Upset, October 2017

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 Thorp, Danny Randon, Dillon Eastoe, Eleanor Langford, Harley Cassidy, Heather McDaid, Jessica Goodman, Joe Henderson, Lauren Donaldson, Liam Konemann, Martyn Young, Nariece Sanderson, Rob Mair, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Photographers: Corinne Cumming, Ryan Johnston, Sarah Louise Bennett Cover Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett 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.

IN THIS ISSUE...

RIOT!

36 T H E M OV I E L I F E 38 S LØT FAC E 40 S L E E P I N G W I T H S I RE N S 44 S E AWAY 46 A RCA N E RO OTS 50 L I G H TS 52 M ETZ 54 T H E B RO N X 58 T H E WO RL D I S A B E AU T I F U L P L AC E …

ABOUT TO BREAK

60 B R A N D N E W 61 H OT WAT E R M US I C 62 E N T E R S H I K A RI 63 S LØT FAC E 64 A RCA N E RO OTS 66 WO L F A L I C E 67 F R A N K I E RO 68 RE A D I N G & L E E DS

4 M A RM OZ ETS 8 S L I P K N OT 10 C O U N T E RPA RTS 12 SC RE A M F EST 14 F R A N K I E RO 16 FO U R Y E A R ST RO N G 17 T I G E RC U B 18 Q U E E N S O F T H E STO N E AG E 20 C I RCA S U RV I V E 22 P L AY L I ST

P U B L I S H E D F RO M

24 LOST I N ST E REO + F I RE BA L L C O M P ET I T I O N W I N N E RS

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

28 E N T E R S H I K A RI

THE BUNKER

FEATURES

RATED

EDITOR’S NOTE Most bands do what you’d expect.

Each album is sort of like the last one, more or less. They’ll talk about evolution when trying to shift copies, but it’s rarely revolution. That’s not something you could level at Enter Shikari, who take this month’s cover.

With their new album ‘The Spark’ they’re pushing boundaries on all horizons - the kind of endeavour that’s exciting no matter what.

They’re not the only band taking that route this issue either. If you don’t check out that new Arcane Roots album, you’re daft. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

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

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

4

MARMOZETS

P RESS

P L AY TO

STA RT

MARMOZETS ARE BACK! OVER THE SUMMER THEY SMASHED THE UK WITH A HANDFUL OF LIVE DATES, A SLOT AT READING & LEEDS PLUS NEW TRACK ‘PLAY’ - AND IT’S ONLY JUST THE BEGINNING. WORDS: ALI SHUTLER.

M

armozets are excited.

You can hear it across comeback juggernaut ‘Play’, you can see it as the band thundered back into the live arena a few weeks ago and, well, Becca keeps telling us. She’s waiting for the boys to pick her up on the way to band practice and despite the tour being less than a week away, if she had her own way, they’d play a show right now. “I’m just impatient,” she shrugs.

was shit, but I’m a trooper. I’m a fighter,” she promises. “There was a lot to cope with, but you’ve just to get on with it.”

And so they did. The album is completely done, and now Marmozets are back, they’re not going away anytime soon.

“Have you heard it?” Becca asks a few days before ‘Play’ drops. “You like it?” she asks, genuinely curious but it feels like she already knows we do. “Good,” she grins.

we knew we weren’t getting what we wanted out into the songs.”

‘Play’ doesn’t sound like the Marmozets of old, all sugar coated smiles and hyperactive dance, but there’s a familiar snarl to the attack. A bratty need for more that’s driven them this far. A month before the band released their debut ‘The Weird & Wonderful Marmozets’, they played two sets at Reading & Leeds. One in the vast expanse of the NME / BBC Radio 1 Stage, one in the sweatbox confines of The Pit. ‘Play’ takes those two sides of Marmozets’ game and hits the button. “That’s why we keep writing. All our songs always sound like us, but we just want the best ones. If you’re not going to give people the best songs, what’s the point? I always figure a way to get everything out, especially in our music.

“ I A L M O S T F E LT L I K E MY LIFE HAD BEEN TA K E N AWAY . ” BECCA MACINTYRE

It’s been two years since the band played a show.

Following triumphant sets at Reading & Leeds 2015, the band cancelled a series of US dates due to an injury Becca picked up and despite the band promising that “a new album will be recorded very, very soon,” that’s all we heard for a long while. In that time, there was a moment where Becca thought maybe they’d never return. “When I had my knee operation, I had one done straight after the other, and I was bed bound. As someone who is just go, go, go all the time, to be literally sat on the sofa for a few months, I almost felt like my life had been taken away. I had to learn to walk again. It was pretty insane, and it

“We’re all in a really good place, so we’re ready to get back on the road. A lot has happened, but we’re good now. We’re all ready to rock and roll and excited for people to see what we’ve been working on. We’ve all had to deal with our own shit,” but there’s no time to dwell. “We wrote an amazing album. We already had shit loads of material; it was just getting all our shit together and getting the best out of everyone. We actually wrote three albums’ worth but kept pressing because

“’Play’ comes from being on the road and in relationships. I’m not saying it’s the best one on the album or anything like that, but it’s one we’re really happy with.” That said, “We’re happy with all of them. We want to display this album properly, like a photo album almost and ‘Play’ is the first one because it’s the energetic, in your face song. That’s what we’re notoriously known for so we’re just keeping that vibe going.”

Carefree and joyous, Marmozets’ 5

comeback track sees the band excited, hungry and ready for more. “We are free, we’re in an amazing position, and that doesn’t happen to everyone. When you’re in a happy place, your music is going to be joyful, but it’s still raw. It’s not like I’m singing about rainbows and shit like that,” she laughs. “I’m not that happy.”

There were pressure and expectations all around the gang. “You have everyone telling you it’s the difficult second album, that that’s where all the bands fuck up, but nah.”

Not Marmozets. “We were all confident from the start with each other. We’ve been together 11 years now; we don’t give up.”

easy to find because, “the more real you are, the more serious you are,” and things will always try and escape you.

“Touring and being in a band, obviously shit always comes your way, but you just have to laugh. You can’t take it too seriously. As long as you have time to play and have fun and keep it real with everyone, it’s all going to work out. There’s always a way to deal with a situation.” And for Marmozets, that’s together.

Despite being in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by countryside and long since removed from the stage, the band thought about their audience when crafting their new record. “It’s important to me, I’ve got to connect to the people that drive us,” starts Becca. “I don’t think fans realise how important they actually are just ‘cos half the time they’re fed with some bullshit about buying a bands merch, but you have to be so real with the fans for something to last forever. And I like things to last.

I don’t mind change, change is cool, but I like things to last for a long time, so my heart is going into everything we do.”

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

“W E W ROTE A N AMAZING ALBUM.” BECCA MACINTYRE

6

Their debut album was recorded in different studios, at different times and in different moods.

This time around, the gang went to Monmouth in Wales and got it all down in one. “It was just so beautiful; it was like living on a farm. Everything was just so fresh, our vibes were fresh, and our bonds were fresh. We said let’s just absolutely enjoy this, and we did. We had the best time. That’s probably why the album’s portrayed the way it is; it’s all of our lives all out in a play. It was amazing to be in such a chill vibe and get all the shit that we’ve gone through, all the good times and the bad all out into our recordings.”

No matter how big or how far they went, Marmozets never looked out of their depth. That command is the same on ‘Play’. It’s the same on the new record. But that control isn’t always

The group write everything as one and follow their heart over their head. When asked if ‘Play’ felt vocally different to what she’s done before, Becca doesn’t know. “You made me think about it just then, ‘cos I just do what I do. I do exactly what I’m feeling then and there.” There’s no route the band take to get from spark of an idea to multi-layered chaotic storm. “We end up writing our songs in the weirdest ways, which is cool ‘cos it keeps it spicy and organic. Everyone is involved.

It’s family. It is what it is. Everything’s flowing quite nicely, and everyone’s found themselves creatively. Everything has our print on, and that’s the way we like it. We’re in control of what’s going on.”

“[There’s] a lot of fun and a lot of feeling free,” on Marmozets new album. “It’s about being born young and free which reflects a lot about our band.

It’s about being who you want to be and doing exactly what you want to do for the right reasons. It’s completely done, it’s been done for ages, and it’s just sitting there, waiting. We’re doing it the way we want to do it because it is our album. But it’s going to be everyone’s soon. We’re just holding onto it for as long as we can. Everyone’s going to have their say on this record,” starts Becca, excited at the idea of a reaction. “It’s our second album, and there are many more to come.

That’s the way it’s going to be. When Marmozets start, there’s no stopping us,” she laughs, poised to hit play. “That’s just the way we go.” P Marmozets tour the UK from 17th October.

FOUR YEAR STRONG SOME OF YOU WILL LIKE THIS // SOME OF YOU WON’T

EXCLUSIVE VINYL COLOR AVAILABLE AT

EXCLUSIVE VINYL COLOR AVAILABLE AT

NEW CD // LP // DIGITAL - SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

SL I PKN OT

F

DAY OF THE MAGGOTS

or over twenty years, Slipknot have amassed hoards of fans the world over. Nine guys from Iowa who simply wanted an outlet from their lives have created something far larger than they’d ever anticipated - a beast that’s led them to their own travelling festival. Knotfest is a celebration of everything Slipknot, and also a place for their ‘maggots’ to descend upon in their tens of thousands. Having started out in the US, it’s branched as far as Japan, and now, Mexico.

of their live show. It gives anyone who may not be quite aware of exactly the weight that Slipknot can hold to their fans, an idea of what exactly this beast is capable of.

This latest Knotfest instalment is being cemented in a concert film, with a one-night only screening also featuring entwined behind the scene’s footage. While this may all sound like bog standard stuff, the reality is ‘The Day Of The Gusano’ (Gusano being Spanish for maggot, FYI) is so much more than a way for Slipknot to once again immortalise the power and might

He knew that Mexican fans were going to be ravenous for a Slipknot show, but the power with which they came was unexpected. “After the show, I walk off about twenty or thirty stairs, and I meet my wife at the bottom, onto concrete,” Shawn remembers. “We both look at each other, and she says, ‘Do you feel that?’ The kids are jumping in front of the stage, tens of thousands of kids, and

“I was pretty awed the whole day, from the moment I walked onto the property I was just getting bombarded by hundreds, or a thousand if not two thousand, kids, who recognised me and just about trampled me to death.” The film’s director, and somewhat sadistic Slipknot percussionist, Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan, begins.

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

“ YO U C O U L D F E E L I T, LIKE A GIANT D I N OSAU R C O M I N G TO K I L L YO U… ”

8

SLIPKNOT’S NEW DVD, ‘DAY OF THE GUSANO’ DOCUMENTS THE IOWA BAND’S LONG-AWAITED AND FIRST EVER SHOW IN MEXICO CITY IN DECEMBER 2015 - SOMETHING THEY NOW GET THE SHARE WITH THE WORLD. WORDS: STEVEN LOFTIN.

the concrete is bouncing. You could feel it, like a giant dinosaur coming to kill you. It was intense. You know the power could just rush through everything and just-” he makes a loud boom. “You’d be done, and that’s a beautiful thing.”

It’s this power that’s prevalent throughout ‘Day Of The Gusano’. Filled with fan stories of how Slipknot changed their lives, even selling their possessions to get tickets to this long awaited event, the emotional construct is as relatable as it is beautiful. Talking about one particular fan, Shawn says: “I talked to this kid both on and off the camera, I talked to him for quite a while. It was that the visual aspect of Slipknot, a lot of what I do, spoke to him in a way he couldn’t understand the darkness of it.

“He would say to me there’s like a real darkness, but it’s beautiful and artistic, and it just doesn’t end for him in the artwork or the package, or the music.

It just never finalised for him, so he goes to school and goes into fucking forensic science to solve like homicides and shit because it’s maggots and dead bodies.

That’s fucking out there, man!

CAS E S T U DY FIND OUT WHAT YOUR FAVOURITE BANDS TAKE ON THE ROAD!

“A soldier with no arms or legs, somebody who’s repairing spiritually and physically, mentally, told me to my face that our music is being played into battle, in battle and out of battle.

That’s a hard thing to put in your head, and now I’ve got kids doing forensic science because we’ve exposed them to-” he pauses and laughs- “imagery of goat heads, maggots, and flies. A different insight.”

Slipknot is Clown’s life, as much as it is the kids in Mexico, but it’s art that’s always been his instigator. “Music is my God, okay, but it’s very personal. I’m only one-ninth in Slipknot, so 99.9% of the music that I indulge in is by myself in my car or on my headphones, you know by myself.

It’s my salvation. My rejoicing factor in my life, it’s my God, but art is what I live for and what I do.”

It’s this level of belief in what he does that has seen both he and Slipknot become entities of their own volition. How he sees himself though? It’s still a bit up in the air. “If Corey Taylor is a vocalist, I guess I’m an artist. I hate that fucking word because I feel like when you call yourself an artist you start getting lazy, like you’re established and you don’t have to keep fucking vomiting or blowing your brains out. I will never do that; I will blow my brains out every fucking day in this world.”

What this trip to Mexico ultimately symbolises for him, as well as it should anyone else, is that there always needs to be something fresh on the horizon.

Something that can teach you more than you already know even when you’re in one of the biggest metal bands in the world.

“What the fuck am I good for one-ninth, or any other one-ninth of Slipknot, dead or alive - what good are we if we don’t have anything else to fucking do or learn? Not only did we go to Mexico City, but we ate it up.” P Slipknot’s DVD ‘Day of the Gusano’ is out 20th October.

THIS MONTH...

JUSTINE FROM

E M P LOY E D TO S E RV E Van -This is the tour beast, it has been our road home for about two years now. We often fall out over repair bills but she’s still mine. I’ve also rocked up to two family weddings in this which always gets a few laughs.

Books and vitamin C - I worry that I kill a few brain cells on tour with the constant head banging, lack of sleep and alcohol consumption - so I try and exercise my brain by reading when I can (and because it’s fun). These are a few books I’ve read on recent tours.

Vitamin C is also a must bring, it probably does nothing but it makes me happy.

Ferdinand - This is my frog neck pillow, I got tired of falling asleep and waking up with a taco neck so I bought him at a service station on Scotland. I could have gotten a normal one but then it would blend in with the rest of the van.

He’s named after one of my favourite footballers - Rio Ferdinand.

Duvalay - This is my obnoxiously large sleeping bag thing. The guys hate it (because they’re jealous), every time they load it out they pretend to lob it over a fence. It’s the best thing ever, it has four inches of memory foam at the bottom and stops me getting ill on tour because I can actually sleep.

Sunglasses - These are so the fans don’t recognise me... nahhhh, these are so I don’t squint when the sun is shining on the wet British roads. These glasses have been through the wars, pretty sure I sat on them once... they’re so messed up that I sometimes go cross eyed looking at the cracks (probably shouldn’t wear them).

Employed To Serve tour the UK from 3rd November.

9

C O U N T E R PA R T S

NO FILLER, NO BULLSHIT

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN IT LOOKED LIKE COUNTERPARTS WERE OVER, BUT HERE THEY ARE WITH A NEW LINE UP AND A NEW ALBUM THAT MIGHT JUST BE THEIR BEST YET. WORDS: SAM TAYLOR.

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

Hey Brendan, how does it feel to be on your fifth album? Have you always known Counterparts would get to this point?

I don’t think any of us had the idea in our heads when we started that ten years later we’d be doing the band as our career, but here we are. I try to not think too far ahead. My focus is usually only spread across a few months to a year at a time. We try to take it one tour at a time.

10

How’s Blake fitting in, are you guys having fun?

Blake is killing it. The dude loves to get drunk and tell us all about how we saved his life, but in actuality, he helped saved the band. He came in during a huge transition and meshes with us very well. I think a lot of our continued success (assuming ‘YNYA’ does well) will be related to him coming in and taking over a massive responsibility like writing.

Did you go into ‘You’re Not You Anymore’ wanting to try anything new, or is it more about doing what you do but better?

Yes and no. Obviously, we did a couple of new things here and there like we do on every record, but overall, the record isn’t that different from any

released before it. If anything, I would say the record has more of an older Counterparts sound (i.e. ‘Hell and Home’ era) but with way catchier songs. This can be attributed to Alex Re being around for a lot of the pre-production.

It was cool having a former member/ writer around to bounce ideas off.

How soon after the release of ‘Tragedy Will Find Us’ did you start working on new material?

Honestly, we didn’t really start writing any of these songs until Blake joined the band aside from a couple of riffs here and there. I think a lot of people were under the impression that the band was over. When Blake first came up to essentially try out for the band, we ended up in my basement jamming some riffs which eventually turned into songs.

Do you go back and listen to your older material often?

For me personally, I have to. I’m always scared I’m gonna recycle old lyrics, so I have to make sure I’m not saying anything I’ve already said, you know?

Obviously, I’m proud of everything we’ve done as a band, but I’m sure a lot of older bands share the same mindset where the main focus should be the present.

How’ve you found the writing process for this one?

For the first time we wrote as a whole band, and I think that it added something very special to the record.

It sounds like the whole band wrote the record. Before I think people could easily identify which songs were written by either Jesse or Alex, but for this one, we wanted a group effort mainly to ensure that everyone is happy. Everyone contributes, and all ideas are discussed before Will hits record. I’m a huge fan of this writing style as opposed to waiting for full demos from one or two people.

What do you hope listeners will take away from ‘You’re Not You Anymore’?

I hope to leave people with the best Counterparts record yet and honestly; I think we did exactly that. I think this is the best Counterparts we can be. Every record we evolve and sort of pin point what we are good at and what we can do without, and our main goal of ‘YNYA’ was “no filler.” No bullshit, nothing too long or drawn out. We wanted to release an album with ten absolute bangers and no possibility of anyone losing interest or skipping songs. P Counterparts’ album ‘You’re Not You Anymore’ is out 22nd September.

U PSET PRO M OTI O N

Upset is teaming up with The Kraken Rum to invite you to The Kraken’s Screamfest in Leeds.

SCREAMFEST

UPSET’S TEAMING UP WITH OUR PALS AT KRAKEN RUM AND TAKING TO LEEDS ON 13TH OCTOBER TO UNLEASH SOMETHING TRULY TERRIFYING WITH THE CHILLING EXPERIENCE KNOWN ONLY AS SCREAMFEST.

MUTANT CLOWNS, RUM COCKTAILS AND THE SCARIEST FILMS EVER ARE INVOLVED – WHICH SOUNDS ALRIGHT TO US. TO CELEBRATE, TOM HUDSON FROM LEEDS’ OWN PULLED APART BY HORSES RUNS THROUGH HIS TOP 3 HORROR FLICKS...

THE THING

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

I would say that this film is actually my favourite film over any film or genre. John Carpenter’s cabin fever suspense, the mind blowing animatronics and physical special effects, the ice cold setting, the amazing acting (Kurt fricking Russel for god’s sake!) and the Ennio Morricone soundtrack - it can’t be beat!

12

SUSPIRIA

This is up there will my all time faves.

It’s a work of giallo psychedelic horror art. Made in the 70’s, filmed in hyper colour, a script that barely makes any sense, a soundtrack created by 70’s Italian prog band Goblin, fake blood that is like Wilko’s poster paint, some of the most innovative death scene’s ever seen, evil ancient witches, evil jugular biting dogs, slipping from a window into a room full of barbed wire, evil bat attacks, consistent psychedelic red and blue hued lighting, art deco architecture.

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

As this was one of my firsts it has a fond place in my dark and twisted heart. Freddy Krueger is an amazing character (although they ended up turning him into a slapstick caricature of himself throughout the series until Wes Craven gained back credibility with New Nightmare) The film is surreal, over the top whilst subtle and creepy in the right places, 80’s cheese in the best way, imaginatively gory, little Jonny Depp’s first film (in which he dies...... badly!), amazing one liners, so many jump scares (the final jump scare scene still cracks me up) & manipulative editing, a creepy as fook soundtracks / nursery rhyme theme, amazing and innovative special effects!

Honourable mentions to: Alien, The Shining, Halloween, Zombie Flesh Eaters, Dawn Of The Dead, Day Of The Dead, Evil dead, Phantasm, Poltergeist, The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Fog, American Werewolf In London.

The Kraken presents a full sensory immersion of fright, at a screening which is guaranteed to plunge viewers into the depths of darkness.

The experience will layer fear over phobia with a screening of the UK’s scariest film, as voted for by the UK public, sat in an audience surrounded by a few horrifying clowns, one of the most feared horror film characters of all time.

There’s even suspense surrounding what the final film will be, as the UK public vote online for the film that gets their blood curdling. The winning film will be screened to the scariest audience of all time; an audience made up entirely of clowns who have been dragged from the deep.

From inked pick ‘n mix to specially crafted Kraken Screamfest cocktails The Kraken is hosting a screening that leaves you nowhere to hide – taking over sight, sound and taste and twisting them all into spiralling cinema style darkness.

You can get your tickets for £10 each (which includes two cocktails) from www.facebook. com/TheKrakenRum - The Kraken awaits...

What: The Kraken Screamfest Where: Everyman (screen 4), Trinity Leeds, Albion St, Leeds LS1 5AY When: Friday 13th October, 6.30pm Screamfest is also happening at London’s Rio Cinema in Dalston on the same night.

Check @KrakenRumUK or search #IScreamForKraken on Twitter for more details.

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

WA S “WHEN I WA S 1 3 , T H AT - I’M N A L P Y M O GOING T MAKE A RECORD EVE WITH ST ALBINI”

14

’S NEW EP SE FRANK IERO

UP WITH ES HIM TEAM

OLD DAUG FIVE-YEARGUEST - HIS

STEVE ALBI

NI, AND AN

HE ORDS: HEAT HTER, LILY. W

UNEXPECTED

R MCDAID.

F

F R A N K I E R O & T H E PAT I E N C E .

rank Iero knows one or two things about ticking items off the ol’ bucket list. In his time with My Chemical Romance, he played a sold out Madison Square Gardens, appeared on Saturday Night Live, and headlined Reading & Leeds. He has more plaques than he knows what to do with, and that’s just for starters.

“I’ve been extremely fortunate in the things that I’ve gotten to do and the bands I’ve gotten to play with,” says Frank.

“We crossed off quite a few of those bucket list opportunities with My Chem and now to be able to do that too with my solo career is unbelievable.”

This latest item to be scored off the list is to work with the iconic producer Steve Albini, who produced Nirvana’s final album ‘In Utero’, on his EP ‘Keep The Coffins Coming’. The obvious place to start is, how exactly do you react when you get a call saying that you’re off to work with someone like Steve? “It’s weird, man,” laughs Frank. “I was in the middle of writing and trying to figure out the next record. My manager Paul asked for bucket list stuff, people I’d always wanted to work with.

Steve was always at the top of that list.”

time too. Sitting between albums, Steve captured the time in Frank’s career between his first solo record and the second, when he was still unsure what it was going to become.

The EP is made up of four songs, one of which made the cut for the subsequent album. “I had written a couple of songs that I knew I wanted to be on the album, but I didn’t know exactly what ‘Parachutes’ was just yet,” he explains.

“One of the songs was ‘I’m A Mess’.

It might have ended up just being a standalone track, but I wanted to bring that in regardless. I knew I wanted to bring in a whole band version of the song ‘Best Friends Forever’ and also ‘No Fun Club’. I had been toying with that, and I really needed to get it out of my head. When that started to take shape, I knew that it could work as a standalone release.

video features their vocals and adorable balaclava-clad appearances, and now it’s a full-band song produced by the legendary Albini.

“They are adorable,” he laughs. “Lily is the one that actually wrote the chorus to that song. Whenever she and any of the other kids would fight, she would passive aggressively stick this thing in their face, this best friends forever song and it really started with ‘Best friends forever but not now’. She was just like screaming at them to let them know that she was very, very upset with them.

“My way of dealing with that was to take this song and make it into something.

We all sat down in a circle with my guitar one day and figured out what the chording would be, wrote the rest of the song and recorded it in my basement.

“I thought it would be really fun to release it and whatever profits came in can go into their college funds. I started to really listen to the structure of the song and realised, man, I can play this live, and they would get a kick out of it whenever they saw I played the song and kids sang along.

“I DIDN’T KNOW IF THESE SONGS WERE EVE R G O I N G TO SE E T H E L I G H T O F D AY . ” FRANK IERO

“When I got the call that he wanted to work with us and we were booked it was like-” he bursts out laughing “-I don’t think I was able to wipe the smile off my face.

I’d been wanting to work with him from, jeez, like ‘94. When I was 13, that was my plan, I’m going to make a record with Steve Albini, I don’t care how it happens, but that was the dream record to make.

“His records sound so visceral. Never before did I put on a record where I felt like I was in the room. He really is hands off in that he wants to capture the band’s sound. It’s a special thing, like visiting a museum and getting to be in a room with some of your favourite bands and listening to some of your favourite records. Take ‘In Utero’ for example, those sounds and performances are straight up what was played in that room, there’s no bells and whistles or crazy magic behind the scenes. It’s all about the way he likes it and the way he records it.”

That was the magic Frank was excited to capture. “I kept thinking on the trip out to Chicago as I’m driving, ‘Oh, man, I’m going to get the call any moment that this was a hoax and it’s not going to happen!’”

But it did happen, and at an interesting

“Basically what you’re hearing is a stop gap where the band transforms from where we were at the end of touring ‘stomachaches’ and right before we really fully realised the ‘Parachutes’ record.

That time for me is almost like this lost translation moment. There was definitely this bridging gap between those two records – this is that hidden step.” It’s interesting because as a listener, you never see that step. You hear album one, wait while your favourite bands are in the studio, then hear the final step in the evolution to album two. “Exactly! Here’s the thing, when we went in the studio, I didn’t know I was going to record an EP. I just wanted to record these songs, whether it was just for me or not I’d be happy with it. I didn’t know if these were ever going to see the light of day, it was something I needed to do.”

An interesting side-effect of the process was double-recording songs. Frank wrestled for a while comparing the two versions of ‘I’m A Mess’ but ultimately grew to see they fit perfectly in their own respective worlds as two different versions. Seeing that evolution in songs is something he was also able to gift his children by including their collaborative song ‘Best Friends Forever’. The original

“I put together a full band version and thought it’d be cool to have the original version like I did with ‘Mess’ - with the kids on it, and now you have this full band Steve Albini version.

“That’s the other thing too, a bucket list: I’m going to go in the studio with Steve Albini, someone I’ve wanted to record with ever since I was a young kid getting into music and punk rock and playing in bands. That mirrors my kids being young, writing songs. How cool is that? She released her first single and video at five, and I took that song and recorded it with a legendary engineer and producer. That’s crazy. I knew that song needed to be done that day.”

‘Keep The Coffins Coming’ is a snapshot in time. It captures an opportunity beyond Frank’s wildest dreams, a crossroads where he pondered the next step, and a gift to his kids in various forms. Right now, he sits between album two and three. The question is, where next?

Whether or not there’ll be the chance to see the next stop gap for this particular era, we sure are excited about the upcoming ride. P Frank Iero And The Patience’s EP ‘Keep The Coffins Coming’ is out 22nd September.

15

FOUR YEAR STRONG

“I THINK FANS ARE GOING TO BE EXCITED”

How do you start putting a compilation like ‘Some Of You Will Like This, Some Of You Won’t’ together?

We knew wanted to do an “unplugged”/ reimagined record; we love playing around with the arrangements of songs and making them feel completely different from the song that’s been around for more than a decade. But also every record that we’ve done, we’ve written and recorded a “ballad”-ish kind of song, but they were always cut. So we decided this was also a great time to throw those on something. We’ve leaked some of them over the years, but this is the first time many of the will be actually released.

Did you uncover any forgotten faves in the process?

I’ve definitely rekindled my love for some songs that have been around for years. I love the version of ‘Heroes’ and ‘Abandon Ship’ that we did. I think those came out interesting and fun. I think fans are going to be excited to hear the different ways we worked the songs out.

I almost wanted to put the record out with a track listing to see how quickly people could guess which song it was.

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

Has your relationship with any of the songs changed over time?

Like anything else you’ve done a million times, playing some of the really old songs that have been in every set since we’ve been touring can

16

DAN O’CONNOR TAKES A BREAK FROM HIS VACATION TO LIFT THE LID ON FOUR YEAR STRONG’S NEW COMPILATION OF RARITIES, UNHEARD ORIGINALS, UNPLUGGED CLASSICS AND RE-IMAGINED FAVOURITES. WORDS: SAM TAYLOR.

get monotonous. We obviously love playing newer songs because they are exciting to play and not totally in the muscle memory bank yet so playing these versions will be more like that.

We’ll have to get used to playing them because in a lot of ways the songs are completely different to play.

Do you think the project will influence your new music going forwards?

It did inspire us to write a new song in the studio for this record; it’s called ‘Let Me Down Again’. That was a ton of fun because it’s very outside of our wheelhouse. But yes, we’ve gotten really stoked to work on a new regular FYS record after we wrap up the ‘Rise...’ stuff for this year. We didn’t want to put out a new record this year because of all the ‘Rise...’ stuff, that’s why we thought doing an acoustic record was cool because it’s different than a regular record, but also gives our fans something to listen to you.

How have you been finding your ‘Rise or Die Trying’ anniversary celebrations?

Any notable high points?

They’ve been really amazing. I can’t wait to set out on this next US leg. It’s hitting a lot of our most favourite places to play. So far thieve been really fun and just crazy. A lot of fans that we’ve seen at our shows for the last ten years as well as new fans. It’s very fun.

When was the last time you listened to ‘Rise or Die Trying’ before the anniversary plans, is it one you’ve revisited a lot over the years?

I haven’t really sat down and listened to the record in years. I didn’t even need to freshen up for the shows; we’ve played theses songs so much over the years it was just like riding a bike.

Are you the same band now as when you made that record? In what ways have you evolved?

I would say in many ways we are; we just want to make records that are fun to play and kids want to come out and get crazy with us. We still write songs the same way, we still practice in our basements and garages (we’ve never really had a practice space), and we still love playing shows. The ways we evolved is in some obvious way. We have a lot more personal responsibilities; I have two kids, some of us have businesses, we all have mortgages and dogs. So touring and writing can be a little more difficult to organise and find a time that works for everyone’s schedules, but we always somehow, thankfully, still find the time.

We are very lucky to be able to still do this after all these years, and we don’t take that for granted. P Four Year Strong’s album ‘Some Of You Will Like This, Some Of You Won’t’ is out now.

TIGERCUB.

“PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LOSING THEIR MINDS” EVERYONE’S HEARD OF PAY-WHAT-YOU-WANT DOWNLOADS, BUT PAY-WHAT-YOU-WANT VINYL?! TIGERCUB TOOK A MASSIVE RISK WITH THEIR NEW EP, ‘EVOLVE OR DIE’.

WORDS: SAM TAYLOR.

Hey Jamie, we saw you guys at 2000trees the other week - how was it?

Trees was dope. Practically everyone we know was playing this year. As soon as we got on-site, we bumped into Black Peaks, Dinosaur Pile-Up and Pulled Apart

by Horses! We ran into Jamie Lenman of Reuben fame too which was pretty cool he told us he’s digging TC at the moment, so our egos were very inflated the whole weekend. He asked us to play Lenmania fest at Tufnell Park, but we couldn’t do it due to another London show we have around that time, gutted!

What else have you been up to over the summer? Has it been a busy one?

We’ve been on the road since November last year. We had two weeks off in March, so we decided to get back in the studio and do an EP. Then festival season started which is nice ‘cos you get to be a weekend rock star for a while - play two festival sets a weekend for a month, get smashed then have the rest of the week to recover. We’re not a major label band, so the only way to get big nowadays is through fuckin’ hand to hand combat. We’re not gonna stop touring until we’re massive.

How did the EP’s limited edition pay-whatyou-want vinyl go? Pre-orders sold out really quickly, didn’t they?

People have been losing their fucking minds. We did this treasure hunt online with co-ordinates to an exact line in the entire Library of Babel which was only meant to reveal the cover of the EP,

but our fans went batshit and ended up hacking into our website and coming with conspiracy theories over what we’re doing.

We were worried people wouldn’t give a shit, but it quickly turned into fucking Wikileaks. It escalated fast. After that, we mailed out 500 letters personally to our dedicated fans with the password to our website where they could pre-order the EP before anyone else. Incredible scenes of me licking stamps in the post office for hours that day! Anyway, we fucking sold out of ‘em all pretty much before we went public, so we had to put up a second pressing pre-sale for people who missed out, which is now about to sell out too

It sounds like a super risky idea, who came up with it? Was there some convincing?

JackPOP at the label [Alcopop!] thought of it, and we all said yes straight away - zero convincing, it just felt so tight with the overall ethos of the EP. It was nice to see the label getting stuck in and taking the risk with us. We were worried that people would take the piss and not pay anything - but we gave it to our dedicated fan base first before it went public and luckily they’re all decent people, so they paid for it. The average spend was about £10, and some people paid £30-£50 for it! (I love you all). The risk paid off I guess.

What’s ‘Evolve or Die’ about?

Firstly it’s a mission statement for Tigercub. They say old habits die hard, but that’s never gonna be the case with Tigercub. We want to be the sort of

band that takes risks and are constantly changing and getting better with every release, so it’s a statement of intent about the direction we’re heading creatively into the second album.

Then there’s this short story by Jorge Luis Borges called ‘The Library of Babel’ which is about how there’s this universe which contains hexagonal rooms of bookshelves, which themselves contain all the basic elements for human survival. The content of the books seem totally random and chaotic to humans, but the infinite nature of the content means that they contain every book that has and will ever be written. There are these superstitious librarians that try and order the books and get rid of the incoherent ones in search of a book that contains the perfect Index of the library’s contents... It’s such an incredible idea, and someone actually created the library on the internet, so Jimi suggested we use it, and it just turned out to tie-in so well with the themes of the songs - the longing for meaning and order in this chaotic world.

Do you have any other plans in the works at the mo? There’s a tour coming up, right?

We’ve announced a headline tour in October, and we’re going to do two big shows at Scala in London and Concorde 2 in Brighton in January – we’ve got some exciting stuff planned for those gigs. We’re also currently writing the next record. P Tigercub’s EP ‘Evolve Or Die’ is out 29th September.

17

Q U E E N S O F T H E STO N E AG E

HEROES AND VILLAINS

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE ARE ONE OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS YET RELIABLE BANDS IN ROCK. IS THEIR NEW ALBUM A GOOD ‘UN? OF COURSE IT IS.

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

t’s crazy that Queens has been a band for twenty years and is still finding a new place to go,” starts Dean Fertita. “It says a lot to me about Josh [Homme]’s willingness to do anything for art.”

18

WORDS: ALI SHUTLER

of it all. Figuring out the reason for something, then dedicating yourself completely to it.”

Seven albums into a career that’s seen the band come from the Californian desert to take on the world while keeping their wild-west swagger, Queens Of The Stone Age are still moving. Following up the tightly-wound intricacies of ‘. ..Like Clockwork’ with the fast and loose dance of ‘Villains’, the gang like to toy with expectation. Cutting their dirty rock’n’roll with the polish of producer Mark Ronson threw up question and concerns from the outside, but inside the QOTSA mothership, it made perfect sense.

“It’s that trust,” offers Mikey Shuman.

“We’re all here for a reason. Josh started this band twenty years ago, and there’s a reason we’re here. He’s very smart, and it’s taken a long time to figure out the right fit, but it’s finally all coming together. He can trust us, we can trust him. One of the things I remember him telling me was ‘thanks for trusting me to be fucking crazy’.

We allow him to let the idea lead the way.” They’re all chasing the same thing. “We’re closer than we’ve ever been as friends, as human beings and we understand each other,” continues Dean. “I feel more comfortable in my skin than I‘ve ever felt. With us, there’s no fear of being weird. You’re allowed to be whatever you need to be, and you know everyone has your back.”

“It always comes down to surprising ourselves. We want to do something exciting.” For the most part, ‘Villains’ was recorded heads down, following the idea, the movement and the chemistry in a room but one question remained. “Why are we doing this? Josh has three kids - if he’s going to leave his family for two years on tour, why is he going to do it? It’s not to just get out the house; it’s to fulfil something creatively in his life. That’s the fire

As big and eternal as QOTSA have got, as focused on the art of a record, they still refuse to become caricatures of themselves. There’s no repeating old ground or echoing the past. They don’t chase the feel good hits of old, instead wanting something fresh. They’re happy to tear down everything that’s come before in the hope of creating something new. And they do it with a grin on their face.

“Music is fucking wild. The thing about

it is that you can’t take yourself too seriously, I know there’s a time and a place for everything, but I think humour has always been a part of Queens Of The Stone Age. I mean, we are called Queens Of The Stone Age. It’s important to keep that and not take yourself too seriously because then you start taking on this something that’s not real,” offers Mikey.

“There seems to be this dangerous line where people become afraid to try things, for fear of judgment or whatever it is. By keeping it light in that way, we get deeper,” adds Dean. “I think that’s the difference between us and other bands and where they might stop, we don’t stop. We give everything.”

“We make music for ourselves at first but the ultimate goal, you hope it brings joy to people. That’s what music is meant to do, to make people feel good. You’ve got to be the biggest fan of your own shit, you’ve got to believe it’s the best because you’re shouting that to the world once it’s done. But there’s a truthfulness to what we’re doing. If you just keep doing that, audiences will find that. But who knows, it’s just music. Keep yourself inspired and try and do something cool.” P Queens of the Stone Age’s album ‘Villains’ is out now.

The Spark The new album. Out now.

On tour November 2017 w/ special guests

16 Liverpool. 17 Cardiff.

18 Nottingham. 19 Newcastle.

21 Manchester. 22 Brighton.

24 Birmingham. 25 London.

W W W .E N T E R S H I K A R I.C O M

“WHETHER YOU’RE PLAYING IN FRONT OF FIFTY KIDS OR FIVE THOUSAND, THAT’S WHERE THE MAGIC IS”

I

n their homeland, the United States, Circa Survive are titans of emo and have toured extensively alongside peers such as Thrice, AFI, and Coheed & Cambria. They even nearly had a Top 10 record with 2010’s ‘Blue Sky Noise’ (which came in at, erm, Number 11).

Over here in the UK however, the story is a little bit different - not that frontman Anthony Green minds.

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

“We go from playing over here [in the US] where we’ve been able to tour rigorously over the last ten years, to the UK where we haven’t been able to,” he

20

CIRCA SURVIVE HAVE WEATHERED TEN YEARS AS STAPLES OF THE US SCENE - AND THEY’VE LEARNT AN AWFUL LOT. WORDS: STEVEN LOFTIN.

begins. “We play much smaller shows for a much more intimate audience. It’s very much like how the band was when we started playing in America.”

What he and his bandmates have found is that as time passes - thirteen years, in fact - life can get in the way. “It’s so hard for us, now we’ve got our kids, and with the band just being older it’s tough to get over there to tour. We’re always trying; it’s not like we’re not going to come over, it’s just something that’s hard what with being a smaller band over there.”

Their rare trips to the UK are a change

of pace when they’re regularly playing to thousands of fans a night on their home turf. “There’s a cathartic release in playing a large venue,” he ponders.

“On a big stage for lots of people - that is amazing, and for a lot of musicians, that’s the end goal.

“For a long time for me that’s was an end goal, and honestly I still love that idea. It gives me chills to think about it - but I get chills just thinking about playing music. When you quantify it down to that, to just be grateful, you can’t really ever miss the mark.

“Whether you’re playing in front of fifty

C I RCA S U RV I V E

kids who really care about what you’re doing, or five thousand kids, the most important thing is that you’re engaged, and it’s honest. You’re all in the moment.

That’s where the magic happens. There’s no magic in the grandeur, you know?” he enthuses. “The realness of it, no matter what it is - that’s where the magic is.”

happen in front of you, and you’ll get what you want.

“You might not be the most popular in the world, but you’ll get to escape in the music in a world that’s made for you and is comforting.”

There’s a lesson that’s taken the band a decade and a half to learn: “As long as it’s therapeutic for me to make music, and I can be in the moment and be close to my friends, that is as greater hope as anybody can have.”

It’s that comforting space that has helped Anthony overcome everything from fear and anxiety to addiction, reinforced when he became a parent. “The skills of taking life and being in the moment are things I would never even comprehended until my kids were born,” he says.

“It’s come from years of people asking me questions and not knowing the answer,” Anthony explains, “because all I’ve ever really been doing is trying to get better at my craft; trying to get closer to that feeling that gives me goosebumps, you know?

“You know about six/seven years ago, when my first son was born it was like I started on this journey of me really seeing myself and seeing who I was and what I wanted to change. It took me a really long time to figure out that being in the moment, or whatever you want to call it.”

“I think that if you really focus on that, and don’t worry about trying to judge what you’re doing as far as success or whatever, you just master your craft, then things will happen for you. Things will

The years previous were tinged with unease and comparing themselves to the musicians around them. “I’m sure there are some people that hustle that way, and they try to be the best all the time,

and they want to beat everybody out they want to be popular,” he muses. “When I try to do that it brings me paranoia, it brings me joylessness.”

The band’s latest mission to bring happiness to the world comes in the form of ambitious new album, ‘The Amulet’.

Their sixth record, it’s another step up for a band that was already a force to be reckoned with. Across the record’s ten tracks, Circa Survive enforce the message that things may not be as bad as they seem.

“This record is almost us figuring that out,” Anthony laughs. “Like, listen, we’re getting good at being able to process our insanity and our bipolar compulsion through music, and if you have that too you might be as much at ease with the music as we are, and that’s like our flagship.

“When people are like what is ‘The Amulet’? What is that? It’s a fucking sign that shit is going to be okay.” P Circa Survive’s album ‘The Amulet’ is out 22nd September.

21

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

WHO IS SHE? TOP 8

Robin Edwards (Lisa Prank), Julia Shapiro (Chastity Belt, Childbirth) and Bree McKenna (Tacocat, Childbirth) team up for retro tunes about pop culture.

From new album ‘Seattle Gossip’, due 6th October.

ARCHITECTS DOOMSDAY

A track started by Tom Searle prior to his death last year.

“It’s just one song. It’s just the start,” says his brother, Dan. From nowt, but they have a new show at London’s Alexandra Palace on 3rd February 2018.

THE FRONT BOTTOMS

VACATION TOWN

A nostalgic number from the band’s upcoming album that sounds more than a bit Blink-y, for the most part.

From new album ‘Going Grey’, due 13th October.

ROAM

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

PLAYING FICTION

22

“[It’s] a song about pretending, and the realisation that things aren’t always how they seem…” the band explain.

From new album ‘Great Heights & Nosedives’, due 13th October.

WEEZER

MEXICAN FENDER

Guess who’s back, back again.

It’s Weezer! New banger ‘Mexican Fender’ is a track about the ocean and it being hot, and it has a chorus that says “Summer love” a lot.

From new album ‘Pacific Daydream’, due 27th October.

THE USED

OVER AND OVER AGAIN

A dirty pop earworm with a video that features lots of dancing in pants.

From new album ‘The Canyon’, due 27th October.

LIS TE N

MARMOZETS

TO T

PLAY

An absolutely massive tune that marks out Marmozets’ return as something very special indeed.

Watch this space.

From their forthcoming second album, due next year (probably).

THE FEVER

HUNTING SEASON

This new project from former letlive. instigator Jason Aalon Butler sees him team up with Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta - and the group have just dropped their second taste of heat.

From nowt, yet.

SLAUGHTER BEACH, DOG FISH FRY

Jake from Modern Baseball shares a charming new track about visiting the chippy. (No, not really.)

From new album ‘Birdie’, due 27th October.

THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS WALK ON WATER

“It’s a song about freedom, about persistence, about change and about fighting for what you believe in,” says Jared. Because of course it is.

From their fifth studio album, due who knows when.

HIS

ABOUT TO

BREAK

AS PART OF THE FIREBALL – FUELLING THE FIRE TOUR, UP AND COMING BANDS ALL OVER THE UK WERE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN A HOMETOWN SUPPORT SLOT WITH REEL BIG FISH, ANTI-FLAG AND MAD CADDIES. JUDGED BY A PANEL OF MUSIC INDUSTRY EXPERTS, THE NINE WINNERS CAN NOW BE REVEALED...

THE BEST NEW BANDS TH E H OT TEST NEW MUSIC

LOST LOST IN IN STEREO STEREO

GLASGOW NEWCOMERS LOST IN STEREO WRITE DAMN CATCHY TUNES THAT CAN RIVAL ANY CLASSIC POP PUNK BANGER. Hey Andrew, introduce yourselves who’s in the band?

Ellis (singer/bass), Andrew (guitar), Jon (guitar) and Dean (drums). Outside of the band Ellis and Jon are still studying at Strathclyde University, myself and Dean have just finished our degrees and entered the real world therefore now I’m an engineer, and Dean works at The Garage venue in Glasgow.

How would you describe the band’s vibe?

We try to go for an energetic vibe through our music, but sometimes we hit some EMO influence as well. One the whole, we want you to feel happy, positive and can take on the world because life can get a bit too serious and sometimes you need to step back and try and make the best of it. So, a positive, energetic vibe!

Have you always been influenced by pop punk?

We have all been into pop punk since a very young age; the massive upbeat live shows and the fact the bands look like they are having the time of their 24

lives was really inspiring to us. We are also influenced by other genres: Dean and Jon are more influenced by all things heavy, I like Genisis and Elvis, as well as heavier music, and Ellis, is inspired by classical and jazz - but we all love pop punk.

How did you hook up with The Midnight Beast’s Stefan Abingdon, and what’s he like to work with?

We have a management team who are friends with Stef; he saw some potential in us, and he came up to Glasgow to help us write a couple of songs that are on the EP. Stef was amazing to work with, such a humble and all-around great guy. He has a good way about him, but from working with him, he has also helped us push on with our own writing which we think has come on leaps and bounds.

What do you most enjoy writing about?

We wouldn’t say we enjoy writing about anything particular the most; it depends entirely on how the feel of the song is developing, and how we want it to sound. Lately, we have been

writing with the intention to bounce and jump along to the songs, so they have a naturally more positive vibe.

Have you guys had a good summer so far? What have you been up to?

In Glasgow the sun only shines for roughly two weeks out of the year, so we try to make the best of it. Between working to fund our band, going to/ and playing gigs also planning our EP release we are kept pretty busy. We also managed to get a copy of our EP to the Biffy Clyro boys backstage at TRSNMT. How did you get involved with the Fireball Tour competition? Has it been fun?

We saw it advertised online and thought it would be an amazing opportunity to play with some legendary bands at a venue we’ve all dreamed of playing, so we jumped on it straight away. It’s nuts to think that we’ll be sharing the stage with these guys. P Lost In Stereo’s debut EP ‘Famous First Words’ is out 29th September.

vibing Gentleman’s Dub Club, Alborosie, Damian Marley and Protoje to name a few.

DEATH TO INDIE

NEWCASTLE

How did you get involved with the Fireball Tour competition? Has it been fun?

We first heard about Fuelling the Fire last year when our pals The Skints were on board. It seemed like a proper good party and we wanted to get ourselves involved.

Hey Death To Indie, introduce yourselves.

We are Jax, on rhythm guitar and lead vocals. Rayner on bass and low-frequency backing noise. Ali on lead guitar and high frequency backing noises. And Ricci, who rhythmically batters one of his 33 drum kits in a futile attempt to keep us all in time.

What’s the music scene like in your hometown?

The music scene in and around Newcastle is pretty decent, with loads of great bands from various genres, and some great venues!

What kind of music do you play?

We are a punk rock or punk’n’roll band, so we’re partial to the beauty of both abrasiveness and melody. Sometimes, we even, on occasion, almost manage a vocal harmony, although we try not to incase people start to think we’re a punk rock tribute to The Eagles!

RIVER JUMPERS

LONDON

Hey River Jumpers, tell us about your band.

We call ourselves a Brighton band although the truth is we’re dotted around all over the South, but Brighton is where we come together to make noises. We really all met just by hanging around the local music scene, going to gigs and playing in various other bands. Nick (vocals), Paul (bass) and Max (drums) started the band, then I (Jonny, guitar) joined about two years ago, and our latest addition Tom joined us at the start of the year.

Si: I knew Ste from previous bands we were in, and Scott lived just round the corner.

What’s the music scene like in your hometown?

Si: There’s not much of a music scene in Moreton, but Liverpool’s great - there’s always something going on.

Scott: There’s all the history too... bands still play the Cavern and the Jacaranda where the Beatles played their first gig, it’s pretty sweet.

What kind of music do you play?

Matt: Honestly, a lot of it is 90s-inspired punk rock... it’s the pop-punk from back then. Bands like Green Day and Blink and Weezer. They were melodic but also awesome live bands. There was so much great music around in the late 90s, early 2000s, I think a lot of people see that now. It was a pretty special time.

Si: We just play whatever we like, though.

The other day we did a Tiffany cover, haha.

Matt: Yeah there aren’t any restrictions, we just have fun with it.

What kind of music do you play?

We play punk rock with lots of melody and catchy chorus’. That’s what we’re all about really, being down the front with your mates, arms round each other singing along to a massive hook.

TREE HOUSE FIRE

BRISTOL

Hey Tree House Fire, who are you all then?

We’re a five piece reggae/dub/ska band from various stop offs along the M4.

Three of us - Rosher (bass), Jimmy (drums) and myself (Sam (vocals/guitar)) - are from Staines and the surrounding areas.

Dai (guitar/vocals/desk/sounds) and Dasher (keys/vocals) are from Bridgend in South Wales.

Who’re your favourite bands?

Growing up I was a big fan of the American ska punk, so bands like Operation Ivy, Reel Big Fish, Sublime, Mad Caddies, Goldfinger etc., along with the UK ska punk scene with Capdown, Lightyear, Farse, King Prawn, Howards Alias etc. More recently we’ve all been

Are you fans of Reel Big Fish, Anti-Flag or Mad Caddies?

We’re massive fans of all those bands.

Anti-Flag, in particular, were a big influence on me and I know they were for Nick too when we were first getting into punk and becoming politicized. ‘For Blood and Empire’ was one of the records that I used to play along to in my room on this old Peavey guitar that a borrowed from a friend of my dad’s. The thing was literally just a solid chunk of wood which weighed about a ton and I used to do kick jumps off of the furniture like Chris#2.

MEET THE ROBOTS

LIVERPOOL

Hey Meet The Robots, how did you guys meet?

Matt: Well, me and Si are brothers, so we met the day he was born, haha.

LAST EDITION

LEICESTER

Hey Last Edition, how did you guys get together?

Last Edition consists of Matty on vocals and guitar, Sharpie on vocals and bass, Topley on saxophone and Billy on drums - we all live in Leicester. Last Edition started around ten years ago. I (Matty) was in a band that were about to split up, so myself and two other members set about looking for recruits to form a new band. Originally called Newbie, we started jamming and eventually started to sound something like we do today. A year or so passed and we were on the lookout for some new members - enter Sharpie and Billy.

What kind of music do you play?

25

We’re a sax-driven ska punk band!

Who’re your favourite bands?

You’re never gonna believe this…

Reel Big Fish, Mad Caddies, Anti-Flag and the third wave ska movement in general - so Less Than Jake, Streetlight Manifesto, Planet Smashers and so on! We have to include bands like The Specials, Madness and The Beat in there also. We’re not “confined” to the ska punk genre, mind. Billy, our drummer loves The Clash, Dead Kennedys and older punk in general.

Whilst I (Matty) listen to The Flatliners, Alkaline Trio and Cat Empire almost on repeat. So a bit of a mix, really!

part?

THE WINNING. Though, the opportunity to play our songs at a mint show to new people that want to party is pretty good, too.

EAT DEFEAT

LEEDS

EVERYONE AND ANYONE

MANCHESTER

Hey Everyone and Anyone, introduce yourselves.

Rob (vocals), Gary (guitar and backing vocals), Scott (guitar), Aaron (bass) and Mikey (drums). We’re from North Wales originally, Sunny Rhyl to be precise. It’s basically never sunny.

FRANK GRIMES AND THE DISASTERS

SHEFFIELD

Hey Frank Grimes and The Disasters, tell us about your band.

In reverse alphabetical order; Ste, Simon, Scott and Dan. The band originate from Barnsley. We met each other through a combination of University, mutual friends and frequenting the only rock bar in Barnsley that somehow also manages to be the worst rock bar in Barnsley, too.

How did you get involved with the Fireball Tour competition? Has it been fun?

The venue promoter shared it on social media and a few friends tagged us in it. It’s good to see someone really reaching out to get fresh bands playing shows. So far? Well, we’ve just found out we’re playing one of the dates, so super fun.

What’s the best thing about taking

‘FIREBALL - FUELLING THE FIRE’ 2017 TOUR WITH REEL BIG FISH, ANTI-FLAG + MAD CADDIES: OCTOBER 11 O2 Ritz Manchester 12 O2 Academy Bristol 13 O2 Academy Leicester

26

us booting off!

Gary: The throwdown will be real, we’re so stoked as a band we just love playing live.

Who’re your favourite bands?

Rob: Old Fall Out Boy melodically and lyrically are always right up there for me. Pete’s lyrics and Patrick’s voice are so sick on their early stuff.

Gary: New Found Glory are my go to, and Wonder Years because everything has a really cool concept. And basically anything that Tom Delonge has done as I’m a shameless fan boy.

Mikey: I’m really into A Day to Remember, Handguns, Architects and Neck Deep at the moment.

Scott: I’m always into Deaf Havana, but Hanson have a special place on my iPod too.

Aaron: I’m big into hip hop and rap.

Anything with a good beat is good with me.

Have you played a gig this big before?

Rob: Absolutely not!

Gary: Never with a band like Reel Big Fish that I grew up listening to.

Rob: We tend to go around the country playing little club venues so this is mental and we can’t wait to throw down on a stage big enough to house

15 O2 Academy Leeds 16 O2 Forum Kentish Town 17 O2 Forum Kentish Town 18 O2 Academy Newcastle 19 O2 Academy Glasgow 20 O2 Academy Liverpool* 21 O2 Academy Sheffield* *Anti-Flag will not appear on these dates, but The Skints will.

Hey Eat Defeat, who are you all then?

So we’re a band from Leeds called Eat Defeat. We’re four guys fuelled by good vibes and melodic punk rock. I’d like to give a beautiful meet cute story about how we all met by bartering over a second hand Super Nintendo at a car boot sale or something, but we basically largely formed by people responding to internet adverts I placed on musician wanted forums. We’ve been a band for 6+ years at this point and had a fair few member changes, but the current line-up is the money line-up.

What’s the music scene like in your hometown?

Leeds is pretty much the best city in the UK for pop punk; it’s the home of Slam Dunk festival and promotions, so we’re never short of a great show to go to.

We’ve also got heaps of amazing local bands, The Human Project, Traits, Jesus and His Judgemental Father and Friday Night Lights being some of our faves.

Oh, and that other big festival. You know the one.

What’s the best thing about taking part in Fireball’s Hottest Band competition?

Winning it? Haha. It’s genuinely a great feeling to not just be able to say we’re playing with these hugely inspirational bands but that we were able to do so by making an impression amongst I’m sure a ton of other great bands that entered. P

OPEN SPOTIFY ON YOUR PHONE, HEAD TO SEARCH, SCAN THIS CODE AND LISTEN TO ALL THESE BANDS. CAN’T GET EASIER THAN THAT, RIGHT?

S PA C E WITH SOME BANDS, YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO GET WITH EACH NEW ALBUM. NOT WITH ENTER SHIKARI, THOUGH. WELCOME TO THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WORLD OF ‘THE SPARK’.

WORDS: ALI SHUTLER. PHOTOS: SARAH LOUISE BENNETT.

ODDITY 28

O

ENTER SHIKARI.

n the back of ‘The Spark’, there’s a message.

Six words that sum up everything you need to know about Enter Shikari. “Does this mean anything to you?” For over a decade, the band have been hoping for a yes.

Battling for a connection.

Earnest, honest but never over-eager, Rou Reynolds, Rob Rolfe, Rory Clewlow and Chris Batten have always asked that question in their own, unique way.

Aggressive and full-throttled, the band have never settled for a style. Refusing to stick to one idea or follow the same direction to closely, everything is in a constant state of flux. That grounding thread of togetherness the only thing holding the ship together.

Different is what they do but even still, ‘The Spark’ pushes things like never before.

“This feels like more of a new era than just another new album,” starts Rou. “We feel very revitalised, fresh and confidence has never been this high.” And it shows.

“We just wanted to be a bit bolder with the music. As a songwriter, I wanted to say that I can write as good a tune as anyone in the eras that have defined or influenced our sound.” Stepping up to wear the crown, “We’re now playing with the big boys.”

After years of merry surprise about how far they’d come, refusing to look too far to an uncertain future, and taking every day as it came, the band found themselves on a massive arena tour. It was the tipping point. At London’s Ally Pally, Rou declared that this was all “a hobby that got well out of hand,” but there’s ambition to the band.

A sense that this is something more than just a laugh. “Doing that arena tour made us think about the possibilities. Seeing that many people and seeing how it brought people together, it inspired us to do something bigger,” explains Chris. ‘The Spark’ is a risk because it sees the band hoping for more.

“There’s an amazing quote from probably my favourite philosopher Bertrand Russell, who says, and I’m going to murder this, ‘One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important’. I’ve probably taken that far too seriously for most of our lives. Before, I’ve just thought that we play music and that’s cool. It’s just amazing to be here, and I guess we’re just carry on doing this.” Now, thoughts have changed.

The runaways are setting the pace. “I don’t 29

think our music is important, but it has its role to play. It’s earnt its place in the world.

“Before we were quite content being the alternative, slightly wacky, out there, all over the place band. Trying to be the craziest. Trying to be the most extreme in every sense.” They wanted every piece of the cobbled together genres to feel authentic, to be loud, proud and obvious.

“I always wanted to be the most of everything, and that’s changed. Now it’s about the songs and the connection.

Before I never had the confidence to do that. I thought we had our place.” Sure, “It was still very much our own place, we never felt at ease on any bill, and we’ve always felt a bit out of place with other bands, but now we’re ready to not just be something in the alternative world.

We’ve got enough to say, and we’ve experienced enough to earn a place in the wider consciousness I want to make it as big and best as I can, I suppose.”

Following a trio of jarring standalone singles, the grime-dabbling ‘Supercharge’ and the aggressive, everything goes twirl of ‘Hoodwinker’ and ‘Redshift’, Enter Shikari “honed their senses,” and set to work on ‘The Spark’. From the dreamlike opening of the title track, all clear skies and crunch of dirt beneath heels into the straight arrow flight of ‘The Sights’, Shikari soar. “For the first time, I had a clear idea of the sound of this album.

There was an atmosphere that I wanted it to be, and that’s never really happened before.” Music flowed out of Rou “like a projectile vomiting drunk. I’m just there with a bucket,” demos were shown to the rest of the band, “and it all became very clear that this was the right way forward.”

The band didn’t have a vision for how the record would flow or dance, but there was a feeling they wanted to capture. More melody was top of the list of demands. Simplicity was king.

“Typically Shikari songs are five songs in one,” because the band feel bored or held back by the single direction travel of genre. “We’ve always had diverse sounds, so we’ve been able to satisfy our urge to do lots of things. This is the first time where an album has a focused sound. It’s still diverse, but it has that simplicity to it now, that clarity.”

There’s a space to ‘The Spark’ that Enter Shikari have always stayed well away from in the past. That decision to open things up and allow the songs to breath came about very early, a reaction to what had come before. “’The Mindsweep’ was so layered. It was very thick with a lot going on, and we were talking about 30

“I COULDN’T P O S S I B LY B E T H AT MEDIOCRE, DA RL I N G ” trying to focus on one guitar playing one riff instead of this mesh of loads of everything.” Stepping back and deciding less is more goes against everything Shikari have ever done. “It’s always tempting to throw more things in,” starts Chris. “But we went into the record being focused on what we wanted. With that in the back of our minds, it made it a lot easier. If we hadn’t known what we were trying to achieve, a lot more would have been thrown in, and we would have just seen where it took us but knowing what we wanted to achieve, it was a far easier process.”

Enter Shikari have always been a politically engaged band. With even the most reluctant of groups now inspired and outraged by the way of the world, you’d think Rou would be spoilt for choice for what to scrawl across their placards but he, “was just stumped for ages. There was so much going on in my life but also so much politically that I didn’t know where to start. Every thing that happened, not just Brexit and Trump but other things as well, there’d be someone tweeting me saying, ‘Oh, at least we know there’s a Shikari album out of this’. Bloody hell, pressure. It wasn’t until I found a lot of parallels between the personal stuff and the more global stuff that I realised ‘Okay, I’ve got a path I can tread now and write about’.

It was difficult at first.”

Rather than fists up, fighting the system and screaming fuck you I won’t do what you tell me, ‘The Spark’ is smarter. “It’s always been important to us to be a little more positive than that,” offers Chris. “It’s never felt right to be just doom and gloom about it all.”

Instead, ‘The Spark’ sees Rou and the rest of Shikari at their most intimate. The

music might be opening up into new space, but lyrically, it turns inwards to make sense of what surrounds them.

“Honesty was the big thing that kept coming back for me. It sounds wanky, but I was influenced by a lot of people like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who I name drop in one of the songs. He was a philosopher, and one of his things was about just laying your soul bare and speaking about everything from the mundane little things to the big emotions. I have this desire to connect and to make sure people knew, ‘Oh I feel that way too. Oh, I’m not weird anymore’.

I wanted to embrace vulnerability, lay my lyrics bare and not try and be this constantly cool pop star who’s got it down and is always cool, calm and everything is fine. It’s not lifelike, is it?

I don’t think anyone wants that from musicians.”

Their music has always come from the heart, the soul and the gut but ‘The Spark’ digs deeper. It doesn’t hold anything back. “The last few years I had a lot more to write about. Before I was absolutely compelled to write about politics, social issues and unity, and I still do. I have that feeling, but I had a bit more confidence to open myself up, which I’ve never had before. I’ve always just figured I’ll write about my life another time and now that another time has come.” That confidence in dropping his guard and letting others in comes from experience. “We’ve been doing this a long time, and people obviously care about what we do and are interested in what we have to say.”

“I might be wrong in saying this,” starts Chris, “but I’ve noticed, since you’ve started having more anxiety issues,

ENTER SHIKARI.

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32

ENTER SHIKARI.

“WE’RE P L AY I N G WITH THE B I G B OYS ” you’ve started talking about it a lot more openly. Maybe the fact you did that has given you the confidence to do that within your writing and lyrics as well.”

Rou continues: “Before, maybe 2014, I didn’t really know the ins and outs of anxiety and depression and insomnia and how they interlink, what the do and how you can stop them. I just thought I probably had something like that; I guess I’m just a bit weird. It wasn’t until I had a big panic attack and we almost had to cancel Download in 2015... All this shit happened and it was only then that I learnt about all that in a lot more detail. Now, I’m more confident; I know who I am a bit more, and how I can deal with those problems. The other thing is that when you’re going through insomnia, anxiety and depression - I think it’s probably the case with most mental health spectrum stuff - your desire to connect and be open increases because I guess you don’t want to feel alone. Before, when my life was much more on the straight and narrow, I had anxiety, but I was able to kinda deal with it. There wasn’t as much of a yearning to want to connect and to want to find an outlet for it all. It’s only when you go through all that shit that you feel like you want to connect.”

Showing off this side of himself is new ground for Rou, but he knows people will connect to what he’s saying. “I don’t know how many people or to what degree but they will. It’s already happening with ‘Live Outside’, the lyrics are connecting to different people for different reasons. They see meanings that you didn’t even put there which is amazing.” Allowing more space, “The song now has all these extra layers and depth that we didn’t even plan for.”

They’re going to mean the world to countless people but the songs on ‘The Spark’ also mean everything to the band.

The joyous cry of “They don’t know about us” on ‘Live Outside’ comes from “the

innards of one’s skull. It can be so busy.

You can have so much going on; it can be intense. In the outside world, no one will have a clue. That was something I learnt through seeing a psychologist.

You internalise everything, and it’s almost close to ego because everything is about you. You worry. ‘Should I be putting my hand there? No that probably looks weird, he’s probably thinking this, they’re probably doing that’. But you have to realise that no, they don’t even know what’s going on up there.” They’re not paying that much attention. “They don’t know about us.”

Elsewhere, ‘An Ode To Lost Jigsaw Pieces’ “is all about loss in all its various guises from losing grandparents to losing structure. For most of my life, certainly most of my twenties, I was in long-term relationships. You get very comfortable in that structure, and when they fall apart, you feel really haywire. Your life has completely changed, and it’s lost its structure, as you do when a close family member dies. It’s just addressing that feeling of loss.”

Rather than falling apart or feeling broken, ‘The Spark’ sees an opportunity for growth. “I am currently under construction,” sings ‘Undercover Agents’.

“Thank you for your patience.” “Yeah, no one thinks that they’re fully constructed.

No one believes fully that ‘I am a perfect human being and everything is fine’.

Life is a constant, relentless road of construction.” That ability to carry on and unfurl is also found on ‘Airfields’, which “was inspired by the idea of what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. As Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ says, ‘Sweet are the uses of adversity’. When you go through shit, you learn about yourself, you learn about the world, and it can end up being beneficial in many ways.

I try and write as a friend speaking to another friend, or to whoever is listening to it and offering that shoulder. Trying to say, ‘Yeah, you’re probably going through

hell, but it’s probably having some really good benefits to your life’. Glass overflowing, “’It’s giving you knowledge.

It’s giving you experience.”

“The outro always summed it up perfectly for me,” Chris says. “’When the wind’s against you, remember this insight, that’s the optimal condition, for birds to take flight’. It’s a lot easier if you’re taking off into the wind. You don’t know what’s around the corner and you don’t know how this shit is actually helping you in the long run.” There’s empowerment in facing the storm, “which should not be confused with ‘everything happens for a reason’ which is something completely false because that implies some sort of tinkering creator or something.”

In amongst all the honesty, reality and gritty truths of ‘The Spark’ sits the madcap tale of ‘The Revolt Of The Atoms’ which tells the story of what would happen if all the atoms in existence decided to band together and dissolve everything. It’s far-fetched, bordering on ridiculous, but somehow works in the expansive soar of the record.

“While we were writing this album, I was doing my lyric book ‘Dear Future Historians’ [which collects and annotates all of their lyrics]. It was really interesting, going back to the beginning of this band. A lot of it was detective work, trying to remember what I was saying with the lyrics and what I had in mind. When it came to ‘Mothership’, a sci-fi story about aliens, peace, climate change and all this stuff coming together, I just wanted to do it again. A lot of the time my lyrics are statements rather than narratives that develop and run through a whole song. I wanted to create a whole world and a whole story in a song. Interestingly enough, that first synth is one of the first things Shikari ever did. It’s finally being used. There are a lot of threads back to very early Shikari on that track.” Yes, it’s a bit silly, but it’s a world with such heart. The repeated cries of “everything is crumbling” echo and swell, reflecting the real world in their escapist, chaotic snow globe.

“When I didn’t know where to start lyrically or what was going on in the world, and everything was so overwhelming, it was one of the first songs that gave me a bit of a bearing.

It felt like everything was falling apart at some points, and it still does, with Trump and North Korea and the nuclear onslaught that could be around the corner and everything. That was what inspired the ridiculous notion of what if 33

atoms banded together, every atom got together and had this meeting and said actually, we’re going to pull apart and disintegrate everything that matters. I thought it was quite an interesting take.”

The song, like more of ‘The Spark’, has an underlying feeling of doom just out of the corner of its eye. It’s “teetering around a hole of complete darkness.

But we all feel like that from time to time. I certainly feel a lot better on a personal level than I did when I wrote this song. That’s why a lot of the music is so positive on this record. ‘Live Outside’ for instance, even though the lyrics are quite thick, a lot of time I was writing music and thinking, ‘Y’know, in a year’s time when this comes out, I’m going to be in such a better position mentally.

I want to be able to enjoy these songs and play them with a smile on my face’. I think now I can. I’m happy to report that I can. That gave the songs such a depth that I couldn’t have achieved if I was happy. Sometimes with writing happy music, there’s such a fine line between cheesiness and contentment. It’s very hard to do contentment in music, so having that underlying doom works with the bigger picture.”

From ‘The Revolt Of The Atoms’ to the self-aware snarl of ‘Rabble Rouser’ that sees the band poke fun at rock stars while doing a brilliant rock star impression, Enter Shikari still have a tongue firmly pressed against their cheek. There’s a sense of humour to the situation, and despite wanting to reach more people, it’s all still a bit silly.

“It has to be. We’re always the first to start ripping the piss out of any band that’s getting too far up themselves.

34

Hopefully, we haven’t fallen down that yet. We found humour in the darkest of places. It’s a defence mechanism. When everything is going to shit and what do you have left? Humour. That’s the only way we can process things without going absolutely mad or losing it. That’ll always be there in our music.”

‘The Spark’ is evocative, a lit stick of dynamite into the pool of expectation, but that was always the point. It sees the band embracing the unknown, and it’s not always easy. “I have to push myself. I still get comfortable in my little bubble,” and it’s not going to be universally championed. “It’s not going to appeal to everyone, but that’s what we want.

I couldn’t possibly be that mediocre darling, he says sipping a gin and tonic,” narrates Rou while drinking a tap water.

“Music still excites me, creating still excites me. Creating music has always been one of the things I’ve had that helps me through the shit, and I’ll never not be excited to write music.” Despite the smart money being on Shikari’s fifth album being a furious and relentless attack on a world flirting with doom, ‘The Spark’ is hopeful without being naïve. “It’s fine to be negative and just be honest in that as well. I didn’t want it to be a record that shoehorns positivity in and again, just being honest is key.

Things might get a lot shitter but y’know, there’s still the odd chance it won’t.

Always look on the bright side, that’s just an intrinsic thing about being human.”

And Enter Shikari have always found the humanity in every situation. “I’m constantly surprised [by what we’ve been allowed to get away with]. I don’t

really know what our trick is, but there’s something about honesty that people want in music. It’s very clear we’ve never made an album that, to any degree, has been something that someone else has wanted us to make. Be it a record label or fans and people respect that. People can see through that. The music feels real; it has integrity.”

They have no shame in wanting to be bigger, in aiming higher. ‘The Spark’ is the most accessible thing they’ve done, and that’s no accident. Shikari want to be heard. They want to connect. They want to offer a meaning in the murk. “Going back centuries, the ability to have very wide spread, easy to access literature improved empathy in the human species. We were able to understand other people’s points of view and perspectives, and it declined violence.

Stephen Pinker does a lot of research into this, and it’s really interesting. Now that literature is world wide and most people can read, the next bastion of that is pop music. In pop music, you can offer your soul. You can offer what it’s like to be me, or what it’s like to be in this situation and people can then latch onto it and again, it increases empathy and connection. That’s something we’ve just always been about, connection. And unity. And community.” The thing is, it isn’t the masses Enter Shikari want to forge a connection with. It’s you. “With this album, the music is now there to hopefully reach more people. And connect more with people. And why else would we be doing it? That’s what art is for.” P Enter Shikari’s album ‘The Spark’ is out 22nd September.

N E W

R E L E A S E S

F R O M

H A S S L E

R E C O R D S

BACK

IN

BUSINE SS

THE MOVIELIFE ARE BACK AFTER 14 LONG YEARS AWAY WITH THEIR BRAND SPANKING NEW ALBUM, ‘CITIES IN SEARCH OF A HEART’. WORDS: ALEX BRADLEY. 36

H

T H E M OV I E L I F E .

aving spent time away with other bands and solo projects, The Movielife frontman Vinnie Caruana and guitarist Brandon Reilly are back older, wiser and with enough know how to make their most complete album yet - ‘Cities In Search of a Heart’.

with.

“I truly think it’s the best sounding record I’ve ever been a part of, I always think this, and I think every artist probably should, but I’m always thinking “yep, that’s better than the last” and I feel that way about it again now,” Vinnie enthuses.

“Being in the studio was helpful because we were able to create and not just be at home thinking only about politics.”

“Obviously, nostalgia plays a massive part in people’s opinion on that, but this Movielife record is fucking solid. It’s big. It’s got lots of songs. It’s got big choruses.

It’s got all the things people expect from us, but I think people are gonna be happy that it’s fresh.”

He certainly knows how to sell it. And, he is absolutely right, ‘Cities In Search of a Heart’ is all of those things.

The recent “reunion” shows have proven The Movielife are still a white knuckle live experience and that, more importantly, they still have a place in a lot of people’s hearts too. With those old songs still ringing in the ears of many, the band were keen not to just revel in that nostalgia when it came to heading back into the studio.

“We knew we were going to make a Movielife record, but the plan after that was it not to sound retro or a throwback to our era,” he explains.

With that more polished sound, fun sound bites, a ballad and an evident appreciation for creating a coherent flow across the album, this is The Movielife all grown up. But, in the underlay remains that anger and frustration that has made the band so easy to connect

“We were still writing when Donald Trump was elected President, and we went into the studio a few days after he was inaugurated and he didn’t waste any time proving how vile of a human being he was. And it was a really, really depressing time… It is a really depressing time to be American.

While the album doesn’t hinge entirely on politics, Vinnie Caruana, in all his music, is at his best when he has a target in his crosshairs.

But, for a newlywed loving life in his mid-30s, the focus in his songwriting had to be much bigger and more mature than before.

“Approaching lyrics on this album was one of the biggest hurdles. With everything that was building up to what is now in the United States, all through last year, it was a different feeling, and that couldn’t be ignored.”

“We couldn’t make a Movielife record like in 2003 and sing about girlfriends when I was 19. I don’t want to hear that, and I think people want to hear more than that so [this album] is really a place of, ‘Here we are, this is all of us’. At the same time it’s not like, ‘Guys, the world’s fucked, let’s have a depressing record’, which was another hurdle.”

back of our bus, and I played Brandon that song and his response was, ‘That’s the best song you’ve ever written. It has to be a Movielife song, and I’m gonna be so fucking angry’, and his hand is on my leg like, ‘No, no, no… I’m gonna be so fucking pissed off if this isn’t a Movielife song!”

It’s in those stories that this album seems more like a passion project as Vinnie frequently refers to “just two dudes in their 30s making punk music.” Throw in little surprises like Brandon’s six year-old son’s cameo on ‘Sister Saint Monica’ and long time friends like Brett “The Ratt” Romnes and guitar wiz Joe Cannetti helping out in production, ‘Cities in Search of a Heart’ may not be universally positive but it was certainly a labor of love.

The excitement of making a new record did come with a level of compromise as Vinnie stressed the challenge of making something the band loved as well as original Movielife fans and newcomers to the band.

Talking about finding that balance, he explains: “For the old ears, we realised it was important they heard something a little bit familiar.

I don’t think any of these songs would necessarily fit on any of our old records, but I think it’s an updated version of what we call punk music.”

It’s not all so bleak. Taking a tour through ‘Cities in Search of a Heart’, if you’re not already KO’d from the first four tracks, the band shake things up in ‘Pour Two Glasses’, which Caruana admits started life as an idea for his more ornate sounding solo project - until Brandon got the chance to hear it.

Moving forward, The Movielife will bring the album to the UK this November with the band eager to air the new tunes.

While Vinnie sounds out his favourite ‘Lake Superior’ and the “next level powerful rock tune” ‘Ghosts In The Photograph’, it’s Brandon’s top pick - the driving apocalyptic anthem - ‘Laugh Ourselves To Death’ he thinks will be a live success, saying: “I hope songs like that become a fan favourite. It’s definitely going to sound massive live.” P

Vinnie recalls, “I remember being in Europe with The Movielife and we were in the

The Movielife’s album ‘Cities In Search of a Heart’ is out 22nd September.

37

T ASK NG TO PARTY - JUS COME FROM WANTI T WITH PALS GREAT THINGS CAN S TO GET INVITED OU AN ME A AS D RTE SLØTFACE. WHAT STA .

T DEBUTS E OF THE YEAR’S BES HAS RESULTED IN ON R. TLE SHU WORDS: ALI age attered posters and teen rd kicks, Sløtface’s debut reco Not is a coming of age. ‘Try To Freak Out’ scribbled somewhere only they can see, the band’s debut sees and brash, trying to bold ng acti them they ended up here. how of e sens e mak Arne The gang, Haley Shea, Torie Wiencke and Vikingsted, Halvard Ske they were just Lasse Lokøy, met when buddies who teenagers. Longboarding “we just wanted started the band because ts like a highto go to parties,” it star s plans to simply school movie: ambitiou wanted to play have a good time. “We didn’t happen house parties, and that d,” explains unless you had a live ban ic about it even Haley. “We were nostalg nced it. At though we’d never experie ing invited to the start, it was about gett then it grew but fun, ing hav and parties ld together.” wor the el trav to ting into wan via a series of s, year few past the r Ove lot of touring, fierce EPs and a whole way. long a e com e hav face Sløt

start of ‘Magazine’ from the triple woo kick embrace of to ‘Pitted’’s full bodied ack lost nights chaos, Sløtface soundtr thing is, they and new discoveries. The a good time. want everyone to have feel included.

They want everyone to ro stomp of Body image, the superhe Patti Smith Nancy Drew, Beyonce and ds, Sløtface and hanging out with frien of women who all “long for a soundtrack , they’ll do it know what’s up.” Until then es. selv them rooms to From tearing up living against Nordic protesting on mountains als in the fjord, Mining dumping chemic ed a ruckus. the group has always caus r name from Sure, they changed thei their music, but Slutface to help spread to stand up and that fiery determination ‘Try Not To Freak be heard hasn’t shifted. their presence Out’ is less aggressive but led anger; it’s is important. “It’s a control ed. We can now more anxious and frustrat direct the anger.”

wcases more of Their debut album “sho sides, poppier our musical faces: dark ental sides. We sides and more experim it. We wanted just tried to stay open with gs we possibly to write the ten best son rict ourselves in could, but we didn’t rest would be when it any way to what those ld be played on came to genre, or if it cou didn’t restrict it the radio or whatever. We cutting songs out in any way, and we kept ten really strong until we felt like we had g to work out ones. It was tough tryin tell.” what story we wanted to d time has never That desire to have a goo Not To Freak Out’ ‘Try gh. thou ared ppe disa and party anthems, is littered with pick up 38

bursts of fury While the EPs capture tiny Freak Out’ was and fervour, ‘Try Not To ing back home crafted over months. Mov we couldn’t ause “bec nts pare r to thei d six months spen and rent pay to afford the band to ed forc m” albu an ing writ gs have changed. reflect on how much thin l adventure and Caught between youthfu record wrestles adult responsibility, the n. with itself and the unknow

“All the ing have that songs we ended up pick . The record is nervous energy to them ious about not a lot about anxiety, anx at the right time being in the right place made the right or feeling like you haven’t bravado of a decision. Letting go of the r,” but at the very self-assured teenage a lot of those same time it “brought up like to be a memories of what it was really different kid and how things are ng those now. It’s a way of processi ic for days gone feelings.” While nostalg not so much by, there’s no sadness. “It’s realising that saying goodbye as it is rent kind of you’re going to have a diffe .” now re adventu since being in “’Slumber’ is about how many close very e hav ’t don I d ban this and how special female friends anymore, close female it is to have a group of r band is special friends,” starts Haley. “Ou rent thing to the too but it’s a totally diffe , and people you friends you grew up with

S L ØT FAC E .

had were nine sleepovers with when you those special or ten. It was trying to give live in my brain.” relationships a place to grumpy old man Elsewhere, “‘Pool’ is our when people song, about getting mad posed to do. don’t get what they’re sup that’s ever been It’s the least punk song about “feeling written,” and ‘Galaxies’ is wrong place like you’re always in the s are moving while everyone else’s live pens without you on. Sometimes that hap how the universe even noticing it. It’s like it doesn’t feel but ing, and exp ays is alw the band grow, As .” ging chan is time like ‘Try Not To Freak ; erse univ r thei s doe so of it all.

Out’ tries to make sense Sløtface versus For a long while, it was feel like that the world. Now, “we still that’s another part sometimes, but maybe not so much us of growing up, maybe it’s more us against versus everyone else, but elling the world different situations.” Trav gs for the hasn’t really changed thin ships with each band and their relation a good sense of other, “but it gives you in your twenties. perspective when you’re into how young You get a small glimpse best part of people live their lives. The new people who being on tour is meeting

are all kinds of in different situations with talking about their different opinions and ire a lot of the lives. I think that’ll insp next stuff we do.” le camera into From throwing a disposab ival to encourage a crowd at Reading Fest ther and share strangers to come toge personal yet the same moment, to the rages on ‘Try Not worldwide struggle that still the same To Freak Out’, Sløtface are play a house four kids who wanted to good time. party and soundtrack a ing a big mantra “We’re not really into hav efully people hop but rds, reco our behind the same things ugh thro g goin e we’r feel to trying to grow they are when it comes that maybe up. It’ll help them realise as they are. A everyone is as fucked up nties feel pretty lot of people in their twe t you want to do lost; you don’t know wha you’re in a band, with your life, whether king your first going to university or wor g people can full-time job. The best thin rd is a sense of take away from this reco feels that way. calm because everyone ut things, and Everyone is anxious abo ’re doing.” nobody knows what they

In remain all the confusion, Sløtface rmined to sarcastic, upbeat and dete world. Their dance at the end of the d embrace the debut album sees the ban rt still beating. shimmer and rot, the hea e for the future, A want to stand tall, hop to grow and make and a continued desire giddy with a difference; the band are not alone. companionship. You’re and respect After falling in love, awe Them Eat Chaos’, with Kate Tempest’s ‘Let and the people Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Damn’ , Haley knows road the on met ’ve they tell next. “Those what story she wants to politically albums are dense and very . I want us to be charged. It’s so inspiring nger voice and even better, have a stro record. That’s make an even smarter moment. This what’s firing me up at the l; there’s nothing record is pretty universa their twenties new about it. People in ple can relate to feel lost, and I hope peo important as the it, but it’s maybe not as Now I want to do next thing I want to do.

P something important.”

To Freak Out’ is Sløtface’s album ‘Try Not out now.

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40

SLEEPING WITH SIRENS.

OF SLEEPING WITH SIRENS ARE BROACHING A NEW CHAPTER - ONE THAT SEES THEM EMBRACE ADULTHOOD. WORDS: HEATHER MCDAID.

41

S

leeping With Sirens have grown up. Their fifth album ‘Gossip’ is a far cry from where they began in 2010’s ‘With Ears to See and Eyes To Hear’; ask the band themselves, and they’ll agree that this is the first album that feels truly their own.

“When you start off as an artist you emulate bands and artists that you listen to or look up to,” explains vocalist Kellin Quinn. “Those bands and artists seep into your music. This record finally sees us coming into our own and having our own unique sound.”

‘Gossip’ has a poppier injection than before, and there’s a whole load of fight creeping through. ‘Empire To Ashes’ is a swaggering rally cry on not giving in, ‘Trouble’ a soulful swing on being lost, and ‘Cheers’ a bassy crunch declaring ‘Let’s cheers to us, we’re going to be victorious.

Don’t matter what they say because we march to the beat of a different drum.’ They swing through the bad times with a defiance to cling on until the good comes back around.

the emotion out of you; there’s a method and a reason for everything, and that’s what gets the best performance out of everybody, and it definitely shows with the record.

“If we go into a room, pick a sound and think ‘Ooh let’s do that’, it comes across that we’re trying to rip somebody off and be cheesy or something. We just stand in a room and play music, and it was one of those things where you hear a little thing and think ‘Ooh, I like that. I want to run with that.’

“I do have a lot of pop influence in me already because I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, The Beatles and artists like that, so it’s always in there. I feel like the music came second, that’s where I had more of a pop sensibility this time.”

Sleeping With Sirens flit between looking inward and at the world around them.

‘Hole In My Heart’ is one Kellin cites as particularly important to him, and hopefully – by extension – to their fans.

“With everything going on in the world and having technology at our fingertips, always having our phone and Instagram and Twitter, it’s the new mirror. You’re constantly looking at yourself, constantly looking at other people and judging yourself based upon that. I think that song’s really important for not only me, but for our listeners to hear. I wanted to say; it’s important to empower yourself but not to be at the mercy of everyone else’s opinions or thoughts.”

Ten tracks into ‘Gossip’ and you’ll feel comfortable in a way – ‘The Chase’ is a tight, punchy reflection on their journey – “Younger me would give anything to be right where we are.”

It’s the latest track that fits neatly into the puzzle, but then… then comes ‘War’.

“ I ’ M D E F I N I T E LY M O R E G R O W N U P… O R I AT T E M P T T O B E M O R E G R O W N U P. ” KELLIN QUINN

Producer David Bendeth (Paramore, All Time Low) was a force to work with and pushed Kellin, Gabe, Justin, Jack and Nick to get the best of them. He would question them – as individuals and a band – how they were growing up on this record, and so they were forced to really think about and act upon it. “I’m 31 now, so I’m definitely more grown up, or I attempt to be more grown up,” he laughs.

“I feel like I’ll always have this inner kid inside me. That’s the fight – you’ve got to fight, wanting to be responsible and grow up. This record is me finding out who I am as a grown up. There are some artists that try to live in this world where they are still 17 or 18 years old, and they write these songs that still sound like that. It was important for us to grow our music and to have our fans grow up with us.

“I dig working with David Bendeth. He is a sweetheart. I think that he is a hard ass, and he needs to be but for the most part.

All the scary stories I’ve heard from other bands, I didn’t notice any of that when we actually got in the room together.

He’s the captain of a ship, and all he cares about is the music. If the ship went over and everyone was drowning, he would save the music first! He wants to get all 42

If you take one thing from ‘Gossip’, let it be the resilience. Darkness can feel allconsuming, and Kellin has always been conscious to make the music a journey through both that, and the light on the other end. “It’s important for me to bring a positivity to the lyrics and the music,” he explains. “I don’t want to drive home this negative, negative, negative all the time because I feel that life is already like that.

It’s important for me to try to hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and put that forward.”

‘Legends’ is a prime example. “We could be legends after all,” booms Kellin in the uplifting call to arms. If you can dream something and put in the hard work, anything is possible – these goals can give you focus and pull you forward. “Our band’s always been doing that ourselves,” he admits. “Not to say that we don’t have people behind us that are definitely helpful but I feel like our band, our whole mantra, is if we can’t do it ourselves then there’s no point doing it at all. We’ve never been the type of band that’s wanted a handout, or be like we want this, we want that. We’d always be like: we’ll make it happen if it’s meant to be.”

‘War’ is a left-field twist – acoustic, stripped back. It feels eerily present with each new week’s worth breaking news.

“I actually wrote that song when President Trump was elected to office,” explains Kellin.

“I was thinking about him being our President. I wrote that song, and there’s such a feeling of not being in control when it comes to our government and the decisions that they make, and just watching it all unfold, so I wanted to tackle that.

“I think that it’s going to constantly feel [an eerily present song]. I don’t think enough artists write about that kind of stuff. I don’t know if it’s because they’re afraid to or what, but I think it’s important to write about things that are currently going on in the world.”

Sleeping With Sirens are full of surprises, right up to the dying seconds of their new album they’re pushing onwards. ‘Gossip’ is where they’ve who they are, and now is the time they stop talking, and walk the walk. “We’re really excited to finally get out there and play these songs. There’s been a lot of lead up, a lot of talking about the record but I feel like we haven’t really had a chance to get out there and fucking play it yet,” he laughs. “I’m excited to take the songs out there.” P Sleeping With Sirens’ album ‘Gossip’ is out 22nd September.

SLEEPING WITH SIRENS.

Vacation ENDLESS

44

S E A W AY .

SEAWAY HAVE HAD A TOUGH FEW YEARS ON THE ROAD - FROM MISSING HOME TO HAVING THEIR GEAR STOLEN A BUNCH OF TIMES - BUT WITH NEW ALBUM ‘VACATION’, THEY’RE NOT LETTING IT GET THEM DOWN. WORDS: NARIECE SANDERSON.

I

t’s been two years since Seaway’s last record, ‘Colour Blind’. Since then, the band have racked up a ridiculous 2,000,000 streams of their single ‘Best Mistake’, and earlier this year they took Slam Dunk by storm - and deservedly so. They’re taking the band’s progression in their stride, however, and weren’t afraid to try new things when it came to working on ‘Colour Blind’’s follow-up, new album ‘Vacation’.

“We went into this album with a different mindset,” frontman Ryan Locke enthuses.

“We wanted to be prepared, to have a lot of material going into the studio. When we did ‘Colour Blind’, we had pieces of songs, and then we kinda figured the rest out in the studio. But for ‘Vacation’, we did two weeks of demoing pre-production.

We did one week at home in Toronto with our friend Derek Hoffman, and earlier in the winter, we did a week with Alan Day from Four Year Strong.

“We’ve just been crafting songs, putting everything together, getting all our ideas on the table from those two weeks.

We got like twelve or thirteen songs ready, so we were very prepared.

We had just over a month to sit on all the songs and consider changing a few things.

That was a huge advantage for ‘Vacation’ - we got to let the songs marinate instead of just writing and recording.

Preparation was super key.”

muses, “but we as people have grown up a bit more. We know what we want, how we want to sound and where we want to go with the band. When we started Seaway, we had an idea of how we wanted to sound. We don’t really go for the 90s to early 2000s pop rock kinda stuff. ‘Colour Blind’ started to touch on it a little bit, but we were able to hone in on it on ‘Vacation’.

“That’s what we really wanted to do: make a record that could exist in the pop punk world, but some songs could maybe get a little radio play, or have more of an indie rock feel. We wanted it to be a diverse but also very fun throwback feeling record, and I think that’s kinda missing in our genre right now. It’s like, a lot of bands will write their record, and you can listen to it front to back and nothing really stands out. It’ll be a really good record, but the songs all have the same vibe. Our record is a bit of a roller coaster in that sense because from song to song, it’ll take a different turn. That’s something that could definitely set us apart.”

Seaway thrive in an environment where musicians support each other, and true to form, ‘Vacation’ hosts a track featuring another artist - Beartooth’s Caleb Shomo.

Ryan explains: “We’re buds with Beartooth guys. We’ve done Warped Tour with them and Slam Dunk, and we just thought it would be really cool to cross the genres. They’re all big fans of Seaway as we are of Beartooth, they all have Everything Is Cool Man tattoos, which is really funny!

I just emailed them and asked if it would be something they’d be interested in and [Caleb] said, ‘Hell yeah, let’s get this going!’ It was super easy and super organic to get started.”

I think we have been living in-between.

That’s a good way of putting it because we’re in the States but a different city every day. Even being home, you’re only there for a couple of weeks at a time and then back out again. Sometimes I love being in a different city every day, but sometimes I also hate it. There’s always a reason that keeps us out there.”

“OUR RECORD IS A BIT OF A RO L L E RC OAST E R .”

R YA N L O C K E

There’s a more easy-going feel to this incarnation of Seaway, a breeziness that comes with confidence and maturity that revitalises their brand of pop-punk.

The band are now at a different stage of their lives and were able to dedicate themselves to the new album. “When we did our first record [2013’s ‘Hoser’] - which was kinda like getting your foot in the door, I wouldn’t even call it a proper full-length - but we were all in school in separate areas of Ontario, so it was kinda disjointed. It was our first crack. When we did ‘Colour Blind’ we were working, and some of us were still at school. With all those factors and it being our first record on Pure Noise Records, I think we were a little wide eyed…”

“I don’t think the record’s grown up,” Ryan

While not really a concept record, a theme of being away from home runs throughout ‘Vacation’. “We were spitballing ideas; vacation was all encompassing. There were a lot of songs about being away. A lot of people outside of the music scene believe that touring is like a vacation for us when it’s really not.

We’re working and playing shows, loading in and out. It’s fun work, but it’s still work, right? Whether you’re on vacation, travelling, or touring in a band, there’s a hard thing about being away and missing family, friends, significant others, missing birthdays and missing those milestones.

“A big part of our lives has been touring for the last few years, and I think that basically comes out in the record. You’re never in one place all the time. Even when we’re home or touring, we’re only there for a month. For the last few years,

“Also it was our first time leaving Toronto to record,” he adds, “and so that in a way kinda felt like a vacation. We were living in an apartment in LA for a month, and it felt cool to call the record ‘Vacation’. We were there working, but it was a cool experience too.”

The last few years on the road haven’t been plain sailing for Seaway: they’ve experienced the theft of their equipment several times. A less resilient band may have called it a day. “We’ve got really got bad luck with that, but there’s always something that helps us. This last time when we got robbed in LA, it was like the worst that we’ve ever experienced it. Almost all our gear got stolen! But we also had a lot of help from other people, like drum companies, and even just strangers giving us stuff to help get us back on our feet. The scene has always been something that has helped us bounce back. In the beginning, when you get robbed you’re like, ‘Oh I hate every single human’. Then when you get help, you go, ‘Good people do exist, we’ll do okay!’” P Seaway’s album ‘Vacation’ is out now.

45

“ T H I S I S

U S ” .

ARCANE ROOTS HAVE MADE A GIANT LEAP AWAY FROM THEIR ROCK OF OLD. “I WANT PEOPLE TO NOT LIKE THIS RECORD,” SAYS ANDREW GROVES. WELL, HE’S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED. WORDS: ALI SHUTLER.

46

B

A RCA N E RO OTS

y now, you probably know what to expect from Arcane Roots. Big, bold, arena rock with a love of riffs, rock moves and over the top shapes, yeah? That want to lead a crowd has always been their goal, from the choppy off-kilter riot of ‘Left Fire’ to the pristine follow me of ‘Heaven & Earth’. The band promised a change this time last summer, telling us their new record was “absolutely different,” and, “even more left-field.”

We’ve all heard that one before though.

‘Melancholia Hymns’ isn’t just course correction though. It’s not a new colour on the existing canvas or the same destination achieved via different roads. Having finished 2013 debut ‘Blood & Chemistry’, the band were left asking, “Is that all we are?”

The world that Arcane Roots have been slowly crafting over the last ten years is still present on their second full-length, but everything you think you know about the band only makes up one little corner of this mighty new universe. Different isn’t just a mask; it’s pumping through its majestic veins.

“My biggest fear was that it would sound like ‘Arcane Roots Find A Synthesiser’,” admits Andrew Groves. “’Rock Band Finds Drum Machine’,” he shudders. He’s standing backstage at Reading Festival, the same spot as last year’s promise of change. In the days, weeks and months since he and his band, Jack Wrench and Adam Burton, have been locked away, shedding skin and growing new limbs. “It’s been a metamorphosis,” he grins. This record is so much more than their attempt at an electronica album.

“We were just trying to be self-aware as much as possible,” he continues.”When we’ve done records before, and people say it’s felt different, I’ve always doubted it. ‘Hmm, really? ‘cos it’s still the same’. ‘Heaven & Earth’ is very much the record we always wanted to make with the last two before it. That’s where we were aiming for, and as soon as we hit it, ‘Cool, I’m satisfied’. I don’t feel like we need to make any more points with that. It’s been done.”

Rather than continuing to try and force the expected path to the big venues and big noise that continues to draw comparisons with the likes of Muse and Biffy Clyro, Arcane Roots decided to go their own way. “We were so lucky to share stages with those kinds of bands, but after the initial daydream of what I would do to be in that position and have that production, crew and access to stuff that we’ve only dreamt of, [our outlook shifted]. We’re getting older, and we’re not heartthrobs. We never will be. We’re not that kind of band; we never will be that kind of band.”

That single-minded desire for big venues and big crowds started feeling hollow. Arcane Roots wanted something more fulfilling.

“I feel like this is us,” he starts, comfortable in their musical skin.

“We’re that band who are there when you want a bit more. When you want something else. We’ve got a promise and a morality, and that’s really our band. We promise you; you’ll be surprised.

We promise you; you’ll be challenged. This record was about understanding our place as a band. I wanted it to be something I liked. I like rock music, I love playing guitar and those big riffs and when I play that with the other guys, it’s really fun. It makes me smile every time we play, and that’s always going to be there.

I love the energy of that, but my own interests were way more electronic and took in scores, soundtracks and classical music. I wanted to make something that was worthy, if I could.”

The result is ‘Melancholia Hymns’. Ten tracks of shimmering beauty, subtle confrontation and lush escape. It flits and dances with a powerful sense of purpose, yet sways with an effortless 47

charm. Dynamic climbs and devastation breakdowns exist alongside seas of tranquillity and an ever questioning search for something pure.

what you’d expect, and I’m pleased about that. I want people to not like this record.

I’m excited about that conversation; people deserve that surprise.”

“If we were going to do this, it needed to feel effortless. We had to make sure there was no point in the record that felt forced, laboured or imitative of anything. I had to feel like we’d always been doing this. It had to feel completely comfortable.” From the opening crackle of ‘Before Me’, ‘Melancholia Hymns’ makes it look easy. Before Arcane Roots have started with hundreds of demos, chopping, pulling, tugging and shaping them to fit. This time out, there was only these ten songs. Polished and allowed to grow, it’s a record that blooms. “I’m really pleased it feels different,” Andrew grins.

Setting out to do the best thing possible, there’s a search for goodness across ‘Melancholia Hymns’. Despite their best intentions, the current worldwide search for the same thing sticks in the throat of the record.

It’s so different that it almost feels like another band entirely. There’s an expectation of Arcane Roots, and this record definitely isn’t it. It might have been easier to start again to avoid that struggle in changing the tide. And they almost did when Daryl Atkins left. “I’m very precious about stuff,” explains Andrew. But not in a sacred way. As our managers or label will tell you, I’m more than happy to get rid of everything and start again. There’s a purism about it. You do something better that way.”

Breaking up and starting again was almost a thing, but it would have broken that promise the band hold dear. “To some extent, our back catalogue and small magnitude of legacy comes into that but really for me; Arcane Roots was always around. It’s us.” And fighting those expectations, “it’s become a turn on. I sat there rubbing my hands waiting for the first play of ‘Curtains’. It’s the opposite of

48

“When we went into the record, I wanted to remove myself from it and try and make it about more timeless things. But the same themes always come up; time, money, madness, us versus them. I almost hate that politics is something that’s snuck into that.

With the way the world is at the moment, I feel like there are no clear lines to anything anymore, morally or otherwise. We’re kinda discovering quite obvious things all together.

“Take Cecil The Lion, when that happened everyone was outraged, saying ‘This is wrong’, but we’ve been doing things like that for thousands of years. What a strange thing to all discover at once. Same with politics, we’re all deciding what is right and wrong. Even my belief in human beings has changed so much. I thought we were old enough to understand right and wrong.

The majority are not what I thought.” In the confusion and the hurt, Arcane Roots lead a quest for hope.

The original title was ‘Melancholia Blues’, but it didn’t do that journey justice. Instead, “these ideas of hymns and singing for sadness, that was a big thing. I love that Kurt Cobain lyric, ‘I miss the comfort of being sad’. That always struck such a chord

with me.

Being emotional, crying, loving, sharing affection, I think that’s starting to get lost, but I feel like it’s okay to be sad about something. It’s okay to be angry about something.” Evocative and caring, Arcane Roots are here for you. No longer just the energetic leaders of old, “This record feels like the state of the world in 2017.”

“For us, this was the morally right thing to do. I take that very seriously, I feel like that’s our job as musicians, to work hard, improve, be better, challenge and grow but maybe we’re wrong like I was wrong about those other things. Maybe it is the wrong thing, and I’ve got no hope. Maybe we are just some guys with some hippy bullshit, but we’re taking these risks, and I would like to think that this might be good. The rule was to do the best thing. That was the only thing we fell back on. If something wasn’t going right, it’s ‘cos we weren’t doing the best thing enough.

“I really believe in the idea, and that idea is moving things forward, otherwise, we wouldn’t do it. I’ve held the morality of it at the highest, much to our detriment.

You can trust us. We didn’t try and make a record that would sell or be more radio friendly, we just made a record to the best of our ability and did things in a way that we thought would be exciting. If everyone hates it, fine. If everyone hates it, there’s no way I could have made a better record because that’s what I thought was good.

Sometimes that feels like arrogance, but what else would we do? P Arcane Roots’ album ‘Melancholia Hymns’ is out now.

Prawn’s third full length album—out everywhere 22 September on CD, vinyl, cassette & digitally.

UK & European tour with The Flatliners and Shit Present 21 September - 22 October.

Pick up Run from Banquet, HMV, Rough Trade or online (along with info on upcoming tour dates) at prawnmusic.com.

also available from topshelf records:

People Like You Verse

Ratboys GN

Queen Moo Mean Well

Wild Ones Mirror Touch

CD / LP / CS / Digital - OUT NOW

CD / LP / CS / Digital - OUT NOW

CD / LP / CS / Digital - OUT NOW

CD / LP / CS / Digital - October 6th

for merch, music & tour dates, visit topshelfrecords.co.uk

“ I F T H I N , A C H I D R

Y E Y E E

O U P U T W O R K O U C A N V E Y O U R A M S ! ”

LIGHTS ISN’T ‘JUST’ RELEASING A NEW ALBUM THIS AUTUMN - SHE’S CREATED A WHOLE NEW WORLD...

WORDS: HEATHER MCDAID. young woman is in a post-apocalyptic world where the last bastion of humanity lives. It’s an oasis in the middle of a wasteland, and there’s an insane classism, corporations rule, and they’re destroying what’s left of earth. There’s very little hope left; she’s always on the hunt for hope, looking for a reason to keep going in a world where people just numb themselves. She gets a marking on her body, and that opens up doorways to this whole bigger part of the story that might lead her on the greatest adventure of her life!”

Lights is buzzing with excitement as she talks about the world of Enaia Jin. Dystopian futures might seem an odd starting point when it comes to discussing new music, but in this case, it’s one small piece of an epic puzzle. ‘Skin & Earth’, her fifth album, is an experience – a poppy burst of fight and discovery.

It’s a story that is tied directly into an accompanying comic book series that she herself has written and illustrated, with one issue being released every month through to December.

“There’s no pamphlet that tells you how to do this!” she laughs. “I was learning as I went. I was on YouTube, doing webinars, tutorials, reading books on writing comics, reading books on panelling and pasting and drawing, learning how to do it all while I was working on the record. It was quite a journey.”

The workload was immense compared to previous records - there’s world building, learning new crafts, plotting stories in a way she had never done – but to her, it was the most carefree time for her creative output. “The most freeing thing 50

about it was my ability to speak through the character, and suddenly I tapped into a whole new side of myself as an artist.

Going into a session to write songs with a stranger is always challenging, you end up writing something that’s always a little bit less personal because you don’t know how much you can lay on the table with somebody you don’t know.

“Here, I was able to go in and say, this is the part of the story where this happens, this is what the character’s experiencing.

And then we’ll write about that. Suddenly it’s like I got to pull up this veil because I had this character to blame it on. I can write about fighting, I can write about being angry, I can write about sex – these are things that I’d never really written about in the past. Suddenly I’m able to open up this whole new side of me.”

It’s been a surreal experience. At one point, Lights sat with a pencil sketching out characters, and with ‘Skin & Earth’, she’s able to step into the world she created. “It’s so crazy!” she beams. “The first video we made was for ‘Giants’, and it was bringing the location of the comic to life. We tried to replicate some of the drawings, character design, all the ads and logos - everything in the background is all pulled from my art. To see it all come to life was the craziest thing. To see the characters in the video who will be introduced in later issues, seeing them in front of me was crazy because, I drew her!

I made her up! Then she’s in front of me.

“There’s a little dramatic re-enactment of creating a comic because that’s an interesting thing. The ratio of female to male creators is very low, so I’m already seeing tons of young women showing their art off. People in general feeling free to show their art, and you can do so much with it. I hope that people can see

if you put the work in, you can achieve your dreams!”

In creating her own world, Lights has been able to develop something deeper than music can often allow. With such a broad multimedia project, Easter Eggs can be planted throughout, little hidden gems for fans to catch and interpret. It calls to mind Ready Player One, Ernie Cline’s book which is built solely on the importance of Easter Eggs and games – crack the code, complete the game, and you inherit James Halliday’s fortune.

“That book was so good! The dude Halliday was genius. He’s hiding all these secrets, there are all these hints everywhere, and you discover more about them all as you experience it. I hadn’t actually heard about that book or the movie that’s coming out until a few weeks ago. The comic was already finished, and I was having a conversation about it with somebody, and they’re like, ‘This reminds me of Ready Player One, you have to read it.’

“I went home, and I read it. It was crazy! There’s not a lot of Easter Eggs, especially in music. You’re very limited with the medium because there’s nothing physical attached to it. With the cerebral physicality of a comic, you can hide so many visual clues. I had so much fun with that. Every page there’s something to find, whether it’s song titles hidden in the artwork, the street signs. If you look hard enough, you can really find lyrics hidden on the walls, little fun references and I’ve even drawn people’s faces in crowd scenes that are supposed to be people I know. There’s so much you can do.”

Mixing mediums was simply something she wanted to do, and something she doesn’t half-ass. The world building is

LIGHTS

Lights is refreshing, and the world she’s created is so vivid and all-consuming.

Enaia Jin’s story will be unfolding month by month in various forms. Enjoy them together, enjoy the comics and music in isolation, Lights doesn’t mind how you mix and match the formats, her main hope is that you take a step into her world. It’s quite an adventure she has waiting for you. P Lights’ album ‘Skin & Earth’ is out 22nd September.

“It’s funny because people who are unfamiliar with the comic world can assume all comics are about superheroes. There’s obviously DC and Marvel, and there are massive franchise characters that are awesome and have lasted decades, but a lot of the new comics that are coming out are about real people and flawed characters, people you can really relate to. The comics I read, I think there are a lot of opportunities to confront social issues without being blatantly obvious and overly challenging about it. A lot of the comics I love to talk about things that are important in a really cool way.

That’s the best thing about those comics.

LIGHTS ON COMICS

one part, but the real world impact is equally exciting. “So many comic fans are music fans. Duh, right? A lot of music fans are comic fans.

The crossover was due to happen.

We got an email from a comic shop in Minneapolis - it was really encouraging to hear from a female in a shop who said ‘Just wanted to say ‘Skin & Earth’ has brought in a lot of new comic fans into the shop’. You have to start somewhere. For comics, it’s getting them into the shop, and then they discover so many more comics. She said a lot more girls are coming into the shop to pick it up and that’s just awesome. It just made me really happy.”

“A lot of my favourite comics will have some of that stuff in them.

Like Saga. It’s so good. There’s a lot of challenging content in there, but it’s an amazing story.

“Another I read is Wicked and Divine, James McKelvey is the artist, he actually gave me a lot of advice on getting into the art creation process. He would send me stills of his process and how he does it so that I could learn how to do it.

“Brian K Vaughn, the writer on Saga, also wrote Ex Machina and a bunch of really cool stories.

He gave me a lot of advice for getting into the writing process, so I was able to tap some of my favourite artists and writers for advice leading into this and that helped so much.

“Couple of other ones that I read: Sex Criminals. It’s so good! The premise is the best. Basically, these two people learn they can stop time when they orgasm. They basically have sex and rob banks.

It’s the best! Highly recommend Sex Criminals.

“Then there’s actually a comic that is all female creators called Monstrous; it’s a stunning, stunning comic. It’s an American style comic but it’s got Manga references and art, it’s just beautiful. Very in-depth.

“That’s just a few that I read, but it’s very in-depth. I have a lot of comics on the go!”

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52

METZ

T H E CA L M BEFORE THE STO RM THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS TO BE UNSURE ABOUT AT THE MOMENT, BUT METZ ISN’T ONE OF THEM. WORDS: MARTYN YOUNG.

M

etz live life on the edge. The Toronto trio teeter perilously close to the brink of chaotic destruction but succeed gloriously in making their white-hot charge hit the sweet spot every time.

Perhaps living on their nerves has fuelled their third album and strongest statement yet, ‘Strange Peace’. “It’s never a comfortable time,” begins singer and guitarist Alex Edkins. “I know that I’m always on pins and needles. It’s part of it.

You open it up to the world, and you go, here, we made this.”

What they’ve made is a record that rages with pent up aggression, and this time they really know how to target it. There was no danger of Metz tiredly repeating a successful formula. “There were efforts from all three of us to break any kind of cycle that may have subconsciously built over time,” explains Alex. “We wanted to make something brand new, and I think that’s what you get with this record.”

With this album, there are some changes in Metz’ working methods that give ‘Strange Peace’ added potency and vigour.

The band wrote the same way they always do, but decamping to Chicago with Steve Albini allowed them to really cut loose. “We were at a confidence level where we didn’t feel any pressure to live up to anybody’s expectations,” says Alex.

With the band’s previous albums, 2012’s breakthrough debut and its equally invigorating 2015 follow up ‘II’, although they were extremely well received there was a degree of stress that this time, they let fuel them. “There was a lot of pressure on the second album,” says Alex.

“We stretched out, and we grew, but there were nerves involved. This time around we just threw caution to the wind, and it felt great.”

The freedom the band experienced meant they could freely indulge in all

their musical passions and inspirations, namely the kind of primal post-punk that gives their noise assault a sharper edge. “We didn’t have any fear of experimentation,” offers bassist Chris Slorach. “We felt like we could stretch on this one. We didn’t need to colour in the lines. We could push ourselves. We felt very free to play with our sound.”

There’s something beautifully simple and natural about Metz’ sound. Theirs is a kind of alchemy that only the most special bands can conjure. For the trio, though, it’s always been this way. “We come from a punk rock hardcore world,” says Alex. “There was a special energy from day one that comes through our live shows. Even when we’re alone in our little jam space in Toronto, it was always there. That special spark.”

‘Strange Peace’ highlights the band’s ability to control their wild abandon and hone it into something measured, thrilling and inspiring. “Reigning that in sometimes can be the only issue,” admits Alex. “Not always going a hundred miles an hour and cranked to eleven. That’s what we did on the first record, and we revelled in it. This time around we wanted to put the brakes on in spaces and make the album live and breathe in a different way and show patience that we hadn’t shown before.”

Lyrically, a darker hue clouds the album.

The result is a fitting soundtrack for arguably the most tumultuous global times the planet has endured for decades. “The songs all came together in the run up to the American election,” reveals Alex. “There was a tension in the air. The title refers to the calm before the storm. Strange peace is the moment before everything goes to hell; the sense of impending doom that you can hear. It was a heavy mood. It’s that title and that idea that ties the songs together.” Like all of us though, Metz can’t provide the answers we’re all just muddling through.

“Things are going to change, and I don’t know if it’s going to be for the better,” concludes Alex, echoing a fear we all have.

Ultimately though, we can all find a bit of solace in rock and the values that a band like Metz represent. “I know that when I go and see a really physical, loud live band, it’s like medicine to me,” proclaims Alex. “It’s good for my soul. It’s good for my body.”

“It’s catharsis, right?” interjects Chris.

“I hope people get that from what we do,” responds Alex. “That would be amazing.

The things I think of and the stresses and fears in my life that come through the lyrics are by no means one of a kind.

They’re absolutely universal. People can see themselves in the lyrics and relate to them that way.”

Probably the best way to relate to Metz is to check out one of their live shows.

There are lots of bands that you can say you must see them live, and for Metz, that’s certainly true. Their live experience is revelatory for band and audience. “We only know one way to play,” says Alex.

“We put everything we have into it. It sounds cheesy, but we approach every show like it’s the last we’re going to play.”

A third album is a big deal for any band, but for Metz, it represents a subtle break with the past and points a distinct way forward. “One and two could be considered part of a series, but this destroys any sort of trilogy idea,” explains Alex. “It’s the same setup, it’s the same people, but we recorded in a brand new environment using a new method we hadn’t used before,” he continues. “We had a liberated open mind. We weren’t scared, to be completely honest. We don’t need to fit into a box. We can grow and change just like everybody does. It feels like we’re doing that.” P Metz’ album ‘Strange Peace’ is out 22nd September.

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C H O OSE YOU R

OW N

AG E N DA PERSONAL DEMONS AND POLITICS BE DAMNED THE BRONX ARE FIGHTING BACK AGAINST A FUCKED UP WORLD. WORDS: LIAM KONEMANN.

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“I

THE BRONX

don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing, but we’re not really ‘planners’,” says the Bronx’s guitarist Joby Ford. “Being in two bands I think has its plusses and minuses, but probably one of the plusses is being able to step away from something for a little bit and focus on a completely different style.”

The Bronx are back. For the last four years, the band’s minds have been elsewhere, making an album and touring under the guise of their Charro-outfitted alter egos Mariachi El Bronx.

They put a shift in crafting tunes around rhythmic guitars and bright horn sections, not particularly troubled by thoughts of when they’d change gears again. Mariachi El Bronx was made to help them ward off creative stalls and keep things running smoothly, and after ‘Bronx IV’ their second project did just that. Then, sometime last year, the balance began to shift. Now, The Bronx are ready to step back into the hardcore ring and do some damage.

“You get a lot of energy from going back from one band to the other. After spending a ton of time with El Bronx and doing a bunch of shows and writing a bunch of music it always feels good to go back to Bronx and make a badass record, and let out some aggression,” notes vocalist Matt Caughthran. “They definitely feed each other that way.”

The lighter, more optimistic project fuels the fire of the Bronx’s rage, and after their time away they had plenty of furious energy in reserve. This time, though, the record felt a little different. While their new album ‘V’ is as sharp as ever, it’s also a swirling mass of lyrical themes and sonic influences that can be difficult to pick apart - even to the band themselves. Since Joby is a graphic designer by trade, the band have always done their album art in-house, and each cover is more or less an exact match to what he hears on the record.

So when it came time to design his latest piece, Joby realised things had shifted.

“I’m more of a graphic guy than a fine artist, but this album I broke out my art supplies, which I haven’t done for a long time. The sounds on this record, I didn’t want to do a graphic thing, and so I used alcohol inks – it’s just pigment mixed with alcohol, so it evaporates fast and kind of blends,” he explains. “The songs and the process conjure up this idea in my head, and I didn’t want super clean lines.”

In the Bronx’s own thousand-word picture, ‘V’ isn’t exactly clear cut. But then, neither is anything else these days. “I guess that’s our lives; things are bleeding into each other now.

Everything is smearing into everything.” Joby considers. “It’s just constant. I kind of stopped looking at the internet. Every time I pop 55

something open on my phone I think the world’s gonna end.”

‘V’ encapsulates the mess of life in 2017 – the constant barrage of bad news and worse people, endless iPhone notifications and news updates. In the past, the Bronx have aimed their anger at the state of music, older punks losing their edge, or the instability of the future. But this isn’t an ‘old man yells at cloud’ type of deal. The Bronx use anger to move past the things that bite. To stand up again. ‘V’ sees the band widen their scope of their rage, but what are they pushing back against these days?

Matt considers this for a moment. “Politics is one of them. Depression is another one; religion is yet another one. And just shitty people in general, you know?” he decides. “Those are the four main offenders.”

“Hating the fact that no one can get along,” Joby adds.

“That’s probably the general disgust. The world is just insane to me. Maybe it’s the fact that we’re older and we’re just more focused on all of the things that are happening. No matter if you want it to or not, I think that your surroundings or the things that you put into your eyes or ears do affect what comes out of your hands or voice.”

Still, Matt is careful to point out that The Bronx have no interest in making other people’s minds up for them.

They’re the vessel, a conduit for anger and confusion.

“I’ve never been one to get on the soapbox and say what’s right or wrong, because that’s one of the major problems I had with religion growing up. Everybody deciding who was right and who was wrong, who’s going to heaven and who’s going to hell,” he says.

“I’m not trying to tell anybody how to vote or how to live their life, but things are pretty fucked up right now.

“It’s definitely a time to use your brain and to arrive at your own conclusion of how 56

you want to believe and how you want to move forward.

That’s what this record is all about. It’s a weird place in the States right now. But it’s a good time to make music; it’s a good time to bury yourself in electric guitar and feedback and scream your face off.”

Joby agrees. “It’s a politically charged time, and so I think thirty years from now, forty years from now, people will look back on this period of music, and there’ll be a common thread,” he says. “A lot of... I don’t want to say protest songs, but people are just being like, ‘What the fuck’.”

He laughs, a little bit bewildered at humanity’s ability to make a mess of things.

‘V’ is the Bronx trying to make sense of that chaos, while championing what they believe is worth fighting for. In a time of anger and upheaval, the album is their immovable object in the face of the world’s unstoppable force.

“It is a form of resistance,” Matt decides. “It’s also a statement that this isn’t gonna stop us. It’s about being proud of what you do and who you are, and where you wanna go to.

It’s about your own agenda.

It means a lot, man. We had to fight hard for this one.

The Bronx personally have gone through a lot in the last couple years, so this record is us in the trenches fighting for what we believe in.”

While both Matt and Joby are happy to note that the actual process of writing and recording ‘V’ was smoother than ever, outside of their music the band faced their share of obstacles.

“Personally I went through some hard times with my own mental health, and it’s something that I think you have to be proud of fighting through,” says Matt. “You have to make it matter, otherwise, it’ll weigh you down.”

Recent single ‘Sore Throat’ directly deals with this struggle, capturing a manic mind as it unravels. Despite

lyrics like “send me an angel”, ‘Sore Throat’ isn’t what you’d call a cry for help. It is the help. The Bronx are coming out swinging.

“It helps me to write through it. It helps me to put anger in it, you know? Honestly.” says Matt. “I feel relieved to be able to talk about stuff like suicide, because it helps me put a leash on it. It helps me control it.

“For me, that’s where I believe in punk rock. Growing up that’s what drew me to punk music, and that’s what I fell in love with. It was always super raw and real. There’s a certain sort of power that comes from that confrontation. That’s what I believe in,” he adds firmly. “So for me, being able to write about putting a gun in your mouth and doing all that shit, it’s liberating. A song like ‘Sore Throat’ is badass because it’s just fucking in your face, there’s no bullshit involved with it. There’s no fucking theory; there’s no therapist, there’s no nothing. It’s just pure rage. That’s the place where I think you can draw a lot of power from, that you’re able to control it.”

This year, with the loss of both Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington, this semblance of control has felt all the more valuable. The Bronx know the weight of their work, and they aren’t about to take it for granted. Matt’s making sure of that.

“Life is a heavy thing. It’s a heavy, heavy thing. It’s beautiful, but it’s also very fucking intense and very fucking heavy. It’s something that I find empowering to take head on and write about, and try to smash it,” he says. P The Bronx’ album ‘V’ is out 22nd September.

THE BRONX.

“ EV E RY T I M E I SO M ET H I N G O P E N P H O N E I T H I N K T H E G O N N A E N D

P O P O N M Y WO RL D’S ”

57

“OUR BIGGEST H O P E I S T H AT W E CA N M A K E A DIFFERENCE” THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE... TOOK THEIR FEELINGS ABOUT LAST YEAR’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND CHANNELLED IT INTO NEW ALBUM, ‘ALWAYS FOREIGN’. IT WAS A BIG WAKE UP CALL, SAYS DAVID BELLO. WORDS: STEVEN LOFTIN. t’s no secret that America has been going through some difficult times since the election; there’s been protest after protest as those horrified by the actions of the latest president are trying to regain control of their country. The World Is Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die’s David Bello is one of the many that found his life changing back in November, and in more ways than one.

Towards the end of last year, founding member Nicole Shanholtzer left the band, plunging TWIABP into an uncertain

58

future. Along with this, the impending election gave David and co. a whole new world of worry. It forced them to reassess what the future for TWIABP looked like, a moment that’s resulted in one of the band’s strongest releases to date.

“We’d gone through this rough patch with the band and uncertainty, and we all finally got in the same room together, and it felt good to be all together writing these songs,” David starts. “We were all worried. There were a lot of things going on in our personal lives at the time and that all got reflected in what was going on with the band.”

Personal issues haven’t been at the forefront of TWIABP’s output until now, which is surprising given they more often than not hit the nail on the head

when it comes to emotion.

“My instinct is to avoid writing about specific elements of my life in ways that are very clearly ‘This is about this, and this is about this’,” David says. “I try to avoid that because I feel that’s not the way I learnt to make music and write lyrics. The fact that we’re able to put those in there in such a way that it is relevant outside of ourselves is a big change in the way we conceptualise what our songs are about.”

What ultimately led to their upcoming third album, ‘Always Foreign’, coming

T W I A B P.

to fruition was the election. “I started getting these ideas for what songs could be about. We were all together when Donald Trump got elected, and we were like, this is a big wake up call.

The people in the country who hold these beliefs, these bigoted thoughts, having power in that election - that was almost like the elephant in the room, we couldn’t not write or talk about it.

Even when we were just setting up our gear, moving gear from the practice van, to our houses or whatever it was, we were talking about it because we were worried and scared.”

How hard they were going to delve into a more politicised version of themselves was up for debate. Adding a personal layer was integral to creating a more relatable protest. “It was like, if the only way we can cover political things is through these personal and private things, then that’s what we’ve got to do,” David explains of one song in particular, ‘The Future’, which features a chorus of “the future just got here”. Focusing on what’s to come, trying to give it a positive spin; at the very core, it began with the question of “what even is the world going to be like? And the country, and cities we live in, what are they going to be like? We’re all thrown into the chaos, pretty much.”

not, even if we’d tried to avoid political messages, it would’ve still been there somehow,” David continues. “It would’ve seeped in, and it would’ve maybe even come out feeling stronger by a mixture of trying to avoid it. We were all on the same page and took that and ran with it.”

Every track has a level you can attribute to politics, but most importantly, a personal message that hammers home the point. Poignant moment ‘Gram’, looks at the negative effects of selfmedicating mental health. Throughout, there are hidden layers for you to find and question or relate a part of yourself to it. “Our biggest hope is that we can make a difference. I feel like that’s everyone’s hope and something everyone does, but for us, with this album, it feels really strong with us. We have a chance of doing something, and we want that really badly to have some impact on the world.”

It’s a fitting sentiment considering the band’s name, and along with the fact that they proclaim on their debut album, 2013’s ‘Whenever, If Ever’ that “the world is a beautiful place, but we have to make it that way”. “I was thinking about that recently because someone was talking to me about that line and it really hit me that we do have to do something,”

David affirms. “I don’t know of a better way to really put it than we did. For the potential to be met in society, you have to rise to it. I guess that’s like a corny motivational thing, but yeah, there’s no way just to sit back and let things happen and hope things get better and expect them to get better.”

While the world around TWIABP remains in a purgatory state, waiting for either side to show their hand and bring out, in David’s own words, a “cataclysmic event either way”, the band’s future is more focused once again. “I think that going through a line-up change, and we have done line-up changes in the past, but every time that happens it’s never fully predictable what’s going to happen. This time was [far] more unpredictable.

“I feel like the fact that we made it through that, it brought us all closer together, and I’ve never like felt more of a family with the other members than I have now.” P The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die’s album ‘Always Foreign’ is out 29th September.

Not having this political edge was never an option. “I feel like if we’d tried to

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RATED BRAND NEW SCIENCE FICTION

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

B 60

eeeee

rand New didn’t always want to be heretics. But then life happened.

For a while, they just wanted to survive high school, frustrated and blaming others for the struggles.

That small town bubble didn’t last for long though and by the time ‘Deja…’ rolled around, they’d seen more of the world, turned inwards, feared loss and started asking questions about self.

The wonder fell on ‘Devil and God…’ as they took a step back, looked towards the sky and asked why, trying to figure out right, wrong and truth while ‘Daisy’ just wanted them to burn it all down, their hope fading fast and the ground disappearing beneath their feet.

The past sixteen years have taken their toll on Brand New. The pieces of heart and soul shared on each release were never returned, and the big questions

remain unanswered. People have found solace in the band’s struggle, looking towards them for comfort and community, but sometimes not feeling alone isn’t enough when you look towards heaven and are met with an eternal nothing.

After four albums looking up for a truth, Brand New turned to ‘Science Fiction’.

From the fuzzy opening reel that sees dreams picked apart for meaning under a microscope, the band stop looking for a reason and start enjoying what they can touch, grasp and lean on. It instantly feels more grounded. As they push back, “don’t cut me up and tell me that it’s okay,” there’s peace to be found. A repeated message that they just don’t care anymore. Not because they’ve given up, but because there’s nothing to be gained in life by finding a purpose to it all.

In a way, it sees the band come full

circle and find themselves at home. Just this time around, there’s no frustration, no blaming others and the walls are their own design. The door is left open.

“We’re not separate,” promises ‘451’.

“Here’s a comforting thought,” offers ‘Same Logic/Teeth’. Littered throughout the record are ropes to pull yourself up.

“If it’s breaking your heart, if nothing is fun. Don’t lose hope, my son,” insists Jesse, hand outstretched and hope intact.

Eternity is a lie and hell is digital but who cares. Brand New have translated all of their dreams into reality, without worrying about the why. Somehow they’ve found themselves back on earth, full of love. It’s never going to stop, and that’s okay. The whole of ‘Science Fiction’ rages with life.

Grabbing all it can, while it can, it dances regardless of where the sun sits in the sky. It takes a deep breath, looks around at what’s around them and smiles.

We know we can’t, but that doesn’t stop the lurching ‘Out Of Mana’ declare that we all “hope we can do this forever.”

After all, what’s life without a little hope? Ali Shutler

CASSELS

EPITHET

Big Scary Monsters

eeee A collaboration that’s been more than a decade in the making, Cassels have finally come to fruition on what is technically their first full-length release. As the opening indie-punk twang of ‘Coup’ segues into its furious counterpart ‘Let’, guitarist/singer/older brother Jim throws in more than his two cents on the polarising matter of Brexit: “The decision has come through to reduce our flag to white, and replace the red and blue with a bulldog fucking a lion.” This is, of course, just one of many good-humoured but scarily on-point diatribes from Jim, who reaches his vitriolic peak on ‘Where Baseball Was Invented’; a furious ode to Chipping Norton and its Tory contingent. Delivered not so much with a tongue in cheek, but with a tongue stuck firmly out while its owner defiantly flicks the Vs, ‘Epithet’ grows more visceral and vital with every burst of scathing honesty. Danny Randon

CHELSEA WOLFE

HISS SPUN

Sargent House

eee California’s gothic folk rocker, Chelsea Wolfe, is trying to make sense of a crazy world with her sixth record, ‘Hiss Spun’. But rather than deliver a stateof-the-nation address, Wolfe has turned inwards and explored her demons in an attempt to reign in the chaos around her. Gone is the folk twang of her early recordings, replaced instead by a haunting, ethereal delivery. Like a distant fluorescent lamp, flickering in the corner of a dark, empty warehouse, it’s unnerving but intriguing all the same. Speaking ahead of ‘Hiss Spun’’s release, Wolfe proclaims: “You’re just

HOT WATER MUSIC

LIGHT IT UP

Rise Records

eeee After an extended hiatus from recording, ‘Light It Up’ marks Florida punks Hot Water Music’s second studio release since reconvening and their first selfproduced since their 1993 debut. In the interim, vocalist Chuck Ragan found recognition as the leader of the Revival

A SHORT Q&A WITH...

HOT HOT WATER WATER MUSIC MUSIC

HOT WATER MUSIC ARE BACK WITH AN ALBUM THAT SEES THEM GO BACK TO BASICS.

Hey Jason, have you had a good summer so far? What’ve you guys been up to?

Yeah, it’s been a good summer. We all have pretty busy lives outside of the band - families, day jobs, other bands - so we’ve been doing our own respective things while still making plans for HWM. It’s a balancing act that we very narrowly succeed at.

It’s been a little while since your last album, 2012’s ‘Exister’.

We’ve been trying for about three years to get this record scheduled, written, and recorded, haha. Like I was saying, when you add in families, jobs, and then throw a five-hour flight to have us all in the same room, it’s not easy to get things moving. Also, we’re in our 40s now, so we move slower.

How did you find self-producing

Tour, a revolving cast of punk and hardcore singers stripping their songs down alongside Ragan’s fiddle and double bass player.

If acoustic clap-along satisfied Ragan’s creative itch in the time away from his bandmates, when all four men are back in the same room the acoustics are tucked away, and Hot Water Music come out firing on all cylinders.

This is Hot Water Music as they hear themselves, and 25 years into their career they sound as vital as ever. Dillon Eastoe

‘Light It Up’, and what was your favourite thing about doing it yourselves?

The main thought behind selfproducing was to - as derivative and cheesy as it sounds - get back to basics a little. To just write the songs, record them, and put them out without over-thinking everything. ’Fuel for the Hate Game’ is the last time we self-produced, so we were pretty excited to see what we could make happen on our own 20 years later. Our FOH engineer - Ryan Williams - owns Black Bear Studio in Gainesville. He’s heard us more than anyone else for the past ten years, so it was a super comfortable environment to record in.

Do you approach writing songs in the same way you always have, or is that something that has evolved over time?

We finally caught up with technology, and all four of us have home recording capabilities (we have a luddite). It’s evolved over time. We used to write five days a week when we all lived in the same town and did the band full-time, and now we exchange demo ideas over email and edit them down and then get together for a few days to finalise things as a band. There are pros and cons to both. I think working over email allows everyone to have more time to process everyone else’s ideas, but you do lose out on some of the spontaneity.

Do you have big plans for the rest of the year?

One weekend at a time, we will play some shows. P

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bombarded with constant bad news, people getting fucked over and killed for shitty reasons or for no reason at all, and it seems like the world has been in tears for months and then you remember… it’s been fucked since the beginning.” ‘Hiss Spun’’s certainly a contender for your ‘Nuclear Armageddon’ playlist. Alex Thorp

CIRCA SURVIVE

THE AMULET

Hopeless Records

eeee Six albums and well over a decade deep, Circa Survive still seem capable of combining the difficult and accessible.

Opener ‘Lustration’ soars and drives in a way that proves, with ‘The Amulet’, their fire burns as bright as ever. As if that was ever in doubt. Creating light out of darker times, vocalist Anthony Green refers to the record as “a bit of a rebirth”, and it’s easy to see why. While it’s still definitely Circa Survive, there feels like there’s definite purpose in where they’re going. With chaos and adversity on the agenda, finding a way to shine is the kind of challenge which drives them to new heights. Dan Harrison

COUNTERPARTS

YOU’RE NOT YOU ANYMORE

Pure Noise Records

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ENTER SHIKARI

THE SPARK

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t might be the end of the world, but Enter Shikari are feeling fine. At least, they’re trying to be. For their fifth album, the band have cut through the noise, dialled back their own, and searched for a little bit of space.

Title track ‘The Spark’ brings the album to life with a whirring new dawn rising, but there’s still a crunch of gravel underneath. That connection to the earth remains throughout, no matter how far or wide Shikari spread themselves.

‘The Sights’, all hyperactive bounce and jangling excitement, is out searching for more. Name-dropping philosophers and screaming their own mantras, this record makes sure every moment matters.

Despite the doom that fizzes, whirrs

and stalks ‘The Spark’, the record remains hopeful. Musically upbeat and singing through the sadness, problems are confronted, and Shikari offer support. From ‘Airfields’ startling burst, decay and eventual lift off to the runaway reflection of ‘Undercover Agents’, the only way out is through. Elsewhere, Shikari bring the heat with the fantasy fallout of ‘The Revolt Of The Atoms’ and the pointed finger grin of ‘Rabble Rouser’.

Easier to swallow but far from sugarcoated, ‘The Spark’ is the most daring thing Shikari have done ‘cos it sees them breaking out of their shell and speaking far beyond the converted. There’s no safety here, but Shikari have always relished the danger and the thrill of the chase.

Game on. Lauren Donaldson

Ten years from their formation and five albums down the line, Counterparts are still on a journey of self-discovery.

Their coming of age came with third album, ‘The Difference Between Hell and Home’, which saw them distil their sound into something unique and tangible, a raw release that meshed the best of their hardcore sound with hints of their metalcore roots.

Four years later, ‘You’re Not You Anymore’ feels like a beautiful progression from this peak. Speaking of the new album, lead singer Brendan promised music that was “short, heavy, and to the point.” Counterparts have not disappointed. ‘You’re Not You Anymore’ is catchier and cleaner than their earlier releases, but hasn’t lost the honesty and aching intensity that defined their sound. With every record, Counterparts find new ways to grow, and ‘You’re Not You Anymore’ marks an exciting new turn in their journey.

Eleanor Langford

DEATH FROM ABOVE

OUTRAGE! IS NOW

Last Gang Records/eOne

eeee We should probably be grateful that Death From Above have simply

released an album a mere three years after their previous effort, rather than their customary decade between records. The fact that it’s actually pretty damn good is almost a bonus.

Now minus their ‘1979’ postfix, the sort-of-rock-sort-of-indie-sort-of-punk two piece may be a more common foil in 2017, but none can hold a light to DFA. While ‘Outrage Is Now’ isn’t an album to take the mainstream crown, it’s certainly enough to shake loose a couple of fillings. A record fit to carry their name, whatever it may now be.

Dan Harrison

FOO FIGHTERS

CONCRETE AND GOLD

Columbia Records

eee To hear Dave Grohl talk about ‘Concrete And Gold’, you’d think it marked a revolution for his band of FM radio titans. In truth, it both does and doesn’t. While there are new tricks, one of Foo Fighters’ greatest strengths is their ability to foster a genuine sense of identity to their music. So while ‘The Line’ is different, it’s not that different.

It’s still definitively them. That said, it’s doubtful the band’s acolytes are looking for a massive shake-up. What they want are anthemic 90s rock bangers. With that as their currency - as lead single ‘Run’ shows so well - Foo Fighters rarely fail to deliver. Stephen Ackroyd

FOUR YEAR STRONG

SOME OF YOU WILL LIKE THIS, SOME OF YOU WON’T

Pure Noise Records

eeee ‘Some Of You Will Like This, Some Of You Won’t’. That’s a brave title to stick on a collection of songs, but then Four Year Strong have the right to be more confident beneath the surface with their collection of unheard and reimagined tracks. Kicking off with an unplugged take on ‘It Must Really Suck To Be…’, it’s the sound of a band exploring different horizons, and it works. The experience may be different, but no less effective.

Those new directions on old favourites take nothing away from the originals, but uncover new perspectives. Nothing lost, plenty gained - but proof eternal that Four Year Strong are much more than just another pop punk band. Dan Harrison

METZ

STRANGE PEACE

Sub Pop

eeee METZ have no interest in creating a meticulous, polished pearl of an album.

It’s probably one of the reasons they

SLØTFACE

TRY NOT TO FREAK OUT

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S

løtface didn’t stop moving. Early EPs ‘Sponge State’ and ‘Empire Records’ captured a band hurtling forward. Then they hit pause. Returning home to their parents to spend six months writing their debut, it could have all gone so wrong. And while ‘Try Not To Freak Out’ deals in the devastation of growing up, Sløtface make sense of it all.

Somehow balancing their ‘Bad Party’ spirit with the wisdom and connection they’ve forged through years together in a van, ‘Try Not To Freak Out’ is a gloriously energetic blitz of finding yourself. Just when they think they’ve got it all figured out, new horizons appear and throw them back to the start. They wake up at night,

consumed by guilt, they worry about losing connection, and they hope a house party will play Beyoncé.

It’s the closing reflection of ‘Slumber’ and ‘Backyard Adventures’ that really elevates ‘Try Not To Freak Out’ from high school movie soundtrack to something breathtakingly brilliant, though. “Giddy with companionship” and knowing that nights like this can’t last forever, the group huddle and charge to new adventures.

Dancing at the end of their world, Sløtface are relentlessly optimistic and very much in love with the road before them. There’s a community embrace to ‘Try Not To Freak Out’, an importance in their tales and while the questions remain unanswered, the search is never a lonely one. Poised and ready for action, watch them run.

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decided to record ‘Strange Peace’, their third studio release, live, straight to tape in Chicago with Steve Albini, a guy so emblematic of loud, confrontational music, he’s basically the fluffy dice hanging in its car window. Yet, despite the general intensity of it all, they’re a band, understandably, in that refined stage of their career - you only have to listen to stand-out track ‘Cellophane’ and you’ll be shocked to hear a little something called ‘melody’.

Now don’t worry, METZ haven’t lost their edge just yet; their sound is still consistently uninhibited, urgent and teetering just on the precipice of danger yet the band themselves have noted how this album is their most diverse yet and where ‘II’ was raw and potent, ‘Strange Peace’ is a seminar in artistic maturation with them honing in on all the elements that make them so adored. Metz are trying to find some peace in the chaos; a task they handle gloriously. Harley Cassidy

NOTHING BUT THIEVES

BROKEN MACHINE

RCA

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ARCANE ROOTS

MELANCHOLIA HYMNS

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rom its first note, ‘Melancholia Hymns’ is a bold new direction for Arcane Roots. Now drenched in sprawling electronic soundscapes, the trio have achieved a sound that is both cinematic and devastating in equal measure.

A lot of ‘Roots fans would have no problem with signing up for another album of huge riffs and chaos but they have elected to twist it up early.

Now, with that extra dimension in which to explore these deep, atmospheric, trenches it makes the ride to the peaks much more fulfilling.

Admittedly, the ten tracks are, in part, less immediate but that makes for a fascinating prospect with songs like ‘Matter’ and ‘Curtains’

unravelling into colossal giants. But then, the explosive ‘Everything [All At Once]’ and ‘Solemn’ are a reverse of that as they sizzle with lingering outros.

At the pinnacle of everything great in ‘Melancholia Hymns’ is ‘Indigo’ in which they somehow manage to forego riffs yet remain just a powerful with this swirling synthpop tune that is so far removed from what you know of Arcane Roots but still manages to be them.

For a second album, it’s certainly a statement. It has such an allencompassing variety of influences that it’s difficult to fully comprehend.

It requires an open mind as the trio have approached everything you thought you knew about them and flipped it in this meticulously crafted work of art. Alex Bradley

Second albums are supposed to be difficult, but then Nothing But Thieves aren’t afraid of rolling their sleeves up for a scrap. Their debut exploded in a way that was impossible to predict, but with their follow-up, they’ve nailed down what works. ‘Broken Machine’ is fearsome in its determination to succeed - from the immediate urgency of ‘Amsterdam’ to the equally fevered ‘I’m Not Made By Design’ and ‘I Was Just A Kid’, it’s a record that can throw a good punch, but that’s not its only trick. The more sedate tones of ‘Sorry’ and the rawness of its title track prove Nothing But Thieves have more than one road to travel - but all of them lead back to success. Dan Harrison

PROPHETS OF RAGE

PROPHETS OF RAGE

Caroline International

ee By their pedigree, Prophets of Rage should be something special.

Individually, they’ve smashed down boundaries, sparked rebellion and reinvented whole genres. Should being the operative word, because on their debut album they’re doing anything but.

Where before these were musicians who operated on taught, tight, tense triggers, here they feel bloated with portent.

Lacking in subtlety, at a time where a revolution is needed, Prophets of Rage don’t so much feel like the spark to start a fire so much as a broken match trying to light sodden leaves. Dan Harrison

PROTOMARTYR

RELATIVES IN DESCENT

Domino

eee In an age where disinformation and warped media talk are an omnipresent force, Protomartyr know that existential dread is a many-headed beast and it’s this general unease that is stamped all over the Detroit band’s fourth album, ‘Relatives In Descent’.

Their debut release with Domino isn’t any less potent, but it’s a hell of a lot more complex. For the most part, their pedigree has lain largely on Joe Casey’s lyrical work, which is again, unfaltering here. They’re one of those bands with the age old belief that if you’re in a position to make music, then you might as well say something worthwhile.

Protomartyr have continued to evolve, but you’d be a fool to think they’d ditch the moody atmospherics that shroud their back catalogue, especially when there’s so much shit going on in the world. They’re a band speaking for now without being glaringly obvious about it, a trait that only comes with a large amount of genuine credibility. Harley Cassidy

SEAWAY

VACATION

Pure Noise Records

eeee ‘Vacation’, the third record from Seaway, sees the band stride towards a mature

iteration of their usual pop punk, while looking back to more nostalgic times.

Assisted by Mike Green, a man who has also worked with fellow Ontario natives Sum 41, this record is a true ode to the genre.

Opening single ‘Apartment’ encompasses the vibe of ‘Vacation’ – complete with big choruses, a cheeky tambourine and swinging guitar riffage with more buoyancy than a rum-filled pirate ship.

This revisit to influences such as Weezer is exemplified through the upbeat ‘Something Wonderful’, a track about the messiness and tragedy of imperfect relationships.

This record is a testament to Seaway’s progression, with ‘Vacation’ a treat that’s pushing them towards a status of poppunk big guns. Nariece Sanderson

SLEEPING WITH SIRENS

GOSSIP

Warner Bros. Records

eeee Sleeping With Sirens are hardly a band who have toiled a way in the unpopular niches of rock music, but with their latest full-length ‘Gossip’, there’s no doubt about it - they’re aiming firmly for the stars. It’s no shock. Last album ‘Madness’ set them up perfectly, shifting the units while keeping their ship steady. If ever they were going to make the break, it’s now. Sometimes, it’s the point where a band loses their thread, forgetting what

made them special in the first place. Not with SWS though. The sparkle suits them to a tee - no more so on the opening title track, all hand claps and sparkle.

Sleeping With Sirens 2.0 are playing in the big leagues now. Dan Harrison

THE BRONX

V

Cooking Vinyl/ATO Records

eeee There are fewer bands out there who can stake a claim to The Bronx’s consistency as there are albums from the Californian five-piece. Sure, the four-year waits between records can be excruciating, but whenever Matt Caughthran and his gang of punk rock miscreants finally deliver on the goodies, it’s worth every second which, let’s face it, you could’ve spent listening to their back catalogue on a ceaselessly entertaining loop.

It’s yet another case of quality over quantity with ‘BRVNX’, an album which is testament to the outstanding sense of balance that The Bronx have maintained throughout the last couple of records.

One minute they sound like Refused, the next they sound like AC/DC. There are so many things that could’ve easily thrown The Bronx off piste, most notably the departure of drummercum-co-founder Jorma Vik. However, once they storm into ‘Night Drop at the Glue Factory’ with not a second’s delay, it seems like things are going to be quite alright with new sticksmith David Hidalgo Jr on board.

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WOLF ALICE

VISIONS OF A LIFE

Dirty Hit

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Wolf Alice’s first album, ‘My Love Is Cool’, arrived in an avalanche of excitement. Only denied the top spot in the UK album charts by circumstance (Florence + The Machine’s stand in for an injured Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters at Glastonbury generated enough interest to push her album back to the summit), its influence on follow-up ‘Visions Of A Life’ is less sonic, and more about the freedom to express themselves further. There’s a scope to Wolf Alice’s second full-length that other bands would be too scared to attempt. From the soaring brilliance of opener ‘Heavenward’ to the beat driven spoken word rumble of ‘Sky Musings’, this isn’t what playing it safe sounds like. And yet, when they bring their arsenal into full focus, Wolf Alice prove they can do direct too. ‘Yuk Foo’ thunders like an angry itch, while ‘Space & Time’ eats anthemic indie for breakfast. It’s ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’ that really stands out, though. Crystal clear, like the album it’s from, it’s nothing short of remarkable. Stephen Ackroyd

The disciplined crunch of the riffs on ‘Two Birds’ and ‘Channel Islands’ - paired with Caughthran’s can’t-fuck-with-us attitude - stands them toe-to-toe with some of the greatest rock and roll bands on the planet. On the flipside of that, ‘Fill The Tanks’ and ‘Sore Throat’ throw everything into overdrive and take matters back to the mean streets of The Bronx’s hardcore glory days. Not that those days are over yet; far from it, in fact.

It may be a touch less immediate than the records that preceded it, but ‘V’ is a grower of an album for all the right reasons. What you hear with The Bronx is what you get: fuelled by blood, sweat and beers, they have never sounded so stoked to be alive. Danny Randon

THE DARKNESS

PINEWOOD SMILE

Cooking Vinyl

eee Cast your mind back to 2004, and The Darkness had just headlined Reading & Leeds on the back of their ubiquitous debut ‘Permission to Land’, Justin Hawkins’ cheesy grin plastered across TV screens and award shows. Fast-forward just three years and the wheels had come off; Hawkins’ battle with drugs, a changing line-up and the ‘difficult second album’ leading the band to go their separate ways. But a clean-living Hawkins got the band back together in 2011, and they’re now releasing their fifth album.

Musically, not a lot’s changed in the interim. AC-DC riffs, hair-raising falsetto and squealing guitar solos abound on this new collection of songs. For all their silliness (“lay down with me Barbara, underneath the candelabra” Hawkins howls on one track), The Darkness are a band that made it on big singles, and ‘Pinewood Smile’ contains a few of their catchiest choruses in years.

It’s hard to shake the feeling however that in 2017 their audience is largely the same as it was in those heady mid-2000s days where they’d pack out arenas, and accordingly, their live set always leans heavily on that debut album. But then The Darkness have never been about reinventing the wheel, and here they’re more than content to strap themselves in and enjoy the ride, as long as it lasts. Dillon Eastoe

THE MOVIELIFE

CITIES IN SEARCH OF A HEART

Rise Records

eee Even at their incendiary best, there was a lyrical honesty about The Movielife that set them apart from their peers.

Wearing their hearts on their sleeves, there was a sincerity that burned bright and true. ‘Cities in Search Of A Heart’ is no exception, even if the music is missing the group’s trademark bounce.

Indeed, ‘Cities…’ sounds a million miles away from the explosive ‘This Time Next Year’ and enormous breakout ‘Forty Hour

Train Back to Penn’. Of course, a decade and a half down the line, this was always likely to be the case, and while ‘Cities…’ displays a level of musical maturation on the likes of ‘Ghosts in the Photographs’, it still rages hard when pushed.

Ultimately, ‘Cities…’ is an enjoyable return from one of the early noughties most entertaining pop punk acts. And, while age has perhaps dulled the fire, the sincerity remains undiluted. For a band that relies on that personal fan connection, it’s a more than pleasing take-home message. Rob Mair

THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE AND I AM NO LONGER AFRAID TO DIE

ALWAYS FOREIGN

Epitaph

eeee From the atmospheric beginnings of opener, ‘I’ll Make Everything’ to the mental health focussed ‘Gram’, The World Is A Beautiful Place... use ‘Always Foreign’ to confront topics that are rife.

Raw and unbridled, the lyrics aren’t the only hard-hitting aspect. Musically, the collective manage to give every track its own tangible feeling, be it through soft, subtle horns or a chorus of guitars that erupt out of nowhere, delivering euphoria and hope. You also can’t miss the underlying ferocity that comes throughout - as if time is running out, an idea that feels too real these days.

‘Always Foreign’ is a listen that demands your complete attention.

‘TWIABP’ never fail to convey what they need to, and on their third album, they’re reaching even greater heights.

Steven Loftin

WEAVES

WIDE OPEN

Memphis Industries

eee Sprightly, euphoric riffs aplenty, Weaves’ second album is a testament to their ability to craft the brightest of guitar pop. Choruses that erupt into melodic chaos, delivering a sweet guaranteed pay off, ‘Wide Open’ is a well-presented follow-up to last year’s debut. The sharp turns in the swaggering verses instil the attitude that Weaves aren’t just here for a good time. ‘Motherfucker’ repeats the phrase over a rather intimidating atmospheric line; ‘Scream’, which features Canadian throat singer Tanya Tagaq, is a track that at times borders manic. Although haphazard at times, the experimentation on show here indicates that Weaves are far ahead of the game. Steven Loftin

FRANK IERO & THE PATIENCE

KEEP THE COFFINS COMING EP

eee

‘K

eep The Coffins Coming’ is a glimpse at the time between ‘stomachaches’ and ‘Parachutes’, where Frank Iero and the cellabrationx-Patience worked out where they were going next. As the band now approach the post-Parachutes crossroads of ‘Where next?’, it feels the fitting time to release this snapshot.

‘I’m A Mess’ is rougher and raw around the edges, a fledgeling version of the song that would be streamlined for the upcoming album. It’s got the Steve Albini touch of capturing the vibe of a room - like the basement jam version, the live version. ‘Best Friends Forever’ came to life years ago with Frank’s kids in tow, helping with the writing and dare we say stealing the show in

the video, and here it evolves into the full band version. ‘No Fun Club’ leaps off with some of the ‘Danger Days’ swagger and Frank yells and shifts gears into the punk revelry he excels in. ‘You Are My Sunshine’ is sickeningly chirpy at the best of times, but put the Iero twist on it, and it becomes a mellow, stripped back version of itself to close proceedings.

The EP saw Frank and co. pondering their future; it was never about perfection, but capturing a snapshot in the band’s lives and a rare opportunity to work with their idols. Rarely do you see the middle step between albums, you just see the endgame transformation. But here it is – the unapologetic, raw and eclectic bridge of Frank Iero’s solo work, the bones of what the band moved on to be.

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READING 2017 WO R D S : A L I S H U T L E R , J E SS I CA G O O D M A N , ST E P H E N AC K ROY D, ST E V E N LO F T I N .

P H O T O S : C O R I N N E C U M M I N G , R YA N J O H N S T O N , S A R A H L O U I S E B E N N E T T .

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Yonaka are born from dark rooms, grimy pubs and the want for something more. Their hypnotic blend of digital nightmares and electrified euphoria has been slowly gathering over the past few months and today; it’s unleashed.

The edges have been polished, sharpened to a glistening point as the band come into a fierce focus.

‘Bubblegum’ pops and whizzes, deceptively sour and leaving a lasting taste as the tent cries out for more.

‘Ignorance’ dissolves, changing shape and direction but never losing its need for attention while ‘Wouldn’t Wanna Be Ya’ is dripping in attitude from a band who’ve tasted the spotlight, and want more.

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Mallory Knox belong on the biggest of stages. It’s not just because their songs swell, bloom and burst. It’s not because they’ve done their time.

Mallory Knox belong on the biggest of stages because it’s where they look most at home.

The band beam when they’ve got something to command, the likes of ‘Lighthouse’ and ‘Shout At The Moon’ tremble with a grander purpose and the more space the band have to play with, the more fun it all becomes.

Rather than simple polish though, Mallory Knox take to the Main Stage carried with a sense of freedom. It might be the sunshine; it might be new song ‘Sugar’, flecked with Whatever it is about today though, Mallory Knox look utterly at home and totally in command.

Air raid sirens signal the beginning of Palisades’ set. Unfortunately for the New Jersey band, it’s one of the loudest sounds that will happen.

Technical issues mean that much of their setup isn’t getting the serious speaker treatment, and instead, they

sound like a band in a garage – which weirdly suits them and their hardcore standings.

Technical issues aside, the draw they have is undeniable. Circle pits and dancing are still prevalent even when you feel they should struggle. Palisades completely dominate their crowd, and it’s a mutual love and admiration that helps them have one hell of a time.

Londoners Puppy are here to do what they do best: rock out, pure and simple. An eager crowd gives them a warm welcome that easily shows the many steps forward the band have made - from vital releases to signing with Spinefarm Records. There’s little effort required on their part; the crowd is with them. Today’s sunny Reading show is just another small step in their bigger story; one that will keep them moving on up.

A band who have a serious amount of hype at the moment, Counterfeit pack out the Pit Stage. Frontman Jamie

Campbell Bower is the last to take to the stage, receiving the loudest reaction of all. Visibly pumped for the show, Jamie immediately has the crowd in the palm of his hand. Screaming out “Give ‘em fucking hell, boys” after their first track, the atmosphere takes on a palpable force that’s inescapable.

Counterfeit are every part the rock band. They have the charismatic frontman, an arsenal of tunes that can dominate any space and most of all an audience that laps up every moment.

Reading doesn’t know what hit it.

God Damn are punk to the core, but the trio aren’t afraid to get a little experimental. Throughout their set, they unashamedly prove why their world works. The abrasiveness of the guitars coupled with the occasionally striking electronica makes for one hell of a sound.

Keeping the momentum alive, God Damn use every ounce of energy to propel themselves forward. God Damn are a sight to behold, and the Pit Stage

PVRIS ‘All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell’ has been out for a little over twenty-four hours but it’s already changed everything for PVRIS. ‘White Noise’ dealt in black and white fire; album two sees the colour reign.

The walls have been taken down, the rules scrapped, their universe widened.

From the opening firework of ‘You And I’, starting small but soon reaching far, wide and deep, there’s a brightness to the way PVRIS dance about the stage.

‘Fire’ is lifted with additional grins, guitar wails and a love for the new.

‘Half’ is already being rolled around, Lynn jumping behind a drum kit to add more drama to their marvellous cinema.

There are cracks in the polish. A murk under the shine. Joy throughout.

The band might have a love of the darkness, exploring fears and the unknown, but what’s scary about this performance is that we’re still only seeing glimpses of just what this album could do.

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song is barely over before Frank Carter is walking out onto the crowd, stepping on hands held high.

“I’ve been playing music for over a decade,” Frank declares mid-set, “and to see this many people here for a band that’s been going two years is a beautiful thing.” As the band rage their way through the final song, and Frank carries his daughter out onto centre stage to pose for a photo before the adoring crowd, there’s no one who doesn’t feel the warmth. Let’s face it: when singing along to ‘I Hate You’ feels like a rallying moment of camaraderie, you know you’re part of something spectacular.

feels all the better for having them.

As the sun sets on the first day of Reading 2017, Tigers Jaw arrive with their sweet, encompassing sound that makes you feel as if everything will be okay. New cuts from latest album ‘spin’ sound perfectly in-tune with the Tigers Jaw of old, creating a longstanding evolution of a band who work incredibly hard to have gotten where they are. While they don’t have nearly as large a crowd as they deserve (cheers, Jimmy Eat World!), Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins prove that Tigers Jaw are stronger than ever and ready to win your heart.

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Having built themselves up over the past year, mostly since the release of their debut ‘Be Nothing’, Boston Manor have been on the up and up. They also draw one hell of a crowd. The fans are out in full force, giving a palpable atmosphere that refuses to relent.

From the moment they take to the stage, frontman Henry Cox is stirring the chaos. Even in the slower moments, the audience are a constant throng.

Boston Manor’s trajectory is still clearly upwards. A set like this, one that has personality, undivided attention and filled with songs that are heavy with a melodic edge – it’s a wonder they aren’t top of the tent billing yet.

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Condensing all the might, sprawling beauty, legacy and excitement of Queens Of The Stone Age into half an hour isn’t easy, but somehow the band just about manage it. Tightening the cork, shaking the bottle and letting it fly, today’s set may be short, but it isn’t scaled down. There’s urgency to the way they enjoy the waves of ‘If I Had A Tail’ while the jaw-dropping opening one-two of ‘No One Knows’ and ‘Feel Good Hit Of The Summer’ is carefree

but eternal. This is one of those nights that will last forever.

New songs are dropped with total self-awareness, but are met with celebration; ‘Villains’ already has the makings of the classic. This is a taste of what the band can do. A reminder that they’re a force to be reckoned with.

A gang you should never underestimate.

“I love everyone. I love everything,” declares Josh Homme. “Don’t wait for anything.” The time is now.

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes are a law unto themselves. Raking in the applause before he even steps onto the stage, pausing to kiss his daughter on the cheek as he walks out in front of the crowd, the charismatic frontman is everything the crowd have been waiting for. “This next song is all about falling in love!” he yells as the group rear up for their first number. “Are you ready to fall in love with me?”

The answer is a very definite yes.

With his distinctive swagger on characteristically top form, the first

The barrage of strings that ring out from the Main Stage to signal the start of At The Drive In’s set is the perfect precursor. Those that haven’t heeded the warning soon filter away, the maniacal chaos proving too much, while those that have stayed are given a lesson in how a band should perform.

As if a switch is pulled, frontman Cedric Bixler launches in the air, his mic stand extending his body even further, and it begins. A set predominantly made up of cuts from their latest album ‘intera-lia’ and the mainstream breakout ‘Relationship Of Command’, this afternoon was to do one thing; prove At The Drive In will always be a force to be reckoned with.

Ending as abruptly as they began, At The Drive In leave the Main Stage in tatters. Throughout their set, they challenge us to find our own limits because they know they’re going to challenge theirs for us.

Finally returning after two long years in the wilderness, Marmozets are here to tackle Reading once more.

The crowd have clearly been yearning

for the band’s return, ready to give them an incredibly hot and sweaty reception, erupting from the moment they take to the stage. Singer Becca Macintyre cooly says “It’s good to be back,” before launching into the still gargantuan ‘Move, Shake, Hide’. Through the power of pre-chorus of “God, I’m alive!” it’s clear Marmozets are stronger than ever.

New tracks ‘Habits’ and ‘Major System Meltdown’ are as weird and wonderful as you’d expect, but with a thirst for more. The first known glimpse into the new chapter of Marmozets, ‘Play’ is even larger. Purpose built for mass chaos, it’s driven by a purpose. They give everything throughout. Despite their absence, there are no signs of rust. The future is theirs for the taking.

Rock/grime collective Astroid Boys bring something a bit different to The Pit stage on Saturday afternoon. As the introduction music from the DJ beats faster and faster, a throng of awaiting bodies becomes cataclysmic – and once the group take to the stage, all bets are off.

Bounding around, almost immediately joining their people below them, the duo of Traxx and Benji never let the hype wane. Their grime sound, mixed with metal and punk – complete with live drummer and guitarist – creates a visceral energy that draws in everyone in their vicinity.

The word has certainly felt like a darker place without Japandroids. Returning from a three-year break with a new record at the start of this year, the duo’s distinctive brand of rock and roll has never felt this alive.

Fist in the air anthems are the band’s forte, and tonight they echo louder and prouder than ever. “We know how much amazing music is going on now, so thank

you for coming along to see us,” they declare mid-set, nodding in the direction of The Real Slim Shady on the Main Stage. “We don’t have long, so we’re just gonna keep going.”

Amped up to the nines, Japandroids inspire the kind of impassioned devotion others only dream of. This is music for the soul, and there’s nothing more liberating than that.

After the mammoth year they’ve had, releasing a Top 10 album, While She Sleeps are at Reading to culminate their success. Headlining the Pit Stage, tonight’s set is to be a celebration, a marker point for the relentless work of the Sheffield five piece.

As the tent descends to darkness, the familiar intro of ‘You Are We’ begins to tease the baying crowd; it’s frontman Loz Taylor who fires the starting pistol.

The brief seconds before would be the last time the dust remained settled in the tent; a complete chaotic mess of bodies make sure of it.

Ending with absolute stormer ‘Silence

Speaks’, with a gentle nod to Linkin Park’s ‘One Step Closer’ at the end, into ‘Hurricane’, one of the hardest working bands in rock have found their well deserved moment of celebration. The tent’s cheers that ring after the final note are a testament to the power While She Sleeps hold. Most exciting of all is to see where they end up next.

When One OK Rock take to the stage, it’s evident that everything is orchestrated perfectly, from the one-two of openers ’Taking Off’ and ‘Clock Strikes’ to the synchronised dance moves that they bring out.

There’s a rabid fanbase front and centre, holding on to every moment as if it’s their last.

‘Clock Strikes’ and ‘The Beginning’ are both sung in Japanese, and while the words may not be understood by all, the sheer power of the statement they convey isn’t lost in translation. The hooks are pure power; it’s impossible not to get swept up in their absolute melodic joy.

It all feels like there are the buildings of a massive rock behemoth coming, they hit the right spot with each and every track. There’ll be no escaping them soon.

The Xcerts have always had one eye on the grandiose. An ambition for arenas and mass connection. Today, they get the chance to play.

Taking to the Main Stage for their Reading debut, the band comfortably slide into the rallying cry of ‘Live Like This’, swelling into the space before the likes of ‘I Don’t Care’ and ‘Shaking In The Water’ allow the band to stretch their legs. New song ‘Daydream’ sees the band reach further, hazy, confident and determined.

Thing is, The Xcerts are never dwarfed by the Main Stage. They’ve had hours, not days to prepare (they’re filling in for 71

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a Royal Republic cancellation) but their set is never lacking. It never feels like the band are out of their depth.

It’s the sunshine romance of ‘Feels Like Falling In Love’ that really elevates things, though. Saved for last, it sees the band champion all those wild ideas: it’s in love with love. “Believe in wild heart dreaming,” they sing, coming true on the Main Stage.

Against The Current have always been a confident band, bristling with ambition and the knowledge that they can get whatever they want. Today they grab it.

From the opening judder of ‘Running With The Wild Things’ though, today’s set on the Reading Main Stage is different.

Now, rather than one day, it’s like every moment has been leading to this. The sun is out, but the stage is dripping with star shine as Chrissy, Dan and Will look comfortable commanding the masses.

Twisting every inch of brilliance out of their set, enthusiastic but never expectant, and already with eyes on bigger, better, brighter things, the cycle may be coming to a close, but they’re not wasting time celebrating a victory when there are more wins ahead.

They started out as outsiders, fighting upstream but today Against The Current have the world at their feet.

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

With Architects’ set today their last show of the year, it was always going to be a celebration. Bounding onto the stage, and kicking straight in with ‘Nihilist’, the streams of smoke and fire match the might of the music. It feels like things have been building to this point, and the band are as savage as ever.

Frontman Sam Carter attempts to break the record for Most People Crowdsurfing Over The Front Barrier – one currently held by Enter Shikari. As soon as ‘Gravity’ kicks in, it’s like a switch

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DON BROCO Since the lineup was released, one important question has been – who exactly are The Prettyboys? Well, it’s none other than Don Broco.

Hitting the stage at 7pm, the Broco boys have come to give Reading a massive party. The rapturous reaction from the absolutely rammed Lock Up tent proves why headlining Alexandra Palace later this year makes perfect sense.

New track, and clear standout, ‘Pretty’ creates near earthquake levels of jumping. Pretty much a greatest hits set, bar the two new tracks (including first single ‘Technology’), the life and soul to Don Broco comes in the riffs.

It’s almost ridiculous how good Don Broco are live.

MUSE We’ve pretty much all been here before to watch Muse headline a festival. The band have commanded the top for over a decade, and they’ve taken every opportunity to strut their stuff on the biggest of stages. They’re an institution, a modern classic, a reliable, safe pair of hands. A bit predictable. Following a weekend of surprises and secrets at every turn, their closing set at Reading has a lot to live up to. Safe isn’t enough.

Today Muse know that. Free from the obligation of an album cycle, the band start by knocking out the standalone ‘Dig Down’ and championing what a ridiculous band they really are. Matt’s got a light up guitar to match his light up sunglasses; there’s a selfie camera on the mic and from the word go, it’s as overblown, ludicrous and bombastic as ever.

Muse have always moved, shifting and evolving as they chase the fanciful new. Sometimes daring, other times confused, they’ve never quite known how to grasp all the frayed ends and stargazing breadth and bring them together. Tonight though, every song has a purpose. From the gentle confetti rain and streaming soar of ‘Mercy’ to the jutted chin play of ‘Plug In Baby’, Muse have a vision. The band can step into the dark menace of ‘Showbiz’, now eighteen years old and still looking for a fight, straight from the technology strewn breakdown of ‘The 2nd Law: Isolated System’ without trying.

It’s left to the trusted bounce and flamboyant joust of ‘Uprising’ and ‘Knights of Cydonia’ to underline the weekend. Aided by fireworks, Muse show off a little bit of everything, and it finally makes an outlandish, surprising sort of sense. Rather than going through the motions, tonight sees Muse remain at the top of their game while relaxing enough to toy with just how silly it all is.

is flipped – bodies are piling over, security struggling to keep up with the onslaught. The look on Sam’s face sums up the orchestration of chaos: it’s what Architects have always been about.

Wanting to honour late co-founder Tom before beginning ‘Gone With The Wind’, Sam takes a moment with the rest of the band. It’s strikingly poignant. As Architects leave the stage, the memory of what’s just happened will remain with both them and the crowd for an incredibly long time.

Australians Tired Lion are somewhat tired thanks to jet lag, but that doesn’t stop them playing one hell of a set.

Showcasing material from their upcoming debut album ‘Dumb Days’, they capture the audience with a performance packed with personality.

Everything feels a little bit mad, unpolished even, but that’s the charm.

Teasing the crowd that no one here probably knows the songs – despite many singalongs – they break out a beautifully shambolic cover of Blur’s

‘Song 2’.

They culminate to rapturous cheering for closer ‘Cinderella Dracula’. With a live set like this – and when their latest single ‘Fresh’ sounds so good – it won’t be long before everyone knows their name.

The final show of a ninety-day tour, Culture Abuse’s set is powered by their undying love for doing whatever the hell they want.

Running through what makes punk, punk, frontman David reinforces how far they’ve come by pointing out that this time last year they were still in a windowless room writing songs.

It’s these very songs, from last year’s debut ‘Peaches’, that strike the crowd.

Every bystander is swept up in the barrage.

Ending the tour in style, guitars are smashed, beer is showered – but most importantly, punk is alive.

A band like Tigercub, who have been making waves ever since the release of their debut ‘Abstract Figures In The Dark’ last year, have only one option for a festival set – and that is to keep making those waves bigger. Their set comes at the same time as a glorious one from PVRIS on the Main Stage, but they more than hold their own.

“This song is about the refugee crisis,” states singer and guitarist Jamie Hall before going into ‘Memory Boy’. They even give a couple of new cuts an airing. ‘The Divided States of Us’ and ‘It’s Only Love’ fit in perfectly with their back catalogue. While their records contain a melodic charm, live they bring out a rougher edge, adding weight to their conviction.

Finale ‘Control’ suitably shakes the tent with its grooving bass line and prowling drums, ensuring the crowd are well and truly hooked. P 73

What ’s

EXCITING WE ASKED THE BANDS WHAT WAS FLOATING THEIR BOAT THIS MONTH.

“Has to be the new season of Rick and Morty. Totally surpassed my expectations and was well worth the wait. “I’M PICKLE RICK!” - 100% going to be my Halloween costume this year.”

- Jamie, Tigercub “I’m the only one properly into football so I’m looking forward to the EPL kicking off on Friday. Jon

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is finishing his master’s degree, so he can’t wait to finish education, Ellis is back at Uni soon and will no doubt be excited by another alcohol fuelled fresher’s week and Dean is progressing well through the latest Crash Bandicoot and also excited about the new £1 foot long Sausage roll from Morrisons.”

- Andrew, Lost In Stereo

You, ‘ The bands’?

“I’m pretty excited about my home life right now, a lot of cool things happening in my life. I’m excited about the movie IT, Stranger Things season two, and finishing up this season of Thrones. It’s almost fall which is the most magical time of the year, can’t wait.”

- Dan, Four Year Strong “Excited to hit the road, and share the songs from

our new album live with everyone!”

- Zack, Blindwish “We have a lot of great tours lined up and I’m very excited to be hitting the road with some of our best friends in the game. I’m excited to see how ‘YNYA’ causes our band to grow and progress like every other record before it.”

- Brendan, Counterparts