Upset, March 2023

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Real Friends

Shame

Paramore

85

D ISRUP T T H E N O IS E

Remy

Shalom

M(h)aol

Sløtface

Year Of The Knife

+ loads more

Pierce The Veil ZULU Maggie Lindemann //

M A RC H 2 02 3

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Howdy.

It’s a smidgen under two years since we first put Meet Me @ The Altar on the cover of Upset and proclaimed them the future of pop-punk. Now it’s time they deliver on that promise.

With a debut album about to drop and all those predictions sounding pretty damn prophetic, we’re delighted to have them back on the front of the magazine.

Stephen Ackroyd @stephenackroyd Editor

March 2023 RIOT! 4. Maggie Lindemann 12. Real Friends 14. Hundred Reasons 18. Shame 20. Year of the Knife ABOUT TO BREAK 24. Remy 26. Shalom FEATURES 28. Meet Me @ The Altar 36. Pierce The Veil 40. ZULU 44. M(h)aol REVIEWS 48. Paramore TEENAGE KICKS 50. Sløtface

UPSET Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler

Scribblers Alex Ingle, Connor Fenton, Dan Harrison, Jake Hawkes, Jamie MacMillan, Kelsey McClure, Linsey Teggert, Rob Mair, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Alice Baxley, Celina Kenyon, Elvina Vladi Kvisle, Jonathan Weiner, Naomi Williams, Sarah Louise Bennett PUBLISHED FROM WELCOMETOTHEBUNKER.COM PO BOX 420, HASTINGS, TN34 9LZ

All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Dork or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.

THE MONTH IN ROCK

MAGGIE LINDEMANN has come a long way fast. From first seeming an overnight sensation to now finding her place as a rock star, she’s finally making her own music on her own terms.

Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.

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uck your ribbons and your pearls, ‘cause I’m not just a pretty girl,” Maggie Lindemann sang on her 2017 breakout single ‘Pretty Girl’. The shimmering pop track has been streamed almost 100 million times, while a pulsating remix by Cheat Codes is the sort of glitzy, euphoric anthem that can be heard every summer on Love Island.

Racking up over 850 million streams, Maggie became an overnight sensation.

Speaking to Upset backstage at Hammersmith Apollo ahead of a support slot with PVRIS, Maggie explains that ‘Pretty Girl’ was a dream come true for the 17-year-old because she was “able to do much stuff”. It was also a bit of a nightmare. “Everything happened so fast. The first time I ever performed live was at a festival in front of 90,000 people. It was absolutely terrifying because I’d never done anything like that before,” she says.

It was made worse by the fact that Maggie really didn’t want to be a pop star.

“When you’re putting so much of your time and effort into something that you don’t really love, the payoff doesn’t feel as good,” she explains. Growing up on the likes of Paramore, Sleeping With Sirens and Black Veil Brides, Maggie was always more interested in making rock music, but that wasn’t exactly cool in 2017.

Her label at the time definitely weren’t keen anyway, and Maggie followed Pretty Girl up with a string of equally sugary pop singles. “I loved performing, I loved going into the studio… I just loved everything about music,” she says of why she continued. “I just didn’t like the music I was doing. I was signed to a label really young when I didn’t really

know what I was doing. But I quickly learnt what steps I needed to take to get me to where I wanted to be,” she says.

The first one of those steps came in 2019, with the release of ska-infused single ‘Friends Go’. Again, Maggie wasn’t in love with the trumpets, but a Travis Barker remix ticked the “dark, rock” boxes perfectly.

“It was a pivotal moment for me,” she explains. Not that she could shout about it on social media because the day it was released, she was arrested during a show in Malaysia due to a mistake with her paperwork, meaning she didn’t have the proper visas to perform.

She was held in prison for 24 hours with no contact with the outside world and recently described the experience as a “big panic attack”.

When she was finally released, she decided she was done taking baby steps.

In 2021 she released the hectic, guitar-driven EP ‘Paranoia’ while snarling debut album ‘Suckerpunch’ came late last year. “This is what I’ve always wanted to do,” she says of her new material.

Maggie goes on to say that writing ‘Paranoia’ was “really hard because I was literally coming at it from nothing. I had to figure out the sound of what I wanted to do.” And you can hear that across the record’s eclectic eight tracks, which range from buoyant poppunk to vicious arena rock. It pulled heavily from that 00s emo rock scene, but Maggie wanted to avoid nostalgia with ‘Suckerpunch’, despite the ongoing rock resurgence. “I didn’t want it to sound old; I wanted it to feel new,” she explains.

Following ‘Paranoia’, Maggie “knew what I wanted to do, and how to elevate it”. Inspired by those childhood influences alongside metal mavericks Baby Metal and Bring Me

I REALLY WANTED TO TRY DIFFERENT THINGS, WHETHER THAT WAS MAKING SONGS A LITTLE MORE METAL OR BEING BRAVER WITH THE LYRICS”

M AG G I E L I N D E M A N N the Horizon as well as hyperpop artists like Yeule and Kmoe, ‘Suckerpunch’ sees Maggie Lindemann getting fearlessly “more experimental”.

Written over the course of 18 months, Maggie wanted to push herself with her debut album. “I really wanted to try different things, whether that was making songs a little more metal or being braver with the lyrics.” She describes the process as “challenging, but it always felt comfortable.”

Lyrically, ‘Suckerpunch’ sees Maggie singing about “whatever I was going through at that time.”

Opening track ‘Take Me Nowhere’ sees her wrestling with “feeling misplaced” growing up in Texas, and how that didn’t change when she moved to Los Angeles. “I’ve always felt like it’s been hard for me to feel comfortable in a place, especially in the music industry.”

“I’ve always felt like I have a place with my fans, though,” she adds.

Elsewhere the emotional ‘Hear Me Out’, written from the perspective of a 16-yearold Maggie, is a shift from the self-empowerment found elsewhere on the record. “I mean, I named

the record ‘Suckerpunch’ because it felt like I kept getting hit by these unexpected blows,” she says. Then there’s breakout song ‘She Knows It’, which sees Lindemann sing about liking a “girl that’s got a boyfriend”.

“I think people are relating to it because of the sexuality. It’s the first song I’ve ever written about liking women,” says Maggie. “People love to hear that representation, especially from artists who don’t typically sing about it.” There were no nerves about releasing it, “only excitement.”

The record closes with the rebellious, triumphant ‘Cages’, which feels like the spiritual follow-up to ‘Pretty Girls’. “I don’t live for you, I live for me,” sings Maggie.

“Can’t shut me up, you’ll hear me scream”.

“That song is all about being with a label that didn’t really understand me,” she explains, while lyrics like “They say I’ve gone crazy, they say I’ve gone downhill.

I’m still the same, baby but I’m just way more real,” are a nod to the people expecting Maggie to grow out of this era of making rock music.

“People love to assume it’s just a phase, or that I’m only Upset 7

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I JUST DON’T CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY”

M AG G I E LINDEMANN

making this music ‘cos I’m depressed, when actually I’m happier now than I ever have been in my life, and I’m finally making the music I’ve always wanted to make.

If anything, ‘Pretty Girl’ was the phase.”

“I knew going from pop to a different genre, especially rock, was going to be difficult,” Maggie admits.

“People take the culture around rock very seriously, which I totally understand, but I knew people would think I was only doing it because it was trendy or whatever. I still get called a poser,” but Maggie feels like she has nothing to prove to people. “I just don’t care what other people have to say.”

Maggie Lindemann has had to grow up very much in the public eye. “It’s weird because, obviously, there’s a huge difference between being 16 and 25. Because I’ve been releasing music though, there’s proof of who I used to be.” She says some people still request ‘Pretty Girl’ “just to fuck with me,” but she’s not embarrassed by her unconventional journey.

“I’m so proud of that song, it’s got more streams than I understand, and people still 8 Upset

tell me that it really helped them. I can’t feel ashamed of a song that helps people.

It’s a good song; I just don’t feel connected to it.”

Maggie may only be on tour with PVRIS for four nights, but it’s a nice little warm-up for the rest of the year. In March, she kicks off a 24-date world tour, taking in Australia, North America, Europe and The UK. It’s her first-ever headline tour, and already, every show has

sold out. Then there are appearances at festivals like Slam Dunk and Rock Am Ring to look forward to.

Beyond that, she’s already writing new music and reckons something will be out before the end of the year. “’Suckerpunch’ is a good foundation, but I really don’t know what comes next,” she admits.

Likewise, she doesn’t like to think about the future too much because it “freaks

her out”, but she wants to keep doing what she’s been doing. She knows she wants her music to be relatable, though. “If they want to have fun, if they want a party or if they need a good cry, I want people to feel like they have someone that understands when they listen to my songs,” she explains. After years of struggling to be heard, Maggie says: “I’m exactly where I want to be.”

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BIG PICTURE

Chase Atlantic stormed Eventim Apollo Hammersmith Chase Atlantic know how to bring it big. That’s something they did when they hit London’s Eventim Apollo Hammersmith for three blow out shows. There aren’t many bands who can take one of London’s biggest venues and slam it into submission three times in a week.

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

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→ Real Friends are back with a bang. Kicking off 2023 with an EP that punches hard in the emotional feels, ‘There’s Nothing Worse Than Too Late’ sees them getting deep and personal in the hope that fans will feel a little less alone. Kyle Fasel (bass, lyrics) tells us more.

frequently. Right now, I’d have to say the song ‘I’m Not Ready’ is one that I really want people to listen to. It’s basically our ode to our biggest influence, a band called The Starting Line.

flying back from that.

we all felt strongly about.

But we are all super stoked on it now. It’s actually my favourite artwork we’ve ever had on an album. All of the text is handwritten, there are lots of drawings all over the art, and the colours really match the sombre mood of the lyrics. It’s the most personal art Real Friends has ever had.

IT’S A COLLECTION OF SONGS THAT Did you hit upon any TOUCH ON GRIEF, unexpected challenges while pulling it together?

Hi Kyle, how’s it going?

DEPRESSION, The biggest challenges Have you had a good 2023 came after we wrote and so far?

SELF-ISOLATION recorded it, really. We had It’s going very good so far.

We just finished up a writing a hard time landing on a AND HEARTBREAK” concept for the artwork that trip in Nashville, and I’m Tell us about your new EP - when did you start work on it? What prompted its inception?

We started working on it about a year and a half ago. It’s a collection of songs that touch on grief, depression, self-isolation and heartbreak.

Its title ‘There’s Nothing Worse Than Too Late’ suggests you’ve been contemplating regrets?

We noticed a lot of the lyrics, specifically in the song ‘Six Feet’, mention the regret of being too late to be honest with somebody you love. I think that’s a very real thing. I’ve dealt with that in my life recently. I’ve had loved ones pass away without being able to tell them things I needed to, and sometimes it feels like there’s nothing worse than that pain.

Do you have a favourite song on the EP? My answer to this is typically changing pretty

Is there anything about the EP that might surprise fans?

We were supposed to release the EP in November of last year. We had a lot of things happening behind the scenes that prevented that, though. But! One big benefit of it actually getting pushed back to February is that we will have vinyl on release day. So the fans won’t have to wait six months to get the vinyl in the mail. I think some people may actually even get the vinyl before the EP has dropped online.

Pretty stoked on that!

What are you hoping listeners will take away from the release?

K Y L E FAS E L

This answer has never changed for us over the years. We want our fans to hear these songs and feel less alone from them.

If someone can put on this record and forget about their problems for a little bit, then it’s a success in our eyes.

This is one of your first releases with vocalist Cody Murano, how’s that going?

It’s going awesome. It’s been really humbling to see our fans be so accepting of such a big change to the band.

It makes me even more grateful to have the openminded and loving fans that we do. With every release, I think we are honing closer and closer to where we want to be with Cody as our vocalist.

What else are you guys working on at the moment? You’re touring soon, right?

We have been super busy writing for a new record. I

don’t think it will be long until you hear even more new music from us. And yes, we have a co-headline US tour with our pals in Knuckle Puck coming up.

How do you prepare for long stints on the road? It must be pretty exhausting.

The longer we do it, I think having alone time on the road is really important.

When we were really young, it didn’t matter as much.

But as long as we all get our space now, we are pretty good on the road.

Is there anything else we should know?

That we are forever grateful to all of our fans. The ones that have stuck by us for the last decade and the ones that just heard of us - we wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you for being a bigger part of this than you will ever know.

Real Friends’ EP ‘There’s Nothing Worse Than Too Late’ is out 24th February.

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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM FROM...

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Larry Hibbit run us through the veteran Brit-rockers’ new album, ‘Glorious Sunset’

→ We weren’t all in the same room, or even all in the same country, at any point during the making of the album The album was made at the tail end of COVID, and with Andy Bews (drums) living in California, we had no choice but to record the drums remotely. The drums were recorded at a studio called The Ship in LA. We rigged up a system using a price of software called Audio Movers which allowed me to listen to Andy’s drums and also talk to him using the talk back button in my studio.

It worked surprisingly well, and actually, a lot of the time just felt like he was in the next room.

Then the other two guys came to my studio in Brixton, and I finished the rest there. We finally all met up for a rehearsal in January of this year; it was the first time we’d all been together in the same room since 2012! → We wrote very quickly and dumped nearly as many song ideas as made the record Due to our busy lives, we only had very short sessions in which to write music together. A typical writing session lasted maybe 2 or 3 hours and usually with only two or three of us present. The time being so precious meant that none of it was wasted, and I think we left every session with at least the sketch of a song in place. We found it to be a wonderful pace to work, which kept procrastination at a minimum. I don’t think we’ve ever been as productive as a band. → We made the album in secret.

No one knew it was coming. And no one is expecting another

one. This is allowing us to live in the moment as a band for the first time in our lives! Another advantage of doing it in secret was that if it had turned out to be rubbish, we could have binned the whole thing, and no one would have ever known. I would recommend to any band out there to never let on you’re making a record and to always act as if you’re never going to make another one. It’s quite liberating! → Colin recorded all of his vocals on a hand-held microphone, usually in two or three takes We decided that vocal booths and pop shields suck and that nothing is more important than the vibe, so all the vocals were recorded with Colin holding a mic and moving around as if he were singing live. We generally did whole takes of the songs without splitting it up into sections which allowed the performances to flow naturally.

People can make such a faff over vocal recording and load it with way too much pressure. It really doesn’t need to be that way. → A lot of the guitar parts were made up on the fly While recording the guitars on a few tracks, I’d just run it and jam along with the track. I also kept quite a few parts from the demos or just looped sections I thought sounded cool. This meant I’ve only ever played them once, which has made figuring out what to play live a bit of a challenge. Some of the parts are still a mystery to me!

Guess I’ll just have to wing it on tour as well…

Hundred Reasons’ album ‘Glorious Sunset’ is out 24th February.

NEED TO KNOW↓

Employed To Serve

→ Employed To Serve are going to release a deluxe version of latest album ‘Conquering’.

Set for release on 10th March, the record will feature four bonus tracks including a new version of ‘Sun Up To Sun Down’ featuring Alien Weaponry. There will also be new track ‘Take Back Control’, plus two live tracks recorded last year on the Gojira tour of Europe.

Slipknot

→ Slipknot have released a new standalone single and music video for ‘Bone Church’. The song was created in the band’s “jam room” while on tour for their album ‘.5: The Gray Chapter’, and comes with a visual directed by the band’s own M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan.

Check it out on upsetmagazine.com now.

Jamie Lenman

→ Jamie Lenman has announced a new EP, ‘Iknowyouknowiknow’. Set for release on 5th May via Big Scary Monsters, it’s a companion to fifth album ‘The Atheist’, released late last year, and comes with a video for early single ‘Words of Love’. You can watch that on upsetmagazine.com now.

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PVRIS hit London’s Eventim Apollo

With a new album due this year, the excitement around PVRIS is starting to kick up again. Lynn’s just dropped new track ‘GODDESS’ goes hard and then some, and landed just in time for their London show at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo. As you can imagine, it went off.

Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

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Cementing their reputation as one of London’s best bands, Shame’s new album is a celebration of friendship.

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Words: Jake Hawkes. Photos: Patrick Gunning.

→ We’ve come a long way from the days when the new wave of shouty bands were referred to as the ‘South London Scene’. And for good reason: it’s a name that doesn’t exactly stand up to scrutiny when groups from across the UK get in on the action. Post-punk may not be a perfect moniker, but it makes more sense than referring to bands like Fontaines DC as if they come from Streatham.

One band the original name does make sense for are Shame. Growing up in the capital and cutting their teeth in The Queen’s Head, a pub so close to Brixton Academy that you can pretty much see it out the window, South London is in the band’s blood.

A lot has changed in the years since then, with the five-piece releasing two critically acclaimed albums, one of which hit the Top 10, and playing pretty much every country in the world. One thing that hasn’t changed is that The Queen’s Head still puts on regular live music – something we found out as we sat down there for a chat with frontman Charlie Steen and guitarist Eddie Green and were promptly drowned out by a soundcheck taking place 15ft away.

“God, there’s not a band on, is there?” Charlie says with a grin. “Still, could be the next Shame, I suppose.”

We decamp to the beer garden and shiver under a broken patio heater as the mercury hits -1C. Not exactly a glamorous start, but an excuse for Charlie to show off his new Shame scarf, on sale now in all good stores.

The scarf (and the

IT JUST FEELS LIKE A COMPLETELY HONEST SHAME RECORD”

CHARLIE STEEN

interview) are tied to the band’s upcoming third album ‘Food For Worms’. It’s their most accomplished work yet, mixing the ferocious, snarling hits of their debut ‘Songs of Praise’ with the more meandering and emotionally mature work of follow-up ‘Drunk Tank Pink’.

“It definitely takes from both of the albums that came before,” says Charlie as he rolls a cigarette. “’Songs of Praise’ had these direct melodies, but ‘Drunk Tank Pink’ was a much more musically confident album, so we’ve landed somewhere that combines both aspects, and adds a few more.”

“A lot of it is to do with that confidence,” agrees Eddie. “We had the confidence on this record to appreciate space a little bit more. Particularly on ‘Drunk Tank Pink’, I think we’d see a bit of space in a song and instantly look for ways to fill it, but we’ve realised that actually isn’t necessary. ‘Food for Worms’ is an album where we didn’t overcomplicate things – maybe that’s conditioned by the circumstances under which we wrote it, but for me, it just feels like a completely honest Shame record.”

Despite the band’s increased musical confidence,

the album wasn’t an easy one to write. After touring album two, Shame found themselves struggling to write and lacking in direction until their management booked them two shows at the Windmill, another iconic Brixton pub which they’ve played “about a hundred times” according to Eddie, who also used to work there pulling pints (long-term and loyal readers may remember that Eddie left our last cover chat early for a shift there – Ed).

The enforced deadline of an upcoming performance shook the musical cobwebs loose, and what followed was an intense period of work forming the skeleton of album three. “We definitely tweaked stuff after the Windmill show,” says Eddie. “but the pressure allowed us to hone in on how we make a song good, or good to our collective mind anyway. We write, and then we finesse things on stage; it’s always been a big part of what we do. Those shows were the catalyst and helped us work out which songs we wanted on the album, but we didn’t go straight into the studio afterwards. We tinkered, we gave things colour.”

That tinkering included extending ‘Adderall’ beyond its original two-minute length

and giving ‘Six-Pack’ a proper ending. “We played those songs and realised they needed to be longer,” explains Eddie. “You just get that immediate feedback playing live – it genuinely feels like co-writing with the crowd.”

This ethos of angling everything towards the live show isn’t surprising from a band who have had a reputation for being phenomenal in concert since their first days as a band.

It’s an approach that has seen each of their tours get bigger than the last, but it’s not something Shame have tried to apply to the recording process before. That changed on ‘Food for Worms’, with all of the album being recorded live in the studio save the melancholic and introspective ‘Orchid’.

“Doing a record live is something we’ve wanted to do for a while,” says Eddie.

“I think part of that was this romantic view of plugging in, playing a song and fucking off home, but it turns out it’s actually a very, very labourintensive way of recording, which is probably why nobody else bothers doing it!”

“It’s a lot more chaotic, but it worked out… hopefully,” adds Charlie. “As a continuation of the Windmill gigs, it helped us tighten up the album even more. We went into those gigs playing the songs so roughly, and by the end of them and the recording process, it felt like we had them completely nailed.”

Shame’s album ‘Food for Worms’ is out 24th February. Read the full interview in the March 2022 issue of Dork.

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YEAR OF T RIOT!

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TRACK X TRACK

THE KNIFE RIOT!

DUST TO DUST EP

The band’s first new music since the release of massive 2020 album ‘Internal Incarceration’, ferocious Delaware hardcore troupe Year Of The Knife have surprise-dropped a new three-track EP, ‘Dust to Dust’, featuring their “most pissed songs yet”. Vocalist Madison Watkins explains all.

The ‘Dust to Dust’ EP is a product of everything we’ve been inspired by since our last record. We wanted to combine our sound with these new influences to push our boundaries and

make our most pissed songs yet. Our goal was to create music that we would be excited to hear. This EP is a reset for the direction of our sound while staying true to the core of our inspiration and values, and are the first recorded songs since our lineup change.

Ctrl+C ‘Ctrl+C’ is about societal pressure to be perfect, and chasing an unattainable goal that is sold by the media. I wrote on my experiences of feeling that I had to sacrifice my body and mind in order to fit what was desired or expected. The lyrics describe the decision to break from those pressures and find yourself, whether

people like you for it or not.

Victim ‘Victim’ is about people that can’t see past themselves and their own problems and pain to empathise with others. We can’t help the hand we are dealt in life, but we can decide what we do with those cards. Some people use their circumstances as an excuse to mistreat and manipulate others, and garner pity. I wrote ‘Victim’ in exasperation of that mentality while listening to a lot of Irate.

Dust to Dust ‘Dust to Dust’ is about the frustration and pain of loving someone who struggles

with addiction, but doesn’t want to get better. This is an agony that can be difficult to understand unless you’ve felt it first-hand. It was really heavy to write these lyrics, because there is a lot of guilt associated with the anger I feel. More than anything, I empathise and sympathise with addicts, but that understanding doesn’t stop the pain that’s been inflicted, either. It’s the first song that we wrote since ‘Internal Incarceration’.

Aaron had been listening to a lot of Dystopia and crust punk, which drove the fast, aggressive direction of the song.

Year Of The Knife’s ‘Dust To Dust’ EP is out now.

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BIG PICTURE

L.S. Dunes arrive in London, are as brilliant as you’d expect

You can’t be described as a supergroup if you’re not – y’know – super. That’s not a problem L.S. Dunes have. They’ve proved it with a debut album that made a significant dent in 2022’s critical conversation, and this January they did it again, hitting London’s Electric Ballroom for a suitably brilliant live show. Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

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Upset 23

THE BEST NEW TALENT.

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Rising singer-songwriter and Hopeless Records signee Remy is on the up and up.

→ Rising singer-songwriter

Remy has just dropped his new album, ‘could the grass be greener’. His second full-length, it sees the New York artist showcase his formidable songwriting skills (he’s previously written for the likes of The Chainsmokers and Alexander 23, you know) and leaning into the idea of, “what if?”

Hi Remy! How’s it going?

What are you up to today?

Hey guys. I’m good - today, I’m going to a session with the legendary Public Library Commute. We’re cooking up a little something special.

What first inspired you to start making music?

Everyone in my dad’s family is a musician, so it was only natural that I got into it. I would say, though, that it was John Mayer’s ‘Room For Squares’ album that made me grab a guitar.

Can you remember the first song you ever wrote, or worked on?

I don’t know if it was the first song I ever wrote, but one of the earliest I can remember was a song called ‘Coffee Shop Girl’. Still slaps imo.

What were your first steps to getting into the music industry? You started out writing/producing?

I was signed to Sony as a writer and began writing a ton for other artists.

Definitely a good boot camp cause it helped me find the type of music I wanted to make for myself.

What has been the most challenging aspect of starting and maintaining your own solo venture?

The most challenging part

EVERY TIME I HIT A MILESTONE, A NEW ONE COMES AROUND”

REMY

is coming to terms with the fact there is no destination or real end goal and comparing myself to other artists. Every time I hit a milestone that I had been climbing towards, a new one comes around. So trying to enjoy the process more as opposed to chasing something.

Tell us about your new album - what’s it about, where did it come from?

I’m a super indecisive person, and I do a lot of secondguessing. So the idea of “could the grass be greener?” came from that idea of me constantly wondering, “what if?”. My friend who designed the merch came up with the landscaping concept, which I loved and ran with.

making sure there are a lot of different types of songs on this one. I think there’s something for everyone, and I hope to find some new fans who want to go back and check out some of the older songs as well.

What else are you working on at the moment, do you have big plans for this year?

We’re already hard at work planning more music to release this year. Also working on putting together a show or getting on a tour… more live stuff and more merch. Just more everything in general. We’ve got good momentum, and I don’t plan on taking a Frank Ocean-style hiatus any time soon.

How did you approach curating the tracklisting?

I didn’t really have much concern with the tracklist, except for the first and last song. I knew I wanted to end with ‘closer to thirty’, a song about getting older.

And I wanted to open with ‘don’t mess a good thing up’ because it’s my favourite on the album, I think.

What do you like to do outside of music? Do you have any interesting hobbies?

I’m a huge comic/movie/TV nerd. Just finished Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

My wife and I are finishing the last season of The Handmaid’s Tale. I loved the first episode of The Last of Us, and pre-ordered tickets to the new Ant-Man movie.

Where would you like the album to take you?

I think we did a great job of

Remy’s album ‘could the grass be greener’ is out now.

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Shalom is dealing with life in a way that also just happens to make a rather brilliant album.

→ Brooklyn-based, South African-raised

newcomer Shalom is about to release her debut album ‘Sublimation’. Recorded with producer Ryan Hemsworth and coming via cult favourite record label Saddle Creek, it’s a record that effortlessly captures the intensity of your early 20s, and trying to deal with life.

Hi Shalom! How’s it going? What are you up to today?

Hey! Today I have therapy and a job interview. As for how it’s going, it’s definitely going. Life has been a bit of a hellstorm recently, but things are finally easing up.

What first sparked your interest in music?

I’ve always been a writer, and I’m a writer first - I sang in choir in primary school (until they decided to phase out all the altos - which was a weird creative decision by the choir director, to say the least), and I came to songwriting in a pretty natural way because I’ve been writing for so long.

Did you grow up in a musical household?

I didn’t grow up in a particularly musical household, but I did get a small pink radio for my birthday when I was 11, and I started listening to radio shows and tracking the charts in an almost embarrassing way, but I’m trying to not really believe in being embarrassed anymore. I love music so much - it’s definitely the reason I’m alive, and I can’t even really explain what it’s like to be able to make music while having such a reverence for it as an art form. I wanted to play bass because I always gravitated to that part of music, and in 2019 I was able to buy a bass, and it’s been kind of a ride from there.

Are you creative in non-musical ways too?

I like to write, I like to dance, to cook, mostly to bake. I like making stuff, and I’m reprioritising my joy, so creativity is coming up in a lot of ways.

How do you approach writing songs?

Do you have a process?

I don’t really have a process so much as I have a lot of feelings, and holding

them in my body gets to be too much… a lot. So really, for me making songs is a matter of bringing myself to a place where I can do my shit, and being like, ‘Ok! Come on out, feelings!’, and then there’s a song.

What’s the best song you’ve written so far?

Actually wrote this song in December 2022, and it’s so funny because I would not have had an answer to this prior to this event, hahaha. I had a really lovely date with an Australian person who lived in LA but was visiting New York, and it was so wonderful and fun, and the next day at like 1am, I was up making this song about it. And I finished it, and I was like well, I’ll be damned. Call me the king of the chorus because this song slaps.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve been inspired by?

IDK how this goes in so far as being ‘weird’, but a dear friend of mine was in a really terrible abusive relationship, and it made me so angry and so sad, and I had to get the feelings out. That song actually doesn’t have a title; it’s just called like, ‘what is this dec 13’.

You’re about to release your debut album; how long have you been working on it?

The songs on the record were all recorded and written through 2021, with the exception of ‘Concrete’, which I wrote in December 2020. Ryan (my producer) and I are both crazy people when it comes to doing this kind of stuff, so we work really fast and really well.

What’s the album about?

Yeesh, talk about a loaded question!

I guess if I have to come up with an answer for this, which I do, I would say ‘Sublimation’ is about being a person in all the ways that you learn you are one in your early 20s. It’s about hating yourself for thinking about yourself so much, loving people who don’t love you back, making out and feeling good about it, and being off your meds and doing stupid amounts of psychedelics for a month. It’s just what being a person has been like for me on this planet for the last few years. It’s pretty much my bones.

Did you hit upon any unexpected

challenges during its creation?

No, actually, making the record was actually one of the easiest things I’ve ever done, and I’m so happy I was afforded the opportunity to really just feel my feelings and make art with them.

That’s nuts! And now it’s on vinyl!

You’ve just released your new single ‘Happenstance’ - do you believe in fate?

I don’t know, I mean in some ways totally, but in other ways, like because of that, there’s no such thing. The universe is so big. There’s so much stuff and people and ocean out there that the chances of anything happening at all are ridiculous.

But they are real, and they happen, and that’s life. It just is what it is, and I guess if you had asked me in June 2021, I would have told you it’s happenstance.

And now, in January 2023, I’m telling you, it’s happenstance - wanting to disappear but also be adored? It just is what it is. My best friend Emily always says ain’t no thing but a chicken wing, and that’s just that.

What’s on your music career bucket list?

This is a crazy question for a lot of reasons - I never really ever made a bucket list (on account of being dangerously depressed for a long time and not really ever thinking about making it to the future), but if I had to have one I would say like having a music career would be like IT. and here I am having it. I want to do so much - I would love to play in Asia? I want to play at a festival in Australia and meet my pen pal, Dora? I want to do pretty much anything I thought I couldn’t do, which is all of it, and then just keep doing it. I’m just happy to be here.

Music aside, what do you do for fun?

Love my friends, pet my kitty cat Jasper; I’m trying to read more, go on walks, notice new things. Existing at all is a pretty miraculous adventure in and of itself. And the really great moments exist in the ordinary everyday ones. I love the idea of just treating yourself like a benevolent alien looking at all the stuff there is in the world. What a joy to be at all.

Shalom’s album ‘Sublimation’ is out 10th March.

Upset 27

Rewriting the scene on a mission to be the biggest band on the planet, there’s no lack of ambition to MEET ME @ THE ALTAR. Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Jonathan Weiner.

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Upset 29

I

f you know anything about Meet Me @ The Altar, you know they want to be the biggest band in the world. And they’ve got no problem telling you, either.

“Doubt and fear prevent people from taking action, but it’s that action that causes change,” explains guitarist Téa Campbell. “We’ve never let anything stop us. We wanted to tour, but no one would give us the opportunity, so we figured out how to book things ourselves.” If the trio had been scared, they’d probably still be living in different states and writing songs over the internet.

Instead, they’re fresh from an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where their fiery, confident performance of ‘Say It (To My Face)’ came alongside the announcement of their debut album ‘Past // Present // Future’. Even if you don’t know anything about Meet Me @ The Altar, those three minutes proved the band really could

be the biggest in the world.

“I was expecting to feel overwhelmed, but I just felt really comfortable,” says Edith Victoria of their television debut. “I hope we get to do every late-night show, because I want to do it all again.”

MEET ME @ THE ALTAR formed in 2015 when Téa reached out to Ada Juarez, after watching one of her drum cover videos on YouTube.

The band was completed by Edith in 2017, and despite living in different states, the trio would travel to play scrappy basement shows and recorded a handful of EPs. Things changed in 2020, though, when, as the world went into lockdown due to the pandemic, their single ‘Garden’ started blowing up online as the pop-punk revival started to take hold.

“I remember that like it was yesterday,” starts Téa.

“That was the start of seeing everything we knew we would accomplish finally start happening. Even when we

DOUBT AND FEAR PREVENT PEOPLE FROM TAKING ACTION, BUT IT’S THAT ACTION THAT CAUSES CHANGE”

T É A CA M P B E L L 30 Upset

WE’RE PROOF THAT THINGS ARE DIFFERENT THIS TIME AROUND, AND THEY CAN BE EVEN BETTER”

E D I T H V I C TO R I A were a tiny local band playing to 15 people, we always knew our band was something really special. We always knew we could go far, and we were going to put the work in to go the distance. At that start of lockdown, it felt like the world was catching up to what we already knew.” Everything they’ve achieved since (believe us, it’s quite the list) has felt like “another little taste of what we’re supposed to be doing.”

Alongside acts like De’Wayne and Pinkshift, Meet Me @ the Altar were championed as proof that poppunk and rock wasn’t as white, male and stale as it had been in its noughties heyday. “It was very rewarding,” says Edith.

“We are one of the best bands to be at the forefront of that, to show that people can look different and making any type of music. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that we’re taking up space, creating music and existing as human beings. We’re proof that things are different this time around, and they can be even better.”

Meet Me @ The Altar signed to the iconic Fueled

By Ramen shortly after the release of ‘Garden’, with their ‘Model Citizen’ EP coming the following year. Then they hit the road hard and saw first-

hand that their music was making a difference.

“Because we got our following over COVID, we didn’t really see any of our growth beyond numbers on a screen. Now, we’ve done so many tours and talked to so many people that have told us, ‘your music has literally changed my life’,” says Téa.

Those interactions are the ones that mean the most to the trio. “We get it. We would have felt the exact same way if a band like us had come around when we were growing up. We had always been waiting for something to come along until we realised, ‘I guess we’re it’.”

It wasn’t all positive, though.

Despite the scene becoming more inclusive, Meet Me @ The Altar were still on the receiving end of sexist, racist, homophobic abuse. “Being women of colour and some of us being gay, people just say the most unnecessary and ridiculous things,” explains Edith. They tackle it head-on on ‘Past // Present // Future’’s spunky lead single ‘Say It (To My Face)’.

“I’m a bitch, and my band is an industry plant, least that’s what it says on the internet,” sings Edith with a knowing smirk before telling the anonymous troll to “run home” to their mom. “Really wish I Upset 31

could stay, gotta fly to LA, play a show at The Wiltern,” Edith adds.

“It’s very in your face, and I think it’ll piss people off, which is great,” Edith explains. She believes it’ll also make people fall in love with the band “because we’re unapologetic about everything. It’s definitely a head turner, and we wanted to turn heads,” especially because the band hadn’t released any new music since ‘Model Citizen’. “And it was after that record that we really started getting all those shitty Facebook comments and whatever,” adds Téa. “It was cool to be like, ‘we saw what you were posting, we’re going to address it, and now we’re moving on – here’s the album’.”

“It’s so funny when people talk crap in the comments on that video, because that’s literally what the song is about,” adds Edith with a smile. “Do you not see the irony?”

Edith says the band are at the “beginning of learning how to navigate” the hate.

“Every artist that is growing and getting bigger is going to have to go through something similar,” she adds.

“The more hate you get, the more people you’re clearly reaching.” It’s why the band are so determined that their music comes with a healthy dollop of positivity.

“There are going to be so many bands that come after us, and they’re sadly going to have to go through the same thing. Only good things can come from putting out a song that says, ‘yeah, you might experience this, but you can tell them to fuck off. It’s okay to be unapologetic’.”

Around the release of Model Citizen, Meet Me @ The Altar spoke at length about their experiences of being women of Colour in the rock scene but they want ‘Past // Present // Future’ to “prove that first and foremost, we are musicians.

All the other things come after that,” says Edith.

32 Upset

“It was important to talk about because there wasn’t anything like us in the scene.

But you know, everyone knows that we’re women of

says Edith. “Just making good music and looking the way that we look, that’s really powerful.”

In recent months, Meet

appeared at When We Were Young alongside My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, and Avril Lavigne and before their set,

colour who play rock music now. We’ve talked about it; now the music should speak for itself,” adds Téa.

“It doesn’t always have to be spoken about either,”

Me @ The Altar have become a formidable live force after playing shows with the likes of Green Day, Knuckle Puck and Travis Barker protégé JXDN. They

Paramore’s Hayley Williams handed them the ceremonial torch via a note that said: “You are making it possible for so many young people from whatever walk of life to

PEOPLE JUST SAY THE MOST UNNECESSARY AND RIDICULOUS THINGS”

E D I T H V I C TO R I A

make punk music.”

Like Paramore, though, Meet Me @ The Altar aren’t interested in sticking to pop-punk’s rigid rules. “Some bands just transcend genre.

We have huge ambitions that break out of the scene,” says Téa. “It’s cool that we’re starting to become more mainstream.”

“We’ve never really been a

part of the scene either,” says Téa, who questions if the pop-punk resurgence is still a thing now the old guard have returned to their roots. “We’ve been floating in

and out of it, but we can go anywhere, really.”

Proof of that is Meet Me @ The Altar’s recent tour supporting emotional pop band MUNA across North America. “That run of shows really opened our eyes to the fact you don’t have to have breakdowns in every song for people to feel the energy,” says Téa. “We grew up going to shows by The Story So Far, Neck Deep and Knuckle Puck where moshing is the thing. MUNA taught us that you don’t need that for the crowds to still go crazy for you. They gave us so much inspiration to keep doing what we’re doing, but we definitely wrote softer songs after that tour.”

That tour, alongside appearing at Lollapalooza, helped the band understand they could outgrow the poppunk bubble. “That’s the goal, just to break out bigger and bigger,” says Edith.

That starts with debut album ‘Past // Present // Future’. The trio buckled down and started writing last January. “It was rough at first because we didn’t really know what sound we wanted to go for,” says Téa with a series of co-writes also frustrating the band. It wasn’t long before the group hit a groove, though, and found a team of people they vibed with, eager to help Meet Me @ The Altar take things to the next level.

And what a record it is. Driven by a buoyant excitement and an urgency to make the most of its 30-minute run time, it never lets up. Influenced by all that time on the road, every moment hits hard.

Inspired by the “radio rock” that the band grew up listening to, there are nods to P!nk, Demi Lovato, The Jonas Brothers and Avril Lavigne across the record. “Anytime we’re in the van, that’s the music we’ll turn on. That’s the stuff that gets us hyped,” says Téa. “It still holds up as well, because it’s just really strong songwriting.”

Upset 33

34 Upset

WE SING ABOUT EVERYTHING ON THIS RECORD; EVERY SINGLE EMOTION YOU CAN FEEL AS A HUMAN BEING IS ON THERE”

E D I T H V I C TO R I A Not that ‘Past // Present // Future’ is another throwback pop-punk album. “We don’t want to get caught up in being a nostalgic band,” says Téa. Sure, some chord progressions will naturally invoke that feeling of nostalgia but Meet Me @ The Altar are “a band of today. We’ve blended so many different genres on this record that we don’t even think of it as a pop-punk album. It’s a rock record that has influences from pop, country and R&B.” Despite that, there’s no trap-inspired second verse on any of the songs, nor do the band ever awkwardly pivot to drum & bass as so many rock bands do in an attempt to sound current. “That’s my biggest pet peeve,” says Edith, as Téa explains that it was “super important for us to keep everything guitar and instrument based. We are a band, and we want our music to reflect that.”

Lyrically, ‘Past // Present // Future’ also sees the trio expanding on things. There are still a few classic Meet Me @ The Altar songs about positivity, like the resilient ‘Rocket Science’ but, as the

band explains, “we wanted to show a more well-rounded range of emotions and not hide anything that we were feeling, even if that’s something negative,” says Téa. “Everyone experiences those things anyway, so it’s important for people to hear that, to know they’re not alone. Life isn’t always going to be positive, but you can still get something good out of something bad.”

“We really sing about everything on this record,” Edith adds. “Every single emotion you can feel as a human being is on there.

We talk about breakups, insecurities and having obstacles in your life. There are also songs about not letting those obstacles stop you or saying goodbye to someone. We covered a lot of ground.”

Téa goes on to say that she wants people to “take whatever they need to take from the album. At the end of the day, music is here to help people and make them feel less alone. If we can accomplish that, then we did something right.”

Everything about ‘Past // Present // Future’ feels

fearless, but that suits Meet Me @ The Altar just fine, who aren’t worried about being precious over what they’ve already created.

“The way I view it, the majority of our fan base doesn’t know we exist yet,” says Téa, another grand statement before razor-sharp self-awareness. “We are a relatively small band. We’ve gotten huge opportunities, but as far as streaming and all that stuff, we’re a small band, so this is the time for us to take risks.”

She’s confident existing fans will love the album, but “something we’ve always talked about throughout our years together as a band is that we can’t make music for other people. We have to make music for ourselves, and if we like it, that’s what the world gets.”

It’s different to what’s come before “in every single shape and angle,” says Ada. “In my humble opinion, no one but Meet Me @ The Altar could have made ‘Model Citizen’. No one else could have made this album, either.” While ‘Model Citizen’ was strictly easycore, ‘Past // Present // Future’ is far more expansive. “We don’t want to get trapped in a box,” says Téa. “We really tried to give ourselves more room to play on this record because we’ll want to expand our sound in the future. That’s how bands create longevity.

Look at Paramore, they are the perfect example of a band who created something different, but it was still Paramore. We want that for us.”

“After people hear this record, I don’t think they’re going to be surprised by whatever way we decide to go for our next release,” says Edith. “Whatever we write next will make sense,” because of the foundations laid out in ‘Past // Present // Future’.

“And that’s the future aspect of our album title,” continues Téa. “We’re pulling from our past influences, and

that’s always going to be part of us, but we’re also helping set up whatever comes next.

ACCORDING TO Meet Me @ The Altar, world domination “always felt achievable”.

“But it’s definitely a lot clearer now,” says Téa.

“Before, we had this idea of wanting to be the biggest band in the world, but now we’re actually setting ourselves up for that to be a reality. When the album comes out, I feel that’s really going to change everything for us.” No wonder they’re itching to get it out.

“This is the first time I feel like I have a really well-drawn picture of what Meet Me @ The Altar is, says Edith. “I know who we are now, and I feel really confident in that. I think we’ve made the perfect album for where we are right now, and it’s going to catapult us pretty far, so I’m even more excited for album two.”

Let’s not get carried away, though. The band have “no idea” what album two will sound like, hence the excitement. “We’re not going to know until we sit down to write it because we’re not pre-planning our sound,” says Téa, who’d rather create around what’s inspiring her at that moment in time. “We’re just going to ride the wave and see where it takes us.”

Instead, 2023 will see the band once again hit the road and try to be as present as possible. “The journey is the fun part. We never wanted to skip any part of being a band, because we wanted to be a band to be a band. We’re not in this for the money or the fame; we do it because we love it,” says Téa. “As long as we keep doing us and don’t worry about what anyone has to say, we’re going to be doing the cool shit.”

“It’s just going to keep getting bigger,” adds Ada. “We’re going to keep taking those steps to reach world domination.” Meet Me @ The Altar’s debut album ‘Past // Present // Future’ is out 10th March.

Upset 35

I

t’s been a hot minute since Pierce The Veil graced us with new music. But now, they’re returning revitalised and ready to seize the day with the California band’s fifth album, ‘The Jaws of Life’ in tow.

No small statement, as with everything the Pierce The Veil pen touches, it’s meant to be fully loaded.

“It felt big; the words feel powerful,” guitarist and vocalist Vic Fuentes gushes.

“It describes the meaning of the album in a lot of ways - about how life is trying to devour you, and you’re trying to get out of its grips or find your way from a dark place into the sunlight again. That’s the vibe for this album.”

It’s this lifeline that Pierce The Veil have been for fans since arising in 2007. But in the space between today and 2016’s ‘Misadventures’, they found those sharpedged teeth sinking in.

Following the departure of founding drummer and Vic’s brother Mike Fuentes after

36 Upset

misconduct allegations, the band began to reconcile with the future of Pierce The Veil. With Vic teasing material as far back as 2018, fast forward two years, and with everything standing still, Pierce The Veil were at odds with the world around them.

“This record is what got us through those feelings in that state,” Vic says. “This is the record that took us from a darker place into a lighter place. And it was through that process of making the record and being with my bandmates, living together in a house, working on this record - reconnecting and communicating again - it strengthened our bond and our brotherhood and brought us closer than ever.

And so, I think this record did a lot for us internally.”

Hunkering down with the band – guitarist Tony Perry and bassist Jaime Preciado – up in Seattle, while those rain-sodden streets are a world away from those of their home state, it allowed time for the group to reconnect. “We would just

Nearly seven years on since their last album, a lot has changed for PIERCE THE VEIL. Now firmly fixed on the future, they’re a band reborn. Words: Steven Loftin. Photos: Celina Kenyon.

Upset 37

have a lot of good hangs and lots of good conversations,” he remembers. “And just talk about the future, [which] is such a thing that we took for granted for a while there.

To be able to talk about the future is an important thing, and that got us into a better place and got us really happy and inspired again.”

“It felt more like we had changed so many things about our band, and about the approach that we’re taking to make a record,” continues Vic. “We switched producers, we did our last two records with Dan Korneff - who I adore and love - but we wanted something different across the board. We just [wanted] to have a completely different experience.”

They’ve thrown out the Pierce The Veil rulebook for this new era. Even down to the aesthetics of the album. It’s the trio moving confidently into maturation without letting any of their sprightly charms fall to the wayside, with grittier shades replacing vibrant colours.

“It’s kind of what I wish we would have done a long time ago,” Vic admits. “It’s these things that you don’t think about because you’re too close to them, and when you finally shake things up, it’s refreshing and makes music so much fun.”

While these days it is all about shaking things up, some things never change.

“Our approach to making the music is always just honesty and working as hard as we can on the song,” he smiles.

“Like, making sure that in every single song, we put our everything; every lyric is exactly what we want it to be.

At the end of the day, that’s always been our approach.

It’s just to try and do the best thing we possibly can while working our asses off to make this the thing that we’re most proud of.”

Stating that he sees every album as “a time capsule”, ‘The Jaws of Life’ will be the one that Vic’s growth 38 Upset

THIS IS THE RECORD THAT TOOK US FROM A DARKER PLACE INTO A LIGHTER PLACE”

VIC FUENTES

reaches a peak when his first child comes into the world (“We’re trying to get the nursery ready,” he beams).

But outside of this, for the creative side at least, the focus in this snapshot, he ponders, is “the moments of where you are in your life. It’s where you are creatively, and this record is exactly what we have wanted to do.”

Enlisting Third Eye Blind’s longest serving member Brad Hargreaves on drums, as well as Chloe Moriondo on closing track ‘Fractures’, this fresh blood gave ‘Jaws’ a chance to embrace the new era moniker Vic plasters over it.

On getting Brad involved, Vic says, “That was a big moment because we had we had a lot of songs written, but I really wanted him to play on the album, and that was the most like, nervous I’ve ever been asking anyone anything.”

While there’s still the trademark, spiky Pierce The Veil sounds loved amongst the alt-scene so vehemently (they’re embarking on a UK arena tour later this year), they also find moments to embrace their sensitive sides (‘Even When I’m Not With You’). Recent single ‘Pass the Nirvana’, alongside its swinging savagery, comes a full pelt through the darker side of ‘Jaws’’ mental health subject matter, but on the contrary, Vic beams, “every time we play that my body wants to explode. It’s so fun!”

Though the moment he picks as being the most impactful, he gives that honour to ‘Fractures’. “I’ve

always been a fan of how much power a song can have even though it’s tiny, but it’s huge at the same time,” Vic says. “And I’ve always felt that way about music in general. I’m a pretty shy, five foot nothing, small guy,” he chuckles. “But I can make a lot of noise through music, and that’s what I’ve always told the younger artists, that music gives you that ability to make as much noise as you want and be as big as you want. And so, I think that that that song is a good example of that. It’s a small, tiny song, but it’s super powerful in its substance.”

You’d be hard-pressed to argue against their fans finding the same merit in Pierce The Veil’s output.

Since their last appearance - and thanks to the ‘King For A Day’ resurfacing via a recent TikTok trend - the timelessness of their matter, along with the recent resurgence of alt music, has given mind to the legacy of Pierce The Veil and to how far they’ve come. On the individual importance of ‘King’ – featuring Sleeping With Sirens’ Kellin Quinn – Vic recounts, “I co-wrote it with my best friend. I met my wife on the set of the music video, so all this stuff really means a lot to us on a more personal level - it’s amazing.” But, most importantly, it’s meant there’s a new generation of fans awaiting their return.

The bond with their fans has never been stronger. The fervour across each snippet and single leading up to ‘The

Jaws of Life’’s release is a testament to this, and not being able to relish in those moments in a live scenario was the hardest part for Vic. “Now that we’re actually doing it again, and we’re a little older, and we’re at a different place in our lives, and the band’s at a different place, it’s [such] a blessing to be here. That’s kind of where we’re at. We don’t take anything for granted that comes our way.”

Pierce The Veil are the kind of band that needs to keep moving. Much like their music, which is rooted in highvoltage guitars and the kind of deep earnestness made to adorn notebooks and tattoos of the disenfranchised, they need to be bouncing off the walls, in this case, clocking up miles on the road, or things begin to unravel. This time, the focus being put upon ‘Jaws’, they found a way out, but that constant turning is where they thrive and is what this album stands for.

“It represents forward motion which is important to us,” Vic concurs. “Releasing music, reconnecting with our fans, meeting this new generation as well that we haven’t met yet. That’s so important for us because I think we felt stuck for a long time being at home and not having an album out and not having a tour. But the feeling of forward motion of anything really - even doing this interview right now - it’s just so energising, and so that’s really what’s important for us, to be moving again.”

Pierce The Veil are indeed now more future-focused than ever. Now that they have a greater understanding of their capabilities and bond as a band, the forward motion is all pedal to the metal. “We have a new appreciation for everything that we’re doing right now,” ends Vic. “It just feels like a new, totally new start for our band.” Pierce The Veil’s album ‘The Jaws Of Life’ is out now.

Upset 39

Los Angeles’ ZULU bring together a world of sounds for their debut album ‘A New Tomorrow’, a release that aims to create a space of positivity despite the world around them.

Words: Steven Loftin.

Photos: Alice Baxley.

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I

f you were wondering what the clashing sounds of jazz and hardcore sound like when carefully posed next to each other, then look no further.

With the breathtaking excitement of an illegal fireworks display, Los Angeles’ ZULU have created a debut that disregards any notions of audible healthy and safety for a no holds barred glimpse into the mind of the project’s brainchild, Anaiah Lei. “I was in two very different places when I started the band, and to be quite real, I didn’t know how to do something on my own,” Anaiah begins.

Having played in various outfits as a drummer, “I’ve been in situations where I was made to feel like my contributions didn’t matter.

So when I started writing it, I was very nervous,” he admits. Bringing himself to the front of the stage, his idea for ZULU’s hardcore and powerviolence - a genre that cuts through hardcore’s throat to take things that little bit further - began to take shape throughout two early EPs. 2019’s ‘Our Day Will Come’ and 2020’s ‘My People…

Hold On’ were hefty slabs of adrenaline-fused hardcore, dealing as much in celebrating black culture as they did channelling the fury of injustice. More importantly, however, as things progressed, Anaiah’s confidence grew away from the subdued “Oh, I’m just a drummer, and that’s as good as it gets” that began ZULU, to fighting, “I knew how to play those other instruments - let me try it at least.”

Settling on a group consisting of guitarists Dez Yousef and Braxton Marcellous, with bassist Upset 41

Satchel Brown and drummer Christine Cadette, ZULU set forth on a quest to shake things up. Culminating in this moment, the second you hit play on ZULU’s debut album ‘A New Tomorrow’ all bets are off. “When it came time for the LP I felt even more confident because now people liked the band,” Anaiah quietly says. But it’s this mentioned confidence that breathes through ‘Tomorrow’’s swerves around genre.

An idea Anaiah has wanted to try for a while now, the innate journey through genres rich in black history and some new, play into the ideas Tomorrow totes. “This crazy all over-the-place style that also encompasses hardcore, and powerviolence especially, you can say the same thing about jazz music which is a big influence on the band.” Noting that he wanted ‘Tomorrow’ to be a statement piece, on what that is he offers an assuredly sweeping statement that applies as much to ZULU as it does to the world around its creator: “Not everything is going to stay the same.”

Positivity is the name of the game for ZULU this time around. “I knew I wanted to write something from a better place because I wanted the album to represent that, and I wanted to represent this idea of hope and happiness and a better future.” While putting the PMA work in alongside the creation of the album itself helped, the purpose it was truly serving was one of spiritual manifestation. Anaiah quickly stresses, “not in like a toxic sort of way, but I wanted to do it in a way that’s authentic to me, and believing what I’m saying, as opposed to just blankly writing something and then having a completely different opinion on it.”

“I scrapped so many lyrics and just restarted because when I first started writing for it, I was in a really negative space,” he continues. “And by the end of it, I was in a better space. I didn’t want to necessarily talk about the things that I wanted to talk 42 Upset

about when I first started writing the record.”

Getting out of this negative space for Anaiah included going through therapy. More importantly, it concerned: “Figuring out myself more coming into adulthood; the way I navigate the world, and the way I have to navigate the world; being aware and looking the way I do. All those things play into the change of direction and having to think a little bit into the future about what this [record] is. Hopefully, this is a record that people are listening to for a long time.”

For all ‘Tomorrow’’s embattling sounds, the concept of positivity and flourishing within a space you create for yourself is Anaiah’s focus. It involves a careful acknowledgement that if you’re beaming with joy, that doesn’t mean you have to shy away from the truth. “It’s good to be realistic about things, and it’s good to be realistic about the world,” he says.

“You’ve got to think about what’s going on, but it’s also good to try to not push through. Try to turn stuff around - if you can - and learn how to make room for the negative moments that happen in your life. To make room for them, to nurture them and to be able to not allow them to consume you completely because that is tough when you have to live with that weight all the time and not know what to do. And that happens to a lot of people. It’s happened to me, and it takes a long time to be able to try to turn it around and try to hold space for that and to be able to properly address those emotions and feelings. I think it is important for everyone to be able to do that.”

Coming out of the gates with a debut entirely disconnected in sounds but unified in ideas is a bold move, but with that newfound confidence, carving their own space in the hardcore scene is both a challenge ZULU more than up for – and one that needs to happen. On the current state of hardcore,

Anaiah immediately retorts wryly. “That’s a loaded question!” But quickly offering his take, he starts, “To be quite honest, there are these two realities that exist within the same space.”

Describing one section that is deeply rooted in the past, where people “are just angry and bitter and want to write about those things.”

While this is where the scene found its start, as an outlet for frustration, as he continues explaining, it morphed into something more sinister. “But there’s a side that comes with it where it is just this toxic masculine/cis headspace that does not give room to other people to exist in. There’s just a straight-up ignorance to that, where you’re actually not allowing people to be in these spaces without making them feel awkward - and this goes for literally anyone that isn’t in that bubble of being a cis white male.”

But the other side of this duality is a new generation.

“There are so many people coming in from various walks of life and feeling accepted because they look to bands that they can relate to that share similar experiences, or even look alike and identify with what they identify with. So there’s a whole scene of people doing that and coming in and feeling welcomed into a space that used to have their gates closed.

Continuing, he says, “But at the same time, I don’t know if the gates were closed. I think it’s just people didn’t know it was even there. It’s now a lot more accessible, and for some reason, the people from the other reality are mad about hardcore being so accessible when, in reality, I think it’s a blessing that people can find this stuff because they’re able to find something that they can also seek help in from the outside world and I think that’s really what it was about - being able to find a place that welcomes them when the rest of the room likes to shun them out or make them feel alienated.”

“It’s this weird duality – and not in a good way. We come under the same umbrella and sometimes are in the same spaces, which confuses me.

I think we’re going in a more positive direction, but then you have all these other people that say otherwise and still clearly show that they’re not for any of that. Sometimes they say it in an outwardly manner, sometimes they say it in subtle ways that they’re not for that openness, and that’s kind of where we’re at.

So I am confused too because I’m just like, well, we’re moving forward and backwards at the same time. But that’s how it is sometimes… with some things, there’s not going to be everyone that’s on board, and it’s going to get pushed and pulled in certain ways.”

The future is calling and hardcore is undoubtedly learning to shake itself up.

With the likes of ZULU being proponents, change will be the one to rise as it always has, particularly with powerful messages that form impacts like craters on moons, such as ZULU hope to have created.

“I say this with humility, I hope to make a record that people can look to as being something that got them into the genre,” he mentions of his grander plan. “Or something that got them excited about going forward with the genre and something that excites them that they can relate to on some level. We all have those records that stand the test of time. I would love to be able to make a record like that, and I would hope it can be this record.

“And I would hope, even if it wasn’t this record, that one day I’ll make that record with this band for those people and hope that they can look to release and not just see all the negatives, but see some positives in their life.

That is a major goal for me to accomplish with ZULU, to bring people together and feel welcomed.” ZULU’s album ‘A New Tomorrow’ is out 3rd March.

Upset 43

44 Upset

Fierce Irish punks M(H)AOL are here to shake up the scene with their powerful and thoughtprovoking debut ‘Attachment Styles’.

Words: Linsey Teggert. Photos: Naomi Williams.

Upset 45

46 Upset

irst formed in 2014 as a response to the male-dominated music scene in Dublin, Irish feminist punk five-piece M(h)aol are here to shake things up. “We’re trying to start conversations in our communities through loud music, feminism, fun and healing,” states vocalist Róisín Nic Ghearailt.

After a four-year hiatus due to band members being scattered across Ireland, England and America, M(h)aol reformed in January 2020, and are now releasing their powerful, thought-provoking debut ‘Attachment Styles’.

“We formed with the intention of being a feminist punk band,” explains Róisín. “Connie [Constance Keane - M(h)aol’s drummer, manager and runner of the TULLE Collective label the band are on] and I had started a feminist society in University which Zoë [Greenway, bassist] was also part of. We were heavily influenced by Bikini Kill and Kathleen Hanna. Prior to forming the band, we had already established a culture of discussing difficult and, at times, challenging topics.”

During M(h)aol’s hiatus, Róisín studied for an MSc in Gender and International Relations, helping to develop her understanding of gender theory and become a lot more knowledgeable and confident, which has helped inform the oftenuncomfortable issues that the band tackle head-on.

Whereas most might shy away from such unflinching honesty, M(h)aol are telling the stories that absolutely need to be told.

“We’re a queer band full of women. In the past three years since reforming, we’ve grown so much and grown so much closer. You can hear that intimacy in the music. When you’re queer and a woman, your chosen

WHEN YOU’RE QUEER AND A WOMAN, YOUR CHOSEN COMMUNITY CAN BE SUCH A SOURCE OF HEALING”

R Ó I S Í N N I C G H E A R A I LT community can be such a source of healing for you.”

One track in particular, the intensely raw album opener ‘Asking For It’ (TW - sexual assault), allowed Róisín to process her thoughts and own experiences within the safe space M(h)aol had created.

Just over two minutes of urgent, spiky post-punk, the track explodes into industrial noise as Róisín rages against victim blaming and the outrageous notion that anyone is ‘asking for it.’

“I felt really strongly about opening the album with ‘Asking For It’ because sexual assault is so often depicted as the end of someone’s life.

‘Attachment Styles’ is a story about healing. I really wanted to subvert cultural understandings of survivors.

To depict not just healing but joy and formation of political identity and, ultimately, sexual euphoria.

“It wouldn’t have been possible for me to write ‘Asking For It’ if I wasn’t in M(h)aol. The band acted as a safe pair of arms to catch me as I rewrote it again and again as my understanding of myself evolved, and how I was shaped by society’s narratives around victim blaming. The lyrics evolved alongside my own healing. Musically the song almost works as a call and response. When I get angry, the music rages alongside me.”

Though this may all sound incredibly intense, be assured that there is a heavy dose of humour and compassion in M(h) aol’s debut that allows the band to show off their lighthearted side without taking away from the serious issues. Take the off-kilter slacker-pop of ‘Therapy’, for example, which sees Róisín playfully examine a toxic relationship, charismatically describing how she should make that person pay for her therapy, but she doesn’t want them to have the credit of having their name on the bill.

“I’d say we’re all very motivated by having fun,” she says. “And we’ve all known each other such a long time! There’s lots of love and shared history there. I don’t see the serious element of the band as draining; I’m thinking and talking about these issues all the time, so in lots of ways, the songs are an extension of what’s going on in my head.”

And when it comes to shaking up stigma while having fun, it would be remiss not to mention the sensual jangle of ‘Period Sex’, which sees Róisín purr, “Let’s have period sex; it’s time to make a mess”. You just know she’s delivering the line with a knowing wink, aware that she’s challenging a taboo subject in a song that people will either love or feel incredibly awkward

about. “Our final single from the album is ‘Period Sex’, and I can’t wait to see the reactions,” laughs Róisín.

Though all five members of M(h)aol are Irish (Róisín, Connie, bassist Jamie Hyland and guitarist Sean Nolan are all from Dublin, while Zoë is from Kinsale, Co. Cork), they’re still currently split across different locations, which has made things somewhat tricky.

“Currently, the band lives in Kinsale, Dublin, Belfast, Bristol and London.

Logistically it can be a nightmare, but we’ve been doing it for over a year, so we’ve got used to it.

The biggest challenge is how expensive it is and the environmental impact. I won’t fly to Dublin anymore; I get the rail & sail.

Whenever possible, Connie and I, who still live in the UK, will get the Eurostar for EU dates. When I joined the others on the European Gilla Band tour, I spent over 24 hours travelling from Bristol to Berlin!”

No matter where the band are based, there’s always one thing they can rely upon to remind them of their heritage, and that’s the band name itself, which comes from bad-ass Irish female pirate Grace O’Malley, or Gráinne Mhaol.

“Grace O’Malley is a really interesting anglicisation of Gráinne Mhaol,” explains Róisín.

“Anglicisation stems from the occupation of Ireland

by England. As a practice, I’m always surprised when it continues! Gráinne Mhaol is a feminist icon in Ireland; she was immortalised in the song ‘Ó ró sé do bheatha baile’. Connie came up with the name. She wanted something that referenced our lineage of revolution and feminism. By putting the h in brackets, it would be pronounced as male!”

M(h)aol’s debut album ‘Attachment Styles’ is out now.

Upset 47

Andy Shauf NORM

★★★★

Paramore

THIS IS WHY ★★★★★ Out now.

→ Paramore’s ‘This Is Why’ is an inspired step into a scary present and uncertain future for a band who specialise in moving on. Drawing from the

mid-00s indie rock scene, it’s an album that captures the paranoia and anxiety of a world in a state of flux.

The title track kicks things off with its refusal to leave the safety of the familiar, while ‘The News’ captures our uneasy relationship with the horrors around us. The band’s musical prowess is on full display on tracks like ‘Big Man, Little Dignity’, ‘Figure 8’ and ‘Liar’, each offering a unique take on the themes of the record. Hayley Williams’ powerful lyricism paired with Taylor York’s

inquisitive urge and Zac Farro’s effortless percussive canvas create a record that fully embraces the complexities of the modern world. It’s a record that not only evolves, but yet again reinvents the sound of Paramore. It’s easy to see why the band is so beloved - no matter what culture throws at them, they’ve always got a pitch perfect response. A record of hope, fear, change and growth, it’s a powerful reminder of the need to keep moving forward. Dan Harrison

Out now.

→ Andy Shauf’s latest offering, ‘Norm’, is a captivating album that highlights the singersongwriter’s exceptional storytelling abilities.

Self-produced in a garage studio, the record delves into weighty themes of faith and fate, masterfully blending light and shadow through Shauf’s music.

Opening track ‘Wasted on You’ sets a jovial tone, but as the album progresses, the singer-songwriter explores deeper, darker themes. Shauf’s bewitching delivery adds emotional depth to the album, as its central character starts as a charming presence, but becomes more sinister over time. A stunning showcase of Andy Shauf’s musical imagination and exceptional storytelling skills, ‘Norm’ is anything but average. Alex Ingle

Can’t Swim THANKS BUT NO THANKS

★★★★

Released: 3rd March. → New Jersey’s freshest peddlers of heavy rock, Can’t Swim have left nothing on the table when it comes to genuine sentiment and unfettered energy in ‘Thanks But No Thanks’. With the band capitalising on their eloquently played aggression, every track rushes by in a frenzy of guitars and thrashing drums then swiftly moves onto the next smasher. It’s intoxicating; coordinated chaos at its finest. With four full-length albums under their belt in just six years, there seems to be

48 Upset

RATED

no stopping or slowing in sight for Can’t Swim.

Connor Fenton

Sløtface

AWAKE / ASLEEP EP

Graphic Nature

★★★★

Released: 24th February.

A MIND WAITING TO DIE

★★★★

Released: 17th February. → With ‘A Mind Waiting To Die’ Graphic Nature continue to prod the darker corners of the human psyche, giving an unflinchingly raw report on mental health. The lyrics are frank, cutting straight to the point without downplaying their delivery. ‘White Noise’ for example, was written by Harvey Freeman after a particularly nasty spate of over-stimulation. Lyrics begging for quiet are juxtaposed against an overwhelming cacophony of sound - a reflection of panicked inner workings.

A true tornado of sound; it’s a powerful album.

Kelsey McClure

more introspective take on themes of resilience and perseverance. A more than solid album that will appeal to both fans of Pierce The Veil and newcomers to their music, with its blend of driving rock and introspective ballads, it’s a welcome return for a band still with something to say.

Alex Ingle

portentous warnings of mindless violence and an oncoming storm make for such a high point that the album almost suffers in its aftermath as it resorts more to type. But still, you can’t knock a band for continuing to do what they do this well. Jamie MacMillan

frustration, often through a prism of communication (or otherwise lack of).

Occasionally, the restraints loosen, but these moments are more like signals in the dark rather than a blanket of washed-out lights. Rob Mair

→ ‘AWAKE/ASLEEP’ is a resetting of the clocks for Haley Shea. Following the departure of bandmates Lasse Lokøy and TorArne Vikingstad, Sløtface is now, ostensibly, the vehicle for Shea’s musical endeavours. But despite the turmoil, her new EP does not reflect or embody this upheaval. Indeed, it’s a continuation of 2020’s ‘Sorry For The Late Reply’, marrying sharp pop-punk hooks with indie-pop accessibility.

It’s an assured next step in the band’s evolution.

Rob Mair

Zulu

A NEW TOMORROW

Pierce The Veil

THE JAWS OF LIFE

★★★★ Out now.

→ Pierce The Veil’s new album ‘The Jaws of Life’ is a showcase for the band’s versatility and mastery of the genre. With a blend of big, brash anthems and introspective counter points, it’s a record delivers a cohesive and thoughtprovoking result. ‘The Inevitable End’ opens with a strong start, setting the tone for an energetic and emotional journey. Tracks like ‘Gold Medal Ribbon’ and title-cut ‘The Jaws of Life’ hit hard, while ‘Today I Saw The Whole World’ and ‘Silver Lining’ provide a

Pigs x7

LAND OF SLEEPER

★★★

Runnner

LIKE DYING STARS, WE’RE REACHING OUT

Released: 17th February.

★★★★

→ You know what you’re getting here. Eight tracks, sledgehammer riffs, Matt Baty channelling the deepest and darkest depths with gloomy abandon, themes of a dystopian world spinning out into chaos. All the good stuff, right? For Pigs’ fourth album, the Newcastle band have dived fully into an existence where you can no longer tell the difference between sleep and the waking world. At its heart lies ‘The Weatherman’, an eerie track that could come straight out a gothic horror movie. Its

→ There’s something poetic about big-picture thinking coming from a lo-fi bedroom multiinstrumentalist, as if such thoughts would consume everything in their path if allowed to escape their one-room confines.

This fate faces Runnner, aka LA-producer and songwriter Noah Weinman.

The songs on ‘Like Dying Stars, We’re Reaching Out’ are so beautifully intimate and refined they can barely support the weighty topics that bind them together.

Throughout, they tackle themes of isolation and

Released: 17th February.

Shame

FOOD FOR WORMS

★★★★

Released: 24th February. → Shame’s third album, ‘Food for Worms’ is a potential game-changer for the London punk quintet.

With tracks like ‘Fingers of Steel’ and ‘Six-Pack’, they go in hard, while ‘Yankees’ starts off as a slacker anthem, but explodes into an unpredictable odyssey of sound. And don’t worry, Shame still bring the heat with tracks like ‘Alibis’ and ‘The Fall of Paul’. In a year already seeing major shifts in the post-punk scene, the band have delivered something truly special. ‘Food for Worms’ captures the raw energy and excitement of their electrifying live shows. Get ready to have your mind blown. Alex Ingle

★★★★★

Released: 3rd March. → Eclectic and brilliant, it’s fair to say ZULU’s debut ‘A New Tomorrow’ falls under the ‘highly anticipated’ category. From the orchestral swell of opener ‘Africa’, it’s not long before the growl and roar of ‘For Sista Humphrey’ starts to thunder through. Never knowingly sticking around for the chaos that follows - only five of fifteen tracks clock north of two minutes - the majority of the album comes in short, sharp, brilliant bursts, punctuated by moments of juxtaposed, vibrant, joyous clarity ranging from soulful jazz to spoken word. ‘Where I’m From’ and its propulsive rumble cuts through with urgency, while ‘Fatal Strikes’ more that fits its given name, landing gut punches in multitudes.

Alex Ingle

Upset 49

SLØTFACE

Photo: Elvina Vladi Kvisle.

EVERYONE HAS THOSE FORMATIVE BANDS AND TRACKS THAT FIRST GOT THEM INTO MUSIC AND HELPED SHAPE THEIR VERY BEING. THIS MONTH, HALEY SHEA OF SLØTFACE TAKES US THROUGH SOME OF THE SONGS THAT MEANT THE MOST TO HER DURING HER TEENAGE YEARS.

home town of Stavanger when I was sixteen and fought tooth and nail for the drumstick that got tossed to the crowd. Still have it!

Bon Iver

Skinny Love I listened to this song and this Bon Iver album obsessively, especially the summer in middle school that I got my first boyfriend.

Would just walk around listening to it and drift off romanticising my life.

My Chemical Romance

Dead!

I so vividly remember watching the MTV music video countdown on a Saturday morning in 6th grade when ‘Welcome To The Black Parade’ came on.

And my mind was blown. I had very recently started listening to Queen for the first time, and I remember thinking, “this is our Queen”.

I loved the theatricality and darkness of it all, and ‘Dead!’ is by far the track I listened to the most on my Discman, being angry at the world and rocking out to the guitar solo.

Velvet Underground

Pale Blue Eyes As a teenager, I was pretty obsessed with trying to 50 Upset

get as encyclopaedic an overview as possible of punk and rock, especially the punk from New York.

I brought the album ‘The Velvet Underground’ with me on a long family holiday and listened to it a lot in the car, sat in the back seat there, and I can still feel the chills that crept up my arms as I heard this song for the first time. I felt like Lou Reed was singing directly into my ear and was so curious as to how I could make music that felt like that.

The Wombats

Kill The Director One of my absolute favourite albums through my teenage years. I loved how they wrote such clever lyrics and had such a lovely bounce to their music; still a huge fan. Saw them with a group of my friends in my

Los Campesinos!

There Are Listed Buildings My absolute favourite band. Really fell in love with them by listening a lot to a recording of their Tiny Desk Concert. To this day, my biggest role models lyrically and as songwriters. Again, the lyrics were what really roped me in.

Laura Marling

Ghosts This was one of the first new songs I was desperate to learn on guitar because I loved it so much, so I spent hours in my loft bedroom of the house I grew up in practising it and learning it.

Of Monsters And Men Little Talks The only bar/club my friends and I had any interest in

turning 18 so we could go to was a place called Checkpoint Charlie. I have danced to this song so, so many times on nights out with my best high school friends, as this was on their very much repeated playlist for YEARS. Fond memories of shouting “Hey!” with absolutely no reservation.

Sex Pistols

Anarchy In The UK Covered this song with one of my first bands in one of my first gigs ever. The irony of performing this song as a very rule-following 13-yearold girl under a giant cross at the Christian youth centre did not escape me, even then.

Fiona Apple

Valentine I looked up to very few musicians who were women in my teen years, probably because I didn’t see as many of them when trying to absorb as much rock history and new rock/indie as I could, but when I discovered Fiona Apple, I fell head over heels, and still think she is an absolute genius. This song and album are up there with my favourites, and I felt so lucky to get new Fiona Apple when I was a teenager.

Sløtface’s EP ‘AWAKE / ASLEEP’ is out 24th February.

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