell it’s going to be a full on hit, about trying to find a place to belong. Words by Isha Shah

7/10 57

eps frameworks smother Hailing from Gainesville, Florida, Frame-

works have previously released a myriad of splits and EPs, along with their 2014 debut full length, Loom, throughout which the band have fine-tuned their sound. Smother acts as the next step forward for Frameworks in what is a heavily populated genre. Opener ‘Fear of Missing Out’ is a twenty-minute long progressive piece condensed into just over four minutes. Throwing itself from melodic ideas into abstract landscapes and then pushing the limit of pure heartfelt aggression. The title track, which follows the opener, increases the gap between these two ideas whilst still maintaining a mature outlook on the music. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the three-track run of ‘Peculiar People’, ‘Purge’ and ‘Song of Myself’. Whilst the abstract ideas are still commonplace they are downtrodden by a feeling that they are being rushed, and gone is the personal connection. Thankfully it returns with ‘Tinnitus’ which features drum rhythms that should not work against this form of music, yet it work well as dissonance against the

flowing chord patterns. ‘Marathon’ is perhaps the greatest combination of the past and the present. 90’s vibes flow freely against the wailing guitars, making it the pinnacle of Smother. In its lightest moment it invokes ideas of post rock and in its darkest moments hints of modern emo crawl up to the surface, creating an impassioned piece of music. Smother outstays its welcome on the final handful of tracks marked by the minimalist and flow breaking ‘Interlude’. Gone are the slightly inventive nuances heard in the opening of the album and it all becomes a little bit of a cop out. Yes, there are still a couple of ideas being put forth, but they

are not able to fully sink in before they are lost under the layers of the instrumentation. Maybe a step back for Frameworks, but those little ideas can be built into something outstanding if deployed correctly. Words By Jack Webb

6/10

coloured in Depress and Let Go

Kent three-piece Coloured In are a band that share punk riffs with unique melodies and depressive, but compelling lyrics. Their sound dazzles as it progresses, as it gains volatility and speed, as it unlocks the mind. It has also been nurtured and worked on, created to banish inferiority. The band also take influence from the grunge sector, a genre developed by the late Nirvana. And there’s definitely a nod at the pioneers here, even the lyrics are pieced together with gnashing teeth.The EP is called Depress And Let Go. It’s a record that points at damaged hope. It’s a story that flourishes with darkness pulling

Photo by: Ryan Dalton Rodrigues

at it, a fable chronicling a broken relationship and wearing ties. This makes the record interesting and thought provoking. The record begins with Slow. It’s a song that opens with subtle guitar strokes and sombre vocals. It then develops on as the chorus bursts through. The lyrics are imaginative and poetic. American Realist lifts quickly off the mark. It’s composed well with pessimism running throughout it. Although with the lyrics being negative, the guitar wonderment adds a sense of relief. Coloured In are an act that have prepared

Depress And Let Go with thought and purpose. Their sound is dark, stark, and progressive. Words by Mark Mcconville

8/10

youth man Critically acclaimed ‘loud’ trio from Birmingham, Youth Man are going strong with their third EP, Wax, recorded fully in a live presence. It’s certainly true that the band are borderlining with the chaos of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die and Heck, but to record these five tracks infront of a live audience, not knowing whether the click of the camera was part of the song or not, takes this band to a whole new level. ‘Sweet Apples’ is the perfect track to get your blood gushing, as Kaila Whyte’s vocals soar in with a sour punch. Instantly feeling like it’s a party starter, it can only be assumed that Youth Man had a very fiery start, when recording/ playing to a luck few friends and family. With a band who are so courageously daring, it’s shouldn’t be a surprise how raw and punchy this EP is. ‘Fat Dead Elvis’ is another flawless example of their 80’s era of classic hardcore influence, adding their gritty British sent.

wax

Being ‘loud’ isn’t just something these guys label themselves as and offer nothing else. Youth Man are currently one of the most important bands we all need in our lives, with their mouthy political rants and deep knowledge of wider topics, they now have a platform and are using it to their full advantage. Releasing Wax off a label that specialises in raging bands that have something of value to offer, Venn Records have really hit the nail in conveying their aesthetic. ‘Painted Blue’ adds a very unexpected turn, ended the record with a fierce outbreak that is slightly held back by Whyte.

as daylight The landscape Love // Loss paints is a deep emotive cave carved out by echoes of We Came As Romans and Underoath with Oceans Ate Alaska, Architects and Hundredth embedded in the darker depths central to their compositions. These lower tones fuse charismatically with outer layers of ambient and artistic outreaches of icy, brave melodic hardcore. This is the world As Daylight Fades have created with the four songs that span across their EP: a beautifully bitter, tactile and far reaching expression of music. The instant ‘The Great Divide’ opens up, a waterfall emotive picture of riffs that are as steep and daring as canyons crashes and awakens your senses to a kind of stark and sublime sense of distance – appropriate to the themes of the lyrics, which are about the distance and separation you feel when at your lowest point - alone and without help. These very personal depictions of desperation and determination, reflect further into the wider lyrical themes of the EP which include being true to yourself and

But by no means less impacting, as this placement feels like you’re left with a cliff hanger, still unsure what Youth Man are going to chuck out next. Words by Isha Shah

8/10

love//loss

not changing because of anyone, which was one of the life lessons gained on the journey Matty Clarke (vocals) took through getting out of a stage of depression whilst writing the EP. The three years of hard work which has gone into producing their debut EP is evident in the dexterity this Glaswegian group use to craft their compositions of very vivid and dynamic musical landscapes, that hark back to a time when For The Fallen Dreams were at their finest (Backburner) and push into dreamy, dark and resourceful fields of lesser explored sonic grounds. Seething, the intro of ‘Dreamweaver’ creeps in and seismically surges stinging electric waves of lead guitar into melodic hardcore splices of darkness that chug you down into distorted depths. This is all before opening up to a softer layer of vocals that reminiscently echo the smooth, sweet performance and production used by Kyle

Pavone (We Came As Romans) for a song about how dreams are warped by ideological views of happiness. With lyrics that foretell and embody such a wealth of themes, stories and life lessons, this EP is overflowing and deeply embedded with much more meaning and beauty than there is to be discovered upon first listening. Definitely a piece of art worth reliving time after time for it keeps giving, Love // Loss is a retelling that needs to be retold. Words by Arriana Corr

9/10 59

Live hotos in p

blistered

the flex

Photos by: Ryan Dalton Rodrigues

power trip + the flex + blistered + arms race boston music room, london 1.6.16 power trip

arms race

power trip

Live

blood youth the social, southampton 5.6.16 - 8/10 Yet another tattoo shop is opening in Southampton and to celebrate they’re holding a launch party at The Social in Southampton featuring four live bands including a headline set from the ever growingly popular Blood Youth. There’s a good turn out and as the first band begin their soundcheck, the crowd around the stage are anticipating the start of what is soon to be an awesome evening of hardcore. Kicking things off are local hardcore outfit The Valiant. Although they may be an underground name, the lead vocalist’s effort to get the crowd going and chanting along to their choruses is admirable. From beginning to end the Southampton five-piece tear the house down with their ear crushing, explosive hardcore sound. The clunky metallic riffs and the speed of their music is a great way to open the show as they begin to warm the audience up for the chaos to come. Next up are Portsmouth based Prolong the Agony who bring a traditional post-hardcore sound to the table. Their style is a mixture of melody and breakdowns, and in a live environment their intense sound has a serious impact. Vocalist Larry Welling is utterly fierce, screaming out to his heart’s content and his passion turns into energy as he flaunts the stage, whilst the rest of the band are equally as active and all look like they’re giving their all as they shred. Overall, Prolong the Agony are enjoyable to watch and it’s great seeing a band that are so energetic on stage rather than standing there like robots. Acres are one of the stronger acts of the night as they throw down their Enter Shikari-esque electronic rock sound. This south coast post-hardcore group are vicious and forceful. Together they bring an exciting blend of electronic synths and aggressive guitar with full frontal drums and deep bass to the table. Vocalist Ben Lumber keeps the audience’s attention by yelling fiercely down the microphone and letting out all of his emotion on stage, pouncing around aggressively left and right. Their explosive live sound makes for a memorable set. Finally, it’s the Yorkshire lads’ turn to take the stage and you get a “take no prisoners” vibe right away, as lead singer Kaya Tarsus spends no time on stage but rather descends into the centre of the crowd that circles around him. Throughout their set there’s a great feeling of excitement - not only from the intimate feeling you get from being so close to the lead singer in a venue this small but also the music itself is incredibly lively; plus the punk flair in their sound gives the music attitude that in a live environment assures things will get as rowdy as they do. Furthermore, the fun hard rock side to Blood Youth gives their live set lots of energy but the heavy edge of their music also ensures that there’s lots of moshing and head banging going on too. Overall, Rock’n’Roll Tattoo have put on an awesome night and because of the quality acts on the line-up it felt a bit like a showcase of local talent! Words by Megan McMillan

Photos by: Isha Shah

Live hotos in p

waco

recreations

Photo by: Elliot McRae

anti flag

anti flag + WACO + Recreations

Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth 12.6.16

anti flag

waco

anti flag

Live hotos in p

Photo by: Elliot McRae

loody knees Electrowertz, London 8.6.16

Live hotos

elvis

in p

bird skulls

beat easton

rain

Photo by: Isha Shah

s depressedly + beat east + rain + bird skulls

the joiners, southampton 9.6.16

Elvis Depressedly

Live hotos in p

petrol girls

+ Autonomads+ Joliette+ Werecats diy space for london 17.6.16 autonomads

joliette petrol girls

Photos by: Ant Adams

joliette

werecats werecats

Live hotos in p

PET LIBRARY

Photo by: Isha Shah

H_NGM_N

sad blood + H_ngm_n + Pet Library urban barn, lONDON 11.6.16

SAD BLOOD

SAD BLOOD PET LIBRARY

Live

Hands Like Ho + I The Mighty + Dead! + The Gospel Youth

Islington Academy, London 3.6.16 - 7/10

The rescheduled leg of Hands Like Houses’ world tour, pushed back in order for the band to complete work on their third album Dissonants, proves it was all worth the wait. This is opening support The Gospel Youth’s first proper tour with the current incarnation of their line-up and it’s impressive to see how many people there are watching their set considering the early doors and early curfew. Whilst older track ‘Empires’ still sounds great with the gang-like singalong “say hallelujah” hook towards the end, it’s the five-piece’s more recently released material that sounds the best with tracks like ‘DST’ and ‘Guidelines’ pack notably more punch. It’s a short but sweet set from The Gospel Youth, but it’s just long enough to leave the crowd wanting more. Dead!, who follow a fair precedent set by The Gospel Youth, don’t seem to quite fit this bill style-wise. A lot of the focus throughout their live show is on frontman Alex Mountford whose vocals just aren’t quite up to scratch, notably on closer ‘Skin’, which does detract on how the rest of the band sound. It’s also a shame that the punk/emo undertones in older track ‘Alaska’ and new single ‘You’re So Cheap’ take a backseat when played live because that’s arguably what Dead! do best. By this time I The Mighty take to the stage for their very first time in London the room is buzzing. With the crowd singing along to

Photos by: Sam Shapiro

ouses

the majority of the songs in the quartet’s set, it’s a sure sign that this first visit to the UK is long overdue. Frontman Brent Walsh’s vocals are faultless throughout, and bassist Chris Hinkley does a stellar job on backing vocals and hyping the crowd at any given opportunity. Unfortunately, their music does just fall a little flat on those audience members who aren’t so familiar with the band. Having pushed back this tour over six months, Hands Like Houses know that they have some high expectations to live up to. Opening with arguably the two strongest tracks on their latest album, ‘I Am’ and ‘Colourblind’, it’s clear that the five piece didn’t come here to mess around. Old favourite, and the only track from their debut record that we hear tonight, ‘Lion Skin’ makes a surprisingly early appearance in their set. Considering the band have made us wait until after the release of Dissonants they give as much material as they can from it, as well as a few tracks from their second album Unimagine. There are points during their set where the band’s overall sound, especially the guitars, seem to fade into the background but as soon as Hands Like Houses return for their encore of ‘Glasshouse’ and the massive ‘Introduced Species’ this seems to have flown out the window and they sound as epic as ever. Let’s hope they don’t leave flying halfway across the world so long next time. Words by Natalie Webb

Live hotos in p

muskets

Photos by: Elliot McRae

trash boat + wstr + weatherstate + muskets

the joiners, southampton 22.6.16 wstr

trash boat weatherstate