Upset, February 2018

F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 8

KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW THE NEW ALBUM IN STORES 26 JANUARY FEATURING PLAY, HABITS & MAJOR SYSTEM ERROR AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW

LIMITED EDITION COLOURED VINYL, SIGNED PHOTOS AND MERCH BUNDLES AVAILABLE AT SHOP.ROADRUNNERRECORDS.CO.UK CATCH MARMOZETS ON TOUR 2018 02/02 Cardiff, The Tramshed 03/02 Southampton, Engine Rooms 04/02 Brighton, Concorde 2 06/02 Cambridge, Junction 07/02 London, ULU 08/02 Nottingham, Rescue Rooms 09/02 Newcastle, Riverside 11/02 Sheffield, Leadmill 12/02 Edinburgh, The Liquid Room 13/04 Belfast, Oh Yeah Music Centre

BRIAN FALLON SLEEPWALKERS

THE NEW ALBUM

FEBRUARY 9TH 2017 INCLUDES FORGET ME NOT + IF YOUR PRAYERS DON’T GET TO HEAVEN

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 Cabré, Alex Thorp, Brad Thorne, Danny Randon, Dillon Eastoe, Eleanor Langford, Heather McDaid, Jack Press, Jake Richardson, Jasleen Dhindsa, Jenessa Williams, Jessica Goodman, Rob Mair, Sam Taylor, Samantha Daly, Steven Loftin Photographers: Brendan Walter, Corinne Cumming, Sarah Louise Bennett Cover Photo: Brendan Walter All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Upset or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.

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

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

EDITOR’S NOTE

IN THIS ISSUE...

RIOT!

6 OF MICE & MEN 10 DA N G E RO US SUMMER 11 I N H E AV E N 12 T I N Y M OV I N G PA RTS 14 B RI A N FA L LO N 16 DZ D E AT H R AYS 18 M A RM OZ ETS 19 G ET CA P E , W E A R CA P E , F LY 20 P L AY L I ST

ABOUT TO BREAK

22 D RE A M W I F E

24 F U N E R A L S H A K ES

FEATURES 26 38 42 46

FA L L O U T BOY WAT E RPA RKS T H E XC E RTS TO N I G H T A L I V E

RATED

52 FA L L O U T BOY 54 WAT E RPA RKS 55 G O O D T I G E R 58 M A RM OZ ETS 59 H OT E L BO O KS 60 C RE E P E R 61 G O O D C H A RLOT T E

Fall Out Boy aren’t like most bands: content to push the same old buttons, delivering the expected to an audience always looking for a certain fix.

Pete, Patrick and co. couldn’t be more different. Since returning from hiatus, they’ve pushed themselves into new, exciting spaces, challenging their fans and the mainstream consciousness at the same time.

As they release their latest collection ‘M A N I A’, and take their first Upset cover, we’re delighted to bring you a band who’ll never be content to settle for the status quo.

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

UNBREA FOLLOWING EVENTS THAT WOULD HAVE BROKEN MOST BANDS, THE TIME HAS COME FOR OF MICE & MEN TO

T

PROVE THEMSELVES. ARE THEY UP TO THE CHALLENGE? WORDS: JACK PRESS.

his time last year, Of Mice & Men were wondering if their New Year’s resolutions would ever come to fruition, having been dealt a near-fatal blow in the departure of their frontman Austin Carlile. Yet here they stand, playing arenas with their brand new record – the aptly titled ‘Defy’ - under their belts.

On a rare day off, bassist Aaron Pauley

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reflects on the year just gone and the year to come. “We still wanted to deliver these songs to the fans,” he explains. “We still wanted to play our songs to people who found meaning in our music. For us, it was really important to get back out there no matter what.”

Relentless waves of touring hit them like a physically-straining mentally-testing whiplash, but it soon became clear they had a reason to go on. Once they began

playing their two riff-raging, hook-heavy, arena-anthem comeback singles – ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Back To Me’ – across the summer at festivals, it all clicked into place.

“We wrote those songs for the sole purpose of going out and playing them live; we weren’t thinking of those songs as recordings. Like moving the needle of our band, we just wanted to play live.

When we got to play them at festivals

AKABLE like Download, seeing how they moved people emotionally, and physically, was a big thing.

record the songs that we want to play live.

A lot of the writing we do is live; we write by playing with each other as one.”

“Of Mice & Men’s always been a very liveoriented band, so we wanted to reconnect with that and to have them validate what we’re doing by saying, ‘It moves me the same way the old music did’. It’s very rewarding, you know? It feels good, and it feeds our soul and keeps us energised to be able to do what we do.

With a summer of shows over and done with, and the two new singles already heralded as staples of their set, OM&M found themselves with some free time to fill and a fire already alight inside. Their new record was not only going to allow them to continue doing what they love - touring - but deal process the seismic change within the band.

“For us, the intent has always been to play live. We absolutely love making records, but what the records are, they allow us to

“Making this record is our way of communicating with the outside world,”

considers Aaron. “After going through such a major band change, and life change, the way we get through that and express that is through music. I think making this record allowed us to heal in all kind of ways, and we hope it brings in this new chapter.”

It was time to paint a record dyed in many shades; an album that addressed their feelings, their fears, and ultimately, their defiance. They set out to reinterpret and reconstruct what OM&M meant not only to them, but to their audience.

“Anytime you go through major changes, 7

anything on this record where we were like, ‘We want it to sound like this, and the guitars to sound like this’. In the past, we’ve said, ‘I want the snare drums to sound like this, and this part to sound like this’. For this one, we didn’t think about it at all.

It just ended up sounding undeniably like us. I think that it’s the way that we play, and the way we play together.”

Matching ‘Defy’’s musicality like-for-like, OM&M’s lyrical output this time around is as thorough as ever, offering an access-all-areas to where their minds have been hiding for the last year.

“THIS RECORD IS OUR STORY, AND OUR MESSAGE” whether it’s your band, or your job - which for us is the same thing - or your life, there’s a certain amount of rediscovery and getting back to your roots. You have to remind yourself who you are, and why you’ve done the things you’ve loved.

“We got to sit back and go, ‘Why did we like certain songs of ours?’ or, ‘Why do people listen to OM&M?’ We really tried to take all of these things into consideration, and at the same time, have some reckless abandonment with it. To not focus or stress too much on it, but to keep it in our peripheral vision of the way that we define ourselves as a band, and the way that we sound and the songs that we write and the lyrical content.”

‘Defy’ is a statement of intent from a band beating back at the cold world they’ve faced headfirst; a cocktail of metallic riffs, ginormous hooks, and lyrics that’ll motivate you far more than your mother’s self-help books. In a year filled 8

with change, a band suffering a loss of confidence found comfort, surprisingly, in more change - this time in the shape of producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Three Days Grace, Skillet).

“Working with him really pushed us to be ourselves,” Aaron reflects. “Instead of saying, ‘This should change, this should change, this should change’, he said, ‘I love this, here’s how we make it even better’. It wasn’t by changing what we were doing or doing something else, it was like, here’s your idea, and here’s how we can improve your idea, to make it even more like your idea than you even realise.”

With Howard honing in on the band’s core sound, they found in ‘Defy’ the definitive OM&M album: a record that sounds like them, and not those they were influenced and guided by.

“Everything we listen to leaks itself through the record, but there wasn’t

“A lot of the record is just about acknowledging the way that you feel.

There are songs that talk about feeling hopeless, and songs that talk about being defiant. Not every song is as encouraging or as much of a battle cry as ‘Defy’ is, some of it is just acknowledging that it’s okay to feel those feelings in times of big change.”

In a year where change was never-ending, the writing process was opened up to the floor, the thoughts written on paper were collective journeys encapsulated in words. “This record is very much our story and our message; it’s not my story and my message. For every song I wrote, I spent hours speaking to the guys about what they’re going through and how they’re feeling.”

The idea of OM&M as a collective, as a band of brothers, is one they wear proudly on their sleeves in the wake of the last year, letting it seep into everything they do, defining ‘Defy’ in the process.

“One of the things I had trepidations about was how different being the lead vocalist was going to feel, and I’m really grateful it doesn’t feel that different at all.

It’s really easy to get lost in that, to be like ‘I’m in the middle of the stage now’, but I don’t think of it that way. To me music is all about the collective experience, me being the lead singer wouldn’t mean shit without Tino on drums, or Phil and Alan on guitars, and I absolutely love that.” P Of Mice & Men’s album ‘Defy’ is out now.

“WE DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO PROVE” WITH THEIR FIRST ALBUM IN BLOODY AGES DUE VERY SOON INDEED, THE DANGEROUS SUMMER HAVE CAST OUT OLD DEMONS AND RETURNED INVIGORATED. WORDS: STEVEN LOFTIN.

B

ack in 2014, The Dangerous Summer frontman AJ Perdomo released a statement explaining that he and the band were going their separate ways. Electing to not divulge too much at the time, with the later revelations of former member Cody Payne’s arrest for burglary, and the allegations of him withholding band funds - it all suddenly made sense.

Fast forward to 2017, and when their social media darkened in mid-summer,

it was clear that The Dangerous Summer were on their way back. After releasing their return single ‘Fire’, the announcement of the new, self-titled album swiftly followed, heralding the start of a new chapter. All bets were off, and it was no longer business as usual.

“One day I called the guys, and it was just like, ‘Let’s do this again’,” explains AJ, reflecting back on the first sparks of reformation. “It felt like no time had passed. We stepped into the practice space and just started playing songs, old songs, then we started writing new ones immediately, and it just felt good to be back in that headspace.”

Kicking off their rebirth is both the first

track on the album, and the first track this newly reinvigorated band penned - ‘Color’.

A reservedly melodic and heart-wrenching reminiscence back to the early days of The Dangerous Summer, the melodies are freely constructed around lines that deal with the realisation of those cherished moments in the past.

“There’s a hole somewhere where my old self lives, and it burns like fire so I might live again.” It speaks volumes that these are the first words AJ utters. ‘The Dangerous Summer’ is a celebration of their lives now, everything from growing as people to the welcoming of new members - and AJ’s daughter Luna, who has a track named after her.

“We needed to take a step back from everything, rejuvenate, and just kind of come into it,” he explains. “Especially with a new album, a fresh outlook was very important for us.”

This fresh outlook stemmed from each band member choosing different paths after The Dangerous Summer had seemingly run its course. Barely remaining in contact, AJ, as well as Matt Kennedy and Ben Cato, all found normal life far more appealing than the idea of carrying on. “I started working a 9-5, and it’s like we all went our separate ways,” AJ affirms.

The breakup was plagued with rumours and allegations, some of which were confirmed by Cody’s sentencing in early 2017. Amid the messiness, the musical component to The Dangerous Summer also took a hit, according to AJ. “Our last record [2013’s ‘Golden Record’] was strained. We were just in the motions of being a band.”

While it may not have been the highest of notes for The Dangerous Summer to disappear on, it was all a part of the legacy that began to show itself when the group were silent. The generation of bands that grew up with The Dangerous

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Summer and their peers began to break through, and with it came a whole new audience.

AJ recalls this with wonder. “That was one of the craziest things; being inactive and just watching our band grow and take on a whole different life after we’d died. It was like seeing all the people that show up to your funeral. So many people were showing up who had just heard our band. There’s a whole new energy coming into the world.

“I feel like all these fresh new bands that keep coming up, they’re the future. A band like us, we can only do so much because we’re already established. Jimmy Eat World isn’t going to come out with an album that’s going to blow people’s minds anymore; they can only do the best they can with continuing on their path, you know?”

Which is why ‘The Dangerous Summer’ is exactly the type of record they needed to make upon their return. Deviating from what people expected simply wouldn’t have worked, but coming out with an album that’s pure emotion, and pure energy? It’s what both these fans of new and old need, as much the band do.

CAS E ST U DY : JA M ES TAY LO R ,

INHEAVEN FIND OUT WHAT YOUR FAVOURITE BANDS TAKE ON THE ROAD!

GUITAR Surprisingly guitars come in quite handy on tour, without them we are nothing. As Jesus said once said, never leave the house without one!

LYRIC BOOK I always keep a lyric book on me, just in case inspiration strikes. Travelling can be a good place to write instead of refreshing your phone every three seconds.

OUR BAND COULD BE YOUR LIFE I read on tour constantly; I find it cathartic. This book (Our Band Could Be Your Life) is one of the best books out there. Each chapter is about a different band slogging it out on the underground American indie scene from 81-91 paving the way for bands like Nirvana and the like.

CANON AE-1 CAMERA I try and take one photo a day on this camera while on tour, even if it’s something boring I just take a photo. I want to be able to look back on everything we do when I’m an old man sitting in a rocking chair, so this is a good way of documenting our band LYFE.

“With this album, it was just, do everything you’ve ever wanted to do, do everything that feels right. We’re not worried about what happens with people hearing it, or loving it and hating it. The big thing is we’re freer than ever. The artistic freedom we have, we don’t have anything to prove to anyone, we’re just being ourselves at this point - that’s all we can offer the world.”

For AJ, this was a go hard or go home situation. The Dangerous Summer may have fallen apart once, but it’s certainly not going to happen again on his watch. “I needed to put my whole self into this,” he considers. “I needed to rearrange my life, put The Dangerous Summer back on top.”

“Now we’re even talking about the next record,” he continues. “What’s the next step? What’s the next step for us as musicians, what are we going to do? Just making this album brought the energy into us, and we’re here for the long haul, we’re ready for this.” P The Dangerous Summer’s self-titled album is out 26th January.

INHEAVEN are heading out on tour from 31st January, with a run that includes shows all over the country.

To celebrate, they’ve also released a new song - check out ‘Sweet Dreams Baby’ on upsetmagazine.com now. The dates read: (31 January) Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms, (1 February)

Cambridge Portland Arms, (2) Bedford Esquires, (3) Bath Moles, (5) Guildford The Boileroom, (6) Reading The Face Bar, (7) Tunbridge Wells Forum, (9) Norwich Arts, (10) Newcastle Mining Institute, (12) Manchester Deaf Institute, (13) Wolverhampton Newhampton Arts Centre.

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“WE’RE NEVER AFRAID TO TRY NEW THINGS”

NO ONE CAN ACCUSE TINY MOVING PARTS OF LACKING IN CONFIDENCE: THE TRIO ARE BACK WITH A NEW ALBUM THAT SEES THEM TOOTING THE HORN OF STAYING POSITIVE. WORDS: STEVEN LOFTIN

F

ans of mathy, melodic post-hardcore with emotive twists, rejoice. Tiny Moving Parts are back, and with their sixth outing no less. The family band find themselves starting out 2018 releasing ‘Swell’, an album so rich in melody and promise of hope that it’s the perfect way to kick off the new year.

“We’re never afraid to try new things, like not having a sound that’s only doing a couple of things in each song. Trying to better each other was huge. There are some parts of some songs, one of us, or maybe a few us were unhappy with, a chorus or a certain part and then we’d all just talk together, or try a few things, and we’d do it so all four of us were on the same page.”

“This was the first time [recording an album] was a little bit more intense, but it never really got to us, we were confident going in,” says Dylan Mattheisen of the creation process. “We were really satisfied with how our previous record ‘Celebrate’ turned out and we just wanted to do better. We try and one up ourselves.”

Being on the same page is the most integral part of the Tiny Moving Parts story.

A band that consists of brothers Matthew and William Chevalier, along with Dylan, their cousin, you wonder how they’ve survived for so long. “It works out to our advantage,” Dylan offers. “Matt, William and I, we hang out with each other all day, every day anyway.

‘Swell’ sees Tiny Moving Parts at their most unrelenting; flourishes within riffs, and their infallible energy, finding new ground to build on. “I believe we were in the studio for forty-something days,” Dylan continues, “and before we got in the studio, we had all the songs written.

“We still managed to tear apart songs, delete some and reconfigure a lot; with home-demoing, you can only make it sound so good. Recording in the studio, it’s nice to hear how it’s coming out. We put in a lot of time. We were super judgemental of everything to make sure it was the best we could make the songs.

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“When we’re not on tour, we’re usually just at home, practising or watching TV together, or just hanging out because we’re family, but we’re also best friends too. We never get into major arguments or anything like that. We just work well with each other, which is important because I can see why some bands fall apart or why some things don’t work out when you go tour with

certain people for the majority of the year.”

Adorning the cover of ‘Swell’ is a message that may not be instantly clear until you hear the record and understand just what Dylan and co. are conveying. The ragged hand, missing a digit, bandaged and bruised is still defiant - breaking out a cool, calm and collected hang loose sign.

“The whole meaning of the record is just trying to stay optimistic or positive when you’re in a swamp, or a shitty situation,” Dylan affirms. “It shows that on a hand with a cut off finger; the person’s struggling, but also doing the surfs up hand movement, so it sends a positive message. Like, ‘Now I’m okay’.”

It’s an ethos that carries throughout the band. “We’re just super grateful; we never expected to tour outside of basement shows. That was like the farthest we’ve ever dreamt of our goal of being in a band,” Dylan concludes.

“We’re very, very, happy that this has happened to us and we just want to keep growing and tackle more of the world, go to as many places as we can and play in front of as many people. And just spread a positive message, you know?” P Tiny Moving Parts’ album ‘Swell’ is out 26th January.

GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY YOUNG ADULT LP | CD | DL | JANUARY 19TH

WILL VARLEY

SPIRIT OF MINNIE LP | CD | DL | FEBRUARY 9TH

COUNTERFEIT.

CUSHTY CD | DL

ALAMORT LP | CD | DL | FEBRUARY 16TH

RPMs

TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER LP | CD | DL

BEANS ON TOAST

DUCKING PUNCHES

YOUR GHOST DIGITAL SINGLE

SKINNY LISTER

THE DEVIL, THE HEART & THE FIGHT DELUXE EDITION 2xCD | DL

FRANK TURNER

SONGBOOK DELUXE LP BOXSET | 3xLP | 2xCD | DL

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND JOIN THE MAILING LIST FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THESE ARTISTS AND MORE, INCLUDING TOUR DATES AND EXCLUSIVE MERCHANDISE

WAKE-UP CALL

ON THE EVE OF RELEASING HIS SECOND SOLO ALBUM ‘SLEEPWALKERS’, BRIAN FALLON TALKS PARENTHOOD, MORTALITY AND FINALLY STEPPING OUTSIDE OF PUNK ROCK. WORDS: DANNY RANDON

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rian Fallon has never known how to be anything other than himself. As the frontman of much-missed punk rock outfit The Gaslight Anthem, he made the transition to a purveyor of heartlandtinged Americana almost seamlessly on his 2016 solo debut album ‘Painkillers’.

The Gaslight Anthem have got 2018 off to a pretty brilliant start by announcing their return from hiatus to celebrate the 10th birthday of their breakthrough album ‘The ’59 Sound’, but when it came to creating that fabled ‘difficult second album’ of his standalone career, the New Jersey troubadour was faced with something of an identity crisis.

“When I sat down to write the record I was more nervous than I had ever been,” he admits. “I called Ted [Hutt, producer] who produced the record, and I spoke to a friend of mine, [singer-songwriter] Matthew Ryan, and I was just saying about how I don’t know how I follow this up, because people really liked ‘Painkillers’.

“The funny thing was, they both said that you have to just be yourself.”

As his forthcoming second album ‘Sleepwalkers’ evidences, ‘being yourself’ for Brian means being a man of many tastes. The opening beat of ‘If Your Prayers Don’t Get to Heaven’ is evocative of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Part-Time Lover’, while the

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NEED TO KNOW

“I WAS MORE NERVOUS THAN I HAD EVER BEEN” guitars on ‘Come Wander With Me’ give off vibes not dissimilar from ‘Rock The Kasbah’ by The Clash. It’s a record which, while being unmistakably Fallon, more than dabbles in the man’s life-long love for soul and R&B.

“It had been a long time, so to get back together and have fun again was really cool,” says Brian. “He’s the guy that brought all that stuff out of me about how you can let go and be yourself and not worry about people making fun of you.”

“I wouldn’t say this is a very challenging record to anybody,” he assures. “There are some bits from The Gaslight Anthem; there are some bits from [blues sideproject] The Horrible Crowes… It’s just a natural record for me, and I’m not trying to push any boundaries with it. I’m not trying to make any big statements or reinvent the wheel – I’m just trying to say, ‘Hey, this is all the different things that Brian Fallon likes’.”

The moment on ‘Sleepwalkers’ that encapsulates Brian stoking the fire in his belly is the single ‘Forget Me Not’, an upbeat folk-punk rager driven by the singer-songwriter’s most fervent vocal performance in years.

After he came to the rescue around the writing of ‘Sleepwalkers’, Brian reunited with Ted Hutt to produce the album in New Orleans – no less than seven years since they last worked together on The Gaslight Anthem’s pivotal third album ‘American Slang’.

YOU’RE GOING TO WANT TO GO TO THE ALL TIME LOW TOUR All Time Low are going to perform ‘So Wrong, It’s Right’ in its entirety on their UK arena tour in March, to celebrate the record’s belated tenth anniversary. The five-date run will kick off on 12th March in Glasgow and culminate with a massive night at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Oh, and they’re taking Creeper along in support, too.

“We had so much fun just screaming that one ‘yeah’ in the middle of ‘Forget Me Not’, but it was just complete yelling madness,” Brian laughs. “We were like, ‘Let’s just make it as much like The Who as we can’. I must have done about 50 screams, and I was surprised because I could still talk afterwards. It felt good to sing like a 25-year-old again.”

Despite feeling more than ten years younger in the vocal booth, ‘Sleepwalkers’ comes around at a time where Brian

PARAMORE VS STRANGER THINGS Gaten Matarazzo (aka Dustin from Stranger Things) recently shared a video of his band, Work In Progress, performing covers of Fall Out Boy, Paramore and Foo Fighters. Well, Pmore frontwoman Hayley Williams evidently liked what she saw. “open invite to crash a pmore stage and thrash those luscious locks around (& harmonize, obv),” she offered. To which Gaten replied: “Dude!! Yesss!!!!”

admits about how, as a 37-year-old father-of-two, he has started questioning and considering his mortality a lot more.

“The whole record is pretty real about the age that I’m at,” explains Brian.

“Where you realise that one day you’re not gonna be here, and you’ve got to deal with that. I have kids now, so that really comes and slams home, and you see life as not infinite anymore.”

As doomy and gloomy as the proposition of an album addressing the inevitability of death sounds, Brian’s second solo effort altogether takes a more hopeful tone than we’ve possibly ever heard from him before.

“I’m with Noel Gallagher, I wanna live forever, but I just don’t that’s possible anymore!” he chuckles. “It’s scary, and for some people, you can run from it, but on this record, I decided to sort of face up to it, but not in a morbid way.”

Even with that realist mindset, the record also marks the start of a new era of positivity for Brian Fallon. Having dealt with the divorce from his wife of more than a decade at the same time that The Gaslight Anthem were bidding farewell to the world – for now – he is looking ahead to the next wonderful chapter of his career.

“Everyone has these transitional periods in their life where everything blows up; it just happens to everybody. I had that start around the time of [The Gaslight Anthem’s last album] ‘Get Hurt’, and I was working it through it between that record and ‘Painkillers’, and then on ‘Painkillers’, I was working through the residuals and the aftermath.

“I ‘levelled off’, I would say, and I found my footing in my personal life and was able to feel like a person again. I’m not who I was before, but I’m okay with whoever I am now.” P Brian Fallon’s album ‘Sleepwalkers’ is out 9th February.

WANT TO HEAR SOME OLD NIRVANA DEMO TAPES? One of Kurt Cobain’s old pals, John Purkey has uploaded loads of old Nirvana demo tracks to YouTube, taken from a handful of tapes given to him by the frontman himself. “This is the first tape Kurt gave to me,” he says, introducing the first collection. “Sound quality is not perfect but it’s not too bad.” Check out the clips on upsetmagazine.com.

THE DISTILLERS ARE BACK!!!

The Distillers are actually, properly back.

Following their oh-so-subtle return to social media, it turns out the band will definitely be playing live shows in 2018. How do we know? Well, they’ve been announced for Shaky Knees Music Festival (in Atlanta, GA) this May and if that isn’t a big ol’ clue, we don’t know what is. Keep your fingers crossed for more shows a bit nearer to home...

ISSUES ARE HAVING... ISSUES Issues have announced that one of their vocalists, Michael Bohn, will no longer be a part of the band. “Just to make things absolutely clear: This was OUR decision as a band,” they explain. “No label or suit b-s. This is NOT a move to become a bubblegum pop act. We’re going to continue to do exactly what we always have done, and write exactly what we want.”

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“WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE DOGS” DZ DEATHRAYS ARE BACK. FOUR YEARS ON SINCE THEIR LAST RECORD ‘BLACK RAT’, AND THE DUO ARE RARING TO GO WITH NEW FULL-LENGTH ‘BLOODY LOVELY’ - AND THERE’S ANOTHER IN THE WORKS, TOO...

WORDS: SAMANTHA DALY It’s been a while since your last album, did you find ‘Bloody Lovely’ more challenging than your previous projects?

In some ways, it was a challenge. We started recording the album in February 2016 but some of the songs were just not ready yet, and we were a little unsure where to take the album. This then led to the one-off singles ‘Blood On My Leather’ and ‘Pollyanna’. We were also touring a lot that year which kind of put the brakes on writing, as we are pretty bad at writing on the road.

Did you try anything new on this album?

We used a bass guitar for the first time; we used bits and pieces of our demos all through the album also. I think once we found the tone of the record it was a lot easier for us to get it down. We really wanted this one to have a little more of a live element than ‘Black Rat’.

What’s the main thing that you hope that people will take away from the album?

Essentially we are hoping it gets people excited to come to shows. We love playing live. Really though, people can take what they want from it, as long as it can transcend from an album you put on at a party to an album you listen to on the train to work to an album you run or work out to.

The artwork for ‘Bloody Lovely’ is pretty ace, specific shout out to the dog. Who is this lovely doggo, and how was the shoot?

The dog belongs to the owners of the bar, and she was there when we started doing the shoot. There was a ball being thrown around, and she jumped right into shot.

We absolutely love dogs so when we saw the photo where she was airborne in it, actually taking the focus off us or the bar, then we had to go with it.

Where did the concept for the artwork come from?

I think when we were recording the album, Burke Reid who produced it kept saying that certain songs would be cool in the background of a dive bar, shooting 16

pool, drinking beers. So we kind of ran with the idea that this record was a bit of a mixtape for a dive bar called Bloody Lovely.

Where did you mostly take inspiration from when writing for the album?

There were a few bands that kind of pointed us in a certain direction. Bands that we were listening to and also doing some live covers of over the last couple of years. We did some live covers of Blur and The Vines, and that really took us back to when we were in high school and super excited about them. We also have been listening to a lot of Beach House, and I hope this in some way has influenced our songwriting as I think they are amazing.

You’re now signed with Alcopop! Records, how did this come about?

We met Jack [Clothier, label boss] a few years back in the UK, and when we had this album ready to go we were open to finding someone to release us in the UK/ EU, so we put it to Alcopop! I have been really impressed with the bands on that label over the years, and it seemed to us like a good fit.

If you could give yourselves when you were starting out one piece of advice, knowing what you know now, what would it be?

I think it would be, keep writing no matter what. Even if you’ve just poured every ounce of energy into an album, start the next one straight away.

You’ve got a South Africa tour coming up in March, where’s the most interesting place that DZ Deathrays’ live shows have taken you to?

I would say have been Iceland, Norway and more recently South America and China.

Is there anywhere you haven’t been that you’d love to play live?

We would love to play in Japan; I believe it’s quite the effort to make work with record releases and all, but everyone

has always said we would go down well over there, so we are just waiting for the opportunity.

Beyond the album release, do you have any plans for 2018?

We’re writing another album at the moment, so plans are to get that done in any spare time we have between tours to support ‘Bloody Lovely’.

DZ Deathrays’ album ‘Bloody Lovely’ is out 2nd February.

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5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

MARMOZETS’ NEW ALBUM YOU’VE ALREADY READ MARMOZETS’ UPSET COVER FEATURE LAST MONTH, SO YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT THEIR NEW RECORD ‘KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW’, RIGHT? WELL, NO, ACTUALLY. HERE ARE FIVE MORE THINGS THE BAND FEEL YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THEIR LATEST OPUS.

1. We wanted to try something new, so we decided to go with Gil Norton to produce the record. We recorded everything completely separately rather than having drums done first or everyone in the room at the same time which I guess is usually the norm. We had the bass finished before the drums... vocal tracks were done on songs before some of the guitars were done and recorded a lot of the drums separately for example kick drum for a full take only then hats etc. It gave it a different dynamic and unique sound for sure.

2. We hope it makes people feel stronger within themselves. We love it when our fans respond saying a certain song helped them through a dark time or

within a rough patch in their lives. It’s not something we intentionally do, but when we hear feedback like that, it makes it all worthwhile.

3. It was written when we were just coming out of a long stint of songwriting.

We were in a bit of a pickle trying to get songs we felt we were happy with and what were good enough to follow the first record. We had this crazy couple of weeks where every song we wrote were like “YES!” This is more like it. Pretty much all the songs on the record were written within this boost of our songwriting capabilities.

4. It’s a real step up for us, everything we’ve had to go through in the past

couple of years influenced different moments on the record. We feel more connected to what we’re writing and are genuinely over the moon with how it all came out.

5. We had a lot of space to add our own stamp to the songs individually. Which goes back to what I said before. The tracks have a lot more room in them and the way we recorded we could just add what we wanted to each track. Some stuff obviously didn’t make it, but a lot of stuff wouldn’t have if we’d have recorded it a different way to the way we did. P Marmozets’ album ‘Knowing What You Know Now’ is out 26th January.

“I CHANGED MY MIND” GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! HE SAID IT WOULDN’T HAPPEN, BUT SAM DUCKWORTH’S GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY MONIKER IS BACK IN BUSINESS AND RARING TO GO WITH A NEW ALBUM. WORDS: STEVEN LOFTIN

T

here’s a particularly poignant line on ‘Scrapbook’, one of the tracks from Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly brainchild Sam Duckworth’s new album, ‘Young Adult’: “Do you know who you are, or do you miss who you were?”

After laying to rest his founding alias back in 2014, Sam released a couple of records under both his birth name, and Recreations, seemingly pleased to be rid of his old moniker. Yet here we are in 2018, and Get Cape’s back.

So, what’s going on?

“I changed my mind, basically,” Sam admits through an air of relief. Reneging on the declaration he made just a few years ago wasn’t an easy choice, but it made more and more sense - especially following the fun had around the tenth anniversary of his debut album, ‘The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager’, in 2016.

The real catalyst for his return, however, stems from a viewing of LCD Soundsystem’s farewell show documentary, Shut Up And Play The Hits - and James Murphy and Co.’s subsequent return. “I remember being like, yeah. If they can do it, I can do it!”

Having split himself across three different but very similar identities over nine albums - almost a record a year since he first began - Sam found it tough to maintain momentum. “I think the process that I’ve worked out, in probably

the most clunky fashion, is that they all don’t sound that different,” he reflects.

“If I’m going to experiment, then I need to keep Get Cape what it is really.”

And what is that to Sam? “It’s now five albums quite solidly in one style, and the Recreations album wasn’t too far away either. That’s my main style of songwriting, and it’s pushing the boundaries within that rather than trying to reinvent all the time.

“There was a clear separation in my head, but that clear separation didn’t translate.

As soon as I was aware of that, it was just like, abandon ship. It doesn’t work. People can get behind the idea that if I’m on my own, I’m Sam Duckworth, that’s simple, and if I’ve got a band project, it’s Get Cape. I think two is good. I don’t need to over complicate it,” he laughs.

Which brings us neatly on to ‘Young Adult’, Get Cape’s sixth outing. “That’s what this record is. It’s a completely new process. It’s a new studio - I’m in Essex, I’ve got a brand new studio down here.

It’s just a different perspective. A different live band, different drums and bass on the record, so it feels fresh. It feels like a different chapter and a new journey.”

Returning to Get Cape offered Sam a clarity that was missing when he first started work on his latest opus. “I wrote this complicated, forty-five-minute long science fiction concept album,” he jokingly admits. “Which I’m glad we’re not talking about now because everyone would be super confused!”

Putting his fantastical storytelling aside, “I just started playing. Within a week I was like, ‘This is a Get Cape record, and I’ve got to do it now’. I didn’t leave the studio for about three weeks, apart from to have a shower.”

Readily admitting that when he’s not writing, he gets a little spun out, Sam uses music to decant his worries, woes and thoughts on the world. “When your coping strategy becomes your job, you end up with a bit of a conflict of interest,” he ponders.

“You’ve got to make sure you’re writing to keep sharp and also writing just to keep that process going. I think the last few records I’ve made have been very... I don’t know. Various things have been tied up in knots, and it’s trying to undo a few of those this time.”

Over a decade since he first started out, and ‘Young Adult’ puts a spotlight on the world as Sam sees it today. Rife with captivating melodies and lyrics that waste no syllables, “it’s nice to be at that point where it’s like, okay cool, this is my adult phase now.”

“I’m older; I can’t tour as much. When you’re younger, you can run around and play loads of shows and hope people pay attention, but when you’re older, you’ve got to find a different balance. I think I’ve lived a couple of lives since then. I’m an adult now. I’ve got different priorities, different perspectives.” P Get Cape Wear Cape Fly’s album ‘Young Adult’ is out now.

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

SENSES FAIL

MEAT WAVE

A song about “war, climate change, mass shootings, economic uncertainty and crippling debt,” if you’re feeling frustrated rn, you’re not alone. From new album ‘If There Is A Light, It Will Find You’, due 16th February.

It’s a twofer! These were recorded during the sessions for latest album ‘Incessant’, showcasing the gloriously grungy, lofi racket producer Steve Albini is famed for.

From... nowt / last year’s ‘Our First 100 Days’ project.

LIS TE N TO T

GOLD JACKET, GREEN JACKET

SUNFLOWER BEAN CRISIS FEST

Sunflower Bean’s latest is a retro-toned anthem for change. “[It’s] about the power of us, the young people,” they explain. From new album ‘Twentytwo In Blue’, due 23rd March.

ANDREW WK

MUSIC IS WORTH LIVING FOR

CASEY

FLUORESCENTS

TITUS ANDRONICUS

NUMBER ONE (IN NEW YORK)

HAPPY ACCIDENTS

FREAK

Buckle up, it’s a long ‘un - 8:13 if you listen on Spotify, and 10 WHOLE MINUTES if you watch the video. Good tho.

From new album ‘A Productive Cough’, out 2nd March.

EVERYONE’S THE SAME

TEXT ME WHEN YOU’RE HOME

Chelmsford newcomers Freak specialise in scuzzy, guitarled rackets that are packed with attitude. ‘Everyone’s The Same’ follows a string of raucous singles, and last year’s ‘No Money...’ EP. From… nowt, yet.

PIANOS BECOME THE TEETH

WOES

BITTER RED

‘Bitter Red’ is the sound of Pianos Become The Teeth honing in on who they are, and throwing everything they have at it. From new album ‘Wait For Love’, out 26th February.

HIS

Casey’s new ‘un was born from vocalist Tom feeling “futility and weakness”, and it’s one of their most gut-wrenching yet. From new album ‘Where I Go When I Am Sleeping’, due 16th March.

“I’m going for the sound of pure, unadulterated power,” says Andrew; “every emotion, every thought, every experience, every sensation, every fear…” You get the idea.

From new album ‘You’re Not Alone’, due 2nd March.

Because feeling unsafe when you’re just walking home is a real fucking shitter. From new album ‘Everything But The Here And Now’, due 16th February.

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SHAME / DOGS AT NIGHT

REAL WORLD

Woes have signed to UNFD and released ‘Real World‘ to celebrate; catchy as anything, it has all the hallmarks of a pop punk classic. “We’re all excited to take Woes to the next level,” they explain.

From... nowt, yet.

ABOUT TO

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

DREAM WIFE

DREAM WIFE HAVE ARRIVED WITH THEIR DEBUT, AND IT’S PACKED WITH AS MUCH ATTITUDE AND AS MANY BANGERS AS THEY COULD SQUEEZE IN.

WORDS: JESSICA GOODMAN. PHOTO: SARAH LOUISE BENNETT.

“T

wo years ago, we were this feral, wild band,” starts Dream Wife guitarist Alice Go. “We just went and did stuff.

We had four songs and went out and toured Canada a month after we formed. We just did these tours where we did our own sound every night, had to get the money ourselves. We experienced quite a lot of sexism at the time, and it made us realise that things have to change.”

Together, Alice along with vocalist Rakel Mjöll and bassist Bella Podpadec, are “a power trio”, she explains. “Three overworkers coming together and overworking together. You form this solidarity. You’re not just friends with these people; you’re on this journey together. Going through those early struggles, any one of us could have stopped doing it at any time. It was hard. Why are we doing this? But we just couldn’t stop.”

Sentimental, nostalgic, full of belief and brimming with a never quit attitude, Dream Wife’s self-titled debut captures every jagged edge and polished corner of the band. There’s the grab and go opening of ‘Let’s Make Out’ that screams of losing yourself in the moment, the clenched first declaration of ‘Somebody’, unblinking as it promises “I am not my body, I am somebody”, the skipping twinkle of ‘Kids’ which longs for youthful simplicity and nights that would last forever, while ‘F.U.U.’ does away with threats as the band rage, riot and champion their own scene. Dream Wife for ife.

“It’s our conversations being put through into the lyrics. Things that matter to us. It’s all about the energy and the conversation, rather than being analytical when we’re making it. We’re hyper-analytical about everything but

22

in retrospect, which is a healthy way to work. We all came from art school so the rules, the expectations and the structures that are placed there, you’re constantly expected to be analytical about every step of the creative process but with Dream Wife, it’s about doing. You kill the magic if you overthink it.”

“YOU KILL THE MAGIC IF YOU OVERTHINK IT”

Dream Wife has become bigger than the three of them. Working with other artists on remixes, teaming up with photographers to explore the visual side of their bond and helping create the Bad Bitches Club with their longterm friend Meg Lavender in which they find, celebrate and champion the people coming to their shows, collaboration is queen. “It’s about letting other people into the vision because things can become stronger for it.”

“There’s a part of the show now where Rakel will call up the Bad Bitches Club.

It’s girls to the front. It’s about everyone being on the same level; it’s about us all being there together. It’s about solidarity, people that stand together with you and share the same frustrations but also the same energies, coming together on the same page.

“It’s interesting in a set where the whole crowd is singing ‘I am not my body, I am somebody’, and then two songs later that same crowd is all screaming ‘bitch’ together. It’s a conversation with everyone, but in particular young girls.

It’s amazing to feel like what you’re doing could mean something to somebody.

“Over the last year, we have seen a

change in the people coming to our shows with girls feeling like they’re included in a rock show which is in its heritage intrinsically masculine. I never felt like I could just go to a show when I was younger. Obviously, everyone should come to our shows, but to create a space for young girls and to fly that flag, it’s an honour.

“I hope people feel pumped up by this album. I hope people listen to it before they go out, I hope people listen to it and you’re just getting the bus into college, and you feel alone. Maybe it’s something that can help you feel less alone. Music for me when I was younger, it made me feel like I was less alone, that there were others out there who shared my views. If it makes them believe in themselves in some way, any positive feeling can only be good.

“It’s about being heard, and if people feel like they can be heard and they’re not alone, it’s all good. Maybe the songs mean different things to different people but the fact it means something to people, that’s what it’s about. It’s a vital time to be having these conversations and hopefully changing people’s minds just by playing our rock shows.” P Dream Wife’s self-titled debut album is out 26th January.

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ABOUT TO

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

FUNERAL SHAKES

FROM THE ASHES OF THE SMOKING HEARTS - PLUS EM FROM NERVUS AND LEE FROM GALLOWS - COMES A BAND CREATING SOMETHING EUPHORIC FROM MISERY. MEET FUNERAL SHAKES. WORDS: STEVEN LOFTIN.

W

ith only a handful of gigs under their belt, the underground pedigree of Funeral Shakes puts them straight in the deep end; already thoroughly road-tested, they’d rather work on spreading the gospel that is their debut album than spend their nights preambling through UK’s toilet circuit.

“We haven’t allowed ourselves the opportunity to be rubbish,” says cofounder and frontman Calvin Roffey, cutting straight to breaking down the band’s game plan. “We haven’t done twenty shows before anyone’s heard of

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us - people have heard of us straight away, and we’ve got to hit the ground running.”

Rising like a rock’n’roll phoenix from the ashes of their previous group, The Smoking Hearts, Calvin, along with guitarist Simon Barker, wasted no time in looking to the future. The full all-star Funeral Shakes line-up sees them team up with Gallows drummer Lee Barratt and Nervus guitarist and vocalist Em Foster.

“We’ve learnt from all doing other bands that you can go out and play fifty shows, but if no one knows who you are then they aren’t going to pay you any attention,” Calvin states. “It sounds harsh, but it’s true.

“In Smoking Hearts, we must’ve done

two hundred shows before we released a record and it was only once we had an album out that people cared; that people paid attention and recognised the songs and acknowledged us as a real band.

“We thought this time, why bother promoting a band that doesn’t have a record? Let’s do the record first, then do some shows, and people can know about us knowing there’s a solid album with a solid set of songs ready to go.”

While this underground supergroup is far from a passing project, it’s still competing within their busy schedules. “Simon plays in a band called The Kramers,” Calvin explains. “I play in Fire Pool Red. We don’t do a lot of shows, but we still do the odd

“WE HAVEN’T ALLOWED OURSELVES THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE RUBBISH” bits here and there. Obviously, Nervus are fairly busy, and Gallows, when they tour, will be busy again.”

For Simon and Calvin, who’ve known each other since they were twelve, the band offers them the opportunity to branch away from the hardcore tracks they’d previously been penning. “We just fancied trying something new,” Simon explains.

“Why not?”

What they’ve created is a rattle and rumble through heartbreak and sadness.

“I think it’s easier to write a song when you’re feeling a bit more like that, you

know? I don’t think I’ve got it in me to write a happy song,” Simon says.

“Especially since it’s when you’re at your most emotive - when you’re feeling bad.”

“It wasn’t like, ‘Right, I’m going write a load of miserable songs’,” he adds. “It just happened like that.”

Funeral Shakes are a raucous amalgamation of garage rock, punk, and straight up rock’n’roll. Fronted by Calvin’s raw vocals, it marks an entirely new experience for the bassist. “I hadn’t the intention of being a lead singer, I’ve always been happy playing bass and

providing back up vocals,” he explains.

“But when we were writing this we didn’t really know any singers, certainly not that we’d want to jump into bed with if you will. It was just like, it’s either me or Simon’s going to have to do it,” he pauses briefly, laughing. “I guess I drew the short straw!”

In their matching rockabilly-style shirts, the group don’t do things by halves. “I’ve always liked bands who have a look,” Simon begins. “I find them way more memorable, and I just think it’s cool. It makes an impact. The music’s one side of it, but it’s a visual impact as well. I always had a vision of roughly how it should sound, stylistically and everything.”

It’s an idea with which Calvin excitedly agrees. “Absolutely! I look at it with bands such as The Hives, Rocket From The Crypt, even bands like Against Me! who don’t necessarily have a strict uniform, they have a style - it just looks cool. It ties a band together, it gives a band identity, and it gives the fans something to not just expect, but look forward to.

“There are a lot of times now when you go to see shows, especially punk shows, and it’s just four dudes in jeans and t-shirts, and no one’s made an effort. If you want people to know you’re making an effort, that’s one way you can do it.”

It’s all part of a bigger picture that puts their connection with fans first and foremost. “We wanted to write songs that we’re proud of, and hopefully, other people are in to,” Simon concludes. “It would be nice to go out and play some songs, and I don’t know, maybe one day have people singing them back at you. That’s the goal.” P Funeral Shakes’ self-titled debut album is out 16th February.

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26

REAL THE

LAST

OF THE

ONES

WHEN MOST BANDS REACH A CERTAIN LEVEL, THEY’RE HAPPY TO SIT BACK AND KEEP IN THEIR LANE. NOT FALL OUT BOY. WELCOME TO ‘M A N I A’.

WORDS: ALI SHUTLER. PHOTOS: BRENDAN WALTER.

27

“W

e get slammed for having this gee-whiz nature about things,” smiles Patrick Stump.

“It’s this thing where it sounds like false modesty after a while, so I understand it, but you tell me, how unlikely is it that Fall Out Boy, of all bands, is still here?”

Andy, Joe, Pete and Patrick have been such a relentlessly present force in recent years, a mainstay of radio, arenas and hearts, that it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t always the case. Coming back from any hiatus is tough enough. For Fall Out Boy, they had to shake off a sound and image that helped define the early noughties as well as find a new space to call their own. Echoing the past was never an option. Former glories are for those with nothing new to say. The back to back might of 2013’s ‘Save Rock and Roll’ and 2015’s ‘American Beauty/ American Psycho’ saw the band switch lanes, carve out their own space and create something new. ‘M A N I A’ sees them switch it up all over again.

“The older I get, the weirder it is that I’m still here, that we’re still here doing this and that we’re still talking about this,” continues Patrick. “It still feels weird to me every day. Not in a bad way, it’s amazing, but I’m in genuine disbelief every night when we play and have that many people sing along, or are excited to see us, or are wearing the shirt or have the tattoo and all that. Really, still?” he asks with a grin. “It just shocks me.

Maybe I’m just oblivious, but it feels very surreal. You never get used to it.”

B

ack in 2003, Fall Out Boy had a “pretty successful” record with ‘Take This To Your Grave’.

“It was fairly up the middle in terms of genre. You can define that album,” explains Patrick. “So when we did ‘From Under The Cork Tree’ [in 2005], I was college age. Maybe I was going to go back to school if the band didn’t work out. And here I am about to do a major label debut record! Most of those major label debuts disappear without a trace. That’s the story for most artists.

The odds are you do this; then you never make another record again. I knew bands personally, and that was their story. A lot of the bands from Chicago, a lot of the biggest bands in our universe, our sphere, were bands that had gotten signed and then disappeared off the face of the planet. They got signed, put the record out, nobody cared. That was the narrative

28

we assumed we were going to be a part of.

“I THOUGHT H E LOV E D THE SONGS. HE THOUGHT I LOV E D T H E SONGS. WE REALISED WE HAD A PROBLEM B ECAUS E NEITHER ONE OF US DID”

“Not only did that that not happen, but we put out ‘. ..

Cork Tree’, and it was a big hit. Then we put out ‘Infinity On High’ [in 2007], and by some measures, that was an even bigger hit. It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t mean this in a self-deprecating way, but I’m not the most charismatic guy on earth, right?

I didn’t imagine that I would be a part of something that would be that successful. Then we put out ‘Folie A Deux’ [in 2008], and the way this story goes for most bands is that that’s it. That’s all you get.

Time’s up. You’re going to be playing the festival circuit, or carnivals and state fairs, for the rest of your life.

That’s normally what happens.”

PETE WENTZ

Not for Fall Out Boy, though.

“When we came back post-hiatus [in 2013], it was amazing because I genuinely didn’t know people still wanted us. I didn’t know people missed us or wanted anything out of us. The fact we were coming back with new music that was very different to what we left with, and then people embraced it, that was very liberating. The things I’ve gotten to do now, after the hiatus. It’s so amazing. If Fall Out Boy had kept going and kept being what we were, I don’t think we would have ever been able to score films or work with orchestras and write hip-hop beats and do all the things we get to do now. That would have been an option if we were just the little midwestern pop punk band forever. It’s definitely been very liberating.”

That feeling flows through new album ‘M A N I A’ like blood through veins. Once again but like never before, it sees the band push things forward and chase rabbits down twisted warrens. From the shattered glint of ‘Young & Menace’

through to the spread palm of ‘Bishop’s Knife Trick’, Fall Out Boy nudge your expectations and shift the boundary lines a little further.

It’s what they were always going to do, though. Believers never die.

Back on ‘. ..Cork Tree’, Patrick said to himself: “This is my only shot. This is probably the last time I’ll ever put out a record. I want something that 10, 15, 20 years down the line, will have laid a blueprint for musical change.

I know I’m not a genre guy. I’m not the guy who’s going to be playing the same kind of music for the rest of his life. I wanted to make sure that was there, even then.

“The thing that I’m excited about is that it feels like this record finally realises that for me. It’s like all the things I wanted to set up in ‘. ..Cork Tree’ have come to life. All the weird, different elements of folk, blues, RnB, future bass, metal and jazz are there. There’s all sorts of weird stuff.”

“THERE’S NO ROOM FOR MIDDLE OF T H E ROA D”

more awkward, asking well, why did we put this record out?

“Originally it felt like an extension of ‘American Beauty/ American Psycho’.

That would have been fine, but it would have been just fine.

We didn’t have ‘Last Of The Real Ones’ yet, we didn’t have ‘Hold Me Tight or Don’t’.

We had ‘Champion’, ‘Young & Menace’ and that was it. It wasn’t bad; it was just fine. I don’t want to be just fine. When we go out and play in front of 15,000 kids, I don’t want to play some shit I’m not inspired by. It’s not enough. It’s like faking it. It’s not what we want to do. The benefit was that we were able to try and do something a little more thoughtful.”

PETE WENTZ “Musically it’s a progression,” starts Pete Wentz. “It just feels like it’s moving the ball forward.”

“It’s pretty broad in terms of sound,” continues Patrick. “That was there early on. With ‘Young & Menace’, everyone thought it was going to be an electronic record. Then we put out ‘Last Of The Real Ones’, and everyone thought it’d be more rock. It’s not a thing you can pin down; it’s a lot of different things. I think that’s neat. One of my managers was saying how the thing about Fall Out Boy is that we have this natural thing that’s us. Pete’s words, my voice, the way Andy plays drums and Joe plays guitar; there’s something natural about those things that comes through in any context. Or it seems to. If we played Old MacDonald, there would be something inherently Fall Out Boy about the way that we’d do it.” That belief gave the group a license to go on some “musical vacations” and do some “weird things”. “This is one of our more all over the place records, but in a good way.”

S

omewhere between ‘...Cork Tree’ and today, Fall Out Boy became more than a band toying with genre. Something like ‘Hold Me Tight or Don’t’ doesn’t sound like anything the band have done before, but it instantly feels like them. It’s a legacy that’s still finding new spaces to explore, but it’s one they hold dear. It’s why you’re hearing ‘M A N I A’ four months later than originally planned. It was missing that spark. That special something that makes FOB twinkle like they do.

The turning point came over a coffee.

“I was talking to Patrick,” says Pete. “I thought he loved the songs. He thought I loved the songs. We realised we had a problem because neither one of us did.

If we hadn’t have had that conversation, we would have put out a record in September, and it would have been much

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Rather than try and breath life into old songs, Fall Out Boy took out the scissors and started cutting. Songs were scrapped because “they were just mediocre to me,” continues Pete. “It wasn’t going to be anyone’s favourite song; it wasn’t going to be a massive song. It was just filler. They were good enough, and that’s just not. You can do anything in 2017.

People will give you a chance, but there’s no room for middle of the road. There’s nothing worse than people having no opinion. I’m fine with people saying the sample in ‘Uma Thurman’ is fucking terrible or asking why we put a hair metal scream on the radio. Any of that shit, I’m fine with it. ‘Young & Menace is way to EDM? Okay. For people to just have no reaction? That would be rough.”

For a moment, there was a different lyrical perspective on ‘M A N I A’. “It was straight ahead from our last record. In doing the reboot, it felt like a chance for us to go in and examine other stuff, other perspectives,” offers Pete. ‘Save Rock and Roll’ and ‘American Beauty/American Psycho’ both realise the unrest. Grand statements and opposites attracting under their banner of hyper-charge.

Battling anxieties with huge choruses and avoiding the darkness by constantly chasing the light, those two records ran forward, hand in hand, and refused to look back. A kneejerk to a world slowly falling away. ‘M A N I A’ almost followed suit. The band took the spark of ‘Young & Menace’ and tried to write, record and release a new album in just twelve months. In pushing it back, they paused to look around.

The result is a record that refuses to stand still, leaning from left to right and wringing hands as ‘M A N I A’ swells into an “examination of subtle neurosis,” Pete starts. “The Larry David-isms of the world.”

“I love the world; I just don’t love the way it makes me feel,” sings ‘Church’.

Full of spirit and fiery soul, it looks at “love or lust, where you’re so into them they become like a religion to you.”

‘Heaven’s Gate’ considers “the idea that you can sneak somebody into Heaven with you, the same way you could sneak somebody into the VIP bit of a club.

Religious imagery can be super powerful.

Obviously, we’re all over the place with religion. Personally, I don’t know what I think. I like the idea that you can try and be a better version of yourself. Whatever makes you want to do that is good, whether it’s having kids or believing in God or whatever.”

“This record is one of those, I’m here, flaws and all kinda things. And that’s okay. People are a complicated animal.

We’re happy and sad, and I feel all these things. It’s a range. A buffet of emotions.”

At times, ‘M A N I A’ is awkward, lonely, confused and lost. “There will always be these feelings underneath, but you have to evolve and adapt, and that’s what this record has within it too. There are imperfections, but that’s okay. That’s the intent. It’s not like really one thing.

It’s hopeful, more than anything. I think there’s hope.”

I

t’s not just in ‘M A N I A’ that there’s optimism; Pete sees it in the crowds at Fall Out Boy’s shows and as a force for change. “I feel like we live in a world that’s full of abject negativity and I don’t want to add to that. For all we talk about negativity, there’s so much great stuff out in the world. Places to see, people to meet and I think we want to go do that. We live in strange times or whatever and a lot of people are asking is this record going to be like [Green Day’s] ‘American Idiot’? It’s not. ‘American Idiot’ is brilliant because it was this sole dissenting voice, but now the way people take in information, there are so many hot takes. Everything’s

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been said. To me, this record speaks more to the personal. How you feel and what you feel inside. It’s about what your insecurities and your flaws are. It’s what you project into the world, so it ends up being intensely political.”

“We live in a time when people are always asking ‘What would I have done then?’ This is your time to stand up and do it,” he continues. “It doesn’t need to be a middle finger to this person or whatever. You can just put good out into the world, and that will come back to you, or you’ll feel good about doing it.

That includes inclusivity, and moreso to me, the knowledge that it’s alright to be different. It’s totally okay. A lot of people are really different; some people hide it, some people don’t hide it, it’s all okay. We need to embrace it.”

Last time Fall Out Boy wrote a record was 2014. It’s only been a few years, but it already feels like absolutely everything has changed. And not for the better.

“It’s impossible to go anywhere or do anything without thinking about that,” starts Patrick. “That’s where we all are as a society. Every day you wake up and go, seriously? It’s obviously the backdrop of this record, but I didn’t overtly set out to do anything different because I feel like, if I did anything different, it would be out of fear or frustration. I think that’s the point. To not be afraid of right now and to still stay the course and do the thing you wanted to do. We’re a globally focused band, and as people, we care about the rest of the world. And I’m not going to change that because it’s suddenly not in vogue. But also, we’ve never been an overtly political band so, at the same time, I didn’t think it was right to suddenly be that either. It’s just about staying the course and doing what we were going to do, regardless of anything.”

Fall Out Boy have always had this community surrounding them. From their hardcore beginnings, through the awkward dance dance of pop-punk and growing up to now, where they proudly declare themselves “a champion of the people who don’t believe in champions,” there’s been this sense that even if you’re an outsider, they’re outside with you. On ‘M A N I A’, it’s pushed front and centre and shouted from a great height.

“It’s probably more direct now,” agrees Patrick, and for good reason. “That’s the thing; you can’t live in this moment and not live in this moment. It’s everywhere you go. It’s going to pepper everything

“WE DON’T N E E D TO MAKE A NEW FA L L O U T B OY R E C O R D. THERE’S N OTH I N G T H A T S AY S W E H AV E T O ”

you think and say on some level.

We’re one of those bands that’s always been more about the example than the speech. For me, look at the things we’re listening to and calling on musically, look at the artists we’re touring with. Look at the social culture we’re surrounding ourselves with.

That’s where you find that stuff.

We’re not going to beat you over the head with it. That’s another thing; I don’t know if I could handle that every night. It’s already so draining just to walk through the world every day, there needs to be a certain kind of reminder that we’re all still people, we’re all still in this together, we’re all still doing this.

Society didn’t just suddenly break down because of a few maniacs.

PAT R I C K S T U M P

“That’s the other thing too; I was reading something, I don’t know if it’s a sociological principle or a physiological principle, but we tend to think that happy people are less intelligent. That’s an assumption we make as a species.

A cultural thing that we assume that if someone is happy, they’re not paying enough attention. As a result, I feel like there is no shortage of bad news. If you look in any direction, there’s bad news. But there’s good news too. You don’t hear it because when there’s good news, there’s this inner cynic that wants to come out and that’s something we have been a little more overt about.

No man, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy to be negative all of the time. You have to embrace some of the good stuff, and if someone says you’re an idiot then whatever, but it’s important to notice there are still good things in the world, people are still good. Just because some people have let their fear and anger make them do some not so good things, doesn’t mean everyone has.”

Y

ears ago Fall Out Boy found the level they were operating on, and the celebrity that came with it, a bit silly. So

they mocked it. Hoods up, tongues in cheek, and laughing at what they could get away with, the band didn’t care if they were dropping water balloons onto the red carpet, parodying rock star stereotypes or simply having a bit of fun.

That sense of humour, “it’s all there still,” confirms Patrick. “You still have to be able to laugh at yourself, that’s important.

When you take yourself too seriously, you lose perspective. There’s still some fun to be had at it. Listen, ten years I didn’t have, we didn’t have, access to the emotions and perspectives to really, completely understand the platform but now, I think it’s important. You have a responsibility with the platform you have to use it to make change in a good way. I feel really comfortable onstage speaking to the kids who come to our shows. At the same time, when it comes to an awards show or something like that, I still don’t think we fit in all that well. We’re still outsiders in that. In some ways, I feel like we fit in now. In other ways, it’s still the same.”

Fall Out Boy celebrate differences. It’s been there from the start, and it’s part of their DNA. “I find meaning in the music, that moves me more than words. Pete attaches more to lyrical things. We have these parallel ideas, so when we put the record together we take a step back and go, okay, does this work for you? Yes. Does this still work for you? Yes. Okay, that’s the record. It’s building this dual narrative. It’s like in a movie where you’re

33

following a few stories at once.

“One of the things I still do with Pete’s lyrics and titles, is not ask. I don’t want to know. I don’t want any context for it because I feel like, especially with writing to his titles, writing with his lyrics and his art, I think part of the fun is that I’m only as smart as I am. It’s a principle of improv. I took a couple of improv classes, and one of the things they say is, your character can only be as smart as you are, but they should be as smart as you are. The character knows as much as you do about the world. Pete says these things and either I get them, or I don’t.

And that’s fun for me. I still have it, on a regular basis. We’ll be in the middle of a show, and I’ll be playing a song that I’ve played every night for a decade, and I’ll catch some tiny wordplay I didn’t notice.

That’s the fun of it. It’s a puzzle you keep unravelling.”

T

he band share a common belief in what they’re doing. That sentiment about something being inherently Fall Out Boy carried by them all while the question of their importance is met with the same answer.

“Fall Out Boy is important to me,” starts Patrick. “It’s important to us. I’m sure there are people in our audience for whom it’s important for, but I don’t carry that around in any way. Maybe that’s my own self-esteem, but I don’t know if I’d ever dare to say I was doing anything important. It’s just something I do and have to continue doing.”

“It’s important to me, and for the guys in the band,” echoes Pete. “I don’t think it’s important in the same way Doctors Without Borders are doing stuff in Syria, I think it’s less important than that. I have to understand the scope of the importance. I know it’s important to me, but I know there are vastly more important things happening in the world.” Fall Out Boy give their audience a hope though, and that’s an importance that can’t be undersold. “I really do hope that that’s the case,” he smiles.

“We were a band that wanted to challenge our listeners,” Pete continues.

“It’s not a challenge that would annoy or purposefully be difficult, but I love The Clash; they changed. With Bowie, he put characters to rest and started new ones. It can be frustrating at the time, but it adds to the longevity of the music and the art that they were making, and that’s important. If we had played it safe

34

the first time we had a follow-up, it would have been a lot harder, but we always switched it. And that’s okay, sometimes you know it’s not exactly right.

Everything we do isn’t for everyone who listens, but that’s okay. I’d rather be moving the ball forward and pushing it than playing it safe.

“There’s nothing more punk rock than playing Fall Out Boy songs on pop radio in 2017, that’s pretty wild.”

“WE LIVE IN A WORLD T H AT ’ S F U L L O F A BJ ECT N E G AT I V I T Y AND I DON’T WA N T T O A D D T O T H AT ” PETE WENTZ

That sense of belonging where you shouldn’t belong is also the reason why the band still end their sets with ‘Take This to Your Grave’ track, ‘Saturday’.

“There’s something about it that still feels like we’re playing it at a punk rock club. We just never stopped doing it, so we keep doing it. At the same time, we’re playing these songs that are a billion times bigger than ‘Saturday’ ever was.

I don’t know if we’ll ever stop doing it.

It’s so funny. We’re playing in this big football arena, and we’ll play this song that maybe half the people won’t know, but it’s still fun.”

“It’s so refreshing that you can include different ideas, as long as it’s not a parody,” Pete once explained to Upset backstage at Reading Festival. For well over a decade, Fall Out Boy have been at the forefront of trends and musical evolution. Sometimes they rushed ahead (hi, ‘Folie’) but they’ve always been a band with something to say, something to add to the mix.

“Hopefully it’s because we’re listening to other people too. It’s why we have people like Jayden Smith on tour; there are a lot of kids and futuristic thinkers out there. One of the things we try and do is amplify what they’re thinking and doing,” explains Pete, echoing Patrick’s idea about surrounding themselves with the culture they want to represent. “It feels like the world caught up with us. Genre has never been a thing for us, we’ve incorporated a ton of hip-hop and metal into what we do, just because those were our influences, and now it feels like the world doesn’t care about genre as much.

It’s super freeing in that way. You can make whatever and collaborate with whoever. That’s how we always wanted to do it, and it feels great that you can do that now. It feels like we’re untethered now. We can play shows with Jayden Smith, PVRIS, AWOLNATION, Wiz Khalifa and it all makes sense. That’s super liberating.”

And people have always listened, which has let Fall Out Boy play. “It’s a combination of things. On the one hand, you have your audience and what they want to hear,” continues Pete. “We’ve been very lucky in having a pretty brave audience that has allowed us to do some very weird things over the years.

I think about ‘Folie’, we’ve had some very strange excursions sonically that our audience has stuck through with us.

Another part is probably just figuring yourselves out. There’s a part of art that’s aiming for something, missing the mark, and finding yourself. Sometimes, it’s that experimentation. When you experiment, there’s trial and error. Sometimes there are errors. It was trying to figure out who we were in all these different contexts.

That took a little while to find. Of our more broad records, our more musically, stylistically different albums, ‘M A N I A’ is easily our most cohesive. Our most Fall Out Boy.” “We’ve been very lucky we’ve found an audience that wants to take risks with us,” adds Patrick. “That’s the coolest thing. That’s the exciting thing. We have an audience that knows we like a lot of music, and they like a lot of music. So,

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“I NEVER WA N T T O G O THROUGH THE M OTI O N S”

that’s what we wait for. When we feel like we have something we want people to hear, we start a record. When we don’t, then we don’t. Simple as that. There are different philosophies. I know some very great artists and very great writers who force themselves to write, and write some amazing, inspired work that way, but for us, we’re past the experiment stage.

When we know we have something, we know we’re going to do it.”

PAT R I C K S T U M P we can go in. If anything, the challenge there is finding the restraint in what not to do because they give us license to do anything. It’s trying to find what is the most natural thing for you to do if you’re going to do something weird and different.”

Fall Out Boy are driven forward by a want, not a need. “There’s still stuff to say,” explains Pete. “There’s still stuff under the surface we wanted to say, and that’s important. At the same time, we didn’t have any plans to make a record until Patrick played ‘Young & Menace’.

It’s about feeling inspired, and we were inspired by that.”

“It’s really difficult to do this band when you don’t love it,” continues Patrick. “It hasn’t happened very much, but there have been a few times, for all four of us, where ‘I don’t like this song, I don’t like this thing. I don’t like what we’re doing here’. And you’re a twenty-hour flight from home, sweating your balls off trying to perform this song and not fully believing in it, and it’s not worth it. That’s not worth any of it. For what it’s worth, we’re something of a what you see, is what you get. It’s hard for us to fake it. I don’t want to be faking it. I don’t want to be lying to people, saying, ‘Oh yeah, this is great huh?’

“That’s why we pushed the record back. We don’t need to make a new Fall Out Boy record. There’s nothing that says we have to; there’s no one asking for one. Well, apart from the fans.

And contractually, we’re expected to make another one. But if we never did another record, just went home and got old, I don’t think anyone would bat an eyelash. That’s a normal thing for a lot of artists. The only reason to put out a new record is that you have something to say, either musically or literally or artistically. We have something to get out; we have something we want people to hear. And that’s the thing,

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A

s close as Fall Out Boy are, as much as they inspire one another and believe in what they’re doing, there’s the feeling that it could all stop at any moment. The thing about sparks, of feelings and of fire, is that they’re here one moment, seemingly unstoppable, then gone the next.

“We’re all very comfortable with that,” starts Patrick. “All of my favourite bands ended when they ended, and ended when they should have. That’s a tough thing because you might not want to, but you have to know when you’re not needed. I used to work at a used record store. One of the things about this used record store, was that it wasn’t a cool used record store. This was just stuff people didn’t want anymore; it was a donate bin basically. And I had become very acquainted with the albums after the artist loses it. For all these artists, there were so many of these records where the band really had something going, the artist really had their finger on the pulse of something, and then they put out this record where they lost the interest but had to do it. I knew these records front to back because that’s all we had. I never want to put one out. I would rather put out nothing. “’Folie’ was a weird record, and it didn’t work on a lot of levels for people, but at least I know at the end of the day, there was nothing cynical about the record. There was no, ‘I don’t know, someone will buy it’. That was never a part of it. You can never get into that complacency because it makes you a worse artist. It taints your legacy to put those records out, those records where

your audience can tell you’re just going through the motions. I never want to go through the motions.

“And also, that’s the thing I like doing.

That’s why I’m here. I like making the record. I tour, I perform, I sing. There are all these things about them that I really do love, but that’s not what got me here. The reason I want to make music is so I can be in the studio and write new, exciting songs. So, if I’m ever there just going through the motions, that’s my own personal hell. I’d never want to put that record out. At some point the pendulum could stop, the gyroscope could stop spinning, and the whole thing could fall apart. If we ever lose that spark, it’s the right thing to do.

If we don’t have anything we want to say, anything we’re excited about, then this stops.”

For all the talk of possible ends, ‘M A N I A’ never feels like a final statement.

It swings, swells and dances with the belief that this could be forever. It feels like Fall Out Boy enjoying being Fall Out Boy. “I want it to be an experience for people,” starts Pete. “I remember being a little kid and going to a movie theatre at midday at the weekend. You’d come out and be surprised that it was still light out because you were so inside of the film. I want people to have that feeling. I want people to go inside of it and come out, feeling like they really experience something. It’s a high bar so we’ll see,” he laughs.

“Records are funny. Art is funny, isn’t it?” asks Patrick. “Now we dissect Hitchcock films, they’re high art, and we understand how much craft went into making them, but at the time he was making them his primary goal was to entertain people. He wanted people to enjoy the hour and a half they were in the theatre. That’s an important thing to remember. As lofty as any of our ambitions, ideas or feelings are, at the end of the day none of it matters if people don’t like the music you’re making. You can fall back on ‘Oh, people don’t get it’, but they would get it. When something is really good, people will find it. It doesn’t matter how weird or esoteric it is. That’s the main thing I want, to make a record that means something people. It’s as simple as that.” P Fall Out Boy’s album ‘M A N I A’ is out now.

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S ’ T A H T M N I A T ENTER BETTER TERPARKS KNOW , SOMETHING WA ON D THE TEXAS INI AN OP D E RL RIS WO LA ROCK NDS OFTEN PO BETWEEN THE HIP ’, FRONTMAN NS NT TIO ME SUCCESSFUL BA LA ATE RE TERTAIN SECOND LP ‘EN TH THE LOVE-H WI OF .

E ST AS AGAINST HIM… MO LE ING RE AN TH THE WILL ABOUT THOSE CONTINUE WITH CK TO FU T A SE E VE GI OM ’T THREES Y HE COULDN HT EXPLAINS WH AWSTEN KNIG N. SO RD HA RIC WORDS: JAKE

38

MENT

T

he question of what constitutes ‘rock’ music t causes in 2018 is one tha p seven fans to verbally lum other on a bells out of each sic, it now daily basis. Rock mu ut a sound seems, is less abo gy and and more an ideolo kari, Hey aesthetic: Enter Shi P), Twenty Violet, Lil Peep (RI … none of One Pilots, PVRIS what you these bands make ditional’ would regard as ‘tra they rock music, and yet brella all fit under the um . thful alt-rock world of the modern, you ns is izo hor k’s roc of The broadening who better – after all, undoubtedly for the box-ticking nt, gna sta a of t wants to be par lling-down of the genre? But the dia o, rap ergence of electr guitars and the em ative culture ern alt in ces uen and pop infl n’t ists, and there are is upsetting the pur g off the oldsin pis at ter bet s many act parks. guard than Water has sten Knight, who Led by a man, Aw t his ast in the belief tha adf ste n bee ays alw right ative music is the ern alt to ch roa app tarist completed by gui one, Waterparks – o Wood and drummer Ott ton ing Wig off Ge sten course with, as Aw – are on a collision re on (mo ” s, rdo bea puts them, “the old pise everything the them later) who des do. band are trying to to be d we were going “I’ve never doubte o instantly wh n, ste Aw ins successful,” beg . confident individual comes across as a going to be a re we we e iev “I had to bel to be I do in life, I want success. Whatever you can’t want how see ’t don I great at; g when you’re workin success, especially early days. I always the in s wa I as as hard there, and if anyone thought we’d get ’re say, ‘Trust me – we I’d , me ned questio happen’.” it ke ma to ng goi re,” or seemingly “got the Waterparks have g close to conquerin at the very least are e they set out achiev whatever the “it” gs instays, radio darlin was. Magazine ma Geoff winners, Awsten, and Warped Tour hottest property in and Otto, are the op/ emo/pop-rock/alt-p 2018’s pop-punk/ ll-it pack. Yes, -ca nna -wa you whatever-elsemore nks to tunes with they’ve done it tha tory, but as fac ap -wr ble bub pop than a g the they’re just makin Awsten explains, nted to. wa ays alw e y’v music the thing sic more than any ite “I listen to pop mu is one of my favour $ha “Ke s. say he else,” a lot of hip-hop and to en list I and , people ments so many great ele rap too. There are

39

to that kind of music that are fun to implement into our sound. Back when Waterparks started, we had electronic elements, but there was less of it, because I didn’t know how to do it. We were writing in our friend’s garage in the middle of nowhere in some redneck town, and I’d be saying stuff like, ‘What if I go ‘Whoop whoop’ behind the vocals?

What if we cut them like this and layer them like this?’ But now that I can do it myself and do it properly, we can dive head first into it.”

The detractors can complain about the band’s Ke$ha-influenced, fun-loving sound all they want, but there’s no denying Waterparks have created their own identity. Whether you call it poppunk or electro-rock, no one sounds like they do – not that Awsten gives a damn about labels or if they’re making rock music, anyway.

“I don’t care if we’re a rock band – it’d be more fun to be a pop band! I’m just overall these subcultures and shit.

People don’t have a unique vision anymore: there are so many of these pop-punk bands that do the exact same thing as one another, and it’s so garbage and uninspiring. Likewise, you see metalcore bands all wearing black tank-tops, looking and sounding exactly the same. When we do different things,

40

some dumbass sixteen-year-old will look at a band that’s plateaued for ages, playing 300-cap rooms for seven years, and say, ‘This is what bands should be.’

They’ve no fucking idea. It’s frustrating to have a vision, execute it well and then, just for the sake of what it is, have it be shat on by someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Even when we put out [first ‘Entertainment’ single] ‘Blonde’, I didn’t look at anything online; because if I was to look at the verified responses, I’d see news sites and my friends being excited about it, and if I was to look at regular mentions, I’d see people being assholes.”

He says he doesn’t give a damn about being a rock band, and clearly, he doesn’t, but what Awsten does appear to take issue with is what he sees as the narrow-mindedness of the alt music world towards bands taking influence from pop and mixing electronics with amps. Second full-length ‘Entertainment’ finds Waterparks upping the electro stakes, so it’s a good thing that Awsten, while being pissed off with the criticism the band gets, doesn’t allow it to compromise his artistic vision.

“There’s definitely more electro on ‘Entertainment’,” Awsten states. “It’s one of my favourite things to do with us – I love cutting-up my voice and doing

creative things that other bands aren’t doing. I’m excited for people to hear what we’ve done. There’s a song on the album called ‘Crybaby’, for example, that’s got all these cool layers and gets really big – I was stoked to record that one.”

Another song on ‘Entertainment’ that Awsten was excited to execute is one called ‘TANTRUM’. Standing-out both in terms of its biting lyrical content (“Maybe if I kill myself you’ll know I’m sincere”) and its razor-sharp sound (it’s the heaviest thing the band have put their name to), it’s a contender for the accolade of the album’s finest moment.

But despite being a creative high, it’s a track which finds Awsten lamenting the scene to which he belongs: ‘TANTRUM’ opens with a sampled voice which says, ‘Fuck these fuckboy bands that can’t think for themselves. Let’s put away our black clothes and start cutting-up our voices – that’s what’s cool now, right?’

Clearly, the Texan’s got a few axes to grind.

“You’re wanting me to start listing names, but I can’t, because we’re friends with some of them!” he awkwardly offers. “I’m going to make something up here, as an example: say Gerard Way and I became friends; I wouldn’t be annoyed if I found out he didn’t like my band. But

“EVERYTHING POP TIL ABOUT YOU ‘ENTERTAINMENT’ DROP...

IS DIFFERENT” AWSTEN KNIGHT a lot of musicians don’t feel that way, because egos are a thing, even with cool people. As of right now, it’s not worth me getting into specific names.”

He pauses, seemingly trying to find a way to further explain his gripes without naming and shaming.

“Watching those who are bigger than us start to implement things we’ve been doing is weird, because they already have the platform and audience. If people start to discover us later, we won’t get the credit for doing those things first – people will be like, ‘X bigger band is already doing that’.”

So, would it be fair to say seeing bigger acts who might’ve disregarded Waterparks in the past borrowing from their sound angers Awsten?

“Yeah. I’ve written a lot more songs like ‘TANTRUM’, we just don’t put them on albums, because I don’t want to sound super butt-hurt all the time!

When bands I like do it, it’s flattering, but it’s also like, ‘Where were you when I was doing that in 2012?’ Really, it’s a compliment, and I shouldn’t be pissed….”

Awsten clearly is pissed, though, as the lyric about killing himself to prove his sincerity attests…

“People think we don’t fucking write our music: a lot of the time we hear folks in the industry say, ‘Doesn’t Benji [Madden, Good Charlotte man and manager/producer for Waterparks] write all their songs?’ Just because those bands are heavier, they have a complex where they think that, if they write about vaguer bullshit, they’re somehow a more serious band. If I had a dollar for every time someone said, ‘I didn’t wanna like your band, but the set was so good, blah blah blah…,’ I’d be super rich. And I always reply like,

WATERPARKS AREN’T THE ONLY ‘ROCK’ BAND INCORPORATING ELEMENTS OF POP AND ELECTRONICA INTO THEIR SOUND – HERE ARE THREE OTHER BANDS BRINGING THE BEATS AND THE BANGERS:

‘Thanks, I guess….’ Guys in bands don’t want to like anything they consider less masculine than themselves, and it’s fucking stupid. I feel like, no matter how genuine or real I am, my music is still going to be brushed aside because I’m not an ugly beardo.”

That last comment might come across a bit shitty, but you can see where Awsten’s frustrations stem from.

‘Entertainment’ – the title of which refers to how Awsten’s ‘private shit is aired out to amuse others’ – is at regular points a serious record. It’s an album that for its sonic adventurism and lyrical honesty is deserving of praise from both critics and fans alike. Awsten, however, is primarily concerned with the latter.

“The message of the record is definitely not open-ended – ‘Entertainment’ encapsulates what this last year has been for me. It’s weird, because fans talk about how they relate to the music, but that’s not how I write: I just write for me. When a fan says to me, ‘I relate to your song ’21 Questions’ so much,’ I’m like, ‘Dude, that sucks’.”

Awsten, it seems, is keen for Waterparks fans not to dwell on the negative, and that might be why, despite the introspectiveness and aggression you can hear on ‘Entertainment’, it sounds like a typically positive pop-rock album. But dig a little deeper, and derivative it sure ain’t.

Rock? Pop? Punk? Who cares.

Waterparks are crafting their own sound, and it’s going to take them further than the sceptics can imagine.

P

CHAPEL

Comprised of former Nightmares man Carter Hardin and ex-Favorite Weapon member Kortney Grinwis, Chapel are one of the hottest bands in the US alt-pop/ pop-rock scene. Awsten Knight is a big fan of these guys, and once you’ve listened to their melody-driven debut EP ‘Sunday Brunch’ – released late in 2017 on Rise Records – you will be too.

BROADSIDE

Pop-punkers Broadside have got that carefree, summertime vibe nailed, thanks in part to their uber-posi tunes, which don’t hold back in showing their pop influences. This four-piece’s sophomore effort, ‘Paradise’, is a saccharine, honeysoaked affair, and it’s evidence the band have their sights set far higher than topping the pop-punk world.

BOHNES

The one-man band of former The Cab frontman Alex De Leon, this is a musical project FFO Twenty One Pilots, Halsey and Andy Black. Bohnes’ brand of ‘shadow pop’ combines elements of hip-hop, pop and R&B with a ghostly aesthetic to create tunes which are a sonic delight, while De Leon’s sumptuous vocals add sheen and finesse to the delightfully dark vibes.

Waterparks’ album ‘Entertainment’ is out now.

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E R D Y DA 42

G N I M A E TO COMPETE WITH AK OUT. “WE WANT XCERTS’ TIME TO BRE .

OD CLE NOW COULD BE THE MA S MURRAY THE BIG DOGS,” SAY NE CUMMING. DAID. PHOTOS: CORIN WORDS: HEATHER MC

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H

“ W E NO LO NGE R W A NT T O B E L OOKE D AT L IKE A LI T T L E B IF F Y”

old on to your hats, and your heart.

The Xcerts are launching 2018 with their most ambitious album yet, and nothing will stand in their way. ‘Hold On To Your Heart’, the follow up to 2014’s wondrous ‘There Is Only You’, is, according to frontman and vocalist Murray Macleod, “about finding a pinhole of light in the dark and turning it into the sun. We really did shoot for the starts with this one.”

M URRAY MACLE O D

Their eyes are set firmly skywards.

When we chat, the trio, completed by Jordan Smith and Tom Heron, have recently played Scala in London, a gig that by all accounts felt monumental.

“When we starting to play in London regularly we would play in a venue called The Water Rats,” he explains, “which was a few hundred yards down from Scala. Over the course of a few months we played there like five times, and every time we drove out of London we would pass Scala, and every time we would gaze up at it, thinking if we got to play there that would be it. It was just this romantic idea – every time we were in London with the big bright lights, there was a big artist there, and we always said, one day.”

Much like gazing adoringly at the venues they once could only dream of playing, they have lofty ambitions for the music to match, and their upcoming album is where they throw everything out there and stake their claim as real contenders. “It was kind of a feeling more than anything. With ‘There Is Only You’ there was a real hunger to prove ourselves and show everyone that we want to be a big band, and with this record, it was even more so. We were really fired up to make this widescreen pop record, so again it was that feeling of, ‘Okay, ‘There Is Only You’ brought us a step up the ladder, but this time we want to take like ten steps up the ladder’.

It was that feeling of wanting to compete with the big dogs. We want to

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be on the main stage of festivals and playing very big rooms; we no longer want to be looked at like a little Biffy.

We didn’t want that anymore we want to make a real statement.”

Making that statement begins with how to follow the excellence of their previous album. When approaching the task, is it a case of looking at the album and saying, ‘How do we go on from here?’, or taking a clean slate approach? “That’s an interesting question,” he muses. “I guess the only reference that we look at is if we feel the songs are better. You want to create, you are basically a musician or artist constantly chasing the perfect song, or records, or perfect show, so we are just striving to become better writers really. Say if we wrote a batch of songs that we felt weren’t anywhere near as good as ‘There Is Only You’, then we’d be in trouble. We glance back, we don’t focus on it.”

Glancing back but moving forward, ‘Hold On To Your Heart’ sees them delve into personal matters, enveloping them up in almost deceptively sweet wrappings. “‘Feels Like Falling In Love’ is a song about falling back in love with life. For a number of months, I was a pretty horrid version of myself, and I wasn’t really all here. I was just kind of drifting. I was like an empty shell, and I felt pretty soulless. I had to really work at it and find myself, regain myself again and living the life I want to live.

So that song’s really about my friends and my family and the band and records and music. It’s a heavy topic for such a poppy song. “’Daydream’, which is the second single, is about not taking anything

for granted and cherishing loved ones because life happens very, very quickly and sometimes it’s very blink-and-you’llmiss-it. People enter and exit your life very quickly so really cherish it. I had a five-year relationship that just ended, and I remember thinking to myself that the whole thing felt like a daydream: one minute it was there, and the next it was gone. All I had was memories, so that was quite odd.”

The album is just the start of a packed year for the band, with a whole heap of UK dates across February and March announced, and more to come in due

course. For now, it’s the calm before the storm: the time to look back but not focus on it, before the new album cycle sweeps them up.

“I really hope people feel invigorated by the album and feel like they could maybe get off their laptops and run outside or something. The whole record really is about self-worth. I hope people find light in it - it’s a pretty positive record for it coming from such a dark place. I hope people can see that they agree with something; I have the really bad tendency that if my heart is broken, I take those pieces and smash them up

even more, which is just crazy, so I hope people realise that they mean a lot, that they mean everything really.”

This is their declaration: they’re not little Biffy. That doesn’t, or shouldn’t, need to be said, but ‘Hold On To Your Heart’ is the final confirmation needed. They are The Xcerts in their own right, and 2018 is theirs for the taking. P The Xcerts’ album ‘Hold On To Your Heart’ is out now.

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E H T IN S W O D SH A SAME BUM,

RELE

NTLE

SS

HT ONIG AL RE. T NEW BEFO BEL, R A E UM L V E HE B NEW THAN UP T - U P, BITE LINE KICK E L R W A O E N M TION WITH T I VA BUT E MO MISM IS TH ’ D OPTI L R S. RWO NEED UNDE 2018 E’S ‘ ER. ALIV HUTL ALI S : S D WOR

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T

onight Alive are super positive. From the youthful fear they confront on 2011 debut ‘What Are You So Scared Of?, through the pain and struggle on 2013 followup ‘The Other Side’, until the open-eyed tranquillity of 2016’s ‘Limitless’, the band have made a point of finding good wherever they turn.

Leading into new album ‘Underworld’, it seemed the band were out to continue their sunny side up journey.

Comeback single ‘World Away’ soundtracked their move onto a new label, giddily looking forward to new adventures and a new trust as they sang of getting to know their pain and it unlocking countless possibilities. “Hope feels shallow to me. This is a song about taking action,” frontwoman Jenna McDougall told Upset at the time.

And that action takes place in their ‘Underworld’. From the first taste of lead track ‘Temple’, Tonight Alive are forced to confront and move.

“There are no metaphors in that song, it’s pretty straight up,” Jenna explains. “I’m not afraid there’s no silver lining.

Even though it’s empowered, I’m not saying ‘it’s okay’.

“A song like ‘World Away’ is almost the opposite, saying I accept my challenges as gifts, and in each sentence and phrase in that song, it’ll have a negative and a

positive, so it all balances out.

In ‘Temple’, there’s the lyric in the chorus ‘I could not be more desperate’. That’s my soul speaking.”

‘Temple’ sees Tonight Alive burning red-raw, without the time to find peace in the struggle; there’s nothing but anger, frustration and unfiltered rage. That direct line to what the band is feeling is kept open throughout.

“From a spiritual perspective, the underworld is a realm where your shadow is. Where there’s great light, there’s great shadow. Underworld is somewhere you have to go to do your shadow work. It’s part of you that you revisit, where your trauma and pain from past life exist. I guess it’s about looking in the mirror and getting a little deeper into yourself, into the parts you don’t like, or you don’t want to look at because they’re too ugly or too scary.

That’s the underworld, and that’s completely the theme of this record.

“It was a conscious decision that Whak [Taahi, the band’s now-departed co-founder] and I made when we were writing this record. He said people seem to relate when you put it all out on the line, and when you take that risk of being super vulnerable, exposed and honest. People seem to connect with that, and that’s how we connected with our fans in the first place on ‘What Are You So Scared

“Once an outcast, always an outcast” 48

Of?’ and ‘The Other Side’.

“Part of what’s separating our fans from us on ‘Limitless’ was that whole tone; I’ve overcome, and I’ve healed, and it’s finished. It never was.

Moving towards light, that was a natural process for me, but I neglected a lot of things that were unfinished.

I don’t regret that, it’s just part of the learning process.

You have to put some things in the dark and then return to them when you’re ready.

You’re not always ready at the time to face yourself. It was a conscious decision to tap back into darkness, and tap back into fear, and give people something to connect to on a level that they relate.”

From eating disorders and depression to looking at identity and relationships, ‘Underworld’ sees Jenna at her most open, expressive and bare. No sugar coating or poetry is hiding the pain, just the bloodthirsty truth delivered as small epiphanies and eternal mantras. ‘In My Dreams’ and ‘The Other’ pick up those feelings of not fitting in that the band explored on their debut.

“Once an outcast, always an outcast,” smiles Jenna. “Once a punk, always a punk. In the first verse of ‘The Other’, I talk about looking in the mirror and not seeing a woman but feeling like one. I’ve always had this conflict of masculine energy in me. I don’t know if it’s from childhood, or it’s part of who I am or because I came up in a male-dominated industry but I’ve always dressed in a gender-neutral way, and people always mistake me for a man. That’s fine, I’m not offended by it, but it puts me in a position where I question myself.

“I don’t know how to talk about it properly, but it’s cool to touch on that. I identify as female all the time, but I also have quite a masculine image, I perform with a quite a masculine energy to have dominance but it doesn’t

have to be masculine, it’s just interpreted that way.

I’m navigating that at the moment.

“That song [‘The Other’] was only written in May [2017].

We always write songs, and I never understand them until a little later on. I wanted to speak on people’s behalf. I need to learn how to talk about it better, but I’m talking about sexuality and gender in that song as well as generally feeling like an outsider or not being understood.”

‘Underworld’ sees Tonight Alive very much in the midst of a journey. “The bridge that never happened between ‘The Other Side’ and ‘Limitless’, both sonically and lyrically,” it’s not an adventure with a beginning, a middle and an end. “It’s not complete.

It’s difficult to talk about because it’s not about here’s a question, here’s the answer.

Here are the challenges, here are the resolves. It’s not written that way, and that’s probably to do with the fact we wrote the record in three months, and we wrote it this year [in 2017]. What we wrote about, we’re still experiencing now. It’s not resolved.”

Their shadow work has allowed the band to turn towards the light and face it, unburdened.

For every song that sees

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50

“ I t ’s a b o u t living fully without fear” the band face their demons, there’s one about love.

“It feels like I got to clear enough space to feel love again, experience love again.

There’s been so much pain, personal growth, sickness and battling for control. That was a huge theme with ‘Limitless’ because of the situation with our record label. It feels like we finally got to clear space and open my heart again and be grateful for love. I’ve always had love in my life, but I think the band has always been the focus for so long that I didn’t get to fully appreciate it until now.

‘For You’ is a song about unconditional love, and being in a relationship with something where it feels like anything is possible.

“Does it seem like there’s a hidden message on that song? It’s about being in a partnership; it’s about living with somebody and having been with that person for so long, coming to a place where everything is suddenly clear.

Wow, you completely changed my life, and we get to share this human experience together. It’s about expressing gratitude to the person you love.

“We don’t have a lot of love songs with Tonight Alive. For a period of time, it wasn’t a focus for me; love. A lot of my adult life has been about my personal development, so it was nice to write that song.

‘Crack My Heart’ is a love song of its own kind, so are ‘In My Dreams’ and ‘Book of Love’.

There are so many love songs

on this record. They all have different phases.”

Tonight Alive have always turned towards the light, but ‘Underworld’ sees them exploring what lays over their shoulder. There’s a balance to the record; light and shade. “I want people to not be afraid of their shadow and not live in a state of fear. Every decision we make, everything we feel is either from a place of love or fear. I hope this record inspires people to choose love over fear. Choosing love means to stand in the fire, to understand what your dark place looks like and feels like so you have the tools to work with your pain and overcome it and not think that running or sweeping under the rug is a solution.

“Sometimes you need to forgive yourself for doing that because sometimes you’re not ready. Sometimes we don’t feel safe. It’s about getting to know yourself on a deeper level and for me, that’s been through understanding your shadow self. Work is never over. I know that now. There’s no end goal, which is okay.

That doesn’t make me feel aimless; it actually sets me free. There’s an opportunity in every conversation and every challenge,” Jenna beams, positive there’s always a positive. P Tonight Alive’s album ‘Underworld’ is out now.

COLLABS ‘Underworld’ sees Tonight Alive team up with a couple of unlikely guest spots - Lynn Gunn from PVRIS, and Corey Taylor from Slipknot.

JENNA vs LYNN GUNN “Whak and I were in Nashville at the same time as PVRIS; they were rehearsing for a tour.

Finally stars aligned for Lynn and me to collaborate.

“We hung out with PVRIS a bunch, we went to the shooting range and had BBQs, it was fun. It was cool just to sit down and jam, we wrote that song in half a day.

“We said, if we’re going to collaborate, let’s make sure it sounds like neither of our bands. We didn’t want it to sound like Tonight Alive feat. Lynn, we didn’t want it to sound like PVRIS feat. me. Let’s write a song you would put on when you’re driving out of town and going under bridges, being on a big open highway, and just feeling free.

“We both enjoyed things like nature, forests and that oneness you experience when you’re in nature. That was an image that was in the back of my mind when we were writing ‘Disappear’.

In the second verse, I talk about big dreams and how nobody wants them.

“We come from an industry where we want to see ourselves successful; we want to see ourselves in the best light possible and on the biggest stages.

There are all these big dreams, and when you remove yourself from this world, you see that so many people don’t relate to that. It’s an isolated situation to find yourself in. Getting that perspective is cool, being in a small town and people are just

living. Living off the land.

They were some of the themes that inspired the tone of ‘Disappear’.”

JENNA vs COREY TAYLOR “When we were making ‘Limitless’, we connected [with Corey] on Twitter. We started messaging each other, and I was shocked he was following me. I said I really admire you and your work, he wrote back likewise. I was pretty taken aback. ‘We’re making a record; I’d love to send it to you. That was June 2015.

“We hadn’t spoken between now and then when we finished recording ‘Underworld’. I reached out to him and said, zero pressure, but we have a song on this record we just made that I could really imagine your voice on. How do you feel about me sending it to you?

“Four minutes later he wrote back in capital letters ‘I’D LOVE TO’ with like, a hundred exclamation marks. He was onboard from the very beginning. He didn’t care what the song sounded like; he was just excited to team up. That was rad and mindblowing.

“We met in Sydney after he recorded his part and after we put the song together.

He was thanking me for inviting him on the song.

I said I don’t really know why he said yes and agreed to it. He said, ‘Because I’m a fan’. I don’t really have words to describe how that feels because I love Slipknot, they’re a band I’ve listened to since I was 15 and I think Corey has such a beautiful voice and way of expressing himself. It’s incredible we could capture his voice, his essence on that song.

It comes from the depth of him, and it’s a real privilege for Tonight Alive.”

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RATED

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P H O T O : B R E N D A N WA LT E R .

FALL OUT BOY MANIA eeee

F

all Out Boy are on the move again.

While both ‘Save Rock and Roll’ and ‘American Beauty/American Psycho’ stood proud with their singular purpose and ten-chapter story of reinvention and purpose, ‘M A N I A’ is as glitching and chaotic as opening track slash inspirational spark ‘Young & Menace’ suggests. The band are at home where the wild things roam.

Tossing between exhaustion and the desire to be the best yet, the track still hits like a whirlwind. Under the nightmarish electro breakdown, static charge and smirking glee beats big soul and spirited adventure.

That Neverland escape whistles through ‘M A N I A’ as the band bend art pop to their liking.

From the whistling reggae dancehall of ‘Hold Me Tight (Or Don’t)’ to the soulful surrender of ‘Church’, ‘M A N I A’ draws influence from space and time. Rather than parody, repetition or tired checklist of theme weeks from the X Factor, the record takes each new, robust flavour and owns them. There’s a reason in the risk, a message in the madness.

Sure, ‘Champion’ sounds like Fall Out Boy of recent old but the lyrics are more pointed, more direct and less guarded. The idea that they’re the champion of the people who don’t believe in champions is stitched into sleeves and worn across chests. It’s a purposeful backing that lets ‘M A N I A’ dig a little deeper, stay a little longer and take a moment to look around at their surroundings, toying with conversation.

Both band and Burna Boy are entwined on ‘Sunshine Riptide’, impossible to pry apart or tell where one begins, and the other ends while the ultralove stomp of ‘The Last Of The Real Ones’ twists over a chirping twinkle. Every leap of faith comes with fullbodied commitment. Every brand new move, an unwavering belief.

Stepping further away from the arena rock that’s defined their post-hiatus output and attitude, this record sees the band once again exploring pastures, new, old and undiscovered. Impossible to peg down or box in, ‘M A N I A’ sounds like Fall Out Boy enjoying being Fall Out Boy, and taking full advantage of all the freedom that offers. Catch them if you can. Ali Shutler 53

SHAME

SONGS OF PRAISE

Dead Oceans

eeee Labelled repeatedly as one of Britain’s most exciting new bands, punk rabble Shame make light work of living up to their reputation on a debut album that’s as becoming as it is impetuous.

‘Songs of Praise’ is a statement of identity, carving out a space free from the so-called South London scene, for the five-piece to deliver exactly what it is they have to say.

Their lyrics are what give the group an edge over other noise-rock contemporaries; under the angst and the clamour there are sensitive observations of society and culture through a young and compassionate eye. Never ones to back away from voicing their politics (even going so far as to release a Theresa May diss track titled ‘Visa Vulture’) ‘…Praise’ is rife with a host of razor-sharp quips.

Make no mistake, Shame have had their crosshairs set firmly on dirty splendour for some time, and ‘Songs of Praise’ is their bullseye. Alex Cabré

DZ DEATHRAYS

BLOODY LOVELY

Alcopop! Records

eeee

WATERPARKS

ENTERTAINMENT

eeee

T

he greats all have one thing in common. Sure, they may know how to make great albums, but it’s not all down to their sonic skills. Each and every one, in their own way, has something extra - an ability to play with the dark arts to become something more than just the chords and lyrics they commit to record.

It’s a skill that seems increasingly rare.

For every new act that comes along, only a couple from each generation feel like they might have the raw personality to develop true staying power. When it comes to the latest graduating class, Waterparks have it in spades.

It’s not just Awsten Knight’s ability to connect on the widest possible scale that fuels their rocket ship, but it sure has hell helps. It’s a presence that runs throughout second album ‘Entertainment’ - a record that sparkles with star dust at every turn.

Take the Patrick Stump-esque opening blast of ‘Blonde’, the carefree whistles of ‘Peach (Lobotomy)’ and the carefully

54

A RECORD THAT SPARKLES WITH STAR DUST AT EVERY TURN pulled heartstrings of ‘Lucky People’ - each lifted magpie-like, but blended into a cohesive whole. The parts used are only half the craft - it’s the way they put them together that supercharges their ascent. Every sideswipe or piece of wordplay lands, every hook sticking like glue. True originality is great, but it’s far from everything. Waterparks understand their world well enough to build within it far more effectively than they ever could by leaving it behind.

Stephen Ackroyd

Few can soundtrack anarchy and reckless abandon quite like DZ Deathrays. Born in the sweat and heat of Brisbane nearly a decade ago, the years haven’t rounded the rough edges that first made the band so appealing.

Opening with a scream, ‘Bloody Lovely’’s first track ‘Shred For Summer’ is a relentless number with a snarling riff, while ‘Total Meltdown’ could well be an anthem for the disenfranchised youth with its care-free chugging guitars and irresistible chorus: “‘Cause I’m dead/ There’s nothing going on in my head.”

Elsewhere, the brute force of ‘Guillotine’ and ‘Back_Forth’ are easily among the heaviest songs the duo have produced, while ‘High’’s fluttering guitar licks provide some light to what is largely a dark, grungy record.

It’s an album that sounds organic and cohesive, as if it’s just been knocked together in a garage. Admittedly, DZ Deathrays haven’t reinvented the wheel, but who would want to when it sounds this good? Alex Thorp

OF MICE & MEN

DEFY

Rise Records

eeeee “I defy this hopelessness,” reverberates around your eardrums on the titular opener of Of Mice & Men’s fifth album,

their first without former vocalist Austin Carlile, sounding the siren not for a record as much as for a mission statement.

If you assumed the singles preluding ‘Defy’ were attention-grabbing anthems designed to sell the record, you’ll be forgiven when you find yourself head-banging to every breakdown, screaming along to every vocal, and feeling utterly empowered by their musical and lyrical defiance.

Bringing back the blend of brisk brutality, raucous riffs, and arena-ready choruses they hinted at on ‘Restoring Force’, and lost along the way in exchange for darker territories on ‘Cold World’, ‘Defy’ showcases a band who’ve been to the brink and fought every inch of the way back, bigger and better than ever. Jack Press

THE DANGEROUS SUMMER

THE DANGEROUS SUMMER

Hopeless Records

eee Self-titled records have something in common - they’re statements: this is who we are, and this is our music.

No surprise then that Maryland emorockers The Dangerous Summer have chosen to go the eponymous route for their first effort in five years.

As opener ‘Color’ comes twinkling into life it’s apparent that this isn’t going to be The Dangerous Summer 2.0. Instead, it’s straight back to the business of steadily building tracks with heart-on-sleeve lyrics. The choruses may not be as instantaneous as they were on previous efforts, but that doesn’t stop the likes of ‘Valium’ and ‘When I Get Home’ from soaring to the heights of their best material.

What ‘The Dangerous Summer’ lacks in innovation it more than makes up for in sincere gratitude for the past and hopefulness for the future. Brad Thorne

A SHORT Q&A WITH...

GOOD GOOD TIGER TIGER ELLIOT COLEMAN TAKES A BREAK FROM WATCHING JAWS II ON NETFLIX (“THIS IS NOT A VERY GOOD FILM”) TO FILL US IN ON GOOD TIGER’S NEW ALBUM, ‘WE WILL ALL BE GONE’. IT’S A RECORD THAT SEES THEM TEAM UP WITH METAL BLADE RECORDS, AND CELEBRITY CHEF, CHRIS SANTOS’ BLACKLIGHT MEDIA.

Hey Elliot, ‘We Will All Be Gone’ sounds like a pretty ominous name for your new album - is everything okay?

Ominous is a perfect way to describe most of this new album when it comes to thematics.

Our debut was a bit of a mixed GOOD TIGER bag in terms of WE WILL ALL BE GONE songwriting and Metal Blade Records / Blacklight Media emotional tone, eeee but this album On their second album, ‘We Will All Be Gone’, Good Tiger are has its own setting down a marker. Their debut, ‘A Head Full Of Moonlight’, distinct feel and signposted a band filled with promise. With the follow-up, sound. they’re delivering. From the opening, echoed back lines of ‘The Devil Thinks I’m Sinking’, Good Tiger sound like a band not just Are any of the destined for the big time, but already set up there for keeps. songs especially ‘Float On’ defies its breezy sounding title to crunch satisfyingly personal or underfoot, while ‘Grip Shoes’ sounds every inch the modern meaningful to classic. This is one big cat destined to lead the pack. Stephen you?

Ackroyd ‘Grip Shoes’ would probably be the

most personal. Lyrically it’s pretty on the nose as well. It tells the tale of wasted potential.

What’s changed for you guys since your debut?

As we had all been involved in separate projects prior to Good Tiger’s formation, each one of us sort of brought our own mini fan-base with us when we all started. Now that a bit of time has passed and we’ve done multiple tours, the band has a legion of loyal and dedicated new fans that are unaware that any of us were in bands before this one.

On Blacklight’s website there’s a quote from Chris Santos that says: “Similar to my cooking, I hope the music our artists create will be engaging, well rounded, and sometimes whimsical.” Does Good Tiger fit the brief?

One could argue that, compared to our Blacklight Media / Metal Blade Record, labelmates, Good Tiger is one of the more “acquired tastes” of the bunch. With that said, sometimes it’s okay to try and sample different things. Life would be boring if we ate the same meal every day. I’m very happy and appreciative those labels have given us, something outside of their comfort zone, a chance. Saying that, I do try to eat pizza five days of the week. P 55

TONIGHT ALIVE

UNDERWORLD

Hopeless Records

eeee Tonight Alice have always been striving for balance. From their pointed ‘What Are You So Scared Of?’ that saw them ready to take on the world to the poise and polish of ‘Limitless’ that saw them comfortable in that victory, the band have been unearthing the silver lining for a decade now. ‘Underworld’ does away with the scales. Taking a little bit of everything that’s come before, threading it through new struggles and hopes, the band’s fourth album is easily their most eclectic. Finding space to return to the anger of their youths while letting the scope and cinema of ‘Limitless’ roll out across the record, ‘Underworld’ sees Tonight Alive constantly change colour and shape.

Empowering realisations and small epiphanies still litter the record, lifting and encouraging but the band aren’t weighing themselves down with constant resolution. Instead of trying to balance every moment of dark with a light, the band accept the flickering uncertainty and dance in the strobe. Ali Shutler

GLASSJAW

MATERIAL CONTROL

Century Media Records

eeee It might have been 15 years in waiting for Glassjaw’s third album, but you can be sure that ‘Material Control’ doesn’t miss a beat.

From the get-go it’s wild. The seamless blend of ‘New White Extremity’ into ‘Shira’ then ‘Citizen’ is an assault with thick bass tones and an artillery of drums (courtesy of Dillinger Escape Plan’s Billy Rymer) are constant throughout. Washing over the tracks Daryl Palumbo’s vocals morph between throat wrenching snarls into slick choruses while Justin Beck works jagged, angular, riffs over the trilogy of tracks. It’s post-hardcore music at its finest but still an obvious progression from the men they were back in their early-20s.

At the times Palumbo’s vocals do get swamped by a wall of noise and that breakneck delivery offers scarce chance for tracks to grow but that “all or nothing” style is what we’ve always loved Glassjaw for.

If we had to wait another 15 years for the fourth Glassjaw album, then we could only hope it’s half as great as this. Alex Bradley

DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL

CROOKED SHADOWS

Fueled By Ramen

ee It’s been eight long years since emo icons Dashboard Confessional released an album.

Nearly a decade later, are they ready to reinvent? Lead single ‘We Fight’ suggests

not. This uplifting anthem aligns with the feel of their early discography; it’s a tribute to the scene they grew up through, one that gave a place to those who didn’t fit in.

There is evidence that the band’s sound has moved forward a bit, with the sleek title track ‘Crooked Shadows’ and the softly inspiring ‘Open My Eyes’. And yet, there’s an abundance of familiar moments - ‘Just What To Say’ is markedly similar to their 2006 song ‘Stolen’, for example.

At best ‘Crooked Shadows’ could serve as a reminder of what once was; otherwise, it has little to offer. Eleanor Langford

BLACK VEIL BRIDES

VALE

LAVA / Republic Records

eeee With fifth outing ‘Vale’, Andy Black and co. bring the melodies and dark melancholy in full force, giving every track its hook and moment.

The ominous spoken words that grace entry into this new chapter of BVB do little to prepare for the onslaught, but they do their job perfectly by scripting the scene something BVB have always been kings at.

Instantly showing their new potential with true opener ‘The Last One’, it’s as rife with anthem potential as it is unforgiving. The snarl of attitude lying, prowling, beneath its surface - a constant modus operandi which runs throughout ‘Vale’ like a lifeline vein.

Searing guitar solos, thunderous drums, rumbling bass the commanding call of Andy Black - with ‘Vale’, Black Veil Brides have taken things to the next level. Steven Loftin

THE XCERTS

HOLD ON TO YOUR HEART

Raygun Records

eeeee Nearly a decade on from cementing their reputation for massive heartstringyanking choruses with their debut album ‘In The Cold Wind We Smile’, The Xcerts have crafted a sound which is unmistakably their own. There’s plenty of indulgent nods to heartland rock influence, but its vibrancy steers the ship well clear of straying into placid waters.

With a poignant flourish of piano and Murray Macleod’s warm brogue on ‘The Dark’, the following 32 minutes sparkle with charm, colour and cool. The onetwo punch of ‘Daydream’ and ‘Feels Like Falling In Love’ will give you that fizzy feeling of your gut, with youthful abandon pulsing through their choruses.

After attaining this level of power-pop perfection, this band deserves to be one of the biggest in the world right now.

Try with all your might; there’s no use holding on to your heart – The Xcerts will only steal it. Danny Randon

GET CAPE WEAR CAPE FLY

YOUNG ADULTS

Xtra Mile Recordings

eeee Taking on the world one album at a time, Sam Duckworth has returned as his original alias Get Cape, Wear Cape,

Fly. This time, the idea of growing up in a world that’s set a generation up to fail is in his sights, and it all feels like the soundtrack to a revolution.

‘Young Adult’ perfectly describes the return of Get Cape. It’s the same sound that we all know and love, but you can hear the growth in his voice. Singing with complete earnest about being “another self-employed future-less kid annoyed” in ‘Man2Man’ echoes the feelings of many - a testament to the gift that Sam consistently gives throughout his back catalogue.

Often an occasionally overlooked voice, throughout this ninth outing, Sam’s melodies are more encapsulating, the deliveries are sharper, and the truth is ever more present. Steven Loftin

with everything at full blast, important details dissolve into the background.

The title track in particular feels like it should be packing some raw, from-theheart lyrical content, but whatever point Alex Mountford wants to get across is either too watered down, or non existent from the start.

However, delivering some blinding pop-punk-stroke-grunge belters with luxurious rock’n’roll swagger is no sweat at all for the foursome. With this record, Dead! have taken themselves to the next level from being just another up-andcoming rock group. Where their passion and ambition take them next remains to be seen. Alex Cabré

DEAD!

SPIRIT OF MINNIE

THE GOLDEN AGE OF NOT EVEN TRYING

Infectious BMG

eee Dead! walk a fine line between style and substance on their first full-length effort.

Bringing a bucket load of rip-roaring guitar action to the mix, ‘The Golden Age Of Not Even Trying’ is a strong hello, but has its flaws.

All crashing cymbals and vocals fuzzed up to biting point, ‘The Boys † The Boys’ sets the precedent. Sheer, unabashed volume is Dead!’s signature move (if the exclamation point weren’t a clue) but

WILL VARLEY

Xtra Mile Recordings

eee On his fifth album, Will Varley is changing things up. With a full-blown backing band in tow, ‘Spirit of Minnie’ is an expanded affair. With wider sonic horizons, there’s still an intrinsic warmth to be felt throughout, from the crackling tones of opener ‘All Those Stars’ to the comforting steel guitar of ‘Statue’. It’s that familiar feeling that remains a strength - classic songwriting where the material is the star, ‘Spirit of Minnie’ is a late night record full of smouldering fires and wistful memories. Dan Harrison 57

DREAM WIFE

DREAM WIFE

Lucky Number Records

eeeee Dream Wife’s eagerly anticipated selftitled debut record is ablaze from start to finish. The record opens with the insuppressible and in-your-face ‘Let’s Make Out’, a garage rock party banger where Rakel Mjöll’s hoarse roars give zero fucks.

“I am not my body, I am somebody,” she sings on ‘Somebody’, nodding to the feminist politics that are at the core of the band, and explored lyrically throughout. The record is mighty in words and music; angular guitars are paired with ethereal dream pop harmonies that create an unmistakable Dream Wife sound, as most noticeable on ‘Fire’ and ‘Spend The Night’.

What Dream Wife get so right with their self-titled is that every track is as big, bold and beautiful as the last; a concoction of high spirited confidence and self-awareness, chockfull of hooks and zealous instrumentation. Jasleen Dhindsa

THE SPOOK SCHOOL

COULD IT BE DIFFERENT?

Alcopop! Records

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MARMOZETS

KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW

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rom the firecracker fuzz of ‘Play’, through the electroshock of ‘Habits’ and off into the distance with the rolling credit score of ‘Run With The Rhythm’, Marmozets’ ‘Knowing What You Know Now’ bounds about the place with infinite enthusiasm behind every springloaded turn.

‘Insomnia’ lurches through the shadows, all creeping lullaby and sugar-coated respite while the furious venom of ‘Like A Battery’ sees the band at their most vicious; it’s a fierce and defiant attack on the people who choose greed over equality while giving those “who ran out of luck” a voice.

Every track on ‘Knowing What You Know Now’ is a standalone wonder, each cut proudly going their own way, but the record slots together, united and tightly knit. A mosaic of passion, excitement

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and wide-eyes. It’s an album of belief, of trust and of following your gut.

From their insatiable need to create to their want for a better world, ‘Knowing What You Know Now’ is uniquely Marmozets. Excitement is front and centre, but there’s a driving desire to push the boundaries, to toy with what they can get away with.

The record rages, destroying screens and causing digital destruction as the band wail, whir and rip at anything trying to hold them down. In the thrash, they uncover a vulnerable yet powerful honesty; the searching hope that the band aren’t alone. While their debut painted them as crooked and weird, ‘Knowing What You Know Now’ is more unifying. Pulling the pieces together and tearing down walls, Marmozets are building something beautiful in the chaos. Ali Shutler

Three records in, Glasgow’s The Spook School have earned a following for their skilful depiction of very human emotions, setting growing pains against joyful pop punk.

Despite asking ‘Could It Be Different?’, their latest record presents more of what they’re best at. ‘Bad Year’ speaks to anybody who spent 2017 feeling the emotional burden of ‘wokeness’, whereas ‘I Hope She Loves You’ ruminates on an ex with a rollicking earworm of a chorus that recalls early Los Campesinos!.

Self-deprecation is available in spades, but there’s a serious resilience in the darkness. “Fuck you, I’m still alive” is the singular lyric of the record, a powerfully simple response to depression and the escape from an abusive relationship, invigorating in its rallying gang vocal of a chorus.

A multi-textured album that counters its depths with a hell of a lot of fun, they enter 2018 as a band we’re very grateful to have, and one that promise consistency in uncertain times. Jenessa Williams

BRIAN FALLON

SLEEPWALKERS

Virgin EMI

eeee For his first solo album away from The Gaslight Anthem, Brian Fallon

pivoted to acoustic-led folk-rock on 2016’s ‘Painkillers’. ‘Sleepwalkers’ finds Fallon draping his trademark songwriting in a new sound that the singer calls “heavy RnB”. If 80s rock has been popularised by Stranger Things, the 1975 and Guardians of the Galaxy mixtapes then Fallon aims his own retro crosshairs a good twenty years further back.

The taut rock of later Gaslight albums contain some of Fallon’s best work, but given free rein to play around with organs, handclaps and rhythmic guitar riffs, he’s rarely sounded like he’s having as much fun with his music as he does here.

‘Sleepwalkers’ is a fine addition to the Fallon canon. Dillon Eastoe

TINY MOVING PARTS

SWELL

Big Scary Monsters

eee Some wise sage once said you can sleep when you’re dead, and it’s an adage Minnesota’s perpetual motion pop-punkers Tiny Moving Parts have taken to heart. In a career played in hyperspeed, ‘Swell’ is the group’s fourth album in a whirlwind six years. If it feels like overkill, it kind of is, yet it’s still a monumental thrill-fest.

For the most part, ‘Swell’ is a grininducing riot of playful riffs and throatshredding vocals. It’s emo played from the heart – and it often strikes hard and true, especially on the likes of ‘Feel Alive’ and the excellent closing track ‘Warm Hand Splash’. There are moments that jar though, and these are when melodrama falls prey to flailing histrionics: ‘Wildfire’ in particular feels out of place.

Overall though, ‘Swell’ is another strong addition to their growing canon, and even if it offers little in the way of development, it gives fans exactly what they want. Rob Mair

HOTEL BOOKS

EQUIVALENCY

Hassle Records

eee Hotel Books’ return finds Cam Smith as lost as ever while the band around him find themselves musically. What could be described as a “creative project” centred around spoken word poetry, ‘Equivalency’ arrives focused more on the bands sound to balance against the heart-wrenching lyricism of the singer.

The pinnacle of this progression comes

A SHORT Q&A WITH...

HOTEL HOTEL BOOKS BOOKS HOTEL BOOKS’ MAIN MAN CAM SMITH WEAVES HEARTFELT TALES OF LIFE WITH HIS SPOKEN-WORD POETRY AND LYRICISM - BUT HE JUST WANTS TO HAVE FUN, REALLY.

Hey Cam, how’s life at the mo?

It’s been ups and downs, but I’ve been working as much as possible.

Keeping busy is the best medicine for me right now, so I’m trying to constantly create new things.

Tell us about your new album.

‘Equivalency’ is a record about weighing the pros and cons of different paths in life. I hope people

with the out’n’out pop-punk joyride of lead single ‘Celebration’ which breaks the fourth wall; deconstructing the songwriting process to the hook of “I hope you’re happy Mom, I wrote a happy song”. It’s a fresh approach, which echoes throughout ‘Equivalency’.

With guest vocals from Chase Huglin and Chris Bernstorf and the band’s presence in this album, it feels like Hotel Books are trying to grow. It’s not perfect, but it goes some way to add colour to the bleak pictures which Cam paints. Alex Bradley

can listen to this record and be entertained. I know that sounds obvious, but it’s true. I just want people to step away from this album and think, ‘That was interesting’.

Has your creation process changed at all since you first started out?

I stopped worrying so much. Worry turned me into someone I never wanted to be, and I had to let go of the anxiety and stress of controlling the band so I could write music that felt real. Now, when I create, I just write for fun, not worrying if it’s going to be on the next album or not. Somewhere along the way, I lost the ability to write for fun.

So you enjoyed your time in the studio?

It was incredible. Nicholas Ingram steered the ship on this album, and I think that is the main reason why each song has a unique flavour to it. We would just hang out and occasionally pick up guitars, or a keyboard, and start writing progressions.

Do you have big plans for 2018?

No. Plans often get in the way of the journey. (Yes, I understand how pretentious and pseudo-intellectual that sounds.) I’m letting my team help me shape ideas for the new year, and I’m watching the process happen. P 59

P H OTO : S A R A H L O U I S E B E N N E T T.

CREEPER’S THEATRE OF FEAR IS MORE THAN JUST ANOTHER GIANT LEAP FORWARD 60

C

reeper have come a long way from their chipped nail paint, cigarette smoke and stale perfumed beginnings. Every step of their journey so far has been a bounding leap forward, carried by belief and certainty, but this run of dates, their Theatre of Fear, is more than just another giant leap forward.

Tonight doesn’t rely on the excess of the show though. Creeper have woven enough moments of drama into their music and now that plays out on their biggest stage yet. From throwing the microphone to the audience in ‘Black Rain’ through the introduction of ‘Down Below’ to Will running straight into the audience for ‘Poison Pens’, the line between stage and crowd is a blurred one. Whether they’re tearing through fierce heartquakers ‘Suzanne’, ‘Lie Awake’ and ‘The Honeymoon Suite’ with a ferocious bite, injecting a playful dance into the theatre with a rejigged ‘Winona Forever’, twisting and turning for ‘Room 309’ or breaking hearts with the powerhouse fire of ‘Crickets’, Creeper shine in every colour.

The stage might be bigger, the production breathtaking and the band devastating but the one thing that hasn’t changed about Creeper shows is the belief that underpins everything.

Whether it’s suspending it to fall headfirst into tales of heartbreak, woe and wonder or dialling it up to empty your lungs to ‘Misery’, every word personal, every word shared, tonight isn’t about Creeper making claims for titles or proving to people they’re more than just another punk rock band. It’s for those present to share in something special, something transient, something to cherish. The evening might end with the band holding hands and taking a bow but the memories, and the empowering belief in being young and yourself that they inspire, that’s the stuff of eternity. Ali Shutler

GOOD CHARLOTTE CELEBRATE THE PAST AND EMBRACE THE FUTURE AT LONDON’S BRIXTON ACADEMY Good Charlotte’s ‘The Young & The Hopeless’ might be fifteen years old but it hasn’t lost any of its potent importance or powerful relevance in that time. Tonight as the band return to London’s Brixton Academy for the first time in almost a decade, they lean heavily on that classic record but the only touch of nostalgia is saved for a video of the band performing on this stage from 2003 that’s played before the show. Everything else, from ‘The Anthem’ through to ‘Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous’, is delivered with a fierce bite and razor sharp wit.

“When I sing about my past, it’s not a gimmick, not an act,” sings ‘The Young & The Hopeless’ and tonight, that snarling message is still front and centre. Churning emotion out of wellloved classics, there’s still catharsis to be found in every turn. ‘I Just Wanna Live’ pushes back and creates space, ‘War’ soundtracks the messy conflict that is growing up while ‘Hold On’ is dedicated to anybody going through a tough time. “Being a human being on this planet can be a really painful experience. No matter how many times you’ve been knocked down, I want you to get up one more time. We’ve all lost too many friends. Never give in, never give up.”

The band are in sincere spirits, constantly thanking the crowd for their support and welcoming them

with open arms to the Good Charlotte Family. “We’ve known each other for a very fucking long time. We’ve been through a whole lot of shit together.

We’ve been through life together. Life is painful, but you’ve got me and we’ve got you.”

Thing is, the band aren’t stuck in the past. Sam Architects joins them for ‘The River’, (“how cool is it that the singer of our favourite band of the decade just came and sang a song with us?”) while the one-two of ‘Girls & Boys’ and ‘Riot Girl’ comes alongside a speech about how important it is that women are allowed to stand up, speak their minds and express themselves. “I got a little girl at home and I want her to grow up in a world with no sexism, no racism, no hate,” explains Joel Madden. “And it starts with us, It starts with how we treat each other and the respect we give each other.”

Tonight straddles gleeful and poignant as Good Charlotte acknowledge the past, giving their journey the weight it deserves while looking excitedly towards a future that they want a hand in shaping.

P H OTO : S A R A H L O U I S E B E N N E T T.

Everything that came before has seen the band simply take their scrappy punk enthusiasm onto bigger stages. Cut with disbelief and a touch of the cinema, circle pits, crowdsurfers and community made the shows feel like an event.

Tonight at Shepherd’s Bush Empire though, Creeper have to play to the whole room. From the cult in the pit to the curious on the balconies, the band have to work to make everyone feel part of this ever-growing thing. Luckily the theatre is in their bones. Entertainment flows through their veins and the band relish this next step adventure.

“It’s me against this world and I don’t care,” continues ‘The Young & The Hopeless’ but Good Charlotte aren’t alone in that struggle. And if you believe in them, neither are you. Ali Shutler 61

TEENAGE KICKS WITH...

BENJAMIN LANGFO

RD-BISS, AS IT IS

WE HAVE A BET FOR YOU. WHEN YOU LOAD UP SPOTIFY, A GREAT BIG CHUNK OF THE TIME YOU CAN’T THINK WHAT TO PLAY, RIGHT? OVERWHELMED BY PRETTY MUCH ALL THE MUSIC EVER, YOU DEFAULT BACK TO YOUR OLD FAVOURITES, THOSE ALBUMS AND SONGS YOU PLAYED ON REPEAT WHEN YOU FIRST DISCOVERED YOU COULD MAKE THEM YOURS. THEY’RE OFTEN A BIT CRAP REALLY, AND PROBABLY NOTHING LIKE WHAT YOU LISTEN TO NOW, BUT BY GOD DO THEY SOUND GOOD. THIS ISN’T ABOUT GUILTY PLEASURES; IT’S ABOUT THOSE SONGS YOU’LL STILL BE LISTENING TO WHEN YOU’RE OLD AND IN YOUR ROCKING CHAIR. SO, ENTER TEENAGE KICKS – A NEW PLAYLIST SERIES THAT SEES BANDS RUNNING THROUGH THE MUSIC THEY LISTENED TO IN THEIR FORMATIVE YEARS. FIRST UP (ERM, ON PAPER INSTEAD OF ‘JUST’ THE INTERNET) WE HAVE AS IT IS GUITARIST AND VOCALIST BEN LANGFORDBISS IN THE HOT SEAT BEFORE HIS BAND HIT THE ROAD FOR A UK TOUR IN SUPPORT OF LATEST ALBUM, ‘OKAY.’ “My first introduction to alternative music of any kind was when I was about 12 on the school bus, and a sixth-former gave me ‘Tell All Your Friends’ by Taking Back Sunday. I had never heard anything like it.

The guitars almost scared me, I had never heard rawness like it, but I felt something, a connection. I lived in Cornwall where no bands ever play, so all my music discoveries came from the internet and music magazines. I discovered MySpace and MSN messenger and my world changed.

I would search the ‘unsigned’ section on MySpace (because being a teenager I stupidly thought that made a band cooler).

“Suddenly I had bands like The Spill Canvas being recommended to me by people I’d 62

never met. Both the American wave of bands like Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic!, My Chemical Romance and the British wave of Funeral For a Friend and Fightstar were on heavy rotation as a teenager. My dad would drive me to my first ever shows travelling six hours to see bands like Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Biffy Clyro.

“All this access to music online made my taste very diverse, and I distinctly remember David Bowie and Eurythmics CDs that belonged to my dad making it onto my green iPod Mini and influencing me with such incredible vocal performances.

“At around 15 me and my (then) band mate would sit in his basement and listen to Elliott Smith CDs. Something in the melancholy and imperfections in his voice resonated with me, and he quickly became my favourite artist of all time and has kept that spot in my heart ever since.

“To this day all these artists and albums are my favourite things to listen to. Even when I hit 18 all my friends ‘outgrew’ this music but I never understood that mentality. My mental state didn’t drastically change, so the music that connected with me didn’t either.” P Listen to Ben’s Teenage Kicks playlist on upsetmagazine.com. As It Is tour the UK from 9th March.

THE PLAYLIST TAKING BACK SUNDAY CUTE WITHOUT THE ‘E’ FALL OUT BOY - XO THE SPILL CANVAS - THE TIDE MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE THANK YOU FOR THE VENOM PANIC! AT THE DISCO - TIME TO DANCE DAVID BOWIE - REBEL, REBEL EURYTHMICS - SEVENTEEN AGAIN GREEN DAY - J.A.R BIFFY CLYRO - GLITTER & TRAUMA FIGHTSTAR - HAZY EYES FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND ROSES FOR THE DEAD PANTERA - WALK THE ACADEMY IS… - DOWN & OUT PARAMORE - EMERGENCY THE EARLY NOVEMBER EVER SO SWEET ELLIOTT SMITH - SON OF SAM JIMMY EAT WORLD - BLEED AMERICAN COHEED & CAMBRIA - THE SUFFERING AFI - MISS MURDER

2018 TUE wed fri sat sun mon tue thu fri sat sun

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BRUSSELS botanique witloofbar UTRECHT ACU LONDON OMEARA lIVERPOOL STUDIO 2 BIRMINGHAM HARE AND HOUNDS 2 NOTTINGHAM BODEGA SOCIAL CLUB SHEFFIELD RECORD JUNKEE NEWCASTLE THINK TANK EDINBURGH THE MASH HOUSE BELFAST BLACK BOX DUBLIN GRAND SOCIAL

t ickets on sale 10am wed 6 december A LIVE NATION, DF CONCERTS & DORK PRESENTATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH 13 ARTISTS A L E XL A H E Y.C O M. A U

M A L E X L A H E Y MU S IC N A L E X L A H E Y M U S I C N A L E X _ L A H E Y