Upset, June 2017 by Upset

THE NEW ALBUM

THE ROCK RECORD OF THE YEAR OUT ON 19TH MAY 2017

@PAPAROACH

/PAPAROACH

@PAPAROACH

IN THIS ISSUE... upsetmagazine.com Editor: Stephen Ackroyd (stephen@upsetmagazine.com) Deputy Editor: Victoria Sinden (viki@upsetmagazine.com) Associate Editor: Ali Shutler (ali@upsetmagazine.com) Writers: Alex Bradley, Alex Lynham, Chris Cope, Danny Randon, Dillon Eastoe, Jake Richardson, Jasleen Dhindsa, Jessica Goodman, Rob Mair, Rosie Ramsden, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Photographers: Corinne Cumming, Ebru Yildiz, Elliot Mcrae, Phil Smithies, Sam Wood, Sarah Louise Bennett Cover Photo: Ebru Yildiz All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Upset or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally. P U B L I S H E D F RO M

THE BUNKER W E LCO M E TOT H E B U N K E R.CO M

RIOT!

04 PA R A M O RE 10 I N C U BUS 12 FA L L O U T BOY 16 L ET L I V E . 18 WAV V ES 20 M I L K T E ET H 22 PA PA ROAC H 24 PV RI S 28 L E M U RI A 30 T W E N T Y O N E P I LOTS 32 P L AY L I ST

ABOUT TO BREAK

34 P E A N ESS 35 BU L L ET H E I G H T 36 E M P LOY E D TO S E RV E 37 H I G H E R P OW E R

FEATURES

38 PW R BT T M 46 A L L T I M E LOW 50 G I RL P O O L

RATED

52 L I N K I N PA RK 55 C H AST I T Y B E LT 59 F RE E T H ROW 60 B L I N K -182 61 P U L L E D A PA RT BY H O RS ES 62 W H I L E S H E S L E E PS 63 T H E M E N Z I N G E RS

FESTIVAL GUIDE 2017

64 S L A M D U N K 70 RE A D I N G & L E E DS 72 2000T RE ES 74 D OW N LOA D 77 T H E G RE AT ESCA P E

EDITOR’S NOTE What a month. I’m not kidding, Dear Reader - we must have replotted this magazine more than any other, such is the number of amazing bands coming back this month with surprise announcements. Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Milk Teeth, PVRIS, Of Mice & Men - each and every one has meant we’ve had to change our plans to make sure we’re up to date. Still, one thing that isn’t shifting is our belief in PWR BTTM. We’re giving them their first Upset cover this month, and we couldn’t be more delighted to be doing it. A band that actually feel like they mean something, they’re both brilliant and essential. That and Ebru Yildiz’ photos are nothing short of stunning. Surrounded by a cast of A-list superstars, they don’t just belong. They sparkle.

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THEY’RE BACK! THAT SOUND YOU HEAR - THE LOUD, THUNDERING CLAP OF EXCITEMENT IS A SCENE BEING SHOOK BY THE RETURN OF ONE OF THEIR VERY BEST. PARAMORE ARE BACK, AND EVEN THOUGH THEY VERY NEARLY WEREN’T, THEY SOUND MORE VITAL THAN EVER BEFORE.

T SEEMS ALMOST QUAINT TO TALK ABOUT 2014 GIVEN EVERYTHING THAT’S HAPPENED SINCE. In a piece like this, that would usually refer to what’s happened within a band, but it’s not just the personal that’s loaded onto the good ship Paramore in the intervening years. Society as a whole seems to have taken as many heavy body blows as the band who still refuse to stay down. Even though three years ago they were running with a different line-up, riding the wave of another record, that character is the same now as today.

S! “OI! GUY R G E T YO U K!” OWN LOO

Because, if you cast your mind back to that summer, it’s the defining moment of that year’s festival season which shows the true character of our heroes. While some may try to frame Paramore by their changing line-up, and the baggage that comes with it, that’s not who they are. They’re that band on the Main Stage of Reading festival, sat in the dark as the power cuts out on their big headlining moment. They’re the ones who refuse to walk off. Who refuse to admit defeat. Who, when anyone else would have (quite literally) frozen, instead pull out one of the most magical memories of a festival storied in legend, leading a mass sing-a-long to ‘The Only Exception’ that sparks with enough emotion to power the whole place up once more. So while, between now and then,

WORDS: STEPHEN ACKROYD.

they may be one member down (c’ya, Jeremy), and another former cohort back in the fold (yay Zac!), that isn’t what should label Paramore as a band. From the highs of Grammy wins and massive tours to the lows of legal disputes and the head spinning dizzyness of properly stepping off the music industry conveyor belt for the first time in a decade - it’s not what happens to a band that tells us who they are. It’s how they react that counts. And Paramore, as you’ve probably noticed by now, are back. Not with a whimper or a sense of contractual obligation, but with an explosion of technicolour joy that didn’t break the internet, but shook it like a bolt of lightning. When, yet again, the ether decided to deal them a difficult hand, they’ve turned those lemons into the sweetest lemonade. That’s why, more than most, we need Paramore.

HE FACTS, THEN. At the point you’re reading this, Paramore’s new album will be with you - less than a month after it was finally announced. It’s called ‘After Laughter’ - a name referring to that point when the joke is over, and a person’s true expression shows through. It’s a fitting title given the crucible of emotion from which it was created. Powering down from a 5

“BAAAAAN GE

E V E RY T H I N G H A P P E N I N G I N RO C K

US. BEING SH

WE’RE

OOK-ED

EEEEER!”

O MG!

fourth album that was more wildly successful than anyone could have dared to imagine, the world felt like Paramore’s to do with as they wished. But once that joy drifted away, what was left was something far more difficult. It goes without saying that the slightly blurry departure of bassist Jeremy Davis is the hook many will hang the story of 5more upon, but it wasn’t the only trial the band had to face.

and Self-Titled we did a lot of touring in between. Even while we were making the record we were off doing festivals and stuff. This, we really just shut down. We shut down the whole machine because we needed it. I think in some ways it sort of let out maybe some demons that that are easy. It’s kind of easy when you’re in this groove and you’re rolling rolling rolling that you get whiplash when you stop.

“I feel like this has been the longest break we’ve taken between albums,” Hayley Williams told Zane Lowe, speaking to Beats1 on the announcement of ‘After Laughter’. “Even though there was so much time that went by between ‘Brand New Eyes’

“You gotta figure out hard, you know, who your friends are. You go back home and you’re with your family, and what that dynamic is like. You’re just a kid to them, it doesn’t matter if you have your own thing going on.

“Maybe it’s because of social media too, but it is really hard to let yourself disappear for a moment if you have the intention of ever coming back. Time just goes by so fast on the internet and media. I quit social media for like two months maybe even three. It’s so crucial. It’s crucial. I did it before we are busy writing too, so it kind of helped. Life was happening and some of that was really good and some of that was very painful and it was kind of like, I don’t need other voices. It’s hard enough to just figure out what your own voice is. Even if you’re not a band even if you don’t do what we do for a living you know, I think just being in the world with all this information coming at you, it’s nice to shield yourself

!!!! T T R T R T E R E L R E L E A L A L A R R RA G G N GEEEER N A NG B A B AN B BA

F YOU WERE ONLINE AT LUNCH TIME ON WEDNESDAY 19TH APRIL, YOU’LL HAVE SEEN THE NOISE STARTING TO BUILD. “Paramore have gone pop,” it went, “and it’s, like, really brilliant.” Of course, there’s nuance to that statement. Paramore were never exactly Napalm Death, and on 2013’s selftitled album they flirted with the mainstream. Not only that, but it produced some of their best moments to date - chief amongst them the year’s defining alternative anthem in ‘Aint It Fun’. ‘Hard Times’, the track they dropped to introduce ‘After Laughter’ may not be something one would

STREAM THIS

PARAMORE

HARD TIMES

describe as ‘the obvious next step’, but the signs were there. So for every so-called-fan who was expecting them to return to the sound of their earlier albums - despite there being little evidence it was ever going to happen - there were ten more who were behind the move. And quite right too, because ‘Hard Times’ is a solid gold banger. From its opening tropical chimes to it’s final vocoder fuelled throw down, it’s the most fun you’re likely to find in a world hurtling for meltdown. Three minutes of salt and sugar, the lyrics run against the carefree refrain - a bittersweet taste of a band who have been through stuff but come out the other side determined to climb those peaks again.

These days, genre boundaries are blurred so much that your traditional labels make little sense. Though many wish to hold on to the idea that rock is a set sounds - a certain volume of riffage or ‘authenticity’ (yuck), it’s an outlook that increasingly looks backwards and archaic. Paramore are just one band playing with the edges of rock music, in a part of the scene which increasingly feels the most diverse and exciting of all. ‘Hard Times’ isn’t just a triumph, it’s an Talking Headsesque 80s pop throwback that feels like the future. Times are a changing. P

OFFICIAL VE RD I CT: 7

from it for a moment. Not in an ignorant way.”

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That we even had a Paramore to come back to seems like it may have been more in doubt than we ever knew. “I wish I could take credit for fighting through things bravely with this,” Hayley revealed, “but I was kind of flatlined and I think that if it weren’t for Taylor, the band would be over. Yeah, I had enough, I’m tired of losing friends. Or tired of doubting myself and maybe if I just don’t or if I’m not doing it all and I won’t have anything to doubt, I can see what else I can do.”

It’s something guitarist Taylor York felt too: “I think to be young, and at that point been doing it for so long I think we were like ‘Why are we doing this?’ Are we doing this because we’re supposed to? Are we doing this to make money? Are we doing this to prove some sort of point. If we don’t want to be here, if we’re not passionate about this, there is no point. Just everything that follows this, this record would be made in vein and everything that follows that. It just sounds like I don’t want to be part of it either.”

Thankfully, after a shaky period, it feels like Paramore are back on sturdier ground. As Hayley explains: “I can stand in front of anyone and say there’s so much peace now you know we run into each other around town and it’s so nice to find that. Taylor and I actually got to experience that moment together because we were at the coffee shop talking about whether we were going to stay in this band or not when we saw [former guitarist and Zac’s brother] Josh [Farro]. It was crazy. It just the way that things go. I think you rarely get to experience real full circle redemption in your lifetime but on your own, in your own kind of solitude but I think to be able to share that moment with Taylor. And this thing that happened that really affected both of our lives and affected Zac’s life too, to kind of have closure was so great. It was really beautiful.”

T’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE ALBUM THOUGH. Paramore like surprises - and so they’ll be with us for a full UK tour in June. Yep, that soon. Including a date at the Royal Albert Hall in London. With everything moving so fast, and with their freshly minted status on music’s triple A-list, at the time of press there’s still a lot to learn about Paramore’s latest moves. Heck, your friendly neighbourhood Upset hasn’t even heard the full record yet something unusual for an album that drops at the same time our magazine

does. A band that want the fans to hear the music first, it’s hard to argue with - that’s why we’re getting you guys to lend us a hand with the reviewing on the page opposite. Every interview brings new details something fresh that casts new light on ‘After Laughter’. There’s a sense of excitement that a band we’ve seen grow from the bottom to the very top are pushing on with something new and different - that they may not have reached their creative high point yet. That’s what’s so exciting about Paramore. No matter how much events may conspire against them, or how many stones may be thrown in their direction, you can’t keep a good band down. And Paramore, they’re the best. P

PARAMORE UK TOUR DATES JUNE 15 DUBLIN OLYMPIA 16 BELFAST WATERFRONT 18 MANCHESTER O2 APOLLO 19 LONDON ROYAL ALBERT HALL 21 BRISTOL COLSTON HALL 22 EDINBURGH USHER HALL

5 5 THINGS 5 THINGS THINGS WE’VE WE’VE WE’VE LEARNED LEARNED LEARNED ABOUT ABOUT ABOUT PARAMORE PARAMORE PARAMORE THIS THIS MONTH THIS MONTH MONTH

WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW! Some magazines would probably try and mug you off here. After all, we

know Paramore’s new album is probably going to be good - especially on the strength of ‘Hard Times’. But, Dear Reader, at the time of press we haven’t heard the full thing. It’s released on the same day this magazine goes on the streets - 12th May - which means you can go hear it right now ahead of our official verdict next month. We wouldn’t want this issue to feel incomplete, though, so we’ve added a lovely space below for you to write in your own review of ‘After Laughter’. Colour in your star rating, scribble in your words, and if you like send us what you think. We’re at @upsetmagazine on Twitter.

1. TAYLOR HAS BEEN TRYING TO RIP OFF TAME IMPALA. “I was only listening to Tame Impala so I was trying to rip off everything,” he admitted. “I had to try. It didn’t work but I had to try.” Source: Beats 1 interview, 20th April 2. PARAMORE ARE ABOUT BANGERS NOW, NOT HEADBANGING. “We’ve gotten to a point with our new music where we don’t really want to headbang anymore,” Taylor told the New York Times. Source: New York Times interview, 19th April 3. HAYLEY DOESN’T LIKE BEING TEASED BY OTHER BANDS. The irony meter is set to blow its top, as our glorious leader wants Radiohead to stop teasing her. “Pls don’t do this to me right now, I am fragile and also I think I’m pmsing.” HOW DO YOU THINK WE FELT FOR ALL THOSE MONTHS, H? Source: Hayley (@yelyahwilliams) on Twitter, 1st May

I T ’ S P R O B A B LY G R E A T , R I G H T ?

PARAMORE

AFTER LAUGHTER

eeeee

4. WHAT’S IN THE BACKPACK HAYLEY’S WEARING IN THE ‘HARD TIMES’ VID? “28 years of emotional baggage,” apparently. Most of us would probably need a set of suitcases surely? Source: Hayley (@yelyahwilliams) on Twitter, 21st April 5. THAT VOCODER BIT AT THE END OF ‘HARD TIMES’ IS TAYLOR SINGING. “We promised that he would sing on this record. We promised fans at shows that he would, so congrats.” - Hayley Williams. Source: Beats 1 interview, 20th April

“WE’RE THRIVING AT THE MOMENT. WE ARE UNDOUBTEDLY IN A MUCH BETTER, HEALTHIER PLACE.” Incubus singer Brandon Boyd is in a reflective mood as he opens up about the band’s new album ‘8’. It’s the Californians’ first full-length in nearly six years, and it’s a true return to rocked-up form, with the record juggling grunge-speckled riffs and Boyd’s trademark melodious, lofty vocals. In a surprising team-up, Skrillex mixed the record and co-produced some of the tracks, but the collaboration was wholly unexpected. He was invited to Incubus’ studio as they were mixing their eighth album, but Moore asked to head next door with the stems of one of the tracks. “My assumption was that he was going to do a remix that would appear on a B-side, or an extra on the album,” Boyd says. “He didn’t fundamentally alter the song in any earth-shattering way; he just made it sound… better. It was surprising, and it was eye-opening. A few weeks later he had mixed the whole record again and co-produced a couple of the tracks. We thought we loved it to begin with, and then we fell even more deeply in love with this project.”

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The vibes in the Incubus camp are most definitely bulging with happiness and hope right now, but it’s fair to say

it’s not always quite been quite so rosy. The quintet were threatening to run out of steam after the release of their 2013 record ‘If Not Now, When?’, and the momentum which had helped produce acclaimed back-catalogue notables like ‘S.C.I.E.N.C.E.’ and ‘Morning View’ was seizing up. “I don’t think we were ready to necessarily acknowledge it openly, but we were in a really dark period of our band when we were writing ‘If Not Now, When?’, and through the process of touring that record as well,” Boyd admits. “There was part of our band at the moment that was withering, and it was dying. We didn’t know exactly what was happening, so we were kind of just going through the motions in some ways. “At the end of 2012, when we decided we were finished touring that record, we took a very much needed break. None of us stopped making music during that period, but we just weren’t doing it together.” Things began to flow in a different direction, however, when the multiplatinum rockers’ 17-year record contract with Sony finished, while their management changed too. They were “making music together because we wanted to” as they enjoyed a new focus. Lyrically, little passes Boyd by. On ‘8’ he

explores themes from “inspirational, heart-wrenching and ridiculous events” to “observations of the the swiftly changing political landscape, revelations about our strange human culture and paranoia about the digital culture”. He’s clearly rankled by the election of the “clown” Donald Trump as US President last year, but he hopes his rise to political power can spark some positive change. “I almost feel like saying his name gives him power, like Voldemort, so he’s becoming the hewho-shall-not-be-named character for me,” Boyd said. “There’s a part of me there is almost like an embarrassment that he was elected. “I’m wired optimistically. When I go to sleep at night, sometimes I can be lost in the flurry of worries and things like that that his presidency has brought up. But I land on a place where I can only assume some form of really massive and maybe unexpected progress is going to result, in almost a reactionary sense.” But don’t let Trump ruin the party. After forming over 25 years ago, Incubus, it seems, are in better shape than ever. “I hear this new record, and I can feel those good vibrations,” Boyd says. “It feels like we’re having fun again, which is such a wonderful thing.” P Incubus’ album ‘8’ is out now.

“IT FEELS LIKE WE’RE HAVING FUN AGAIN.” INCUBUS ARE BACK WITH A NEW ALBUM THAT’S A WELCOME RETURN TO FORM. WORDS: CHRIS COPE.

PRETTY

ODD FALL OUT BOY ARE BACK WITH A NEW ALBUM THAT SOUNDS... PURPLE?! WORDS: ALI SHUTLER.

URPRISE RETURNS? OF COURSE FALL OUT BOY WERE GOING TO GET INVOLVED. EIGHT MONTHS ON FROM TELLING US THEY HAD NOTHING ON THE BOOKS, PETE, PATRICK, ANDY AND JOE ARE BACK... With Patrick first showing Pete the idea for comeback track ‘Young & Menace’ while they were in Glasgow last summer, and with it being released at the earliest possible moment, FOB are once again hurtling forward. To hell with the risks.

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“It’s like the moon or the Titanic,” starts Pete Wentz. “At some point we’ll be in our dinner jackets saying it was an honour to play with each other, but we did ‘Save Rock and Roll’, and then we looked at a guy like Drake who puts out a prolific amount of music and we asked, ‘Can we do this thing back to back?’ So that’s what we did with ‘American Beauty/American Psycho’ and ‘Save Rock and Roll’.

“Essentially those two albums were one long record cycle. They weren’t even that drastically different and with this one we said, ‘Hey, we could do another one that’s right down the barrel and it seems like it’s working and it would probably work again, or we could take a left turn’.” We all know which direction they took. “If you think about something like ‘Green Light’ from Lorde, that’s a left turn. That’s a weird song. It’s a great song, and you can tell it’s authentically her. That’s how we gauge it; it’s got to be something that we like. At the same time, we had a more

drastic version of the song, but we knew it was too far, so we reeled it in a little bit.” They know ‘Young & Menace’ is going to cause divisions within the FOB faithful, but the idea of conflict is present throughout. From the opening lament that seems close to surrender (“It feels like we’ve been going too fast for too long sometimes”) to all that reckless carnage, our first taste of ‘M A N I A’ is a song that tries to accept and embrace. “It’s how I felt growing up. I just felt like I didn’t fit in almost anywhere, y’know? But once you are okay with that, you’re not trying to bend yourself to something. Then I found punk rock. I found this community of like-minded people who also felt like that.” It’s never that simple though; the story doesn’t end there. The conflict rages. “We all go through these moments where you feel great, or you feel vulnerable, and it’s all wrapped up into one. The idea is that we’re all sides of that. ‘I’m just here to become the best yet; I’m just here for the psych assessment’, those lines conflict with each other. We all go through that. We could have gone down the Britney Spears rabbit hole (the track echoes her ‘Oops, I Did It Again’) because she was a great mirror to hold up. Britney Spears was all of us. She was America’s sweetheart who you watched go through a rough time, and we all go through rough times. I think hers was just done out in the open which is tough. I’ve felt like that before, and I think that the song epitomises that.” As much as Pete celebrates the community that is drawn to Fall Out Boy, the band never make it easy for them. “We think about that

“ LO L”

“WE WERE LIKE, IF WE EVER COME UP WITH THE ONE THAT

FEELS PURPLE WE SHOULD DO IT.”

“ LO L”

“ LO L” “S ’ N OT T H AT FUNNY”

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when we’re making music, you’re never going to purposefully try and alienate people. It’s like when Bowie started doing ‘Ziggy Stardust’ or The Clash did those weird albums. At the time I was like, ‘Why won’t you just be the punk band’ but now, I don’t know if I’d have still loved them as much because they grew, they changed, and I appreciate those albums so much. I think that’s the whole idea. We’ve had to grow because we’ve been doing this for 15 years. If we kept making the same record over and over again, we would have burned out, and people would have burned out on us.” The album is only “about half way finished. We’ve got to be in the studio every day to finish,” so no pressure. “It’s like when the coach is like, we’re

“BRITNEY SPEARS WAS ALL

down by two points, and there’s one second left, you’ve got to make the shot. I think ‘Young & Menace’ is the furthest left though. It’s the most divergent song on the album. If you have an album full of songs like that, you’d break people’s brains when they listen to it because it’s pretty chaotic.

“Regardless of that though, we’ve always tried to update our software and listen sonically to where the world

OF US.”

is at. ‘Young & Menace’ was freeing for us because in no way do we have an expectation of radio play with that song. Instead we though it could be culturally important or important for kids who like our music, and I think that freed us to let the song be what

STREAM THIS

FALL OUT BOY

YOUNG & MENACE

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED AS FALL OUT BOY BURN THE RULE BOOK YET AGAIN.

“ D I D YO U ST I L L WA N T TO BO RROW T H E RE D CATS U I T, P ET E ?”

the song was.” The idea of ‘M A N I A’ is “what we live in right now, the culture of the world. It starts off as this euphoric dopamine feeling, and it becomes this monster that’s out of control, where it can be violent or delusional. It’s not rational. It’s the two opposite ends of the spectrum from what depression is, and I think people misjudge that. ‘Oh, it’s this happy feeling?’ But it’s this up feeling. It’s the feeling of not sleeping. It’s crazed. It’s definitely going to be representative of the songs on the album. Since ‘Take This To Your Grave’, the first album that anyone really cares about usually, we’ve done alternating colour patterns blue, red, blue red, and we were like, if we ever come up with the one that feels

purple, that’s a little odd, we should do it. And it feels like this is the one.” With this album being their third in six years, Fall Out Boy are as inspired, passionate and as invested as ever. The reason why is simple enough. “We do it because we like doing it. I honestly don’t think we really need to do Fall Out Boy anymore, but we like doing it, especially when we can do some forward thinking, interesting stuff. Also, I don’t feel like we’ve put out the album that’s been The One, the record where it puts a bow on the whole thing. I think if we ever did that, that would be it. But we haven’t yet, so we surge forward.” P Fall Out Boy’s album ‘M A N I A’ is out 15th September.

Fall Out Boy are great at keeping things interesting. Following on from the larger-than-life arena swagger of ‘American Beauty/ American Psycho’, the band are back with the first taste of ‘M A N I A’, and it’s y’know. Different. Sounding like a collision between the two opposing ends of Fall Out Boy, one soulful and introspective, the other brash, bold and out for a good time, ‘Young And Menace’ is a jarring listen. Rather than trying to fight it though, the track works best when you let its monstrous waves take their course. Opening with the end of days admission that “We’ve gone way too fast for way too long, and we were never supposed to make it half this far”, the band quickly turn the idea on its head by hurtling forward. Conflicted and at odds with itself, the track tries to find peace within but doesn’t shy away from the battles that lay ahead. It’s vulnerable but refuses to give in. ‘Young and Menace’ changes the rules all over again for Fall Out Boy. Excited and out for more, this track isn’t contrary for the sake of it. It’s different because it needs to be. Pete, Patrick, Andy and Joe have always been about taking risks and heading for pastures new, and it looks like album number seven will be no different. You never quite know what you’re going to get with Fall Out Boy and we wouldn’t have it any different. P 15

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R.I.P.

LETLIVE. 2002 - FOREVER

THEY MIGHT BE GONE, BUT THEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.

etlive. never followed expectation. Even in calling it quits, the band have managed a two-fingered salute to the age-old idea that you either burn out or you fade away. See, letlive. have done neither.

Not only was their last record their most impactful, but it also saw them take to the stages of Brixton Academy, play to an audience that was decidedly not their own, and make it look easy. There’s a sense of regret and loss circling the breakup of any band, but letlive.’s feels more poignant. Instead of just ‘one of those things’, there’s a hint of tragedy to it. The reasons why the band called it a day aren’t important, but it felt like they had more to give. More to achieve. There is a rise and a fall with all art but letlive. were far from the decline; they were far from their peak. The history of letlive. is a turbulent one but throughout the various and near-constant lineup changes, the idea of the band remained pure. There were two consistent members of letlive., vocalist and instigator Jason Aalon Butler and their unwavering truth. From ‘Fake History’’s ‘Muther’, which tackles the reality of Jason’s father being in prison and his mother sleeping with another man, to ‘If I’m The Devil…’s ‘Good Mourning America’, which addresses the history of discrimination and division wrapped around a powerful protest anthem, letlive. were a band that threw themselves into everything completely. There was no fear of reprisal. There was no desire for selfpreservation. The message came first. Always and absolutely. The question of which letlive. album is best is one that’ll never be answered. Like only the very best of bands, their output over the past seven years (sorry ‘Speak Like You Talk’) has been varied, controversial and brilliant. ‘Fake History’, ‘The Blackest Beautiful’, ‘If I’m The Devil…’. Each one stands for something different; each one shows off a new incarnation of letlive. Each one is flawed but fantastic. letlive. were a very human band and those scuffs, slips and moments of untethered release mean just as much as the impassioned verse and the throatgrabbing chorus. And while we could spend pages dissecting each album, celebrating the genius and getting misty eyed

over their importance, it’s their apparent parting shot that demands the most attention. letlive. were fearless, whether jumping off stuff or speaking up for the marginalised, but ‘If I’m The Devil…’ saw them take it someplace new. “For me, this record is about opening up that door, seeing if we can walk through it and how far,” Jason explained in the weeks leading up to its release. It was an echo of what he said at the start of last year. “This iteration of letlive. is the version of letlive. that just tries really hard to take it as far as possible and is not afraid of repercussions. Whatever happens, is going to happen so we’re going to keep going and push it as far as we can.” It saw them finally shake off the idea of genre and embed every influence, inspiration and source of excitement in their DNA. Instead of being jarring, it actually made everything make a little more sense. letlive. had always been an oddity but with this album, they championed it. They used it to make their voice that much louder and more captivating. They took the preached ideas of acceptance, of anything going, and self-belief and put it into glorious practice. It opened doors and ears. It was a record designed to start something. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, letlive. aren’t going to be around to continue it. Call it a tragedy, a shame, whatever. The loss of letlive. is huge. That band will be mourned and rightly so, but there’s reason to celebrate. letlive. achieved more than most bands could ever dream of. Yeah, there was so much more to do, but the doors are still open. Their invitation to see how far it can be taken still stands.

THE STATEMENT In the summer of 2002 this thing we call “letlive.” began in a garage in a small suburb of Los Angeles with one goal in mind. Above all else, letlive. was meant to be an idea not an outfit. This idea took its roots in honesty, humility, and finding an ironic strength in vulnerability. This is how it all began and it must end in the same fashion. We have been granted opportunities and experiences beyond anything we could have ever imagined and we are well aware that none of the aforementioned would be possible without you. Your support, investments, and genuine belief have been nothing short of inspiring which is what allowed us to create these works while enduring the unsettling ebb and flow of career musicianship. With this in mind we would like to take this time to exhibit said transparency and explain that over time a divergence in views and aims has developed within the campand, for the moment, the impact that has on letlive. as a group is that there will be no further activity for the foreseeable future. We want to thank every single person that we were privileged enough to make a connection with through this vessel. We will no longer write the soundtrack, but the most important element, the idea, will continue as long as you allow it to. You are and always will be letlive. All ll.ove, Jason Aalon Butler, Loniel Robinson, Ryan Johnson, & Jeffrey Sahyoun

“I believe that art is worth something when you mean it,” offered Jason last year. The value of letlive. is extraordinary because it means something to everyone who has experienced it and everyone who ever will. At the end of this letlive. thing I’d like people to look back and say, ‘They just wrote music, man’. I know the moniker under which we’re sometimes placed, and I know the moniker under which I believe in. If it’s good music, it’s good music.” But here we are at the end, and letlive. did so much more than STREAM THIS write good music. They made people BEST OF PLAYLIST @ UPSETMAGAZINE.COM better. P

LETLIVE.

WELCOME BREAK

WAVVES SAY GOODBYE TO THEIR STIFLING MAJOR LABEL HOME TO PUT OUT THEIR NEW RECORD VIA NATHAN WILLIAMS’ OWN GHOST RAMP - AND THE BAND ARE LOVING IT.

E V E RY T H I N G H A P P E N I N G I N RO C K

hen announcing their new album, ‘You’re Welcome’, in amongst all the usual release gubbins, Wavves took aim at Warner, their first, and most likely last, major label deal. “I’d never come in contact with such a poorly run company in my life,” frontman Nathan Williams declared. “It was anarchy. Nobody knew what they were doing.” Unsurprisingly, for their new one, he’s put the ball firmly back in his own court, self-releasing via Ghost Ramp. “It’s night and day. There are still nerves, but I don’t think it’s daunting,” he offers. “I’m excited for everyone to hear it, and I’m excited that I can bring it to them without any interference on art or distribution.” This newfound freedom potentially means Wavves have secured their own longevity; after all, without all the red tape and bureaucracy, what’s stopping them? “I think we can do it as long as we like to, honestly. I see no ceiling.” And this is something that can be heard throughout ‘You’re Welcome’. By no means is this a vast differentiation from any Wavves release before it; instead, it sees Nathan and co. experiment

WORDS: STEVEN LOFTIN.

with styles in a way only they can, filling the space with ebbs and flows of fifties sounds, slacker rock, and just about anything else that happened to catch Nathan’s ear. After the sessions for previous album ‘V’ found them spiralling into chaotic, intoxicated wasted days, this time around Nathan made sure to take things a bit easier. “I guess this was a more insular Wavves record. I spent a lot of time in the studio alone.” While some may argue that the ‘Wavves sound’ could probably attribute itself to a lost evening or three, this more subdued and methodical approach gave Nathan room to find new dimensions of himself. In referring to their sound as being “ultimately whatever I want it to be”, Nathan knows he’s the one guiding this ship through its occasionally rocky journey, and knows it’s him who finds the evolutions the most personal. Talking through the more obvious flourishes that come in the form of doowop on ‘Come To The Valley’, he states: “If I want to do something samplebased with melodic parts leaning towards 50s music, I’ll do that. If I want to write a fast power-pop song, flip the drums and add subs, I’ll do that. Each day started new just based on whatever I felt inclined to do; I was going to

chase it and see where I landed.” The album title even infers more than just Nathan being a bit cocksure, he puts this choice down to a few different but aligning reasons: “It was the hook of that [titular] song, and it just stuck. I liked that it was tongue-in-cheek. It looked good written out.” ‘You’re Welcome’ traverses a variety of subjects, with Nathan acting as a storyteller on ‘Daisy’, which he explains “is a fantasy, so that story was fun to me. The idea of me in a Nordic lake house with a pet polar bear still makes me laugh.” So with the future for Wavves vast and open, bar some uncharted territory “There are a few spots on the map we haven’t checked off... that would be nice” - Nathan’s newfound maturity and constant discovery mean one thing for the band: “There’s no ceiling. I already feel like the ship is sailing in the right direction.” P Wavves’ album ‘You’re Welcome’ is out 19th May. STREAM THIS

WAVVES

MILLION ENEMIES

DELUXE EDITION CD-DVD / 2XLP-DVD AVAILABLE NOW INCLUDES 2 NEW SONGS, 2 LIVE SONGS, 2 ACOUSTIC SONGS & A FULL FEATURE DVD

NICE ONE

COME IN PLANET ROCK! MILK TEETH ARE BACK, AND THEY’VE SHARPENED THEIR GNASHERS WITH A NEW LABEL AND TWO NEW EPS.

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“

can’t contain myself,” starts Becky. “I’m like a child on Smarties.” Milk Teeth are excited about releasing new material, but they’re not the only ones. “So much has happened since the last record come out. We’ve done so many more tours; it feels like we’ve put the work in and now we’re back on track. Everything is settled again.” But the boat isn’t going to rock itself. The band are gearing up to release two EPs this year on their new home of Roadrunner Records, with ‘Be Nice’ part one of their double hit. Initially written as an album before being cut in half, streamlined and refocused, “the two eps that we’ve put together are the best representation of what we do now. It almost feels like day one again. Not to discredit the previous releases, but it feels like starting over. In a good way. ‘Vile Child’ was a personal

WORDS: ALI SHUTLER.

reflection record for me, explains Becky. “These are still personal songs, but I’ve been through different things since. ‘Vile Child’ was about stuff I went through as a teenager and my early twenties, these songs are the 24-25 chapter. Who knows what’ll come next,” she teases. ‘Be Nice’ has become a mantra for the band, a tagline, a message to live by. “It’s just always something we stuck by. We’ll always stick up for ourselves if we disagree with something or think something is wrong, but being nice gets you a lot further than being an arsehole. It’s just simple, isn’t it? It’s a simple thing, and if people stick to that, life is pretty easy.” Between the title and the first track (“It’s bloody catchy. It gets in my own head, and I feel like a right dick with my own song stuck in my head”) ‘Owning Your Okayness’, Milk Teeth aren’t wasting time. They’ve got something to say, and they’re going to say it.

“The relationship I was in at the time, I was torn. I was really in love with this person, and everything about us, the friendship part of the relationship and the fun part was all amazing, but the guy always had a wandering eye. I stuck it out for three years on and off, putting up with this guy looking at other people and talking to other girls. That’s something a lot of people will be able to relate to. It’s quite a common scenario. “I’m not with him now, and it took me a long time to end things because all the other parts of the relationship were so happy. The chorus represents the frustration I had inside, that I couldn’t keep this person from shopping around. I’d rather lay all my cards out than beat around the bush. That person heard the song at the time, they knew it was about them and it was a fingers to you. They knew it was about them, while we were still in a relationship and

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MILK TEETH

OWNING YOUR OKAYNESS

THOUGHT MILK TEETH COULDN’T GET ANY MORE AWESOME? THINK AGAIN.

they knew they’d cocked up, that was my ‘I’ve had enough’ point, and that’s what that song represents to me. Don’t be a dick and be nice. Play nice, and I’ll play nice too.” There’s also “empowerment at play,” she says. “‘No, I’m not going to put up with this shit’. Yes, we’re happy in other ways, but nobody should have to put up with being treated like less than they’re worth.” The rest of ‘Be Nice’ follows the same raging path of ‘Owning Your Okayness’. “It’s edgy, but it’s got a lot of pop elements to it. It’s very melody heavy. We don’t want people to think we’ve suddenly turned into a full-on pop band, everything is still us, and the EP represents that, but ‘Okayness’ as the first single is a no brainer. That song encompasses everything that is the band now, pop hooks, fuzzy guitars, dual vocals; it’s got attitude, and it’s pissed off. It made perfect sense. I like that there’s a lot of space to not be confined to one kind of style, I love being able to write for a band like that. The stuff that inspired us, yeah Smashing Pumpkins but also the old school girl punk bands like Bikini Kill and the riot grrrl era, I still wanted that to be represented.” Milk Teeth have always been a band who knew what they were doing. ‘Swear Jaw’ is one of the first

songs the band ever wrote and it still demands a shiver down the back of the neck. ‘Vile Child’ is a record of confidence and conflict, but that steely-eyed determination never wavered. Milk Teeth remain unblinking, but this time it’s with a dreamers eye. “If your goal is to play 300 cap rooms forever, and that’s what you’re happy doing, that’s great. That makes me happy too but it’s grown further than that so I’ve had to move the goal posts. We all have.” Now Milkies are looking up. “Everyone who knows us, knows we’re self-deprecating to the point where it’s annoying. People tell us we’ve got this, we’ve got potential and we’re starting to believe in what we’re doing a little more. “Now that we have more opportunities, we’re starting to entertain the notion that maybe it’s not out of the question for us to do things. I’ve always been very determined but now we’ve become more ambitious and I think that’s only a positive thing. People do shoot themselves down, they care so much about being cool or staying underground, they limit themselves. Why wouldn’t you want to take things as far as you can?” P Milk Teeth’s EP ‘Be Nice’ is out 28th July.

Milk Teeth have always owed a part, no matter how small, of their sound to the nineties. Some things never change but the first taste of new EP ‘Be Nice’ is more ‘Ten Things I Hate About You’ than ‘Nevermind’ and it’s a look they wear well. From the moment they bear their teeth though, ‘Owning Your Okayness’ is 100% Milkies. Their heads down energy runs rampant and while their gang mentality has never felt stronger or more united, each of their personalities shines through. Whether it’s Oli’s flourish in the spotlight, Billy’s relentless enthusiasm, Chris’ desire for a good time, or Becky taking back control, the group are operating in perfect harmony. That’s not to say they’ve lost their bite. ‘Owning Your Okayness’ is frustrated to the point of fury but the band, newly empowered and ready to take on the world, are out to do something about it. They share grins as they rise above it, there’s laughter as they take their revenge. Stepping out of the shadows, this track demands attention. It wants to be seen. The band need to be heard. There’s confidence in the way they attack it that’s been lurking in their live show for a while now but fully realised and on record, ‘Owning Your Okayness’ sees the band in a whole new light. It’s powerful, fuelled by belief and there’s no stopping them now. P 21

E V E RY T H I N G H A P P E N I N G I N RO C K

“WE DON’T WANT TO STAGNATE.”

PAPA ROACH ARE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. STILL GOING STRONG AFTER OVER TWENTY YEARS TOGETHER, THEIR NEW ALBUM SEES THEM PULLING A FEW NEW TRICKS OUT OF THEIR WELL-WORN BAG.

WORDS: STEVEN LOFTIN.

t’s quite possible that every human born pre-1990 has at some point heard the lone voice of Papa Roach singer Jacoby Shaddix declaring, “Cut my life into pieces, this is my last resort!” It’s a cultural phenomenon of its own volition that has seen the band propelled into the mainstream consciousness, where they have been for the seventeen years since its release. During that time, members have come and gone; their sound has moved from the nu-metal that pretty much soundtracked the early noughties, but now they find themselves looking back to those younger days for their future. Understanding where a band like Papa Roach goes after the success of ‘Infest’ in 2000 is a hard thing to realise. Having survived the halcyon days of nu-metal, the band have been toeing the line between surviving and creating. After the genre’s surge had petered out and the world turned to its next new favourite thing, Papa Roach never left the realm of rock but saw the ‘nu’ element dissolve away. That is, until now. “We don’t want to be too ‘old school’ because we don’t want to stagnate,” guitarist Jerry Horton says, reflecting on the band in 2017. “At the same time, we understand a lot of people fell in love with a certain sound we had. It does weigh in, but not at the expense of our need to create something new for ourselves.” ‘Crooked Teeth’, the band’s tenth release harks back to those early noughties days, with Jacoby mostly trading snarling vocals for agitated rapping. That’s right, the nu-metal sound of yesteryear is making a massive comeback, and it sounds just as good as you remember it. Teaming up with a couple of producers who are fairly new to the game, Papa Roach have fully sought out the aggression that is synonymous with their name and sound. “There were many factors involved in that dichotomy. The producers we chose are younger guys who produce many different genres, so their knowledge of the application of sound is a bit less constrained than that of a rock producer.” It’s not necessarily what you’d expect to hear from a band who once declared they “don’t give a fuck if I cut my arm bleeding”, but there is a payoff. What they have is that fire along with a confidence that can only be found with a change of mindset, or, as Jerry puts it: “It was also our drive to return to our musical innocence and sense of adventure.”

Alongside producers Nicholas “RAS” Furlong and Colin Brittain, they also worked with a name who has credits with the likes of Jason Derulo, Zedd and album vocal contributor Skylar Gary. “Jason [Evigan] was the first call we made,” says Jerry. “We had done some touring with After Midnight Project, the band of which Jason was the singer. We became good friends during that time, and after their band had broken up, he became a successful pop producer.” The resulting single, ‘Born For Greatness’ has not only been well received, but it feels that this is a break Linkin Park could’ve made in their pop quest; it’s a track that has the dark of Papa Roach with the rollercoaster builds and drops of EDM with a pop edge. While these new elements may seem surprising, especially next to the sound of old, the band still look to their peers for inspiration, and Papa Roach have never been shy about sharing theirs - as Jerry explains. “We have always looked up to bands who evolve their sound. Faith No More is one of the most complete examples I can give. That’s what we try to do. Of course, there’s a fine line we’ve had to walk between evolving and retaining our identity, but I think we’ve done a fairly good job of it.” Across the album’s surprisingly brief thirtyfour minutes, there’s subject matter from love to drug dependency and just being fucking great. Jerry chooses hard hitting ‘None of the Above’ as his choice cut. “It’s one of the most adventurous songs on the record, it has hooks all over the place, and there’s this crazy dynamic loop that happens, where each part sounds heavier than the next.” Not only does ‘Crooked Teeth’ show the band embracing who they were all along, but it also sees them discovering their inevitable maturity - discarding the need for that hardhitting lifestyle that’s synonymous with what they do. Over the last seventeen years, the band have been everywhere, from touring with Eminem to Marilyn Manson. So where are Papa Roach off to next? They’re heading out on an EU/ UK tour soon, for which they’ve enlisted the help of the internet and mailing lists to decide upon their plotting. But that’s not all; Jerry confidently reveals they’re thinking even further ahead. “Funny you ask, because we already have half of the next record done. Who knows, we might road-test some of the new stuff here and there...” P Papa Roach’s album ‘Crooked Teeth’ is out 19th May. 23

E V E RY T H I N G H A P P E N I N G I N RO C K

HEAVEN OR HELL

HEY LOOK, IT’S ANOTHER OF OUR FAVOURITE BANDS RETURNING WITH A NEW ALBUM. PVRIS DROP THE FOLLOW UP TO ‘WHITE NOISE’ THIS SUMMER. WORDS: ALI SHUTLER.

irst came a social media cleanse, then fans started receiving mysterious letters from PVRIS announcing a rebirth. At a time of big returns, Lynn, Alex and Brian are still putting the whole story above the initial shock. We know now that the band’s new album ‘All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell’ is coming August 4th with the title taken from an Emily Dickinson poem and first single ‘Heaven’ sees the band add some new colour to ‘White Noise’s palette. The teaser video sees the band emerge from the water that was drowning them in ‘You and I’ before they take a breath, gather their thoughts, and shatter the mirror that defined their first chapter. Everything screams a move forward. The band are confidently opening the book on chapter two. Seems like a good time to ask Lynn some questions about it then, doesn’t it? Hello PVRIS, you’re back. How does that feel? It feels amazing to be back! You’ve been away for a little bit. Is there any part of you that’s worried people will have forgotten who you are? There was definitely a slight worry, as I think anyone would have, but our fans are honestly so understanding and patient, which is greatly appreciated. ‘Heaven’’s just been released, what inspired it? What’s it about? Tell us everything. I actually had started the instrumental for the track around two springs ago while we were staying in Shoreditch for some promo. Ever since we started touring the U.K. and Europe, I’ve been incredibly inspired by the architecture and character of certain places, on an extremely weird emotional level. The music initially was inspired by that feeling, this strange blend of sadness and completeness. Lyrically, it initially a lot of separate emotions/stories attached to it, but I feel like it’s pretty self-explanatory. The first and second verse were written over a year apart, and the chorus was also written at a separate time, but they all correlate with each other. I also very recently experienced something that pretty much encapsulated the entire song as a whole. Does this track feel like a rebirth of the band? Emotionally and mentally, absolutely. And what do you want people to take away from this? It was incredibly cathartic to create; I can only hope people can take away that same feeling, in whatever story they want. 25

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PVRIS

HEAVEN

Why have you chosen this song to introduce us to your second chapter? It was a unanimous pick all around our entire team; everyone just knew it had to be this track. I feel like it’s the perfect introduction to this record, it’s a dynamic song and definitely transports things over to the next place we want to go. I think it sums up the overall mood of the record perfectly.

E V E RY T H I N G H A P P E N I N G I N RO C K

It’s been a year since you last released new music with ‘You and I’. What’s changed in that time? So much! We finally had a solid eight-nine months off after touring non-stop for the past three years, that in itself was a massive change for us, just finally being able to rest and collect ourselves and reflect on everything we’ve experienced.

A lot of people are waiting (im) patiently for new PVRIS music. Has it been difficult to create with so many eyes on you? In some ways yes, others no. I think the biggest struggle, at least for me, was figuring out who I was and who I grew into, which in turn made it difficult to figure out what kind of voice I had and what I wanted to say with it. Sonically/ creatively it was the opposite. ‘White Noise’ was defined by the mirror. The letter you’ve sent to fans about new music features a mirror image of some text. Is it related? Honestly, we didn’t even realise.

The artwork for the next record also has a mirror image/reflection, and that was also completely unintentional. However, I truly believe in the universe and its inner workings, and I think our subconscious is so much stronger than we think, nothing is ever a coincidence. It definitely worked out for a reason. You’re playing the Main Stage at Reading & Leeds. How are you feeling about making the step up? Last time was absolutely insane! We are humbled to be making the step up, and we are beyond excited. What’s the rest of the year got in store for you? After some time away, we’re going to assume you’re coming back with a vengeance? We’ve got a lot in store, we’re just about to play some underplay headline shows over here and Europe then we immediately hop onto some festivals and tour with Muse and 30 Seconds To Mars. I wouldn’t say a vengeance, but we mean fucking business. What other music is exciting you at the moment? Brian and Alex have been jamming the new A Blaze Of A Feather song; they’re huge Ben Howard fans, so they’ve been so excited. I just discovered Eliot Sumner’s record ‘Information’, and I am obsessed! P PVRIS’ album ‘All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell’ is out 4th August.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER ONE OF OUR FAVOURITE BANDS RETURNING. AS YOU PROBABLY COULD HAVE GUESSED THOUGH, PVRIS AREN’T DOING THE EXPECTED. Instead of going for the shock, awe and tilted-head confusion of Fall Out Boy or the all-out-bangerfest that was Paramore’s ‘Hard Times’, the first proper taste of PVRIS’ second chapter is less black and white. A year ago the band set in the motion the change between ‘White Noise’ and the future with ‘You & I’ but those twelve months have changed things. Instead of trying to hold on and fighting to preserve, ‘Heaven’ sees the band at odds with the fall out. Head to head, face to face, this track is fierce and opposing. But it’s smarter than just that. Unlike most bands, PVRIS aren’t interested in a direct fix. Instead Lynn, Alex and Brian are more interested in storytelling, in chapter, verse and the bigger picture. ‘Heaven’ isn’t built to show off new faces or remind you of old, instead it flashes with the whole scene. It’s a standalone marvel but there are secrets to uncover, poetry to move. Shades of red and purple hues, there are also new monsters in the dark. Through ‘Heaven’s storm there are glimpses of a new world and the tantalizing desire to explore. After the chase of ‘White Noise’, PVRIS are starting chapter two by setting the pace. There’s a confidence in the way the band lean back and a belief in the way they pause. ‘Heaven’ moves fast but it’s never hurried. Their world, their rules. Welcome to the new age. P

GET BETTER

T E V E RY T H I N G H A P P E N I N G I N RO C K

LEMURIA ARE BRINGING THEIR DEBUT ALBUM TO THE UK THIS SUMMER, PLAYING THE BLOODY ACE ’GET BETTER’ IN FULL UP AND DOWN THE COUNTRY.

his issue we’re not only celebrating ten years of Slam Dunk, but also ten years of Lemuria’s album ‘Get Better’ too. Released way back in 2007, it’s a record that means a lot to the New York trio, covering themes of loss, grief and striving to move forward. Drummer/ vocalist Alex Kerns reflects on their debut, and the years that have followed. Congratulations on it being ten years since ‘Get Better’! How have your feelings towards the album changed over the years? It’s been very exciting for us to return to these songs listening through a 10-year-old lens. We’re looking forward to playing the album in its entirety. Looking back, what’s your favourite thing about the record? The album has some sad themes, but I’m happy that we were able to project them with an air of optimism.

Do you find the album resonates with new fans now in the same way it did back when it was first released? I think it has been resonating with new listeners today. We recently took this tour all around the US for a couple of months and there was a great mix of younger newer fans, but also many familiar older faces. We heard a lot of people say, ‘This is our first night out in a long time, the kids are with the babysitter’. What have been the most valuable life lessons you’ve learnt since ‘Get Better’? That your family extends much further than the people that you’re related to through blood. How has the musical landscape changed during the period since then? Is there anything you like more or less than before? The musical landscape seems to change every year. We just try to approach everything we do as our art and never our content. Trying to keep up with the music business is a full-time job it seems, a job that leaves little time for writing music. What were you guys listening to

yourselves around that time? There were some great albums in 2007. I’m not sure what we were listening to that actually came out in 2007. But I know we were listening to a lot of Thin Lizzy, The Lemonheads, Jets to Brazil and The Marked Men. You’re touring the record in full this July - is that something you’ve done before? Does it present any challenges compared to your usual set? We toured a couple of months earlier this year throughout the US playing the album in full; we had a blast! Our friend Tony Flaminio came along with us, and he will be joining us for the UK shows too. He played keyboards on ‘Get Better’, and he will make it possible for us to play the songs exactly the way they were represented on the album. Since the album is only 28 minutes long, we always make sure to play a selection of songs after we finish the album. Are you planning any other anniversary celebrations? At the moment, we have no other plans. P Lemuria tour the UK this July.

CASE CASE STUDY STUDY FIND OUT WHAT YOUR FAVOURITE BANDS TAKE ON THE ROAD!

THIS MONTH...

NEED TO KNOW

CHRIS MILLER

YOU ME AT SIX

KINKY BOOTS

M Y BOA RD Whether it’s for transport or mucking around in the venue I can’t live without my skateboard. Hours of fun and equally terrifying for everyone who works around us.

X BOX When we have some down time we love nothing more than kicking back and playing games. FIFA and CoD are extremely competitive in team You Me At Six. It makes and breaks friendships.

M Y AU D I O T EC H N I CA H E A D P H O N ES When you need to escape from time on the road there is nothing better than sticking on a set of decent headphones and listening to a great album. Also great for drowning out the noise of the tour bus late at night.

Panic! At The Disco’s Brendon Urie will make his Broadway debut this summer as Charlie Price in Kinky Boots, with a run that kicks off on 26th May and continues on to 6th August at The Hirschfeld Theatre. He joins a cast that includes J. Harrison Ghee as Lola and Taylor Louderman as Lauren, and features a score by Cyndi Lauper. “I’m thrilled to be making my Broadway debut with this fantastic company,” says Brendon. “I’m a huge fan of Kinky Boots and musical theatre, and am honored to be joining the cast.”

ON THE ROAD

Kamikaze Girls are going supporting Gnarwolves on their current UK tour in the lead up to the release of debut album ‘Seafoam’, set to drop on 9th June. The tour kicked off on 8th May in Birmingham, and precedes further dates with Nervus and festival appearances including The Great Escape, 2000trees and Truck.

W H I S K EY ! It’s not rock’n’roll without a few drinks here and there. Whiskey is my choice. See you at the bar.

UNBREAKABLE

T H E ‘ M EG AT RO N ’ In the daily struggle for plug sockets in even the most well-equipped venue the aptly named Megatron will always have my back. Many have laughed, but they always come crawling back once they have used their phone battery by 3pm. You Me At Six have just finished touring the UK; they play Reading & Leeds this August.

Of Mice & Men have surprisedropped a new single, ‘Unbreakable’ – their first new music since the departure of frontman Austin Carlile late last year due to health issues. The song is “all about staring fear in the face, overcoming fear’s ability to keep you stagnant, and telling it where it stands,” says Aaron Pauley. “None of this would be possible without you, and we thank you all, endlessly.” 29

E V E RY T H I N G H A P P E N I N G I N RO C K

THERE’S NO OTHER WAY

AS TWENTY ONE PILOTS WIND UP THEIR BREAKTHROUGH ALBUM ‘BLURRYFACE’, IT’S IMPORTANT TO LOOK BACK AND APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THE DUO HAVE ACHIEVED, AND WHAT MAKES THEM SPECIAL.

t’s been two years since Twenty One Pilots released ‘Blurryface’ and they’re ending the chapter the same way they started it. Live. With a handful of increasingly bigger shows in their native Columbus’ booked in for June, Tyler and Josh are set to bring the curtain down on their most impactful album to date. It’s strange to think that when the band released ‘Blurryface’, their headline show

WORDS: ALI SHUTLER.

at London’s Brixton Academy looked like a stretch. A fingers-crossed, let’s hope for the best, leap of faith. It’s a trial by fire that many bands take. For most, it represents a pinnacle. For Twenty One Pilots, it was a footnote in their ascension. Since then, the band have broken out in every way imaginable. There’ve been festival performances that have stolen weekends worth of excitement, TV appearances that have forced reactions and they’ve even made a dent in Hollywood, with ‘Heathens’ the

best thing to come out of Suicide Squad. They’ve won an actual Grammy, become genuine arena sensations all around the world, and even your mum has probably heard ‘Stressed Out’. Years from now, ‘Blurryface’ will be one of those albums: talked about with reverence, held with a gloved hand and seen as a launch pad for a generational change. Right now though, in the shadow of its overwhelming reach, Twenty One Pilots are more touchable. Their music, human. To this day, it

“ W I T H ‘ B LU RRY FAC E ’ C O M I N G TO A N E N D, I T ’S T I M E TO STA RT G ET T I N G E XC I T E D A BO U T

THE THE FUTURE OF THE FUTURE FUTUREOF OF TWENTY ONE PILOTS.” TWENTY TWENTY ONE ONE PILOTS.” PILOTS.” causes division, debate and scorn. But that’s just a testament to its brilliance. “To not be a fork in the road with your art is wasting your power of creating art in the first place,” Tyler explained in the week leading up to ‘Blurryface’’s release. “We’re fine with polarising people when they hear us.” The record may deal with struggle and finding the power to push back, but Twenty One Pilots weren’t out looking for a scrap. It’s all about the attitude of ignoring the way the world spins and going your own way. Everything about ‘Blurryface’ was a risk but it’s seen the band flourish. “I don’t think Josh and I ever set out to be rebellious,” Tyler explained backstage of the Boston Music Room in London. “We just want people to get the music however they can so they can come to a show and experience that music with us. That’s really where it all comes together and makes sense. Face to face.” We are all united knowing we have no idea where the pair go next. Tyler and Josh have gone so far beyond walls that there are simply no more doors left to open. Bands evolve and grow, it’s the natural order nowadays, but Twenty One Pilots do more than just follow the tide. No one was really predicting TOP to crossover, impact and grow the way they have done. Sure, they just want to play shows and connect with people, but that doesn’t limit them. They’re believers, and they’re dreamers. “One of the reasons I was so excited about playing music with Josh is because one of the first times we ever hung out, we talked about our dreams. It’s a very naked feeling talking about what your dreams are, but it’s safe to say we’re big fans of not putting a ceiling on them. Whatever you could imagine is probably what we’re going for.” With ‘Blurryface’ coming to an end, it’s time to start getting excited about the future of Twenty One Pilots. Sure, we don’t know what they’ve got in store, but it’s going to be bigger, because the band don’t know any other way. It’s going to be entirely new, because the band don’t know any other way. It’s going to mean something, because the band don’t know any other way. P

NEED TO KNOW

THE BEST

MOMENTS OF

BLURRYFACE

TRY NOT TO FREAK OUT

Sløtface have revealed that they will release their debut album ‘Try Not To Freak Out’ on 15th September via Propeller Recordings.

WONDER TOUR

STICKING TO THEIR EARLY DAYS PROMISE AND COLLECTING A GRAMMY IN THEIR UNDERWEAR.

The Wonder Years are going to play two new headline shows in Kingston and Nottingham this summer, on 7th and 9th July. The dates bookend their appearance at 2000trees Festival on 8th July.

COME ALONG

The Flatliners have confirmed details of a headline tour, in support of new album ‘Inviting Light’. The dates – which follow on from their support tour with The Menzingers – kick off on 12th October at The Hope in Brighton. THEIR COLLAB WITH MUTEMATH.

HEY, GUYS

Hey Violet - who’ve not long finished up a few UK dates have revealed that their new album is called ‘From The Outside’ and will land on 16th June.

STORMY WEATHER

THE #TOPDEBATE. MAKING POLITICS FUN. REMEMBER WHEN POLITICS WAS FUN?

Katie Crutchfield has announced details of her fourth Waxahatchee album: billed as her “most honest album to date”, ‘Out In The Storm’ is due on 14th July. She’ll tour the UK this September, with dates that follow her set at End of the Road. 31

PLAYLIST THERE’S A WHOLE UNIVERSE OF MUSIC OUT THERE TO LISTEN TO. HERE ARE TEN TRACKS YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO THIS MONTH.

PARAMORE HARD TIMES

Tropical 80s pop banger ahoy! The first taster of Paramore’s new album ‘After Laughter’ may have broken the internet, but it started the party too. From Paramore’s new album ‘After Laughter’, out now.

OF MICE & MEN UNBREAKABLE

OM&M return with the first track featuring their new line up (following the sad departure of Austin Carlile due to health reasons) sounding just as vital as ever. From nothing... yet?

FALL OUT BOY

YOUNG AND MENACE

Fall Out Boy are back as you’ve never heard them before. Nothing new there, then. From Fall Out Boy’s new album ‘M A N I A’ out 15th September.

E V E RY T H I N G H A P P E N I N G I N RO C K

OWNING YOUR OKAYNESS

Milk Teeth declare that it’s okay to be just okay, while being anything but. It’s the return we’ve been waiting for. From Milk Teeth’s forthcoming ‘Be Nice’ EP, out 28th July. LIS TE N

SLØTFACE

TO T

MAGAZINE

PVRIS

HEAVEN

PVRIS make a comeback of epic proportions with new track ‘Heaven. S’alright. From PVRIS’ new album ‘All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell’ out 4th August.

JOYCE MANOR

A typically massive track from Corey Taylor & Co. You can find out all about their return in the next issue of Upset, FYI. From Stone Sour’s new album ‘Hydrograd’ out 30th June.

Joyce Manor take part in a singles series that also features contributions from Beach Slang, Modern Baseball, Diet Cig and more. From Polyvinyl Records’ 4-Track Single Series.

NBTSA

BULLY

SWEEPING EXITS

Bully donate their first new track since 2015 debut ‘Feels Like’ to a compilation protesting Donald Trump’s first 100 days as president. From the ‘Our First 100 Days’ compilation.

This one Upset premiered earlier this month. It’s “a mutated version of my life story,” says Mira Glitterhound. From Sweeping Exits’ new album ‘Glitter & Blood’ out 9th June.

RIGHT

HIS

“I wanted to write a killer breakup song,” says vocalist Haley Shea. Mission accomplished. From Sløtface’s debut album ‘Try Not To Freak Out’ out 15th September.

STONE SOUR SONG #3

MILK TEETH

MIAMI BEACH

THE NEW ALBUM OUT NOW INCUBUSHQ.COM

A deep breath of the less ordinary. The debut album. In stores everywhere. Heartbreakingly sweet melodies fused with alt. electronica and rock guitar, bludgeon and seduce. Pick it up on CD and Petrol green 180g LP. Stream and Download. www.bulletheight.com

ABOUT TO

BREAK THE BEST NEW BANDS TH E H OT TEST NEW MUSIC

PEANESS ARE HEAPS OF FUN, WRITING SONGS ABOUT RELATIONSHIP WOES AND WONKY VEGETABLES. JESS (BASS) BALLA (GUITAR) AND RACH (DRUMS) INTRODUCE THEIR BAND. WORDS: SAM TAYLOR.

How did you guys meet, and then decide to form a band? Jess: We all met while studying at University. Balla and I were in the same year taking the same course, and Rach also took the same course but was the year below us. We’ve been friends since 2010, and it wasn’t until we had all graduated that we decided to try and write some songs together. We used to practice in Rach’s bedroom (full kit and amps) but realised that wasn’t a very nice thing to do for our neighbours. Once we started practising and writing in a proper space, we thought we should give being a band a proper go. Was it obvious from the off what Peaness was going to sound like? Jess: Bits yeah. Balla and I have been singing together since we met, so we knew we wanted to have lots of melody and harmony in the vocal arrangements. I knew I wanted to have a dirty/fuzzy bass and we knew we were going to write pop songs rather than, say, metal songs or 15 min prog numbers. We had 34

only written about six songs by the time we came to record the first EP, and four of those made it onto the EP, so I guess that speaks for itself. Do you all have shared favourite bands? Rach: Yes. We talk about bands and artists quite a bit. We all love The Beatles and also Biffy Clyro, oh and DFA 1979 (who we went to see twice together). To be honest, there’s loads of stuff we all like. What do you most enjoy writing and singing about? Balla: Themes of frustration and relationships are the backbone of most of our songs. What themes do you cover on your new ‘Are You Sure?’ EP? Jess: Frustration and relationships, hahaha. Okay so as an example, track five ‘Ugly Veg’ is about food waste (and general waste) and how it’s infuriating being stuck in a society that does very little to help with the growing problems

of global warming and the destruction of our planet. On a lighter note ‘Skin Surfing’ is about sex. When and where did you write and record it? Did you learn anything new while doing so? Jess: We write songs in different ways and in different places. Some songs are created from scratch in a practice room, some are written almost complete by me, and some are written at Balla’s house during one of our “songwriting sessions”. Rach: We record everything over in North Wales in a studio called Orange Sound in Penmaenmawr with our good buddy Russ. We came in fully prepared and did the EP in two days, and Russ always comments how organised we are and how easy it is for him when we go there! Are you guys creative in non-musical ways, too? Jess: I try to be creative with something every day, sounds kinda lame, but

STREAM THIS

PEANESS

SAME PLACE

So how did you guys get together, and settle on the type of music you wanted to make? Jon: We met in Berlin on a creepy Halloween in a grimy Berlin club. I’d been in a band before - the composer and producer – Bullet Height was a natural progression from there. The only rules were: to create with no restriction or creative boundaries. Sammi: We were both new to the city, therefore we were kind of at the same starting point. We were lucky to have found each other. What were some of the challenges you had to overcome during the record’s creation? Sammi: Jon is extremely easy to work with, but only because I understand his madness in creation. It’s almost like a different language. Jon: Large chunks we spent in solitude in the studio, some days were mega, and recording progressed rapidly – on these days I felt as though I had the-wholeworld-in-my-hands… other days things moved painfully slowly, and I felt like giving up… this led me to dark corners I never want to revisit. To what extent is the tone of your music influenced by current events? Do you find yourselves reacting to what’s on the news? Sammi: I find there’s relevance in everything if you choose to direct your attention to it. It’s interpretation. Our lyrical content

whatever. I post all the merch we sell and include personalised messages with stamps. I really enjoy getting crafty with ink and rubber and sharpies. I also co-run a production company called Twin Moon here in Chester. We shoot music videos for bands, and we’re also starting live sessions this summer with local bands and artists. I made the ‘Seafoam Islands’ video, and my partner made the ‘Summer Song’ video. I also dye my hair (and Rach’s hair) a lot. Rach: I’ve been planning to make a stop motion video for ‘Ugly Veg’ for ages, and the other day Jess and I spent the whole day round her place making it. We can’t wait to share it! Do you have big plans for over the summer? Balla: So many. We have quite a few festivals booked now. Obviously, the new EP is coming out. Jess is going on holiday to Japan, and Rach is going to Thailand! P Peaness’ EP ‘Are You Sure? is out now.

isn’t about one subject in particular. It sounds cliché, but it’s better for the listener to hear it and decipher what it’s about. Jon: My writing is way more self-centered than about what’s on the news. Lyrical themes tend to encompass; fear, lust, anger, love, drives, compulsions, etc… trying to keep them in check and what happens when they run riot! Humm… all this Brexit crap makes me quite angry, so maybe I’ll do an anti-Brexit song for fun. What are the benefits of being based in Berlin? Is there a supportive community around you? Sammi: Honestly? In my opinion, Berlin is the Mecca of European arts at the moment. You’re still able to be a musician with an albeit, modest yet, affordable lifestyle. Jon: The benefit is you pay 150 Euro a month for a studio/creative space and not £600. Album aside, what else have you got coming up this year? Jon: Gigs and more gigs. A wise musician friend said; “Jon, the easy part is making the album, the hard part is getting it out there.” What’s important now is that we get ‘No Atonement’ heard. We slaved away in the studio, and I’m not wasting that by not backing it up with lots of shows. P Bullet Height’s debut album ‘No Atonement’ is out 19th May.

BULLET HEIGHT

THIS MONTH SEES BERLIN-BASED ALT-ROCK DUO BULLET HEIGHT BRING THEIR DEBUT ALBUM TO THE UK. JON COURTNEY AND SAMMI DOLL EXPLAIN HOW IT CAME INTO BEING. WORDS: SAM TAYLOR.

“

ABOUT TO

BREAK

WITH A STONKING NEW ALBUM AND AN IMPENDING TOUR ALONGSIDE MILK TEETH, THERE’S PLENTY FOR HARDCORE CRUSHERS EMPLOYED TO SERVE TO BE EXCITED ABOUT RIGHT NOW. AND THAT’S NOT TO MENTION ALL THE OTHER MUSIC THEY’RE LOVING, TOO.

“W

e’ve never been a political band at all,” begins Employed To Serve vocalist Justine Jones. “We have our views, but we’ve never felt the need to express them through our music.” At a time when Trump, Brexit and an array of other political dilemmas are sweeping the world, it’s very easy for musicians to claim to make political music at the moment. But Justine is looking closer to home when it comes to her lyrical inspirations. “Obviously it angers me when I see things that are wrong in the newspapers, however it doesn’t inspire to create something in the way that emotional reactions to the people around me do; I feel a lot more connected to those things.”

And what are those things that trigger an emotional response in Justine? “Social issues are touched upon; we talk about depression and homelessness. A couple of our family members suffer from depression; I personally haven’t, I’m very fortunate in that respect. Depression is

WORDS: JAKE RICHARDSON.

hereditary in my family, and a couple of the other band members have had issues with it with their friends and family. It’s just such a common thing to have, and it’s all around us. With homelessness, that’s someone we knew from our school days; it’s odd to remember them as the happy child they were, and then see them on the streets without a home.” Employed To Serve will soon have the opportunity to spread their message about the issues addressed on their new album, ‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun,’ when they hit the road with punk-rockers Milk Teeth, and it’s a tour which Justine can’t wait to get started. “I’m really excited!” Justine gushes. “As much as I love metal, there’s nothing as boring on a bill as five metal bands, and Milk Teeth are sonically very different to us, but also not so different that it doesn’t work. I think they’re a really good band; I’ve known of them for years, and it’s good to see another young act taking over like they are. We’ve never played with them before, and I don’t think I’ve actually met any of them! It’s odd, because the UK scene is very small, and they’re one of the few bands we haven’t come into

contact with.” Justine has a unique insight into the UK music scene, given that her day job is working for indie label Holy Roar. “I have a lot more awareness of how things work, and you obviously make top contacts,” she explains. “I like having control. I am however very aware of not putting too much time into my own band when working for the label, so that it doesn’t look like favouritism.” Speaking of other bands, the thrill with which Justine talks of her favourite underground acts is a joy to behold, and she’s got some top tips for anyone looking for new music. “I really like Conjurer, although that’s biased because they’re a Holy Roar band! Howls are great, and they’re not on our label. Ithaca are awesome, too!” With a boundless enthusiasm for music, and some handy industry expertise to boot, you wouldn’t bet against 2017 being the year Employed To Serve smash their way out of the underground. P Employed To Serve’s album ‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun’ is out 19th May.

“L

et me try to piece this together, so much has happened...” You know things are going well when you struggle to remember everything you’ve done. In the case of Jimmy Wizard, bouncing around projects up until he landed on Higher Power, it’s understandable. The band and their forthcoming debut ‘Soul Structure’ were never planned. “[It] was only meant to be a small side-project. My and brother and I did a demo together, the other guys heard it and forced us to make it into a real band. We started playing shows, and it’s just spiralled out of control from there.”

“A lot of Higher Power is trying to bring influences from things we listen to,” Jimmy continues. “We love hardcore, I listen to it a lot, and it’s the thing that makes sense to me the most.” However, Jimmy and co. are far from all hardcore all the time; their specific hybrid can only come from having several influences. “A lot of the time when I’m at home I’m probably listening to like Oasis or Alice In Chains. I love music, and I’d want to be in a band like this, but I don’t want to leave the hardcore scene. I’ve been in other bands, and we’ve played shows that aren’t really hardcore, it just doesn’t make sense to me. To play shows with a barrier, when you’re so far away.”

Higher Power quickly gained traction back home in Leeds, a hive of hardcore, for their melodic approach. “That’s especially important with what we want to do,” affirms Jimmy. “We’ve all played in bands for a long time, and it’s all been strictly hardcore. With Higher Power we thought we don’t want to do that, we want to do more, whatever we feel like doing and how we want to do it.” This all works out rather well when you consider the new master plan: that you can “listen with no preconceptions of what it’s going to sound like. It’s just trying to bring together everything that we like, and you know try not limit ourselves.”

Bridging the gap between band and crowd, the shows they love most are organised chaos. “I just think the atmosphere at hardcore shows is so different; you’re more in control of what’s happening, there’s no barrier, there’s no bouncer, it’s very much ‘Here’s some music, do what you want to it’. As long as everyone’s respecting each other, everyone’s having a good time. Some people want to stand at the back and observe and watch the chaos; other people just want to jump off the stage… that kind of energy is what makes hardcore so special. There’s no one stopping you from doing what you want

to do.” Having surrounded himself in the scene for over ten years, the last three or so have seen a resurgence. “I’ve seen it explode into something that you’d never imagine.” With his band having completed a successful live stint with Basement, including many sold-out shows, the world keeps on evolving, “It’s crazy to think that a hardcore band can get added into that mix. Or Turnstile and Code Orange getting signed to Roadrunner - it’s crazy how big it’s become, and hopefully, it continues to grow.” While many bands have goals of playing to packed stadiums, Top Ten hits and the rock’n’roll lifestyle, Jimmy has simpler, more modest plan. “Just to tour. We just want to go on tour and see how far we can take it. From when the second the demo was released to playing our first show, it’s already exceeded any expectations we had of it. We’ve all talked about it, and we just want to play shows to as many different people as we can, see as many cool things as we can and just carry on doing what we’re doing because it seems to be working real good for us right now.” P Higher Power’s album ‘Soul Structure.’ is out 19th May.

LEEDS-BASED FIVE-PIECE HIGHER POWER ARE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT HARDCORE, BRINGING THEIR OWN TAKE TO A GENRE THAT’S ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY. WORDS: STEVEN LOFTIN.

rs e y a Pl THERE ARE A MILLION REASONS PWR BTTM ARE IMPORTANT, BUT ON LISTENING TO THEIR NEW ALBUM ‘PAGEANT’ THERE’S ONE THAT COUNTS ABOVE ALL OTHERS. THEY FUCKING RULE. WORDS: JESSICA GOODMAN. PHOTOS: EBRU YILDIZ.

his was never intended to be a professional band,” Ben Hopkins marvels. “It’s so surreal to me that sometimes I forget that is what we do. Then I’m like, ‘Oh shit, we’re in a place I’ve never been before, and 200 people are coming to see us play.’ A lot of them are queer and super cool, and I’m super down to be friends with them. It’s SICK!” A lot has changed since PWR BTTM recorded their debut album back in 2015. ‘Ugly Cherries’ introduced the world to a band wearing their character on their sleeves with pride. Singing of insecurities and empowerment, with a nudge, a wink, and a playful sense of humour, through their music the duo offer an escape from the pressures of the day-to-day. In doing so they cultivate a space where listeners can feel free to be whoever and however they want to be – and they do so with such a sense of freewheeling enthusiasm the world had to stand up and take notice. “The response was something like we could never have anticipated,” Ben says, in awe. “It was something we made in a house in upstate New York for what we really thought was just going to be the DIY circle of our scene. It’s carried us to this whole different place.” Voicing aspirations with whimsy and approaching introspection with an endearing openness, the album continues to be a source of comfort and celebration for fans around the world. “People still message us about it a lot,” they enthuse. “When I hear it, it sounds like something we made a long time ago. It still sounds great, and I still love it, but it sounds like a very old thing now.” Commenting on how “everything’s so different now, it’s surreal,” PWR BTTM have certainly come a long way in the two years since their debut. Now selling out venues thousands of miles from their home, with festival appearances ahead of them and a brand new record in tow, the excitement surrounding the duo has hit fever pitch. As they warm up for a headline show on a sold out tour, it’s instantly evident why that’s the case. Fans clad in glitter makeup, feather boas, homemade t-shirts adorned with the band’s lyrics, and all matter of finery line up on the stairs, queuing for the chance to be front and centre when the group perform. Together the duo have inspired an adoration that can’t be forced or faked, a mutual 40

appreciation that they invite their audiences to revel in every time they take to a stage to play. It’s something the band are determined to live up to in everything they create. “It’s tempting to try to do the same thing that people liked before because that’s safe, it’s not so risky and scary,” Liv Bruce comments of their writing. “But ‘Ugly Cherries’ wasn’t safe. ‘Ugly Cherries’ was risky and scary to do at the time. We had to figure out what felt that way now.” Stepping out of their comfort zone to write some of their most direct and personal songs to date, PWR BTTM’s latest album is the sound of a band finding a sense of satisfaction in their own skin. “There’s a line in Kinky Boots: ‘Sex shouldn’t be comfy!’” Liv exclaims, giggling. “That’s kind of how I felt. That kind of sums up the process of making new art, I think. It shouldn’t be comfy and easy. Or if it is that...” they trail off.

natural embodiment of who the band have grown to be. So natural, in fact, that when the group entered the studio, they ended up doing so with around thirty songs. “We were like, ‘Are we about to make a fucking double record?!’” Ben exclaims. “We were convinced it was going to be a double album,” Liv affirms. “We were so anxious about it that we really wanted to have a lot going in,” they explain. Cutting thirty songs down into thirty minutes might sound like quite the undertaking, but it turned out to be something that came about naturally as each one began to take on their full shape. “It ended up being a really good way to do it because we could cut something that wasn’t working and not worry about it,” Liv portrays. “Whenever we cut things or abandon things little pieces of that thing come back,” Ben expands. “It was really weird. But it fucking worked out.” The result is an album that conveys PWR

“THE THEME OF THE RECORD IS AAAAARGH!” “...Then you’re probably making an end table,” Ben summarises. “Making an end table is probably really hard,” Liv counters. Launching into a debate of what is easy to make - “Friendship?” “NO!” “An omelette?” “No, it’s not!” “A burp?” - with every passing moment, it’s more and more apparent that PWR BTTM are absolutely ridiculous – and that’s part of their draw. “That’s when you’re making toast,” Ben finally concludes. “Though good toast can be hard to come by…” Striving to create something new is easier said than done. “It was very easy for us when we started writing to be all, ‘Okay, this song is going to be the ‘Dairy Queen’, and this song is going to be the ‘Ugly Cherries’…” Ben recalls. “When we realised that’s what we were trying to do we put full breaks on that. We were like, ‘We should just try to work organically and see what it is.’” Forsaking what they knew to tap into the energy and emotions surrounding them in the moment, the songs on ‘Pageant’ are a

BTTM’s personality in all of its humour, elation, and vulnerability, a very real portrayal of life when you’re queer and out of your teens in a world that seems to be spiralling into chaos. “I feel like ‘Pageant’ is the most concise thing we’ve ever made,” Ben describes. “It has everything that I’m interested in musically right now on it, that I produce as an artist and that Liv produces as an artist, and that we produce together. It feels like further along.” With bolder instrumentation and more intricate song structures, if ‘Ugly Cherries’ was the sound of the band finding their voice, ‘Pageant’ sees that voice surpass the struggles of coming of age. “And who knows what we’ll do next,” they tease. Released the same day as Harry Styles’ solo debut - “Or as I like to call him, Niall Horan’s old bandmate,” Liv grins. “I’m a Nialler.” “You’re a nihilist,” Ben counters. “Oh my god! I’m a nihilist,” Liv laughs. “I love that.” - ‘Pageant’ is the result of

a year spent mostly on the road. It’s an album that showcases the duo at their most open, and in doing so offer listeners a space to give in to their emotions too. “We spent a lot of time in a tour van cooking over our thoughts in the past year,” Ben states. “I think this record is much more self-reflective than the last one. We’ve had much more time to just think about shit.” Describing their time spent travelling on tour as being “kind of like a six hour time out,” the pair had the chance to take stock of where they were and where they were headed. “I’ve definitely grown and learned the most from being at home and seeing the

FRIEND ZONE It's not just through their shows that PWR BTTM forge a sense of community. With the help of Kiley Lotz (a.k.a Petal), Christiane Hopkins, Cameron West, and "intrepid recording engineer" Chris Daly, ‘Pageant' is a community in and of itself. "My mom is one of my best friends, we're super close," Ben enthuses. "She was a professional singer for a long time, but then when I came around, she stopped doing it. My whole life I've felt so guilty about it." Musing on the "fucking impossible" nature of classical singing, Christiane is as much an influence as she is a part of the record. "If I want to do some epic shit, I'm going to try to do that with my mom," they assert. "She's a bad motherfucker." "Kiley's like my soul sister," Ben continues, reminiscing of a US tour the two acts did together. "She is such a singer. She was like 'yeah, I know how to sing a harmony to that song.' I was like 'I don't know if there is a harmony to that song.' She's like 'try it.' She's one of the best musicians I know." And it's not just vocals friends contribute to the album. "My friend from college, Cameron, is the one who helped me orchestrate the whole thing," Ben recalls. "Liv and I and him, we all sat down and did this orchestration. I just felt like there was nothing too big. It couldn't possibly be bigger."

“SO MUCH OF PWR BTTM IS ABOUT DRAWING POSITIVITY.” friends that I’ve known for a long time,” Liv describes. “Home seems to be where I really grow up.” Drawing from their own experiences, in presenting their own truths PWR BTTM create songs that anyone can relate to. Through self-doubt and self-belief, pent up frustrations and resounding elation, ‘Pageant’ is a record that’s simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the world around it – and let’s face it, isn’t that something we all feel these days? “It’s not just all about one thing or the next,” Ben illustrates, contemplating what inspired these songs to take their shape. “The record has so much to do with performativity, and this idea of playing a role and trying to gain approval, of trying to win favour and win love and what is the best way to perform one’s self, and the idea of authenticity,” they offer. Celebrating and questioning their very nature, these songs might be larger than life, but they still manage to resound with a shattering reality. “It’s really about this idea of how to be comfortable within oneself, and understanding the way that so much of our personalities is played into this idea of performing to win other peoples’ favour, and how fake it all can be,” Ben continues. Stepping boldly into the world while still struggling to find a place in it, ‘Pageant’ is as much an internal search for acceptance as it is an external one. In managing to convey that dichotomy the songs present themselves with an innate sense of familiarity, reaching out through the expression of universal sentiments we all echo from time to time. “I don’t think there’s a narrative of growing up over the course of the record, but I do think the songs at the end are the ones where I find a little bit more peace with myself and a little bit more contentment,” Liv offers, before laughing. “Maybe that’s just aspirational.” Striving to fit in while daring to stand out, despairing one moment and daring the next, this is the sound of a band grasping hold of their apprehensions and taking 42

their fears in their stride. “I’m getting better at being a person as I get older,” Liv adds. “I still have moments where I think, ‘My teenage angst will be with me well into my 30s’,” they quip, quoting a lyric from ‘Answer My Text’. “But I also have moments where I think, ‘A year ago I would’ve reacted poorly to this situation, but now I’m not’. Or, ‘A year ago I wouldn’t have anticipated this mistake, and I would’ve made it, but now I’m preventing it’. And that’s so lovely.” “It’s very easy to have a foot in both places,” Ben agrees. “It’s easy for me to be all ‘Wow, I just paid my taxes’, and then the other half of the time I’m also like, ‘Wow, I’m still internalising everything like I’m 17 again’.” Caught somewhere in the space of being too young to be old but too old to be young, ‘Pageant’ lets that confusion take hold, and in doing so offers listeners a resounding sense of affirmation. No matter how misplaced or misled you might feel, these songs are a reminder that no one is alone in that.

“I feel like there’s this thread of being queer within that experience too, of being like, ‘I don’t fit into this idea of where I’m supposed to be’,” Ben portrays. “If everything is based on this metric of how straight people are supposed to live and age, I’m not that, so who the fuck am I in this experience?” They pause. “It’s a weird place to be.” Discussing how a lot of their friends from high school are now married with kids, a little bit of that confusion starts to set in. “AHHHH, WHAT’S GOING ON?” Ben screams, laughing. “The theme of the record is AAAAARGH!” they yell, before describing the sound, “high pitched screaming noise.” As you try to figure out your place in the world comparing yourself to those around you is an almost unavoidable habit of our culture. “Liv and I are both people who set goals really intensely for ourselves,” Ben says. “We’ll be like, ‘In a few months I’ll be here, and this will happen.’ Who knows if we even achieve those things, but when we reach those points there’s a lot of ‘Why did I even

DON’T BORE US... want to do that in the first place? Why was that even something I aspired to? What does that say about the things that I need and the things that I want?’” These are questions there are no answers to, and questions every one of us will sometimes struggle with. Navigating between hopes and expectations, what we perceive and what’s real, this is a theme that comes to a head on the record’s title track. “I was feeling this really intense duality of things,” Ben carefully describes. “This idea of what my mind felt, and what my body felt, or what I convinced myself I felt in one way and how I convinced myself in another. It’s like they were two characters in a play.” “My body will tell me ‘You should pursue this thing’, but then my brain will tell me, ‘Whoa, is that a good idea? Do you even want that?’,” Ben questions. “’Which one of these judges am I trying to fucking please right now?’ I don’t even know who’s the character I believe.” Giving voice to the dialogue between the two, the track offers no solutions,

but instead, finds a sense of resolution through its own admissions. “We’re all each other’s got, babe, I just don’t know how to change,” the song admits, forging strength not through an ability to solve the situation, but in conveying an understanding and finding the sense of affirmation that brings. “It’s a really emotional thing to even get into. This idea of not knowing how to fix a problem between these two things that I think are both totally right…” Ben alludes. “I felt like I was just watching it. There’s a lot of me feeling like I’m watching myself from the outside - I suppose in my life, but also in this record.” Expressing from a perspective of feeling out of place in the world that surrounds them, PWR BTTM’s music is purpose crafted to offer a safe space for expression for anyone who wants it – and that is why they’re so vital. This is something the duo reinforce in everything they do, from requesting easily accessible gender neutral toilets at every venue they perform in, through

Two albums, an EP, a split release, and a number of singles into their career, PWR BTTM are still keeping things short and sweet. With only three songs that pass the three-minute mark (brownie points to anyone who can name all three - Ed).

“We’re children of the internet,” Liv laughs. “When I listen to music from the 80s, or even the 90s now, and there are fourth verses and double bridges and stuff like that, I’m like ‘I can’t believe someone wrote this.’ I don’t not enjoy those songs. It’s just not the way we think.” “I think it was a relief to figure out that as long as you say what you need to say, people don’t actually want to read a lot of filler,” they conclude. “We both have always loved shorter stuff,” Ben agrees. “I’ve only ever really written oneact plays, because I feel like everything I want to say gets done in that amount of time. Then again, maybe that comes from our New England fragile attention spans. Who knows?” 43

checking in with their crowds between songs, to a heavy social media presence, interacting with fans on a daily basis. The sense of community they cultivate through their music is something the duo are both firm believers in and completely amazed by. One look at their social networks and you’re treated to countless pieces of fan art, selfies with glittering make up, covers of their songs, memes, and all manner of tributes. “I name guitars a lot which is really

ART ATTACK From the glitter on the cover of ‘Pageant’ to the inclusion of Alyssa Edwards’ arm on the cover for ‘Ugly Cherries’, PWR BTTM’s artwork is inherently personal to their tastes. “Every record cover we make has lots of weird little components that are very personalised in it,” Ben illustrates. “Every single record cover we’ve ever done has been very carefully planned.” ‘Pageant is no different. “We found these flowers left over from a lesbian wedding at the recording studio. I found them, and I was like ‘we should take these!’ They actually sat in our tour van for like five years…” “For about a month,” Liv corrects. “They were dry, they got all over the place, they were a fucking disaster,” Ben continues. Using the stickers Ben wears on their face to spell out the title, and adding a sprinkling of glitter, the concept was almost complete. “The stickers were in a row, and it said ‘Pageant’, and it was the worst thing ever. It made me want to die,” Liv proclaims. “I don’t know what it was, but ‘Pageant’ spelt out in a straight line just felt so bleurgh to me. When I see the cover of the record now, there’s something about it that you need to connect the dots in your mind, and I think that’s fun. That’s visually exciting. It adds tension to it, which excites me.” 44

insane and nice,” Ben enthuses. “We usually give them dumb names.” “We named a drag queen the other day,” Liv exclaims, gleefully. “They tweeted at both of us saying ‘What should I call my new drag character?’ And I was like ‘I’ve got to respond first!’” they laugh. “We named her Lozenge Taylor.” Connecting to people in such a way they’re inspired to respond with their own creativity; PWR BTTM relish every interaction their fans share. “We both were big fans of music when we were younger, and still are,” says Liv, excitedly. “A lot of the way we’ve come to understand our own creativity is by relating it to someone else’s. If that is part of some sort of artistic journey for these people, then that’s awesome.” From traditional covers to performances with lyrics run through google translate, there’s no shortage of creativity on display. “That’s my favourite thing on the internet!” Liv proclaims of the latter, while Ben searches on their phone for the Twitter handle of the person who recorded it, insisting it’s included (@ bigbeautifulgay). “They’re so funny,” they describe. “They’ve done some things with our songs that made me wish they sounded like that. What did they do with ‘Answer My Text’?” they question. “The chorus was ‘quiiiiiickly whore’,” Liv sings to the tune of the track’s first chorus refrain, laughing. “Beautiful!” From musical art through simple expressions of appreciation, PWR BTTM delight in every interaction they experience. “It’ll never become something that’s normal,” Ben states. “It’ll never be like, ‘Oh yeah, PWR BTTM does that for people.’ It’s nuts. It’s always surprising and completely rewarding and cool.” Celebrating their fans as much as their fans celebrate them, the sense of mutual adoration is part of what makes PWR BTTM such force to be reckoned with. “Other bands make me feel like that,” Ben explains. Giving back to their crowds what they’ve gained from others, the duo are one act among many using their creativity to make a difference. The sense of community they cultivate doesn’t just exist online. PWR BTTM do all they can to make their shows something everyone can connect with. Nattering to the crowd between songs and striking up conversations between audience members, the whole event feels like one big party. Even the faces start to seem familiar as they all bask in their fondness for the band. “I hate it when people say PWR BTTM’s music is just for queer people,” Ben states. “The people who come out to our shows,

it’s not just kids, it’s adults of all ages. They’re the coolest.” Telling an often told tale of being crowd surfed by fraternity guys in Atlanta as an example, PWR BTTM are here for absolutely everyone. “They love PWR BTTM more than anything and show up in drag and just like,” Ben pauses, adopting a frat boy accent. “’This is so sick! We’re so fucking down! Do you wanna do shots?’ And I say ‘Yes,’” they pause, grinning. “We play a kind of music that’s really accessible to everybody – we play shreddy guitar music,” they describe. “It’s power pop. Everyone can get down.” If the band are on the bill, it’s an open invitation for anyone and everyone to cut loose and have a good time. Hair down, in dresses that cling to their slender forms, the pair do just that on stage. “Do what you love ‘cause eventually it’ll work out,” they urge their audience – something they themselves are living, kicking evidence of. “So much of PWR BTTM is about drawing positivity,” Ben conveys. From the songs they write to the shows they perform at, wherever they find themselves on the vast spectrum of emotion, PWR BTTM’s music is all about discovering a sense of acceptance and self-worth. “I want people to take whatever they need from it,” Liv asserts. “Saying that doesn’t mean ‘I hope it makes them feel empowered’ or ‘I hope it makes them feel awesome,’” Ben clarifies. “Just something that matters to them.” “I want them to take away something that makes them feel special,” they continue. “That’s all I really care about. Something that makes them feel like it was worth their time, and that they can learn to love it in different ways.” Through the highs and the lows, PWR BTTM make music that offers a portrayal of life in all of its inexhaustible variety. “Records can change so much over time,” they state. “I hope that it means a lot for some reason,” they offer, “and if it doesn’t, that’s totally cool too.” PWR BTTM don’t demand your attention, but they do command it. Putting pieces of themselves into their songs, saying whatever’s on their mind on stage every night, the duo present a voice of hope. But hope for what, is up to you. In doing this, they’ve created something unstoppable. P PWR BTTM’s album ‘Pageant’ is out now.

LAST WHEN THEY LAST SIGNED TO A MAJOR LABEL, THINGS DIDN’T GO TO PLAN FOR POP-ROCKERS ALL TIME LOW. FRONTMAN ALEX GASKARTH REVEALS WHY THIS TIME, ARMED WITH THEIR CONCEPT-DRIVEN NEW ALBUM ‘LAST YOUNG RENEGADE’, THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT. WORDS: JAKE RICHARDSON

“I

t was probably the wrong time to sign to a major label.” All Time Low frontman Alex Gaskarth is thinking back to his band’s decision to join Interscope in 2009. “We didn’t know any better; we were young, and it was the first time we were going through that kind of thing. It seemed to make sense at the time, but we, unfortunately, got wrapped-up in that shitstorm of signing and then having your entire team leave. So we went through that whole hellfire that was going on with a lot of major labels back then.” All Time Low’s fourth studio album, ‘Dirty Work,’ was the result of said shitstorm, and it’s fair to say that the vibe surrounding the record was less Dirty Work and more Bloody Hard Work. Critical reaction to the Baltimore quartet’s major label debut was disappointingly mixed, particularly within the rock and pop-punk scene, and Alex was outspoken at the time about his frustrations with Interscope. Fastforward to the present-day, and the poprock heartthrob now says things in the All Time Low camp are “better than ever,” something which he partly attributes to the benefits of being signed to the band’s new label, Fueled By Ramen. “One of the first things we noticed this time was that it was a much more stable environment,” Alex explains. “The position we’re in is amazing because we signed with Fueled By Ramen, which is in the Atlantic/Warner system, but it still has very much an indie label feel. That’s always been the best scenario for us, having been with Hopeless Records for so long; having that dedicated, smaller, tight-knit team that really believes in the project. It’s cool to have the backing of a major but with the attention to detail and family feel of an indie; it’s the best of both worlds. Fueled By Ramen is actually the first label we showcased for when we were still in high school! It’s always been a label that we’ve liked and admired. But what it really came down to was that they were all about us and what we wanted, they didn’t want to change anything, and they didn’t want to force anything on us. They just said, ‘We want to sit down and talk about what you guys want to do’. They heard us out and were fully on board with our plan.” All Time Low’s new album, ‘Last Young Renegade,’ certainly doesn’t have the feel of something born out of a manufactured, inorganic or interfering creative process. The band’s seventh studio album sees Alex, guitarist 47

“WE WANTED TO BUILD A WORLD, BUILD A UNIVERSE.” Jack Barakat, bassist Zack Merrick and drummer Rian Dawson getting experimental. You see, ‘Last Young Renegade’ is the first time All Time Low have tried to incorporate an overarching narrative to drive their songs. This is an album that follows the story of a pair of carefree young lovers, or the ‘last young renegades,’ as they embark on the wild journey that is life. “The concept element didn’t manifest itself until further into the process,” reveals Alex. “At first we were just writing songs, then when we were able to pinpoint the cornerstones of the record, like ‘Good Times’, ‘Dirty Laundry’ and ‘Last Young Renegade’, we started writing tracks around those to link them together. It was at that point that we

were like, ‘Wow – this is a real story being told here!’ With our past albums - while they do all feel like cohesive records - there’s a bit less of that connective tissue. This time when you listen to all ten songs straight through, it really feels like you’re going on a journey; it has all these ebbs and flows that make sense with the story that is being told lyrically. We wanted to take the extra step and have all the songs connected, and pull them all into the same universe.” In true concept album fashion, the record’s accompanying music videos echo the story being told, and this visualisation of the album’s themes is something Alex has particularly enjoyed fleshing-out. “The videos are all connecting, and go along with how the record has an overarching theme; we wanted to build a world, build a universe,” he outlines. “So that started with the video for ‘Dirty Laundry’, which is a fantasy that goes on in my head, and it’s about the angels and the demons that push and pull you in different directions. From there, we go into ‘Last Young Renegade’, and the idea is that all the things you see in the ‘Dirty Laundry’ video start happening in the real world while I’m out living my life and playing in subsequent videos.” Though Alex does have one caveat to add when talking about the universe

that All Time Low have built with their new album: “[‘Last Young Renegade’] is not an ‘American Idiot’ or anything like that; we didn’t go as far as some do!” Alex exclaims. “But there’s definitely a concept there to be talked about and to be seen, and while I use the term ‘concept album’ loosely, one of the fun things with the fans is that as the songs and the videos are coming out, people are speculating and coming up with what they think the songs mean to us and talking about what they mean to them. That’s a really important part of music, and it’s really cool to be able to share that with the fans.” It’s a bold statement for a band who for so long relied on lyrically and thematically youthful, simplistic poppunk anthems like ‘Weightless’ and ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In’ to embark on a project of world-building in their music. So too is it brave to step away from a musical formula that’s brought the band so much success, but with ‘Last Young Renegade,’ Alex was keen to see the band broaden their horizons. “At times the record gets a little bit darker than anything we’ve done before, which felt appropriate in the moment, from where we were writing creatively. We wanted to do some sonic world-building, so we came up with this dynamic, 80s-inspired sound, using vintage pedals and things All Time Low hadn’t used before, to try and create this ambience that would tie

the whole album together, song by song.” The best example of All Time Low’s new, synth-driven sound comes in their unlikely collaboration with alt-pop duo Tegan and Sara on ‘Ground Control’. It’s a proper pop song; the kind of thing that well and truly doesn’t sound like it would come from a rock band. Forget what you might have thought about All Time Low being ‘radio friendly’ before, because they’ve never done anything as Top 40 as this. It’s a sound that suits them down to the (ahem) ground, too. “The collaboration was really cool, and a sort of random thing that came to pass! We’d written ‘Ground Control’, and we knew we wanted to make it a duet and that it’d sound better with someone else on it, similar to the way in which we made ‘A Love Like War’ with Vic [Fuentes, Pierce The Veil]. We went through a shortlist of people we thought could be really rad on the song; Lynn [Gunn] from PVRIS came up, as did Halsey. Me and Jack had been listening to a lot of Tegan and Sara at the time; we thought it’d be a left of centre thing for the band to do, so we hit them up and sent them the song, and were basically like ‘Hey, we’re big fans, and we’d love to have you on this song!’ And they got back to us and said ‘We’re fans of yours, too!’ So it was really great because we got our first choice. They nailed their part.” So often touted as the princes of 21st century pop-punk, ‘Last Young Renegade’ is an album that should once and for all see All Time Low shed the tag of being just another blink-182 aping band. This is an alt-pop record which, in the nicest possible way, has fuck all to do with punk. Not that Alex has considered All Time Low to be a punk band for many years, mind. “I’ve never felt like All Time Low are a through and through pop-punk band,” he declares. “We were inspired by a lot of pop-punk acts, and that’s where we got our start. I think that label got stuck onto us because it’s the scene we came out of. Whatever label people want to put on us is fine; we’ve never really concerned ourselves with that, we just want to try and make cool music and have fun doing it.” “If you put this record next to what Neck Deep, State Champs or New Found Glory are doing, then I think you’d see that it doesn’t really sound like those bands. If those bands are what people consider to be pop-punk, then I’d say this album definitely does lean away from it in that sense. But at the same time, what’s important to know is that there’s still a lot of All Time Low in this record. I think if you hold this album up to our back

catalogue, there’s still a lot of it that compares. What was important to us was to write a bunch of songs that were keeping up with what our fans want but still trying to grow. We’ve been a band for 14 years, and at this point in our career it’s important to always be trying to come up with something new and reinvent ourselves, because otherwise we’ll become old hat and boring.” It’s a humble thing for Alex to say, but All Time Low have never been boring; even in their younger, less musically ambitious days, this is a band who have always been fun with a capital ‘FUCK YEAH!’ But now that they’ve had this time to grow, to mature into an act now universally considered a credible part of mainstream music, Alex can look back on his brash, younger years as part of a burgeoning US pop-punk scene with a degree of worldweary wisdom. All Time Low have come so far in their career, but if he could go back in time and talk to that young, naïve, innocent version of himself, before all the drama that comes with a career in music had unfolded, what would Alex tell himself? “I would tell myself to trust my gut a little more. Through the formative years of All Time Low, and throughout the first few records, there was a lot of outside influence, and a lot of people saying how we should sound and what we should do with our songs; how this chorus should go, or ‘This chorus is better than this chorus.’ Things like that. I think because we were young and new to it, and because we just wanted to do the right thing, there were times when I took outside advice when really I would’ve felt more comfortable trusting my gut. There were some choices in the past where I’d feel better if I’d have been me, rather than listening to someone’s advice and five years later being like ‘I wish we did that differently.’ There aren’t a lot of those moments – we’re lucky in that respect – but at the same time, I’d definitely tell my young self to be stubborn, and if you believe something strongly then stick up for it.” It’s an apt place to close, because in telling his younger self to trust his gut, to go with his instincts and not give a damn what the outside world might think, Alex is echoing the outlook of the protagonists at the centre of the world of his band’s new album. All Time Low are the Last Young Renegades, and they’re never going to question themselves again. P All Time Low’s album ‘Last Young Renegades’ is out 2nd June.

ALEX’S FAVE YOUNG RENEGADES HERE ARE FIVE BANDS ALEX GASKARTH THINKS CAN FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ALL TIME LOW AND CONQUER THE ROCK WORLD…

CREEPER “They’re amazing! They’re filling a much needed space in music right now, and they kind of have a My Chemical Romance thing, but it’s also got a crazy Meat Loaf angle to it which is so epic and theatrical. I really dig their record.”

STATE CHAMPS “They’re

a band I keep going back to right now, especially in the pop-punk world; I think those guys are really killing it! They write great songs, and they’re super-talented dudes; they have the whole package, which is really good to see. I feel like they might be the next ones up, and I think they could carry the torch for the Warped Tour scene. I’m stoked on them.”

SWMRS “We were just on tour with them, and I think they’re really cool! They have a vintage vibe; it’s vintage punk with a Ramonesy pop angle to it as well, which I think works really well.” THE WRECKS “They’re

more of an indie-rock band; they’ve only been together for a year, but their first song has already picked-up a lot of steam, and I think they’re great writers. They’re a really exciting band.”

HEY VIOLET “This is a bit out of left-field, but I think they’re really cool! They were a little more pop-rocky, but now they’ve gone more alt-pop, and either way it’s a cool thing.” 49

GIRL

NOW SAFELY OUT OF THEIR TEENS, GIRLPOOL’S SECOND ALBUM ‘POWERPLANT’ SEES THEM EXPAND THEIR SCOPE, AND TACKLE LIFE’S ISSUES THROUGH A MORE WORLDLY LENS.

WORDS: JASLEEN DHINDSA.

A folk-punk duo Girlpool have accomplished bigger dynamics on their second record, ‘Powerplant’. “At first it was just songs that we would come up with and share with each other,” vocalist and guitarist Cleo Tucker explains. “It was just the two of us playing all of the songs on ‘Powerplant’, just basic guitar and singing. We were talking about the songs and saying how there was more opportunity for them to get climactic and get different dynamics and instrumentation. I [thought] it would be cool to try some of the songs with instruments on them and having drums on them and piano parts, and we were really excited by that idea. We started reaching out to our friends in LA, to get together and play the songs with more people to really feel it.”

is a fair depiction of both of our lives between [now and] the first record.” Her mind wanders. “It’s hard to tell what kind of change you go through…” Two tracks that encompass the huge sounds and excelled contemplative songwriting that Girlpool really hone in on their new record are ‘Cornerstore’, a track that’s cute on the surface but explodes unexpectedly in a whirlwind of ear-splitting fuzz, and ‘Soup’, which is an eerie and heart-wrenching climatic ballad. “We wrote ‘Cornerstore’ a few years ago when Harmony and I were both living in Philadelphia, and we wrote it in the basement of my house. My roommate called it ‘the evil song’ because there’s that part. That song for

“We were talking about how in my generation, dating people at our age is so different to how our parents did dating. Just generally, of course, I’m sure there are people that don’t operate this way, but I feel like dating people in our generation is so much more emotionally intense. Maybe it’s just my world I live in, but it doesn’t just feel like ‘Oh I’m in my 20s and dating’, it feels like when you’re dating someone, it’s pretty fast. Our time, and the kind of music that’s out now, and technology and the internet, has affected vulnerability that people perform and feel comfortable embodying. Being emotionally present is more accessible through the internet and music, you know in rap and pop music - it’s very straightforward and raw like written word. Harmony and I have always been very emotionally communicative, and people who care a lot about things and we talk about it a lot, and this is reflected in our writing.”

“WE’VE REALLY CURATED OUR COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE.”

Cleo and her fellow Girlpool bandmate, bassist and vocalist Harmony Tividad, sought help from close friend Miles Wintner to record drums. “Working with Miles didn’t change anything with the writing,” says Cleo. “We had already written all the songs. Harmony and I were working on these demos to send to Miles so he could rehearse. I remember riding my bike to my friend’s practice space in New York and just recording drums on the demos and sending it to him and being like, ‘This is what we want it to sound like’. When we got to LA and wanted to record it was pretty easy, we rehearsed for maybe a week and a half before we started recording with him. We knew what we wanted,” she states with a nonchalant confidence.

“[‘Powerplant’] definitely inhabits a different environment than the last record [2015 debut ‘Before The World Was Big’] just inevitably. It’s reflective of a different part of our lives. In that time period, we had toured a lot for the first time ever, we moved a lot, we experienced new parts of being ourselves. I think the record really

me was a lot about experiencing a new place, and feeling really disorientated and overwhelmed about newness and [being] out of my comfort zone, and projecting anger on a person because you’re uncomfortable. ‘Soup’ we were working on during ‘Before The World Was Big’, but it wasn’t finished. It was called ‘Big You Wanna Be’ before it was ‘Soup’. That song is the oldest song on ‘Powerplant’.” On their debut, Harmony and Cleo were teenagers, and on ‘Powerplant’ they’re adults. Their latest release carries on the same self-awareness and perceptiveness that they are so great at capturing but on a more confident platform. “I was just talking about this with my mom over breakfast,” Cleo ponders about the origins of why she and Harmony are so truthful and aware in their bittersweet songs about coming of age.

Being as talented and emotionally conscious as they are, Girlpool have achieved a lot during their young years - not that their age has ever posed as an issue to them though. “I feel totally fortunate and blessed because I feel like we’ve really curated our community of people,” says Cleo. “Harmony and I would have it no other way. If we were in an environment where we felt disrespected, we would leave. I think that’s really important because if it didn’t feel good, we wouldn’t surround ourselves with it. There is a great community of people who are our age doing it too that we have gone on tour with, and it’s been inspiring to be around other people doing it like this.” She continues: “I think it’s such a bizarre lifestyle to be so extremely on tour, and then so extremely back at home working on stuff and then leaving again. It’s such an extreme juxtaposition; I think figuring out how to navigate those two lifestyles has been kind of hard. It’s so exciting, more than a burden of course. I’m so grateful that we get to play music.” P Girlpool’s album ‘Powerplant’ is out now. 51

P L AY I N G I T S A F E I S B O R I N G . L I N K I N P A R K A R E G O I N G P O P .

TH E O F F I C I A L VE RD I CT

LINKIN PARK

ONE MORE LIGHT

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eave your expectations at the door. We know Linkin Park have gone pop with ‘One More Light’ but there’s really no need to brace yourself. The usual trappings of a move like this are nowhere to be found. Yes, the record snaps, crackles and pops but there’s so much more to it than a new sound. From the bubbly and buoyant album opener ‘Nobody Can Save Me’, Linkin

Park get straight to the point. Album number seven sees them as confused and frustrated as ever, still beating themselves up over things out of their control, but there’s an acceptance to it. Across the record, Linkin Park are bright with the realisation that the world isn’t going to change, so maybe they need to. It’s a new outlook on an old enemy. ‘Battle Symphony’ is a heads held high refusal to give in, ‘Heavy’ is sage in its simplicity and ‘Good Goodbye’ allows the band to indulge in some rare self-celebration. Mike’s, “I’ve been here killing it longer than you’ve been alive, you idiot,” a grinning sideswipe

at everyone telling him what his band should be doing. And he’s got a point. There’s not a moment of ‘One More Light’ that feels forced. At no point do Linkin Park feel like they don’t belong or they’ve overstepped their reach. There’s authenticity to every glimmering rise, a reason behind every decision. Excitement is king throughout. There’s no token heavy song, pandering to a certain group or a softening of the jubilant blows this time around. Linkin Park know this record is going to cause division and they let it go. It’s wickedly smart and quietly confident. Seventeen years after their debut, the band have redefined themselves and have done so with honesty and class. And as different as it is, there are familiar patterns in the new colours.

BLACK LIPS

SATAN’S GRAFFITI OR GOD’S ART?

Vice Records

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Strap yourselves in because careering back to life with their eighth studio album; Black Lips are as unhinged as ever. The best part about both this release and Black Lips is the fact they’ve consistently stuck true to being whatever the fuck they want to be, even if the production duties have jumped around some big names (Mark Ronson, anyone?). With Sean Lennon at the helm this time, the madness is welcomed like an old friend. You can hear their influences breaking through across the board, ’Got Me All Alone’ could quite easily be a cut from early The Stooges. There are approachable moments, most obviously current singles ‘Can’t Hold On’ and ‘Squatting In Heaven’, the latter of which opts for a driving rhythm while the song cycles around the title and the former uses swirling guitars to create a whirlpool which is bordered by a classic dash of Black Lips horns. Some might say eighteen tracks is excessive, and true it does wane occasionally, but in reality, you can’t just wander down the rabbit hole - you have to leap head first. For a band on their eighth album, to create anything career defining will be a tough task, Black Lips haven’t done that this time, but what they have done instead is created a world in which all possibilities are endless. Steven Loftin

COURAGE MY LOVE

SYNESTHESIA

Warner Music ‘Talking To Myself’ wrestles with the idea of escape, ‘Invisible’ blends the ominous with the hopeful and ‘Halfway Right’ sees the band taking a moment to reflect on the reckless. It gives the closing one-two an amplified gravity. The album’s title track is caring, giving Linkin Park’s age-old community a direct connection before ‘Sharp Edges’ comes fizzing with the realisation that the journey is more important than the destination. The pain matters. This band have made a history on hurtling forward but ‘One More Light’ is calm, collected and toys with the space this gifts them. It’s a record that needed to be made. There’s a newfound energy and an overwhelming vibrancy to the

whole glittering affair. At times it’s surprising, throughout it’s entertaining and what’s more, it somehow still feels like Linkin Park. This is the band who have built their entire musical image on conflict, contrast and then somehow marrying those two opposing ideas. The expectations have altered and the rules have changed, of course Linkin Park were going to shape shift accordingly. They’ve always been much more than a nu-metal band fuelled by teenage angst. They’ve never come close to being a parody, instead following the paths of undiscovered and enjoyable. ‘One More Light’ is just the next step. Love it or hate it, that’s not really the point. It’s never boring and that’s what drives them forward. Ali Shutler

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‘Synesthesia’ is the debut record from Toronto’s Courage My Love. Pulsating with synths and power chords, the record endeeringly feels like it never left 2007. Filled with anthemic choruses and hooks to last a lifetime, while every track is fuelled by these blatant and perfect pop formulas, hints of darkness creep in from industrial influences. For instance, ‘Love Hurts’, which is a huge track, is a powerhouse dominated by trance synths and vocals that burn. The whole album is reminiscent of this darkened electropop that dominated the 00s, but Courage My Love offer something with a thoroughly sharpened edge and vision. Dubstep even awakes from its slumber on ‘Drowning’, confirming even further that this album is one hell of a nostalgia trip. Courage My Love show off their 53

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ALL TIME LOW LAST YOUNG RENEGADE

Fueled By Ramen

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TH E O F F I C I A L VE RD I CT

All Time Low were at a crossroads, they were getting restless. They wanted something broader and with more scope. And so they came up with ‘Last Young Renegades’. With central characters, a weaving tale and fierce focus, All Time Low have taken the leap to being more than they’ve dared before. The title track replaces the bubblegum and fizzy pop with whiskey, warmth and an open invitation to explore the world that follows while ‘Life Of The Party’ dances on its own, soundtracked with electrotwitches and a heavy eighties funk. The slow-burning ‘Dirty Laundry’ carries its weight comfortably before the all-out joy of ‘Ground Control’ sees the band reach new heights. While the ‘Last Young Renegades’ fight to find a place in the world, All Time Low have simply made their own. Bold and distinctly different, it’s littered with moments of charm and sees the band put their best foot forward. Ali Shutler

searing ambition on their debut. Playful love songs contrast with darker numbers, but both come together in their indulgent nature, that is translated through a wide scope of invigorating electronica. Jasleen Dhindsa

Employed To Serve, because when it comes to hardcore, this five-piece are one of the best in the business. Jake Richardson

EMPLOYED TO SERVE

Spinefarm

THE WARMTH OF A DYING SUN

Holy Roar

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Hardcore heroes Employed To Serve aren’t a band to be taken lightly, and ‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun’ is a record that hits you with more force than a swing of Thor’s hammer. Frontwoman Justine Jones leads the charge with a vicious, virtuoso performance throughout; a vocal display that’s a head-splitting joy to behold. Opener ‘Void Ambition’ is a majestically manic start to proceedings, and ‘Good For Nothing’ is a furious helping of headbang-inducing, mosh-ready hardcore. There’s some nice variation on display from the Woking mob on this record, with the slow-burn of ‘Lethargy’ proving a welcome counterpoint to the rabidity of the tracks surrounding it, and it’s a song which further impresses via Justine’s pained, cutting vocals. It’s not quite a game-changing album, but ‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun’ is the sound of a band totally at ease with their musical identity. Keep an eye on

FLOGGING MOLLY

LIFE IS GOOD

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Returning with their first album in five years, Flogging Molly come back swinging on ‘Life Is Good’. ‘There is Nothing Left Pt. 1’ opens with the band’s trademark combo of fiddle and accordion as singer Dave King barks an ode to his late father. Flogging Molly have always worn their Celtic influences very much on their sleeves, a tin whistle solo leading into the rollicking ‘Hand of John L. Sullivan’, which pays tribute to the titular boxing legend over a frantic chorus. After touring together, there’s more than a hint of Mariachi El Bronx’s influence on ‘Welcome to Adamstown’, with the added brass bringing a new dimension to Molly’s sound. Elsewhere, the echoes of their forebears are there for all to see, with nods to Dylan, Johnny Cash and The Pogues littered across the album. If the band’s style hasn’t changed markedly in the intervening years, then the world around them certainly has. This new collection of familiar yet fun shanties is a welcome dose of goodtime folk-rock at a time when we could do a lot worse than neck some whisky

and holler along to drunken lullabies. Dillon Eastoe

GIRLPOOL

POWERPLANT

ANTI- Records

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Armed with a full band, Girlpool’s second effort ‘Powerplant’ takes the duo’s raw folk punk to a whole new level. ‘Crowded Stranger’ from 2015 debut ‘Before The World Was Big’ seems to be the only track from that release in a similar vein to the feeling on ‘Powerplant’, which experiments with a whole soundscape the band haven’t really explored before. Most now encompass a new energy that’s earth-shatteringly riveting; drums excel everything tenfold. ‘Powerplant’ is filled with endless delicate and twanging melodies and vocals; coming together in a perfect mix of emo grunge and jangly 90s pop. There’s a confident feeling with ‘Powerplant’, from the sweet-toothed ‘Kiss and Burn’ to chirpy keys featured on the title-track. As Harmony and Cleo move into early adulthood, it feels like the selfconsciousness that shrouds their earlier material has eased up considerably. The duo prove how simply amazing they are on ‘Powerplant’. Jasleen Dhindsa

HAVE MERCY

MAKE THE BEST OF IT

Hopeless Records

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‘Make The Best Of It’ has the promise to be Have Mercy’s breakthrough album. It’s fair to call the Baltimore band something of a hidden gem in that everblossoming pop-punk/emo scene as they are still relatively unknown on these shores while back home they’re regularly sharing the bill with the likes of Real Friends, Mayday Parade, This Wild Life and Tiny Moving Parts.

CHASTITY BELT I USED TO SPEND SO MUCH TIME ALONE

Hardly Art

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Given that the pivotal concerns of the band’s debut, ‘No Regerts’, were parties that suck, sex, and a veritable host of college kid concerns, it seems that Chastity Belt have moved past their days of sonic, teenage misadventure.

A SHORT Q&A WITH...

CHASTITY CHASTITY BELT BELT ONE-QUARTER OF CHASTITY BELT, JULIA SHAPIRO INTRODUCES HER BAND’S THIRD ALBUM.

Your third album’s out in a bit. Did you learn much about yourselves during ‘I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone’’s creation? I’m always learning a lot about myself. Every day is a blessing. Did you know what you wanted the album to be from the get-go? All of the songs were written after recording our last album and before recording this album, so it was sort of a span of songs written from 2014 to 2016. I’d say they all fit together pretty nicely. We had some ideas of how we wanted the record to sound, but it wasn’t until recording that we really started to figure out how the record was going to sound. What themes do you explore with

The significant jump they have made since their debut, however, doesn’t just come in the form of a thematic renaissance. In equal parts more grungy and hazy than prior release, ‘Time to Go Home’, though no less anthemic, ‘I Used to Spend More Time Alone’ flirts with reverb-riddled riffs and languid, smoky melodies as the band head in a fresh direction. Fear not though; the album doesn’t lack those idiosyncratic chord progressions that Chastity Belt characteristically champion. Rosie Ramsden

this one? Have your sources of inspiration changed much over the years? A lot of the songs are about growing up and making mistakes. I feel like my source of inspiration is usually just personal experiences/thoughts/ feelings. I find it hard to write about anything that I haven’t experienced first hand. How does listening back to the album make you feel? Accomplished, haha. I feel happy with the result, but I also feel like I need a break from listening to it for a while. We all spent a lot of time listening to the recordings while we were mixing. Matthew Simms who produced our record lives in the UK, so we did all the mixing through email which made it extra difficult. Do you have a favourite moment or track on the release? A few of my favourite tracks are ‘This Time of Night’, ‘It’s Obvious’ and ‘Stuck’ (Gretchen sings this one, and I drum). They’re the three songs I don’t feel completely sick of listening to right now. You’re touring the UK later in the year - have you spent much time over here previously? What’s your fave stuff to do in the UK while not on stage? We’ve toured there a couple of times now. We love it there! Our favourite thing to do in the UK is to visit castles. We did a lot of that on our last tour there. Lydia and I came up with a Tudor rock band called The Friar’s Daughter, which involves a lot of really sensual singing and mouth noises. P

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MOTIONLESS IN WHITE

GRAVEYARD SHIFT

Roadrunner Records

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Motionless In White are clearly looking to be the Warped Tour scene’s answer to Marilyn Manson, and while the five-piece don’t achieve that lofty ambition on ‘Graveyard Shift’, they give it a good go. Musically, there are plenty of strong choruses here: opener ‘Rats’ is a catchy dose of shock-rock, while the band’s attempt at My Chemical Romance levels of grandiosity on ‘Queen For Queen’ is admirable. MIW are at their best when they give in to their radiofriendly sensibilities, where it becomes apparent why the band are such a big deal across the pond. Although there’s one huge problem with ‘Graveyard Shift’: some of the lyrics are fucking dreadful. Singing about sex is fine, but when frontman Chris “Motionless” Cerulli is spouting statements like “She loves me cos I give head like a zombie,” it’s hard to take the record seriously. Ultimately ‘Graveyard Shift’ is a messy, albeit fun album of horror-infused metalcore. Jake Richardson

Immediately, opening track ‘Smoke and Lace’ throws up a curve ball with cleaner guitar tones and vocals but it does take long for that familiar Have Mercy sound to take hold as the chorus rolls around. Feeling free to experiment, ‘Make The Best Of It’ starts full of ideas from the sing-a-long pop anthem ‘Drive’, the melodic heartbreaker of ‘Baby Grand’ and the forceful lead single ‘Coexist’ while remaining heavy on the distortion and a voice soaked in grit. ‘Make The Best Of It’ is a victory for Brian Swindle. After going it alone for Have Mercy’s third album, the shackles seem to be off the singer as the 11 tracks wax and wane from morose emo cries, ferocious punk hits to radiofriendly pop smashes. It’s everything you’d expect from Have Mercy and then some. Alex Bradley

HIGHER POWER

SOUL STRUCTURE

Venn Records

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The definition of ‘crossover’ stretches far beyond a bridging of West Coast and East Coast hardcore for Higher Power. The riffs they throw down on their debut full-length are indulgently retrospective of the glory days of Life Of Agony and Cro-mags, but the Leeds crew come out swinging and push beyond pastiche with the heart-onsleeve ideals of their contemporaries. When the band are truly firing on all

cylinders, ‘Soul Structure’ is a furiously fun opening gambit. ‘Can’t Relate’ is loose, loud, locked and loaded to send any crowd before them into a fullyfledged warzone, while the doublebarrelled blast of ‘Hole’ and ‘Four Walls Black’ rattles out crunching metallic hooks with minimal mercy. There’s a tone of playfulness to the record that the UK hardcore scene has been deprived of, at least in satisfying measures, for some time. They weave through tough-guy facades with bonged-out grooves, psych-out vocal harmonies and profoundly dorky infusions of ‘90s alt-rock, especially in the ethereality of frontman Jimmy Wizard’s swaggering drawl. Higher Power may struggle to deliver with shit-kicking velocity the whole way through the album’s 28-minute duration, but they have serious potential here to give their genre a refreshing boot up the arse. Here’s to hoping they can fuel the fire in their bellies from a flicker to a towering inferno. Danny Randon

HUNTER & THE BEAR

PAPER HEART

Self Released

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From the immediate urgency in opener, ‘You Can Talk’ to the serenity found in closer ‘Nickajack’ this debut offering from Hunter & The Bear is a listen that is hard to walk away from. Clocking in at just over thirty minutes it’s easy to

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find yourself in the stronghold of the repeat button. ‘Paper Heart’ is chock full of Biffy sized choruses that erupt without warning, completely consuming you and everything else in their wake, but all the while making sure they can back it up with lyrics that are missives rife with melody and meaning. ‘DRK’ even see’s them turning vicious with thunderous riffs that are rammed with both bark and bite. There are also a couple of slower moments though, proving it’s not all aggro. ‘I Am What I Am’ and ‘Won’t You Ever Come Home’ begin with a tender reservedness that accentuates their heartfelt qualities, and that’s the important aspect to H&TB. Every song is littered with what’s most important in music, themselves - they live and breathe this. Storming in with an arsenal of arenaready jams on their first effort, Hunter & The Bear may have named their album after a fragile organ, but there’s a ferocity here that shows they’re more than ready for the long road ahead. Steven Loftin

INCUBUS

Virgin EMI

eee P W R B T T M A R E I M P O R TA N T .

PWR BTTM

PAGEANT

TH E O F F I C I A L VE RD I CT

P 58

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WR BTTM’s debut ‘Ugly Cherries’ was a potent, fuzzy snapshot of a band who’d just discovered their voice. The ideas, the energy and their glittering personalities were all present, and they were in a hurry to show it all off. ‘Pageant’ is more deliberate. There’s focus, refrain and on the top, a big dollop of fun. Instead of toning it down or trying to refine their delivery, PWR BTTM make sure their voices are even louder this time around. There’s more than simply shouting though, and the moments of calm collection give the record an impactful depth. Flipping between big songs about screaming at the world and big songs about quiet little moments,

PWR BTTM give everything the same rainbow delivery, life through a kaleidoscope, it all sparkles. Whatever the flame, Liv and Ben remain powerful. From the wideeyed frustration of ‘Answer My Text’ to the introspective struggle of ‘Pageant’, PWR BTTM are arresting whatever the volume. There’s weight behind every word and strength from the struggle. Sure, at times ‘Pageant’ is silly, a stuck-out tongue in the face of adversity, but it’s always sincere. As long as there’s joy, there’s hope. This record has lashings of both. Every track is an anthem of empowerment, a lesson in self-care and an invitation to keep on loving. It’s loud, it’s proud and even when they whisper, PWR BTTM are impossible to ignore. Ali Shutler

On ‘8’, Incubus are resetting the clock to sometime around 2007 and picking up where they left off. Right from the get-go with ‘No Fun’, they’re on firmer, rockier ground, while ‘State of the Art’ and ‘Glitterbomb’ are a reminder of how great the combination of Brandon Boyd’s voice and Mike Einziger’s effortless guitar work can be when both are on form. The strategy seems to be to come out strong and keep punching with big rock tunes, and this consistently pays dividends, from the opener through to riff-fest ‘Surveillance’ and album closer ‘Throw Out The Map’. ‘Nimble Bastard’ stumbles slightly, while on ballad ‘Undefeated’ the over-compressed kick drum and sparser instrumentation mean the song buried under the mess is hard to parse. Contrasted with the gorgeous dark electronica of ‘Loneliest’, which follows, these flaws are all the more glaring. All in all, though, this is probably their best, most consistent album in 15 years, and a welcome return to form. Well, if not now, then when? Alex Lynham

PAPA ROACH

CROOKED TEETH

Eleven Seven Music

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‘Crooked Teeth’ is a record that proves that Papa Roach have still got something to offer in 2017. Their early-

FREE THROW BEAR YOUR MIND

Triple Crown Records

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The growth shown on ‘Bear Your Mind’ is astonishing; when put against the raw 2014 EP ‘Lavender Town’ it’s hard to see it as output from the same band. Yet, with the abrasiveness dulled and the excesses trimmed, ‘Bear Your Mind’ more than fulfils the group’s early promise.

noughties heydays may be behind them, but Jacoby Shaddix and co.’s ninth full-length possesses enough immediacy to ensure they can still cut it in the present day. There’s plenty more in terms of assertive songwriting, too: ‘Born for Greatness’ has all the hallmarks of a call to arms anthem, Skylar Grey collaboration ‘Periscope’ is a potent helping of pop goodness, and Machine Gun Kelly lends his talents to further strengthen the emotional heft of ‘Sunrise Trailer Park’. Although this is by no means a perfect or groundbreaking record - after all, this nu-metal formula is one which has been done to death; cuts like ‘Traumatic’ have nothing fresh to offer the listener, and by the time closing track ‘None of the Above’ rings out, it’s all become rather pedestrian and predictable - ‘Crooked Teeth’ is a perfectly functional and often fun album, and it’s one that’s sure to see fans of Papa Roach crack a smile. Jake Richardson

PEANESS

Lead single ‘Randy, I Am The Liquor’ shows this evolution perfectly, drawing heavily on big hooks, noodling guitars and likeable vibe. There are moments of stunning beauty too. ‘Bear Your Mind’ is bookended by ‘Open Window’ and ‘Victory Road’. The former stripping everything right back for an emotional punch to the gut, the latter builds to a frenetic conclusion. It’s thrilling, involving and powerful – not to mention hugely emotional. It is in these powder keg moments that ‘Bear Your Mind’ excels. Rob Mair

VOCALIST AND GUITARIST CORY CASTRO BEARS HIS SOLE AND HIS STRUGGLES ON NEW ALBUM, ‘BEAR YOUR MIND’. How has 2017 treated you guys so far? You’ve been on the road a lot, haven’t you? We have! We just recently finished up a six-week run with You Blew It!. 2017 has been a lot of fun and a very exciting year for us so far. Your second album’s about to come out how would you describe its vibe? It’s definitely a lot louder than the first album. It almost has a “rollercoaster of emotions” type feel to it. How did you find recording? Were there many in the studio shenanigans? Recording was a very fun and crazy experience. We basically recorded

the first record in a home studio, so going into the Barbershop Studios (in Hopatcong, NJ) was like living in a dream. That place is wonderful. As for shenanigans, there were plenty of them. Including a thirty-minute session of me singing our songs in the style of the band Creed. There was also a lot of whiskey consumed, and NHL 17 played. Were there any lessons you were able to bring forward from your debut? That people really like songs about drinking. I’m joking. Well, kind of. In reality, we realise that people liking the first album is what got us to where we are. We didn’t want to really change it up, but, like I mentioned earlier, to let it grow organically. I think we’ve done a good job of it. How did you end up signing to Triple Crown for the album’s release? We were on tour with our good buddies in Tiny Moving Parts and the owner, Fred, happen to see us play in New York City. He came up to me after the set and told me he enjoyed it and asked if our manager was there (he was). I introduced the two, and basically, that’s how it started. We are so happy to be a part of the Triple Crown family. I couldn’t be more excited. Do you have big plans for over the summer? We are doing our first headlining tour in support of the new album from May through July with Homesafe and Heart Attack Man! Two very cool bands. We are super excited to play some new songs! P

ARE YOU SURE EP

Alcopop Records

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Sometimes there’s just no substitute for good fun. Chester indie-pop three-piece Peaness bring the good times on new EP ‘Are You Sure?’, and with summer (hopefully) just around the corner, it’s a nicely timed release. This is very inoffensive stuff, but that’s not to the detriment of Peaness; opening track ‘Oh George’ gets things off to a joyful start, while the Pokémon-inspired ‘Seafoam Islands’ has more boundless energy than a room full of Pikachus. The EP’s final track, ‘Ugly Veg’ possesses whimsical vocal harmonies and dashes of melodic yet jagged guitar lines, and it’s so lovely it wouldn’t sound out of place as the soundtrack to a CBeebies show. The stand-out song comes in the form of single ‘Same Place’.

A SHORT Q&A WITH...

FREE FREE THROW THROW

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BLINK-182

CALIFORNIA (DELUXE)

BMG

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The sixteen-track comeback of ‘California’ was a sprawling reminder that blink-182 are still hungry. Broad but focused, it toyed with the idea of identity and hometown escape amidst plenty of reflection. Ten months later, it still packs a punch. The deluxe edition leaves the original album untouched, but does come with another twelvetrack record. There are no demos and the only live reimaging is an acoustic version of ‘Bored To Death’ which stands as a final celebratory flourish to round off blink’s triumphant ability to still be a band. So what we’re left with is essentially a whole new blink-182 album. California 2, if you like. While the original album made a point of keeping the energy up, ‘California 2’ is more jagged. Darker and more experimental, it’s tinged with deeper shades of blue, black and hopelessness as the band continue to feel uneasy. With less room for exploring the whole landscape, ‘California 2’ is more abrupt. Hurried and on edge, it sees the band continuing to push forward, leaving the energy to its own devices. It sees the band stepping out of the shadow of their return and focusing on forward momentum. The old feels updated and the new shines under a grinning self-belief. Long lost feelings are rekindled, old comforts still feel safe. Any notions of tentative are long gone as Mark, Matt and Travis make themselves at home. Ali Shutler

Breezy and happy go lucky just like all the tracks that surround it, but with a musical backdrop that’s more interesting than anything else on this release, it’s a real gem of a song. There’s still some work for Peaness to do, but as an introduction to the band, ‘Are You Sure?’ serves as a fine collection of endearing songs. Jake Richardson

SWORDFISH

RODIA

Take This To Heart Records

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Midway through ‘Favourite Clothes’, the opening song on Swordfish’s debut album, a lone trumpet cuts through the oppressive fog. It’s startling and beautiful and entirely unexpected, yet when matched with the Michigan group’s tales of isolation and disaffection it adds the texture and colour needed to bring ‘Rodia’ to life. Mastered by Sorority Noise main man Cam Boucher, there’s certainly a comparison to draw between the two acts, with Swordfish heavy on the emotion and vocalist Chandler Lach possessing a similar vocal style. Yet ‘Rodia’ never feels like a work of hero worship. Instead, it exists in the middle ground between indie-punk and emo/

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ETERNITY, IN YOUR ARMS

‘Eternity, In Your Arms’ is an album of faith and trust. They might not have the answers, but Creeper make it clear that whatever happens, this album is something to believe in.

WAVVES

YOU’RE WELCOME

Ghost Ramp

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There’s something reassuring about a new record from Wavves. Though they may change gradually with the ebb and flow of personal progression, Nathan Williams and his band of merry men can confidently lay claim to setting the gold standard for snotty, lo-fi, scuzzy punk rock over the last decade or so. Now operating on Williams’ own label, Ghost Ramp, their latest full-length isn’t dropping that bar one bit. Opener ‘Daisy’ knows the only way through the door is to kick it down, while ‘Million Enemies’ drips with attitude. ‘Come To The Valley’, meanwhile, is gloriously immature, verging on playground rhyme. While other bands may try to force themselves to grow up and push boundaries with every new release, Wavves understand that trying hard doesn’t make things better. Sometimes you need to be yourself. That’s why they’re here. You’re welcome. Stephen Ackroyd

YO U N E E D T H E S E A L B U M S .

DIET CIG

SWEAR I’M GOOD AT THIS

math-rock, calling on the likes of Foxing and Joyce Manor (and Sorority Noise) as bedfellows, yet never really sounding like any of them. Rob Mair

Diet Cig tackle their problems head on. ‘Swear I’m Good At This’ is a party where everyone is welcome, and a sense of radical togetherness can change the world. We’re ready. Are they?

COUNTERFEIT

TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER

It’s not the machine Counterfeit are raging against, it’s the world. ‘Together We Are Stronger’ isn’t just a title. It’s a message of community as they tear walls down and raise spirits up.

PULLED APART BY HORSES

MAMA ROUX, BIRMINGHAM

It wasn’t too long ago that Pulled Apart By Horses’ future seemed uncertain. Following the release of their fourth album ‘The Haze’ last month, the Leeds outfit are raring to show just how in the game they are. Reinvigorated after a period away, their performance is tighter than ever. There’s never been any shortage of fury in their sound, and there’s certainly never been any shortage of momentum in their

live sets, but tonight the band sound their rawest and most realised. Tearing straight into latest album opener ‘The Haze’ the outfit jump, dive, and sprawl their way through the night in front of a crowd raring to dive head first into every moment. The four-piece are entirely in their element. In the darkened venue full of fans and friends, they showcase just how much calamity they’re capable of (hint: it’s a lot). With bodies moving and sweat dripping, Pulled Apart By Horses were made for shows like this – and tonight is theirs for the taking. Jessica Goodman

PHOTO: SAM WOOD

IN STORES NOW F E AT U R I N G ‘ 5 7 0 ’ , ‘ E T E R N A L LY YO U RS ’ & ‘LOUD (F**K IT)’ C D • D IG I TA L

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WHILE SHE SLEEPS

PHOTO: ELLIOT MCRAE

TALKING HEADS, SOUTHAMPTON

The words which While She Sleeps frontman Loz Taylor roared in ‘This Is The Six’ still ring true five years down the line: ‘I will put my strength in numbers’. After being chewed up and spat out by the grinding cogs of the industry machine, the Sheffield five-piece found solace in the unrelenting commitment of their cult-like fanbase and mapped their own defiant path back to the top. In the middle of a week which would culminate with their third album ‘You Are We’ punching its way into the Top 10, While She Sleeps are in deservedly sky-high spirits. The quality which pushes While She Sleeps leagues above their peers is conviction, something which Taylor is a blinding beacon of. The way he belts out every word as if he’s fighting for the last gasps of oxygen in a crowded airtight container; the force with which he throws down his busted mic before orchestrating a glorious singalong while scaling the narrow walls of the sound booth; the eventual collapse to his knees during the final notes of ‘Four Walls’... Every second he spends both on and off stage is stunningly sincere. The rest of the Steel City sons have never struggled to keep up with their fearless leader, but tonight they are truly exceptional. Mat Welsh is an awesome presence thanks to the step-up in vocal interplay between him and Taylor on You Are We, Sean Long’s indulgently metallic guitar work is white-hot and, as far as rhythm sections go, bassist Aaran Mckenzie and drummer Adam Savage are a force to be reckoned with. The scale of tonight’s production - a bombardment of strobes and tense ambient rumblings between songs - aligns with the soaring melodies of ‘Seven Hills’ and set-closer ‘Hurricane’, complete with an out-of-the-blue cameo from The Skints’ Marcia Richards. Similarly, the sheer ferocity of this immersive experience befits the savage riffs of ‘Feel’ and ‘New World Torture’. Despite the intimate setting of this Southampton bar, While She Sleeps could easily level venues 10 times the size in any city where they decide to stick their flag. Armed with this onslaught of light, sound, sweat and passion, they are finally cementing their legacy as the best metal band of their generation. Danny Randon

THE MENZINGERS TALKING HEADS,

PHOTO: ELLIOT MCRAE

SOUTHAMPTON

There’s always something special about a rock show where the veteran pogo-dancing punks can stand shoulder to shoulder, almost in equal numbers, with the deweyeyed millennials. The Menzingers don’t quite fit into either age bracket. However, as they have proved with their phenomenal fifth record ‘After The Party’, they can preach their candid yet heartwarming accounts of entering their 30s to both masses. When you put them up against the calibre of their touring partners’ output over 11 years, The Flatliners are perfectly fine for what they’re worth tonight. Giving mildmannered shout-outs to the die-hards who bought them beer before the show, the beverages probably lent themselves to the gravelly delivery of the Canadians’ adequate pop-punk. As if kicking off their set with ‘After The Party’s immense opener ‘Tellin’ Lies’ wasn’t enough from The Menzingers, throwing in another opening track, ‘I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore’, straight after is like cracking open two cold cans of beer at the same time. It gives off feelings of fizzy euphoria, after which you know only good things can happen. Just like that, the Pennsylvanian four-piece begin firing off hits with both boundless energy and effortless cool. A generous helping of cuts from ‘After The Party’ clearly doesn’t go amiss, as a song like ‘Your Wild Years’ gets a response akin to that of ‘The Obituaries’ – and rightly so. Meanwhile, the conviction with which the audience sing back every word kick the Springsteen-scale heartland choruses of ‘Midwestern States’ and ‘House On Fire’ into emotional overdrive. They may be well on their way to becoming elder statesmen of their scene, but there is a tone of vitality and humour to The Menzingers’ performance that would usually befit a band 10 years their junior. That much can certainly be said of guitarist/semi-frontman Tom May, who leaps around centre stage with giddy enthusiasm throughout, while his counterpart Greg Barnett takes more of a collected, charming stance. By the time the encore rolls around with a perfect trio of ‘Lookers’, ‘Casey’ and ‘In Remission’, no April shower could possibly dampen the jovial spirits felt both on stage and off. Forget what happens after the party, it’s what happens during that really matters. Danny Randon

PHOTO: SAM WOOD

YOUTH MAN

SUNFLOWER LOUNGE, BIRMINGHAM

Think of Easter and what do you imagine? Chocolate eggs? Fluffy bunnies? How about sequins, streamers, and shots? At The Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham, the local Bad Girls collective celebrate the occasion with a showcase of female empowerment, featuring some of the city’s most formidable talents, all in aid of LGBT+ charity Stonewall. Balloons hang from the ceiling, a shimmering foil curtain adorns the stage wall, and glitter sparkles on the floor. This is a setting purpose built for a party – and that’s exactly what the audience are treated to. “I love this town,” Youth Man bassist Miles Cocker proclaims mid set, rallying the crowd in their support for the cause, the performers, and each other. Making her debut performance with the help of members of local favourites Bad Girlfriend on backing duties, Kristina Grigaite takes punk rock into overdrive with larger than life vocal melodies and addictively distorted refrains. Performing a cover of Tim Buckley’s ‘Song To The Siren’, Apathy’s Alex Thompson casts a spell it’s impossible to pull away from. The best new band you might never see

(having stated previously that the show tonight would be a one time thing), Sofa King’s deliciously woozy indie pop is an all-encompassing venture of the most thrilling kind. Hazy, nostalgic, and downright fantastic, the group laugh, joke, and flirt their way through a set of songs all vying to be your new favourite. Drawing the night to a close in an explosion of brutal riffs and rapid high kicks, Youth Man reign supreme. The trio power through long time favourites and brand new numbers in rapid succession, from ‘Heavy Rain’ through ‘Fat Dead Elvis’ to songs that don’t even have a name yet. The three-piece’s energy is matched by the motion of those nearest the stage, rocking and moshing their way through every song with a tireless fervour. Shouting out the promoters, performers, and everyone involved in the night as they roll around the stage and dive into the crowd, Youth Man’s frenzied showcase ignites a freewheeling sense of fun for everyone gathered. Their performance is effortless, Kaila Whyte leading the room through a raucous rebellion with the upmost dexterity. As the festivities continue into the early morning), the sense of celebration refuses to cease. Drawing some of Birmingham’s brightest talents together in solidarity, the night lights up the city with a fresh excitement. With bands like these what more could you need? Jessica Goodman 63

FESTIVAL GUIDE ‘17

YO U R E SS E N T I A L S U M M E R G U I D E

SUMMER IS ON ITS WAY, WHICH MEANS FESTIVAL SEASON HAS ARRIVED. HERE’S THE LOWDOWN ON THE BEST EVENTS OF 2017.

WATERPARKS So you’re at Slam Dunk this year - you’ve played before, haven’t you? What was it like last time? Who did you see? Awsten: Yeah! Last time we played Slam Dunk was actually the first time we had left the country ever in general, Geoff and I were scrambling to get passports so we could actually make it. The first day was spooky as hell because all our gear was malfunctioning, but we just went into punk mode and tried to go hard. The second day was outside and I played Silver blindfolded. The third day was the tightest because there were a few pits and we were super surprised because we’d never been there before but people were way into it. I watched The Starting Line, Four Year Strong and Panic! At The Disco because duh. Is there anyone playing this year you’re especially keen to catch? I wanna watch Bowling For Soup because they got some serious hits. What can you tell us about your set? It’ll probably be during someone cooler than us so that SUCKS, but it’s gonna be tight. We’re gonna do some stuff we’ve never done that people have been asking for since the album came out BUT NOT BECAUSE YOU WANT US TO

BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE FREE WILL AND ARE STRONG INDEPENDENT BOYS.

What would you say to convince any music fans not yet attending that they should pick up a ticket? Since I’m rich and can afford to do this, I’m unleashing a squad of wild bears into the suburbs of your hometowns and animal control won’t be able to do shit for at least like ten hours so you’d better come out to Slam Dunk for your own safety. If that didn’t convince you, I hope you get eaten by the squad of wild bears I sent to your house. This year is Slam Dunk’s tenth anniversary - if you were celebrating ten years as a band, what would you do to mark the occasion? We’d do a desperate 10-yearanniversary tour, duh HAHAHHAHAHA. What else are you guys up to this year? We did our first headlining tour this year and immediately left to tour with All Time Low in the UK and Europe. We’re also touring with them in the States after Slam Dunk. There’s other stuff too, but it’s illegal for me to talk about it right now so shhhhhh. P

27TH - 29TH MAY Location: Leeds (Slam Dunk North), Birmingham (Slam Dunk Midlands) & Hatfield (Slam Dunk South) Line-up: Enter Shikari (‘Take To The Skies’ ten year celebration), Don broco, Deaf Havana, Beartooth, We Are The Ocean, Crossfaith, Bowling For Soup, We The Kings, The Maine, The Movielife, Against Me!, Less Than Jake, Tonight Alive, Set It Off, Milk Teeth, Citizen, Turnover, Sorority Noise, Puppy, Black Foxxes, Boston Manor, Decade, Waterparks, Madina Lake, Memphis May Fire, I Prevail, Counterfeit, WSTR, Trophy Eyes, SHVPES, Fenix TX, Reel Big Fish, We The Kings slamdunkmusic.com

FESTIVAL GUIDE ‘17

27TH - 29TH MAY 2017 2017 marks ten years since ‘Take To The Skies’ - how are your anniversary celebrations going so far? Are you having fun? Rou: We had a great time relearning all the old stuff and putting the set together. We then toured it across America last month which was tres agreeable.

ENTER SHIKARI

Does it feel like it’s been a decade? I guess in a way, yeah. When I’m in the moment, playing the songs, it certainly doesn’t feel like ten years has gone by. It feels no different to when we performed them back in the day really. But when I step back and actually think about the tracks, how they sound, how they were recorded, the times they represent, the songs feel ancient! You’re performing the album in full at Slam Dunk this year, does playing it front to back pose any challenges compared to your normal sets? Not particularly. It’s a well-balanced album with plenty of loud and soft, everything in moderation! There was the challenge of trying to fit in more recent, non-’TTTS’, material into the set and it still flowing nicely, but we appear to have cracked that particular nut too (even if I do say so myself).

YO U R E SS E N T I A L S U M M E R G U I D E

Are there any songs from it that you’re especially happy to be playing live now? Definitely. For me, ‘Today Won’t Go Down In History’ is really satisfying to finally play live; we’ve never actually played it, in fact never even practised it together, it was simply recorded and left to stagnate on the album. So to give it it’s first live outing ten years later feels like justice!

How has your relationship with ‘Take To The Skies’ changed over the years? As many of the songs were already a few years old when we recorded it, I think I quickly began to tire of it. Coupled with the fact that I’d begun experimenting even further with new synths and sounds and widening my influences. ‘Common Dreads’ feels like quite a jump forward, but it was all very natural. Recently though I’ve been able to appreciate it for what it is; a first album, a leap into being a “real band”. Now we have such a back catalogue of four albums, I’ve grown fond of it again. I don’t feel it needs to be anything other than what it is if that makes sense. It perfectly encapsulates that period. P

BLACK BLACK FOXXES FOXXES

Have you been to Slam Dunk before? Mark: I’ve been to Hatfield loads of times, yeah. I think I ended up going near the end just for the after party.

What is it about Slam Dunk that makes it so important to the UK rock scene, do you think? I think just the fact that it’s another outlet for people to go and let loose for a day. It’s that perfect level of festival in between your Readings & hometown festivals. It kinda caters for everyone.

Is there anyone playing this year who you’re especially keen to catch? This year I’m really excited for Turnover and The Bronx. I still haven’t seen The Bronx live, but I’ve heard amazing things. What else are you guys up to at the mo? We’ve got loads of festivals planned, just announced a headline show at The Dome, and recording this second album! P

WSTR WSTR TONIGHT TONIGHT ALIVE ALIVE So you’re at Slam Dunk again this year - it’s been a while since you’ve played, hasn’t it? What’s changed for you guys since then? Cameron: Last time we played SD, we opened the Main Stage, and our album ‘The Other Side’ had not even been released yet. We were debuting ‘The Ocean’ live on that tour as the first single. This time we are headlining a stage, and have just released ‘World Away’ the first single off our upcoming fourth record. ‘The Other Side’ changed our lives for the better, and we have been on quite a journey since then.

You’ll be returning this time having released your debut album, what songs of yours do you think will go down best with the crowds? Alex: ‘Featherweight’ usually goes off a treat, and we’ll be playing a new single which will be... interesting. If all fails we’ve always have ‘Lonely Smiles’ as a naughty back up plan. What can you tell us about your set? We should sound way more polished than WSTR have ever sounded before.

Spent a lot of time in a practice room and ready to come into 2017 swinging. What else are you guys up to this year? Well, August may be a busy month for us, maybe we have something to announce, maybe we don’t. But late August we have the pleasure of playing Reading & Leeds, which for me personally is a dream come true. Then besides the odd gig here and there WSTR will definitely be working on new material. P

What’s your favourite thing about the festival? The line ups are brilliant, and being only three shows which usually sell out, everyone gets a good crowd and the kids who attend make for a memorable show. Is there anyone playing you’re especially keen to catch? Set It Off are some of the best guys we’ve ever toured with, and they always bring a good show. Their current release ‘Upside Down’ is a fantastic album, and I’ve been keen to hear the songs live- I’ve got a few favourites. And of course Don Broco and Enter Shikari. Though, if we’re clashing with them you should definitely come watch our set instead - I mean come on, we came all the way from Australia, they probably live around the corner from you. What can you tell us about your set? Choosing a set list is getting harder and harder for us. We know what songs get the best reaction and at the end of the day, that’s what we aim for. That being said, our biggest problem is that we have a lot of Ballads that both ourselves and the fans love, but they can be a mood kill in a festival environment. We usually pick one or two and save the rest for headliners. P

DON DON BROCO BROCO

It’s been ages - how are you guys? Busy? Rob: Yep good thanks, we’re currently in the US supporting State Champs. It’s our first ever tour here, so we’re having a lot of fun doing all the touristy stuff. What’s your favourite thing about Slam Dunk? That Slammy D vibe. The best festivals have that energy to them that a normal show doesn’t always, but at Slam Dunk, it’s extra special, and everyone is always up for the party.

What can you tell us about your set? This’ll be the first time we play new music from our next record so expect a super tight rehearsed set of all the songs our fans would wanna hear and one song which will be a sloppy mess, haha. Very pumped to play some new stuff though, we just know it’s gonna be super fun to play live. What else are you guys up to this year? We’re playing a load of festivals then finishing off recording the album. P

FESTIVAL GUIDE ‘17

MADINA LAKE

HAVING DISBANDED IN 2013, MADINA LAKE ARE BACK THIS YEAR TO CELEBRATE THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR DEBUT, ‘FROM THEM, THROUGH US, TO YOU’.

EYV OEURRY E TS HSI N EG N THI A L P PSEUNMI N MG E RI NG R UO I DCEK

s if Slam Dunk wasn’t already celebration enough, this year the annual event acts as a centrepiece to the return of teen rock icons, Madina Lake. The outfit have reunited to commemorate the tenth

WORDS: JESSICA GOODMAN.

anniversary of their debut album ‘From Them, Through Us, To You,’ stepping forwards and breathing life into a future that hasn’t felt this vibrant in years. “I love new energy!” Matthew Leone proclaims excitedly. “It’s a festival culture [in the UK], and Slam Dunk has a very

interesting format: they started out a small festival, they grew steady. That indicates to me that the promoters putting it on want to sustain something with longevity. I love that. It’s the perfect festival for us.” Formed when he, his brother Nathan

(both then performing as The Blank Theory), Mateo Camargo, and Dan Torelli (both then playing in Reforma) decided to forge a new vision together, the idea of fostering community has always been central to everything Madina Lake do. Their vision came to life in a trilogy of albums underpinned by a world of fantasy, centred on the disappearance of a character named Adalia. “We wanted to write a grandiose social diatribe about an artist’s position and where we felt it was heading,” Matthew portrays. “Then we started doing it.” Painting clues through their artwork, building plot points into their videos, and telling parts of the tale in their songs, before eventually releasing the whole concept as a book, Madina Lake offered a whole world, ripe for exploration. “Nathan and Mateo would both work on getting the themes, and I’d sort of weave the narrative,” the bassist details. “We had the whole conclusion in mind, so we were able to hide clues into the first, second, and third records to be

27TH - 29TH MAY 2017

solved.” Creating such an enigmatic narrative for their fans to escape into, the course of their career has very much been “a journey.” “The whole thing about the archetypal rock world, and being inside a venue,” Matthew starts, “the world outside closes. You’re in this fantasy realm. We wanted to create a whole dimension that you could sink into throughout the experience.” So that’s exactly what they did, and it’s exactly what they will continue to do as they return to stages this summer, indulging in - what Matthew terms with a laugh - “a little re-seducting.” “We’re always late with everything, but we will always be around,” he asserts. “Our ambition, should we be successful in our performance, is to unify everybody’s energy, and channel it all into one vortex, one harmony,” he describes. “We want to reignite that feeling that maybe they had the first time they saw us live. We want to reseduce them.” “I think one of the things that has always separated us from a lot of bands is that we devoted so much to our audience, our friends, our fans, whatever you want to call them,” the bassist starts. “I’ve never gotten used to saying the word ‘fans’,” he squirms. “We’re very community driven people. That’s what we tried to create - a community that would never die.” Ten years on, selling out shows thousands of miles from their home, that’s exactly the legacy the outfit have forged. “Everyone says they don’t Google themselves, but I really don’t – I don’t think it’s good for me,” the musician laughs. “But when people send me messages, holy shit, there’s no greater feeling,” he exclaims. “When people say that they met their now husband or wife at one of our shows...” he trails off in a stunned silence. “That defines success. When I hear those things, I light up. I really appreciate it.” Because that’s the kind of fan group Madina Lake have always inspired: people who would follow the clues, take up the winding trail from record to record, travel from show to show, and carry it with them, a part of the lives they lead. Writing songs that resonate with as

much clarity and relevance now as they did a decade ago, it’s little surprise that adoration has endured. “The issues around [‘From Them, Through Us, To You’] are issues that are not pigeonholed into a certain timeframe,” Matthew states. “The songs are about love and loss, the major components and challenges of life, both triumphs and tragedies, and these happen no matter when you were born throughout recorded history.” Describing the release as a record “about love and loss and hope and faith,” as well as being about “everything that we personally went through,” the group could not be prouder of the story they’ve created. “We crammed a lot of life into our little bit of time here,” Matthew beams. “We’ve had a really wild ride.” But just because they’re commemorating their past, and their legacy doesn’t mean that story’s over quite yet. “We’re making this about celebrating the ten year anniversary,” the bassist affirms. “We’re really focusing on the reunion. However, we could not resist… We have written new music.” “We ultimately got to a point where things were starting to crack, and we couldn’t sustain it,” he recalls of their decision to push pause on the project. “Now we’ve figured out how we want to deploy it into our lives in a way that’s not so taxing on real life.” Stating that “our plan is once a year to a new song or two,” and hinting towards annual shows – not unlike the Arlene Ball within their ‘Lila, the Divine Game’ trilogy tale – Madina Lake are back at their most invigorated. “We want to celebrate what going to a rock show is like, and what being connected to a band and an audience is like, and make that an annual deal,” Matthew explains, excitedly. “One of the things we kept saying is that there will never be a last time you see us,” he continues. “This is us making good on our word. It’s so thrilling to see that our followers are there with us too.” P 69

FESTIVAL GUIDE ‘17

MARMOZETS

PVRIS

By the time PVRIS take to the Reading & Leeds stage, they’ll already have released their much anticipated second album ‘All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell’. From the sound of its lead single ‘Heaven’, it’s going to pack the king of mega-bangers that will keep the three piece flying up the line-up at pace. Matched with the roaring success of debut record ‘White Noise’, and they’re a band packing the material to find themselves playing much, much higher on the billing next time they return. Expect this to be a moment.

PWR BTTM

So much of what PWR BTTM do feels like it genuinel matters, but their appearance at this year’s Reading & Leeds needs framing only as one of the best bands in the world staking their claim at the sort of festival they should be central to. Off the back of new album ‘Pageant’, they’re literally fizzing with raw brilliance right now - by the time they lay that down on a sunny Autumn Bank Holiday weekend in a rammed Reading & Leeds tent, expect that glitter bomb to explode.

EYV OEURRY E TS HSI N EG N THI A L P PSEUNMI N MG E RI NG R UO I DCEK

AT AT THE THE DRIVE DRIVE IN IN

With a new album under their belt, At The Drive In’s return has gone from nostalgia driven curiosity into something far more current. Comparing ‘in•ter a•li•a’ to the band’s classic ‘Relationship of Command’ would be a futile excercise, sure, but there’s enough going on to make their Main Stage appearance one of the not to be missed sets this August Bank Holiday weekend.

25TH - 27TH AUGUST Location: Richmond Avenue, Reading / Bramham Park, Leeds Line-up: Muse, Emimem, Kasabian, Korn, Jimmy Eat World, While She Sleeps readingfestival.com leedsfestival.com

Marmozets have been away for a while now working on their second album, the follow up to ‘The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets’. It’s been three whole years since that record landed, and who knows what’s changed during that time? So far they’ve only really told us there’s a “clearer vibe” on this one.

AGAINST THE CURRENT

Against the Current aren’t in the UK loads, sadly. They have “touring” to do, “around the world” to “promote” stuff. And sometimes they have to go “home”. Bah. Anyway, they’re here for Reading & Leeds, which will no doubt be one of the event’s highlights.

MUSE

Muse’s stage show is always something to behold. They don’t just come out, strum their guitars then fuck off again. There are big props, big singles, lasers, fireworks, smoke machines, confetti - it’s basically like a sci-fi film crossed with your local party shop.

ROCK PUPPY VS S L ØT FAC E

veryone thinks they could be a superstar DJ. Everyone. Even your nan reckons she’s in with a chance of having it large behind the wheels of steel. But not everyone has what it takes. We’re putting some of your favourite bands to the test. We’ve given two musicians five categories. They pick a song for each, we decide who wins each round, and who takes home the trophy overall. There can only be one victor. This month, it’s a Reading & Leeds special as two acts from the line-up face off. It’s Puppy vs Sløtface. Let battle commence... ROUND ONE T H E S O N G Y O U ’ D P L AY I N T H E VA N O N T O U R .

Sløtface: ‘California (Tchad Lake mix)’ by Phantom Planet. Best memory from our first US tour, listening to this driving through California. Puppy: Apache Indian, ‘Boom Shack A Lac’. Nothing quite gets you in the mood for an 8 hour drive like this absolute corker. It’s no slight on Puppy, none at all, but we watched The OC, and - y’know - if you watched The OC, this one isn’t close. Not even remotely. ‘CALIFOOOOOORNNNIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAA!’ 1-0 to the Norweigans. WINNER

ROUND TWO

T H E S O N G Y O U ’ D P L AY A T A 9 0 S T H E M E D PA R T Y.

Sløtface: ‘Wannabe’ by The Spice Girls. This would get everyone on the floor dancing! Puppy: Lynyrd Skynyrd, ‘Freebird’. Goes without saying really. Needs no explanation. W I N N E R This is Upset. This isn’t other rock magazines. Obviously OBVIOUSLY - it’s The Spice Girls. 2-0 to Sløtface. ROUND THREE T H E S O N G Y O U ’ D P L AY TO M A KE PEO PL E TH I N K YO U ’ R E S U P E R C O O L .

Sløtface: ‘Help (Beatles cover)’ by Weaves. What is cooler than a cover of a classic band by a fantastic obscure band. “Oh you’ve never heard their Beatles cover? It’s pretty rare…’ Puppy: Kid Rock, ‘American Bad Ass’. Metallica covered this later on but we still prefer the original. W I N N E R While ‘American Bad Ass’ may be one of Kid Rock’s only redeeming features, it’s also by Kid Rock. No, not even the Undertaker can make that alright. Weaves, meanwhile, are bloody brilliant. That’s 3-0 to Sløtface. Puppy are playing for pride. ROUND FOUR T H E S O N G Y O U ’ D P L AY TO S O U N DT R AC K YO U R E N T R A N C E I F YO U W E R E A PRO WRESTLER.

Sløtface: ‘Humble’ by Kendrick Lamar. This way our opponent would know who was in charge.

Puppy: ‘Sound of Silence’ by Simon And Garfunkel. This would nicely mask the actual sound of silence as I walked into the ring. W I N N E R It’s a drubbing. An actual drubbing. 4-0. ROUND FIVE T H E S O N G Y O U ’ D P L AY F O R I N Y O U R T E N T AT A F E S T I VA L .

Sløtface: ‘Mjod’ by Kvelertak. So people would know we are from Norway, and scare them off from stealing shit from our tent. Puppy: Babylon Zoo, ‘Spaceman’. Babylon Zoo came and went fairly quickly, but left us with the greatest song of all time before they did. Cheers lads. W I N N E R Look, we don’t know much about Norweigan music, but we do know about mid 90s one hit wonders who had their big break via a commercial. The only song in existence that could beat Babylon Zoo would be Stitskin’s ‘Inside’. AND THE WINNER IS... A H E AV Y D E F E A T , B U T P U PPY P U L L E D O N E BAC K R I G H T AT T H E E N D T H E R E . S T I L L , S L Ø T F A C E TA K E I T 4-1.

FESTIVAL GUIDE ‘17

ROLO TOMASSI How has 2017 been treating you so far? Eva: Hectic but good, I can’t complain!

YO U R E SS E N T I A L S U M M E R G U I D E

So you’re playing 2000trees soon have you been before?

6TH - 8TH JULY Location: Upcote Farm Line-up: Slaves, Lower Than Atlantis, Deaf Havana, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, The Front Bottoms, The Wonder Years, The Menzingers, Honeyblood twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk

We played a few years ago and had an amazing time, the show itself was a lot of fun, and we had a lot of friends playing the festival too. For me, it was getting to see bands and catching up with old friends!

with, or seeing play? Yeah! There’s a lot on the line up I’d like to see, Oathbreaker, Lemuria, Gnarwolves, Beach Slang, Tall Ships Tigercub, Personal Best and Pulled Apart By Horses to name a few!

What’s your favourite thing about playing festivals like 2000trees? It’s the sense of community amongst those attending, music fans being there for the music and being respectful of each other, I find the atmosphere at Arc Tan Gent is similar as well. There’s also such a great variety of bands playing this year.

Are you going to hang around all weekend to soak up the festival atmosphere? We’re just there for the Saturday unfortunately but had we not had other commitments would have definitely stayed for the weekend!

Are there any must-have items you try to take with you? I will definitely be taking wellies just in case, last time we were at 2000 Trees we got caught in the rain. And sunglasses too! Are there any bands on the line-up you’re looking forward to catching up

What do you think makes the perfect festival set? A good mixture of songs across a band’s back catalogue and the crowd. What else have you got coming up this year? We’re currently working on new material so will continue to crack on with that. We’re all looking forward to debuting some of it at the festival. P

THE THE DIRTY DIRTY NIL NIL JAMIE JAMIE LENMAN LENMAN How has 2017 been treating you so far? It’s all been very exciting since January - I’ve released two singles, and now I’m gearing up for a UK tour which starts tomorrow. Lots of rehearsals, interviews, designing t-shirts and cover art, etc.

So you’re playing 2000trees soon have you been before? I have been there before yes. The best thing I experienced was when I managed to convince the person on the bacon buttie stall to pop a hash brown in there as well - and then I ate this marvellous thing whilst watching the St Pierre Snake Invasion perform what felt like a headline set on the main stage even though it was only about 2pm. What’s your favourite thing about playing festivals like 2000trees? There aren’t many festivals like 2000 Trees, maybe Arc Tan Gent but that’s a bit of a cheat. It’s a lot smaller than your average; it feels a lot friendlier. It’s like the organisers still remember/know what it’s like to be a festival goer themselves and keep that in mind when planning everything, so it’s a very pleasant experience. Are there any must-have items you try to take with you? TOILET. PAPER. Are there any bands on the line-up you’re looking forward to catching up with, or seeing play? Well, my buddies the Snakes are going to be there, so it’ll be good to see them, plus Black Peaks and Feed The Rhino, good old chums. Frank Carter isn’t my chum but I hope he will be and I can’t wait to see his set Are you going to hang around all weekend to soak up the festival atmosphere? If I can find that bacon buttie stall again, then I might not leave at all. P

So you’re playing 2000trees soon - have you been before? Kyle: We have never been to 2000 Trees before but are looking forward to it. We’ve heard a lot of great things about it. Everyone seems to have a good time.

Are there any bands on the line-up you’re looking forward to catching up with, or seeing play? I wish we were there when the Menzingers, Muncie Girls and Milk Teeth are playing.

Are there any must-have items you try to take with you? I think that you always need to bring an alcohol tolerance because you’re going to drink a lot. I really like to bring a camera with me though to take pictures of shit.

What else have you got coming up this year? We have some festivals like Way Home and a Canadian tour with the Flatliners coming up. Also, some that are unannounced we can’t wait to tell people about. Keep your eyes and ears out. P

BLACK BLACK PEAKS PEAKS What’s your favourite thing about playing festivals like 2000trees? Andrew: We love playing festivals like 2000 trees. The vibe is always great, and everyone is so open minded about seeing different genres of music. The smaller festival sites have much more of an intimate feel, and you don’t have to walk too far to see everything! Are there any bands on the line-up you’re looking forward to catching up with, or seeing play? There are so many! - Black Foxxes, The One Hundred, The St. Pierre Snake Invasion and our pals, Tigercub, Bad

sign and Jamie Lenman!

Are you going to hang around all weekend to soak up the festival atmosphere? We always stay for as long as we can at trees! What else have you got coming up this year? We are heading out to Europe for the whole of June to play festivals, some headline shows and will be supporting both The Dillinger Escape Plan and Architects on a couple of their shows which we are super excited about! P 73

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OF MICE & MEN

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Hey, so you’re playing Download this summer - do you have anything special planned for your set? Any hints as to what fans can expect? Aaron: We’ll be rocking & rolling! We’ve got a good mix of older and newer material in our set, and we’ll be playing our new single, “Unbreakable.”

Are there any other bands you’re looking forward to saying hi to, or watching play? I’m super stoked to see our friends in ADTR, Suicide Silence, and Crown The Empire! And there are so many other great bands I can’t wait to watch! What’s your favourite thing about playing big, outdoor festivals like Download? The energy of the crowd! The UK knows how to enjoy a rock show better than most places in the world, so it’s always a great time playing here.

How do you prepare for a summer spent travelling across the world to events like this? I spend a lot of time with my family, and also eating the things I regularly like to eat, haha!

Tool, Rammstein, Slipknot.

What else do you have coming up over the next few months? Working on more music, and playing lots of shows all over the world! P

Are there any must-have items you try to take with you? I usually bring a videogame system of some kind—whether it’s my PS4, or my PS Vita. Have you heard any Download tales from your mates that have made you keen to go? We watched Bring Me The Horizon absolutely smash Download in 2014! They’re friends of ours, and it’s always awesome to see your friends do awesome shit! If you were in charge of booking Download, who would you want to headline next year’s event?

9TH - 11TH JUNE Location: Donington Park Line-up: System of a Down, Biffy Clyro, Aerosmith, Prophets of Rage, A Day To Remember, Mastodon, Of Mice & Men, Creeper, Crown The empire, Basement, Yonaka, Code Orange downloadfestival.co.uk

AS AS IT IT IS IS What’s your favourite thing about playing big, outdoor festivals like Download? Patty: It’s really nice just exploring the site. I don’t often stray from venues because I spend an embarrassingly long time preparing for our set. I’m able to walking around and enjoy the change of scenery.

What else do you have coming up over the next few months? Before and after Download, we’re playing some rad festivals and headline dates across mainland Europe. And we, of course, have some very big, very exciting plans towards the end of the year, but you’ll just have to wait and see what they are!

GREYWIND GREYWIND GREYWIND Do you have anything special planned for your set? Paul: We have some really special things planned so you’ll have to come and watch our set to find out what we have in store! Are there any other bands you’re looking forward to saying hi to, or watching play? We’re looking forward to saying hi to Aerosmith and watching Biffy Clyro and Holding Absence. If you were in charge of booking Download, who would you want to headline next year’s event? My Chemical Romance to headline the Friday, Bring Me The Horizon on the Saturday and then ourselves headlining the Sunday, because we’ll have the power and no one can stop us.

PIERCE THE VEIL

Hey, so you’re playing Download this summer - do you have anything special planned for your set? Any hints as to what fans can expect? Jaime: We always try and do whatever we can to put on the best live show we can with what we have. This is no exception; we’re definitely gonna try and bring a lot of energy to this set!!! Are there any other bands you’re looking forward to saying hi to, or watching play? We have a lot of friends playing this festival which is always a great time. Bands like A day to remember, of mice and men, and Creeper who’ve we’ve toured with in the past! It’s great that all our bands, no matter how different can share the stage and really just have fun. What’s your favourite thing about playing big, outdoor festivals like Download? Honestly just playing to so many new fans! We love fighting to gain new listeners and trying to put on the best show we can. It’s a very humbling experience, like you’re starting from the bottom again! I love that How do you prepare for a summer spent travelling across the world to events like this? We’ve been touring for over ten years now, so we all are very used to this kind of trip. It’s just about knowing that we will be playing to a lot of people who

may not know us. So we have to be ready to work! Are there any must-have items you try to take with you? I have kind of a weird superstitious thing with my show shoes, it’s really funny, but I always have my Red Vans with me at every show! It’s like my good luck charm. Have you heard any Download tales from your mates that have made you keen to go? I’ve seen videos of Slipknot playing Download, and it was the craziest things I’ve ever seen, and I was just watching it on my TV. I couldn’t even fathom being there to witness that! Unreal If you were in charge of booking Download, who would you want to headline next year’s event? Ha, if you gave me any control of that, nobody would come!!! They have the perfect team that really brings a lot of great bands together so I think they wouldn’t need my help. With that being said I wouldn’t mind seeing Blink 182 with Tom again! What else do you have coming up over the next few months? Just busy touring off our new record ‘Misadventures’ and trying to be a part of as many festivals and shows we possibly can! We don’t wanna be home, haha. P 75

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BASEMENT Do you have anything special planned for your set? Any hints as to what fans can expect? Andrew: Nothing special, we’re just gonna try our best to put on a good show and have a good time. I hope people will be into it. If you like live music that sounds like rock then you probably will.

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Are there any other bands you’re looking forward to saying hi to, or watching play? Dinosaur Pile-Up are wonderful, everyone should check them out. We’re all trying to make it work to see Mastodon because they’re so good.

What’s your favourite thing about playing big, outdoor festivals like Download? The crowds for us have been so good in the past. British festival crowds are like excitable football fans - we’ve had chants of ‘We love you Basement, we do!!!’ which is honestly the coolest things ever. Only in England, haha . How do you prepare for a summer spent travelling across the world to events like this? I wake up around 9/10 each day, and I have breakfast and coffee and try and hit the toilet before showering, then I will kill time getting coffee or

wandering around wherever I am. Then we will load in and get stuff set up and then grab some food, and probably coffee again. Sometimes we have to sound check; sometimes we don’t. It changes tour to tour, depending on where we are on the bill. If we have to sound check then we have to set all our stuff up and got through each individual instrument, starting with the drums, then bass, then stage right guitar, then left, then centre vocal, then stage left vocal. The order of the drums is kick, snare, Tom 1, Tom 2, then cymbals. We don’t have any more that two toms, otherwise that would be checked before the cymbals. If I have friends in the area that we’re playing, I’ll hit them up to hang out, or if I’m really lucky I’ll be near home, and my girlfriend will visit. When it comes close to the time we play I’ll change into the show clothes I have with me, I’ll chill for a bit and warm up and then when it’s time to play I’ll walk out the stage and play. We usually play for about 30mins-1hr, and during that period there will be breaks to catch a breather and grab a sip of water in between songs. I sing when we play because I’m the singer. I sing in all the songs that have singing parts in, which is all of them, but the amount I sing varies from song to

song. That’s called ‘difference’.

Are there any must-have items you try to take with you? I try to bring a travel mug with me because I drink a lot of tea to keep my throat good. That and books. I try to read while I’m on tour because it makes me feel productive. Oh, and a skipping rope and gym stuff for the days I’m feeling motivated to exercise. Have you heard any Download tales from your mates that have made you keen to go? I’ve always been interested in playing because it seems to be a different sort of crowd that we’re used to. It’s definitely regarded as a prestigious rock and metal festival, which is sick and it will be cool to see whether we fit on this sort of bill. If you were in charge of booking Download, who would you want to headline next year’s event? The Beatles; Led Zeppelin; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. What else do you have coming up over the next few months? Some more festivals, some other shows and hopefully something interesting before the end of the year. P

AND THAT’S NOT ALL... GLASTONBURY

21ST-25TH JUNE There are always a few rock bands at Glastonbury: this year’s headlined by one, in fact. Foo Fighters return for another go, following their 2015 cancellation when Dave Grohl injured himself. Biffy Clyro also play. glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

BST HYDE PARK

30TH JUNE - 9TH JULY Green Day and SWMRS both on one bill. Who’d have thought it? bst-hydepark.com

TRNSMT

7TH - 9TH JULY The 1975, Biffy Clyro and Twin Atlantic are all putting in appearances at this new event in Glasgow. It’s a sort-of-but-not-really replacement for T in the Park, which following some, erm, issues, is taking a bit of a break. trnsmtfest.com

FORT FEST

4TH - 6TH AUGUST With Fort Hope, Black Foxxes, Tigress and Seasons among the bands confirmed so far, there’s still loads to come. fortfest.uk

BLOODSTOCK

10TH - 13TH AUGUST A bit heavier than some of the others in our listings here, Bloodstock hosts Megadeth, Ghost, Hatebreed, Amon Amarth, Skindred and loads more. bloodstock.uk.com

ARCTANGENT

17TH - 19TH AUGUST One of the UK’s best loved small festivals across three days you can take in sets from Explosions in the Sky, TesseracT, Converge, Defeater, TTNG, Tricot, Tall Ships and Gallops. arctangent.co.uk

THE GREAT ESCAPE

AFTER A DAY SPENT SITTING ON THE BEACH, DAWDLING UP AND DOWN HILLS, WATCHING BANDS, STUFFING YOUR FACE WITH BBQ, FISH AND CHIPS, ICE CREAM, BRIGHTON ROCK AND THE LIKE, SOMETIMES YOU JUST WANT TO GO TO BED. OTHER TIMES, YOU JUST WANT TO GO TO A LATE NIGHT PARTY WITH YET MORE BANDS AND ONE OF YOUR FAVE MAGAZINES. HELLO.

For The Great Escape this year, Upset’s hosting a stage at the Komedia, late on the Friday night. Well, Saturday morning if you want to get technical - we kick off at midnight and run through ’til 3am. Joining us will be Perturbator, Astroid Boys and Gallops.

18TH - 20TH MAY Location: Brighton Line-up: Rag N Bone Man, Kano, Weirds, Gallops, Cherry Glazerr, Blood Red Shoes, Yonaka, LIFE, Tired Lion, Cheap Meat, Freak, Kamikaze Girls greatescapefestival.com

And that’s not all we’re up to - but it’s all you’re going to get out of us for now. Sorry. Keep your eyes on ‘the internet’.

hosting sets from a number of up-andcomers including INHEAVEN, Stevie Parker and Ten Tonnes. A great warm up, no?

Our pals Dork are also taking part in the seaside three-dayer, with a Friday evening takeover at The Prince Albert, right up near the train station. They’re

Other bands appearing across the weekend include Weirds, Cherry Glazerr, Blood Red Shoes, Yonaka, Tired Lion, Cheap Meat, Freak and Kamikaze Girls.

Wha t ’s

EXCITING WE ASKED THE BANDS WHAT WAS FLOATING THEIR BOAT THIS MONTH. Definitely the second album. The second is always so important, so many bands get lazy so it’s imperative we keep the finger on the pulse and smash this. I’m just excited for these new tracks to make it into the world. Mark, Black Foxxes My vegetable patch. Got some sweet garlic, and onion shoots coming up now. Also writing new music at the moment, which is exhilarating. Shikari mach 2 is now in production. Rou, Enter Shikari “Festivals aside, I think it’s safe to say we’re all looking forward to working on new material. WSTR have been through quite a lot of rough patches recently but it hasn’t broken our spirits, if anything it’s giving us pressure to feed off.” Alex, WSTR “The new Alien movie,

You, ‘ The b and s’?

Mayweather vs. McGregor if it happens, and surely it’s time for a Spice Girls reunion tour I’d be well excited about that.” Rob, Don Broco

just love getting out on the road and seeing everyone’s beautiful faces! It’s going to be a really exciting thing for us this year.” Alex, All Time Low

“We’re most excited about our new album we just recorded. We need to mix and master it and hopefully it’ll be out by the end of the year!” Alex, Lemuria

“I’m excited about how podcasts are making a massive comeback, and they’re doing so well; it’s really nice to have a combination of different mediums, because sometimes it’s nice to listen to a podcast rather than read something when your eyes are tired from work. There’s a lot of really good online ‘zines and podcasts going on at the moment, and that’s great to see because that’s how I hear about my music, so the fact that that’s growing is really exciting.” Justine, Employed To Serve

“Getting back on the road! We took some time away and kind of stopped headlining for a little while, but starting with the UK, it’s been really exciting to get back out there in front of people and share new music. The next step is always the most exciting thing for any band; formulating a plan and then actually seeing it through. ‘Last Young Renegade’ is a more ambitious album for us, and we want to push the boundaries and have fun with it, but at the same time we don’t want to be heavy-handed. All Time Low has always been a fun band for people, and we don’t’ want to lose that. We

“I just found this website that makes personalised stamps, and they do green ink. So I think I’m gonna have to order a new PEANESS stamp.” Jess, Peaness “My favourite sports team, the Nashville Predators of the NHL, are playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Hopefully, that will continue to excite me for a while. I’m also a huge wrestling fan, and I’m excited to possibly

“I’m excited to see what new flavors Pinkberry and Yogurtland put out next month, that’s what you should all be hyped on.” Awsten, Waterparks

watch my man Kenny Omega get another IWGP Championship match soon. As for our music scene? I’m excited that we are becoming more accepting, open-minded, and thoughtful of everyone. That is truly punk rock.” Cory, Free Throw “My boyfriend just bought a PS4 the other day and I can’t stop playing Skyrim on it. I feel like a real gamer now.” Julia, Chastity Belt “The next step, a fresh start. All the cliches. We have just signed to Hopeless Records, and UNFD in Aus- it’s a big deal to us. We’ve been through a lot, and have had to work through some really tough situations alongside all the amazing things that have happened in our career. We truly feel like the road ahead of us is clear and we have the freedom to create the music we want and be the people we want. On the way we want to inspire people to do the same.” Cam, Tonight Alive “I’m really excited to get the album out! Just having people hear and experience it; we’ve been done with it now for a few months, and it’s hard to keep it in once you’ve finished it! We want everyone to hear it so that when we play live, everyone knows the songs and is on the same page as us. But every day is really fun for us; we get to play shows and live it up on the road!” Ben, Royal Blood