** PLUS ** BRING ME THE HORIZON // EMAROSA // CANE HILL // BLOOD RED SHOES // QUEEN ZEE + LOADS MORE
+
February 2019 upsetmagazine.com
FIDLAR
EMPLOYED TO SERVE
PUPPY TAKING BACK SUNDAY
REVOLUTION ROCK!
are ready to take control
FIDLAR EMPLOYED TO SERVE TAKING BACK SUNDAY PUPPY
Victoria Park London E3 24 May > 02 June
Fri 31 May
BRING ME THE HORIZON RUN THE JEWELS
NOTHING BUT THIEVES
IDLES SCARLXRD > YONAKA
+ MANY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED
Tickets on sale now
FEBRUARY 2019 Issue 40
HELLO. You’d be forgiven for looking at the state of ‘the world’ and wanting to scream until your throat bled. But while dispair is entirely understandable, Fever 333’s route to recovery is probably more pro-active. This month, Jason Aalon Butler’s new troupe drop their debut album, and - spoiler alert - it’s essential listening. Burning not only with a white hot fury, but also an honest and believability that few can match, we’re delighted to welcome them to the cover of Upset. The revolution starts here. Elsewhere we go deep on Bring Me The Horizon’s expansive new album, both live and on record, catch up with former Upset cover stars FIDLAR, and get ready for an exciting 2019 with Employed To Serve. Enjoy!
RIOT 4. EMPLOYED TO SERVE 8. SET IT OFF 10. STAND ATLANTIC 12. EMAROSA 14. TAKING BACK SUNDAY ABOUT TO BREAK 18. QUEEN ZEE 20. PRESS CLUB 21. SPIELBERGS FEATURES 22. FEVER 333 30. BLOOD RED SHOES 32. FIDLAR
36. PUPPY REVIEWS 40. BRING ME THE HORIZON 42. CANE HILL 43. GIRLPOOL 45. FEVER 333 LIVE 46. BRING ME THE HORIZON 48. WOLF ALICE 49. TONIGHT ALIVE TEENAGE KICKS 58. LE BUTCHERETTES
S tephen
Editor / @stephenackroyd
Upset Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Scribblers Alex Bradley, Dan Harrison, Dillon Eastoe, Jamie MacMillan, Jamie Muir, Jasleen Dhindsa, Jessica Goodman, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Frances Beach, Sarah Louise Bennett P U B L I S H E D F RO M
W E LCO M E TOT H E B U N K E R.CO M U N I T 10, 23 G RA N G E RO A D, H A S T I N G S, T N34 2R L
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THIS MONTH IN ROCK
Set It Off vocalist Cody Carson rounds up the need-to-knows for his band’s new album. p.8
EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN ROCK
ONE STEP FORWARDS EMPLOYED TO SERVE
Their second album, ‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun’ saw Employed to Serve scale new heights. Now the band are following up one of the best albums of 2017 with new effort, ‘Eternal Forward Motion’. Frontwoman Justine Jones teases what’s to come. 4 Upset
It’s Emarosa, but not as you know them. The group have shed their post-hardcore roots for a sound that’s more glam... p.12
Hey Justine, what are you up to at the mo? Hey, what’s up!? We’re just on our last two dates of the Stick To Your Guns and Counterparts tour and having a great time. I’m also preparing myself for the overnight drive to Germany after our London show! Are you ready for 2019? It sounds like it’s going to be a big year for you guys. Couldn’t be more excited. We recorded the album in May 2018 because we wanted to not record in the dead of winter for
once so we’ve been sitting on the album for a while now and can’t wait to finally release it! ‘Force Fed’ is brutal, what made you choose that for your comeback track? It’s one of our personal favourite songs, and it has a little bit of everything on the album, so I feel it’s a good representation of what to expect. We also love playing it live. Do you already know which tracks you’re going to drop
Hitting twenty years together, TAKING BACK SUNDAY have much to celebrate - and it’s a party that’ll run all year. p.14
as singles, or are you going to play it by ear? Yeah, we’ve known for a while now, pretty much as soon as we recorded it with Lewis. I feel like this album has more songs that would work well as a single while still sitting well in the context of the album. Did the overwhelmingly positive reaction to ‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun’ impact what you wanted to do with this next record? We try not to pay attention too much on outside pressures
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when writing. When we write songs, it’s always a case of bettering ourselves rather than thinking, “If we write a song like this the album will surely be massive”. I think it’s important to stay true to the sound of the band and write songs you enjoy playing. How did the creative process differ from your previous efforts? Are you able to spend longer in the studio now? We’ve started booking extra days in the studio now with every new album we record. It’s just good to have time to spend on those finishing touches and having the breathing room to listen to it as a whole. We actually reordered the track listing last minute because we realised in the studio it would flow better. What themes do you cover lyrically across the album? Self-redemption mainly, realising you’re human and that you’re going to make mistakes. The act of looking after yourself and realising there’s always a chance to be better and achieve the things you always wanted by working hard and loving yourself. I think there’s a lot of glamorising self-destruction and toxic use of social media around at the moment rather
“IT’S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM!” JUSTINE JONES than taking the time to reflect on yourself and what you want to achieve. It’s not all doom and gloom! There’s always a way you can improve your situation. Do you write about different things now you’re three albums in, and a bit older? We allow ourselves to write about whatever inspires us, self-reflection has always been a theme and probably always will be. We also throw in other situations that happen to us and those close to us as well. How do you reckon all this Brexit stuff will impact being in a band this year, are you worried about touring at all? Nah, it is what it is, and we won’t let it get in the way of our plans!
2000TREES HAS ANNOUNCED SOME BANDS 2000trees has made its first announcement for 2019, with Frank Iero And The Future Violents, You Me At Six, Every Time I Die, Milk Teeth and loads more. The fest will take place from 11th-13th July.
IT’S ALL CHANGE FOR THE FAIM The Faim have signed up two new band members: Samuel Tye and Linden Marrisen. The news arrives ahead of a UK tour that kicks off on 25th January, and their debut album too.
Anything else?
We’re exploding with energy for this album cycle and can’t wait to show what we’ve been working on! P
Employed to Serve’s album ‘Eternal Forward Motion’ is out 10th May.
LA DISPUTE ARE MAKING MOVES WITH A NEW ALBUM La Dispute are back with news of a new album, their first in four years. The band will release ‘Panorama’ - recorded with producer Will Yip - on 22nd March via Epitaph Records.
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THE DEBUT ALBUM
STRENGTH IN NUMB333RS FEATURING THE SINGLE ‘BURN IT’
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Everything you need to know about...
Set It Off ’S
new album
‘Midnight’
Vocalist Cody Carson rounds up the need-to-knows for his band’s new album. This is the first album we’ve ever had a gospel choir. I grew
up listening to Kirk Franklin and always gravitated towards songs that featured one (‘I Believe I Can Fly’, ‘Unwritten’, ‘Man In The Mirror’, and ‘Pendulum’ to name a few). We finally wrote the perfect song, and it’s called ‘Happy All The Time’.
It took me seven years, but I was finally able to write another song for my father who passed away due to cancer in 2008. It’s
a very special song to me on the sense that it’s a unique concept and honours him and anyone we may have lost in a fond way. It’s called ‘Unopened Windows’, and it’s about the inevitable reflection on memories that you didn’t get the chance to make, and how it’s almost like watching them happen through a closed window from inside a house. It also features another nod to the ancient Irish Ballad ‘Danny Boy’ which is played on my father’s trumpet by Dan and doubled by myself on clarinet.
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The reality of time is woven throughout the album.
Midnight is a very special time. It signifies change, where we turn the page of today into tomorrow, and where yesterday is left behind. It represents a shift and an opportunity to seize every second to make the most of the new day in front of you. Every hour, second, minute, millisecond counts.
This album features two guest instrumentalists and a guest vocalist. Sky Acord (Issues)
performed bass guitar on ‘Happy All The Time’, Matt Appleton (Reel Big Fish) preformed a sax solo on ‘I Want You (Gone)’, and Wayfarers lent her amazing vocals on the track ‘Go To Bed Angry’. We can’t wait for you to hear what they added to these tracks because they are just phenomenal.
This is the longest record we’ve ever released. Usually there’s some sense of social pressure
to release a 10-12 album track, and we almost felt it necessary to narrow it down to that number, but to be honest, we just couldn’t. We went in with over 60 song ideas (our most amount ever), and we had to narrow that down. In volume, there’s quality. We are beyond confident in each and every one of these 15 songs.
Struggle breeds creativity. I wear this index finger ring and on the inside of it there’s an engraving: ‘Struggle. Succeed.’. I live by those words. Last November I was in a very dark place. I felt unwanted, unloved and honestly contemplated quitting. Our darkest moments are when we need to fight the hardest. This album is a product of that. It’s raw grit and emotion, it’s for the love of music, and we couldn’t have done it without our new team behind us. Welcome to the new era of Set It Off, we’re just getting started. P Set It Off’s album ‘MIDNIGHT’ is out 1st February.
NEW ALBUM OUT NOW
B E A R I N G S B L U E
I N
T H E
D A R K
Stand Atlantic hit the road this spring. You can check them out in... MARCH 29 Leeds Key Club 30 Manchester Night People 31 Newcastle Think Tank APRIL 01 Glasgow King Tuts 02 Nottingham Bodega 03 Birmingham Asylum 2 04 London Underworld 06 Southampton Joiners 07 Bristol Exchange
FIND OUT WHAT YOUR FAVE BANDS TAKE ON THE ROAD. THIS MONTH...
EX HEX RETURN WITH A NEW LP Ex Hex - Mary Timony (guitar, vocals), Betsy Wright (bass, vocals), and Laura Harris (drums) - have announced details of their new album. ‘It’s Real’ is the followup to the trio’s 2014 debut ‘Rips’, and it will arrive on 22nd March via Merge.
CHARITY FESTIVAL TEDDY ROCKS SIGNS UP MORE BANDS Teddy Rocks has announced a few more names, including Dream State, Press To Meco, and The Dirty Youth. The charity event raises money for families fighting cancer, and will take place in Dorset from 3rd-5th May. 10 Upset 10 UPSETMAGAZINE.COM
STAND ATLANTIC
Nintendo Switch. Mario Party. Enough said.
Dry shampoo. AN ABSOLUTE MUST! Showers can get hard to come by, and dry shampoo can be a lifesaver. Combine it with some deodorant, and you’re as fresh as a daisy! Who needs showers!
Slides (flip-flops). Very useful for life travelling in a van, quick to chuck on and go when stopping at gas stations. Also useful for the times we come across a not so nice looking shower to avoid getting tinea or other nasties.
Battery pack. The drives can be long, and you never know when the next power outlet will be so we need to keep our phones charged to watch Netflix and look at memes!
A photo of Sammy from WSTR. And of course, you always need to carry a picture of the ones you love!
G E T E V E RY I S S U E D E L I V E R E D D I R E CT TO YO U R D O O R WO R L DW I D E
F R O M
£ 3 0
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GIVIN’ GIVIN’ UP? UP? EMAROSA
B
radley Walden has been a part of the Emarosa line-up for the last five years, and in his short tenure, he’s injected fresh life into the group. ‘Peach Club’, their fifth album, is filled to the brim with a revitalised pop sound that’s been threatening to boil over across their last couple of releases. “A lot of people feel like it’s
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It’s EMAROSA, but not as you know them. The group have shed their posthardcore roots for a sound that’s rather more glam... Words: Steven Loftin
such a drastic change, but if you’ve been paying attention, when we went from ‘Verses’ (2014) to ‘131’ (2016), and now to ‘Peach Club’, it’s been a pretty steady change towards this direction,” Bradley says matter of factly, currently on the road just outside of their next tour stop of Nashville. “On our last record, the first single was called ‘Helpless’; it was this very poppy jam, and it
was a great segue to help us get to where we are now.” ‘Alternative band goes pop’ is by no means a new trope; as the world descends into misery, more and more are seeking brighter pastures in thick, luscious melodies. “I was raised on Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Prince, Paula Abdul, and Pat Benatar; that’s what my Mom listened to so that’s what I listened to,”
Bradley explains. “I fell in love with pop, so that’s always been where I wanted to go.” Coming in as the frontman for a band with their beginnings dug deep in posthardcore, and then trying to steer them into fresh waters was a tentative job for Bradley, who joined founding guitarist ER White in 2014, swiftly followed by guitarist Matthew Marcellus and finally bassist Robert Joffred. “[Taking] the reins of this band, I didn’t try to force it right away,” he reminisces. “I tried to evolve into the band, and then as things progressed, we started to realise that the sound of the band was changing - and we thought for the better. It was just a collective input of everyone, what they love and what they like to do. The stuff we were coming up with just felt so natural.” That didn’t grant them a smooth ride, however, with a plethora of comments on
“YOU CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH SHIT FROM DICKHEADS ON THE INTERNET” BRADLEY WALDEN
Youtube et al. disapproving of their genre switch up - not that it was anything new. “Oh, it was really hard for a long time,” Bradley considers. “The fanbase when I first started this band put me in a dark place, and over time I ended up with some tough skin. It jaded me in a way where I stopped giving a shit what the fans thought and just did what I wanted to. “Now people get upset that I have this ego, or that I’ve changed and that I used to be humble. I’m still very much those things in my opinion, but I’m also a human being that can only take so much shit from dickheads on the internet that want to tell me how bad I am, or that I ruined this band.
“So we stopped listening to it. We don’t have to deal with that kind of stuff, and it sucked for a long time, where I had to stay off the internet because it would affect me, but I guess over time, and tough skin, it now just rolls off the shoulder, and I could care less.” ‘Peach Club’ is an Emarosa that they finally feel comfortable being, and if anyone can’t get behind that, then that’s alright by Bradley.. “Slowly but surely I’ve been grasping what the identity of this band is, and part of the fun of being an artist is getting to re-create yourself every album,” Bradley muses. “You get to be whatever you want. That’s part of the art, and so, [with] ‘Peach Club’ we’re shaping our identities now, and whatever’s next we’ll probably change again then too, but I feel like we can be a chameleon in that way. We don’t have to be one thing.” P Emarosa’s
album ‘Peach Club’ is out 8th February.
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20
TAKING BACK SUNDAY
VISION T Hitting a milestone twenty years together, TAKING BACK SUNDAY have a lot to celebrate, and it’s a party that’ll run all year. Words: Alex Bradley aking Back Sunday are spending 2019 celebrating their 20th anniversary with the release of compilation album ‘Twenty’ and a world tour.
The album includes two new tunes but is mainly a voyage through their seven studio albums with the band making damn sure to include all the biggest hits to chronicle the heartbreaks, feuds, lineup changes and emo phases that shaped them into one of most reliable alt-rock bands in the world. But, for the usually effervescent and swaggering frontman Adam Lazzara, looking back at the history of Taking Back Sunday is actually unfamiliar territory. “It’s funny putting out this record ‘Twenty’ and even going through that stuff I was hesitant because I don’t want to be redoing something we’ve already done, or standing in still water looking back. I wanna be moving forward,” he begins. “But, it has been nice as I’m not usually the kind of person to do that in the sense of being able to look back and say, ‘Man, I’m really proud of us’.” While the semi-reluctant participant of a nostalgia trip into their back catalogue, Adam’s vision for the anniversary release differed slightly as his idea was to release a box set of the band’s entire work but in the end settled to whittle their songs down to 19 hits and then the two new tracks. In the end, looking at his work retrospectively had its bonuses. “The thing that I’m proud of is that each record and era of the band is a perfect snapshot and representation of who we were at that time. It’s very easy to fall into this cycle of doing what you know will work and there are glaring examples on each record of us not doing that.” The anniversary allows both the band and fans an opportunity to see Taking Back Sunday with a wider perspective and appreciate the full extent of their evolution. Back at the turn of the millennium, when the band
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Riot_ were starting out, Long Island was awash with talent and its scene thriving thanks to bands like Glassjaw, The Movielife, Silent Majority and Bayside who followed soon afterwards. That scene is what drove Adam Lazzara from North Carolina up to New York to join Taking Back Sunday (as their bassist) on somewhat of a whim, as he describes. “At the time I just wanted to be playing in a band, and I couldn’t find that where I was living. I looked up to what they were doing in New York and that Long Island scene. For me to be a part of that, even if it was just a short time - I remember thinking, ‘If this doesn’t work out you can always go home’.” But, it did work out. Despite the regular line-up changes, the band have held steady and watched as scenes, fads and bands came and went in a time where the lifespan of music has only gotten shorter. That resilience is part of the real achievement for Taking
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“THANKFULLY IT’S NEVER GOT TO A POINT WHERE IT’S FELT LIKE ‘OH GOD NOT THIS SONG AGAIN’” ADAM LAZZARA
Back Sunday; they’re never ones to throw in the towel. While the members varied, their sound and integrity have never been compromised. In ‘Twenty’ their subtle progression from pop-punk fuelled by teenage angst into the mature alt-rock outfit they are today only becomes more clear. There’s no sudden change in direction between one album and the next but rather a slow, organic progression. When you take those early songs - especially tracks like ‘There’s No ‘I’ In Team’ and ‘Capital M-E’ which are based around the acrimonious departures of former band members or some of the
overdramatic ‘emo’ feels - and age them 20 years, it must be difficult to still relate to those feelings as a singer in their late-30s. So, is it weird to still be playing them live? “[Songs] are all just snapshots of who you have been, or how you were feeling at the time. With a lot of those older songs - take ‘Cute Without The ‘E’’ for instance - I’m not that guy anymore, and I’m very proud I’m not that guy anymore. I had very little life experience. But that is still a piece of me. “Whenever we play those songs, they take on a life of their own that is completely out of our hands. When you are in that room, and it’s not that you are delivering it to that crowd but its the crowd giving it back at you and you’re all in it together. “The same with ‘MakeDamnSure’ or even tracks from our last album ‘Tidal Wave’, there are songs that feel like that. Songs take on this life, and there is no barrier, and you’re all part of the same
electricity, and that’s a really powerful feeling. One of the reasons I go to shows is to get lost in moments like that.” He adds: “At the same time, to play Devil’s Advocate, I can understand artists saying ‘We don’t wanna play this specific song’ because you have to keep things fresh for yourself. Thankfully for us, it’s never got to a point where it’s felt like ‘Oh God not this song again’.” The collection of singles and hits on ‘Twenty’ could be mistaken for a line under the careers of Taking Back Sunday but the two new tunes which help round off the collection, ‘All Ready To Go’ and ‘A Song For Dan’, are a continued commitment to moving forward. Both tracks come to the mind of Mark O’Connell and were recorded in the same studio as ‘Tidal Wave’ which is located just around the corner from Adam and John’s homes in North Carolina. Adam laughs as he describes both tracks: “One is painfully sad, and the other is a little less sad.” While ‘All Ready To Go Feels’ like vintage Taking Back Sunday, the final track is fragile with the piano keys soaked with Adam’s glazed vocals for one of their most harrowing and, musically, naked songs ever. The new tracks are again representative of Taking Back Sunday right now, and Adam is keen to stress that they’ll still be looking to progress when it comes to writing their next album. “One of the more exciting things about being in Taking Back Sunday is that we don’t know what is going to happen until we are all together and working on something once again. “I don’t want to say ‘Yes that’s the direction we are going in and from here on out everything is going to sound like that’ because that could be
untrue.” Any definite plans for LP8 will be on hold until towards the end of the year with the band mapping a tour which covers most of the world in the first half of 2019. Taking Back Sunday will be celebrating their anniversary in the UK come the summer, but one notable absence will be original member and guitarist Eddie Reyes who left the band last April. Talking about playing the anniversary shows without Eddie, it’s clear it is still something the band are coming to terms with. “That’s been something that has kinda been looming over our head, but that was his choice. It’s his choice, and he can come back anytime he wants. “He is hanging in there and... I don’t know; I can’t speak for him because I don’t understand it if I’m honest. With everything we have been through as a band, we are more of a family, and sometimes people just need time.” It’s not just Eddie’s departure that makes touring harder now with Adam keen to not spend too long away from his family. While being able to get lost for an hour or two during the shows, the silver lining is that time away usually leads to more songwriting as he optimistically concludes, “that’s when the best stuff comes out; when you’re by yourself and lonely.” That conclusion is again evident to Adam Lazzara’s continued ambition to keep the band moving forward. ‘Twenty’ is a marker for a milestone not many bands could reach but, as long as Adam is the driving force behind the band, Taking Back Sunday will always have something to say. P Taking
Back Sunday’s album ‘Twenty’ is out now. They tour the UK from 13th June.
GERARD WAY IS TEASING “HEAVY” NEW MUSIC Gerard Way has made a reflective online post about his past year, and revealed that he’s “quite the collection of demos” under his belt, including a “kind of heavy” song called ‘I Am The Hag’. Watch this space.
TWIN ATLANTIC ARE PLOTTING THEIR RETURN It looks like Twin Atlantic may be on their way back, having started off 2019 by declaring “Perhaps it’s time to come out of hibernation?” on Twitter. The band’s last album, ‘GLA’ was released back in 2016.
PUPPY ARE HITTING THE ROAD Puppy have announced a new UK headline tour to celebrate the release of their debut album. ‘The Goat’ will be released on 25th January (more on that in a bit), with the tour kicking off a few months later on 18th April. Upset 17 17 UPSETMAGAZINE.COM
THE BEST NEW BANDS. THE HOTTEST NEW MUSIC.
WANT A NEW BAND CRUSH? CHECK OUT THIS LOT! >>>
GROUNDCULTURE Newcastle hardcore bunch GroundCulture have just signed to Hopeless Records for the release of their debut album, due later this year.
QUEEN ZEE SO HOT RIGHT NOW
Liverpudlian misfits QUEEN ZEE are on a mission to make the world a better place.
Q
ueen Zee are rapidly garnering attention, for all the right reasons. Under their recent accolades are a UK tour with grrrl punk trio Dream Wife, and a sold-out hometown headline show. The band weren’t made to fit amongst the rest. Instead, their music is bold, brash, and queer, and they’re not afraid who knows it.
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Words: Jasleen Dhindsa “Liverpool’s got such a history of being a music city, you don’t even need to mention The Beatles and Echo & The Bunnymen, but the scene has always been compartmentalised,” says vocalist Zena about being queer in the band’s birthplace. “It’s got these individual scenes that all seem to do their own thing. So, a band like ourselves, there wasn’t any one particular
group that really sat well. “Bands like Dead or Alive and Frankie Goes To Hollywood set the path for the current queer scene, and bands like Sonic Yootha [a Liverpudlian queer club night] have just done an arena tour with Kylie, so there is that movement there. “In terms of guitar bands and being involved in the queer scene, it doesn’t exist really. I’d say Queen Zee is the only thing
MANTRA London alt trio Mantra are about to support Allusinlove on their UK tour, with a debut LP arriving in February - keep an eye out for ‘Dreamland’.
that’s come out recently. We’ve come out the punk scene as a queer band, rather than coming out the queer scene as a punk band.” Listen to the band’s single ‘Porno’, or any of the tracks from their ferocious debut, and you’ll realise that they couldn’t care less about what people think of them. “We haven’t had massive difficulties,” Zena says regarding what the response has been like to the band’s distinct identity and character. “Liverpool is a very left leaning and accepting city, but obviously we have had our issues, and we have had people be abusive in particular ways and so on.” Queen Zee seem to be the antidote for the underdogs and the outcasts. Several of the tracks on their self-titled debut address feelings of being different, through empowering punk compositions. “I don’t ever expect my musicians to talk about their ethics in their art, I do always say I’d want an artist to put their art first and what they create is what they create,” Zena says with admirable honesty. “You have someone like Peaches who is hypersexual and talks about issues and really gets out there, or you have someone [where] it has nothing to do with their music, to me that’s totally fine. “With Queen Zee, I’d say it’s just been a natural thing, whenever I write a song it comes naturally, whether it’s from the past or something that’s happened recently, or that I’m harbouring. It’s almost
coincidental that it’s LGBTQ+ orientated and it’s almost like the fact these issues have come out recently has coincided with Queen Zee happening recently.” As Queen Zee are such a candid band, it’s hard to imagine that there’s ever been a topic that Zena has been too afraid or wary of addressing. “When I started Queen Zee there was nothing that I was scared of saying or doing; it was very uncensored. I’d say the more we cross over into a mainstream world, the more I feel the effects. We can play a song and say, ‘Yeah, this is for the LGBTQ+ community!’ Sometimes you can sense people being uncomfortable and sense the mood change. That being said, it hasn’t really stopped us. We’re writing for album two at the moment, and it’s similar content. We’re writing about experiences that affect us. The more the band grows, the more you feel the effects. It happens to everyone.” It’s not just the lyrics that are attracting people’s attention to the colourful five-piece, but the music itself is hard to pinpoint. There are elements of pop, grunge, indie and punk, all thrown together in an upbeat and triumphant mix. “That’s one of the things that I love about being in Queen Zee, everyone in the band does have a completely different music taste. There’s very little that we can agree on. The only bands we come close to agreeing on are The Breeders, [and] we smash a lot of Pixies in the van. “I’m a huge Iggy Pop fan, huge Stooges fan, I love a lot of the older punk stuff like
CHEERBLEEDERZ Alcopop-signed London indie punk trio cheerbleederz features members of Happy Accidents, Fresh and Finish Flag - sign us up.
“WHEN I STARTED QUEEN ZEE THERE WAS NOTHING THAT I WAS SCARED OF SAYING OR DOING” The Damned, X and Black Flag. That said, I also have this huge pop fandom in my brain, I smash a lot of Britney Spears. I think Queen Zee is the horrible result of mixing those two together,” Zena says with a smile. As a band that can be labelled as outrageous and unlike the rest, the thought of the next audacious move always comes to mind. However, what’s refreshing is how down to earth they seem underneath it all. “I’m kinda just happy doing what we’re doing,” Zena says about what she wants the future to hold for the band. “Every time we play a show, it’s amazing, and I love doing it. In terms of politics, I don’t mean to be vocal, I think I’m accidentally vocal, but for me, the biggest thing is to give that hour or half an hour on stage, or on a record, where people can forget everything else happening, almost escapism where you can lose yourself. “To do that on the biggest scale possible would be amazing, and I just want to grow and grow with the band, and get better and better, and just create that experience that we can share.” P Queen Zee’s
self-titled debut album is out 8th February.
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PRESS CLUB A INCOMING!
Aussies PRESS CLUB are making a break for it and heading over to the UK, with their debut album in tow. Words: Steven Loftin
ustralia’s Press Club are driven by a love for tunes that dig deep into the heart of life, soundtracked by rapturous levels of melody. Fronting this glorious cacophony is Nat Foster.
“It’s a bit surreal because as soon as we recorded the first album, our heads immediately went to ‘Alright, let’s write the next album!’,” she marvels over the phone. “It’s exciting to have this thing that we’ve worked so hard on get to new people in a different country.” A couple of years ago, they burrowed themselves away, spending time working out exactly who they, as Press Club, are. Out of the forty songs they penned, these were crafted into the dozen that makes up their debut album, ‘Late Teens’. But that was just the beginning. Press Club, completed by guitarist Greg Rietwyk, bassist
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Iain McRae and drummer Frank Lees, signed to Hassle Records last year, which means ‘Late Teens’ is reaching far further than the four friends ever thought possible. “When we got into the room and started playing heavier and faster music, I sang louder and sung faster, and got a bit angrier,” Nat smirks. “It felt natural; it felt easy.” Littered across ‘Late Teens’, the urgency of Press Club flows seamlessly into melancholy and back again, on a bungee cord between angst and aching. For Nat, growing up in Ballarat, a city not know for its musical heritage, she found opportunities somewhat lacking compared to the rest of her bandmates. “A lot of the music I listened to was from the radio or from going into music stores, looking at different CDs and things like that. I never had a lot of opportunities to go to
“HAVING PEOPLE COME TO OUR SHOWS ACROSS AUSTRALIA, THAT’S SURREAL” gigs,” she explains. On rare occasions she did get to go, it was usually small local acts. “It was really inspiring.” With Press Club plotting their first foray to UK shores this spring, they’ve been hitting the road hard. “We just finished our second headline tour a few days ago. Having people come to our shows across Australia, that’s surreal,” Nat says. “It’s really gratifying having this recognition. It’s just connecting with people!” P
Press Club’s debut album ‘Late Teens’ is out 25th January.
SPIELBERGS S HYPE! HYPE! HYPE!
pielbergs spent 2018 making waves at European festivals, and putting the final touches to their debut album, ‘This Is Not The End’. Now it’s here, and the trio are bringing it to the UK for a five-date tour. Say hello to frontman, Mads Baklien. Hey Mads, how’s life in Oslo? We love it here! You have a lot of choices in Oslo. You can hang around near the city centre and live the urban life if that’s your thing, or you can, as I like to, hang out in the more quiet neighbourhoods in the outskirts, eating and drinking at small cafés and pubs. We have great forests for hiking and skiing and stuff, and the sea to go swimming in summer.
Does popular music in Norway differ much from the UK, or are the charts all Ariana Grande and Bastille? I really don’t pay much attention to the charts, but let’s see. There’s definitely some Ariana on there. We have Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from that movie. Haven’t seen it. We have Billie Eilish, Halsey, Kodak Black, Imagine Dragons, ugh I can’t stand them, and yes what do you know… Bastille too. But we also have a lot of Norwegian pop and hip-hop acts going on here. Do you feel like the musical landscape in Norway has shifted over the past few years? Yes and no I guess. It seems to me that we are constantly mirroring whatever goes on
Meet your new favourite Norwegian noisemakers, SPIELBERGS. Words: Sam Taylor
“WE HAVE A PRETTY HEALTHY MUSICAL LANDSCAPE GOING ON OVER HERE IN OSLO” in the world. We have our own mumble rap acts (in Norwegian!), we have the EDM stuff, though I guess Norway can take some international credit in that department, with tropical house dude Kygo and Alan Walker. We have some pop artists doing well internationally as well, like Sigrid. That said, we have a fantastic punk and hardcore scene, great metal bands, great indiepop and rock and what not. I think we have a pretty healthy musical landscape going on over here.
What’s your favourite thing about being in Spielbergs?
My favourite thing is to make the songs. We have been very clear with each other from the beginning that we don’t want to have any boundaries for what kinds of music we can make. We can do whatever we want as long as we think the songs are good songs.
You’re back in the UK next February, how important is it for bands in Norway to break into other countries?
For a band like ours, I would say it is vital to break into other countries. We really want to do this thing. And even though I hope there are people in Norway that like our music, the market for guitar-based indie punky pop rock by a bunch of dudes is limited at best. P
Spielbergs’ debut album ‘This Is Not The End’ is out on 1st February. Upset 21
FEVER 333
JASON AALON BUTLER has never exactly been a shy, retiring type, but with his current outfit FEVER 333 he’s ready to start a revolution. Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.
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F
ever 333 want you to know there’s strength in numbers. Since the promise of debut single, ‘We’re Coming In’, the band have loudly, proudly and passionately shared their mantra of the three c’s with soul-prickling conviction. Community, Charity and Change provide the foundation for this revolution while their debut album tears down anything standing in their way. You feel that? There’s a fever coming.
“I want people to feel power,” starts frontman Jason Aalon Butler. “I want them to feel the power they have within themselves. I want them to know the sense of power they get from being represented by others that speak to them and along with them but never for them. Very simply put, it’s power. I hope we can offer power on this album.” Last year was a whirlwind for Fever 333, “but in the best way possible.” Their debut EP ‘Made An America’ was released with no warning in March then two months later, they did the same again with the gun violence questioning of ‘Trigger’. There was a surprise appearance at Download Festival, a scheduled but no less raucous demonstration at Reading & Leeds before a bounce around Europe with Bring Me The Horizon saw them take control of countless arenas and make it look easy. There was also the small matter of a Grammy nomination in Best Rock Performance for ‘Made An America’, which was “not anything I expected,” Jason reflects. “It wasn’t something I’d put on my list of things to do in 2018, but it’s cool to be recognised by our peers and by an industry that I see as rather antiquated. It’s an interesting place for us to exist, among the recording academy but it’s cool.” Fever 333 have been followed by a swell of excitement, embraced with open arms and hungry hearts. It’s not just because they make music you can thrash around to, or because their live show is a carnival of chaos. It’s a band formed on belief, preaching belief, offering reasons to believe. “I hoped that the things I was feeling would offer representation
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to others that may feel the same way. That’s politically, but also emotionally and artistically. With this band, I wanted to challenge the ideas and conventions that I thought were a bit tired across politics and art. It’s nice for this project to be received the way it has been, but a lot of it has to do with the people themselves. The people, they wanted this, and they created it. We’re just a reflection of what we’ve observed in society.” In everything they do, Fever 333 refuse to wait or secondguess themselves. It’s heart-led, gut-driven. There’s no time to wait. “I had a kid at the end of 2017, and that kicked me into gear with everything in my life, even artistically. It’s made my decisions in life a lot easier. Every decision I’ve made for this project has been led by the idea of my son and what he represents, which is the future and the youth.” ‘Made An America’ was full of broad strokes, big statements and wild freedom. Crashing out the gates, it had a lot to say and not much space to say it. ‘Strength In Numb333rs’, for all its kinetic charge and wide-eyed excitement, is more considered. The band know what they’re here for and the record stands firmly with unwavering focus. Some of that’s down to time, but for the most past it comes from “observing how the project was received,” Jason explains. “People understood that this was a socio-political effort that was being made through music. That gave me the fuel to dive directly and deeply into the issues that needed to be discussed. I knew what I wanted this band to be the moment it was unveiled. “This is an idea I’ve had and been working on for years. I knew what I wanted from it, but now I’ve seen it actualised. It’s manifested in a very tangible way, and I now see its potential.” From day one, Fever 333 have
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moved fast and furiously. It’s been constant flashpoints of brilliance and then onto the next thing. People haven’t had a chance to predict their future. “That is exactly the way that I would want to usher in this new album,” grins Jason. “Things have moved so quickly and in an unusual manner. For this album to come out and be so varied and eclectic, I don’t think it’ll catch anyone off guard or
“THE NAME OF THE GAME IS EXCITING PEOPLE AND EMPOWERING THEM” that anybody necessarily knows what to expect, but it will excite them. That’s the name of the game with this band: exciting people and empowering them.” That excitement is why Fever 333 have moved so quickly. It’s also why Jason has given it everything.
T
he first spark of Fever 333 came about after Jason and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker were introduced through a mutual friend. They started talking music, obviously, and arranged to meet up alongside producer John Feldmann on Superbowl Sunday 2017. Ideas about music, the state of the world and the status
quo were shared. Words soon turned to action, and more inspirational friends recruited to the cause. “Myself, the boys Stephen [Harrison, guitar] and Aric [Improta, drums], but also Travis and John - that’s our collective. Every time I stepped into the studio with someone in the collective, we left with a song. Literally every single time.” ‘Burn It’ was the third song they ever wrote. ‘Animal’ was the fourth. “I had access to two amazing studios, John’s and Travis’ at any time I wanted. And I did.” Jason would start an idea at one, go home and have dinner with his wife, put his son to bed, then head out to the other. It came together very quickly because “no one says no,” he explains. “No one is inhibiting; no one presents hurdles. Everybody and everything is about expression. It’s daring, we get to take risks, but it’s easy. “Everyone is so willing. This is the easiest, most encouraging environment I’ve ever been in artistically, without a doubt.” Each member of the collective comes from a different musical world and listens to such different things that every Fever 333 song has to go across the panel and make sense, in some way, to each of them. There was a similarly democratic setup for Jason’s 2016 album ‘If I’m The Devil…’ with his other band, letlive., but rather than finding the differing opinions inspirational, it left them spread “pretty thin, emotionally and personally.” Still, the initial plan was to do Fever alongside letlive. “I was like, I’ll just run them both, and that’s that. As I was doing that, one of them was moving in such a way that I had to give it the attention. Fever
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made me feel I had to invest; it also offered a compare and contrast. It showed me what [letlive.] meant to me and everyone else at the time. It was so special that I wanted to make sure it was remembered as such.” Twelve weeks after that first hang out with Travis and John, letlive. announced their breakup. “When it comes to making art it’s supposed to be fun. You’re supposed to love it, feel inspired and share that art with other people. When we were creating ‘If I’m The Devil…’ that idea of creating together and the very disparate thoughts and beliefs started to make letlive. take a turn that would have been damaging for the idea that was letlive.. That’s why it happened. “With Fever it became so clear to me - I was having such a good time, making so much art and being so encouraged. I was being told I could say whatever I want, however I want, whenever I want. Honestly, it was so nurturing for my health and my artistic wellbeing. This was the move that I had to make in order to keep letlive. special to everyone, myself included.”
J
ason has been telling personal stories through music for years, but this time it’s different. There are
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“THIS IS THE EASIEST, MOST ENCOURAGING ENVIRONMENT I’VE EVER BEEN IN ARTISTICALLY” tales he’s told in interviews to explain his thought process behind certain letlive. songs that, for the first time, he sings about on Fever’s debut, ‘Strength In Numb333rs’. This record sees him direct, fearless and at peace with what led him here.
“I got more comfortable with my past and who I know that I am, rather than the person I was afraid to be perceived as. I’m now way more comfortable in explaining that yes, I’ve been arrested and spent the night in jail because of an issue with a police officer,” he explains. In 2007, Jason was arrested for assaulting a police officer after being stopped, beaten and choked when trying to walk a friend home from a party. It was later determined in court that the officer was in the wrong. “Yes, I grew up on welfare, and yes, I lived in an underserved community,” he continues. “Growing up poor gives you a complex. You see the inequality in the everyday;
you fear the unknown. You’re on the outside, and the world is going to try and keep you there. Having to deal with authority who see you as less because of where you’re from or the colour of your skin only increases that distance and makes the struggle even harder. “I used to worry about being perceived as someone who may feel sorry for themselves, so I wouldn’t speak about it or write about it so directly. My wife has helped me become way more comfortable with who I am. If I know who I am and what I mean by the things that I’m saying, I can now explain myself in a way where I don’t have to fear what people may perceive me as. “With this album and this project, I wanted to make sure there was no question as to what I was talking about. We have to be very, very distilled in this message and talk about the sense of empowerment that I believe is systemically taken from people every single day. I made sure I distilled my own truth so I could offer a sense of authenticity.” There’s no better example of this than ‘Inglewood’. A warts-and-all autobiography of growing up poor and downtrodden, that song “really is a roadmap of my life,” he says. It starts with where Jason was born and “the eerie irony that there’s a fucking cemetery across the street from the hospital,” before leading you down “the streets I got beat up on, the street where my friend was shot.” “I’m trying to offer a glimpse into why I may feel the way I do, why I may say the things I say and why I behave in the manner in which I behave at times,” Jason explains. The track is an opportunity to look into someone else life and feel empathy. “I don’t necessarily want the empathy myself,” starts Jason. “But I want people to feel empathetic, to take that
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and then apply it to other people, other stories, other environments, and other cultures. Perhaps they’ll then see them in a more positive or understanding manner.” The reason ‘Strength In Numb333rs’ connects with such fire, offers such power and moves you in the way that it does, is because of how close the band are to it. Rather than observing inequality, injustice and prejudice with the luxury of distance, Fever 333 have been on the front line. “Obviously there’s the strong political element on this record,” explains Jason, “but ultimately it’s about acknowledging and elucidating the issues that I personally have been observing for quite some time now.” “I was seven, watching riots… you watched the news, I lived in it,” Jason sings on ‘Inglewood’ before going on to talk about his police officer brother, one of the few people that he completely trusts and who inspires him to be a better person. “He came home bloody; he was trying to keep the peace. Now I hear a whole new meaning when they scream ‘fuck the police’.” It’s just one example of Fever 333 showing you that things are
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“I WANT TO WALK THE WALK. I WANT TO BE THAT CHANGE I WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD” never simply black and white. ‘One Of Us’ is an important moment on a record that shudders with importance and creates lasting moments with every agile, glittering twist. “It’s talking about stripping away the constructs that keep us separated. Whether we want to believe it or not, we share a lot more similarity than
differences. I know it sounds fucking cliché, ‘we are all one person’. “It’s just me speaking my truth. It’s hard for someone to tell me that this isn’t true when it’s what I’ve experienced. My background in being biracial has offered me a unique perspective on a lot of these issues. Hopefully, there are elements that speak to other people. They don’t have to be a bi-racial dude from Inglewood playing hip-hop infused punk rock to get it. That’s the beauty of storytelling, but I’ve also made a point to educate myself on a lot of these issues, beyond just what I’ve experienced, so that I can speak about them in a way that is informed. “Really though, none of this is necessarily about me. None of this is necessarily about the project. We are simply a representation of what we observe in society around the world. We’d rather speak alongside people, instead of for them.”
A
cross the record, there’s this idea of taking the past and tearing it down. Destruction of the old to offer space for the new. “Sometimes you gotta burn it down to build it up again,” screams ‘Burn It’ while ‘Out Of Control’ chants, “We built our future by burning down our past.”
Fever 333 recently launched the Walking In My Shoes Foundation to raise money and awareness for organisations that generate empathy, understanding and change. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time,” Jason explains. “I was very lucky as a youth to have a part of my community that gave a fuck about me. They offered me a chance to be more than another kid in Inglewood who gets stuck in the city, or gets stuck in the cycle that was socially engineered and I want to give back. “Right now, I want to make it easier to be a part of the change. If people want to help with what we stand for but don’t know how, I want to facilitate that for them and offer them a platform, even if it’s just buying a ticket to a demonstration, or buying merchandise, or pressing a button on the website to donate. I want to make it easier for people to feel the things that we feel when we help. “This is making change userfriendly, I guess. I know that people having a hard time figuring out how to springboard from what the artist has said, into actually supporting the issue that they were talking about. This is just making it clearer, I think, and a little easier. “I’d like to have a centre for underprivileged youths, and I’d love to have a sanctuary for animals. I’d love to be able to involve myself in more community-based projects. “All these things, they don’t necessarily have to be musically related by any means but actually activating real, physical efforts, I think that’s the next step for us.” Visit fever333.com/donations for more information. P
All around us are “these very archaic ideas that rest on patriarchal, racist and power leveraged foundations,” Jason explains. “There are institutional hurdles that we all run into. Those things need to be eradicated if we want to move forward. That’s just the truth. It’s not conjecture, or bias, or opinion. That’s the truth. “Politics is about power, and policy was put in place to keep people in power. There are hierarchies, and we call it order. When I say ‘we built our future by burning down our past’ it’s about if you want to move forward, you have to pay attention to the faults that we have made in the past. It’s uncomfortable when discussing or realising those mistakes, but it’s worth that discomfort to analyse them for a better future.” And Fever 333’s foundations for that better future is the triple threat of Community, Charity and Change. “We have to have something, right?” asks Jason. “As a band, you have to have a mantra that informs the project, especially if you’re making efforts towards activism. If we were to focus on these three things a little bit more, we would be in a better place. We’d all be able to help ourselves, and each other, a little better.” Like the saying goes, an injury to one is an injury to all. But if one person does better, it’ll have a knock on effect. “It affects the family in a positive way, which affects the community, which affects the environments, which affects the state or the country and, this is
a bit of hyperbole, but it affects the world.” It’d change it for the better. “I want to represent things that I think are positive. I want to walk the walk. I want to be that change I want to see in the world.” “As long as we feel we’re doing a service to the movement that is already happening,” Fever 333 will keep charging forward. “And I see that everyday because people are supporting this band in such a way that I truly feel overwhelmed. I see people supporting us, believing in us and spreading the message through that word of mouth. It’s just incredible. People are so fucking impressive. People impress me, they blow me away, and they inspire me everyday. “Here’s the thing though. We are not the movement. We are advocates of the movement. We are allies to the movement, but the movement is the people. We are simply writing a soundtrack; that’s what this whole idea is. As long as we can offer something to that, we will continue. “The larger idea of this whole project, the idea of strength in numbers, is that we must eventually find a way to work together, even in our disparity. Even with our cultural and ideological differences, the largest sense of power and strength will come from solidarity. “The power we seek, it’s inherent to us as a people, but if we want to amplify it, maximise it and optimise the idea of that power, we must share it.” There’s a strength in numbers, and Fever 333 are making sure it counts. As the victory promise of their debut album’s closing track declares, “Together, that’s how we win. We, the people, fight the power to maintain our power. And when we win, because you know we will, it’s all power to all people.” P Fever 333’s album
‘Strength in Numb333rs’ is out now.
Upset 29
D
istance is sometimes necessary. After a never-ending rollercoaster cycle of album-tour-album-tour-and repeat reached its climax with 2014’s self-titled record, the duo behind Blood Red Shoes were exhausted.
In need of a break, from each other as much as the music business, Laura-Mary Carter escaped to Los Angeles while drummer/vocalist Steven Ansell remained behind. Four years elapsed, and it seemed that might be that for the Brighton band. However, last year brought a reunion at The Great Escape as well as two banging surprise singles. Now, with a fifth record ‘Get Tragic’, boasting a synth-heavy new sound, finally set for release and a sold-out tour, Upset caught up with LauraMary before their intimate Brighton warm-up show…
So, you’re back! How does it feel?
Yeah, we’re back… I was talking about it with my friend; it’s really weird. On the one hand, it’s like my normal life, but actually getting back into it is a little daunting.
Did you think you were done with Blood Red Shoes in 2014?
I was questioning Blood Red Shoes personally. From the age of 18 onwards, I was touring non-stop and never had a break. And when we weren’t touring, we were recording - and having always been a DIY band, there is always so much more stuff you have to do. There’s so much bullshit, it kind of dragged me down.
So you moved to LA?
Yeah, I didn’t have anywhere to stay. I went initially for a month; then it turned into three months, then I ended up staying there. In LA, there were so many
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more ways to collaborate and do interesting things, and for me, I needed to go off and do that with different people.
How was it over there? A bit more glamorous than Brighton?
I found it really easy to go and make music with people and try stuff! I ended up pitching songs for Rihanna, and doing a Pixies cover for the Game of Thrones soundtrack - it never got used in the end, but it was really cool. It gave me a positive feeling about music again at a time when I was down about it all.
‘Get Tragic’ is a big shift in sound, with synths galore. Was it scary making that move? It kind of was, but no-one was pressuring us to finish the
“I ENDED UP PITCHING SONGS FOR RIHANNA, AND DOING A PIXIES COVER FOR THE GAME OF THRONES SOUNDTRACK” record, so we had the time. We thought this wouldn’t work because it’s synths, and that’s sometimes a rock band cliche.
Was the recording smooth?
It was a disaster at times! After LA, we decided we would record some more in Wales. We rented a big building, on a road called Dark Lane. We were supposed to have the place to ourselves, but when we got there, we were greeted by these two really weird men who actually lived there. At eight in the morning on our first day, there was banging on our bedroom door. It turned out that it was an old community centre that had been sold, but nobody had told the town and loads of them had keys! It was used as a creche, so there
were all these babies crawling amongst our equipment. These people were shouting at us, “You can’t make devil music”, because they had seen our band name on our kit. It was like [Simon Pegg film] Hot Fuzz or something. We moved to Leeds, to use Pulled Apart By Horses’ studio. Then I broke my arm…
Did you think it was not meant to be? It was one thing after another. Every day I wake up, and there’s one more thing.
What’s next for you? I love music. I don’t want to just ‘be’ Blood Red Shoes, I’ve got a solo thing coming out in 2019 as well, completely different - more alt. country. I just want to keep doing different things; I wanna put ‘good’ out into the world. P
Blood Red Shoes’ album ‘Get Tragic’ is out 25th January.
TRAGIC KINGDOM BLOOD RED SHOES
BLOOD RED SHOES return after a longer-than-planned break with an unexpected new album, and some tales to tell. Words + photo: Jamie MacMillan
Upset 31
FIDLAR
FIDLAR are growing up. “I hope people see we’re not just slacker punk stoner idiots,” says frontman ZAC CARPER. Words: Ali Shutler.
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“WE’RE FUCKING MILLENNIALS DUDE; WE GET BORED QUICK” ZAC CARPER
“O
ur entire career, nobody ever took us seriously,” starts Zac Carper with a grin. “And rightfully so. I mean we do have songs called ‘Cheap Beer’ and ‘Cocaine’ so I understand. Half of it is our fault. Nobody thought we’d be on the radio or play shows, so it goes to prove that nobody fucking really knows. Nobody knows anything.”
FIDLAR’s self-titled debut dances with drugs, parties hard and tries to numb the pain. It’s a torn page in staying young forever while ‘Too’ is an intense, emotional album that sees the gang embrace mistakes and sober up. Third album ‘Almost Free’ is the next step but it doesn’t see them growing up or settling down, so fear not. Instead, the record clings on for dear life as the band are tossed this way and that. That is the story of our generation after all. “Getting older is just wild,” laughs Zac. “And nobody talks to you about it. Supposedly it gets easier, but I’m not sure.” Life post-‘Too’ has been “pretty up and down” for FIDLAR. Touring saw them pogo between Europe and America countless times, keeping them busy and keeping them confined, so when they finally did get home, “it’s hard to be creative,” Zac says. “Your brain space is all crazy. We have this thing called P.T.B.D. (Post Tour Band Disorder). After tour, you can’t deal with life, and it’s such a weird thing.” Unfortunately, there was a whole lot of life to deal with. “I was going through a crazy break up, and some of our friends were kind of going crazy.” That ride was poured into ‘Almost Free’. Instead of cranking it out in one month, the band took twelve. A few weeks here, a few weeks there, it allowed FIDLAR to really play.
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“We collaborated in a way that we’ve never collaborated before. There’s not a pointed direction to this album, ‘cos we all listen to everything. I’ve been super inspired by new hip-hop, and new R&B coming out and it’s just like, how do you fit that in a punk band?” No rules because life’s a risk. “Every record we do has been different. There’s nothing wrong with bands who follow their own formula, but I’d get bored. We’re fucking millennials dude; we get bored quick.” ‘Almost Free’ moves quickly. There’s the Gorillaz-meetsCypress Hill opening rally against gentrification ‘Get Off My Rock’, sparked when Zac returned home to Hawaii and was shocked at how fast things had changed, disgusted that Mark Zuckerberg had bought a bunch of property on the island and then tried to force the Hawaiian people out using legal loopholes. “It’s not just happening in Hawaii or LA; it’s happening everywhere in the world. You can’t keep pushing people out, like where are we gonna go?” ‘Can’t You See’ has a freewheeling runaway groove that couldn’t care what you think while ‘Alcohol’ tumbles with a hyperactive, Dennis the Menace wallop. “That song was written when I was sober, and I was in an AA meeting, and everybody was talking about drinking alcohol, and I was like, fuck I really want some alcohol now.” The title track goes all in with a brass breakdown, ‘Called You Twice’ is tender and loving before ‘Nuke’ tears the place wide open while the closing ‘Good Times Are Over’ promises that “misery could use a little company” after the band saw Bring Me The Horizon play Reading Festival. “They make this heavy and sad music which is such a good combination. If these guys
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“ROCK’N’ROLL IS JUST A BUNCH OF FUCKING PEOPLE COMPLAINING” ZAC CARPER
are as big as they are, it just goes to show that misery likes company, you know?” Through it all though, FIDLAR find reason to smile. They’re done standing by. “We’ve been all over the world, and we’ve seen everything happening. We’ve been in Europe every time there’s been a terrorist attack in France. America’s been going crazy with gun violence, cops killing kids, our president and the whole system there. It’s so crazy, and we’ve seen it from all over. All around the world, everywhere we tour, we can see it. “The past couple of years, technology has changed, and it’s made people either connect more or disconnect more. It’s a weird catch-22. Maybe we just change so much faster nowadays. Our opinions are always evolving, and they’re evolving way quicker, because of the information that we’re getting on a daily basis.” Older generations never had to handle change at this rate, because they lived in isolated bubbles. There wasn’t really a world beyond what they could actually see. “You can’t change an old dude’s mind. Fuck, it’s impossible. Our generation definitely does have more empathy towards other people and situations that don’t directly affect us. “This record is more about the environment around us. I remember writing a song before this record, and I just got sick of complaining. Rock’n’roll is just a bunch of fucking people complaining. I was fucking sick
of it.” ‘Almost Free’ knows that not everyone is in this together. It’s not that naïve, but it does offer a soundtrack for like-minded people. If you’re feeling angry, hurt, lost, confused, you’re not alone. Even if you feel like you are. There’s reason to grin through the alienation and fear. “Maybe it’s the whole social media aspect of everybody talking. If everyone’s talking at the same time, how can you hear anything? I do feel more alienated now than I ever have, but I do feel like I cannot be the only one feeling this way. There’s no way. I can’t be the
only one feeling like this.” So FIDLAR are kicking open the doors and throwing a party. You’re all welcome. “You have to learn how to adapt to change, and you have to do what’s in your power to do. You have to fight for whatever is in your power to fight for. This is gonna sound stupid,” warns Zac. “But the lyrics ‘I drink cheap beer, so what, fuck you’ are political. That to me is our class system. “Yeah, the hip-hop cliché is rappers talking about how much money they got, how much bling they got and how they’re the shit. We do the same kind of thing but we represent the dirtbag kids, and we’re gonna have a good time, no matter what. We don’t have the money or the bling or emotional stability because we’re all emotionally crippled, but this is who we are, and we’re proud of that. “Growing up, it’s interesting to see that evolve. Deep down, we’re still those people. Sure, we can afford our rent now, but that’s about it.” “I hope people see we’re not just slacker punk stoner idiots,” with ‘Almost Free’. “I just feel like we’re just constantly trying to dig ourselves out of that hole, even though there’s some truth to it. It is our fault; I’m not blaming anybody here.” FIDLAR just can’t ever take themselves seriously enough. Thought-mouth means they say it all, the silly and the serious. It’s called ‘Almost Free’ because it’s their third album and three is almost free. “I wish there were a deeper meaning, but there really isn’t.” There’s talk of calling their fourth album ‘Free’ as a natural followup while album five “will be called ‘Wives’ because that’s probably when we’ll all get married. Maybe it’ll be a record about us complaining about our wives because that’s something punk rock needs more of,” he adds with a roll of his eyes.
Elsewhere there’s talk of “actually doing a Fidlar on The Roof album. It’s going to be a rendition of Fiddler On The Roof, but it’s gonna be based on modern times. We’ve been joking about it for a while, but now we’re like... dude, why don’t we do this? This is gonna be fun to do. It doesn’t need to be the biggest thing in the world or anything like that, let’s just do it and have fun with it.” There are also whispers of going a Beastie Boys-inspired hip-hop album after Zac and Brandon discovered that like FIDLAR, Beastie is an acronym (Boys Entering Altered States To
Induce Ecstasy). “We have taken this joke called FIDLAR farther than it has ever gone and we have to keep taking it further. It’s actually challenging. It’s getting hard now. You know the great thing about the whole FIDLAR thing is that the bar is set so low for us that anything we do is basically above the bar, because everyone does think that we’re a bunch of idiots so it’s like, alright, cool, we’re just gonna play off that then. Thinking about it, it actually works in our favour.” P
FIDLAR’s album ‘Almost Free’ is out 25th January.
Upset 35
POWER The time has come: PUPPY are kickstarting 2019 by finally releasing their long-awaited debut. Words: Jessica Goodman.
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G
o big or go home: not just a sentiment of daring encouragement, this is an attitude Puppy have lived by for a long time. Combining riffs brazen enough to rival the boldest metal acts with an affinity for addictive pop hooks, this is a band who make no apologies for who they are. With the release of debut album ‘The Goat’, their freewheeling sense of character has never felt clearer.
“We thought it was kind of funny calling a debut album the greatest of all time,” frontman Jock Norton introduces. Talking on a day off between tour dates, the group are in high spirits. With their long-anticipated first record on the rapidly approaching horizon, such energy is only natural. “I don’t think we ever sat down at any point and went, ‘Right, album time!’” Jock recalls, laughing. “‘We gotta write a hit, boys!’” he proclaims in an American accent. “We didn’t
Upset 37
really have that pressure. I think we try and keep it fairly constant.” Arriving more than two years after their last EP, ‘The Goat’ is Puppy at their most vividly characteristic. “I think the time that was afforded to us – both leading up to recording the album and the process itself – kind of gave us quite a big pool of songs to choose from,” Jock states. The result is a record that draws from everything they
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admire: from good ol’ fashioned rock’n’roll, taking in swirling sonics, powering through catchy chorus hooks and beyond, this is Puppy as you’ve always loved them and as you’ve never heard them before. “I think you can hear us pushing out in different directions a bit more on the album,” Jock enthuses. “There’s elements of stuff that we like that we hadn’t really had a chance to explore in our songwriting yet.” The evolution of the band that can be heard on the record is a natural step up for the trio. “It’s always sort of there in the back of our minds,” Jock mulls. “We always want to try and push ourselves a bit more. That’s kind of been the ethos of the band from the get-go.” “We thought that if it seems a bit ‘out there’, that’s probably quite cool,” he adds. “I think that’s true of this album.” On ‘The Goat’, the searing heavy refrains that first drew Puppy into the spotlight can be found in abundance, as they draw elements of everything from crooning chorus riffs to shoegaze-esque soundscapes into the mix. Jock even steps back from the microphone for a track, as bassist Will Michael takes the helm on vocal duties for ‘I Feel An Evil’. “That was one of the things we had in the back of our heads that we always wanted to try and do on an album,” Jock recalls. “I like it when another member of the band sings. I always thought that was cool.” Never ones to cater to any template but their own, the track is just one stand out example on the record of the band breaking their own mould. “I like that variety,” the frontman adds. “You get to know the personnel a little bit more, maybe?” he offers in explanation. “It just seemed quite cool from a fan perspective, so that was always what we wanted to try.” A
rampaging venture through their own creativity, ‘The Goat’, in all of its variety, showcases Puppy at, well, their greatest of all time (so far). “We just have to have faith that it does fit into the universe and make sense, even if it might not be in the most obvious way,” Jock details. With variety and flair as staple traits, this is a record purpose-built for cut-loose enjoyment. “Across the course of an album, I think that’s quite nice and quite cool. The only thing that seems to
“WE THOUGHT THAT IF IT SEEMS A BIT ‘OUT THERE’, THAT’S PROBABLY QUITE COOL” be important is that it’s a good song.” From the staggering riffs of ‘Entombed’ through the swirling tapestry that is ‘Bathe In Blood’, the thundering encouragement of ‘Demons’ to the resounding temperament of ‘Black Hole’, there’s plenty to sate appetites for the sensational. “We want the songs to be quite accessible and fun,” Jock declares. “We try to make our version of a pop song, essentially,” he laughs. Sure, blazing metal riffs might not seem like prime pop fodder, but what makes Puppy unique is how well they make that work. Take album stand-out ‘Poor Me’ for example: storming refrains a-plenty, and a rousingly catchy chorus make this one of the album’s strongest offerings. The mood, however, is far from optimistic – but that doesn’t stop the song from resounding as one of the group’s most tenacious tracks yet. “I take the piss out of myself a little bit,” Jock chuckles. “It’s not really us - and not really me - to be super positive. It’s not really how I feel generally.” Not ones to shy away from any extremes, ‘The Goat’ bares its heart on its sleeve – an energy made all the more enthralling in its innate contrasts. “We try and walk that line between clever and stupid,” the frontman proclaims with a grin. “I don’t know which side we fall on – probably the stupid more than the clever,” he laughs. “That’s probably quite a big element of the band, actually.” “The sentiment of the band
has just been to strike out on our own path,” he continues. “If you hear things a bit differently from everyone else, or you see things a bit differently from everyone else, that’s probably a good thing. You should keep pushing that.” Driven by an enduring sentiment of (as the band describe) “just be yourself – fly your weird flag and see if anyone feels the same,” Puppy’s debut album is a clash of musical cultures with no shortage of finesse. “One of the big things we always get asked is ‘which world do you feel you belong in musically? Do you feel you want to be accepted by the metal world? What about the indie rock world?’” Jock recounts. “From a creative standpoint, and for us as people, that’s never something we consider when we make music,” he details. “It’s never something we wanted to think about. Going forward it’s something we hope not to think about,” he expands. “We just want to put one foot in front of the other and make music that we want to hear.” As they ready to release what they portray (after much deliberation) as “the best Puppy album you will hear in 2019,” the group await the moment at which others can hear that music too with a sense of thrill. “We’ve been sat on the songs for so long,” Jock describes. “I think we’re just really excited for people to hear [the album] now. That’s the point at which it takes on a new lease of life, when other people listen to it,” he conveys. “It’s starting to feel real,” he enthuses. “People are gonna
hear it. They’re gonna say whether they like it or not. That’s exciting,” he pauses, “…I think.” Whatever verdicts are cast almost seem irrelevant: Puppy breathe easy in the fact that they have made the album they always wanted people to hear. With tour dates and festival performances ahead of them, this is only the beginning. P
Puppy’s debut album ‘The Goat’ is out 25th January.
Upset 39
Rated_ THE OFFICIAL VERDICT ON EVERYTHING
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BRING ME THE HORIZON AMO
e eeee
A
mbitious. That’s the best word to describe Bring Me The Horizon. Their drive to make it to the very top hasn’t been without controversy - like any band that develops away from their initial sound to something more expansive and - gulp - mainstream, they’ve suffered their fair share of slings and arrows in the process. No matter what the haters say, though, ‘amo’ isn’t a cynical sellout. In much the same way as 2015’s ‘That’s The Spirit’, it’s the sound of a band striving to find something that goes beyond the narrow genre boundaries that defined the scene they first arrived into. 2019 isn’t so much about barriers and tribes, but for crossing the musical divides of old. That’s what ‘amo’ does. Bubbling with high flying synths and pop sensibilities just as often - if not more so - as it finds a meaty riff, at times it sounds like a totally different band. The short, sharp ‘ouch’ comes from a totally different world, and yet it works.
‘Nihilist Blues’, which sees the band team up with cybergoth queen Grimes, is equal parts shiny and sinister, finding a bridge between their two rapidly merging universes. But while some may see these as disappointments, they’re undoubtedly in the minority. Each makes Bring Me The Horizon a more interesting, relevant band, refusing to remain in the time loop that threatens to consume any act unwilling to cross the streams. When they find the balance, ‘amo’ is up there with the best Bring Me have. ‘Sugar’ is equal parts brutal and bombastic, while lead single ‘Mantra’ demands maximum attention, by force if necessary. Yes, it’s pop rock rather than metal, but it’s still a million miles from chart filler. It’s when they fully depart the ranch that ‘amo’ really shines, though. The pulsating ‘Why You Gotta Kick Me When I’m Down’ may be as much Chase & Status as it is Bring Me The Horizon, but it signals a band unconcerned with expectations, trying out their artistic urges. The truth is, for a band to exist on the scale Bring Me The Horizon aspire, they need to constantly evolve. As rock struggles to gain a hold on streaming service playlists, sitting still was never an option. While the spirit stays the same, the sounds change and twist, refusing to sit and get fat on the old rules of yesteryear. Right now, when it comes to finding a mix that works, Bring Me are the best in the game. What’s not to love? P
Stephen Ackroyd
BLOOD RED SHOES GET TRAGIC e e ee
A lot has changed since Blood Red Shoes last selftitled album back in 2014. Falling apart then pulling back together, there’s a refreshed energy to the record that’s come out of the turmoil. ‘Get Tragic’ might be named after the clichéd coping mechanisms the duo turned to in their time away, but it’s anything but a move of desperation. There are highlights aplenty - many of which have arrived as singles over the past 18 months. ‘Mexican Dress’ thumps with a vampish flair, while ‘Bangsar’ is one letter from doing exactly what it says on the tin. More about raw oomph than needless musical fiddling, BRS 2.0 sound like a band with a point to prove. P Stephen Ackroyd
CHAPTER AND VERSE GLOW EP e e ee
Having been ticking and toiling away for the last few years, East Londoners Chapter and Verse are finally gaining a bit of traction, and what better way to celebrate than in the form of a second EP. More importantly, what they’ve done here is hit the ground running to prove to the world they’ve only just begun. It’s an emotional rampage fully backed by instruments that sound intricately savage - lighting a fire behind the Chapter and Verse name. From the slightly refrained opening of ‘The Casket’, to the falsetto-breaching ‘Magazines’ and the prowling, escalating end of ‘Ink’, ‘Glow’ takes hold of everything that Chapter and Verse have been working towards and pushes it further toward being an unstoppable behemoth. P Steven
Loftin
Upset 41
CANE HILL A SHORT Q&A WITH
Vocalist ELIJAH WITT spills the beans on the band’s latest evolution.
New Orleans four-piece Cane Hill are starting the new year with something altogether, well, new. Binning off their
heavy tendencies, at least temporarily, they’ve returned with “six songs of dark, twisted, and semi-acoustic beauty” - new EP, ‘Kill the Sun’.
You guys seemed to be in a really good place after the release of your last album, are you all feeling positive? I think as a band, and as people, we’ve grown significantly building up to this EP. We feel positive about the music for absolute sure. We’ve got a lot of faith that even though it’s a curveball people will be able to sink into it like we do.
‘Kill The Sun’ is a bit different, what sparked the idea?
We listen to a lot of 90s and 80s bands, and they were always experimenting with their sound. They did weird things and put out strange works that didn’t always sit evenly with their normal music. We wanted to try our hands at that. Everyone in the band is talented enough to be good at more than just straightforward
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CANE HILL KILL THE SUN EP eeee
”We’ve embraced the weirder and mellower side of what we do,” Cane Hill explain in the statement that comes alongside their new record, ‘Kill The Sun’. A textured, semi-acoustic, multi-layered horizon greets opener ‘86d - No Escort’, while there the title-track and lead single is a total left turn, even finding time for a bit of saxophone. How well it works depends on what you want from a Cane Hill song, but in playing with their musical identity, they’re a more interesting band with far more to grasp hold of. A quiet(er) triumph. P Stephen
Ackroyd
metal. It seems like a shame to let that go to waste.
Are all these songs brand new, or have some of them been in your locker for a while? All of them are new. We rarely
ever put anything out that we’ve sat on for a long time. There’s constant progress with us, so we try not to look back.
Will any of them get a live airing?
That’s something we’re definitely working on. It takes some equipment we don’t have yet since we don’t want to do it with a bunch of tracks. Every sound you hear we want to be able produce it ourselves, leaning towards the indie genre or the Los Angeles pop realm of music — a lot of midi controllers, pads, and live saxophone and cajons. The whole nine yards. So it might be until mid or late next year that we do it but if there’s response to the rest of the songs like there is with ‘Kill the Sun’ it wouldn’t be very fair for us NOT to play it live.
Has working on this release helped firm up any ideas for your next album?
It definitely solidified that we’re going in heavy as balls next time. We always want to keep it interesting, and we’re all itching to write some aggressive music after this. P
CHERRY GLAZERR STUFFED & READY e e ee
Cherry Glazerr’s previous record ‘Apocalipstick’ came charging all guns blazing. On ‘Stuffed & Ready’, Clem Creevy embraces her vulnerability with new found wisdom. The record feels more cohesive than any of their previous efforts, not just in how grown-up the band feel with the emotionally charged instrumentation that stirs and crashes, but the lyrics too that shine with poetic delicacy, driving the heavy, feedback-laden grunge punk that contrasts with Clem’s typically soft vocals and takes them to greater heights. It’s an admirable effort. P Jasleen Dhindsa
EMAROSA PEACH CLUB eee
There’s no shortage of rock bands currently reinventing their sounds to find something new, but few have pushed that as far as Emarosa. ‘Peach Club’ is a makeover show jaw-drop, such is the departure from their previous musical guise. ‘Givin’ Up’ blasts through the sliding doors in a haze of dry ice and lasers, all sass and brass in equal measure. It’s pop-rock at its most fabulously flamboyant. ‘Cautious’, meanwhile, is anything but - a post-CHVRCHES synth-pop air-thumper. Emarosa are a band having the time of their lives, and there’s nothing more infectious than that. P Stephen Ackroyd
FIDLAR
ALMOST FREE e e ee ’Get Off My Rock’, the first track from FIDLAR’s third album ‘Almost Free’, sets the stage. Crossing lanes well travelled by Beastie Boys, it spits attitude until it drips from the
ceiling, turning lyrics inside out. It’s a development FIDLAR have been building towards, their slacker-punk vibe only ever one step from full-on brat-pop. It suits them, but its also not played for cheap kicks. Under the surface, there’s a darkness inside. ‘By Myself’ may sound like a conga line passing through an office mid-afternoon, but the cries for “professional help” ring through, while ‘Too Real’ barely contains its despair for the world around it. In a society more divided, even the party has to stop eventually. P
Stephen Ackroyd
GIRLPOOL
WHAT CHAOS IS IMAGINARY eeeee Jangly shoegaze on the melancholic but bright ‘Lucy’s’ sets a precedent for ‘What Chaos Is Imaginary’, a diverse and cohesive record. This album crackles with fuzz and lo-fi vocals, particular stand-outs are the static and soft ‘Where You Sink’, and the hazy, layered dream pop of ‘Minute In Your Mind’. Cleo takes the lead on folk-rock ballad ‘Hire’, singing with a new-found conviction. ‘Pretty’ is jangly folkpop with an infectious beat and killer hook, highlighting the duo’s artistry. Girlpool have grown considerably since their folk punk beginnings. ‘Powerplant’ was their most eclectic effort to date, but ‘What Chaos Is Imaginary’ firmly snatches that crown. The duo feel like a different band, one that’s both wiser and passionately conscientious. P Jasleen Dhindsa
LE BUTCHERETTES BI/MENTAL eeee
By four albums in, a band generally has a sense of confidence about who they are. That’s exactly where ‘bi/MENTAL’ finds Le Butcherettes, comfortably uncomfortable in a world of primal
punk and angular questions. Working for the first time with Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison (their first three records were recorded with At The Drive In and The Mars Volta’s Omar Rodriguez-Lomez), it’s a record that’s full in all senses. From the opening explosion of Jello Biafra featuring ‘spider/WAVES’ onwards, there’s a dark, twisted undercurrent that, on occasion, sees frontwoman Teresa Suárez Coscío soar like a modern-day Kate Bush. There are few higher compliments than that. P Stephen Ackroyd
PAPA ROACH WHO DO YOU TRUST? e e ee
‘Who Do You Trust?’ Is Papa Roach doing what they do best; numetal to the core, with little edgings of development. Everything feels like a ready-made anthem; by no means a bad thing, though there are only so many rousing choruses until the purpose gets diluted. But of course, it’s all about celebrating who Papa Roach are - music for outsiders, something they’ve been for the last two decades. P Steven
Loftin
PRESS CLUB LATE TEENS eeee
‘Late Teens’ perfectly captures the essence of modern life, where nothing can be taken for granted and nothing lasts forever. Greg Rietwyk’s guitar barrels each song along, a propulsive force of nature matched only by the ferocity of the raw, unpolished edge to Nat Foster’s vocals. Anxious but not angsty, there is an electrifying spark that runs through the record, transforming these themes of turmoil into tracks that are both universal and personal. This is one club that the world will be clamouring to join. P Jamie
MacMillan
Upset 43
PUPPY THE GOAT eeee
‘The Goat’ is a dark record that feels triumphant. Chugging riffs and soaring choruses take charge on ‘Vengeance’, and gothic tones entice on ‘Poor Me’ and the Goliath ‘Entombed’. Sounds are switched up on ‘Bath in Blood’, where elements of post-grunge creep in, and the lullaby-like quality on ‘Nightwalker’ is a side many bands could not pull off. There’s a something about Puppy; they’re enchanting and otherworldly, creating metal that’s not all about aggression. Instead, contrasting deafening riffs with poppier elements for a magnetic concoction. P Jasleen Dhindsa
QUEEN ZEE QUEEN ZEE eeee
Queen Zee are a force to be reckoned with. Their debut is a bold and boisterous punk celebration of everything queer and extraordinary. Led by Zee, whose distinctive voice looms through a forthright wall of noise, the album effervesces with youthful spirit; it’s an inquisitive and personal opus where anyone that doesn’t fit in is welcomed. “I’m alone, I’m alone, I’m a loner,” Zee drawls on ‘Loner’, a common theme, also addressed on underdog anthems ‘Victim Age’ and ‘Sissy Fists’. Queen Zee offer a hand, an invitation to dance and mosh in solidarity. P Jasleen Dhindsa
SAY ANYTHING OLIVER APPROPRIATE eeee
Inspired by Museum Mouth’s ‘Alex, I Am Nothing’ – an album about unrequited gay love – ‘Oliver Appropriate’ is a counter-balance, considering what
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type of person would hurt that album’s narrator. It’s also a followup to Say Anything’s ‘…Is a Real Boy’, intertwining characters into a new narrative. Just like this backstory, it’s a muddled record, but this approach suits the album perfectly. Emotions are messy, and Max Bemis absolutely sells the narrator’s pain for a bold conclusion to this chapter in Bemis’ career. P Rob Mair
SET IT OFF MIDNIGHT eee
With a new label in their corner, Set It Off are out to change their horizons. ‘Midnight’ is an album of big ambitions and outsider spirit. Brash, bold and determined, from opener ‘Killer In The Mirror’ there’s an underlying funk that runs through like a stick of rock. Threaded together, different filters switch in and out at will. ‘Hourglass’ spits like classic Fall Out Boy before shifting gear for a chorus that shimmers in high definition, while ‘For You Forever’ drips with dry ice. On occasion, they threaten to overwhelm the band’s own identity, but by and large, they add more than they take away. If Set It Off are aiming high, ‘Midnight’ could well bring out the stars. P Stephen Ackroyd
SPIELBERGS THIS IS NOT THE END eeee
Spielbergs have created a determined debut with ‘This Is Not The End’. The clashing rock of ‘NFL’ feels stratospheric, while there’s a chilling and determined feeling on ‘We Are All Going To Die’. The band’s softer side is explored too: ‘Familiar’ is airy and spacey, interludes of ‘S.K’ and ‘McDonalds (Please Don’t Fuck Up My Order)’ feel delicately
beautiful, and the acoustic folk of ‘Sleeper’ is a highlight. The most cohesive tracks are ‘4AM and ‘Forever’, where Spielbergs’ craftsmanship is truly at its best. P Jasleen Dhindsa
SUNFLOWER BEAN KING OF THE DUDES EP eeeee
Hot on the heels of their second album, Sunflower Bean continue their purple patch with an effervescent quartet of tunes that highlight a band with bangers to spare. Title track ‘King of the Dudes’ blends Julia Cumming’s husky vocals, Strokesian riffs and the pizazz of 80s glam rock in a cocktail of infectious pop-rock. The slick guitar solos on ‘Come for Me’ can’t quite disguise that the tune is an unashamed pop jam. ‘Fear City’ somehow scales further heights, its hook towering over the instrumental skyline. ‘The Big One’ offers a scuzzier punk tune to close, but the lasting impression is of a band with their eyes set on a starry horizon of earworm melodies and pump-up pop jams. P Dillon Eastoe
THE TWILIGHT SAD
IT WON/T BE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME eee The Twilight Sad have passion and emotion at the core of everything they do. On ‘It Won/t Be Like This All The Time’, it’s ramped up to a whole new level, one that finds them sonically expanding into an all-encompassing world of sound that’s as equally intense as it is devastatingly raw. Dealing with a myriad of human emotion, it’s underpinned by a fresh and driving synth underbelly that reverberates throughout, giving the band their densest album to date. The Twilight Sad are flexing
their muscles, and reaping the rewards because of it. P Jamie
Muir
THYLA
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND EP eeee Brighton’s Thyla come through resilient on debut EP ‘What’s On Your Mind’. The four-piece feel celestial on the twinkling dream pop of opener ‘Only Ever’. The paradoxical indie pop of ‘Blue’ follows, vocalist/guitarist Milli singing lyrics of anxiety, while elsewhere chimes of pop melodies give life and a sense of hope. ‘Bitter’’s spluttered synths create apprehensive layers, a dark mood filtered through on ‘Candy’, and the EP ends on the heartfelt and stripped back ‘Better Me’. It’s a potent concoction of dream pop and grunge. P Jasleen Dhindsa
FEVER
YAK
PURSUIT OF MOMENTARY HAPPINESS eeee The story behind Yak’s second album is entwined with the record itself. Oli Burslem chased his artistic vision at the expense of everything else, a pursuit that ended up with the frontman homeless, sleeping in the back of a Citroën estate. Thankfully, between then and now, he found a like-minded soul in Spiritualized main man Jason Pierce. His encouragement spurred the band on, and with a new bassist in tow, they’re ready to make a din again. Opener ‘Bellyache’ certainly does that, chomping at the bit with a garage rock flair. Elsewhere ‘White Male Carnivore’ spits forth like a thundering Mark E Smith, while ‘Fried’ arrives with a satisfying clunk. Like all the best things in life, the ‘Pursuit Of Momentary Happiness’ takes a bit of sacrifice. P Stephen Ackroyd
Rock bands point our fingers fighting while they point against the their guns”, worst wrongs it pulls no of society is punches either. nothing new. ‘Animal’ soars There’s a on the chorus lineage that and spits in the goes back far verse, pulling past the Rage off anthemic Against The without any of Machine and the usual shiny their defiant falsehoods, STRENGTH IN war cry, but while ‘One NUMB333RS they remain Of Us’ may eeeee start with the the measuring playground post for those refrain of that follow. a Brendon Few, if any, Urie special, but soon goes make that grade. On their somewhere far darker. debut, Fever 333 definitively do.
FEVER 333
Jason Aalon Butler’s post letlive. crew have that rarest of traits authenticity. When they speak, it’s believable. There’s no overly wrought virtue signalling here. ‘Burn It’ is a guttural assault, and with its assertion of “we
Intrinsically political and unafraid, ‘Strength In Numb333rs’ is a rallying cry for the disenfranchised. Fever 333 aren’t just pissed off; they’re taking names. The revolution is here. P Stephen Ackroyd
Upset 45
Live_ ON STAGE. IN HERE.
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BRING ME THE HORIZON RECLAIM THEIR THRONE AT ALLY PALLY
B
Words: Ali Shutler. Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.
ring Me The Horizon have been here before. Alexandra Palace isn’t alien to them and not a whole lot has changed since the band were last here. In the three years that have passed, the group have released two new songs and are currently sat on new album ‘Amo’, not that they’re sharing any secrets tonight.
Yet from the moment they walk onto the stage, things feel different. Maybe it’s a confidence thing, the group know they can do this or maybe it’s because they know the best is yet to come. Tonight isn’t the peak, tonight is just the start. It’s a similar feeling that fizzes through the support. Yonaka have a handful of EP’s to their name, but almost their whole set comes from material released in recent weeks. Not that you’d know it. The band attack the stage like they’ve been playing venues like this for years
and their scattergun blend of everything feels surprisingly focused when backed by a commanding, gleeful performance. As a band, Fever 333 are just as new but featuring members of letlive., The Chariot and Night Verses, they’ve racked up many, many miles of touring between them. From the first, explosive seconds of their set to the destructive, jubilant end, the band make the night theirs. It’s a carnival of change, as the band tackle gun control, inequality, community and charity while tearing up the stage and beyond. Drums are handed to security guards to play, backdrops are torn down and thrown into the audience, with microphones and members of the band not far behind. In the chaos though, their message of inclusion is crystal clear and after a set like this, it’s one a lot more people are going to be listening to. Opening with ‘Mantra’, Bring
Me The Horizon put their newest foot forward. Confetti rains down and that bubblegum metal chorus charges out of the gate, as the band lean fully into the void between pop and heavy rock. With their stance secure, the rest of the set is allowed to run free. ‘Avalanche’ is atmospheric, arms wide open and unafraid to shine while ‘A Wonderful Life’ stutters and sways. A step away from the big declarations of ‘That’s The Spirit’, Bring Me The Horizon are still finding new ways to be bold. There’s a throwback medley of old songs from when BMTH were a different band that still sounds dangerous on the biggest of stages while an acoustic ‘Drown’ still manages to sound deafening. As the band reclaim their ‘Throne’, tonight is a reminder just how many hits Bring Me The Horizon have in their arsenal, and how many they’re probably about to unleash. P
Upset 47
WOLF ALICE ARE THE PERFECT BAND AS THEY COME HOME TO BRIXTON ACADEMY
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Words: Ali Shutler. Photo: Frances Beach.
t’s been one celebration after the other for Wolf Alice since they released ‘Visions Of A Life’ at the close of 2017. They’ve bewitched the cavernous Alexandra Palace, smashed a Radio One stage headline slot at Reading Festival and made it two for two with another Mercury Prize Album nomination. This time around though, they won. It’s been that sort of year for the gang.
And tonight they come home, returning to Brixton Academy after three years away, for the first of two sold-out chapter closes. Before taking to the Christmas tree adorned stage (T’is the season and all), the twinkling wonder of Hedwig’s Theme (from Harry Potter) is played out, cut with lots of “Brexit” soundbites (from the news, and your nightmares). It’s magical and haunting all at once. A fairytale and grim reality. In between the two, that’s where
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Wolf Alice shine. Clattering into the furious ‘Yuk Foo’, political, pissed off and empowered, the band waste no time with gentle introductions. This is their time to be heard. Baring their teeth, they bounce straight into the wide-eyed, finger pointing storm of ‘You’re A Germ’ before the hammering, window smasher of ‘Lisbon’ bellows out. Guitars, pints, expectations all go flying as Wolf Alice tear into the evening with jagged lust and full-bodied confidence. Always quick to shift though, the band slow things down with a run of quiet beauty. ’90 Mile Beach’ floats and twists in the air, ‘Bros’ is still the anthem for a generation’s friendship, dreamy, wild and backed by mirrorball majesty, it unites the room under one voice before ‘Blush’ flickers and engulfs with a resilient dream. And Wolf Alice don’t stop there. ‘Sky Musings’ is a
breathless, existential crisis at 40,000 feet, ‘Planet Hunter’ sees them adrift and on the outside after leaving their mind behind in 2015 and ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’ is their breakout pop moment. Sparkling on the big stage, it’s fearful but chooses love and other people. It’s perhaps the perfect song for 2018. Wolf Alice dive headfirst into singles, album tracks, b-sides and beyond, and never retread their steps. From the rumbling ‘White Leather’ to the deafening ‘Space and Time’, the gang paint every moment bold and keep every twist surprising. Tonight is another triumph for a band who can apparently do no wrong. Fourteen months into an album cycle, six years into a career, Wolf Alice are still backed by a relentless excitement. For a band so easy to believe in, tonight they’re unbelievable from start to finish. P
TONIGHT ALIVE CELEBRATE THEIR JOURNEY AT LONDON’S O2 ISLINGTON ACADEMY
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Words: Ali Shutler. Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.
onight Alive might be touring to celebrate ten years since the band first formed but tonight isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about embracing change, praising growth and standing proud that through everything, they’ve endured.
On record, the outsider exploration of ‘The Other’ sees Jenna working things out in real time. “Never really knew what it meant, just always knew that I was different,” she admits but tonight those same words open the show as a fierce declaration of self. Leaning straight into the snap of ‘What Are You So
Scared Of?’, the band make good on their promise. From the very start, Tonight Alive have offered understanding and fearless compassion and this evening at London’s O2 Academy Islington, they stay true. Behind the scenes, a lot has changed. It’s been a turbulent, upsetting few years for Tonight Alive but that’s just furthered their resolve to grow, adapt and celebrate. 2018’s ‘Underworld’ is a record about exploring pain and turning that negative energy positive and it’s an energy that threads itself through tonight. ‘Crack My Heart’ champions “divine female liberation”,
‘Disappear’ flirts with freedom and escape while ‘In My Dreams’ feels alien but full of awe. ‘A World Away’ bursts with starshine, ‘No Different’ chugs and thrashes with reckless abandon and the throwback corner of ‘Amelia’ into ‘Wasting Away’ is torch lit, powerful and still vital after all these years. ‘The Edge’ is about being unconditioned and unafraid, the band know exactly what it’s like to teeter on the brink before the closing runaway dance of ‘Temple’ underlines every powerful message of selfacceptance, positive change and being your own fearless self. P
Upset 49
WITH... LE BUTCHERETTES
Everyone has those formative bands and tracks that first got them into music and helped shape their very being. This month, TERI SUÁREZ COSCÍO from LE BUTCHERETTES takes us through some the songs that meant the most to her during her teenage years. The Beatles - Julia from The White Album
This record holds a special place in my heart because my father showed it to me when I was very little. It has since inspired my way of approaching songwriting. I was moved very much from the emotional and vulnerability of this record. ‘Julia’ being an outstanding song for me. It’s the kind of song that stops everything around you but within a sudden blow all your feelings you’ve had for your mother intensify to the second degree.
Selda - Gitme from (Türkülerimiz, Vol. 2)
This album moves me to tears and hypnotises me at every listen. Selda’s sadness and rage translate through the speakers while the guitar work sedates the listener
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with just the right dosage of effect pedals fused with Turkishinfluenced funk. She was one for the pioneers of activism and feminism in her own right. ‘Gitme’ is a revelatory song in which a wound is desperately trying to be protected, to be wrapped without much further luck, the wound begins to rot... her songwriting is poetry and leaves the mind aching her aches.
one of my first exposures to a fierce and mean sounding productions with a ridiculous overflowing feel of sensuality and dangerously heart-melting lyrics. I have never heard a record that contained over a three-minute drum solo, and it certainly shocked me as I would listen to it in my bedroom, letting the drums take my mind into a meditative state of violent hunting.
Fela Kuti - Mister Follow Follow from Zombie
The Pretty Things - Death from SF Sorrow
Fela Kuti is a fearless gamechanger, especially given the era he endured in Ghana to make his risking-taking art, having endangered his own life to write his bone-shaking realist lyrics. A rebel with many causes. The funk guitar and earthy African beat elements are potent. Spiritual conviction fused along with the fiery leading wind instruments, which immediately possessed my body and made it move like it has never moved before.
Cream - Toad from Wheels of Fire
The main reason this record changed my life was that it was
I thought I was numb during the period where I came across ‘SF Sorrow’, and when the first song came (‘S.F Sorrow is Born’), I was instantly attracted to the sound and vocal melody. Once you get into the story of The Pretty Things, you start becoming more intrigued with the history of their music. This record along with ‘The White Album’ opened my mind to the craft of harmonies. Overwhelmingly dark and beautiful. I remember walking into my room after school (after a long day of being bullied). P
Le Butcherettes’ album ‘bi/ MENTAL’ is out 1st February.
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Upset 51
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