Upset, September 2021

#

69

upsetmagazine.com

** Plus ** Meet Me @ The Altar As It Is Bob Vylan Static Dress American Teeth Press to MECO Kid Brunswick Strange Bones + loads more

Turnstile. iDKHOW. Loathe.

SEPTEMBER 2021 Issue 69

RIOT 4. MEET ME @ THE ALTAR 8. STRANGE BONES 10. THE DEAD DEADS 12. CASKETS 14. GLOO 16. PRESS TO MECO ABOUT TO BREAK 18. AMERICAN TEETH FEATURES 20. TRASH BOAT 30. TURNSTILE 38. BOB VYLAN 42. IDKHOW 44. LOATHE 46. STATIC DRESS 47. AS IT IS 50. KID BRUNSWICK

Upset Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Scribblers Bridget Loc, Dan Harrison, Finlay Holden, Jamie MacMillan, Kaz Shaw, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Derek Bremner, Dieter Unrath, Jeremy Ryan, Jimmy Fontaine, Joeseth Carter, Mescalitas, Paige Sara, 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

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.

HELLO. Here we go then. Festivals are properly, properly back in business. In the few weeks that follow this issue hitting ‘the streets’, we’ve got Reading & Leeds, Slam Dunk and newcomer ALT+LDN all taking place. While we’ve missed some of our most beloved events from this year’s calendar, it’s great to see life at least starting to flicker back into one of the most vital parts of the UK music scene.

Of course, it’s not without a few hitches.

Many of our mates from across the pond who were scheduled to join us for this summer’s (responsible, cautious, COVID aware) blow outs can no longer make it,

as travel restrictions, logistics and a Delta variant unforgiving of the large volume of unvaccinated people in the US prevent them even getting through the gates. We’ll miss them, but with so much domestic talent able to step up, it’s a huge opportunity for some great bands to make a name for themselves.

We can’t wait.

S tephen

Editor / @stephenackroyd

Riot.

THIS MONTH >>>

EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN ROCK

Strange Bones try to sort order from chaos with their new album, ‘England Screams’. p.8

MODEL CITIZENS Meet Me @ The Altar run us through their brand new EP, track by track.

Photo: Jimmy Fontaine.

4 Upset

Prepare to meet a new favourite - The Dead Deads are one of the most wellliked, and fun, bands around. p.10

Want to know the secret to being happy? So do Gloo, and they’re on a mission to figure it out. p.14

U

pset faves Meet Me @ The Altar (they were on the cover the other month, you know) are making a statement with their debut EP, ‘Model Citizen’; a statement that says they’ve got this poppunk business down pat, and are definitely destined for Big Things.

But you knew that already, right? “’Model Citizen’ is a six-track EP that tells the story of entering

adulthood and trying to figure out who you are and who you want to be,” they explain.

“Everyone has an idea in their head of what the perfect version of themselves could be, and a lot of the time, they’re unrealistic standards.

The tracks of ‘Model Citizen’ go through the different phases of our own journey in finding ourselves.”

Here, the trio talk us through each of the record’s songs, track by track.

FEEL A THING The opening track of the EP was originally going to be a standalone follow-up single to ‘Garden’, but upon signing to Fueled By

Upset 5

Riot.

Ramen, plans changed.

‘Feel A Thing’ is about becoming aware of the state of your mental health and questioning why you feel (or, in this case, don’t feel) the way you do.

LILHUDDY has teamed up with Iann Dior, Tyson Ritter and Travis Barker for his new single, ‘Don’t Freak Out’. It’s an early teaser from his debut album ‘Teenage Heartbreak’, set for release on 17th September. “I cannot explain how excited I am to put this out into the world,” he says. “I have been teasing the track and it is hands-down one of my proudest moments as an artist. Iann, Tyson and Travis have been such inspirations to me.”

Poppy has announced her new album ‘Flux’. Produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen and set for release on 24th September via Sumerian Records, the news is accompanied by a video for the title-track. She’s also booked in a tour, kicking off a few months later on 10th January.

The run includes five stops in the UK, including a night at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire.

All Time Low have teamed up with Pale Waves for their new single, ‘PMA’. The track arrives ahead of Alex Gaskarth and co’s September UK tour, which includes two nights at London’s Brixton Academy, one at Manchester’s O2 Apollo, and a further two at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom.

6 Upset

MAPPED OUT After becoming aware that you don’t feel like your normal self comes the phase of feeling lost. Being lost feels like you’re in the middle of a really deep forest with no compass and no map, and we wanted the lyrics to reflect that. But realising that you’re lost starts the process of searching to find yourself.

BRIGHTER DAYS (ARE BEFORE US) Life is full of ups and downs, and ‘Brighter Days’ is one of those ups. You’re now starting to find what you were searching for and realising your purpose as a person in this world. It’s starting to feel like you have everything figured

out, and you’re optimistic for what the future holds.

NOW OR NEVER This one is a collective favourite. ‘Now Or Never’ is a love song (not specifically romantic or specifically platonic) about the decision you have to make in a relationship when you have to drift apart for whatever reason.

It’s very important to maintain healthy relationships in your life, and it’s not healthy to be in a stagnant period where there’s no communication. You have to decide whether you’re going to make things work or go your separate ways.

NEVER GONNA CHANGE The instrumental for this song was actually one of the first we wrote at the start of quarantine that we revived for the EP. Never Gonna Change is one of those downs in life when you revert back

to your old ways and automatically think you’re never gonna be able to change. It takes a lot of self-reflection to accept the fact that you’re the root cause of all your problems after you’ve been blaming other people for them.

WAKE UP We like to call Wake Up our recess song because it sounds so fun and makes you just wanna hop around. We wanted to give ourselves a song on the EP to just unleash all our crazy ideas. Most people wouldn’t expect a pop-punk band to be influenced by Ke$ha, but she actually had a big influence on the bridge and the end of the song.

Wake Up is about no longer accepting the fact that you can’t change and knowing that you need to do something about it. P Meet Me @ The Altar’s new EP ‘Model Citizen’ is out now.

BAND:

TURNSTILE ALBUM:

GLOW ON DATE:

AUGUST 27, 2021

Riot.

Strange Bones try to sort order from chaos with their new album, ‘England Screams’.

Words: Kaz Shaw. Photo: Mescalitas.

“EVERY T IDEA THAT WE HAVE IS BORN FROM CHAOS”

he debut album from Blackpool foursome Strange Bones, ‘England Screams’ does exactly as you’d expect, taking some of humanity’s most acute ills to task via urgent, experimental punk. It was born from “trying to understand the relationship between order and chaos,” guitarist and vocalist Bobby Bentham explains. “The album also looks at the devil inside, and finding that balance between light and dark.”

Hi Bobby, how’s it going?

What are you up to today?

It’s going very well, thank you. I’m editing a music video today, going to rehearsal and then making music all night long.

How’s Blackpool doing at

8 Upset

of us are brothers so rehearsal is easy! the moment?

Blackpool is its same old magical self. The tower still lights up, and the seagulls still rob your chips.

What was the timeline like on your debut album, was it all put together during the pandemic?

It didn’t take as long as I thought it would, I’m definitely my own worst enemy in terms of being overly critical, but at one point, I just had to step back and realise I was picking at it. It was put together during the pandemic, but that didn’t hinder the process at all.

What did all the lockdowns and distancing mean for you guys logistically when it came to writing and recording?

I wrote and recorded everything myself at home, so it didn’t make any difference. Three

It’s taken you guys a while to get to a fulllength, hasn’t it? Why have you held off until now?

I’ve never felt fully happy with what I was making until now. I still love a bunch of the old stuff, but this new stuff is next level, and I’m so happy with how it’s turned out.

I also wanted to feel like my production and mixing was up to scratch before I tackled a full length. I think I’ve always been chasing the magic dragon with the tunes I make; I’ve had a vague idea in my head of a sound I wanted, but what came out didn’t satisfy me how I wanted it to, I think I caught that dragon.

It seems like a good time to explore themes of order and chaos?

Absolutely, not just on a societal level but also

within our heads. This idea kind of fucked me up when I started thinking about it. It can be applied to everything in our lives in so many different ways.

Every idea that we have and make moves on is born from chaos; that order appears when the idea becomes a reality.

This influenced me a lot whilst putting the album together.

How did the collaborations come together? Were they done remotely?

They were all done remotely. ‘Menace’ with Bob Vylan was done way before the album but this is one of my favourites and needed to be in there.

I met Pav4n a couple of years back in London and finally sent him a tune; it still blows my mind that we have made this track together, as I’ve been a massive Foreign Beggars

fan for as long as I can remember. I connected with Death Tour, and we made something crazy; these boys are mad, I love it.

How did you approach curating the album’s tracklisting?

The tracklisting fell together pretty quick; a bunch of the songs are in the order that I wrote them, so it kind of felt right already.

Do you know when you’re going to tour the album?

It must be tough getting dates booked in at the mo?

It’s all been on the ropes, understandably, but we are working to get a bunch of shows locked in towards the end of the year, which I cannot wait for. It seems like a lifetime since we were on the stage. P Strange Bones’ debut album ‘England Screams’ is out 20th August.

Upset 9

Riot.

10 Upset

DEAD GOOD. Prepare to meet a new favourite The Dead Deads are one of the most well-liked, and fun, bands around.

Words: Sam Taylor.

Photo: Jeremy Ryan.

T

he Dead Deads are an interesting band. On the verge of releasing their new album ‘Tell Your Girls It’s Alright’, they’ve already picked up many a famous follower (Corey Taylor is a particularly notable fan), and when we pin down singer-guitarist Meta Dead for a chat, she’s in her studio writing some children’s music for a new show on Amazon Prime. Versatile, right?

Hey Meta! Who are you all, when did you meet, and whose idea was it to form the band?

Meta on guitar, Daisy on bass, and McQueen on drums. Daisy and I met in college, and we met McQueen through our mutual friend Derry Deborja who plays with Jason Isbell. We started the band for fun, and it quickly became more when we got invited on our first tour with Halestorm. We recorded our first album live to tape in three days to get it done in time for that tour. It was mixed overnight and mastered the morning it had to be turned in!

You’re based in Nashville, right? What’s that like?

It always seems like a supportive scene?

Nashville’s great! You can start a band by accident here. We see it happen all the time, just like it did with us. The scene is supportive and friendly, and open to newcomers. Modern rock doesn’t have as big of a stronghold here as other

genres, but it’s definitely a place where anything goes.

After the vaccine came out, we’ve seen all our favourite local rock stars get right back at it and the community coming out in full support.

What have been the highlights of your time together so far?

I think all of us really enjoyed meeting and playing with KISS on the KISS KRUISE. It was crazy to look over my shoulder and see Paul Stanley bobbin’ his head to our tunes. They also gave us some fashion advice we incorporated. We also met our friends The Darkness on that cruise which added to the fun. The duet with Corey Taylor was a big moment.

of years ago, and basically wrote for it up until the final mix. It’s hard to put down the paintbrush when you don’t have to.

It’s a super fun record, really interesting and eclectic what’s your writing process like?

More often than not, we all gather at McQueen’s house to write together. Hot tip—for best morale, go to the drummer’s place. One person starts with a musical idea, and then music begins to form. Often I’m filling in melody and the beginning of the lyrics right on top of it as we go. Some songs take a few practices to form, and some come to us very quickly. Once the song has a structure, we’ll record a voice memo of it, and

“I just sang the theme song for an awesome new show called The Barbarian and the Troll on Nickelodeon” Meta Dead

You’re about to release your new album, ‘Tell Your Girls It’s Alright’ - how long has it been in the works for? What was your starting point?

This is our fifth album, but our first on Rumble Records.

We generally have to slam through album creation. Like I was saying, that first record being recorded in three days, or the next ones being written and recorded between tours.

TYGIA was the first record we got to take our time with, and then due to the cancellation of our North American tour with The Darkness, we were able to put even more time into it. We started writing for it a couple

I’ll rock that in my car on the way home from the writing session to craft the lyrics. At the next writing session, we’ll review it with the singing and see if we love it or want to lose it or improve it. I think we tend to feel like if you have to beat a tune into submission over several sessions, perhaps it’s not for us. We release that one back into the ether for the right artist to discover.

Do songs find you, or do you have to find them?

I’d say we do go after them, but they often become more than what we were looking for as they form. We might plan

to write a heavy doom metal song, but end up with a punk thing because we wanted to play faster, or the parts just fell in such a way that the direction of the song changed. That’s the great thing about being genre-neutral. We don’t have a set of rules we have to abide by to have a “good” song, and we don’t have a label that’s asking for “a hit” or a specific vibe. Bless Rumble Records.

What’s your experience with music outside of the band?

I’ve been writing music since I was 5. My mom caught me doing it, and I thought I was in trouble for “making up” music, but the next day she gave me a cassette recorder and taught me how to record myself singing. It’s been on ever since.

I’ve been in many bands over the years and always enjoyed performing solo as well. Music is just part of life for me, no matter what. Currently, other than The Dead Deads, I write music for TV and film — mostly cartoons — with my husband and other composers in our collective we call Cake in Space. I just sang the theme song for an awesome new show called The Barbarian and the Troll on Nickelodeon, and I wrote all the songs for the season, so check it out if you like Shrek-style humour and silly songs.

What else have you lot got coming up?

The album comes out 20th August, and we’ll celebrate with a small hometown show.

After that, we’ll be hitting the road this fall in the US. Bucket list definitely includes UK tour, late-night TV, and playing some of the wonderful European rock festivals I’ve been following since I was a kid. You know anyone that could help us with any of those? P The Dead Deads’ album ‘Tell Your Girls It’s Alright’ is out 20th August.

Upset 11

Riot.

“IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY” Leeds bunch Caskets have had their fair share of hype, and now it’s time to deliver with a debut album.

Words: Bridget Loc.

12 Upset

L

eeds-based fivepiece Caskets have arrived with their debut album, ‘Lost Souls’. It’s an emotional and passionate eleven track set that explores the darker side of mental health; from feeling worthless and overwhelmed, to being scared to open up, to losing someone - it’s all in here. Guitarist Craig Robinson introduces his band.

Hi Craig, what are you up to today?

Today I’m getting some last-minute things together for our next music video!

Which consists of about six hours driving around picking up gear!

Tell us about your band then: who are you all, when and where did you meet? Have you been pals for ages?

The band formed in 2018.

Chris [McIntosh, bass] and Benji [Wilson, guitar] being the founding members, followed by Matt [Flood, vocals], James [Lazenby, drums] and then myself!

I’ve been pals with Chris and Benji for years just through the local music scene. I first met Benji back in 2010/2011, I think?

Crazy to think we’ve played shows together in different bands so many times, and now we’ve joined forces for Caskets!

And you used to Captives, right? What happened there?

It’s a long story, to be honest. Another band had the same name, and in the end, it was just easier to change our name - to save time and money!

How have you found being an up-and-coming band in Leeds? There always seems to be loads going on.

Unfortunately, since Covid, that isn’t the case, haha!

But hopefully, things will start happening again very soon so we can get back out there and play some shows! I’m looking forward to playing a local show now we’re a little bigger. We’ve missed our local venues so much. I’m hoping there will be a big push from the metal community once shows return!

Are there any other local bands you’d recommend?

I’d definitely say to check out This House Is Haunted.

Was your debut album really recorded in a shed?

How did that work?

The drums were recorded at Vada Studios. We love that place! Dan Weller [producer] always records drums there, and we can see why! Also, shout out to George, who runs Vada - total legend! But yes, vocals and guitar were done in THE SHED, haha. It’s not a shed in the traditional sense. Chris built it at the bottom of his garden as a purpose-built studio for the band!

Are you going to keep using the shed studio going forward?

Absolutely! We write a lot of the demos there, so it’s always in use! It’s also used as a bunk room in case any of us get too drunk to go home after writing or partying! Usually partying…

Where do you do your best writing? Is there anywhere you find particularly inspiring?

We wrote a lot of the album during the pandemic, so we did a lot of writing at home.

It was a difficult process, but we managed to make it work with the help of

Zoom and alcohol, haha. Of course, it’s always better to write all together in a room so we can bounce ideas off of one another. We feed off each other’s energy, so that was a hard thing to replicate and get a feel for through a computer screen!

How did you approach piecing together the album? Did you go into it with a mission statement?

We basically had around 20 demos for the album and had to whittle it down with the help of Dan Weller. Some absolute bangers didn’t make it on the album, so that means what’s on there must be pure gold! There was one track me and Matt weren’t happy about being scrapped... I think it’s going to appear on the second album, though, if we get our way!

It seems to ruminate on mental health a lot, are you all okay?

A lot of the lyrics come from personal life experiences. These seem to really resonate with our listeners, I think because they hit home on a personal level. I guess the point is that the lyrics are

very relatable, so they can be interpreted in so many different ways. We always want to push the message that it’s okay to not be okay. We encourage fans to reach out to us if they’re having a bad day, or even if they just want to chat!

Do you find it easier to write about periods of conflict than happier times?

Conflict always bring up a wealth of different emotions. Personally, I find it easier to write whilst in this frame of mind. Like, if I’ve had a bad day, I’ll go and pick up my guitar and churn out something disgustingly heavy.

What’s next for you guys? Have you started thinking about album number two yet?

Yes, of course! We’re excited for album two already! Hopefully, once the world opens up, we can get back out there ASAP and meet every last one of you! Our first outing is with Normandie in Europe in October! Stoked for it! P Caskets’ album ‘Lost Souls’ is out now.

Upset 13

Riot.

“THE LESS OVER-THINKING THE BETTER” I nspired in part by singer Thomas Harfield’s interest in self-help books and what have you, the new album from South Coast punks GLOO is a quest for happiness, something that honestly couldn’t be timed a great deal better what with ‘current’ ‘events’ ‘n that.

They’ve got a lot to look forward to, too - what with touring coming back, a newfound love for yoga, the opening of a skate shop, and also Tom and his brother-stroke-drummer Mark’s mum getting married (“[we’re] writing our mum’s wedding speech tonight”). Aw. What a nice time.

Hi Tom, it’s been a couple of years since your debut album - what have you been up to since then? Any major life developments?

What have we been up to?

God! Feels like so long ago that album. Because of the whole lockdown situation, we’ve actually been quite busy writing the follow up to the album (coming soon) so we are way ahead of the game when restrictions are lifted.

In terms of personal life, Mark’s gone and got himself a house and done it up. I’ve really gotten into yoga and written a book on Advice for Unsigned

14 Upset

Want to know the secret to being happy? So do Gloo, and they’re on a mission to figure it out.

Words: Sam Taylor. Photo: Joeseth Carter.

haha.

Bands, which you can find on Amazon. Simon, our bassist’s been learning new guitar techniques and stuff... I wouldn’t even know where to start on, like, vibrato and jazz shit.

When did you start work on your second record?

Was there much overlap with the first?

Apart from one song on our upcoming album, ‘Takes the Piss’, which was half-written at the same time as our debut, it was only a few months after recording our debut that we started writing for the ‘Stop and Stare’ EP. After that EP was released, we had a one or two-year break from writing, not on purpose... Just because we couldn’t seem to come up with anything we liked that much. That’s where a break-up helps and a bit of time off on the side builds up that excitement of writing new songs again,

Did you find it easier to put together this one, or was it just differently hard?

This album was definitely harder to write for us because we’re always trying to compete with previous songs that we’re already super proud of.

Some of the songs did come quite easily, yes, but it’s more like we’re picking the best 10 of 200 songs rather than 10 out of 100 now, which certainly makes for a better album. We would’ve 100% kept some songs before, whereas now we’re making the difficult decision to cut some loose.

Did the pandemic get in the way much? Or impact the vibe at all? ‘How Not To Be Happy’ feels pretty pertinent right now.

Luckily, we got in the studio just in time, in between the lockdowns right at the beginning of the outbreak, so we

could still manage to get these new songs of ours recorded with that fresh feeling. I couldn’t imagine having to record these now, knowing that these songs would be like 3 years old.

The pandemic has mainly just delayed the release of the album. We’ve been having to keep it to ourselves, knowing that we’ve got our best to date songs. It’s not been easy, to say the least, especially as we like to class ourselves as a live band, but worse things are going on in the world at the moment for sure!

It’s a really interesting concept. You’ve mentioned reading a lot of self-help books to try to be happier, do you have any favourites?

My favourite self-help book ever is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle just

G,

because it’s the only one that seems to have worked for me at all and is for some reason memorable enough for me to quote to myself when I don’t have a guide to hand.

I also really liked Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking because I really relate to being an Introvert or (INFJ) and the Subtle Art of Not Caring because I really enjoy reading books with swear words in, cause that’s how we actually fucking talk “ain’t” it?.

Have you picked up any useful, unexpected tips for being happy?

I’m quite used to it now, but one thing I didn’t expect before I read self-help

books that would help and I know does actually work for me now is just practising to really be in the moment as much as possible. This also ties in with how I believe I write my best songs, which also makes me happier, and that is not overthinking.

The less over-thinking when creating something, the better!!! Don’t overcomplicate things and tap into that subconscious space for some unexpected rewards.

Do you actually do and stick with the strategies you read about? A lot of that stuff is really hard to put into practice.

It’s definitely an ongoing process of learning what works for you, and accepting the fact that you can’t be perfectly happy all

the time for me takes the load off. Just making the effort and doing something about it, enjoying what you are in that moment, works for me. I also really can’t stress enough the value that yoga has brought into my life, more specifically Yoga with Adriene, which is absolutely free. I don’t know what I would have done without them videos over lockdown!

What else are you guys up to at the moment?

You’ve a tour to prepare for, right?

Yes, we are literally so excited we could cry; it’s gonna be insane! Fingers crossed it’s actually going to go ahead this time, though. We sadly had to cancel the last one we had booked a couple of weeks before we were due to go!

This is the longest tour

we’ve ever had booked in; also some of the best venues we’ve ever played at, and it couldn’t come at a better time. We’re just counting down the days now until we’re back in that thing we call a van now and basically go on holiday!

Haha I’m taking some much needed time off writing until life’s back to normal, but some big, seriously cool news is that Mark (bro and drummer) if you’ve forgotten who he is by now, has opened a skate shop/ shack in our hometown, Littlehampton with his mate that you can find on Instagram @r_u_board_af which we are using for our album release show date at the start of the tour.

More news on the Board AF skate shack to come soon… Bring on the summer of freedom!!!! P GLOO’s album ‘How Not To Be Happy’ is out 27th August.

Upset 15

Riot.

Everything you need to know about

Press to MECO’s Battling lockdowns and travel restrictions hasn’t slowed down Press to MECO; with a new album now here, they fill us in on some behind-thescenes tit-bits.

new album

‘Transmute’

Photo: Dieter Unrath.

It was written in a 16th-century tower.

In 2019, Luke [Caley, guitar/vocals] and I needed somewhere to escape to and write some music before we imploded. We have a band friend who owns a Grand Designstype conversion of a 16th-century hunting lodge tower in the countryside. He offered this space to us for a writing retreat and, obviously, we took him up on the offer.

We swam in the pool, drank gin and wrote music on the top of the tower every day.

Pretty luxurious for these two Croydon/ Crawley boys.

It was also recorded in the same 16thcentury tower. We were due to fly out to Texas to record with our producer, Machine, the exact same week that Trump closed the American borders.

Terrible timing. Luckily we were able to fly Machine into the UK between lockdowns, and while all the studios were fully booked with artists recording their lockdown EPs, we begged, borrowed and stole the equipment we needed to set up a cowboy, makeshift studio in the same tower we wrote the record in. It was actually really fun building the separate spaces. We did full band pre-production, guitars, and some drum takes at the bottom of the round tower; we set up a vocal studio out in the garage and a guitar tracking suite in the basement.

There are some strange sounds. This album has some pretty unique sounds captured on it. I was recording probably one of the softest vocal takes on the album when Luke pulled a huge wheelspin in his Volvo on the gravel path outside the garage where we tracked vocals… he was probably on a run to the shops to pick up more Oreo ice creams. We loved it and kept in it. There’s also drum takes from within the super reverby stone tower.

There’s even a guitar take on one of the

16 Upset

famously terrible Line Six - Spider guitar amplifiers. We challenge the guitar amp connoisseurs to find which song it’s on!

It features our brand new bassist who isn’t a bassist. We met and fell in love with Jake [Crawford] five years ago when we toured with his band Acoda. He’s one of the best guitarists we know… so obviously, we put him on the bass. He killed it, though, and brought a great fresh perspective when he joined the band towards the end of the writing process.

He also completely smashed all of the ridiculously brutal vocal ideas we threw at him.

Change is a prevalent theme. In the midst of some big personal changes, we were almost ready to give up pursuing a career in music. However, after the

initial writing sessions, we completely rediscovered our love for the process and were given a chance to remember why we do this in the first place. I’d been thinking a lot about our journey as a band and as people, and also about where society finds itself right now, in the middle of a huge tech boom where our connectivity and input on a daily basis is so intense and with certain global problems creeping up on us. There’s a lot to figure out in the coming years on all sides, so the idea of change and transformation unsurprisingly became a big recurring theme on the album. Not in a negative way, but just questioning how we’ll approach these issues, knowing that we can’t ignore them much longer. P Press to MECO’s album ‘Transmute’ is out 20th August.

About Break. to

GUSTAF Brooklyn art-punks Gustaf are ridiculously fun; watch out for their debut album later this year, and a UK tour with Pillow Queens in early 2022.

NEW TALENT YOU NEED TO KNOW

AMERICAN TEETH If you haven’t already checked out American Teeth’s new single with Phem and De’Wayne, you’re missing out - this is the start of something big.

Words: Steven Loftin. Photo: Paige Sara.

18 Upset

WILDER. Californian indie-rock duo Wilder. are about to release their debut EP, ‘BAD BAD LUCK’, due on 27th August via Rude Records. “It’s time to get wild!” they enthuse.

MINI TREES Los Angeles-based Mini Trees makes warm, lo-fi pop in a similar vein to Snail Mail; debut album ‘Always In Motion’ is coming 17th September via Run For Cover.

D

uality has always been a go-to for pop culture; baddies cloaked in darkness, goodies in light. While the same applies to American Teeth brainchild Elijah Noll, the reality is a bit less dramatic.

“I really like horror films and TV shows,” the burgeoning anti-pop star smiles. “I like the aesthetic of horror in general, but I’m not this super dark person on the inside,” he says, leaning back with a laugh in his home in LA, looking every part the modern alt icon with dyed flaming orange hair.

Certainly, it’s these elements that are colliding in American Teeth’s sound.

Digging its knuckles into whatever it fancies: emo, poppunk, straight-up pop, it’s all poking out of the swirling yinyang. “When I’ve looked back, even into my solo stuff I was doing, a lot of the imagery was very dark,” he continues. “But now I’ve started to embrace more of the light side and create this hybrid of it.”

Yet, before becoming American Teeth, Elijah had a formation to undertake.

Originally from Portland, Maine, his mum taught him classical violin at a young age. It was in school he began cutting his teeth by recording his own CDs of “really shitty acoustic” and passing them out, or as he puts it: “My first original hustle, as far as like, ‘Listen, I make music and I’m going to be big someday’.”

His first musical ambitions were fuelled by none other than those princes of darkness, the Backstreet Boys. “I would use my parents VHS and get other kids in the neighbourhood to join me and my perfectly choreographed dances that I would put together,” he says, stifling laughter at the memory. “Then

I would make all these little video clips to karaoke-style popular songs at the time.”

Briefly relocating from Portland to Chicago, where he gave band life a go with various friends, the majority of Elijah’s tale is a solo endeavour. Until finally, setting out in search of his ambitious reality, he flew to the sunny skies of Los Angeles. It was here he met producer and now collaborator Colin Brittain, and American Teeth made its way into the world. Deciding to step away from Elijah Noll, he adopted his moniker as a way of being able to “not have the weight of whatever happens with that be

had heart surgery himself; he now totes a bionic heart valve, making him his own hybrid of organic and mechanic. “I have this nostalgia for that time of my life,” he continues.

“I feel like with this project, I’m continuously tapping into that. There’s something true to myself about it that feels authentic about being able to dig into that well. There’s something kind of magical about that.”

It’s Colin who makes this nostalgia come to life, by, as Elijah puts it, taking this feeling and twisting and turning it, avoiding “making the same song over and over again.”

“I want it to be genrefluid, where one song might sound like horny Mumford and Sons, another like blink-182, and another like Lil Peep” Elijah Noll on me so much; I see it as this kind of elevated self in a way.”

With Colin helming the production side, and Elijah fully immersing himself in that aesthetic hybrid light-dark world, the sounds they make are what ties it all together. “The music I make for American Teeth feels very nostalgic in a way that doesn’t feel old to me,” he says, chewing on his perception of the sound. “It reminds me of the feelings that I felt when I was living in my hometown, and feeling stuck there and very angsty.”

Within this time, Elijah both lost his dad to cancer and

Reckoning it to taking “a lot of risks”, the fearlessness is what bleeds through American Teeth’s Frankenstein sound.

“We’re not afraid to just say, ‘Okay, we’re going to do a poppunk sound, or we’re just going to only do rock’,” he grins. “I’ve always said from the beginning of the project that I want it to be genre-fluid, where one song might sound like horny Mumford and Sons, another like blink-182, and another like Lil Peep… and we’ve hit all of those vibes, by the way!”

He says, laughing at his mad ingenuity.

On his vision for American Teeth, he says: “I see it

becoming more of a fashion culture thing, and to do more things outside of music. Have it be something bigger.”

It’s not just that.

Apparently, he’s also got big plans for his live shows.

Not content with simply incorporating that high energy pop-punk attitude he exudes, with an epic “rush of serotonin” the cherry on the cake, but in the future - potential boy band choreography aside - he wants to put those early years violin lessons to good use.

“It would be cool to run an electric violin through a bunch of guitar pedals and create some cool tones out of that,” his eye’s shining wide at the possibility. “Then I imagine myself looping string parts on top of each other, so you get this kind of orchestral thing and then just doing some like loud, weird shit with it.”

It’s all very big ideas.

For now, focusing on the immediate, his latest track ‘Sick’ featuring Phem and De’Wayne (with Colin recently helping produce some of his debut), is a testament to the talents and mystical forces watching over Elijah.

Co-written with Phem, he mentions that he’s been developing a rather productive habit. “I seem to have good luck with people on my first song date,” he purrs. “It’s funny, because for some reason, often when I write with somebody for the first time, if it’s a good mix then the song tends to be one of the better songs I write with them.”

Elijah is certainly a unique artist. His light-dark hybrid, fuelled by his love for horror, emo, and pop music colliding with the brain of a classically trained violinist from a small town with big dreams, can only mean no one’s going to be doing it quite like American Teeth. P

Upset 19

20 Upset

Every band looks to level up with a new record, but with latest album ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’, Trash Boat’s Tobi Duncan is holding nothing back.

Words: Steven Loftin. Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett.

Upset 21

T

obi Duncan is filled with defiance. For as long as he can remember, he’s been stewing on the fact that we’re all living in a world hell-bent on eating itself. Zoom out far enough, and all the overarching issues remain with people simply doing what they can to extinguish the smaller fires. Peek in a bit closer, and our very nature can be even more distracting.

One giant hadron collider of humanity. Hefty stuff for a rock band, but Trash Boat are ready to be more than that.

probably talked to a lot of artists that are just like ‘it is what it is, we don’t care if we get big or not’.”

Tobi starts, sipping from a cool beer on a blistering summers day. “That is a foundational element. If the band ended today, I’d be happy with what we did, so I don’t really have an innate desire for the band to get bigger, but at the same time, I totally do. Obviously, I want to be the biggest band in the world.”

‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ is a big, bold, ballsy step towards this.

A message of rebellion, Trash Boat are finally

“Obviously, I want to be the biggest band in the world” Tobi Duncan

After forming in St Albans in 2014, Trash Boat’s early years were dominated by “running tactically”, according to their singer today. Simply put, they’ve been purposefully holding themselves back to concoct moves that tie in with their plans. It’s after years of cutting their teeth on Warped Tour, numerous support slots and two albums, 2016’s ‘Nothing I Write You Can Change What You’ve Been Through’ and 2018’s ‘Crown Shyness’, that this next level has come calling.

“The growth element is interesting because you’ve 22 Upset

untethering the beast that they’ve always threatened to be after their gnashers unveiled as they bandied about in a pop-punk soaked, hardcore enthused world. This time the canines are full-on snarling, surrounded by an ardent heaviness and a healthy dose of industrial sounds, with the hefty subject matter to match.

You see, they’re digging into everything from the pros and cons of hedonism to the desensitisation of culture, Tobi’s past addictions, and much more. Admitting previously he was guilty of “using

very heavy metaphors and trying to convince people that I was a really intelligent guy,” now it’s more based on drilling to the point as quickly as possible: “How can I get my point across in five words or less?”

Bluntness is the architecture of Tobi’s DNA. A self-confessed adrenaline junkie, his earlier years were spent exploring sport before an unfortunate accident put pay to his dreams of a career in rugby after a complex knee injury.

Still troubling him to this day, this led to a painkiller addiction and, eventually, porn.

But that was the Tobi of old. Now, he’s unequivocal on where his sights are set. “I want the maximum human experience,” he reasons. “Now I’m looking for the natural maximum.”

That’s what this new era is all about for Tobi, along with Dann Bostock (guitar), Ryan Hyslop (guitar), James Grayson (bass) and Oakley Moffat (drums).

Relishing in the stripping away of pretence for the more vulnerable personal matter, this is perfect Tobi fodder. “There’s nothing worse than an artist singing about something incredibly sensitive and divisive that they’ve never touched,” he says. “I chose these topics because I was like, ‘Where can I be as brutally honest as possible?’”

If you find yourself face to face with Tobi having a chat, it’s this frankness he brings to the table, often with a wry smile. On his recovery process, he happily offers: “The pills are pretty cold turkey, but my relationship with them has completely changed.

The porn stuck around.

The porn really, really stuck around for a long time.”

Though only in his late twenties, Tobi understands Upset 23

his platform is a place to affect change and to face the cold, hard truths of the world.

Perhaps the iciest of these facts is that it would be incredibly easy for

THERE’S NO DOUBT THAT ‘DON’T YOU FEEL AMAZING?’ IS A BIG SONG; YOU COULD EVEN ARGUE IT’S SOUNDTRACK WORTHY… “I think the entire world is currently missing out on having ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ being part of their day to day soundtrack because that is just the most syncable song ever. I rewatched the latest season of Peaky Blinders recently and there were about six scenes per episode where they come out of a building, and it would explode, and he’s lit up a cig and then he’d put his hat down while walking in slow motion. Just that ‘DUN DUN DUNDUNDUN’, it’s just so cool. Like that slow-motion explosion walking. I can see that in movies, TV shows. I can see it being the intro music to some sort of series. It’s a fucking soundtrack! It’s a sexy slow-mo walk song, and that fits everywhere.”

24 Upset

him to relapse into his old cycles. Still surrounded by painkillers, on a purely medicinal basis, he admits that he does miss some of the surface elements of his past lifestyle, “because it’s easy! It’s cheating.”

“It’s like if you cheated at tests your whole life and got A*s, and then all of a sudden had to use your own intelligence and started getting Bs, and you’re just remembering how easy it was to cheat,” he says, chewing on the

reality. “We do everything, as humans, to get certain chemical responses in our brain that make us feel good. This is what drives us. Drugs, and sex, and porn and all this horrible stuff, it’s just a cheat sheet that pumps those chemicals into your brain.

So obviously, there’s an element of me that misses that in every way.”

“But there’s a bigger element of me that knows that it’s not sustainable,” he continues. “It bleeds

into other areas of your life; it doesn’t stay where it is.

It doesn’t stay localised at all. And it starts not only not being as good but pulling other areas of your life in with it. All of a sudden, I was 25, and I was looking at the rest of my 20s being like, these last five years, from an objective standpoint, I’m embarrassed. No one knew because I wasn’t like a ‘breakdown in front of my friends sitting and crying in front of the fridge’

kind of guy. I kept it all to myself from an outward appearance; I was just fine.

No one knew anything.”

Each lesson on ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ stems from a moment of reflection similar to this; be it on a larger, societal scale, noticing the numbness of the television masses (‘Bad Entertainment’), or his unpacking of just how his addictions played into his life. Tobi’s particular moment of clarity came from not wanting to hit

the big 3-0 and ultimately losing twelve years of his life to poisonous practices.

“There is an element of learning from your mistakes,” he admits. “Blind hedonism is bad because you develop bad habits and dependencies. But now that they’re out of my life, I can look back and have these tactical moments of arrogance. I can access that feeling in a song on stage, and it’s that heroin feeling where it’s just the best, but it’s not controlling

complex wires of humanity but daring to push them into consciousness.

“I’ve got a lot of skeletons in my closet, and I’ve got a lot of bad decisions that I’ve made - a lot of things that I need to repent for and be honest about,” Tobi earnestly shrugs.

On whether he’s laid everything out on the table, he offers that there are actually a few more pages to be turned in the book of Tobi. But, the

“I love embracing all the things that I love about myself. I can be a little bit arrogant, for sure. Why not?”

Tobi Duncan

my life anymore.”

‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ is a journey of self. The album finds itself thundering in with the title-track’s swagger, before winding up in a moment of fragile reflection with acoustic ‘All I Can Never Be’, along with the electronic fray of ‘Maladaptive Dreaming’ where Tobi laments he’s “beautiful to my mum at least”. It teems with selfacknowledgement and not only wrestling with the

nature of him keeping a few cards close to his chest is understandable. “That would be just me dipping into ancient history and being like, ‘Oh, hey, this happened, and it involves my whole family’,” he explains. “So here are some addiction and medical problems; this kind of stuff I was like, I can share.”

Perhaps the most daring of Tobi’s thoughts come in the spiky ‘Alpha Omega’ with its screamed anguish-loaded chorus

of “Idiot, you’re a fucking idiot!” Head in his hands shaking, Tobi says laughing: “We argued about that chorus because it’s like… it sucks. It’s like Limp Bizkit!” Focused towards a particular surgeon who could not properly diagnose Tobi’s injury, leading to a lot of back and forth, “it was just a really bad relationship between doctor and patient,” he says.

There may also be these tender moments of genuine reflection, but ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ finds its heartbeat is one of aggression and power, fuelled by that wonderfully tricky beast called ego. “I also like myself. I like my friends. I like my family. I like my lifestyle. I like my body. I think I’m generally quite nice. I can dip into that, like, ‘fuck yeah, everything’s cool’. But there’s also a lot for me to humble myself about, to let people into that kind of honesty because it’s all part of the journey. I think I can do both.”

Looking back at the Trash Boat of 2016, there was no alluding to this new Tobi sat in front of Upset today. One whose confidence in himself, bolstered by his band’s new groove, means he’s embracing everything, but also he’s still a part of that fallible humanity big bang. “I’ve always been cautious of my ego. I don’t want to be considered an egotistical guy. But then that’s the crux of it, isn’t it? I’m thinking about how I want to be perceived by other people.

“That’s a side effect; it just happens. It’s passive.

Like, I love embracing all the things that I love about myself. Yeah, I think I can be a little bit arrogant for sure. Why not? I can be honest about Upset 25

the things that I like about myself without it being an egotistical thing.”

These days he’s most likely to be toting a bulletproof vest while topless, showing off his defined upper body, and mugging for the camera with a surly, ready-foranything look. Clearly, if you want to be the biggest band in the world, you’ve got to blow your own trumpet more than anyone, right?

“I’m doing it for me,” he retorts. “I’m not working out and trying to get myself a nice looking upper body or wearing ridiculous bulletproof vests or dripping myself in the honey… I’m not doing that for anyone except me because I like the way it makes me feel. It makes me feel sexy. And if that bleeds into other areas, and other people think the same thing, cool, fair enough, whatever. That’s gonna happen no matter what it is; when you put yourself out there, people are gonna see it, but I do it all for me.”

Certainly, it feels like celebrating yourself decidedly being a bit sexy with things - is amiss in the cantankerous rock world. “I think it’s projected humility,” Tobi ponders on this matter. “People want to be seen to be humble.

People will be like, ‘I don’t care what you think’; that’s just what they want people to think. It’s a carefully curated element.

“In reality, everyone cares what you think. We’re social creatures; that’s how it works. As long as, in my opinion, things come from a place of honesty, I don’t really have a problem.

Even if it’s horrible, I’d rather someone be honest about being horrible than hiding it. I want to know who the arseholes are. If someone’s gonna be a Nazi, 26 Upset

like, be fucking honest about it because I want to see where they are. I don’t want them to hide in the shadows.”

The funny thing about ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ is that this isn’t Tobi clearing the air; this is just the beginning. Readily launching into more of that weight on his mind, his thoughts flowing with the countenance of someone who’s undoubtedly done their homework. He’s armed and ready to dip into everything from cancelculture justice (“Is there a more pragmatic way to have that vitriol and energy directed towards the upper echelons of society, where actual change is going to be affected?”) to the burgeoning issue of trans athletes (“The potential solution to this problem would be to completely restructure the way we categorise people in sports”).

Mentioning a recent appearance on a podcast where the latter was edited out because of its divisive nature, he says: “This conversation needs to happen; it’s questions like that that aren’t being asked. I love the most difficult questions or grey areas, man. I love it! I’m such a confrontational guy.

I love a good debate. I love a good argument. I think it would be fun to go on those conservative podcasts.”

A point that he reiterates throughout our chat, Tobi is more than primed to get himself amongst that consistently frothing fray.

“I love conversation; I love hearing other people’s opinions. And I love factchecking myself through conversations where I think I know what I’m talking about, and then someone will be like ‘erm... actually no’. That’s how you grow; you learn.”

He continues: “In none of these songs - or in life in general - do I purport to have any kind of answer, but I wanted to bring the topics to a public format so that I could at least say that I’ve said my piece, and I put my opinion out there. I want to have the conversation.

“I want somebody to step in and be like, ‘Hey, I think homosexuality or anything aside from the heteronormative sexuality is bad, and these are the reasons why’, and I’ll be like,

the medical side. Tearing into the free capitalist society ideas threatening the coveted NHS, particularly for Tobi, who had to go through his own experiences after that knee injury, feels the closest to home of all the issues he passionately tears apart.

“Get the profit incentive out of medicine,” he deadpans. “I don’t give a shit about the 0.5% corner that exists where billions have been dumped in, and they’ve got some Batman

“I’d rather someone be honest about being horrible than hiding it. I want to know who the arseholes are” Tobi Duncan

‘Right, I’m so fucking glad you said that because I’m about to change your life over the course of the next couple hours because I think you’re just so wrong!”

A point close to his heart as Tobi “sits on the LGBTQ+ spectrum” himself.

Indeed, spending the afternoon with Tobi confirms this. The hegemony that reigns in this world is rife for a targeted Tobi Trash Boat tirade, all fair game given his own experiences with

technology that only Elon Musk can use. You put money into medicine, you get mass innovation - for who? For me? It doesn’t trickle down. I’ve got a busted knee, and I can’t get the super Batman knee that all this money goes into.

Socialise it.”

This is where ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ differs entirely from their previous efforts. It’s taking these issues and, as Tobi says, hopefully, enticing people “to challenge these Upset 27

conversations.”

“I don’t want to live the rest of my life thinking I never said that because I didn’t want people to think I was just putting my ego out there like, ‘hey, I want to change the world’. That’s why I held myself back.

It’s like, I’m not a political guy. I’m not like Zac De La Rocha or Noam Chomsky.

I’m not fucking running for governor, so why say anything political? Why put my voice out there? With this album, I was like, why not?”

So, with this action finally on its path, with ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ on its way into the world, does Tobi feel like that itch has been scratched, or has it only just begun?

“If I’d solved the problem, if I’d written a song and the entire world had gone ‘Ah, fucking hell, sick!’ and then all of a sudden the world changed, it would be off my chest.

But these things will be perpetually on mine and everyone else’s in the world’s chest till the day we die. I’m suspect at the idea of change at this point. There will be radical change,” he piques. “History has shown that if you don’t give the people a little bit of socialism, they will take a lot.”

When the Charles Dickens classic Tale of Two Cities gets mentioned, Tobi clenches his fists in jubilance, leaning over the table. “Great book!”

Its historical telling of the (very) bloody French Revolution seems to be something that ignites a fire in the frontman.

“I think it’s closer to happening than it ever has been in the last 50 years,” he muses. “Ever since the great prosperity and the housing market crash: so the 70s, early 80s? I think we’re the closest we’ve 28 Upset

been to some sort of revolution.”

It’s this revolutionary fighting spirit that’s rooting thickly TOBI GIVES US THE throughout LOWDOWN ON WHO’S the soil of TAGGING ALONG FOR THE RIDE Trash Boat of 2021. Ready “We were looking for to go toe to features, and our label toe with any just basically sent us a list who’ll dare of people who might be take them on, interested, and Kamiyada+ was my favourite. I was Tobi and co. like, fucking get him on are a force to the track. I love that metal be reckoned hip-hop crossover, where with. Not like, the beats are basically turning their just breakdowns, and the back on the vocal style is like it’s hipscene that hop, and he’s shouting; helped them just a great crossover. He grow into the freestyled that. I asked beast they’ve him for the lyrics, and he become was like, ‘I don’t know the today, Tobi lyrics; I freestyled it’. I was reasons: “We like, get out of town! wanted to “Milkie Way we originally write that wanted for ‘Silence Is type of music, Golden’, to do like the verses or one of the and we did. verses. I can’t remember We’re not why that didn’t materialise, abandoning but it just didn’t. Then that area; when we were doing ‘Bad it’s still very Entertainment’, we were much a part listening to it like that bit of our history could do with a feature. and a part And then we asked Milkie, of the music and she said yes. That’s that we’re one of the best bits of the currently song… It’s one of the best writing; bits on the album! I mean, we’re just it was kind of coincidence, metastasising but it was just one of those upon it in a things where we saw the rapid way.” opportunity, we asked the question, and they said, Recalling yes.” his favourite moment in the studio to date, after finishing his vocals for the kicks-likea-mule titular track, Tobi disappeared for a break to get a cuppa. Returning minutes later to a very excited producer, Jason Perry, “bouncing in his seat” in a very loud room. “He got up, and he was like ‘BOYS!!

Boys! This is fucking ace!

WHAT’S A PLAN TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD WITHOUT A FEW MATES?

This is so fucking good!’ He kept winding it back to the start and just like jumping around the studio.”

They’re hungry for more of this feeling, and there’s nothing that can stop them. The consensus seems to be, if this is what Trash Boat can achieve after six months of remote songwriting due to the pandemic and a couple of weeks to quickly get it all down in the studio, then what could they achieve once the world opens up?

Time waits for no one.

Tobi, of all people, knows this. He’s had plans and dreams snatched away in a moment. That urgency is the adrenaline-fuelled heartbeat throughout their third outing and its separate pieces barreling toward their own realisations.

‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ is Trash Boat grabbing the wheel and finally steering wildly wherever they see fit.

This is them entering this confusing, conscious fray of a world with ideas.

They’re in control now - of themselves, mostly: “We’re running at full speed.

As opposed to running tactically, we’re just sprinting.” This is all just a reaction finally exploding outward, and they’re toting the sound to go with it. “It’s over-expression to make your point,” Tobi mentions of the vitriol that hammers throughout, draining the dregs of his drink before summing up Trash Boat’s M.O. for the future.

“I love contributing to the vibe. I love putting that energy out there. We’ve always been high energy.

I just want to play some really heavy, crazy songs, get wild and play some shows. Let’s write about some politics! Let’s go!” P Trash Boat’s album ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ is out now.

Upset 29

Get ready for one of the albums of the year, as Turnstile push themselves further than they ever have before.

Words: Steven Loftin.

30 Upset

Upset 31

N

obody is doing it quite like Turnstile.

The hardcore darlings are always finding new ways of bending and breaking any form of expectation.

Consistently on a breakneck trajectory, in their short years, they’ve managed to become lauded sons of hardcore. Fearless of breaching the genres often restrictive nature, this time, they’ve burst the dam.

“I love connecting dots in music, and I love being able to feel inspired by something,” vocalist Brendan Yates begins. “But also how to take that and make it work with the tools that we have in being Turnstile.”

It’s very easy to argue that the reason Turnstile have captured so many hearts while twisting and turning their essence into often unrecognisable sounds is down to one fact; they vow to never be the same band.

Put simply, since forming in Baltimore, Maryland, the fivepiece, completed by Franz Lyons (bass), Brady Ebert (guitar), Daniel Fang (drums), and Pat McCrory (guitar), are a perfectly sized jigsaw showing the world the bigger musical picture.

Over the years, they’ve had a fair go at getting to this point. With a handful of EPs, two albums, including 2018’s acclaimed ‘Time & Space’, which saw the group begin to push their boundaries, they’ve been carving their space. That’s not to mention countless tours, taking in everything from sweaty, combustible club shows to spots on hip-hop curated festivals. Turnstile seem to have limitless energy on their search for whatever’s next and leaving no stone unturned.

This is exactly what they’ve done with ‘GLOW ON’.

Their third outing proper, the world’s first introduction to this new age of Turnstile came with the surprise release of EP ‘TURNSTILE LOVE CONNECTION’ back in

32 Upset

June, and its accompanying 11-minute short film.

Still toting that same hi-octane sound that consistently threatens to shatter speakers and tear down walls, the attitude that screams through their music hides away when chatting to Brendan, a cool nonchalance echoing through every studious answer. To reach the point of his on-stage presence, stomping and clattering amidst the band’s maelstrom is a masterclass in just loving tunes.

“In a lot of ways, my attitude is very open to trying new things and open to all kinds of inspirations,” he reasons. “I think listening

license; instead, it’s a perfectly syncopated, albeit the occasional failure to start, embracing of a love for music.

The same reason people, say, pick up music magazines to see what the hot goss is: there’s an overwhelming higher power that just keeps you hooked.

“The group having a wide range of music that we all like, and I think everyone likes different things,” Brendan ponders. “But at the same time, when we come together, not everything works all the time. When it does work, a lot of times, it’s not anything that necessarily would be expected on paper, but it feels good to everyone

“My attitude is very open to trying new things” Brendan Yates

to music as well, I love being able to find inspiration in things that are so far from things that I’ve experienced already in my life musically.

There’s a lot of invisible dots to connect with music and the way that people relate to it. It’s always exciting to find those dots and connect them, and everyone connects those dots in different ways, I feel.”

Dots are a recurring theme in Brendan’s mind. It’s this metaphorical dot-to-dot which is the reason nothing Turnstile put their name to feels like a troubled birth.

There’s no push and pull of these ideas floating around their collective heads, no exorcism of rotating heads and digressing creative

because we all sometimes unexplainably connect to whatever the idea is. That’s the idea that’s always worth seeing through and trying to bring into life, even if it’s not typically that groundwork musically, it’s not already laid out as far as something we’ve already done.”

‘GLOW ON’ is a perfect example of all these rotating cogs clicking into place.

An album that’s still deeply rooted in hardcore, it’s the arresting moments that steer away from their homestead that are most interesting. They not only defy expectation but lay the metaphorical plank of wood between cement blocks and jump till it snaps. Within,

you’ll find an embracing of Latin grooves to get your hips swinging (‘Wild Wrld’), light touches of shimmering indie (‘Underwater Boi’, ‘New Heart Design’), and a healthy embrace of piano for a melodic cherry on the cake. That’s not to mention the two collaborations with Blood Orange, aka Mr Indie Exploder himself, Dev Hynes (‘Alien Love Call’, ‘Lonely Dezires’).

“Before I even knew Dev, that’s something that I always admired,” Brendan mentions on Dev’s musical elasticity. “I saw the way that he operates and it kind of made me think I could see that connecting of the dots happening a lot of times, and the kind of true love for making things, not necessarily...just kind of in a free way. I think that’s probably why I became such a big fan.”

Both as an individual and as a band, it must take strength to take such ardent strides. “There’s always some sort of level of sensitivity to try to make something that can be connected to,” Brendan admits. “Everyone has a different frame of reference for music, and how they hope for bands to do certain things.”

The key in Turnstile’s eyes is just being who they are, admittedly a fact that most bands tote when it comes to releasing an album, but you can’t help but buy into their version of it. Especially when they’ve had to break through the surly world of hardcore, which can be, at best, unforgiving, and at worst, isolating.

“The important thing for us has been maintaining just who we are as people and musicians,” he muses. “I think if anything, the hardcore scene allows freedom to be who you are; musically express yourself in a way that sometimes doesn’t always fall into a perfect music category.

It’s less about the sound of a band and more about the idea and the culture that works around whatever you’re doing.”

Upset 33

The reality of knowing that you can’t please everyone, so why even bother, is one that’s very real to Turnstile. Even Brendan knows he can’t connect to every piece of music committed to tape, but the difference for him is that it lies in that grander image, that higher power of looking at something for its resonance. “I always appreciate finding things where I feel like it’s something that is true to that group or whoever it is,” he says. “This helps to maintain that idea.”

Thriving within said

34 Upset

idea, the components of Turnstile aren’t shy of hard work. Not content with being a part of this blistering group, they’ve all got their hands in equally as rambunctious projects.

Particularly Brendan, whose outings always embark on the adventure of experimentation, often taking up roles away from his front and centre positioning. But this taste for excursions often comes with a price.

“With every album I’ve ever been a part of, there’s always a lot of uncertainty, and in some

ways a little insecurity,” he explains. “But it’s always in the back of your mind because a lot of times, it’s going with your gut making a song in the first place. If you trust that, that’s the most important thing, but with anything, it comes with exposing yourself to a certain level of vulnerability. I think that’s the thing that keeps things exciting and keeps us wanting to make music in the first place.”

“Sometimes that can be dangerous,” he admits to the flip side. “You try it out, and it doesn’t work at all because of one

reason or another you can’t explain. There are some things we’ve made before where the idea feels amazing, and before it’s even a song, we play it one time live, and after the show, suddenly we can never play that again.

It didn’t work, and I don’t know why it didn’t feel right. And then there are other things that just click. It’s not necessarily having a formula, but just chasing anything that can click for us.

Getting together and if it clicks, it’s probably worth

“The hardcore scene allows freedom to be who you are” Brendan Yates

embracing and trying to bring to life.”

As in life, there’s only so much you can do.

These higher powers that drive us into loving or hating certain things are wont to have their way. Knowing that there’s only so much you can do, and especially as a band, never knowing if you’ll get to make one more album or ten, and what they’ll sound like, leads Brendan to the Turnstile ethos: “It’s unplanned, a natural process of letting things happen as they will.”

Barrelling down their highway, grabbing the things they need

along the way, and the occasional hitch-hiker too, Brendan affirms, “There’s no end destination either. Every goal is not like an upward movement; it’s like a side to side or forward movement that, as long as it feels like something, as long as I feel like that ball is rolling, it’s just like, appreciate existing in it, you know?” P Turnstile’s album ‘GLOW ON’ is out 27th August.

Upset 35

36 Upset

This month, festivals come back with a bang. After the success of Download Pilot, we’ve got the likes of Reading & Leeds, Slam Dunk and ALT+LDN in our diaries. Here’s what you can expect if you’re heading back to the front.

Upset 37

UPSET RECOMMENDS...

PRINCESS NOKIA One of the festival’s main draws, Princess Nokia is a force to be reckoned with; smart, outspoken and oozing punk spirit.

BVDLVD Coming up through trap metal and emo-rap, BVDLVD (pronounced Bad Lad) is pioneering new sounds like no one’s business

ON THE LINE-UP

BOB VYLAN There once was a time where festivals stayed in their lane. The rock kids went to one, the indie kids to another, etcetera etcetera. Not so much now. In this genrefree, all vibes era, the streams of musical influence cross at will. This summer’s inaugural ALT+LDN shows that, with its mix of riffs and beats looking far more like the alternative scene of the near future. And if we’re talking about acts we want to build a whole new musical civilisation around, where better to start than Bob Vylan?

Words: Jamie MacMillan. Photos: Derek Bremner.

A

s if we needed any more reasons to be excited about the return of live music, one of the biggest buzzes is finally getting to see those artists who got us really excited throughout lockdown. High on that list is Bob Vylan, the London grime-punk duo that dropped one of the most incendiary releases in recent years with

38 Upset

their ferocious ‘We Live Here’ EP. Early festival spots and some unmissable tour dates are confirming everything that we already knew. One of those precious acts with the ability to stop you in your tracks, Bob Vylan are proof that the live experience is irreplaceable.

Visceral, unforgettable, vital, communal. So, a few days before their tour kicked off and ahead of their set at new London festival, ALT+LDN -

we caught up with the pair to see what was going down.

Sitting down over Zoom, the pair are in full chill mode before the madness begins.

It only takes about a minute before the conversation between Bobby (frontman) and Bobbie (drums) goes off on a tangent and leaves us behind. Bobby gives us both a full calorific breakdown and review of a new protein shake that he’s trying, so much so that Sainsbury’s really should chuck him some money. “Vegan, tastes like a Terry’s Chocolate Orange, PENG!” is his glowing review, before moaning about the heft of the glass bottle. As the environmental benefits of using glass is debated, and how pollution is more the fault of big companies rather than individual consumers anyway, we slowly move our Starbucks mug out of view of the camera and knock over an entire pint of water across the living room floor anyway. Like the professional we are, we ignore it, and the conversation moves swiftly on.

“Talking about music festivals, did anyone watch that space rocket launch yesterday?” says Bobby, intriguingly. Bobbie, not a fan of the Musks and Bezos of the world, it’s safe to say, bemoans that space exploration is now all about money and not scientific progress. “I’m not having him pop up to space while his fucking employees can’t go for a piss,” he says. As the debate goes back and forth, we’re ten minutes into our chat and have barely mentioned music. And it’s great. Knowledgeable, opinionated, excitable, a bit intense to keep up with, the pair are pretty much the same as their EP - just minus the righteous fury, for now at least. We ponder who’ll be the first people to play a gig in space. “Could be us, man,” grins Bobbie, before realising the more likely truth. “Nah, it’s gonna be Bono bruv. U2!”

Cackling, Bobby agrees.”100% that motherfucker will get up there, bro… right, let’s talk about what we need to talk

THE DETAILS WARGASM This pair shouldn’t need any introduction by now; they’ve long been one of the buzziest up-and-coming rock bands on the scene.

DATES 30th August LOCATION Clapham Common, London LINE-UP The Kid Laroi, Finn Askew, Architects, Chase Atlantic, Sleep Token, ZAND, Willow Kayne, Lil Yachty, YXNGXR1, Sam Wise, Dana Dentata, Playboi Carti, Machine Gun Kelly, Girli

Upset 39

about.” And we’re off.

With tour just a week and a bit away at this point, there is a mix of excitement and nervousness in the pair. After the last year and a half and everything it brought, there is also a sense of not wanting to get carried away just yet - with a festival appearance beforehand, they just want to get through without the dreaded ping, or worse. “If one of these fucking bastards gets me ill…” laughs Bobby. Hitting the road with Witch Fever and Zand, it’s an exciting mix of acts that are set to sweep the old punk guard out with a sturdy broom. We begin by chatting about the oddness of being a band that broke big over lockdown, and what firsttime gig-goers can expect.

That answer is probably a little different to what they might expect.

“I think people will often neglect to see the nuances of our personality through the music,” says Bobby. “I think they assume that everything is just angry ALL of the time.

Like, RAARAGHGH, every single second. And it’s not the case at all.” Describing some of the playful elements of their live show, they both get increasingly animated.

“The amount of times where people say ‘oh, you guys are actually really nice’,” laughs Bobby, “People say some crazy, wild things about what they assumed we would be as opposed to what we actually are?” There’s a healthy sense of self-awareness between the pair, being massively aware of how they are often portrayed in interviews as pure rage merchants. “We get it, they gotta get people to click or buy the magazine,” grins Bobby, “So they’re always gonna lead with the most clickbait-y thing.”

To be honest, though, you could easily forgive them for being angry all the time. ‘We Live Here’ deals with some of the very ugly and very real elements that run through modern Britain. Racism, police brutality, how the working classes are treated, it’s all running through every second

40 Upset

of their music. Crazily, it seemed to make the actual release of the EP trickier initially after what they describe as having their music called “too extreme” by many in the industry. It all feels very different now, of course, but Bobby has spoken in the past of his frustration at having his voice ignored until Big Business began to sense how the landscape was changing in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movements around the globe. Are they ever frustrated at now being talked about as ‘the band of now’

visible.” Bobby’s more worried that if they’re thought of as the band of ‘now’, that it means that one day they won’t. “Good music will just be good music, even if the times and social culture changes,” he points out. “Plenty of music from back in the fucking day, forty years ago, is?”

Attacking that classic punk sound from a completely new angle is what helps to make Bob Vylan stand apart from the host of bands that are currently being swept up in this latest wave of punk and post-punk acts. “The aim for

“If you look at what is hailed as the new voice of punk music or whatever, that shit just looks the same as it did” Bobby Vylan

when they were just as good and relevant two years ago?

“I know what you’re saying; I’ve seen it framed in various ways,” agrees Bobby. “We have seen so much injustice, and then this music speaks to that. So people are connecting the two, but it’s not new?

Some bands’ next albums will no doubt be reactionary to it all, whereas we live it.”

Bobbie concurs. “I think now people are recognising ‘oh wait, racism does happen’,” he says, “And it’s not that it didn’t happen. But people recognise it now because it’s so easily

us has always been to say that the punk that you knew is not necessarily the punk that is now,” states Bobby.

“If you look at what is hailed as the new voice of punk music or whatever, that shit just looks the same as it did.

They might have ditched the leather jackets, or spiky green mohawks or whatever. They might have been to university.

But it still just ain’t that much different than it was? It’s still the same group of guys in a band, talking about something that they haven’t even necessarily lived through. It’s

just whack. We want to be the anti-that. The counter-that.”

It’s a huge reason why they’ve invited Witch Fever and Zand with them on tour, two more artists that challenge the tired old White Men With Guitars tropes. “They’re the new punk that we’re talking about!” says Bobby excitedly, “Obviously, Witch Fever’s set-up is more traditional, but their new stuff that is coming out, you can hear influences from different things. And of course, with it not being an all-male band, I just think that is what punk is now. It’s more inclusive. And Zand just makes fucking crazy dope music; it’s SICK!” “You have to create space,” says Bobbie softly, before Bobby continues.

“100%. And then hopefully, when Witch Fever and Zand do their tours, they then bring people with them that they think aligns with them. And again continues to change the idea of what it means to be a punk musician or band, whatever that means today.

Like, if we take to the stage in jogging bottoms or tracksuits and that, it’s still punk? Some people are welcoming to that, and others are obviously a bit ‘Let’s Make Punk Punk Again’.

Fuck that, mate.”

Our chat naturally leads on from a rose-tinted view of the past to how it always takes something seismic for the majority of the country to realise what many have been shouting about for years. As the national reaction to the actions taken by police at the Sarah Everard vigil in the summer is brought up, and how different the response was to similar scenes of police brutality against Black people around the world, the pair get, rightfully, fired up. “I’m just gonna say that some people need it to touch home,” agrees Bobby. “Because otherwise, it’s a ‘their problem’ rather than an ‘our problem’. We understand it, ‘we’ might be getting it now. But they’ll find a reason, and then ‘you’ll’ get it too. Some white woman gets dragged around at a protest?

Then it becomes an issue.”

Bobbie nods, taking over. “It’s

hard, you wanna think that people will just accept what you’re saying, even if they can’t necessarily relate to it?” he says, “Next time something is told to you, you need to take it onboard more, give it the time of day. Because it just felt like it [police brutality] has been discounted for so long.

It’s not something that’s new; it’s something that has been my whole life. I’ve always told people about it, but nobody cared about it much until there was an incident where they could relate it to them.” “It just became so VISCERAL that people couldn’t deny it,” chips in Bobby, the pair now finishing each other’s sentences. “The average person always thinks ‘well that person must have done something wrong’. Why are we forced to comply with a fascist regime? Why should I HAVE to comply with somebody that is trying to initiate me, trying to skip me when I’m just going about my day? That. Is. Not. New.” We are so far beyond our allotted interview time by now, but the pair don’t care. “Let’s just log out and in again,” Bobby offers, so we go again.

They are so engaging about whatever subject is thrown at them you feel like you could chat for hours. We talk about who they’re excited to see on the road and at festivals, and the list is long and varied.

Princess Nokia, Ski Mask, Stormzy, Ghetts. They reel off names excitedly, full of buzz to be doing what they do best again. Connecting with their fans, winning over new onlookers. Each Bob Vylan gig traditionally ends in a big group hug, and with Reading & Leeds on the horizon, is that set to be the biggest one yet? “Might be a bit Covid-y that one,” cackles Bobby, but Bobbie’s not worried.

“That’s our last day anyway,” he grins. “Hopefully nobody gets ill,” finishes the frontman somewhat more seriously, “But as an embrace, a moment of community, and solidarity and a shared experience? That’s incredible.” The group hug of all group hugs awaits then.

Don’t miss it. P

Upset 41

UPSET RECOMMENDS...

NOVA TWINS Everyone’s fave twosome, and with one of the albums of 2020, Nova Twins are always worth catching whenever and wherever they appear.

42 Upset

KENNYHOOPLA Fresh of the back of his new mixtape ‘Survivors Guilt’ featuring a collab with Travis Barker - KennyHoopla is making a rare trip to the UK.

ON THE LINE-UP

iDKHOW Like every major festival, Reading & Leeds has had a bit of fun with the lineup this year as bands from outside the UK - especially from the other side of the Atlantic - have found themselves having to cancel their slots. Fingers crossed, that’s not something that former Upset cover stars I Don’t Know How But They Found Me have had to do, yet. We caught up with them for a pre-match briefing ahead of the big event.

Hello Dallon! How’s it going? What’ve you been up to today?

Hello yourself. Swimmingly.

And I’m doing a bit of writing.

We’re approaching a year since the release of your debut album, what have you been up to since then? How have you been spending time during lockdown?

Dying to get back onstage,

since we couldn’t tour, but our fans were there, and we had great support on the radio. So watching ‘Leave Me Alone’ go to number one on the US Alt charts was very unexpected. We’re pretty excited to get back to playing shows (safely, of course).

mostly. Aside from that, we’ve been trying to promote ‘Razzmatazz’ via email and zoom meetings which has been interesting.

It’s been to be at home with the family during all this.

You’re coming over to the UK for some shows soon, do you have a good idea about any extra restrictions you’ll have to contend with, or is it still pretty unknown?

There are a lot of answers we still don’t have, but we are hoping for the best, and encouraging everyone to be vaccinated and keep wearing masks, even if they’re not required. This thing isn’t over quite yet.

How did not being able to tour properly impact the release? Have you missed getting out to see people?

I’m not exactly sure. I think we were all expecting it to be released in a vacuum,

Do you have anything special planned for the sets?

No. (I was going to list all of the special things, but I thought this would be funnier.)

What led to booking Will Joseph Cook for support at your headline dates?

I’m just a big fan of his music. Whenever we have an opportunity to choose an opening act, I prefer it to be something I enjoy, and want our fans to know about. I think Will is great!

Is there anything you’re looking forward to doing while you’re in the UK? We always look forward to performing in the UK. The fans there are incredible. I’m hoping to find a moment for Nando’s and maybe a Greggs vegan sausage roll or two.

Who are you most excited to see live yourself once you can? Any lockdown discoveries you’re eager to check out?

The Flaming Lips are playing Salt Lake City this summer.

I’m really looking forward to that show. I’m a massive fan, but I’ve only seen them once before. It was incredible.

What else have you got coming up? Any exciting plans in the works?

I’ve dug myself pretty deep into writing mode. I’d like to have a record written soon. I don’t feel like it’s far off. How long it takes to get recorded may be a different story. P

THE DETAILS YUNGBLUD Obviously you’re going to see Yungblud, right? The former Upset cover star is currently performing in support of his latest album, ‘Weird!’.

DATES 27th-29th August LOCATION Richfield Avenue Reading + Bramham Park Leeds LINE-UP Boston Manor, Yonaka, JXDN, Fever 333, Creeper, Gender Roles, HO99O9, Biffy Clyro, Hot Milk, Wolf Alice, Spiritbox, Bob Vylan

Upset 43

UPSET RECOMMENDS...

TRASH BOAT A band called Trash Boat, you say? With a new album called ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’? Never heard of them.

WATERPARKS Flying high with new album ‘Greatest Hits’ now out in the world, you won’t be able to avoid Awsten and co. anyway.

ON THE LINE-UP

LOATHE For a festival that has always had to focus on a certain amount of acts from across the pond, Slam Dunk has had more problems than most with the events of the past year or so. There’s a bright spark to be found underneath it all, though, in an opportunity to showcase some of the UK’s brightest stars across the spectrum of heavier music. And when it comes to that galaxy of talent, very few shine brighter than Loathe.

Hey Erik. How have you been spending time during lockdowns?

Listening to lots of new (and old) music. Rehearsing properly for what seems like the first time, writing, being together as a band.

Enjoying our time creating and experiencing newer pathways and avenues within that time.

44 Upset

How has not being able to tour properly over the past year or so impacted you?

It’s affected us all in different ways I’d say, the time away has helped with reflection - being able to step back well and truly helped us appreciate what we have created together and what we are embarking on.

Were there any events you were especially sad about missing out on?

We had quite the schedule lined up prior to the world shutting down, so I’d say everything we were supposed to do.

When was the last time you performed live? How was it?

We actually got the amazing opportunity to perform at the Download Festival Pilot earlier this year in June. That was surreal, to be back on stage after over 12 or so months off was an incredible feeling.

Something we won’t forget in a hurry.

Are you ready for festival season to kick back into gear properly? Have you had much time to rehearse?

Absolutely, the past 12 months, we have been honing in on our craft.

Perfecting what we do and challenging ourselves in more ways that one when it comes to the live environment. Eager to return to normality.

Are you having to take any extra pandemic-led precautions to play your upcoming dates?

We’re being cautious with our activity, but really it’s just staying in line with testing and proof of negative status, that’s all.

You’re performing at Slam Dunk soon, are there any other acts on the bill you’re looking forward to seeing or catching up with?

Can’t wait to see Static Dress, Blood Youth, Hello Goodbye.

Do you have anything special planned for your set?

Come and find out.

What else have you got coming up? Any exciting plans in the works?

Always working. New expressions incoming. P

THE DETAILS NOAHFINNCE Bratty, in-your-face punk that’s a whole heap of fun; expect big things to come from up-and-comer NOAHFINNCE.

DATES 4th-5th September LOCATION Leeds Temple Newsam, Hatfield Park LINE-UP Creeper, Alkaline Trio, While She Sleeps, Bury Tomorrow, Funeral For A Friend, Mayday Parade, Wargasm, We Are The In Crowd

Upset 45

ON THE LINE-UP

STATIC DRESS Fast making a name from Slam Dunk’s northern home of Leeds, Static Dress are a must-see-rightnow if ever there was one.

Hi Oli! How have you been spending time during lockdowns?

A lot of the pandemic for me has turned into a blur; I feel like I’ve lost months of my life at a time whilst working between projects.

I’ve learnt a lot about myself personally and focused on trying to improve my output on the people around me and life in general.

When was the last time you performed live? How was it?

We recently just played the Download Festival pilot, and we got the chance to play in front of thousands of people on a Sunday morning which in itself felt like a massive deal.

The experience was pretty overwhelming for me personally, and unfortunately, due to health conditions, the set was a little tougher than anticipated, but to even step on a stage in front of 46 Upset

so many people was a huge moment in itself.

How has not being able to tour properly over the past year or so impacted you?

Last year was meant to be our year of finally getting out there and touring the world, but obviously, with COVID happening, that dream was unfortunately blocked... But I’m positive!

I am a firm believer that opportunities will always come back around if you keep putting the work in.

You’re performing at Slam Dunk soon, are there any other acts on the bill you’re looking forward to seeing or catching up with?

I’m really excited to catch Alkaline Trio, Dollskin, Malevolence and Loathe.

Do you have anything special planned for your set?

With it being outdoors, I feel you get limited in the theatrics that can be achieved without it looking like a Wacky Warehouse, but we feel as a band we really come to life in a live setting. A lot of people who are into our music haven’t had the chance to see us yet, so it feels like they’re really going to see us in our true essence.

Are you ready for festival season to kick back into gear properly? Have you had much time to rehearse?

I can’t wait for festival season. Getting to see all the people I’ve missed seeing for like two years is going to feel so good! We’ve been working as hard as we can to make sure we are in the best position we can be for when everything comes back in full force.

Are you having to take any extra pandemic-led precautions to play your upcoming dates?

I’m not really a fan of sit down/distanced shows - it feels more like a comedy club than a rock show, so we as a band rather focus on creating out of this world live stream events. We can rejoin the real world when the time is right to do so.

What else have you got coming up?

I can’t say much right now as I don’t want to make shadowed promises on things that may not happen, but I’m sure people who appreciate this band and its art will really dig what’s coming. P

to be intensely emotional for me.

When was the last time you performed live? How was it?

We were out in Japan and Australia in February 2020.

They were our first shows without Ben, and we didn’t realise they would be our last shows with Foley. They were, however, a whole lot of fun, and apart from the evening that I spent overnight at a hospital in Sydney, I would love to relive everything about that tour.

ON THE LINE-UP

AS IT IS Now effectively Brit-rock-royalty themselves, As It Is are on the verge of something exciting and new.

Hello Patty! How’s it going? What’ve you been up to today?

Hello there. Personally, it’s going particularly well today, because I was reunited with my best friend and bandmate Ronnie Ish yesterday - it’s the first time we’ve seen each other since February 2020 - and it was the warm and fuzzy reunion that I’d hoped it would be. Today, however, we’re not doing a whole lot else besides catching up, iced coffees and horror movies.

How have you been spending time during lockdowns?

So I picked up a few new hobbies, and promptly put

them back down, never to touch or look at them ever again. I learnt approximately forty words in Japanese because I abandoned learning any new language for the foreseeable.

I suppose I’ve been exercising and eating better lately, which feels pretty cool, at least for now. Mostly though, I just hung out with my fiancée and our pets every day, living the same day over and over again mostly, and it was lovely.

You’re performing at Slam Dunk soon, are there any other acts on the bill you’re looking forward to seeing or catching up with?

We’re definitely all looking forward to a long-overdue reunion with our friends in Roam, Waterparks, Trash Boat, Mayday Parade, State Champs, With Confidence and Doll Skin.

Do you have anything

special planned for your set?

We’ll be playing a couple of our new songs for the very first time, and I honestly can’t wait to perform these ones live. Apart from that, if running around on the main stage doesn’t make me collapse from exhaustion, that’ll honestly be pretty special too, fingers crossed on that one.

How has not being able to tour properly over the past year or so impacted you?

It was hell. I won’t sugarcoat it; mentally, I was terribly unwell and still am, but I’m working on that. I missed my job very much, so much so that I actually stopped listening to music completely; it became a really painful reminder that our industry was hurting and that I had no idea when I’d next be seeing the band, our crew, our friends or our fans. So, Slam Dunk is going

Are you ready for festival season to kick back into gear properly?

We haven’t been under one roof since those shows in Japan and Australia, so I’m still looking to that opportunity in the fastapproaching future. In the meantime, I’m going to continue going for long runs and practising our setlist alone in my bedroom.

Are you having to take any extra pandemic-led precautions to play your upcoming dates?

I warmly welcomed both vaccines into my arm, and I’ll be re-entering the UK as safely and responsibly as possible. It’s still a little scary and strange for me to imagine playing shows again, but I’ve missed it terribly, and I can’t wait to pick up where we left off.

What else have you got coming up? Any exciting plans in the works?

All that new music we were writing and recording throughout the pandemic is slowly trickling out into the world. We’re extremely proud of it all, and we couldn’t be more excited to share these songs and this record with everyone. P

Upset 47

Rated.

THE OFFICIAL VERDICT ON EVERYTHING

Caskets Lost Souls

eeeee

Leedsbased newcomers Caskets’ debut album is nothing if not dynamic. Teaming up with producer Dan Weller whose work includes releases from Bury Tomorrow, Enter Shikari and Holding Absence amongst others - ‘Lost Souls’ is an album that cuts through the background noise. Sure, there’s all the heavy riffs you’d expect, but they’re set off with more subtle, emotional moments too.

Last year’s single ‘Glass Heart’ has that stop-andtake-notice wow factor, while ‘Lost In Echoes’ sounds positively anthemic A strong first full-length from a band of definite promise. Dan Harrison

The Dead Deads Tell Your Girls It’s Alright

Meet Me @ The Altar

Model Citizen EP

eeeee

48 Upset

Before their debut EP had even arrived, it had largely become an Unwritten But Official Music Law to refer to Meet Me @ The Altar as the future of pop-punk.

Signed to Fueled by Ramen, the hype has been growing exponentially. That’s a hell of a lot of pressure for the American trio to live up to; thankfully for everybody, it is a pressure that they breeze past without a care in the world. Phew.

‘Model Citizen’, all six breathless, punchy tracks of it, is a blast of warm air blowing tired old tropes away. There’s something about the band’s decision to rework the entire EP from scratch just before it was due that adds an urgency and cohesion to it, making it feel all of one solid piece rather than a mere collection of good songs. From the

opening clash between 16bit computer sounds into the crunching pop-punk guitar of ‘Feel A Thing’, it feels both all-new and classic in sound. Anxieties ripple to the surface in moments of stark honesty, but alongside them a sense that this is a band who have somehow manifested their own dreams of success.

There are ready-made anthems here, songs for those lost and for those searching for their own paths - a promise that the future can be made better.

Everything about ‘Model Citizen’ feels like A Grand Entrance, the confirmation that all that potential is being realised but Is still only a promise of what could be. Don’t call them the future of pop-punk anymore; they’re the big thing right now. Jamie MacMillan

eeeee

‘Tell Your Girls It’s Alright’ may be one of the most ambitious albums of the year.

Awesome guitar riffs?

Check. Accordion backing track? Check. A campy musical theatre-esque interlude? Uh ... check.

There truly is something for everyone on this whopping sixteen track release. It’s a fantastic fusion of practically every alternative subgenre. Grunge, pop-rock, and indie meld together to create something great. Full of superb storytelling and fun lyrics, this band has created something dead good. They truly are a group to watch out for. Kelsey McClure

GLOO

How Not To Be Happy

eeeee

We’ve all had enough, right? A year and a half of hard stuff is enough to have anyone looking for a sweet escape from the day to day. A half hour blast of fullpower rebellion, GLOO’s second album ‘How Not To Be Happy’ proves they’re a band here for a good time. Opener ‘I Can’t Hear Myself Think’ sets a tempo that never lets up ripping the band aid off and jumping in feet first. While their peers may keep straight faces and look for a higher plane, GLOO understand there’s more to life than that.

Turn it loud, let down your hair, and prepare to have a whole lot of fun. Dan Harrison

The Joy Formidable Into The Blue

eeeee

These days, The Joy Formidable write, record and produce their own music without outside interference, releasing a good deal exclusively of it to their online fan club. That independence and a new sense of purpose re-energised the trio on last record ‘Aaarth’, a kaleidoscopic adventure through their past to a powerful present. On new LP ‘Into the Blue’ the band gets a bit stuck. The title-track is a glorious swirl of tumbling vocals and crashing waves of shoegaze guitar, but as they hark back to the cacophony of early records some of the sparkle is absent; a few tracks hang around too long without leaving enough of an impression. Heavy metal riffs and guitar histrionics abound which will please fans who love them at their loudest, but

others may miss the melancholia and melodic nous that anchors their best material. Dillon Eastoe

Press To MECO Transmute

eeeee

Sometimes bands just have to find a way to make it work. Press to MECO’s ‘Transmute’ is an album pieced together despite all the odds.

Recorded in between lockdowns in a converted 16th century hunting lodge, the band built their own studio out of anything they could lay their hands on.

Coming out of a self-declared low period, it’s the perfect metaphor for a band willing to fight for what they believe in.

From the anthemic crunch of ‘Another Day’, the satisfying punch of ‘Smouldering Sticks’ and the blistering, machine-gun blast of ‘Sabotage’, nothing about ‘Transmute’ suggests Press to MECO are leaving anything on the table. They’re all in, rolling the dice but stacking the odds in their favour as best they can. A great album from a band that inspire in more mays than one. Dan Harrison

Strange Bones

England Screams

eeeee

Blackpool noisemakers Strange Bones deliver their first fulllength release in a six-year career with the loud and abrasive ‘England Screams’, a full-throttle, balls-tothe-wall record that pins you down and unleashes torrents of venomous sound upon you, whether you asked for it or not.

Raucous vocalist Bobby Bentham works alongside his two brothers and close friend to utilise biting lyricisms in a world-building conquest of a

seismic scale. The record precariously balances light and dark, order and chaos, the old and the new; extremes are pushed in every direction with no second thoughts and no hesitation. The weight of each slashing note is incremented by the sheer debauchery of each sonic addition, but they are pulled along with a swagger that leaves no holds barred. It’s a bone-crushing journey; how many will survive it is yet to be seen. Finlay Holden

Trash Boat

Don’t You Feel Amazing?

eeeee

Trash Boat haven’t ever been slouches.

Across their previous two albums, they’ve more than made the grade, mixing melody and lyricism to prove their mettle as one of the UK’s very best rock hopes. ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ isn’t any of that though. It’s so, so much more.

From its opening title-track, this is a record setting out a whole new stall. Robust, propulsive and determined, it’s a band hitting hard and direct - an exposed nerve to the world around them.

While peers scrabble around to find a way to evolve, only to end up feeling inauthentic or fake, Trash Boat’s latest mutation

feels anything but. From growl of ‘Silence Is Golden’ to the beats and riffs of ‘Bad Entertainment’ (featuring Wargasm’s Milkie Way), there’s nothing cheap or forced here. Even the quieter moments cut through - ‘All I Can Never Be’ providing a subdued but welcome juxtaposition to the crashing waves around it.

Amazing doesn’t go far enough.

Dan Harrison

Turnstile GLOW ON

eeeee

Turnstile aren’t sticking within the lines. That’s the message of ‘GLOW ON’ - an album that continues to push into the new ground explored on 2019’s ‘TIME & SPACE’. Pulling from across the musical spectrum, there’s pop hooks and infectious energy to spare, from the crunch of ‘HOLIDAY’ to the wailing guitars of opener ‘MYSTERY’. Two appearances from the acclaimed Blood Orange only go to prove that Turnstile understand the new landscape of rock. The old boundaries are no more attitude is everything now. With a record like ‘GLOW ON’, they’re making their own rules now.

Long may it continue. Dan Harrison

Upset 49

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

WITH... KID BRUNSWICK

Sum 41

Walking Disaster

I grew up listening to ‘Underclass Hero’, the album that this song was released on.

This song really spoke to me, as a kid, I had a lot of anger and destructive tendencies.

The raw lyrics, fast-paced rage and energy connected very personally.

Travis Scott Impossible

For a year or so, I lived at my friend’s grandmother’s house in the “west”.

We used to play this song as we were rolling up before other people would come round.

The introduction of the keys sounds like a 70s horror film.

Love this tune.

Mac Miller

Objects In The Mirror

My personal favourite from one of my favourite artists ever. The lyrics still make me tear up. Not many songs have made me feel the way this song does.

The Smiths

How Soon Is Now?

My first introduction to indie music was this song.

I remember hearing the vibrating guitar of Johnny Marr, Morrissey’s psychedelic chanting vocal, and I was instantly hooked. I only listened to The Smiths for the next six months.

sick of hearing Kurt repeat the mosh pit than I was to this song. same lyric over and over.

Kanye West

Blood On The Leaves

I was about 14 years old, ‘Yeezus’ had just come out. I got a ticket to see Kanye at Wireless Festival in London.

Nirvana At the end of his set, ‘Blood Something In The Way On The Leaves’ starts to play.

The most haunting song that Kanye tells the crowd to open I’ve heard. This song still feels up a pit. Three pits open up like a drug to me. Even after all near the front. Still to this day, these years, I have never got I have never been in a bigger 50 Upset

Linkin Park

Somewhere I Belong

This track defined my childhood. I replayed this album Furthest Thing endlessly, my teens and even My favourite song off my now. The emotional lyrics, the favourite album from my sustained guitars, Chester’s favourite artist of my early vocal development throughout teen years. This era of Drake the song and Mike’s storytelling was his best, in my opinion; are perfect. My favourite song ‘Nothing Was The Same’ still sounds like it was just released from the ‘Meteora’ LP. P today. Best song to listen to during or after a breakup with Kid Brunswick’s mixtape your first love.

‘XForever’ is out now.

Drake

Subscribe to Upset upsetmagazine.com