DIY, October 2014

1

2 diymag.com

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4

GOOD VS EVIL

WHAT’S ON THE DIY TEAM’S RADAR?

Victoria

Sinden

Deputy Editor

GOOD The

DIY all-dayer is

less than one

month away -

the countdown

begins.

EVIL When

the release of

an album you’re

looking forward

to is put back.

Bah.

..............................

Emma Swann

Reviews Editor

GOOD The new

Weezer album

makes my heart

soar, it’s that

brilliant.

EVIL They’ve still

not announced

any UK tour

dates.

..............................

Sarah

Jamieson

News Editor

GOOD Visiting

New York just as

a Central Perk

pop-up opened

was probably

the best decision

I’ve accidentally

made.

EVIL I am not

ready for it to

be autumn

already…

..............................

Louise

Mason

Art Director

GOOD I get paid

to throw food in

pop stars’ faces

EVIL I’ve run out

of orange pixels,

can someone post

me some more?

..............................

Jamie Milton

Online Editor

GOOD I dreamt

up an entire

Grimes album.

It was great (call

me, Def Jam).

EVIL I keep

singing the pan

pipe solos from

the Alt-J album

in my sleep,

apparently.

EDITOR’S LETTER

You might think working on a music magazine is all fun and games, and it is - until

the artist on your cover puts their album back three months just 72 hours before

you’re due in the printers. While writing this, steam rises from laptop keyboards,

the kettle in the DIY bunker is on overdrive, and I’m pretty sure there’s someone

sobbing quietly in a corner as we reshuffle this issue. But it’s fine. We forgive you

Charli XCX. After all, when ‘Sucker’ finally drops it will be the undisputed Most Fun

Album of 2015. This isn’t just the (delayed) arrival of a pop star, but quite probably

the Queen of them all. Bow down.

Stephen Ackroyd

GOOD Superfood’s album is out next month and it’s really really good.

EVIL Why are there spiders the size of cats living outside my house?! Argh!

LISTENING POST

What’s on the DIY

stereo this month?

FRYARS

power

Several years in the making, Fryars’

daring new album isn’t short of

ambition (and interludes - so many

interludes).

The Xcerts

There Is Only You

If there was a list of ‘Scottish bands

with 2014 albums which sound really

huge’, there’d be no shortage of

contenders. With their new one, The

Xcerts probably top the lot.

EMAIL OF

THE MONTH

“Thanks for posting the

Volcano Choir video. I

work with the agency

that produced and

directed the video and

I was hoping you could

change the name of

the director to “Kyle

Buckley” as it currently

is wrong and says Dyle

Duckley. Thank you!”

3

C

O

N

T

E

N

T

S

NEWS

6 #STANDFORSOMETHING

10 PHILIP SELWAY

12 DIY PRESENTS TOUR

17 FALL OUT BOY

19 ICEAGE

20 SIVU

22 SLIPKNOT

24 MERCURY PRIZE

26 JOHNNY MARR

28 PEAKING LIGHTS

33

NEU

30 PALACE

32 GENGAHR

34 KID WAVE

36 TĀLĀ

Editor Stephen Ackroyd

Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden

Reviews Editor Emma Swann

News Editor Sarah Jamieson

Art Director Louise Mason

Head Of Marketing & Events

Jack Clothier

Online Editor Jamie Milton

Assistant Online Editor

El Hunt

Contributors: Alex Lynham,

Andy Crowder, Anna Byrne,

Carolina Faruolo, Charlie

Mock, David Zammitt, Greta

Geoghegan, Hayley Fox, Henry

Boon, Hugh Morris, James

West, Joe Price, Joe Sweeting,

Kyle MacNeill, Liam McNeilly,

Matthew Davies, Tim Lee,

Tom Connick, Tom Walters,

Will Moss

50

FEATURES

38 CHARLI XCX

46 WEEZER

50 JESSIE WARE

76

38

54 LOWER THAN ATLANTIS

58 BEN HOWARD

62 BONDAX

54

78 58

REVIEWS

66 ALBUMS

78 LIVE

Photographers Carolina

Faruolo, Leah Henson, Matt

Richardson, Mike Massaro, Phil

Smithies, Sarah Louise Bennett

For DIY editorial

info@diymag.com

For DIY sales

rupert@sonicdigital.co.uk

tel: +44 (0)20 76130555

For DIY online sales

lawrence@sonicdigital.co.uk

tel: +44 (0)20 76130555

DIY is published by Sonic

Media Group. 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

DIY. 25p where sold.

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

Sonic Media Group holds no

responsibility. The opinions of the

contributors do not necessarily

bear a relation to those of DIY or

its staff and we disclaim liability

for those impressions. Distributed

nationally.

Cover photo by Mike Massaro

4 diymag.com

5

NEWS

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, EAGULLS AND WE ARE THE OCEAN GET READY TO

KICK OFF THIS YEAR’S

#STANDFORSOMETHING

TOUR 2014

Bags are packed, trains are booked and the UK is preparing itself for the arrival of Dr. Martens’

#STANDFORSOMETHING Tour, in association with DIY.

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND + GOD DAMN EDINBURGH, CABARET

VOLTAIRE

Having spent the majority of the year playing a smattering of shows and making a handful of festival

appearances, the main priority for Welsh five-piece Funeral For A Friend has recently been making

a new album. “We wanted to make a record that felt alive and organic without having too many

unnecessary layers, and without sacrificing what this band is,” offers frontman Matt Davies-Kreye. For

the follow-up to 2013’s ‘Conduit’, they joined Lewis Johns at The Ranch in Southampton. “Lewis really

helped us to nail that ideal,” he continues. “We wanted to capture the sound of five guys playing their

instruments, having fun and pushing themselves to make something different, something unique,

and I really think we achieved that.”

They’ve not just been looking forward either; earlier this year, the band indulged themselves in a little

04/10/14

6 diymag.com

diymag.com

THE

DATES

04/10/14

FUNERAL FOR A

FRIEND

+ God Damn

Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh

11/10/14

EAGULLS

+ Mazes

Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff

25/10/14

WE ARE THE OCEAN

+ Arcane Roots

The Shipping Forecast,

Liverpool

22/11/14

LOS CAMPESINOS!

+ Johnny Foreigner

The Flapper, Birmingham

28/11/14

TBA + TBA

London, The Black Heart

05/12/14

TONIGHT ALIVE

+ Only Rivals

Cluny 2, Newcastle

bit of nostalgia when they spent three headline shows performing their second

record ‘Hours’ in full. “It’s been fun,” Matt reaffirms. “We still play a lot of the older

songs in the set but to actually play them in a significant context is really cool. For

the longest time, ‘Hours’ has been a benchmark for me in terms of how I view our

band and it was cool to get out there and play all of it, especially as there were songs

that we had never even played live before. The final show of the tour was at the

Camden Underworld and it was amazing, so much energy, so many voices. It was

possibly the perfect show.”

They’re hoping to recreate that same energy when they perform as part of the

#STANDFORSOMETHING Tour, too. After all, there’s nothing like getting sweaty in a

venue as intimate as Cabaret Voltaire. “I love the closeness,” he confirms, “and the

feeling of being right there in the thick of it with everyone. Seeing people singing

and dancing right there with you, losing themselves in the moment… that’s what it’s

really about.” DIY

EAGULLS + MAZES CARDIFF, CLWB IFOR BACH

Taking on this year’s Cardiff leg will be those chaos-inducing punks Eagulls. Landing

in the midst of their upcoming UK tour dates, their appearance on the tour also

doubles as the first time they’ll have played the Welsh capital in well over a year,

thanks to their relentless schedule which has seen them spend the majority of 2014

performing abroad.

“It’s great to show up to the middle of nowhere in the US or EU on a weeknight to

find dedicated fans enjoying our music and expressing their love for the album,”

frontman George Mitchell reveals, on the subject of their lengthy stints in North

America and Europe. “The US has been a learning curve for the band and, at times,

an endurance test for our own well being, but it’s the crowds’ reactions to the music

each night that keeps us going and staying alive.”

The band aren’t just looking forward to returning to an audience that little bit closer

to home: it’s the size of the Clwb Ifor Bach which is also an exciting prospect. “This

year we have been playing some pretty big stages which is always great, but it’s

still the small intimate venues that we love the most as that’s where we first started

out. Having the crowd intertwined with the band will always create movement and

when there’s movement, there’s energy.” DIY

11/10/14

7

WE ARE THE OCEAN

+ ARCANE ROOTS

LIVERPOOL, THE

SHIPPING FORECAST

It’s been a while since We Are The

Ocean last headed out on the road,

but with their forthcoming UK tour

plans, and their appearance on the

#STANDFORSOMETHING Tour, things

are set to change very shortly. That’s

not to say they’ve not been working

hard; while they may not have toured in

almost a year, they have been working

on a brand new album.

“It will have been nearly a year since we

played a live show in October,” admits

the band’s Liam Cromby. “In that time

we’ve spent a lot of time writing and

crafting new sounds which has been

great but there’s nothing quite like the

experience of being on stage. It’s been

hard but it’ll be worth the wait.

“Recently, we’ve been in and out of our

local studio writing and demoing for

album four. We’ve demoed over twenty

songs now and are still going. We’re

always looking to explore new sounds

with writing, and we’re all looking

forward to getting them down.”

As for their show at The Shipping

Forecast, the band can’t wait to get

going. “I’m really looking forward to

playing the show,” Liam says. “Small

intimate shows are some of my

favourite to play just because it’s just

you and the fans: no flashing lights or

giant banners, just the music.” DIY

FIRST ON

The Dr. Martens

#STANDFORSOMETHING Tour isn’t just

about offering up the opportunity to

see some of the most exciting bands

crammed into intimate venues across

the country: it’s also a chance to

discover some new talent too, with a

selection of up-and-coming bands set

to open at each of the six shows.

First up, fresh from forming at the start

of this year, alternative rock trio Forty

Four Hours will be joining Funeral For

A Friend and God Damn in Edinburgh.

In Cardiff meanwhile, proceedings

will be opened by hometown boys

Samoans. Having already played

alongside No Devotion and Kids In

Glass Houses, the four-piece are wellprepared

for their show alongside

Eagulls and Mazes.

Then, joining We Are The Ocean and

Arcane Roots in Liverpool, there’ll

be Bad Grammar, before London

three-piece Bella Figura rendezvous

with Los Campesinos! and Johnny

Foreigner in Birmingham. Finally, last

but definitely not least, MisterNothing

will be helping end things on a high

with Tonight Alive and Only Rivals in

Newcastle.

And there’ll be that all important news

of the as-yet-to-be-announced London

show very soon - visit

diymag.com/standforsomething and

drmartens.com/standforsomethingtour

to be the first in the know. DIY

WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR,

FORTY FOUR HOURS? “There is no

plan B. Live and breathe plan A.”


SAMOANS? “We stand because

sitting is for chumps.”


BAD GRAMMAR? “Riffs & equality.”


BELLA FIGURA? “The elderly, the

disabled, and pregnant women on

public transport.”

25/10/14


MISTERNOTHING? “Being more

than what everyone expects us to be.”

WIN TICKETS

DIY has a pair of tickets for each of

the #STANDFORSOMETHING gigs

to give away - to be in with a chance

of winning, head to diymag.com now.

8 diymag.com

diymag.com

clap your hands

say yeah

electric ballroom,

london

fri 10 oct

josef salvat

the courtyard,

london

mon 20 oct

joywave

birthdays, london

tue 11 nov

motopony

dingwalls, london

fri 14 nov

banks

november

17 birmingham institute

19 O2 abc glasgow

23 O2 academy brixton

25 manchester ritz

walking on cars

dingwalls, london

thu 27 nov

breton

timber timbre

heaven, london

tue 14 oct

honours

the islington,

london

wed 29 oct

the lost

brothers

st pancras

old church, london

wed 12 nov

ballet school

the lexington,

london

wed 19 nov

joey bada$$

november

19 newcastle riverside

20 birmingham institute

21 manchester academy 2

22 brighton concorde 2

24 bristol marble factory

25 O2 shepherds bush empire

warpaint

november

29 eventim apollo hammersmith

30 O2 academy bournemouth

say lou lou

wet

the courtyard,

london

wed 15 oct

brolin

the servant

jazz quarters,

london

thu 30 oct

lykke li

eventim apollo

hammersmith,

london

thu 13 nov

broncho

/ purple

november

17 manchester castle hotel

18 london sebright arms

19 brighton the prince albert

20 bristol the exchange

the national

the O2, london

wed 26 nov

jack garratt

november

29 leeds brudenell social club

30 manchester the castle hotel

december

2 brighton the prince albert

3 birmingham hare & hounds

8 bristol the louisiana

9 nottingham bodega

‘68

heaven, london

tue 2 dec

heaven, london

thu 4 dec

borderine, london

sun 7 dec

buy tickets at livenation.co.uk

9

NEWS

“I still feel

the need

to prove

stuff”

With a second solo album due this month, and his other

band about to head back into the studio, Radiohead’s

Philip Selway is as focused as ever. Words: David Zammitt.

Photo: Emma Swann.

Four years on from his first unexpected

forays into a solo career with the

gorgeous English folk of ‘Familial’,

Philip Selway returns with his second

LP, the altogether more expansive

‘Weatherhouse’. A much bolder collection than its

predecessor, it bears the hallmarks of the music

he makes with his four mates from Oxford, and

is in fact the product of an extended stay in the

Radiohead studio. “It was basically us holed up

there, on and off, for six months. We’ve just got so

much lovely gear there that we’ve accumulated

over the years. It was a very enclosed session and

it was lovely for it because it gave us the freedom

to try stuff out and have the confidence to try it

out. It felt like a band.”

If ‘Familial’ was born of Selway’s anxiety at

turning 40, ‘Weatherhouse’ finds the long-time

Radiohead drummer pushing his artistic limits as

he moves towards the next milestone. “I still feel

the need to prove stuff - if only to myself - musically.

You do have your landmarks. For me, 50 is

very much on my horizon now. It gives a focus

to things and you think, ‘What do I want to have

done by then?’”

Despite his relative maturity (think in terms of a

nice aged Merlot), however, Selway is still finding

his voice, and it’s clear that the album benefits

enormously from the confidence gained through

that first release. “In some ways ‘Familial’ was an

apprenticeship and I came out at the end of that

thinking, ‘Well, I can do that.’” Modest to a fault,

he has proved that he most certainly can. Having

shunned percussive duties first time around, it

even sees him returning to the drum stool, albeit

after a fair bit of cajoling from his bandmates on

the album, the diverse, multi-instrumental talents

of Quinta and Adem Ilhan. And he begrudgingly

admits, ”I actually really enjoyed doing it.”

With live dates on the horizon and a young family

at home, what about his full-time job? Work on

the follow-up to 2011’s ‘The King of Limbs’ will begin

soon. “We start again in about a month’s time.

It’ll be interesting whenever we do come back

in, with me having done this second record, and

I’ve had a commission from the Rambert Dance

Company. All these things feed back in, they’re all

things that stretch you and you bring those skills

back with you. But that’s the exciting thing about

getting back together; nobody has stayed static.”

Philip Selway’s new album ‘Weatherhouse’

will be released on 6th October via Bella

Union. Read the full interview on diymag.

com. DIY

10 diymag.com

NEWS

IN BRIEF

SHE HAS THE POWER

Chan Marshall is returning to the UK

later this year for a pair of intimate solo

Cat Power shows. The dates, taking

place at London’s Union Chapel on

Monday November 10th and Tuesday

November 11th, follow on from her

Brighton Festival show back in May and

are in addition to the Scandinavian,

Spanish and Swiss dates already

announced.

GIVE BLOOD

Brighton duo Royal Blood have

confirmed a special, one-off

homecoming gig. The Brighton Dome

will host the chart-topping duo on 20th

December, following their massive sold

out UK tour which kicks off this month.

Support for the date will come from

Marmozets.

“Mr. Selway will see you now.”

ALL THE THINGS

THEY DID

Sky Ferreira and Charli XCX are

reported to be in the studio together,

working on a standalone track that

according to Sky “will sound very

TATU”. The news came last month

when Sky tweeted that the two were

working together, but as of yet, the

extent of Charli’s involvement in new

Sky Ferreira material hasn’t been

confirmed.

NO BIG DEAL

Pop sensation and undisputed Sound

of 2014 Sam Smith has announced

another London date to top off his

huge March 2015 UK tour. The singer

will now play Brixton Academy three

times next year, with a further date

being added due to high demand.

Smith’s also set to play two nights

a-piece in Glasgow, Manchester and

Wolverhampton.

11

NEWS

Starting 22nd October, DIY is going giddy about the most exciting new music. Flyte and Shy

Nature are leading the way, with a six-date run across the country for the DIY Presents Tour 2014 in

association with PledgeMusic. After that, they’re joined by a flock of fresh faces for a London alldayer

at The Laundry on 1st November.

We’re delighted to confirm the full line-up for the London leg, with JAWS, Deers, Spring King, Bloody Knees

and Palace joining the previously announced Telegram, Menace Beach and Blessa. It’s a big list to keep track

of, so for anyone heading along, here’s a guide to the line-up.

E

MORE BANDS ANNOUNCED FOR

DIY ALL-DAYER

IN ASSOCIATION WITH PLEDGEMUSIC

TOPPING

THE ALL-

DAYER BILL,

JAWS

verywhere Jaws go, crowds

seem to get bigger, more

fevered for their grungy

escapism. It’s been a running trend

since the DIY all-dayer headliners

were plucked from a Birmingham

scene and given the keys to the

country. They’ve toured their hearts

out, played the shows of their lives,

and tried every variation of kebab

on the planet. And it’s led them to

the release of their brilliant debut

album ‘Be Slowly’. Out now on

Rattlepop, here’s a quick guide to

their ace first work.

Is there anything that ties these

songs together? Is it about being

bored and anxious? Frustrated?

Connor Schofield (vocals, guitars):

The main core of each song has been

written out of boredom, in my garage

just playing the guitar. When it comes

together, the music emphasises the

feeling.

Jake Cooper (bass): The album shows

we’ve obviously matured a lot. [Debut

EP] ‘Milkshake’ - when that came out,

we’d never done a proper tour. After

that we toured with different bands,

gained different experiences - that’s

reflected in the album. We’ve had

major experiences.

Releasing an album - does it still feel

like your very, very first step?

Connor: It just feels like we’re carrying

on, doing what we’re meant to do.

Obviously it’s exciting. It’s a massive

step, doing your first album.

Jake: We’ve been sitting on it for ages.

Connor: For so long, that we didn’t

realise it was happening. It’s been in

the back of our minds until recently.

12 diymag.com

DON’T BE SHY

- SHY NATURE

ARE PREPARING

TO BE HUGE

O

ver the past year and a half, Shy Nature

haven’t backed down in showcasing

songs that aim for the skies. They’re

anthem penners. They want to play arenas and

they’re not afraid to declare it from the get-go.

Latest single ‘She Comes She Goes’ cements

that - mixing the band’s customary Mystery

Jets-like sway with something even more

bright-eyed, and ready for the top.

They’re promising to showcase songs from

their new EP ‘Birthday Club’ while on the road

with Flyte, who they describe as a “great live

band” - “we’ve played with them a couple

times before,” cites frontman William Blackaby.

“It’ll be cool to do a proper run of shows

together,” agrees drummer Matt Paisley.

Despite being excited to land back in the

capital for DIY’s all-dayer, they’re keen to

play in other venues across the country. “It’s

important for the experience of what it’s like

to be on tour,” says Will. “And you often have

some of the best shows in places you’ve never

been to before.”

Get to know:

Flyte

the DIY Tour

2014 headliners

lyte are leading the way with their sunny-side-up pop, the

kind that turns a migraine into a lullaby. It’s early days for this

F London four-piece, but they’re well on their way to becoming

one of 2014’s most talked-about new names. First thing’s first, the DIY

Presents Tour in Association with PledgeMusic. They’re joined by tour

buddies Shy Nature - and it’s not the first time these two have played

together. We asked Flyte for a quick rundown of why they’re worth

shouting about, and what exactly they have in store for the six-date

jaunt across the country.

For anyone that’s new to your music, what’s the first thing they need

to know about you?

That we mean business.

If you could instruct audience members on the DIY Tour to bring any

random item with them to shows, what would it be?

Lemon drizzle cake - it’s good stuff.

If you could challenge tour buddies Shy Nature to a duel, what would

it be in?

A round of Mario Kart on N64. Intrigued to see how they handle Bowser’s

Castle.

If you could be any musician from any era, who would it be?

Ringo Starr in 1987, just chilling in LA having an absolute ball.

If you could pick two more bands to play with you, who would they be?

10cc and REO Speedwagon - is that allowed?

What’s around the corner for Shy

Nature? Any big new single plans?

Matt: We recorded our new EP earlier

this year on a boat, and just finished

mixing it properly… you’ll hear it

very soon. It’s a step up.

Will: Playing Field Day, Great

Escape and Radio 1’s Big

Weekend over the summer was

a blast, but since then we’ve

been pretty occupied by

recording. So we’ll definitely

be doing a bunch more dates

around the UK.

If you could be any

musician from any era,

who would it be?

Matt: Any band member of

Earth Wind & Fire in the late

70s. The outfits, hair and

tunes are incredible… you

just don’t see anything like

that now.

Give Flyte some lemon drizzle cake and

this is how happy they’ll be.

13

NEWS

SPRING KING -

INCAPABLE OF

SLOWING DOWN

L

iverpool via Manchester gems Spring King have been

DIY favourites for the past year. Beginning as Tarek

Musa’s bedroom (bathroom, actually) project, it’s since

expanded into a riotous, full-blown four-piece, fizzing with

the kind of forthright punk scientists might refer to if they

forget how to make a rocket take-off.

What are your top three tips for tour survival?

Andy: Bring a sleeping bag. Keep your music player fully

charged, and master the art of sleeping in all places.

What’s your best and worst habit as a band?

Tarek: Our best habit is we all like playing games, whether

it’s computer games or card games. I just bought a chess set

for the road and me and Andy have become obsessed with

Battleship. It passes the hours sometimes. Our worst habit is

we hardly practice.

If you could be any musician from any era, who would it

be?

Pete: For me, it’s Chet Baker every time.

GET THE MESSAGE?

TELEGRAM ARE

GOING PLACES

T

here’s more to nostalgia-led four-piece Telegram than a

fine set of mops. Yes, fellow hair specialists The Horrors

and Temples have invited them on dates around the

country - but not just on that basis. They’ve kept things fairly

scarce online up to now, instead refining their game on stage

and becoming one of the UK’s reputed best new live bands.

If people were to listen to just one of your songs, which

one would you hope it was?

We have a song called ‘Follow’, which, as well as being simply

super, is more or less the only thing we’ve recorded. There’s

not much choice. But I think it sets out our stall rather nicely.

Is there such a thing as being too hyped?

I suspect there’s a great degree of danger to be found in

listening to, believing, and using whatever hype floats around

you as a future foundation. It’s really just swathes of space

dust orbiting whatever new body seems likely to sustain it

for longest. Its a good test though - if the group are sturdy

enough to weather that sort of initial barrage then perhaps

they might have some longevity.

BEWARE THE

MENACE (Beach)

enace Beach pack one hell of a punch - Ryan

Needham and Liza Violet formed the project,

M eventually bringing on board Hookworms member

and go-to producer ‘MJ’, Sky Larkin’s Nestor Matthews, PABH’s

Rob Lee and You Animals’ Matt Spalding.

When did the project officially start?

Ryan: It was just me for the first couple of months. I hooked

up with Liza, and she started playing guitar over some stuff.

With so many people involved, does it lend the songs a

sense of chaos, do you think?

Ryan: In other stuff that I’ve done, it’s been weirder. Nestor

and Matt and the other guys - so far they’ve always been like

‘These are your songs, what do you want us to do?’

DARING TO DREAM

- BLESSA

osed up on ‘80s staples they might be, but where

Blessa go with those broad influences is anyone’s

D guess. Sweet, synth-lined pop is their game, but on

recent EP ‘Love is an Evol Word’, they flicked a switch and

turned into a distinct prospect of their own. Fronted by

Olivia Neller, they effortlessly bring a timelessness to early

recordings.

How did you start out and eventually land on your latest

EP?

Olivia: Between the first couple of tracks going online and

then the first single [‘Between Times’, released last year],

we didn’t really write anything worthwhile... the tracks we

recorded in that time were terrible! We did early sessions in

order to evaluate our work and form good ideas about what

we wanted to do, and the good ideas are what you’ll find on

the EP. It’s been a definite learning process... but we’re happy

with the results.

14 diymag.com

“I didn’t ask for hot wings!”

A Quick Q&A

With The Most

Talked-About

Madrid Export

Since Cristiano

Ronaldo’s Hair

Gel: DEERS

R

aised on the lo-fi scuzz of guys

like Ty Segall and Black Lips,

Deers add a Spanish twist to

fuzzy, wide-eyed garage rock. And

people are taking notice in their

masses. The hype around this fourpiece

- initially Carlotta Cosials and

Ana Perrote’s bedroom project - has

been sent skywards, and despite the

scrappy bliss of their early demos,

it’s on stage where they come to life.

Sum up the most important Deers

facts, in a nutshell.

We used to be two, but now we are four.

And we all love pasta.

What are your top three tips for

being in a band?

1. If someone offers you food, take it.

2. If someone offers you a floor to sleep

at his/her house, go for it.

3. If someone offers you a shot of vodka,

DO NOT TAKE IT.

What’s the best thing that’s

happened in Deers’ career so far?

Even if you don’t believe it, the fact that

Carlotta has a van is so important to us!

What do you have planned for the

rest of 2014 / early 2015?

We have the best plans in the world!

And that includes playing as much as

we can, and to write songs until our

brains dry out.

What’s your best and worst habit as

a band?

We’re very good at being on a good

mood. Well I’m not sure if we can call

that a habit, but it’s true. And the worst

habit is our addiction to energy drinks

and breadsticks while rehearsing.

WILL SOMEBODY

KEEP AN EYE ON

BLOODY KNEES?

T

here’s a reason why Brighton bunch Bloody

Knees have that name. And their latest EP,

‘Stitches’ is penned with a certain incident

in mind...

Tell us about the ‘Stitches’ incident.

Bradley Griffiths (vocals): There’s a video of it on

Instagram. We were doing rock, paper, scissors. And

basically, I did the dare, went out, hit my head on

a McDonald’s sign. Ellie [Rowsell] from Wolf Alice

was like ‘Nah bruv, let’s fucking go out!’ I genuinely

thought I was gonna be alright. But the cut was so

deep, I ended up getting plastic surgery.

SAY HELLO TO THE

JAMIE T-APPROVED

PALACE

his month’s DIY packs a big feature on

why London newcomers Palace are worth

T shouting about. Their debut EP’s barely out

the front door, and they’ve already picked up a

support slot for Jamie T’s comeback London show,

with DIY’s all-dayer next on the agenda.

The music you make doesn’t necessarily get in

your face. There’s a lot of space.

Rupert Turner (guitars): It’s weird you say that.

Loads of people have talked about the space. To be

honest, I’ve never even thought about it. It’s how

the songs come out. Maybe we’re just lazy. That’s

become part of the sound.

Leo Wyndham (vocals): Floaty.

Will Dorey (bass): There’s so many different genres

in there. Seventies, sixties stuff. All of our things

together are so diverse. Rupert’s into his prog-rock.

Leo: Different influences for each of us. Which makes

it quite nice. Everything comes in from a different

angle.

THE

DETAILS

DIY PRESENTS

TOUR 2014, IN

ASSOCIATION WITH

PLEDGEMUSIC

FLYTE, WITH SPECIAL

GUESTS SHY

NATURE:

OCTOBER

22 Bristol

Start The Bus

23 Reading

Oakford Social Club

24 Bournemouth

Sixty Million Postcards

29 Leeds

Nation of Shopkeepers

30 Nottingham

Spanky Van Dykes

31 Banbury

Also Known As

......................

DIY PRESENTS:

LONDON ALL-DAYER,

IN ASSOCIATION

WITH PLEDGEMUSIC

THE LAUNDRY,

LONDON - 1ST

NOVEMBER

Jaws

Telegram

Deers

Flyte

Spring King

Blessa

Shy Nature

Menace Beach

Bloody Knees

Palace

Tickets for the all-dayer

are on sale now via

pledgemusic.com/diy.

15

NEWS

NEWS

IN BRIEF

IN THE JUNGLE...

London collective JUNGLE have

announced their biggest ever UK

and Ireland headline tour, taking

place in early 2015. The group will

play twelve shows that span from

February to March, taking in the likes

of Portsmouth’s Pyramid, London

Roundhouse and Liverpool’s O2

Academy. Find the full dates over at

diymag.com.

AY CARUMBA

Mariachi El Bronx have announced

that they will release their new

album, ‘Mariachi El Bronx (III)’, on

3rd November via ATO Records. The

release will precede their UK tour with

Gogol Bordello, which kicks off on 8th

December in Newcastle, and includes a

stop at London’s Roundhouse.

NO HIDING

Storming newcomer Kiesza has

announced plans to release her debut

album on 17th November. ‘Sound

of a Woman’ brings together the

breakthrough smash ‘Hideaway’,

follow-up ‘Giant in My Heart’, plus a

brand new single ‘No Enemiez’. The

thirteen-track effort lands just as she

returns to the UK for two shows in

London and Manchester.

FAVOURITE FANTASY

FOLLOW-UP

Damien Rice has announced details of

his first collection of material in eight

years with new album ‘My Favourite

Faded Fantasy’, which is set for release

on 3rd November. The album was coproduced

with Rick Rubin, initially in

Los Angeles and then in Iceland.

Moving On...

The Honeyblood line up has had a shake up.

H

oneyblood have announced the departure of drummer/vocalist Shona

McVicar with immediate effect. In a statement released to fans, the band

confirmed that Shona is leaving “and moving on to other endeavours.” The

news followed the cancellation of two shows last month, in Newcastle and Sheffield.

The remainder of Honeyblood’s UK headline tour did however go ahead as planned,

with Stina Tweeddale joined by a new drummer. “All live dates and activity will

remain as scheduled,” the statement read. “We are excited to welcome the awesome

Cat Myers to the drums [for] all shows going forward!” DIY

Back To The

Drawing

Board

The wait for Grimes’ new album has got a

little longer.

ince the tremendous success of her

breakthrough album ‘Visions’ back in 2012 all

S eyes have been on Grimes, and when Claire

Boucher unveiled her latest single ‘Go’ in June,

it seemed things had finally been set in motion

again.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore:

after hopefully serving as a preview of what

was to be Boucher’s forthcoming album, the

track has actually ended up stalling the entire

process.

Speaking to the New York Times recently, she

claimed a mixed response to the single led her

to realise that the new record “sucked”, so she

“threw it out and started again.”

“It upsets a lot of my fans, and I get why it

upsets them,” she explained, referring to the

straight-down-the-line sound the single boasts.

“Everybody was like, ‘Oh, Grimes is pandering

to the radio.’” Looks like the wait for her fourth

record just got that little bit longer...

On diymag.com: DIY’s comprehensive

guide to Grimes. DIY

16 diymag.com

“We have

an album

mostly

written”

A year after their comeback album

‘Save Rock & Roll’, Fall Out Boy are

already plotting another return.

Words: Tomas Doyle.

Fall Out Boy have dropped their new single, ‘Centuries’,

on an unsuspecting public with bassist Pete

Wentz spilling the beans that a new album might not

be too far behind. The track, which sticks to the expansive,

widescreen formula that the Chicagoans developed

on previous full-length ‘Save Rock & Roll’, was made available

for download after just a couple of days of the now de rigueur

social media teasing from the band.

“The concept behind the track is a David vs Goliath story,”

Wentz tells DIY on the day of the synth infused anthem’s

release. “When we were growing up it was like, ‘We’ll never be

U2 because we’re from the suburbs of Chicago and nothing

happens here.’ But the idea now is to inspire that kid - you

can be the person up on stage and it’s only the power of your

belief that is going to get you there.”

The quartet seem re-energised; it’s been a mere 18 months

since they unleashed ‘Save Rock & Roll’, but the creative juices

show no signs of doing anything other than continuing to

flood forth. “With this song, Patrick [Stump] just put his foot

to the pedal and woosh out it came,” admits Wentz. “I was like

‘Holy shit, we haven’t even finished touring the last record

yet!’ But it felt like we needed to do it.”

“I like the idea of people being able to have the song pretty

immediately as they hear about it,” continues the bassist of

the decision to announce and release the track in short shrift.

“I always think, ‘If I was a fan, I would want to be able to find

out about a song and then get it straight away. All that ‘Here’s

three months of build up’ stuff seems a bit redundant now.”

“We have an album mostly written and about halfway

recorded,” he goes on to confess. My guess would be - and

this is realistic, because I feel like when you say shit that is

unrealistic people call you out on it – [a new album] might be

done by very early next year.”

Read the full interview on diymag.com. Fall Out Boy’s

new album ‘Save Rock & Roll’ is out now via Island

Records. DIY

17

NEWS

RIP The

Cockpit, Leeds

After twenty years as a pillar of the Leeds music scene,

The Cockpit has closed its doors. Words: Sarah Jamieson.

Much loved staple of the live music circuit, Leeds’ Cockpit

has announced its permanent closure after twenty years.

The news was revealed with a message on the venue’s

website, telling visitors that the legendary space is “no

longer viable to deliver you the level of service you

deserve with the building in its current condition.” “We would like to

take this opportunity to thank every one of you who came to watch

your favourite bands, danced, stage dived, crowd surfed, found your life

partner,” it continued, “and gave the Cockpit its reputation as one of the

best live music venues in the UK.”

Thinking back on his own memories of the venue, James Brown of Leedsbased

Pulled Apart By Horses tells DIY that, while it’s an undoubtedly sad

occasion for bands and fans alike, it will hopefully offer new venues the

chance to make their own mark. “I am quite sad,” he explains, “because

The Cockpit used to be a venue that I always wanted to play. When I first

moved to Leeds, At The Drive-In played there, The White Stripes played

there, so I was like, ‘Oh, I wanna play there.’ It’s got so much history, but

these things come to an end. Venues don’t last forever.

“It was really important to Leeds’ music scene, but now, in 2014, I’m not

sure it is. Now that we’ve got an arena and an Academy, we’ve also got

a venue called the Belgrave, and so The Cockpit has sort of fallen to the

wayside. It’s really sad, but it had to end. Other

people need to be given a chance, in Leeds,

to start something new and it’s good that it’s

happened now, rather than happening really

badly because no one is going there or it’s

completely empty. They’ve bought a new venue,

so it’s ending in a positive way.”

Forthcoming live dates are being

rescheduled for other Leeds venues: a full list

can be found at thecockpit.co.uk. DIY

The Cockpit

has played

host to some

of the biggest

bands in the

world…

Alt-J Oct 2012

Mumford & Sons

Sept 2009

Fall Out Boy Feb

2005

The Black Keys

Oct 2004

The Killers May

2004

Amy Winehouse

Apr 2004

Biffy Clyro July

2002

The White

Stripes Aug 2001

QOTSA June 2000

Coldplay June

2000

WHAT’S COOKING?

THE HISTORY OF

APPLE PIE

Jerome Watson offers up the list of

ingredients that helped create their

new album, ‘Feel Something’.

CHICKY’S ICE TEA

Charles, who we recorded with, makes the most

amazing ice tea that any of us have ever had.

He makes it in a big jug with about 16 spoons of

brown sugar and it kept us all super hyped up

while we were tracking.

Z.VEX INSTANT LO-FI JUNKY

This is a pedal I bought just before we wrote the

album and I absolutely love it. I didn’t realise how

much I used it until we got the masters back and

it features on every single track at some point.

It’s designed to make everything sound like a

warped record.

‘MODERN LIFE IS RUBBISH’ BY BLUR

I think I only listened to this album for a month

or two leading up to writing the record. I was

for sure trying to get a Coxon-ish sound using

the Lo-Fi Junky; he used vibrato tons in the Blur

stuff. With him it was always really quiet and

background-y but I thought it was cooler to

make it really prominent.

RUSSIAN DASHCAM VIDEOS

This is a whole deep YouTube hole you can

get into but the compilations are the best. We

watched them loads in our breaks. The best

thing about them is when there’s a collision or a

pedestrian gets hit, they just walk away, totally

casually, and carry on with whatever they were

doing. Russia looks crazy!

MUSIC TECH

Living in the future is awesome! On the last

record it was pretty much all guitars save for a bit

of Korg MS-20 in one song. This time we totally

embraced technology. It’s still guitar heavy and

we recorded it through a big valve console but

there’s more keys and computer trickery going

on. Right now I’ve started writing the third album

on an iPad. What a time to be alive.

The History Of Apple Pie’s new album ‘Feel

Something’ is out now via Marshall Teller

Records. DIY

18 diymag.com

Cold as Ice

Iceage travelled from their native Denmark to Sweden for the recording of

their new album. Words: Tom Walters.

Iceage’s forthcoming record, ‘Plowing into the Field of

Love’, might just take you by surprise. The new full-length

travels to places the young Danish four-piece have

never travelled before, expanding their brattish sound

into more mature, fully realised punk rock. Speaking from

Copenhagen a few days before the band head off to play

Australia, frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt discusses his

band’s natural progression, escaping from the distractions of

the city by heading to rural Sweden and how he deals with

overwhelming comparisons to Nick Cave.

bit from the temptations of city life.” On this third effort,

Iceage’s recordings are lush and immersive, with tracks like

the recent single ‘Forever’ sporting a much bolder and more

revealing attitude than they’ve shown us before, something

the isolation of the studio definitely helped with. “Some

hippie bought it back in the 70s to live a rural life,” explains

Rønnenfelt. “We found this old organ from 1890 up there that

the old guy at the place collected from some church room,

which we ended up using on a couple songs. That’s basically

how the song ‘Against the Moon’ came about.”

“We never started talking,” he says

bluntly, in regards to how he and the

guys first took steps in their elaborate

new direction. “The songwriting was

done over the span of more than a

year, and we never had any actual

conversation between the four of us

sitting down and discussing where we’re gonna take our

sound - it was just how the songwriting naturally progressed.”

Indeed, ‘Plowing into the Field of Love’ is a remarkable

transformation for the band; a record that’s littered with odds

and ends such as violas and mandolins that they found lying

around an old house turned studio in the Swedish wilderness.

“There are hundreds of

references here.” Elias

Bender Rønnenfelt

Rønnenfelt’s presence on the record

feels dramatic and theatrical, like

a character in one of Nick Cave’s

many stories. The comparisons have

been coming in thick and fast, and

Rønnenfelt understands what people

are going on about to an extent. “I

mean, yeah, people have been saying a lot of the new stuff

sounds like The Gun Club and Bad Seeds, and I see where

they’re coming from,” he divulges. “They were yelling Wire

and Joy Division before, and I see what they’re getting at, but

that’s kind of watering it down a little bit. There are hundreds

of references here.”

Recording the entire album in just seven days, the band

received a tip off from some friends about a rather unique

studio and decided to head out there to “get away for a

Read the full interview on diymag.com. Iceage’s new

album ‘Plowing into the Field of Love’ will be released on

6th October via Matador Records. DIY

19

NEWS

Sivu’s debut album is the

product of freedom, friends and

serious hard work. Now James

Page is ready for the next step.

Words: Jamie Milton.

From the moment he stepped

out with 2013’s breakthrough

‘Better Man Than He’

single, London musician

James Page announced Sivu as an

album-ready artist. These songs flow,

often without interruption. Instead

of bursting out from the seams and

demanding attention, he made music

to exist in quiet corners. In his words,

“some things come out and set the

world on fire, but we’d prefer people

to stumble across everything.”

Turning

The Page

like a long process. We did the album

in January, but I think we all realised

it was never gonna be one of those

things that, you know, smashed the

charts. We thought, ‘Let’s just put it

out and let people hear it’. The album

says it how it is - it tells the story of

Sivu. And hopefully people will like it.

So you wanted to make a record

without compromises?

We tried to do that from the start.

Everyone around me has been so

amazing - they’ve let me do what I

want, which is so good. And nobody

put any expectations on it either.

We didn’t want to put any pressure

on this.

You’re on the new Alt-J album -

how did that come about?

‘Warm Foothills’ is

amazing. Joe [Newman]

from Alt-J said, ‘Just come

down’. And it’s unreal.

To be able to sing on it is

so good. I went in with

Marika [Hackman] - we

went together, and it was

ridiculous. They’re such

an inspiring band. They

just do what the fuck they

want. They’re the only real

band now that I feel can

do that.

“Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s

made the best album of them all?”

Debut album ‘Something On High’ is

produced by Alt-J deskman Charlie

Andrew, who also happens to be the

very person that encouraged Page

to go further with his sweet, brittle

songwriting. Two years in the making,

it’s finally ready to be unveiled.

Lyrically, are you always

gravitating towards

downbeat stuff?

I try to get a balance. The

writing of this record

was in a strange time of

transition for me. Moving

from a small town to

London... When you first

start meeting and talking

to people, you think the

pavements are paved with

gold. You think a label’s

going to walk in and sign

you the first time you play

a gig. It’s not obviously

how it works. I soon

discovered that it’s brutal

and tough. I wasn’t really

prepared for that.

Was there a turning point?

It was actually when I met Charlie.

I used to do session work, so I met

him on a session. He gave me the

confidence to do this.

This still feels like a first step,

which seems weird given the

album’s coming out.

It really does. It’s weird. For me it feels

Sivu’s debut album ‘Something

On High’ will be released on 13th

October via Atlantic Records. DIY

20 diymag.com

21

NEWS

FroM

With the amount of upheaval Slipknot have suffered over recent years, it’s a

wonder they’re still going: after a protracted break, they’re back with their

first record in over half a decade. Words: Sarah Jamieson.

THE ASHES

22 diymag.com

For the better part of the last

twenty years, Slipknot have

built their name on chaos

and carnage. A band with an

undisputed reputation for

destruction and pitch-black darkness,

the Iowa collective have used their

previous four albums to become

renowned as a fearful musical force.

So much more than just another

metal group infringing on public

consciousness, they were shocking,

they were controversial, and at times,

they felt almost inhuman.

It was four years ago when their bassist

Paul Gray passed away and everything

changed for the band. Before, hiatuses

had come and gone, threatening to

end the reign of Slipknot but the group

had never had to deal with anything

like this. For the first time, the band

had to take off the masks, and let

themselves be human in the eyes of the

public. They had to learn how to heal.

“WE NEEDED THE

TIME TO GRIEVE.”

COREY TAYLOR

“There was a time when there was

no guarantee that we were gonna

carry on,” begins the band’s frontman

Corey Taylor, ahead of the release of

their long-awaited fifth record ‘.5: The

Gray Chapter’. “Not because we didn’t

want to, but because we weren’t sure

what it meant without him. He was

the heartbeat of this band, and in a lot

of ways, he was the gel that kept this

band together. We’re all so different, in

so many different ways, not just with

musical tastes but as people, that the

music is one of the reasons that we

stay together and we’re as strong as

we are, and Paul was a huge part of

that. He was the one thing that we all

had in common when we were first

coming around. For us, it was about

[discovering] what this would be

without him.”

After Gray’s death, the band would

spend some time back out on the road

(“that was our language to each other;

it was playing that music and being

able to talk like that, and that help

us to get back on our feet”) but their

future was still uncertain. In fact, it was

only over the last twelve months - and

following the departure of drummer

Joey Jordison, citing personal reasons

- that the band finally felt ready to

consider beginning their new record.

“I think it was important on two levels,”

says Corey, of the time they waited.

“One, we needed the time to grieve,

and to kinda make peace with the fact

that this had happened, and it is what

it is. We were all dealing with our own

internal battles, basically. A lot of that is

on the album. In one

way, we just needed

time to heal, and on

the other hand, we’ve

never done anything

that we didn’t want

to do. Outside forces

might’ve felt like, ‘You

need to go in and do

something’, but we’ve

never felt like that.

We’ve always written

our own destiny and

steered our own ship

in a lot of ways. We

knew that we weren’t

gonna be pushed -

positively or negatively - into doing

something that we didn’t feel was time

to do. At the same point, we didn’t

know what story we wanted to tell. By

taking that time and allowing ourselves

to naturally get to the point where we

wanted to go in and make this music

was really important, not just for the

health of the music, but for the health

of the band.”

Read the full interview on diymag.

com. Slipknot’s new album ‘.5:

The Gray Chapter’ will be released

on 20th October via Roadrunner

Records. DIY

23

NEWS

From Bombay Bicycle Club to

FKA Twigs, from Jungle to…

GoGo Penguin? Here’s who’s in

the running for the 2014 Mercury

Prize. Words: Sarah Jamieson.

In The

Running...

It’s that time of the year again: albums have been scrutinised, votes have been cast and a list has been drawn up, all in an attempt

to unearth the best full-length to come out of the UK and Ireland over the past twelve months. From debut albums that have

sold over 100,000 records in just a few weeks, to second efforts from relative unknowns, 2014’s Mercury Prize list has proven itself

anything but predictable. And the nominees are...

The winner will be announced at the Barclaycard Mercury Prize Awards Show at the Roundhouse, London on 29th

October. DIY

YOUNG

FATHERS

DEAD

“‘Dead’ is every

bit an evolution

of Young Fathers’

sound as it is a

deconstruction

of hip-hop.

Beating the genre

down to its very

foundations,

there are no

boundaries. Young

Fathers’ music is

as bewildering

and terrifying as

getting lost in the

deepest, darkest

cave, their abrasive

tendencies

warding off those

not up to the

task. A confident

and gorgeously

composed debut.”

(Joe Price, DIY)

ANNA

CALVI ONE

BREATH

“While ‘One

Breath’ still has

some up-anddowns,

it succeeds

in mixing them up

with a bunch of

side-to-side bits.

Anna Calvi has

maintained the

theatricality and

the exaggerated,

torch singer

flounces of

passion, but has

allowed it to

become slightly

frayed around

the edges. It

makes for a

noisier, odder and

more interesting

experience.” (Tim

Lee, DIY)

DAMON

ALBARN

EVERYDAY

ROBOTS

“I was terrified

of some of it. I

thought, God, do

I feel comfortable

singing this? But

now there’s a

distance, I love

it - it’s so personal.

It was difficult

when the first

press came out;

it was this stupid

headline ‘Heroin

and Witchcraft’

[in Q magazine] -

quite an emotive

starting point. That

wasn’t what it was

about at all, the

record was about

what I’m about.”

(Damon Albarn)

FKA

TWIGS LP1

“Clarity is

shunned for

something more

confounding,

more intoxicating.

Throughout, FKA

twigs is deceptive.

Dead ends, rough

edges - it’s a fitting

debut. Especially

so, given that at

points it sounds

like Barnett’s

throwing every

inch of her

upbringing into

an album at

once, that she’s

as nonplussed as

the rest of us as

to what’ll emerge

from the melting

pot.” (Jamie Milton,

DIY)

ROYAL

BLOOD

ROYAL

BLOOD

“The only real

agenda was to

capture what

we sound like. It

wasn’t like we had

a huge concept;

that all felt too

contrived. We

just wanted to

write the best

songs we could,

whatever they

were or whatever

they sounded

like, and to make

sure that the best

songs went on

the record. It’s as

simple as that.”

(Mike Kerr, Royal

Blood)

NICK MULVEY

FIRST MIND

“Nick Mulvey is

one of four names

from this year’s

BBC Sound of

2014 longlist to

have made the

Mercury Prize cut.

At the time, he was

arguably the least

known of a pack

of twenty, but he’s

since gone on to

play Glastonbury’s

Main Stage, with

debut ‘First Mind’

showcasing

delicate but

perfectly-formed

alternative folk.”

(Sarah Jamieson,

DIY)

24 diymag.com

JUNGLE

JUNGLE

“Jungle aren’t

stuck sweating

in the Amazon.

They explore

environments,

and test out their

immediately

familiar pop in

dynamic settings.

Then there’s the

choruses - Jungle

sure know how

to write them.

‘Busy Earnin’’ is

a lonesome tale

that morphs into

a glittering giant.

Even ‘Lucky I Got

What I Want’ - the

record’s sombre

counterpoint

- delivers a

singalong.” (Jamie

Milton, DIY)

KATE

TEMPEST

EVERYBODY

DOWN

“From the off,

months before the

nominees were

announced, street

poet Kate Tempest

was widely tipped

as a potential

winner. That

hasn’t changed

one jot, with

‘Everybody Down’

one of two records

released on Big

Dada to receive

a nod. Tempest’s

storytelling is

constantly sharp,

and it’s offset

with distorted,

unconventional

production.”

(Sarah Jamieson,

DIY)

EAST INDIA

YOUTH

TOTAL

STRIFE

FOREVER

“Everything going

on in my life at

the time really

contributed to the

sound. It’s quite

dour and noisy and

a bit aggressive at

points but it all fits

in. At the time I felt

like I was under

immense stress,

so as the pressure

built it forced me

into making music

to express myself.

There’s some light

at the end of the

tunnel on some of

the tracks though.”

(William Doyle, East

India Youth)

POLAR BEAR

IN EACH AND

EVERY ONE

“Polar Bear’s

fifth LP isn’t their

first to pick up a

Mercury nominee,

but it’s been nine

years since their

last. ‘Held on the

Tips of Fingers’

was a crossover

success - pipped

to the post at the

time by Antony

and the Johnsons

- but since then

the jazz fusionists

have settled into

a relatively cultadored

groove.

‘In Each and Every

One’ feels like a

long time coming,

in some senses.”

(Sarah Jamieson,

DIY)

Bombay Bicycle

Club So Long, See

You Tomorrow

Despite already having four albums

to their name, 2014 marks the first

year that Bombay Bicycle Club are in

the running for the Mercury Prize. It’s

about time too!

“To be honest, I was completely

surprised,” the band’s Jack Steadman

reveals, after getting the news of

‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’’s

nomination. “I’d be lying if I said

I didn’t think we deserved to be

nominated. I think the Mercurys is all

about making interesting music, but

I always thought that people might

think we were too poppy, or that we’re

a band who are just on Radio 1 all

the time.

“In our case, there are so many

impressions that have already been

made of us,” he goes further. “We’ve

been doing this since we were very

young and a lot of the music that we

made when we were younger maybe

isn’t us anymore. So personally, for us,

it was a bit of a surprise, but it’s great.”

WHO THE HECK ARE

GOGO

PENGUIN?

here always has to be one outsider when it comes to award

nominations and this year, well, it’s kinda obvious who’s taking

T

on that role. Not so much an elephant in the room as a trio of

penguins, GoGo Penguin are less 2014’s token jazz act and more an

amalgamation of classical and electronic influences. And don’t worry;

their nod came as a surprise to them too... “Probably the same way as

everyone else,” laughs the band’s pianist Chris Illingworth, on how they

reacted when they heard their name called. “It was a complete surprise. I

had forgotten that it was around that time that it was all happening, and

I was trying to have a day off, ignoring emails and that stuff, so I ended

up getting a call from Nick [Blacka, bass] after he’d had an email from

our manager, and he was asking if I had checked my inbox. It was a real

surprise; it was unbelievable, but we’re really excited.” Read more from

the band on diymag.com. DIY

As for how they heard the news

themselves, they were given a heads

up, but that led to its own problems...

“We’re just relieved that we can finally

tell everyone!

We found

out about a

week before

the official

announcement

and it was

torture. We were

in the middle of

a rehearsal and

our manager

“It was a bit

of a surprise,

but it’s

great.”

took us out of the room and told

us, but then said we had to keep it

completely secret for the next seven

days. We had to go back into the

rehearsal with all our crew and just

keep a completely straight face! We

were so happy to finally text everyone

and share that celebration.” DIY

25

NEWS

here’s

It may have taken

Johnny Marr over

twenty years post-The

Smiths to release his

debut solo album, but

now the floodgates

are open. Words: Sarah

Jamieson.

johnny

Johnny Marr has never been

short of a project or two. Even

when he was just 23 years old,

with the demise of The Smiths

still fresh in his mind, he collaborated

with Paul McCartney, joined The

Pretenders, threw himself into The The

and formed Electronic, all over a matter

of months.

In fact, the only real surprise from Marr

– who has also played in both Modest

Mouse and The Cribs, while acting

as a session musician, producer and

occasionally, working on the odd film

score - lay in the fact it took him over

twenty years to release his solo debut.

But when ‘The Messenger’ was finally

out, the gates had been opened, and

there was no stopping Marr’s creative

flow. That’s why, less than eighteen

months later, he’s offering up a second.

“Adrenaline is a very appropriate word,”

Marr begins, during a phone call taking

place amid a hectic rehearsal schedule.

It’s just a matter of weeks until

‘Playland’ hits shelves, and Marr heads

out on a UK-wide tour to celebrate. He’s

referencing the energy – the adrenaline

– that inspired him to begin writing his

new album all the quicker. “That word

pops up in a few of the songs on both

albums, and adrenaline is a big part

of what me and my band are doing. I

don’t know if it’s because it’s not on the

agenda of a lot of musicians - which is

fine - but it makes me want it to be even

more a part of our agenda. Adrenaline

was one of the reasons to carry on

making this record, that celebration of

energy.

“That energy inspired me to write

some more stuff. A couple of the songs

were about energy anyway. The first

song, ‘Back In The Box’, sets that idea

up a little bit, in that I’m singing about

transcendence and euphoria and

ecstatic states, either hearing a record

you like, waking up on a sunny morning,

being in love. Or schizophrenia, drugs,

all these things that can make you have

a euphoric experience.” That’s a theme

that continues throughout the whole

album. “The whole idea of ‘Playland’

really is looking at what it is about

culture that we’re chasing, whether

it’s sexual gratification, consumerism,

commercial gratification, money. Of

course, there’s a price to pay for those

things, but I’m making an observation

about that and in many ways, I’m

celebrating that. I’m asking questions

about that. It’s an idea that had energy

anyway and I had all of those notions

at the end of ‘The Messenger’, so I just

wanted to get on with it.”

Primarily written on the road while

touring in support of ‘The Messenger’,

there was no messing around with this

full-length. “The sort of band that I’ve

got, and what we’re doing,” he assures,

“we’re not one of those outfits that

needs to go away and spend a year in

the Amazon to find ourselves or any of

that business. This is just the thing I’m

doing now, and I don’t see any reason

to go away.

Sometimes, in fact, Marr had barely

stepped off stage before deciding to

play around with new songs. “I wrote

a couple of songs - ‘Easy Money’ for

example - with my ears literally still

26 diymag.com

LIVE &

KICKING

To celebrate the release of ‘Playland’, Johnny is going to be doing

what he does best: heading out on the road. “For a start, I just like

plugging into an amplifier and playing with a very, very good band. So,

letting people be involved in two hours of that is always interesting,”

he says. “I like the people who come out to see me, and you never really

quite know how a gig is gonna go. When you’ve got some new songs,

there’s nothing

better. Our gigs are

getting more and

more unique and

I’m hoping to have

one of the best live

bands around. We

want to be one of

the best live bands

ever and we have

that ambition, and

that keeps us interested

and I think

the audience knows

that.” Johnny Marr’s

UK tour kicks off on

13th October in Lincoln

- visit diymag.

com for the full list

of dates. DIY

“I JUS T

WANTED TO

GET ON WITH

IT.” JOHNNY MARR

ringing from the

gig that night.

The feeling of the

audience and the

travelling and the

sound of the band

ringing in my ears

from the show,

that’s a good place

to be when you’re

writing upbeat rock

or pop music. If you

go away from that,

it’s a state of mind.

You’re already three

quarters of the

way there if you’re

dealing with sound

checks and gigs

and doing encores

and playing very

loud, you’re already

rocking!”

Johnny Marr’s new

album ‘Playland’

will be released

on 6th October via

Warner Bros. DIY

27

NEWS

Peaking Lights begin their career

as interpretative dancers.

In The

Cosmos

Peaking Lights’ new record is a little different from

their previous efforts… Words: Sarah Jamieson.

Peaking Lights are a productive outfit: there’s

no getting around that. Having released

something pretty much every year since

their formation in 2007 – whether it be selfreleased

CDRs or creating companion dub albums

to match their full-lengths – they know how to stay

creative. What’s a more strange concept to the

husband-and-wife duo, is the idea of taking their time.

“Well,” starts one half of the two-piece, Aaron Coyes.

“With the record ‘Lucifer’, we wrote and recorded it

in three weeks.” For their latest album, they finally

decided to give a more patient approach a try. “It was

really quickly done, and we just wanted to develop.

We wanted to have some time to develop the sound

and what we were doing, to reconfigure our music a

little bit. We wanted to try some new things out and

build a library of songs. With all the drum sounds,

they’re all sounds that I made from mixing regular

drums and synthesisers I had built. It was just a really

detailed recording and we wanted to have time to

develop the songs and work on our songwriting. It was

to really further our art form.”

Having spent the last eighteen months working

on ‘Cosmic Logic’, they also decided to steer clear

of touring. Whilst previously their live shows had

worked as an arena to debut new material, this time

28 diymag.com

they wanted to iron out the kinks

in the studio. “We weren’t touring

at all, so we were analysing and

we did a few different mixes of the

album, changing things around and

arranging it, before we finally had

a version where we wanted to take

it into the studio to finish mixing it.

Before, with other records, we had

already been playing those songs live

before we even recording them, so

that gave us time to develop them.

Even though we weren’t playing

these songs live, we had time to listen

back to them and to hear the different

parts and to make those necessary

adjustments.”

“We really

wanted to

explore

going in a

more pop

direction.”

Aaron Coyes

Their new full-length feels the

difference: no longer do they boast

dreamy psychedelic journeys, it’s

that much more succinct. “We really

wanted to explore going in a more

pop direction,” Aaron assures. “I

think we just really wanted to do

something that people could relate

to. We were definitely working on

changing the structure. We were

really experimenting with a lot of

different things; a lot of changing the

structure, a lot of different aspects of

sound. The pop thing was definitely

a big influence, and we tried to have

that come out that little bit more.”

He laughs, “we wanted it to be real

catchy.”

As for what they hope listeners might

take away from the record, it ties in

perfectly with their new venture into

pop. “I really hope that people just

enjoy it and listen to it,” he offers,

“have fun with it, dance to it, move

to it, make love to it, sing to it. Just

to have good times with it. After all,

we wrote it to try and be light and to

bring some positivity into whatever

people are doing.”

Peaking Lights’ new album ‘Cosmic

Logic’ will be released on 6th

October via Weird World. DIY

60

We Were Promised

Seconds With…

Jetpacks

Head over to diymag.

com, and you’ll find an

exclusive stream of We

Were Promised Jetpacks’

new album, ‘Unravelling’. The band’s

drummer Darren Lackie takes a

break from doing the dishes and

watching The Hobbit to explain a

little about the release.

‘Unravelling’ is a pretty ominous

title - is everything ok?

We’re all super depressed and falling to

pieces. I jest! Everything is going swell

in the WWPJ camp. Morale is high and

everyone is looking forward to getting

this album out for people to hear. We’ve

had the final mixes since April so we’ve

been sitting on it for a while.

I don’t think you have to necessarily

look at the title in a ‘I’m losing my shit,

everything is falling to pieces’ kind of

way, you can also look at it in terms of

relaxing or getting comfortable and

I think that’s where we are as a band

at the moment. We’ve got our new

member, Stuart [McGachan], and we’re

getting comfortable playing these new

songs together and getting used to be

a five-piece band. That’s how I see it.

What prompted the addition of

Stuart to the mix?

Stuart is a good friend of ours who

we’ve all known since school so it was

very easy for us to integrate him into

the band. I feel like we got to a point

about two years ago where we were

all looking for a new sound, something

fresh and exciting that would help us

start writing the new album. Stuart can

play guitar, keys and he’s also got a not

too shabby wee voice on him too so it

seemed like a no-brainer.

Has he added a new dynamic within

the band?

Definitely. I think with the addition of

Stuart (I can’t call him Stuart anymore,

it’s strange... we know him as Hairy)

it has allowed the songs to breathe a

lot more. There are sections in some

of our new songs where, with Hairy

playing keys or guitar, Adam is able

to just sit back and sing. It sounds like

nothing but it is something that we’ve

never been able to do as a band and it

creates a whole different sound for us.

He’s also a lot of fun to play with live, he

has some good stage moves. To quote

Mike (our other guitarist’s) Dad: “He’s

bringing back open-leg rock.”

Read a track-by-track of We Were

Promised Jetpacks’ new album

‘Unravelling’ - released on 6th

October via FatCat Records - on

diymag.com. DIY

29

NEU

This hyped-up London four-piece live, breathe and record in a musical squat, but their converted

space might as well be keys to the kingdom. Words: Jamie Milton. Photo: Phil Smithies.

Palace

30 diymag.com

Palace aren’t in any hurry,

but the stars are aligning

to suggest they should

get a bloody move on.

One gig to their name,

they were being spoken about in

whispered, excitable tones. A couple

of songs online, everyone wanted

a piece of them. One EP under their

belts, and they’re asked to support

Jamie T at his London comeback,

one of the gigs of the year. But one

listen to their part-bluesy, woozy

embrace helps explain why they’re

the types to take their time.

Straddling arena-ready indie with

something more subdued and

mellowed out, the songs on the

four-piece’s ‘Lost in the Night’ EP

inhabit their own space. They don’t

burst into view. There’s no desire to

get heard right here, right now. It’s

a subtle kind of routine. Anthems by

those who’ve stumbled upon them.

Relaxed to the bone, the four of

them spend most of their spare

hours hanging out in a North

London rehearsal space. In this

Tottenham studio of theirs, artists

“A part of us

thought we

might be the

shittest band in

the world.” L e o

Wyndham

come and go. Instruments are

scattered, taking up more sofa space

than the inhabitants themselves. It’s

a strange glimpse of bohemia in a

ruthlessly expensive city. “This place

has helped a lot,” admits bassist

Will Dorey, who sometimes grabs a

sleeping bag and spends the night

in the studio, just so he’s up nice

and early to practise the next day.

“We’ve had the freedom to rehearse

wherever we want. There’s nearly

always a room free here. We can turn

up last minute for the next day and

it costs virtually nothing. And it’s so

rare in this city.”

Given near-unlimited space for

the first time (they cite hours and

precious pounds spent on crummy

Camden studios, back in the day),

they’ve settled into their groove.

“It’s a complete saving grace to

have this place,” says frontman Leo

Wyndham. “In the beginning, we

hardly practised. We’d be doing one

rehearsal every two weeks.” “It was

all pretty relaxed,” joins guitarist

Rupert Turner. “Like our music.”

Starting out, they played their first

show in a converted South London

pub. “There was a fireplace there.

It felt like we were just playing in

someone’s living room,” remembers

drummer Matt Hodges. But people

turned up, and everyone’s attention

was duly diverted towards Palace.

“A part of us thought we might be

the shittest band in the world,” jokes

Leo. “And the moment we started

playing, we could see it in people’s

faces. They liked it.”

It’s been a strange sight, seeing a

band this easy on the senses get so

far, so quickly. Jamie T, champion

of rowdy rock‘n’roll, saw something

in their softly-softly side and asked

them to join his comeback trail,

which was the opposite of

what they’d anticipated

as a band. “These kids

arrived in the queue, all

topless, absolutely fucking

hammered. I thought: ‘We

are fucking dead,’” says Leo.

Given closer inspection,

Palace’s music might not

assault the senses, but

the way it latches to the

conscience is frighteningly

effective. On ‘Bitter’, their

simmering away standout,

they sound like Wu Lyf

brought up by a planetsaving

cult. ‘Lost in the Night’

doesn’t give a great deal away, in

sum. Instead it points towards a

group that are winning people over

when they least expect it. “There’s

lots of staring at our gigs,” cites Matt.

“Some bands get crowdsurfers and

stage invasions, we just get open

mouths!” If quiet conversion is their

game, Palace are going about it the

right way.

Palace’s new EP ‘Lost In the Night’

will be released on 20th October

via Beatnik Creative. They play

the DIY Presents in association

with PledgeMusic all-dayer at

The Laundry, London on 1st

November. DIY

31

NEU

NEWS

Gengahr ready new material and a

debut album for “early next year”

One of the most anticipated first works of 2014 could be just around the

corner, according to vocalist Felix bushe. photo: emma swann.

ime’s speeding by at a ridiculous rate for Gengahr.

Weeks after signing to Transgressive Records, they’ve

T returned with their first single “proper”, ‘Powder’. It

follows on from a string of demos that eventually landed

them a deal and heady claims that they were next in line to

the throne, hot on the heels of fellow UK gems Wolf Alice and

Superfood.

‘Powder’ affirms this notion by being the London four-piece’s

sharpest turn to date, a more frenzied take on their softlysoftly

songwriting. Felix Bushe labels it “a step in a different

direction” - “I’m sure we’ll keep people guessing with the next

single we put out as well.”

The band worked with Spring King’s Tarek Musa, who mixed

the single. “It just sounded really raw and edgy. The vocals

sounded great. Maybe it sounded a bit more like how we play

it live - that’s what we liked about it. It’s definitely heavier than

what people expect it to be.”

‘Powder’’s also serving as Gengahr’s first single since signing

with Transgressive. Felix describes the deal as a “huge relief”.

He explains, “you know the people you want to work with very

early on, and it’s a funny old game trying to keep your cards

close to your chest. You don’t wanna give away too much,

because you could end up being stung I guess. Luckily with

the Transgressive guys, it’s never going to be the case. They’re

as good as they come, in the industry.”

A debut album isn’t too far away either, he insists. Felix says

it’s going to come down to “logistics”, and he’s aiming for an

early 2015 release. “I’m pretty sure it’s gonna get released

early next year. And if it doesn’t, it won’t be down to the fact

we’re not ready, it’ll be down to the fact we’ve been touring

so much and there wasn’t time to get into the studio,” he says.

“We’ll fit in what we can, and if we have to work every day of

the week then we’ll do it.”

Gengahr’s new single ‘Powder’ will be released on 27th

October via Transgressive. DIY

32 diymag.com

Soph Nathan

play DIY

Presents ‘It’s All

Neu’ at the Old Blue

Last, London on

13th October.

Soph Nathan

Some waves of noise slipstream past the conscience. They add to the background, the familiar fuzz.

Others go straight for the gut. They lock their target and swing. Brighton trio Soph Nathan strike gold on

their debut ‘Our Girl’. This is the kind of track that quite simply doesn’t have time to fret or dither - there’s

noise to be made, waves to crash. This one comes produced by Kristian Smith of The Magic Gang.

LISTEN ‘Our Girl’. FOR FANS OF DIIV, Kid Wave (see page 34), endless summers.

NEU RECOMMENDED

BEA

Modern

Vices

KaytranadA

Details are scarce on BEA. She’s a

22-year-old from Amsterdam, born to

British parents. She specialises in subtle,

playful pop, consisting of barely-there

percussion, easy-does-it pianos and

vocals that layer on top of each other

forming a monstrous swarm. Everything

unveiled so far suggests big things

without showing off to the point of

collapse. The best thing she’s released

so far? A video for ‘We’re Like the Hard

Born’, complete with an animated,

talking dog and a selfie stick. Could

we be witnessing 2014’s ultimate pop

breakthrough?

LISTEN ‘We’re Like the Hard

Born’.

FOR FANS OF FKA twigs, saunas.

Don’t be surprised to see Modern Vices

tread a similar path to Chicago’s Twin

Peaks, a raucous bunch who are only

just making their mark on the UK with

the release of second LP ‘Wild Onion’.

Both bands share the same foundation

label, Autumn Tone Records, and there’s

also a kinship in their love for spiky,

ultra-forthright guitar jams. Saying that,

Modern Vices are less about the ‘jams’,

more about direct calls to arms. ‘Taller

in the Sunshine’ is devilish in approach,

soured by its own experience - there’s a

bitter taste to this track, which previews

the band’s forthcoming debut album.

LISTEN ‘Taller In The Sunshine’.

FOR FANS OF The Orwells and

Twin Peaks - Chicago’s finest.

DJ’ing since the age of 14, Kaytranada

has since built up a rep as one of the

most sought after producers in the

game. Beginning with beat tapes and

cursory SoundCloud uploads, he’s

readying himself for a release proper

on XL Recordings. It’s been a long time

coming, but recent track ‘Leave Me

Alone’ suggests he’s only just getting

started. Bass wobbles and house

notes line the seams, but this is also

a song devoted to empty space, the

tiny crevices found in an otherwise allgiving

production. His new ‘So Bad’ EP

is out now.

LISTEN ‘Leave Me Alone’.

FOR FANS OF Staying up ‘til dawn

watching Boiler Room sets.

33

NEU

KID

WAVE

Saying no to jazz hands, when Kid Wave make escapist

music, they really mean it. Words: Jamie Milton. Photo:

Carolina Faruolo.

Champions of escapism don’t

always make their music in

pressured circumstances. Ernest

Greene from Washed Out wasn’t

exactly begging to get out of Georgia or

South Carolina when he started out. Cole

from DIIV penned music for parties, not

out of some effort to get out of New York -

more as a means of getting more involved

in the very scene. Kid Wave are different.

For Lea Emmery, she had her heart set on

being in a rock band, and she knew she

couldn’t achieve this specific dream in

a small Swedish town. So she moved to

London, and two years to the good she’s

about to release her first single as Kid

Wave through esteemed label Heavenly

Recordings.

There’s an urgency to first work ‘All I Want’,

which comes produced by Rory Attwell.

Lea’s vocals glaze over a dreamy wall of

melodic fuzz, but there’s a severe sense

of purpose. “There’s a lot of good music

coming from Sweden, but at the time it felt

a bit dead,” she says. “I had friends playing

in bands that I really loved, but no-one

picked up on it. It was a brick wall. And I just

wanted to move away, do something else.”

Time spent training as a classical and jazz

pianist didn’t suit her one bit - “I wanted

to make rock music!” - so she packed her

bags pronto.

Her first step was a move to the UK capital

back in 2011. “I always knew that I wanted

to move away. The UK has so much history,

and for me it was quite natural,” she says.

But she landed in a city where she knew

no-one and had infinite time on her hands.

“I was on my own for quite some time,

coming home sitting in my room and doing

nothing,” she remembers. “It was obviously

a good time to write.”

A cursory Bandcamp upload gave the

project some speedy attention, but

WAKE,

BAKE,

SKATE

Kid Wave’s first ever video is

the epitome of cool. Directed

by Steve Glashier, the fourpiece

look like they’re vibing

by on the California coast, but

that’s not quite the case. “We

shot that outside Brighton,

in Bexhill,” remembers Lea.

“Some people didn’t even

realise we were on a skate

park. It looked so summery

and it was the warmest day.

I got sunburnt - my poor

Scandinavian skin couldn’t

cope with it. Even though we

came in the afternoon, up

until seven it was so sweaty.

The video’s shot in slow

motion, so you do these takes

quite a lot faster. You have to

play and really rock out.” DIY

34 diymag.com

by this point she didn’t

have a band to play with.

Eventually things came

together. Guitarist Mattias

Bhatt is an old friend, and

Serra Petale taught drums

at a music school where Lea

was studying. Bassist Harry

Deacon arrived slightly

later down the line, with

Lea stressing that it’s “so

important for you to get the

right band members, and

we’re a really tight group

LIVE

R E P O R T

“I WANTED

TO MAKE

ROCK

MUSIC!” LEA

EMMERY

of friends as well.” Bhatt

seems like a vital glue to

Emmery’s sunshine-soaked

vocals - his guitar lines

swerve past conventional

structure. Shoegaze

stalwarts are given a quick

nod, but together, Kid Wave

sound like a band intent on

taking an established sound

someplace else.

“I dream away a lot - I do alot

of daydreaming,” admits

Lea. “And that’s definitely

something that comes

through.” Kid Wave, she says,

is always trying to “translate

the vibe of wanting to go

somewhere else.” Whether

it’s itchy feet or a passport

burning in the back pocket,

everything they’ve released

so far doesn’t just project

escapism, it encourages

those listening in to take

a bold step of their own.

Emmery definitely doesn’t

have plans to settle down.

“It’s tough in London, but

having this vision really

helps. My parents suggested

I might be better doing

something else - definitely

not jazz piano though, they

thought I was shit.”

Kid Wave’s new single ‘All

I Want’ / ’Young Blood’

is out now via Heavenly

Recordings. DIY

DEERS

Corsica Studios, London

“A unique thing to witness” - Deers.

Everybody wants to be part of the Deers gang. Becoming a fifth member might be a

tall ask, so a roadie will do. Someone to pick up beers before a show. A tag-along, a

forgettable part of the entourage - anything. This Madrid band boast an unbounded

enthusiasm that isn’t just infectious, it’s jealousy-inducing. ‘How are these people

having so much fun? Why are they laughing so much? What’s so funny?’ - not one jot of their

beaming routine is rehearsed, which makes just their second London headline show to date

even more enjoyable.

Deers claim to have never had a music lesson between them, and the four-piece live up to

that notion by slap-handedly stumbling between sections, giving gnarly rock ’n roll a whole

new platform. Within it all, they showcase two halves of a forthcoming new single. Whereas

‘Bamboo’ and ‘Trippy Gum’ rinsed out boredom and malaise with the audible equivalent of

a stampede, these new efforts sound sharper. Melodically on-point, Carlotta Cosials and Ana

Perrote’s vocals overlap with complete freedom, almost like they’re inventing hooks on the

spot. It’s a unique thing to witness - a band diving headfirst into the future with brilliant intent.

Wanting to be a part of this is just basic instinct. When they return this November, all eyes will

be on their ascent.

Deers play the DIY Presents in association with PledgeMusic all-dayer at The Laundry,

London on 1st November. DIY

35

NEU

“I HAVE WAY

TOO MANY

IDEAS.”

TĀLĀ

TĀLĀ

TĀLĀ is the product of trips around the world, sitar jam

sessions and Michael Ball. Meet 2014’s next one-of-a-kind

producer. Words: Jamie Milton, Photo: Phil Smithies.

W

hether it’s in the “crazy

house” she grew up in or

the culture shocks she

experiences today, new producer TĀLĀ

absorbs madness and applies it to her

own scattershot sound. The songs

tucked under her belt put the “kitchen

sink” approach to shame. Her first work,

‘The Duchess’, feels like going around

the world in ten minutes: a fusion of

dance and pure-pop that sounds like

the kind of music aliens might produce if

they had just a couple of days to explore

planet Earth before guessing where it’s

headed next.

There’s method behind TĀLĀ’s alleverything

approach. “I have way too

many ideas - I have to sieve them,” she

jokes. “Usually I try and visualise a song

when I’m writing it, to see where it’s

going. A song like ‘Black Scorpio’ feels

really warm. It feels like you’re in a hot

country. And that’s why it’s bigger,

brighter.”

Her background involves growing up in

a house where in one room, her “food

connoisseur” / music-obsessed father

would “pick up a sitar, have a little jam

in our kitchen,” while in the room next

door “my mum’s got something like

Michael Ball on.” She admits that “now

when I think about it… Our house was a

big cultural source.”

TĀLĀ says her unusual musical

upbringing is “probably something I

wasn’t aware of, but it’s had a massive

effect on me.” She hasn’t stopped

absorbing, either. Titles in ‘The Duchess’

point to specific travelling experiences,

like watching a wedding procession in

Thailand (for ‘On My Own in Hua Hin’).

“Sometimes I’ll be somewhere and I’ll

hear something that interests me, and

I’ll record it. When I come back, I’ll have

these random audio recordings. And

they’re gems. They’re one of a kind,” she

says. “And you don’t know if anyone will

like it, or if it’ll make sense to anyone

else. I just know I’m feeling this, so I hope

that other people will gravitate towards

it. It’s more real than something coming

from your computer.”

The rest of 2014 is all about laying

ambitious plans for how to figure out

this ultra-excitable sound - compared

to both Jai Paul and Grimes in recent

months - in a live environment. There’s

also the release of her second EP,

‘Alchemy’, and she’s just set up residency

in her own Soho studio. Top of the

agenda, however, is another visit back

to Thailand. “I’m going to go back the

day after Boxing Day to Thailand. I need

a holiday,” she says. “You know when

you’re somewhere different? The scent,

the colours, the sound - everything.

It’s like a sonic soundscape that you’re

absorbing, and then you take it back

with you.” The distinction between a

typical traveller and TĀLĀ is she isn’t

just being struck by something new,

she’s using culture shocks for her own

purpose. DIY

36 diymag.com

Neu takes a look at the record labels responsible for breakthrough releases, big or small.

LITTLE

LABEL

PNKSLM

FOUNDED: 2013

KEY RELEASES: Sudakistan, ‘Dale

Gas’/’S.S.S.’ (2013), Alexandria, ‘Laid Back

4 Ever’ (2014).

London via Stockholm set-up PNKSLM is a

fine example of what it’s like to be a record

label in 2014, releasing records out of sheer enthusiasm,

instead of a solid base of industry knowhow. Like the more

dance-oriented Numbers, PNKSLM started as a music blog.

It’s since fledged out into a party-bringing, 7”-releasing

monster of its own. Thrashing, excitable punk seems to be

its calling card, although a recent release from Swedish

band Alexandria showcases a desire to expand. Luke from

the label happily answered DIY’s questions.

You’ve been working on the label for a year and a half -

has it been everything you dreamed of? Have some initial

fears been confirmed?

It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s been pretty awesome. Every

single release we’ve put out has been something that I’m

incredibly proud of, and people seem to be digging what

we’re doing. Doing the SXSW showcase and all that stuff have

been some great experiences. So far, so good.

Why is it that a few music blogs end up branching out or

even becoming labels, do you think?

I guess it’s a natural step. For me and the other PNKSLM

boys, we had a blog for a while, and always talked about

doing the label, but never actually got around to doing it.

Being a “blogger” means you get a LOT of music sent to you

constantly. I’d say 90% of it sucks, but when you find that

great 10% and it’s unsigned, you feel a need to do something

about it. That’s how we started the label.

If you could offer one piece of advice to anyone starting a

label today, what would it be?

Please don’t. The turn-around time for vinyl is really pissing

me off, and getting worse every week. You’ll just make it

worse for us! DIY

THIS MONTH IN

EPS

Neu’s monthly round up of EPs focuses in on the exciting

debut releases, the album teasers and the off-the-cuff

Bandcamp gems that everyone should take note of. October

brings a mix of producers, pristine pop projects and

underground triumphs.

Young Karin

no.1

For better or for worse, Purity Ring are responsible

for starting something massive. Their distorted,

trap beats-meets-pure pop embrace has been absorbed by

blog-friendly acts in their masses. But Young Karin might be

the first since those innovators to strike gold. Like Lorde if

she was raised solely on hip-hop, ‘Hearts’, from the Swedish

duo’s first EP, ticks every box. ‘no.1’ is out 27th October on

Pannonica Records.

William Arcane

Reckless

He’s just collaborated with Nalepa from The Acid,

and now attention’s turning to South London

producer William Arcane’s own release. ‘Reckless’ is his most

assured to date. Loaded with complexities, each song still

manages to cosy up with melancholic pop staples like Thom

Yorke and Caribou. It’s out via Pictures Music.

Post Louis

Uptight

It’s been several years since those nearly days,

but Post Louis guitarist Robbie Stern was once a

member of Cajun Dance Party. He’s come a long way since

- this project, between him and vocalist Stephanie Davin -

specialises in beautifully intricate, shape-shifting alternative

rock. They’ve since expanded the band, too, making ‘Uptight’

(their second EP) especially in-your-face and fully-formed. It’s

released on 6th October.

37

cover

38 diymag.com

FUCK

YOU

SAY HELLO TO

THE UK’S BEST

NEW POP STAR,

CHARLI XCX.

WORDS: EL HUNT.

PHOTOS:

MIKE MASSARO.

SUCKERS

39

Ever spotted a pop star? They’re pretty

unmissable. Entourage in tow or not,

they carry an aura on their person at

all times, with star-shaped sprinkles

orbiting around the edges. The people

turning round and double-taking might

not quite recognise them yet, but in a

few months’ time they’ll see them again

on tube adverts and hear their songs on every radio

station. Casually strolling down one of London’s

grey streets of taxi ranks and takeaway sandwich

bars in a fairly impractical feathered gown and

sunglasses, surrounded by a small, importantlooking

team, Charli XCX has created

a stir of this exact variety. A city worker

freezes, and then remembers he’s half way

through taking a bite out of a baguette. A

pair of tourists are frantically taking photos

of her crossing the road, and they don’t

really know why. Disappearing through a door

in a way that seems somehow business-like and

razzmatazz, Charli XCX is a pop star, alright.

It hasn’t always been this way, but with Charli

XCX it has never been a question of if, but rather

when. Most 14-year-old girls circa 2006 were

busy frittering their pocket

money away in Tammy Girl on

diamante slogan t-shirts and

camouflage trousers; Charli XCX

was far too busy convincing her

parents to give her a loan so

that she could make an album.

She did just that, and made ‘14’,

along with her own record label, which she

called Orgy in typical haughty style. All of

a sudden Atlantic snapped her up. There were

two mixtapes in 2012, with a Brooke Candy writer

credit, and enough buzzy sampling to

short circuit a bumblebee. There was

her first major label studio album,

too, the highly-glossed alt-pop

world of ‘True Romance’. Charli XCX

wrote and featured on ‘I Love It’, and

Icona Pop made it one of the biggest

songs of last summer. She wasn’t

a pop star at that point, though,

not on your nelly. By her standards,

Charli XCX was just getting started.

“A couple of days ago I was in Washington

airport getting a Wendy’s, and this Belgian

girl came up to me,” explains Charli, having

absconded from the street to take refuge in an Americanstyle

diner. “She was like, ‘Oh my god, you’re Charli XCX,

can I please have a photo?’ I was literally so fucking tired

with my chilli cheese fries,” she laughs, pulling out her

best impression of jetlag and recreating the moment

vividly. “Shit like that happens to me more now; since

‘Fancy’ [Charli’s collaboration with Iggy Azalea] I suppose.

People come up to me on planes asking me to sign shit. I’ll

always oblige because I want to make my fans happy, but

it is strange for sure.”

“PEOPLE COME UP TO ME ON

PLANES ASKING ME TO SIGN

SHIT. I’LL ALWAYS OBLIGE, BUT

IT IS STRANGE FOR SURE.”

CHARLI XCX

40 diymag.com

“Even just last week I was in three countries

in one day,” she says excitedly. “We took

a private jet which was fucking crazy. We

were all very excited, and probably really

annoying to the flight attendant. We got

there an hour early so we could just take

photos of ourselves outside it and shit.”

Being busy, these days, is the norm. “This

year has been totally hectic,” she concludes.

With a one-off show at London’s Heaven

pencilled in for 30th October, and endless

promotional duties leading up to the

release of ‘Sucker’, it’s a frantic schedule

that shows no signs of letting up, but Charli

feels ready to meet it all head on. “I’ve been

doing this for quite a long time now and I

can really feel it; I’ve become more sure of

myself as an artist and I feel my music has

just got better,” reasons Charli in

response to the question ‘Why

now?’ It’s certainly a confident

answer, but then again,

considering ‘Sucker’ bursts into

life from a bratty launch-pad

of bubblegum popping in a

teacher’s face - accompanied by

the decidedly radio unfriendly

announcement “Fuck you,

sucker!” - her matching gustiness

doesn’t really come as much

of a surprise. Reflecting on her

previous output though, she’s

her own harshest critic, and it

wasn’t really until ‘I Love It’, she

says - “which was literally just me

writing a song in a hotel room

alone” - that she actually believed

herself capable of penning massive

pop songs.

“I feel like throughout ‘True

Romance’ I was quite insecure as

a person, as an artist, and very

unsure of myself in

terms of songwriting,

still,” Charli admits.

“Even though it was my

voice, I feel there were

a lot of other voices

on that record, too.

When I grew up I was

really worried about

being cool,” she adds.

“I felt that pressure.

I was never the cool

kid in school, and

loads of people told

me that I was weird,

that I dressed uncool

and did uncool things,

that I was too nice, too

happy, all this. All of

41

cover

“I THINK THE BEST ARTISTS

ARE THE ONES WHO CONSTANTLY

CHANGE. MADONNA, BOWIE.”

CHARLI XCX

CXCXCXCXCXCXCXCX

XCXCXCXCXCXCXCXCX

42 diymag.com

that made me a bit ‘ugh’, and

made me want to compensate

for my personality by making

quite a muted and shy album,

really. That was the outcome on ‘True

Romance’. Now I really don’t care what

people think,” she shrugs. “ I’ve made this

album because it’s what comes naturally

to me. I feel less afraid to say that now,

y’know?”

This time round, Charli is far less bothered

about how people perceive both her and

her music. “I’ve already started reading ‘oh,

she’s sold out!’” she laughs, “and I’m like,

but you haven’t heard the album! The first

song says ‘Fuck you’ about 25 times and it’s

a two minute song!”

They’ll have to wait a little longer to hear

‘Sucker’ before making up their minds,

though. Following this interview Charli

announced that she would be

pushing back her album release

date to January next year,

citing the unexpected

success of ‘Boom Clap’

as the main reason. “I’m

overwhelmed by the love for boom

clap & the support from all u angels,”

she wrote on her twitter account, “I

need to put the date back so I can

launch the album properly...”

‘Sucker’, after all, is an album that

Charli XCX seems determined to get

CXCXCXCXCcompletely right, and she repeatedly

emphasises the importance of releasing

something that is “100%” her. Above and

beyond anything else she’s put her name

to, ‘Sucker’ does feel and sound

unmistakably like an album that

on ly Charli XCX could write.

The sheen and polish is gone,

making way for something rawer

around the edges, exuding more

attitude than John Bender with his

feet defiantly on the desk in

Breakfast Club detention.

Her influences range from

infectious French yé-yé pop

from the 1960s to ‘Feeling

Alright’ by The Vibrators,

which Charli discovered

on a punk compilation

she bought in WHSmiths

for two quid. “I think I’ve

always been very inspired

by Paris,” she states. “With

my first record I was very

inspired by [dance label]

Ed Banger. With this, it was

60s pop, and this whole

idea of Lolita; the way that the music

all sounds so child-like, but really

sexy and feminine at the same time.

That inspired me a lot, and even the way that the vocals are

cut in those songs; the gang-like chants. That was something

I was thinking about pretty much straight after

‘True Romance’ came out.” She pauses. “Following

‘I Love It’ I pushed away from all pop music and

felt very inspired by punk. I remember towards the

end of last year I was in Sweden, with [collaborator]

Patrick Berger, and we were writing songs. Both of

us felt angry and aggressive about being asked to replicate ‘I

Love It’, and we both wanted to fuck everyone off for a while;

not tell people where we were, what we were doing. I was just

covering songs from his band, Snuffed By The Yakuza, to get

out our aggression, and I think through that I was able to fall in

love with pop music again.”

The roll call for ‘Sucker’ is a diverse one, featuring the likes of

Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire

Weekend. She nearly did a song with Pelle

from The Hives, too, she adds; “it was cool,

but didn’t work out in the end.” Having

the freedom and confidence to work

with whomever she likes, and write

however the hell she fancies on any

given day, Charli agrees, is hugely

important. “I’ve always been in control of everything

that I’ve done, but now so more than ever,” she nods, “I feel

100% confident in my own vision. I have discussions and ask for

opinions, but at the end of the day it’s me making the calls and

calling the shots. This wasn’t something curated by my record

label. If I wanted to do a session with someone, I’d reach out to

them and go do it. I do feel more confident, though, yes, and it

comes across on the album,”

“I think the best artists are the ones who constantly

change,” adds Charli. “Madonna, Bowie. This idea of

building a brand seems to have come about super

strong in the past ten years, but I don’t understand

that so much. I don’t think it makes for interesting art, I think it

If you could get yourself a time machine,

and travel back to star in an iconic music

video, which one would you choose?

Charli: “It kind of would’ve been cool

to be in one of the Robert Palmer music

videos, just cos those videos are dope.

I understand they’re very objectifying

of women, but stylistically I’m blown

away. I’d kind of like to have been Robert

Palmer, actually. Just get him out of the

suit and put me in it.”

XCXCXCXCXCX

43

cover

makes for selling a product. I’m less interested in

that, and more interested in challenging myself

and my audience.”

‘Sucker’, for all intents and purposes, is huge.

It’s also a self-aware pop record, and stomping

its own path through a chart already crammed

full with stars and big names, ‘Sucker’ seems

to clear a new space. Having previously

informed DIY that this is an album written for

“for girls, and for everyone on the planet with

a pussy,” Charli is delighted at the suggestion

that ‘Sucker’ is sexy, albeit in a way that feels

honest and real. “Absolutely!” she exclaims

slapping a hand onto the table in agreement,

startling a nearby customer.

“I think it’s a feminine album, and a sexy album,” she

expands, “but when I think about what the stereotype of

sexy is, to the average person, I don’t think it is that. I feel

sexy singing these songs, and I hope that

inspires other girls and other women,

because you can totally be confident and

feel amazing in your own skin without

having to try and conform to what Heat

magazine, or FHM or any guy says is sexy. I

think what women think is sexy is what is sexy.”

“Girls eating pizza is massively sexy,” she

announces abruptly, “that turns me on.”

She pauses to offer round the onion rings, clearly

pleased with the appropriate comic timing. “I

really just want to change the way that women

think about themselves,” she

continues. “A lot of young girls are

quite lost. I was. In parts I still am. I

think it would be cool for women to

feel like they connect to

someone who is also a bit

scruffy. I’m not clean-cut

and perfect, I say dumb

shit and I fall over, and I want girls to

know that’s cool.”

Not afraid to speak her mind, Charli XCX isn’t

going to pass media-training for the Disney Club,

and she doesn’t especially care for celebrity

culture. “It’s all about rules, and what you can say,

and what you can’t say,” she sighs, ”gossip, reality

and celebrities. It’s not about iconic moments

in music history.” Talk turns to the MTV Music

Video Awards. “I was kind of bored,”

she puts it, quite bluntly. Riff Raff and

Katy Perry’s denim homage to Britney

Spears’ and Justin Timberlake’s matchy

blue ensemble from 2001, she says, in

the interest of fairness “was the best

thing about them! That’s exactly what I’m talking

about.”

On supporting Katy Perry next year...

Charli: “It’s going to be interesting cos

it’ll be super young kids. Part of me is

really excited to bring something totally

new to that kind of space, and other parts

are apprehensive. From doing the Coldplay

tour I’ve learned you get a lot of shit

being the support. It’s just the internet

and something you have to deal with and not

read, but I am a bit worried about that. It’s

fine, though, I’m going to just do my thing.”

Charli has a plan to up the ante, however. “I’d

like to arrive on my school bus with an army

of punk ten-year-olds spray painting the stepand-repeat

[red

carpet backdrop],” she laughs. “That’d

be tight. That would be amazing,

like the ‘Break The Rules’ video, but

permanently. My band would hate me,

though, there’d be no beds, they’d be

just sat up the whole time. I’d love to roll

around in a school bus, though, uh huh.”

Although she jokes that she’d love to

blow everything on making her live show like a

“Japanese gameshow,” Charli recently

bought a house, instead, which you’d

think would make her feel rather

sensible and adult. “It makes me

feel grown up, the fact that I have a

house,” she grins, “but when I think

about how I’m doing it up it, makes me feel like a child.

There’s carpet all over the walls and hanging chairs and

glitter curtains with tiny mattresses

and dens on the floor, so it’s like a

playhouse. That makes me feel about

12. My neighbours are all super old and

they’re like, oh god, who’s this

girl who knocked down all the

walls in her house on day one?”

Will Charli XCX be hosting

elaborate parties at her new

madcap pad? She looks a

little sheepish for a moment; “Um…” she hesitates, before

laughing. “I mean, probably. Yeah. It’s going to be hard not

to.”

Private jets, VMA parties to attend, and Hot 100

billboard topping singles to her name, Charli

XCX must surely feel like a pop star by now? “It’s

funny because I guess I’ve just really shut myself

off from the idea of that now,” she reasons. “I feel

like an ice cube floating around in a sea of chill.

It’s not something that interests me. I really do just want to

be in the studio or on tour all the time, and everything else

is just beginning to freak me out.” She looks around and a

nearby punter quickly looks away, pretending not to be at

all affected by the fact that Charli XCX is sat in a feathery

dressing gown eating onion rings on the next table. “I guess

that’s what being a pop star is, you know?”

Charli XCX’s new album ‘Sucker’ will be released on 26th

January via Asylum Records. DIY

44 diymag.com

“I FEEL LIKE

AN ICE CUBE FLOATING AROUND

IN A SEA OF CHILL.” CHARLI

XCX

45

weezer

When even your fans are offering you a million dollars to pack it in, most bands would wonder if it

was worth continuing at all. Not Weezer though. Rivers Cuomo explains why going back to their

roots has resulted in their best album in a decade. Words: Emma Swann.

E v e r y t h i n g

w i l l

b e

alright

46 diymag.com

ou can’t, as popular wisdom has it, be all things to all people. Try and please some, and

others will hate you for it. Weezer, over their twenty-plus year existence, have become a

lot of things to a lot of people. Once described as the ‘most mainstream alternative’ band

to Radiohead’s ‘most alternative mainstream’, they’ll cover Pixies in a heartbeat, and sing

about their “favourite rock group, Kiss” the next. Throughout their back catalogue is the

lingering feeling that frontman Rivers Cuomo grew up with every intention of being an American

Bruce Dickinson – his eyesight and vocal cords just didn’t want to play ball. They’ve spanned college

(or ‘slacker’) rock, emo and pop-punk without ever really being any of them at all.

And yet, somehow, they remain one of the most criticised bands, well, ever. The golden rule of the

internet may be ‘haters gonna hate’ – but Weezer suffer more than most. At the extreme end, there’s

the 2010 petition offering the band $1m to stop making music altogether, but even from some calling

themselves fans you’ll get an immediate sniff at any new material post-millennium. That’s seven

whole albums dismissed with little more than a click of the mouse.

in the

e n d

47

weezer

“WE

WANT TO HAVE IT

Rivers is delighted at the in-flight film options.

ALL”

rivers Cuomo

So it’s no wonder the band – that’s

Cuomo, guitarist Brian Bell, bassist

Scott Shriner and drummer Patrick

Wilson – have a love/hate relationship

with the Internet. It wasn’t until they

were offline, in a boat miles off the

coast of Florida, that they began to

think about the ninth record that would

become ‘Everything Will Be Alright In

The End’. “In the pre-internet days we

could play our new material at shows

before it was recorded,” Rivers explains.

“Get that instant feedback, a sense of

what’s working and what’s not and let

the song develop in that communal

setting. But around 2000-2001 we tried

to do that, and any new song we played

would instantly get circulated around

the world and judged as if it were a

finished product.”

“It’s difficult for a work of art to grow

in that kind of environment,” he adds.

“It needs a little more privacy and a

safe womb in which to develop. So we

stopped performing works in progress

at our shows, and ended up feeling

separated from our audience. Then a

few years back we went out on a giant

boat with a couple thousand hardcore

Weezer fans [for the Weezer Cruise]

with no internet connection and for five

days all we had was each other. It was

all face-to-face real-life contact, and

there was an incredible feeling of love

and support and passionate enthusiasm

for the band, that was much more

beneficial than the types of interaction

we’d been having online.”

Their approach is easily heard in the

first single from the record, ‘Back to

the Shack’ – which Rivers himself

describes as “about coming back to the

fan community and our audience.” It’s

there in the literal returning-to-theirroots

lyrics and the tongue-in-cheek

self-deprecation. “We forgot that disco

sucks,” Rivers sings, all-bar admitting

that 2009’s pop-infused ‘Raditude’ was

48 diymag.com

somewhat of a failed experiment.

After all, he says, should an artist find

themselves adrift from their peers,

they can “either totally close off the

whole world, or end up surrounded

by well-meaning advisers who

weren’t there when the band first

started, who might be pulling and

pushing the band in not the most

helpful directions.”

It’s also one which has kept online

leakage to a minimum, allowing the

band to tease the record via their own

self-styled ‘Weezer Wednesday’ clips.

“We put a lot of thought into how

we wanted to gradually reveal the

album,” Rivers explains. “I think we’ve

found a perfect balance. Giving the

audience a taste of what’s to come -

enough to get super excited and to

get a sense of what the album’s gonna

be about, what it stands for - and at

the same time holding back most of

it, so that when they finally hear the

whole thing in its entirety they’re

going to be blown away.”

When describing the clips themselves

– which veer between live video

and strange acted-out scenes –

Rivers mentions “the story that runs

through the album.” Indeed, one of

the first clips to be shared involved

a small bespectacled boy; another

a similarly-attired teenager – not

a stretch to imagine them both as

depicting younger Rivers. Weezer’s

personal lyrical content has always

been part of their draw. When ‘I’ve

Had It Up To Here’ throws out lines

like “I don’t want to compromise

my art for universal appeal” and

‘Foolish Father’ follows later with the

sentimental “you are his daughter /

he’d do anything for you,” wondering

whether a title like ‘Eulogy For A

Rock Band’ is autobiographical, well,

doesn’t take too much of a leap.

Not that Rivers is going to be called

on it. “I don’t want to say too much

about it,” he offers when quizzed

about whether there’s a concept at

play, “I think fans should hear the

record first, and see the artwork and

live with it and then slowly discover

what it all means and put the pieces

together for themselves.”

Returning to the figurative

‘shack’ didn’t only mean

talking to their fans. The

band regrouped with

producer Ric Ocasek of The

Cars, who they’d worked

with on both the ‘Blue’

and ‘Green’ self-titled albums. A man

who is, as Rivers puts it, “an essential

ingredient in our recipe.”

“We knew we wanted to make a

classic Weezer-sounding album, and

there’s no-one on earth who can help

us get that sound better than him.

In fact, even when we know he’s just

on his way down to the studio, we

already start changing the way we

play. We actually step up our game

because we all grew up Cars fans, and

he was a legend to us, so when he

walks in the room he has this instant

power and authority over us. No

matter how big we get, he’ll always be

a few levels above us in our minds.”

And yes, ‘Everything Will Be Alright

In The End’ is quintessential Weezer.

Place your stylus, whether literal

or metaphorical, anywhere on its

eleven tracks, and this is an album

that couldn’t be by anyone else. “It’s

hard to know exactly what it feels like

for other people,” Rivers responds,

“because we’re right in the middle of

it, this is who we are. But I think it’s

true that this is, more than anything

else, a purely Weezer record. We’re

just digging deep in to ourselves

and you’ll hear a lot of classic Weezer

elements, but you’ll also hear us

trying things we’ve never tried before.

In the end it sounds like it could be

nobody but Weezer.”

It’s true. All those magic chord

changes, faltering vocals, guitar

sounds and song structures. It’s all

there. A Weezer who know and play

to their strengths, comfortable in

their own skin. Aiming to please

nobody but themselves. There’s ‘Da

Vinci’s adorably candid chorus refrain

beginning “even Da Vinci couldn’t

paint you / and Stephen Hawking

can’t explain you”; the sweet-andsour

‘Go Away’, co-written with

and featuring Best Coast’s Bethany

Cosentino; ‘Cleopatra’ with its

skittering between song parts that

really shouldn’t match, but work

brilliantly.

“One of the strengths of Weezer is

a sense of balance,” Rivers muses.

“Especially over the course of a long

album, we’re able to have some

intensely personal songs, some

more universal songs, and enough

that’s common in between that they

work as an album. We strive for that

balance, not just in the lyrics, but in

every way. We want to have heavy

rock guitars, but we also want to

have beautiful melodies, bombastic

drums, but also gorgeous three-part

harmonies, shredding guitar solos,

but also other textures like small

piano melodies and glockenspiel. We

basically want to have it all.”

Having it all inevitably involves

the bizarre. So closing the record

is the building, near-eight-minute

‘Futurescope Trilogy’ that’s at parts

batshit crazy as anything Muse have

put to tape; imagine Bill and Ted’s

Wild Stallyns taking on ‘Only in

Dreams’ and you’d be halfway there.

“We wanted the album to build

towards a climax,” says Rivers. “And

by that point in the album, we’d used

all the tools a normal artist would use.

And so we have to go to the extreme

and come up with something that’s,

as you put it, batshit crazy.” He laughs.

“I’ll be curious to see how people

reacts to those seven-and-a-half

minutes of music. For us it’s one of the

most thrilling pieces of music we’ve

ever had the pleasure of playing.

We’re so excited about it. It’ll be

interesting to see how the audience

responds.”

Weezer’s new album ‘Everything

Will Be Alright In The End’ will be

released on 6th October via Island.

DIY

“The album could

rivers Cuomo

be nobody but Weezer.”

49

jessie ware

NEVER

S E T T L E

A celebrated star, married,

happier than she’s even been - Jessie

Ware isn’t letting the good life get

in the way of her being the UK’s

specialist in bittersweet pop

songs. Words: Jamie Milton

t this year’s Glastonbury festival, a party-ready Jessie Ware got landed with a Sunday afternoon slot on the

John Peel Stage. She could’ve been handed a better draw. “I was like, ‘Ah fuck, I’m on a Sunday’. I’ve left

Glastonbury before on a Sunday,” she remembers. “I thought people would be like ‘Fuck this’.” But despite

gloomy eyes, heavy heads and burning car keys, people stayed on site and turned up in their thousands. And

they did the thing most Jessie Ware concert-goers tend to do. They had a good cry. “I even had my boyfriend

crying. He was probably exhausted from the weekend of partying…”

This is the gist of it - Jessie Ware is still writing bittersweet, tear-strewn songs. People emote in their masses.

Handkerchiefs are at a discount. There isn’t a non-smudged selfie shot in the house. But now there’s the

chance that she might be too happy to maintain this killer hitrate of tearjerkers. ‘Tough Love’, her new album,

doesn’t pretend that relationships are an easy ride (clue’s in the bloody title), but by the time it’s out, Jessie

will be a couple of months into married life. It’s a subject she’s broached plenty of times, and she doesn’t

mind questions because she’s “been quite open about it - I can’t really expect people to not ask about it.” But

is marriage going to hinder the melancholic side she specialises in as a songwriter? Fat chance.

“I’ve been pretty happy for the last four years, you know,” she begins. “But my voice lends itself better to

bittersweetness. I want to stay true to myself. That’s the music I wanna make. And I hope being in love and

being a married woman won’t change that.”

‘Tough Love’ sees Ware going one step further in trusting her emotions. These lend themselves to playful

soul numbers like ‘Sweetest Song’ and album standout ‘Champagne Kisses’, but they’re also unafraid about

50 diymag.com

getting down to the bare details. ‘Say You Love Me’, co-written with Ed Sheeran,

sounds like a classic love song in the making. “It’s got that familiarity that you can’t

put your finger on,” she agrees. “He’s so comfortable with being a songwriter. I

don’t think I’ll ever be as comfortable as him. It was amazing to watch. I didn’t want

to deny myself a song that’s so beautiful. And it was so easy to write, which makes

it even sweeter. It wasn’t this thing where we were sitting down going, ‘How are

we going to pull at people’s heartstrings?!’ You know. It was literally instinct and

that’s so brilliant.”

A couple of times, speaking ahead of ‘Tough Love’’s release, Jessie says she’s not the most confident of song-penners.

It’s strange, in a sense, given that ‘Devotion’ had her standing out in the crowd. The soul of that record and the depth

arrived with the ‘Not Just Any Other Songwriter’ tag. On this follow-up, she’s kept pretty much the same team. Close

friends pick up production credits, like BenZel (Two Inch Punch and Benny Blanco) and Dave Okumu from The Invisible.

And beyond the supporting cast, the singer at the front is still trying out batshit ideas. Probably more batshit than

before.

Going back to ‘Say You Love Me’, it packs a closing section that sounds like your everyday gospel choir. Rousing, ready

for a confetti curtain sendoff, it’s actually just one small flock of familiar faces. Stuff the choir - this is Ed Sheeran’s voice

layered again and again and again. A few more layers belong to Jessie, and the rest to Benny Blanco’s own family. The

same goes for the rest of the record, where vocal notes entangle and aim for foolhardy heights. “Yeah, all the high

stuff,” is how she refers to it. “I’ve really fucked myself with this album…

“Sometimes it’s easy to forget it’s your voice that people are wanting to hear. If it’s tired, or if you’re tired, it’s not the

same. It’s the instrument but it’s so reliant on you looking after yourself. I’m really strict on looking after myself when

I’m on tour. I’m not reckless with my voice. I don’t drink that much. I’m pretty sensible.”

51

jessie ware

“I was like,

‘Mate, I’ve got

mud on me.’”

Jessie Ware

and parallel lanes. In the end, Aaron

Jerome asked if she’d work on a track; the playfully disjointed

shuffle of ‘Problem Solved’. “That guy really started everything for me. He

gave me my first break as a solo singer,” she cites. “And I’m never going to

turn down working with someone I consider to be a pioneer in the electronic

world. Lots of people have looked to SBTRKT and that first album. I knew it

would be exciting, and there was a history with us there.”

Whether it’s Chance or SBTRKT - or even Miguel, who guests on two ‘Tough

Love’ tracks - the collaboration process is completely reciprocated. “I didn’t

have people banging down my door, if I’m honest,” she claims. “But yeah,

I got to ask and see if people would be up for it. It definitely helped that

I had an album under my belt.” Sessions were often wrapped up quickly -

Miguel’s two contributions came about in two days. And they’d be defined

by a “comfortable” studio environment, an anything goes atmosphere. In

the least rock ‘n roll anecdote in living memory, Ware and Sheeran’s sessions

were defined by quick trips to Whole Foods. “I mean, do I seem like a very

rock and roll singer to you? Let’s be honest. Does Ed seem rock and roll? I’ve

been on a wedding diet!” she jokes.

To make emotional juggernauts, in this case, there didn’t need to be a great

deal of soul-searching. Some songwriters seek within for inner turmoil,

get reflective enough to unleash their inner demons. But on ‘Tough Love’,

Jessie sticks to the truth. She lends her strengths to a record that’ll likely

send her stock skywards. No false intentions, no desire to break free from an

already successful team, she’s about as honest as they come. “I’m laughing,

I’m being self-deprecating, I’m taking the piss out of myself, which I’m good

at,” she admits. In the beginning of her career, she was “so serious”, but

she’s since broken out. “People thought I was moody, mysterious. I guess I

wanted to add a bit of mystery because if I showed too much, guys would

be like ‘Who the fuck is this?’ So it was easier to hold back at the beginning.

But now, you get an audience where people are paying money to see you.

I wanted to show them a bit of personality.”

Since then, that personality’s run amok. It’s as big a contributor to Jessie

Ware’s success as the versatile, flooring voice she helped set the world alight

with. ‘Tough Love’ might be the result of a happy few years - with plenty

more to come - but this star remains devoted to prompting a good oldfashioned,

cathartic sob. Let that never change.

Jessie Ware’s new album ‘Tough Love’ will be released on 13th October

via PMR Records / Island. DIY

Recklessness was embraced just a couple of times in the past year. That

included the immediate aftermath of her successful, sob-centric Glasto

set. The only issue - she was invited back to the studio with Chance

the Rapper the following morning. He’d met her side-stage while

they were watching Sam Smith, and he extended an invite. “I was

feeling so rough. But I didn’t want to say no. He was like, ‘Come

on, we’ve just met.’ I was like, ‘Mate, I’ve got mud on me.’”

Eventually, the next morning Jessie “got in the shower, pinched

my cheeks” and they ended up working on something

exciting. Collaborating is second nature for this musician. She

started out guesting on Joker and SBTRKT numbers, becoming

an anomaly in the electronic sphere. “Me and Sampha - we had

things like ‘Valentine’. Songs that probably didn’t make sense

with the rest of the music that was about. But it felt good,” she

remembers. “It was always the music that I wanted - big pop but

with more soul.”

She ended up going back into the studio with SBTRKT earlier this year,

after they initially “lost

touch” following careers

that took off in separate paths

Sweet

Talk

Jessie convinced some huge

names to help out on ‘Tough

Love’. In her own words,

here’s a guide to the guests;

some fresh faces, some old

heads.

DEV HYNES “He’s been a

friend of mine for years. I love

what he does and I love Blood

Orange.”

JAMES FORD “We’ve

worked together previously

and I knew that was a relationship

I wanted to revisit.

For me it’s all about being

comfortable in a studio.”

MIGUEL “That was me calling

in a favour because I’d sung

on his UK release of ‘Adorn’.

He definitely didn’t need me

on that song, but I thought I’d

ask if he’d be up for helping

me write my record.”

ED SHEERAN “Ed was just

coming over to New York - he

was probably jetlagged. And

he had to do Saturday Night

Live. He didn’t have to work

with me, he didn’t have to do

it. But I’m so, so happy that

he did.”

BENZEL “Two Inch Punch

I’ve been friends with for

years. He’s on my label. And

the other one is Benny [Blanco].

He’s the pop hitmaker.

But he’s also been my mate

for a couple of years. And we

worked on stuff for fun.”

52 diymag.com

“I’ve really

fucked myself

with this

album…”

Jessie Ware

“Do I

seem like

a very

rock

and roll

singer

to you?”

Jessie Ware

53

lower than atlantis

B o y s

d

o

n

e

g o o d

When their third album

didn’t quite go to plan,

Lower The Atlantis very

nearly called it a day.

But despite it all, they’re

back with the follow up.

Words: Sarah Jamieson,

Photos: Phil Smithies.

“WE FELT

FREE TO DO

WHATEVER

THE

FUCK WE

WANTED.”

MIKE DUCE

54 diymag.com

The music biz

is a difficult

place: bands

are sucked

in and spat

back out on

a daily basis. It’s a tough

world out there, when push

comes to shove. Watford

four-piece Lower Than

Atlantis know this better

than most. For their third

album – their cleverly

titled ‘World Record’

– the band signed to a

major label and prepared

themselves to dominate

the charts. Everything was

meticulously mapped out,

but it didn’t quite go to plan

and they quickly had to

learn who their real friends

were.

“We weren’t sure what was

going to happen,” begins

the quartet’s frontman

Mike Duce. “We didn’t have

a label, we didn’t have a

manager. Everyone had

kinda jumped ship and it

was almost as if no one had

the faith in us anymore.

It was as though we had

something to prove.” Lower

Than Atlantis have never

been ones to just roll over

and give up, and so the

band made light of their

new circumstances and

continued on their own

terms: their new self-titled

record was born.

“We weren’t even sure if

we were gonna be a band

anymore, or if we were,

if we were gonna take it

seriously. But now,” he

continues, “there was no

pressure, there was no time

limit on anything that we

were doing. We felt free to

do whatever the fuck we

wanted because it might

not have even seen the light

of day. It was just for us, it

was just for fun. All you can

ever do when you’re in a

band is write music that you

would like to hear yourself.

We did that, and we had a

lot of fun with it and then, it

came out well.

a lot of pressure, being

this little punk rock band

signed to a major label too

early - or at least, I think,

too early - in our careers.

We were never going to

achieve what people were

asking of us. Then, as soon

as that pressure was taken

away, it became fun again

immediately. We’re all

mates anyway, and we’re

really lucky that even if

we weren’t in this band,

we’d still all be best mates

hanging out so that makes

it fun.”

Having returned to their

home town, their first plan

of action was to build their

own studio. A task that

proved as hands on as that

implies, it did become a

key part of bringing the

four-piece back together.

“We really got down to the

nitty gritty,” he assures. “We

had a couple of builders

but we were like labourers

really, we did the stuff like

the painting together.

It was great to just hang

out outside of the band

atmosphere and to all be

working towards a common

goal; to have our recording

studio at the end, which is

the fucking coolest thing

ever.”

With their own working

space now a reality, the

band were free to write

and record as they saw fit.

In fact, it was only much

later in the process that

they were given any sort

of time constraints, when

they signed a new record

deal with Sony RED. By that

time, it worked as more

of a blessing. “It’s hard to

say when something’s

done,” Mike

shares. “I

always

imagine

that an

artist

or a

“Before, we felt a hell of

55

lower than atlantis

painter, they know when [their piece] is done,

but I guess you kinda don’t. There was no time

or pressure on anything until the end, until the

album had to be delivered. We’d signed when

the album was finished in semi-form, but when it

came to re-recording stuff in the demo sessions,

it was nice to have something to push against.

They were like, ‘We need the album by this date’,

and if we hadn’t had that, we’d still be going

now I think.”

Thanks to their lack of inhibition, the band

have managed to produce arguably their best

album to date. Still packing the rough punch

of their previous records, their latest effort

comes packed to the brim with huge hooks and

massive choruses. A rock full-length throughand-through,

it’s also not shy to dally with the

boundaries of the pop mainstream; an area

that Duce himself has become more aligned

with, thanks to his recent experience in the

songwriting world.

“I’ve definitely learned a lot from doing the pop

writing,” he readily admits. “I’ve gotten to work

with a lot of prestigious people who have done

a lot of crazy shit, so it was more of just taking

what I’ve learned from that and applying it in

ways. I mean, when I’m writing pop stuff, I feel a

lot more free because, at the end of the day, as

long as the artist is happy with it, that’s the main

thing. It’s a lot harder writing for yourself, than it

is for other people.

“Even then, there was no particular mindset of,

‘We’re gonna do this’, ‘We want to sound like

this.’ We’ve never had that. If ever a song came

out sounding like something we hadn’t done

before, no one would ever say it didn’t sound

like our band. If it sounds good, it sounds good.”

“WE WERE

NEVER

GOING TO

ACHIEVE

WHAT

PEOPLE

WERE

ASKING OF

US.”

MIKE DUCE

If their successes so far are anything to go by,

there should be few worries ahead. Even the

first song to be revealed from the album was

a runaway success - ‘Here We Go’ boasted a

staggering five weeks on the BBC Radio 1 A List.

“For that song,” Mike laughs, “after the album

was done, we went to record four b-sides and

had three written, but ‘Here We Go’ wasn’t. We

went in, and I told our producer Dan, ‘I’ve written

a bunch of riffs, the chord progression and the

top line, but I haven’t stitched it together yet.’ He

was like, ‘For fuck’s sake, man! Be prepared.’

“So, we wrote it and did the demo that day. The

second day, we recorded it properly and laid

down some real drums. Then, we sent it to our

manager and radio plugger. Our radio plugger

was like, ‘This is a single.’ We were just like,

‘Really?! We wrote it yesterday and just boshed

it out…’ She was like, ‘No, seriously, it’s a single.’

We re-tracked the vocals and then the day after

that it was sent to radio. On the Monday, it was

written, on the Tuesday, it was recorded and on

the Wednesday it went to radio. It was crazy!”

Therein lies the beauty of their latest record:

despite being born amidst chaos, it’s so far

managing to prove all those who lost faith in

the band wrong. “With this album, and with this

band as well, that one song has surpassed any

of our expectations so anything from now is just

cool. We’ve been in this band for seven years and

the way we see it now is to just enjoy ourselves.

All of our crew are our friends so we just wanna

have a laugh and see what happens. Like I said,

we’ve already surpassed our expectations, so...”

Lower Than Atlantis’s new self-titled album is

out now via Sony RED. DIY

56 diymag.com

57

ben howard

Where

We

Were

For his debut, he went Top 5, won two

BRIT Awards and achieved a Mercury Prize

nomination. Where will Ben Howard go next?

Words: Hayley Fox, Photos: Mike Massaro.

58 diymag.com

can’t see the horizon at all, it’s like the end of the world. It feels like the

Truman Show, you know that bit when he’s knocking on the glass?” Ben

Howard is describing the scenery as he walks along a “never ending” beach

in Vlieland, Holland. He’s preparing to play Into The Great Wide Open

Festival and it seems an ideal location for him to be speaking about his

new record, given his laid-back attitude and his Devon roots.

“You

The night before, he played a sold out show at Hackney Empire, surprising

fans by playing the whole of his new album, ‘I Forget Where We Were’. “I don’t think anyone realised that we

were going to do that either, so it was quite liberating and nice to play the new stuff and not have to worry

about entertaining people with the old stuff,” he comments.

The new album arrives just over three years since Ben released his debut ‘Every Kingdom’. The

platinum, Mercury Prize-nominated album also helped him on the way to winning two BRITs

for Best British Breakthrough and Best British Male Solo Artist. Since then he’s also played the

Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, and sold out numerous shows on a global scale. Ben admits

there was ”definitely an underlying pressure” going into starting work on album number two.

“We never predicted the success of the first record and that just kept going and going

and we kept touring and touring, and we knew one day that we’d have to make another

album,” he recalls. “There was also pressure in feeling that it was actually the right time

to get in the studio and start making some different music.”

“The new record tests our fanbase a little bit.” Ben Howard

‘I Forget Where We Were’ has a title very much influenced by themes riled up in

the wake of the first record. “It’s kind of about being aware of what is current

and what is now after spending so much time in the music world,” he says.

“No-one really has a clue what’s going on musically or anything like that

really, and it’s only with hindsight that you start to realise what has

happened and what were the definitive moments in your life or in

what’s going on around you. That was one side of it, but the other

was my complete lack of understanding for anything over the

winter. I struggled with a lot of stuff and just sort of lost my mind

a little bit, so it felt like a fitting title and a kind of glimpse of

madness.”

The album visibly pushes boundaries and conventions

attached to the compelling indie/folk crossover that

cropped up through ‘Every Kingdom’ – especially in

the crowd pleasing ‘Only Love’, ‘The Wolves’ and

‘The Fear’. ‘I Forget Were We Were’ is a spiralling

mind map of intricate melodies with real focus

on experimentation at its heart. Ben’s emotive

tones and imaginative lyrics still lurk to

connect with fans that fell in love with the

first record. Like ‘Every Kingdom’, the

record is ten tracks long, though it still

manages to rack up 55 minutes, with

more than half the songs passing

the five-minute marker. ‘End

Of The Affair’ is a particular

highlight, which goes off on a

haunting reverb-drenched

tangent with pained

vocals and is just shy of

eight minutes.

The album was

produced by

Chris Bond, a

long-term

59

ben howard

collaborator of Ben’s, who also plays

drums “and lots of other stuff.” Ben

quips, “It’s always quite funny when

you read the small print of who played

what and Chris ends up having a

hefty list under his name.” Though

Ben makes a point that they were

“all in it together”, along with Mickey

Smith and Chris’ brother, Bear. They

all helped to influence Ben’s ideas

with him admitting, “the whole album

could’ve been songs like ‘End Of The

Affair’, if it hadn’t been for the guys and

everyone else. I was very much hooked

into the delayed acoustic guitar sound

that I was really enjoying.”

He also got very involved with bass

parts and drum patterns on the album.

“I think that’s why the whole album

is quite scatterbrain because there

are so many different ideas and styles

out there because I had quite a part

in just working on instinct and things

I felt, rather than having to stick to a

definitive style.”

Just like the first record, ‘I Forget Where

We Were’ was made in Devon, the

place Ben grew up in. The timing, place

and season when recording an album

is important to him as he describes the

process as “a long adventure of about

eight months.” He explains, “One thing

is the practical side of it as you have a

lot of time which means you come out

with a lot of different stuff that perhaps

you wouldn’t do if you had to go in to

the studio for a short amount of time.

It’s almost like the first version of a

song that comes out is the definitive

version. So, we had a lot of time to

rework things.”

Nature and the feeling of wilderness

have always crept up in Ben’s music.

Whether that’s in the breezy rhythms,

canoodling finger picking or more

obviously, visuals set in the great

outdoors. Who hasn’t thought about

how fun it would be to set up a

makeshift flume like the one in the

‘Keep Your Head Up’ video? Devon’s

murky winter weather also made some

sort of mark on some tracks. “It was a

very epic season down in Devon and

we were very much part of all those

crazy storms coming through. There

were trees in the road most nights and

there were these really epic nights

when we’d come home at 4am and the

whole world felt like it was blowing

over.”

Growing up by the sea, Ben has

previously spoken about another

passion that rides alongside his music,

60 diymag.com

surfing. A hobby that has now been “mostly neglected’ this past year. “Surfing has

been having an extreme identity crisis at the moment, so I’m staying out of it. It’s

sort of been so saturated by the culture that I think I’ve lost the joy of it recently

and found music a lot more interesting. There are times to go surfing but

mostly when there’s no one there,” he says with an air of mystery.

While the Devon backdrop did play a part in influencing the album, Ben

was listening to an eclectic range of music while making the album.

Names including Neil Young, Talk Talk, Radiohead, Angel Olsen, John

Martyn and Phosphorescent crop up. However Ben makes it clear he

doesn’t know if any of them inspired anything in particular on the

record. There’s something slightly bothering Ben though. While he

says he’ll never be locked to one thing musically, he discusses the

absence of a particular guitar tone in his music. Bringing up the

subject of some obvious guitar heroes who have nailed their

strict sounds like BB King and Clapton.

Ben continues, “I just feel like I’m really not very good at that.

So it depresses me sometimes that I don’t have the strict

sound that I’m trying to achieve all the time, but maybe I’ll

get there and hook into something one day and I’ll be like

ok, cool, there’s the sound. But I’m playing around with

some different guitars at the moment.”

“It’s only with

hindsight that

you realise

what

were the

definitive

moments in

your life.” Ben

Howard

Ben has plenty of time on his side for finding his style.

He’s recently sold out a UK tour for December, which

includes two nights at Brixton Academy. “Everyone

has grown up a bit now and it’ll be interesting to

see what people’s reactions will be like. I mean

Brixton Academy is such a momentous venue

and such an epic place.” While there were “no

great ambitions” for album number two - he

was just intrigued to see what another

album sounded like - Ben does reveals

how he wants to eventually take it to the

Royal Albert Hall.

With his live shows sounding bolder

and louder - Ben feels like he’s got

slight tinnitus from the show the

previous night - and ‘I Forget

Where We Were’ elevating Ben’s

passion for experimenting with

music, he’s well on the way

to cementing a sound for

himself. “It feels like the new

record tests our fanbase a

little bit, and I find that a

really interesting place

to be.”

Ben Howard’s new

album ‘I Forget

Where We Were’

will be released

on 20th

October via

Island. DIY

61

bondax

royal blood

LosT

B o n d a x w e r e t o u t e d a s o n e o f 2 0 1 4 ’ s

i n e v i t a b l e b r e a k t h r o u g h s . O n e s t o l e n

l a p t o p l a t e r , t h e i r s i t u a t i o n l o o k e d

v e r y d i f f e r e n t . N o w t h e y ’ r e f i g h t i n g

b a c k . W o r d s : J a m i e M i l t o n .

62 diymag.com

A

t the turn of the year, Bondax’s

rise to the top was pretty much

written in the stars. One year

on from fellow production

duo Disclosure’s hype-topping

success, Adam Kaye and George

Townsend were clearly next

in line to the throne. They

formed part of DIY’s Class of

2014, future-stars waiting for

their turn. But instead of being

an easy ride, this year proved a

big test.

It’s the kind of experience every

laptop-hugging producer has

nightmares of. A near album’s

worth of material, lost. Just like

that. Post-playing the Bansko

Ski Resort in Bulgaria, both

members arrived at the local

airport, ready for their flight home, completely unaware that one of

their pieces of luggage wasn’t in their possession. Townsend recites the

events, listing them off. “We took all our bags downstairs, had everything,

left those in the lobby just to go to the shop to get a drink. And we came

back, got in a cab, thought we’d put all our bags in there, travelled to

the airport, got out, and realised we had no bag. We phoned the hotel,

asked them to check CCTV, everything. But there was nothing.” This bag

contained a big chunk of material. None of it was backed up.

“ W e d i d n ’ t

l o s e o u r

a l b u m . W e

j u s t l o s t

a v e r y

i m p o r t a n t

s t e p w e ’ d

m a d e . ”

G e o r g e

T o w n s e n d

“That was definitely the lowest point of our four years as a band. Just

walking around the airport with the longest faces you’ve ever seen,”

remembers Kaye.

“I’ve got to admit, on that flight back I thought Bondax was over. I

thought we’d fucked it.”

This could’ve been their downfall, but the two of them are relaying

this drama six months on. They’re quite literally back on top this time

round. Speaking from a jacuzzi, perched on god knows what floor of a

skyscraper in Seoul (seriously), with perfect views of the skyline, anyone

would think Bondax had well and truly hit the jackpot in 2014. “We’re not

the types to get carried away. I know it sounds weird, us sitting here,”

they cheekily grin. But this has been a year of trial and error, a case of

re-defining what they’re all about, while probably having the odd pang

of terror thinking about the material that disappeared.

“We didn’t lose our album. We just lost a very important step we’d

made,” stresses George. “We’d just started to crack the sound we wanted

63

bondax

the album to be based around. And then it just…

everything was lost.”

What followed wasn’t easy. It wasn’t just a silver lining

case of rediscovery and maturing. A switch couldn’t

be flicked, and it’s only in talking about the immediate

aftermath of the incident that Townsend hesitates

and tenses up. “I mean, we could get into more details

about what the fuck happened after that point. But

let’s leave it.”

The two of them claim they’ve “got back to basics in a

musical sense.” The past few months hasn’t been full of

shortcomings. They’ve become a go-to band of 2014’s

festivals. Stumbling teens flocked in their thousands

to see them at Reading & Leeds Festival, and Latitude’s

Lake Stage peaked in popularity with their sunset

slot this year. Partly that’s because they’ve recruited

a drummer for shows, and both Townsend and Kaye

have started applying live bass and pianos to their

bubbling up dance tracks. It’s still just a taste of what

they have to offer, mind you.

Out steps ‘Bondax & Friends’, a “compilation” which

in layman’s terms acts as an intermediary. Fans who

wondered where the hell Bondax had buggered

off to have summer single ‘All I See’ to wrestle with.

But Townsend also speaks about the release like the

duo owe this to their fans. “We want to give them

something to keep excited about,” he says, celebrating

a birthday drink a few hours ahead of their gig. “In

the meantime, we’ve been getting our album almost

finished now. I mean, it’s not finished. But we have

about fifty tunes. We’ve got tunes there, it’s just about

wrapping it up and picking our favourites. Ensuring

that the piece of music has some coherence.”

George labels ‘All I See’ and ‘Giving It All’ as the

“commercial” side of Bondax, and with their

‘Bondax & Friends’ mix, and the eventual

full-length, he says they’re aiming

to showcase several

Bondax practically invented the word “banter”.

64 diymag.com

“

l o t o f

t h e

t h i n g s

w e g e t

s e n t o n

S o u n d C l o u d

a r e

a b s o l u t e

b u l l s h i t . ”

different sides. “‘All I See’ is probably the

most commercial piece of music we’ll

ever make. We hope so, anyway. We

know it’s commercial and we know it

has a certain place. We’re trying to work

out how to create original music while

still attaining that accessibility,” he says.

Adam backs that statement up: “We’re

very much into jazz and soul. That’s what

we listen to. We don’t feel like we’re fully

achieved that yet in our music.”

“We’ve only released singles really.

There’s never been the right moment

to release a lot of these tunes,” says

George. Within the compilation, there’s

the appearance of Karma Kid, and less

familiar faces like Canadian producer

Shagebond. “Without being harsh to

G e o r g e

T o w n s e n d

FRIENDS FOR LIFE

Outside of the new compilation, Bondax are aiming

to take a big team out on the road, including

fellow producers Karma Kid and Star Slinger. “We

always try and take Sam and Darren, Karma Kid

and Star Slinger,” says George. “Our girlfriends

like each other and our mates all get on with

them. They are pretty much our best mates.

That’s in a non-musical sense. We do actually go

round and have dinner with Darren’s girlfriend

and their daughter - we’re on that level with a lot

of people. And we say ‘Bondax & Friends’ but it

really is our mates. And I think we just happen to

love their music.” DIY

anyone, a lot of the things we get sent

on SoundCloud are absolute bullshit,”

admits George. “We almost gave up,

because we got sent so much rubbish. I

remember thinking, ‘Yeah Shagebond,

I bet this is wank!’. But it’s amazing. Still

nobody really knows him, he needs a bit

more of a push in that direction.”

With this release, they’re also set to

take to a DJ tour across the country. It’ll

be their last for a while. Bondax have

taken up residency in a London house,

where they’re building their own studio.

It remains a collection of bit-parts,

objects and instruments that don’t

quite have their place, and that’s largely

due to a festival schedule that’s swept

them up, dreaded Bulgaria onwards.

George claims they’ll have “everything

required” to finish the record, with

Adam chiming in that “hopefully it’ll be

ready for next year.” There’s an urgency

in how they address the album - there

would be, given what happened - but if

there’s anything to be learnt from their

experiences, it’s that they needn’t rush

things. The demand’s still there. ‘All I See’

keeps their place on the map as one of

dance’s bubbling up, chart-ready names.

“We feel like we’re in a good position,

because hopefully we’re not too

old yet!” claims George, half-joking,

half-nervously approaching a make or

break 2015. There’s an anxiousness to

get something out there, but given the

setbacks, and the desire to keep going,

there’s every chance that Bondax’s first

full-length will be a special one.

Bondax’s new album ‘Bondax

& Friends: The Mix Album’ will

be released on 27th October via

Relentless. DIY

65

...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD / ALLO DARLIN’ / APHEX TWIN /

DAD ROCKS! / FLYING LOTUS / FOXYGEN / ICEAGE / JESSIE WARE / JULIAN CASABLANCAS

/ NEW BUILD / PEACE / PEAKING LIGHTS / PHILIP SELWAY / PIANOS BECOME THE TEETH /

/ THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE / THE TWILIGHT SAD / THE VASELINES / THURSTON MOORE /

It all sounds definitively Weezer in the best possible way.

eeee

WEEZER

Everything Will Be

Alright In The End

(Island)

hat’s left to say about Weezer that hasn’t already been said?

Well, probably for one, that they’ve gone and released a new

W album – and it’s really rather great. See, Rivers Cuomo and co

have a bloody good case for being the most unfairly maligned band in history. Back

in 1996, the now seminal ‘Pinkerton’ was written off on release; “juvenile”, “aimless”,

and “a bit much”, they said. Yes, that’s the same ‘Pinkerton’, that five years later, the

self-titled ‘Green’ album couldn’t, apparently, hold a ‘Hash Pipe’ to, and just about

everything bar the equally deified self-titled ‘Blue’ album have been benchmarked.

Despite, you know, the ‘Green’ album being really very good. And ever since,

that’s been the pre-written script. Whatever Weezer do, however great ‘Green’ and

‘Maladroit’ are, whatever flashes of genius ‘Red’, ‘Hurley’ and even ‘Make Believe’ hold

within – Weezer’s new work is dismissed. “It’s not as good as...,” and so it goes.

Of course it shouldn’t go. Bar the massive mis-step of 2009’s ‘Raditude’, Weezer

66 diymag.com

ARCTANGENT / BECK / BEN HOWARD / BESTIVAL / BONDAX / CARIBOU / COLD WAR KIDS /

+ THE VOIDZ / KELE / KINDNESS / MARK LANEGAN BAND / MUSEUM OF LOVE / MYSTERIES

SCOTT WALKER + SUNN O))) / SIVU / SLIPKNOT / ST. VINCENT / THE 2 BEARS / THE BOTS

ULTIMATE PAINTING / WAMPIRE / WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS / WEEZER / ZOLA JESUS

TRACKLIST

1 Ain’t Got Nobody

2 Back to the Shack

3 Eulogy for a Rock Band

4 Lonely Girl

5 I’ve Had It Up To Here

6 The British Are Coming

7 Da Vinci

8 Go Away

9 Cleopatra

10 Foolish Father

11 The Futurescope Trilogy

i. The Waste Land

ii. Anonymous

iii. Return to Ithaka

haven’t ever released a bad record. And ‘Everything Will Be

Alright In the End’ is fucking brilliant. In short, it sounds like

Weezer. Those magic chord changes, the wiry guitar licks,

Rivers Cuomo’s awkward, faltering vocals – these may be brand

new songs, but they’re all so immediately familiar that, as the

title may suggest, they create one almighty aural comfort

blanket. There’s even a point during ‘Eulogy For A Rock Band’

that’s so immediately evocative of that moment your favourite

band first made sense that it’s near-on tear-inducing. There’s

‘Go Away’, the adorable collaboration between Cuomo and

Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino; ‘Da Vinci’ with its killer chorus

line “even Da Vinci couldn’t paint you / and Stephen Hawking

can’t explain you”; the heartfelt ‘Foolish Father’; the rather odd

‘Cleopatra’; the gloriously familiar tropes on which at least part

of their reputation was built (‘Ain’t Got Nobody’, ‘Lonely Girl’).

There’s more than a few nods to their past creative climates

(“don’t want my music to be less well known than my face,” he

sings on ‘I’ve Had It Up To Here’, see also ‘Back to the Shack’,

and, we’re told ‘The British Are Coming’). And it all sounds

definitively Weezer in the best possible way.

And then there’s the ‘Futurescope Trilogy’. Eight minutes of

largely instrumental bombast isn’t the usual way to end an

album brimming with stellar power-pop. But here, what could

quite easily have become boring self-indulgent guitar wankery

somehow makes complete sense. Because it makes no sense at

all, yet forms some strange, Wyld Stallyns-esque counter-point

to ‘Blue’ closer ‘Only In Dreams’. They climax in a not dissimilar

way; where one is introspective, the other, ‘Return To Ithaka’,

explodes in the most brilliantly batshit way. (Emma Swann)

LISTEN: ‘Eulogy for a Rock Band’, ‘Ain’t Got Nobody’

67

reviews

ee

THURSTON MOORE

The Best Day (Matador)

‘The Best Day’ propels along nicely, classic Thurston Moore

riffs scarpering over an urgent, dirgey swamp trying not

to tread water. The vocals are rather Thurston, too, like a

chain-smoking Scrappy Doo, and structurally each song here

follows a specifically Thurstony pattern; all shimmery build-ups and thrashing bar

chords, and deadpan vocals thudding solemnly along the top of it all. When Moore

is good, he’s astoundingly brilliant; ‘The Best Day’ is often more like a blankie or

battered up bear that a kid refuses to let go, and it’d be so much better with a good

old experimental shake-up ‘Washing Machine’ style. (El Hunt) LISTEN: ‘Speak to

the Wild’

eee

JOHNNY MARR

Playland (New Voodoo)

Johnny Marr spent over twenty years waiting to release his

debut solo album proper and then, less than eighteen months

later, he bounces back with a second record. The good news is

that despite having admitted to writing most of the material

during his touring schedule for ‘The Messenger’, it’s not simply just an extension;

new effort ‘Playland’ goes above and beyond the workings of his first full-length.

While Marr may have used ‘The Messenger’ to lay his foundations, his new effort

boasts more of the flair - more of the finesse - of his previous projects. (Sarah

Jamieson) LISTEN: ‘Easy Money’

Expect this to

be the first lap

of a stampede.

eeee

APHEX TWIN

Syro (Warp)

For someone who’s always been

ahead of the pack, Richard D. James

doesn’t break his back to change

the game this time round. ‘Syro’

still delves into the nagging, tense

electronica of ‘Drukqs’ - beats

still gnaw at the conscience and

refuse to settle - only this time the

producer’s using, y’know, actual

robots to play drums. Introverted

but all-encompassing, somehow

‘Syro’ achieves everything

Aphex Twin’s previous records

succeeded in doing, and then

some. Faint hearts won’t

rest, and despite ‘aisatsana’’s

gorgeous lull of an ending, it

still closes the album with the

impression that James might

put more sleepless nights to use.

Expect this to be the first lap of a

stampede. (Jamie Milton) LISTEN:

‘minipops 67 [120.2] [source

field mix]’

A scientific calculation of what Ed Sheeran will look like in fifty years’ time.

68 diymag.com

eeee

JESSIE WARE

Tough Love (Island)

Jessie Ware’s confidence

really shines throughout

‘Tough Love’. Her vocals are

at the forefront, no longer

hidden amongst a cloud of heavy electronics; it’d

More confident

than ever.

be easy to be distracted by

the loops of 80’s synths and

snares on stand-out track

‘Cruel’, and the arcade-style

sound of ‘Keep On Lying’

if it were not for them. Every syllable is uttered

with meaning, as if she truly believes in her lyrics

for the first time - she may still be writing about

relationship insecurities, particularly on the

power-ballad-like ‘Pieces’ and disco anthem ‘Want

Your Feeling’, but her voice suggests she is ready

to overcome them. Ware also proves she can do a

‘proper’ love song too with dreamy number ‘You

and I (Forever)’ and closing track ‘Desire’, a hint of

even better things to come. If Ware’s confidence

in her talent continues to progress, then we can

expect something really special in the future.

(Greta Geoghegan) LISTEN: ‘Cruel’

eee

ALLO DARLIN’

We Come From The Same Place

(Fortuna Pop)

Allo Darlin’’s third, ‘We Come From

The Same Place’, is a delightful

record, catchy enough to keep the

listener’s attention, and with enough

substance for them to return to it time

and time again. Gone are the softly

sung bedroom songs of their debut.

In their place are confident, mature

tracks, accentuated by the quality of

the musicianship. This is the work of a

band going places, and deservedly so.

(Joe Sweeting)

eee

WAMPIRE

Bazaar (Polyvinyl)

2014’s sparked a debate about

what exactly makes a ‘psych’ band.

It needn’t be outward-thinking

melodies or a sea of self-indulgence

guitar parts - if any psych pointers

need dishing out, it’s towards a

group like Wampire. Opening with a

Halloween-ready Dracula laugh, their

fangs are shown in the form of this

album’s dagger-sharp, borderlineinsane

pop. Produced by fellow

champion of psych Jacob Portrait

(from Unknown Mortal Orchestra),

‘Bazaar’ sticks to its title in being truly

bizarre. (Jamie Milton)

eee

WE WERE PROMISED

JETPACKS Unravelling

(FatCat)

Picture the North Sea crashing into

rugged coastline, and it’s a bit like the

epic drums that smash themselves all

over ‘Unravelling’. It wasn’t a broken

one, so that We Were Promised

Jetpacks’ formula – that’s a little bit

mathy, a little bit epic, and a whole

lot of impending doom – hasn’t been

contorted on this third full-length is

no bad thing. (Emma Swann)

eeee

EX HEX

Rips (Merge)

Leather jackets, guitar licks, attitude

and equal splashes of the Ramones

and surf, ‘Rips’, the suitably-titled

debut from Mary Timony’s new home,

Ex Hex, is brimming with Joan Jettesque

rock ‘n roll attitude - which will

come as welcome delight to those

of us still clutching 2011’s ‘Wild Flag’

hoping in vain for a follow-up. (Emma

Swann)

69

reviews

103 minutes of

sheer brainvomit.

Tensions are already beginning to form in The Voidz

between the ‘no sleeves’ and the ‘long sleeves’ camps.

eeee

PEAKING LIGHTS

Cosmic Logic (Weird World)

Peaking Lights have a tendency to get absorbed in their

own psych patterns, and that’s been of no real detriment

in the past. But on new album ‘Cosmic Logic’, they fight

against what might feel natural. Structure - whether

forced or otherwise - lends the tracks on ‘Cosmic Logic’ an urgency. In the

ultra-playful ‘Breakdown’, Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis land on their smartest,

most hook-packed song to date. There must have been temptation to settle

into a groove but by rebelling against themselves, the duo has been handed the

ultimate lease of life. (Jamie Milton) LISTEN: ‘New Grrrls’

eeee

MARK LANEGAN BAND

Phantom Radio (Heavenly)

A man never far from a surprise change of direction,

Mark Lanegan focuses the latest album from the Mark

Lanegan Band around his love of krautrock and British

post-punk. The whiskey-soaked blues is dialled back

slightly and replaced with all manner of keyboard tones from relatively

cheerful to icily bleak. Sitting neatly in the middle of ‘Phantom Radio’,

‘Seventh Day’ is a perfect example of this, marrying an almost extinct staple of

a 70s funk bassline to Moby-like stabbing strings. He’s seen a lot and he’s been

to a lot of places but this proves there’s not just mileage in him still, but that

he’s going to lead us many more places yet. (Matthew Davies) LISTEN: ‘Floor

of the Ocean’

eee

JULIAN

CASABLANCAS + THE

VOIDZ

Tyranny (Cult Records)

When you’re a guy whose opening

gambit to the world soundtracked

a generation (or two), changed the

fashion sense of anyone within

hearing distance and the direction of

alternative music for at least a decade,

then it’s fair to say you’re allowed to do

what the fuck you want. ‘Tyranny’, the

first record for Julian Casblancas with

new pals The Voidz is precisely that:

The Strokes frontman doing what the

fuck he wants. In short, it’s 103 minutes

of sheer brain-vomit, awash with rough

beats, bleeps, bloops, Christ knows

what and then the odd, nonsensical

slither of those iconic vocals peeking

through - bar ‘Where No Eagles Fly’,

which is a 18-carat diamond in the

rough, its industrial post-punk scuzz as

sublime as anything from Casablancas’

last decade or so. (Emma Swann)

LISTEN: ‘Where No Eagles Fly’

70 diymag.com

eeee

CARIBOU

Our Love (City Slang)

A dazzling

result.

The hubbub around Dan Snaith is that he’s a

qualified mathematician. Conclusions are drawn that

because Snaith’s toppled calculus, he’s just as capable of applying this theory to

production, suggesting his work is cold. For someone so confident in exploring

new territory, that description doesn’t fit. And on ‘Our Love’, the theory’s thrown

out the window. Mathematicians might argue there’s heart to their own work,

but it’s not the kind that’s found in Caribou’s fourth full-length. Here, feelings

swell up at once in overwhelming rejoice, manifesting themselves into scorching

string sections for ‘Silver’, or combining to create 2014’s go-to summer anthem,

‘Can’t Do Without You’. On ‘Our Love’, Caribou sees past sense, instead opting

with an instinct that tends to produce dazzling results. (Jamie Milton) LISTEN:

‘Can’t Do Without You’

eeee

ZOLA JESUS

Taiga (Mute)

Sometimes, you just know when you’re

going to like something. ‘Taiga,’ the fifth

album from Zola Jesus is one of those

times. Nika Roza Danilova’s smooth,

instinctive vocals assure within seconds

and with her taking a more bubblegum

approach than usual, there’s little left

not to enjoy. With echoing, astral vocals,

opener ‘Taiga’ is an almost celestial

launch into a record which impeccably

intertwines so many faultless layers.

From ‘Dangerous Days’ and its shiver

breeding chorus to the more dulcet tones

of ‘Ego,’ Zola Jesus fuses the sentimental

and sparkling. (Charlie Mock) LISTEN:

‘Dangerous Days’

eee

MUSEUM OF LOVE

Museum of Love (DFA)

The DFA label, and LCD Soundsystem

name attached to Museum of Love

is unsurprisingly indicative of the

direction Pat Mahoney is taking with

this solo moniker. On the whole, the

self-titled debut carries its creators’

knack for a damn precise beat pattern,

sharing it largely with smooth, soulful

vocals and a tinge of melancholy.

(Emma Swann)

eeee

THE 2 BEARS

The Night Is Young (Republic of

Music)

‘The Night Is Young’ is one disparate

record. Huge piano riffs are exchanged

for tight reggae stabs within the space

of a track and elsewhere it flits between

funky pop numbers and deeper

atmospheric house. There’s nothing

groundbreaking on offer here, but

there’s no way that groundbreaking

was ever the intention. Instead, The 2

Bears have once again triumphed at

what they do best, serving up a vibrant

and joyous take on the music that has

shaped them. (Liam McNeilly)

eee

THE BOTS

Pink Palms (Fader)

Live, The Bots are a blisteringly brilliant

ball of garage-rocking fuzz, the Lei

brothers’ pent-up frustration all the

more believable given the fact they’re

not even of drinking age back home

in California. On this full-length debut,

‘All I Really Want’, with its spoken-word

verse and Wavves-esque slacker-punk

shows their best off in gloriously

frenetic fashion. It’s just a shame the

rest of the album – bar perhaps the

endearingly scuzzy ‘Alanna’ – doesn’t

sit quite as pretty. (Emma Swann)

ee

NEW BUILD

Pour It On (Sunday Best)

‘Pour It On’ absorbs every fragment of

electronic music it can get its mitts on.

A veritable pick and mix, it’s an album

that somehow manages to mush up

all sweet flavours, turning the final

product into something tasteless. The

vocals are dry, free of tone, and float

over a bet of chilled-out synthetics like

a passer by surveying the scene. New

Build are missing a purpose of their

own on this overly reverent release.

(Jamie Milton)

71

reviews

eeee

ICEAGE

Plowing into the Field of Love

(Matador)

‘Plowing into the Field of Love’ turns

everything Danish troublemaking punks

Iceage have already established upside-down,

on its head, and pulls it inside-out for good

measure. No longer concerned with the shock factor or their teenage

misdemeanours, Iceage have produced a country and western

album that Nick Cave would cook up if he were possessed by Ian

Curtis’ ghost. It’s sweeping, grand and majestic; dark, theatrical and

dramatic. Iceage have grown up, albeit rather suddenly, and we’re all

the better for it. (Tom Walters) LISTEN: ‘On My Fingers’

eee

THE HISTORY OF APPLE

PIE

Feel Something (Marshall Teller)

On ‘Feel Something’, The History of Apple

Pie have marginally diversified their sound,

opting this time to go for the long, jangly riffs

of ‘90s indie and songs that verge on psych-pop. There’s even a bit of

Britpop in the mix, and credit where credit’s due to the band - every

track is taut and tight with shimmering guitar lines and pitch-perfect

vocals. But that’s the thing. Clearly well rehearsed, the finished

product feels a bit too squeaky-clean and could definitely do with

being a bit rougher overall. (Tom Walters) LISTEN: ‘Keep Wondering’

PHOTO: MIKE MASSARO

eeee

BEN HOWARD

I Forget Where We Were

(Island)

On the surface Ben Howard may

seem a little soft and straightforward.

Yet, there is an incredible amount

of talent within his weathered soul.

Opener ‘Small Things’ twangs into

audibility with a more aggressive,

edgy sound than the sweet, simple

riffing of his debut. This seems to

be the general tone of ‘I Forget

Where We Were’; it’s a sensitive

and technically more profound

outing. For those looking for more

of the same it may then be easy to

see ‘I Forget Where We Were’ as a

lesser version of ‘Every Kingdom’ and

for those who didn’t care for ‘Every

Kingdom’ it may also be easy to write

off ‘I Forget Where We Were’ as just

another lame indie-folk album. On

closer inspection however, it actually

forgoes both attitudes; this is more

complex, more imaginative and

technically worlds away. (Henry Boon)

LISTEN: ‘She Treats Me Well’

Sensitive,

and more profound.

72 diymag.com

A clusterfuck

of a freakout

record.

eeee

FLYING LOTUS

You’re Dead (Warp)

There’s a moment in ‘Descent into Madness’, wedged

midway through Flying Lotus’ clusterfuck of a freakout

record, ‘You’re Dead!’, that things actually begin to get

funny. The psyche is pushed to its limit here. It’s poked,

prodded, burned at the stake - there isn’t a moment’s

peace, and there isn’t a single second where things threaten to

calm down. Ellison’s work carries all the usual staples: Bass lines that

backflip their way towards immortality; jazz fusions built from family

treasures; any semblance of normality thrown to one side. But that

doesn’t warrant the level of batshit that borders this entire album.

FlyLo’s gone where even FlyLo wasn’t supposed to go, and once he

awakens from the most almighty of freakouts, he might discover his

finest record yet. (Jamie Milton) LISTEN: ‘Never Catch Me’

eeee

SCOTT WALKER + SUNN

O))) soused (4AD)

The collaboration between an avantgarde

doom metal band and one of

Sixties sensations The Walker Brothers

does, on the surface, not sound like

a proverbial match made in heaven.

Yet, it’s precisely this juxtaposition

that makes the pairing work, with

Scott Walker and Sunn O)))’s ‘Doused’

sounding straight from the darkest

depths of Hades’ underworld. (Will

Moss)

ee

COLD WAR KIDS

Hold My Home (Sony Red)

Nathan Willett’s vocals have an innate

skill, that when at their best, make

any of Cold War Kids’ tales of woe,

strife, and generally rather sad things

connect beautifully. Unfortunately,

‘Hold My Home’, the Californians’ fifth

album, isn’t their best, and they’re

left competing with overly slick

instrumentation, jaunty melodies and

the idea that The Black Keys have gone

and done this kind of thing better

anyway. (Emma Swann)

eeee

MYSTERIES

New Age Music Is Here (Felte)

There’s a real feeling of darkness

that underpins Mysteries’ debut.

‘New Age Music Is Here’ may not

be the pioneering sound its title

suggests, but rather than encouraging

disconnection, the mystery of its

makers actually serves to drag you

further in to the intrigue, and to what

becomes an uncertain yet intense

embrace. (Liam McNeilly)

eee

PIANOS BECOME

THE TEETH

keep You (Epitaph)

Pianos Become The

Teeth’s ‘Keep You’ is

more than listenable. In

instances it’s perfect. It

encapsulates the forward

thinking and progressive

attitude of a thriving and

self-aware music scene.

But throughout ‘Keep You’,

you can’t help but feel that

something, somewhere is

missing. (Andy Crowder)

73

eeee

PHILIP SELWAY

Weatherhouse

(Bella Union)

Philip Selway’s 2010 debut

‘Familial’ felt very much like a

solo record, a tentative take

on mellow, acoustic-based

folk. But where its predecessor

lacked, ‘Weatherhouse’ gives

off a strong sense of chemistry,

with Selway’s musicianship

pushed to its creative potential

by those around him to create

a sound which combines the

hauntingly atmospheric with

the poignantly delicate. Not

to say that the acoustic-based

foundations of ‘Familial’ have

been completely abandoned,

but there’s an added

dimension at play here. Owed

to a great extent to orchestral

elements that feature

prominently throughout,

familiar patterns are taken to a

new level, one that transforms

the simplistic in to something

fantastically eerie and equally

memorable. (Liam McNeilly)

LISTEN: ‘Don’t Go Now’

eeee

SIVU

Something On High

(Atlantic)

Steadily growing in

following for the last

couple of years, Sivu has

graced ones to watch

bulletins and introducing

stages aplenty; no longer

the new guy, he’s got something to

prove and ‘Something On High’ does

exactly that. One minute, you’re a

sceptical bastard moaning about

singer songwriters and how really,

they can’t do anything new, the next

you’re swaying around the room with

your eyes closed and your arms wide

like a convert that’s just experienced

awakening. It’s a beautiful record.

Don’t let that fool you though, it’s

also bleak as hell. But here, bleak is

used in the best possible sense of the

word. ‘Something On High’ is earnest,

intelligent and more than anything,

sincere. (Charlie Mock) LISTEN:

‘Bodies’

Hauntingly

atmospheric;

poignantly

delicate.

PHOTO: EMMA SWANN

74 diymag.com

eee

KELE

Trick

(Lilac Records)

‘Trick’ is something of a nostalgia trip;

and old-school soul, retro club music

and electronic R&B is a much more

comfortable setting for Kele. It’s mesmerisingly peaceful

and confidently minimal with a stripped back sound that

is both simple and elegantly cool; harking back to the late

90s but with just enough of a modern twist to remain fresh

and interesting. Sure, it’s a sound that at times can be guilty

of slipping into little more than a background beat; the

kind of thing you’d half listen to at two in the morning on

Kiss100 cruising down a deserted motorway. Unfortunately

closer ‘Stay The Night’ leaves a bitter taste. On the surface a

relatively harmless mediocre love song but lyrics like “Just roll

another J, and be cool” are so jarringly out of place within an

album that finally stops trying so hard to be cool. (Henry Boon)

LISTEN: ‘Year Zero’

eeee

FOXYGEN

...And Star Power (Jagjaguwar)

Even with a pupil-popping twenty-four tracks, Foxygen’s ‘...

And Star Power’ rarely feels repetitive. In usual Foxygen style,

most of the tracks comprise of several parts that twist-andturn

and helter-skelter like a piss-up at a playpark. ‘Cold

Winter / Freedom’, for example, shape shifts from a distortion

sludge into a full-out wig-out, while ‘ Cosmic Vibrations’

morphs from a Doors-y feel into a Stones-y ending and

‘Everyone Needs Love’ rollercoasters through every sound of

the album like a musical safari.

Even better is how goddamn

classic everything sounds.

Sure, Lou Reed, David Bowie,

Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison

watch over the record like a

golden-gated community of

musical deities, but it ain’t

just some cheap faux-vintage

trick. (Kyle MacNeill) LISTEN:

‘Cannibal Holocaust’

Q&A

Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado dishes the

Star Power dirt to DIY’s Jamie Milton.

Are you calling yourself a new band? What’s the

deal with ‘Star Power’?

It’s the first record - and probably the last record

- as Foxygen and Star Power. But I think the idea

behind it - and all the records up to this point - is to

have an element of surprise. It’s still mainly me and

Sam doing the instrumentation. But we had a lot of

friends come play on it, a bunch of surprise guests

that maybe I don’t wanna reveal just yet. It sounds

different. It’s not that ‘60s anymore.

How’s it separated into a double album?

We’ve divided it into different sections, there’s a lot

of fun stuff. Sam and I have extreme, extreme love

for records that give you more than just the music.

Things that give you a setting, a story - or even

just to have physical material. Stuff to read or look

through, little stuff to find within a record. I just

bought this record, ‘Out of the Blue’ by ELO. There’s

a cut-out spaceship in it. You can make your own

ELO spaceship. I just bought that yesterday and

thought it was the best thing ever. I can’t believe

someone had this idea and they just executed it.

We just didn’t want to make an eight song record.

‘21st Century’ had nine on there. It’s just like, here’s

more songs.

It’s quite a daring thing to do, to put out

something this big in scope in the hope that

people will pay attention.

Within the record there’s a range of songs. Some

are a minute long, some eight minutes. We sort

of invite the listener in. And then it deviates into

something else and deviates into something else

again. And then it comes back to that ‘70s feel. DIY

Audacious as

hell.

75

eeee

THE TWILIGHT SAD

Nobody Wants To Be Here

And Nobody Wants To Leave

(FatCat)

The Twilight Sad have the Midas touch.

Only instead of everything they touch

turning to gold, everything they touch

turns its back on the world, darkens,

wilts and burns with a hollow and

tormented anguish. ‘Nobody Wants to

be Here but Nobody Wants to Leave’

is the Scots’ most complete album yet

– it’s stripped back and assured in its

simplicity, yet operatic and beautifully

composed. Oh, and it really is truly

miserable. (Hugh Morris)

eeee

ULTIMATE PAINTING

Ultimate Painting (Trouble In

Mind)

Ultimate Painting is the side project

of James Hoare of Veronica Falls

and Jack Cooper of Mazes, a pairing

that combines Hoare’s knack for

bubblegum indie pop and Cooper’s

off-kilter guitar licks brilliantly. Coming

almost out of nowhere with their

self-titled debut, this is a pleasantly

surprising record of straightforward

yet gorgeously constructed pop songs

that breeze by as elegantly as the

inevitable cool autumn wind. (Tom

Walters)

eee

THE VASELINES

V For Vaselines (Rosary Music)

It’s been just over 25 years since The

Vaselines first released an album. As

time tells us, though, patience isn’t

always a virtue - The Vaselines’ most

senior effort is, unfortunately the in

one ear and out the other of albums.

Opener ‘High Tide Low Tide,’ is as good

as it gets; a shamefully catchy chorus

entangled in all the trappings of a

bubbly surf rock song that holds your

attention about as fast as it lets it go.

(Charlie Mock)

eee

DAD ROCKS!

Year of the Flesh (Father Figure)

Under the pseudonym Dad Rocks!,

Snævar Njáll Albertsson creates

uplifting tracks that talk of seeing the

world through a father’s eyes. And as

becoming a dad necessitates some

children, the influence of his kids is just

about everywhere on his latest album.

Together with folky guitar and some

sensitive work from master producer

Addi 800, this is another thoughtful

album from Albertsson. (Anna Byrne)

ee

KINDNESS

Otherness (Female Energy)

His vaguely mysterious aura, that artistic sponge

aesthetic and even the model-worthy daydream stare

that emblazons this one’s cover art - all of these reel

anticipation around a Kindness release. Yet despite

a few flashes of brilliance, his second full-length is

uninspired and leaves an emptiness in the gut. ‘With You’ featuring Kelela is

a classic culprit, a synthesis of honeyed crooning and pitchy strangled brass

that is instantly forgettable, and worlds away from the magnificence of teaser

track ‘World Restart’. This may feel like a more unified and cohesive listen, but

in truth we’d swap all its hollow posturing for his patchy debut album’s wow

moments in a heartbeat. (James West) LISTEN: ‘World Restart’

eee

SLIPKNOT

.5: The Gray Chapter (Roadrunner)

Slipknot are a band that have become infamous for many

things over the past two decades, but sentimentality

has never really been their strong suit. For any group,

the first record written after the death of one of their

key members would be an enormous challenge; for Slipknot, it felt even larger.

Getting its release four years after the passing of bassist Paul Gray, ‘.5: The Gray

Chapter’ stands strong as their ode to him. A mix of deep-seated anger and

still-fresh confusion, it’s a record that rumbles under the surface before ripping

open its own stitches. At moments, it delves into the carnal, snarling elements

of their former selves before returning to the slicker melodies of their newer

works. (Sarah Jamieson) LISTEN: ‘The Negative One’

eeee

...AND YOU WILL KNOW

US BY THE TRAIL OF

DEAD

IX (Superball Music)

Trail of Dead have pretty reliably been

churning out experimental alt rock for

the last ten years. In fact, since last album

‘Lost Songs’ they’ve been playing up to

their former mantle of punk experimental

mavericks with more determination than

ever. ‘Sound Of The Silk’ is surely one of

the better tracks they’ve ever done, both

instrumentally, where it’s a storming,

drum led drone rocker, and lyrically,

where it’s Conrad Keely’s wistful narrative

proves infectious. Bottom line - if you’re

new to Trail of Dead, this might be a good

place to begin your investigations, and

if you’ve lost track of them since their

critical and commercial peak, then ‘Sound

Of The Silk’ and ‘IX’ as a whole is as good

a way as you’ll find to rediscover this

consistently fantastic band. (Alex Lynham)

LISTEN: ‘Lie Without A Liar’

LAST RECORD

I BOUGHT.......

By Jason Reece, Trail

of Dead:

St. Vincent -

St. Vincent

Science fictional, lead

guitar’s intertwined with

reflections of modern

existence. Machinery with

a soul. Trans-humanism

cyborg ghosts in a music

dystopian novel. What was

once the future is now our

own Bladerunner Runner

movie.

76 diymag.com

IN THE

FRIEND

ZONE

Bondax have given us a quick

guide to the bessies on their first

compilation.

Karma Kid “He’s kind of obvious for

us now - we support everything he

does. We love him and we love his

music, so it’s a natural thing for us.”

Bo Saris “We were

just fans of him.

We found him on

Soundcloud. We

managed to get

in the studio with him - he was

actually gonna sing ‘Giving It All’

and it didn’t work out, but we made

another tune with him. We’re really

proud of opening track ‘Let Me Be’ -

it’s ‘90s R&B done our way.”

Olsen - “He’s got an

amazing tune on here

(‘Together’) that we’re

trying to bring to the

limelight.”

eee

BONDAX

Bondax & Friends:

The Mix Album

(Relentless)

Bondax’s first ever

compilation has several

purposes: First, it’s a means

of tiding fans over towards

the production duo’s

eventual debut album.

Second, it’s a showcase of

something more than the

earworm, hook-stuffed

dance numbers that’ve

set the past two summers

alright. Third, it’s their

way of turning heads to a

number of new - mostly

unheard - names. There’s

Darius (not that one),

a French songwriter

specialising in coo-tastic

R&B. Stwo lends a headrush

with his ‘Quiet Life’ song,

and Reva Devito’s ‘Kisses’

wins out through a smooth

aesthetic. At times it feels

like Adam Kaye and George

Townsend are throwing

everything in plain sight

into a melting pot just to

keep people happy, but it’s

not shy of its odd golden

moment either. (Jamie

Milton) LISTEN: ‘Let Me Be

(ft. Bo Saris)’

GET

EXCITED!

Here’s what’s gonna be worth

squealing like a guinea pig over in

the coming weeks.

SUPERFOOD

Don’t Say That

(Infectious Music, 3rd November)

If the Birmingham indie kids’ ‘MAM’ EP,

brimming with 90s attitude and more

hooks than a whole fishing village

didn’t whet your appetite, then there’s

probably no hope. Debut full-length

‘Don’t Say That’ will feature the band’s

live staples alongside some brand new

instant classics – and with opener ‘Lily

For Your Pad To Rest On’ – its fair share

of crazy beats.

HOOKWORMS

The Hum

(Weird World, 10th November)

MJ and cohorts’ debut ‘Pearl Mystic’

was one of 2013’s growers, a steady

word-of-mouth success that by the

end of the year had the Leeds-based

fivesome’s name on the lips of just

about anyone with a penchant for

noisy, Kraut-ish rock. ‘The Hum’ already

has them teasing a whole new level,

with ‘The Impasse’ and ‘On Leaving’

already making waves.

RUN THE JEWELS

RTJ2

(Mass Appeal, 27th October)

After the runaway success of the pair’s

debut, El-P and Killer Mike are returning

with another collaborative collection of

cutting (and cutting-edge) tracks – this

time employing the not inconsiderable

skills of Travis Barker, Zack de la Rocha

and Beyoncé producer Boots. Plus

they’re heading over for their first UK

live dates this December.

77

live

Bestival

Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight

78 diymag.com

More like Beast-ival,

right Hayden?

It’s not every day that you see a glimmering disco ball

the size of a small house hoisted up in the air with

a blaze of fireworks and a disco freakout for good

measure. Then again, it’s not Bestival every day,

either. Transforming the Isle of Wight’s Robin Hill Park

into an alternate universe for the eleventh year now,

Josie and Rob Da Bank are dab hands at the festival

game. Round every corner there’s a surprise giant

drum machine or a caravan town kitted out with a brass band

playing Daft Punk covers.

Beck, making a rare return to UK shores, is among the richest

pickings. Grabbing party spirit by the bedazzled jumpsuit

collar, it’s a smooth-sailing set of huge hits, and dropping into

‘Loser’ just two songs in, is a statement of intent. Cate Le Bon

is on top form the following morning. “The smoke’s getting

in my eyes,” informs Le Bon in a thick Welsh accent, “I’m not

being emotional and weird.”

OUTKAST

Madrid’s Deers make their UK festival debut the other side

of the site. Sound problems and a broken guitar delay their

set. The midst of chaos that seems to

accompany Hurricane Deers, though,

wild beasts makes their live show stand out. All grins

and raucous, slightly haphazard shouting,

what Deers lack in polish, they make up for

in sheer charm. Tune-Yards, meanwhile,

has bought along every percussion

instrument in Oakland to commemorate

her final show on this summer’s festival

circuit. The Big Top is brimming: it feels

like being trapped inside a Nintendo’s

motherboard.

Friday headliners Outkast are largely

carried by the huge hulk of crowd

nostalgia for the likes of ‘Ms. Jackson’,

‘Roses’ and the infamous ‘Hey Ya’. Outside

of that sphere, things do, undoubtedly,

dip a little bit. “We’re not gonna talk y’all

to death,” they quip in response, “if you don’t know us by now

you never will.” Carrying festival-goers through to dawn is a

duty best left to Caribou, and he does so blissfully.

Photos: Matt Richardson

After the storming success of ‘Smother’, Wild Beasts

soundtrack another muggy evening, hooting and howling the

sprawling hill facing the Main Stage into a dreamy state. It’s

the last chance for a moment of reflection before taking up

residence in The Big Top for Darkside. Nicolas Jaar and Dave

Harrington’s staging criteria was probably a sheet of paper

with the words ‘mad-intense atmosphere’ written on it in

marker, and silhouetted by billowing dry-ice. The pair’s record,

‘Psychic’ transforms into a fearsome beast live.

A painful clash between Foals and Bonobo has been a hot

campsite topic all weekend, and revellers flocking to the

latter leaves Foals’ headline set slightly depleted, but no

less stunning. Representing boundary-hopping with roots

in dance and rock respectively, these two billings are what

Bestival is all about. (El Hunt)

79

LIVE

T

hursday begins and ends with a short

offering of last year’s ArcTanGent

highlights, almost all of whom return

to the site with new material and a headlinerworthy

crowd. TTNG and Three Trapped

Tigers lay the progressive groundwork for

the weekend, and it’s picked up quickly the

next day by Suffer Like G Did, whose jazzlaced

instrumental offerings draw an early

morning audience that leaves all members

visibly humbled. Mutiny On The Bounty are

another left-field offering that draw a sizeable

crowd, laying claim to Saturday afternoon with

a frantic thrashing of tangled, electronicaindebted

riffs.

There’s pop, too – but not as we know it.

Tellison are perhaps closest to the mark, but

the more warped perspectives on the genre

really shine. Olympians’ choral twist are the

perfect addition to a cloudy Friday morning,

their on-stage jubilance cheering hearts

while their morose musical output hits home

amongst the hungover throng. If they can iron

out the kinks of their incredibly long-awaited

upcoming full-length, they’re sure to grace

such stages again.

Amidst this summer’s festival horror stories

of cancellations and missing paychecks,

ArcTanGent is a successful beacon for a scene

which – for as long as it sets foot on this farm

- no longer has to lurk in the shadows. (Tom

Connick)

ARCTANGENT

Fernhill Farm, Bristol

Tall Ships saw

a sine.

Photo: sarah louise bennett

Annie, are you OK?

Are you OK? Are

you OK, Annie?

Photo: leah henson

ST. VINCENT

W

O2 Academy, Liverpool

hat can you say about Annie Clark that

hasn’t been said? Her St Vincent alterego

has grown beyond all proportions,

into a cloud of critical acclaim that’s visible from

outer-space.

This particular night in Liverpool, Annie and her

band kick off with the jittery ‘Rattlesnake’ before

upping it a gear for the roaring ‘Digital Witness’.

The next portion finds Annie atop a podium and

the aching beauty of ‘I Prefer Your Love’ and ‘Actor

Out Of Work’ is joined by her dramatic writhing on

the steps.

Bizarre, charming, disruptive and a victory of

staging, it sums up the whole performance. The

remarkable guitar-talents of St Vincent take centre

stage as ‘Birth in Reverse’ and the outrageously

chaotic ‘Huey Newton’ reinvigorate the crowd. It’s

a pleasure to see St Vincent earn her status with

aplomb. (Matthew Davies)

80 diymag.com

Beck in

black.

BECK

Roundhouse, London

Tunes Festival gigs are funny things. Admission by

price of only a ticket lottery and lengthy queue outside,

ithere’s every chance what’s broadcast worldwide will

be confused competition winners’ faces as the artist in

question decides to play material only from their weekold

release – or worse, songs that aren’t yet recorded.

That’s no issue tonight, as Beck’s opening gambit sees him

leap theatrically from ‘Devil’s Haircut’ to ‘Loser’ via ‘Black

Tambourine’. ‘Hell Yes’, ‘The New Pollution’, a clever twist

on ‘I Feel Love’ tacked on to his own ‘I Think I’m In Love’.

Tonight’s gig could have ostensibly been him touring

latest album, ‘Morning Phase’. Instead, he’s brought his

festival-headlining game, and it’s mesmerising.

He darts around the stage a man possessed, whether it’s

contorting himself like Rob Tyner of the MC5, punching

the air as if he’s a Beastie Boy, or twirling like Michael

Jackson – all the while spewing out favourite after

favourite – it’s a Greatest Hits set nailed on.

Only two songs feature from this year’s release. ‘Blue

Moon’ and ‘Heart is A Drum’ sandwich ‘Sea Change’’s ‘Lost

Cause’ and together provide a natural lull – it’s the only

time Beck is nailed to his mic stand all night.

So it’s ‘Sexx Laws’, an extended play on fellow ‘Midnite

Vultures’ cut ‘Debra’ – with added quip to R Kelly’s

‘Trapped in the Closet’ as if the switch between sublime

and ridiculous needed pointing out, and quicker than

it’s possible to wonder what he’s actually left out by this

point – ‘Where It’s At’. Drawn out, with crowd interaction,

plus a band introduction that cuts to the Rolling Stones,

Chic, and the tiniest slither of Rod Stewart’s ‘Do Ya Think

I’m Sexy’, if any proof were ever needed that Beck can, and

will do anything he wants – and do it spectacularly well -

it’s somewhere here tonight. (Emma Swann)

Photo: carolina faruolo

PEACE

100 Club, LondoN

Taking the

Peace.

here’s one thing that Peace and their fans have in

common: they both love small, sweaty, unpredictable

T shows. Tonight is so loaded with hits that the front row

quickly becomes one of the most dangerous places in West

London, not giving the audience a break with even B-Side

‘Scumbag’, and forcing a few stage invaders to be escorted

out from the side of the stage. The perfect blend of 90s vibes

and contagious funk beats of new track ‘Lost On Me’ is a

guaranteed bet for every top-singles-of-the-year list, a few

people even recreating the choreography from the video. You

can only finish a show like this with the warmest of all forms

of fan devotion: a massive stage invasion. For some moments

Peace might look like they’re taking 90s revival too far, but

on the verge of their second album, the question isn’t if they

become leaders of the pack, but when. (Carolina Faruolo)

81

INDIE DREAMBOAT

Of the Month

OLLY

ALEXANDER

years and years

STAR SIGN Cancer.

PETS Me and Mikey have a cat

called Stewie, he’s a chunky hunk.

FAVOURITE FILM I’m always

in the mood for Labyrinth, I’ve

seen Spirited Away a hundred

times too.

FAVOURITE FOOD Anything you

can eat at breakfast.

DRINK OF CHOICE I usually just

drink lager or anything with gin in

it if I’m in the mood for a cry.

FAVOURITE SCENT Play-Doh,

think about it, it smells really

good.

FAVOURITE HAIR PRODUCT

Haha, um I usually use other

people’s. I have a Frizz-Ease curl

cream but it does not do much to

ease my frizz at all.

SONG YOU’D PLAY TO WOO

SOMEONE That’s a good

question, maybe ‘Morning Theft’

by Jeff Buckley, it’s a bit emotional

though.

IF YOU WEREN’T A POP STAR,

WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING

NOW? Probably working on my

Come Dine With Me menu.

CHAT- UP LINE OF CHOICE

Baby, if you were a fruit you’d be

a fineapple.

DIY

82 diymag.com

Death From Above 1979

Mogwai . DJ Harvey

Liars . Black Lips . Actress . Zomby

Nightmares On Wax . SOPHIE . Kode9

The Haxan Cloak . How To Dress Well

DJ Sprinkles . DJ Nature . Onra

Eagulls . DVS1 . Laurel Halo

Hidden Orchestra . Amazing Snakeheads . Greys . Rejjie Snow . Turbowolf

Ron Morelli . Dark Sky . Scratcha DVA . Max Graef . Seven Davis Jr

Esben & The Witch . Redinho . Cooly G . Happa . Damiano von Erckert

Svengalisghost . Futureboogie . Terekke . The Fauns . DJ October . God Damn

Mirel Wagner . Eugene Quell . Volte Face . The Kelly Twins . Idles . Eaux

Thought Forms . Cuts . Menace Beach . Pardon My French . Shapes DJs

Studio 89 DJs . Stamp The Wax DJs . Lovepark . Scarlet Rascal . Gramrcy

Bad Breeding . Seka . Dickon . Twin Picks

Tickets from £35 - tickets.crackmagazine.net

Saturday 25 October

Various Venues, Bristol

83

SIVU

_

SOMETHING ON HIGH

OUT 13TH OCTOBER

THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED DEBUT ALBUM

“HEAVENLY...

LIKE A ONE-MAN

WILD BEASTS”

GUARDIAN

84 diymag.com

“THE RESULTS

ARE QUITE

INSPIRING”

CLASH

“IRRESISTIBLE”

NME

SIVUSIVU.CO.UK

DIY, October 2014

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