DIY, June 2016

set music free

free // issue 52 // june 2016

diymag.com

plus

tegan and sara

mac demarco

spring king

BIG DEAL

& more

WHITE LUNG

A slice of ‘Paradise’

“F**k you, we’re gonna

do what we want to do”

B STILLE

WORLD EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Mishaps, mayhem & Putin...

The Kills are still

KILLIN’ IT

METRONOMY

Return with a new

album and a pedicure

biffy CLYRO

Back and bigger than ever

1

4 diymag.com

J U N E 2 0 1 6

Becky Milk Teeth went full

Sasquatch at The Great Escape.

GOOD

VS EVIL

WHAT’S ON THE DIY TEAM’S RADAR?

Emma Swann

Founding Editor

GOOD I got to spend

five days in Gothenburg

jabbering on about DIY

to (mostly) confused

Swedes.

EVIL The Skum Bananer I

brought back apparently

made Jamie ill. Oops. (The

Plopp fared better, mind)

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

tom connick

Online Editor

GOOD Hayden Thorpe’s

beard continues to do

unprintable things to me.

EVIL Surprise releases

are a complete funsponge.

Just stop.

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

El hunt

Features Editor

GOOD It doesn’t get

better than seeing the

seaside, Diet Cig’s highkicks,

and The Big Moon

covering Madonna’s

‘Beautiful Stranger’ all on

the same day at The Great

Escape.

EVIL My own catwailingly

bad rendition

of ‘Beautiful Stranger’ at

karaoke, later on that very

same day.

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

Jamie MILTon

Neu Editor

GOOD By the time you

read this, I’ll have seen

Radiohead and my life will

be complete.

EVIL Jamie Vardy had a

party and I wasn’t invited.

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

Louise Mason

Art Director

GOOD For the second

month running, I got to

go on loads of rides and

pass it off as ‘my job’.

EVIL The Crazy Mouse

was really, really scary.

Definitely not safe.

EDITOR’S LETTER

Hello, it’s me. As you may have noticed, we’ve had a few exciting

changes in camp DIY over the past month. Jamie has passed the

editorial baton to me so he can dedicate himself entirely to the new

music buzz, while our ace El is now full-time Features Ed.

For this new issue, we’ve got something really quite special up our

sleeves: DIY has the very first word on Bastille’s brand new album

‘Wild World’ - a world exclusive, don’tcha know! Elsewhere, we hang

out with giants-in-waiting Spring King ahead of their debut album’s

release, delve into Tegan and Sara’s new potent pop and try to

recover from all those surprise album releases last month, phew!

Sarah Jamieson, Managing Editor

GOOD Getting to spend a day of work building Lego was pretty

bloody great, I have to admit. (Even if it did all feel a tiny bit Nathan

Barley at the time!)

EVIL You know that horrible gut-wrenching few seconds when

someone falls over during your photoshoot and you’re not sure if

they’re gonna be okay when they get back up? Mmmhmmm.

L I S T E N I N G

POST

What’s on the DIY stereo this month?

Wild Beasts - Boy King

On their new album ‘Boy King’, Wild Beasts’ Hayden

Thorpe says he’s letting his “inner Byron fully out”.

Listening to it, we can only assume he’s not on about

the burgers.

Metronomy - summer 08

Joe Mount’s finally figured out time travel! An old

skool look back on his party days, ‘Summer 08’ comes

jam-packed full of bangers.

5

C

O

N

T

E

N

T

S

NEWS

8 MAC DEMARCO

14 GLASS ANIMALS

16 LOS CAMPESINOS!

17 POPSTAR POSTBAG

19 DIY HALL OF FAME

22 FESTIVALS

NEU

28 LOYLE CARNER

30 BABY IN VAIN

34 ISAAC GRACIE

35 WALL

FEATURES

36 BASTILLE

44 BIG DEAL

48 SPRING KING

54 MITSKI

56 TEGAN AND SARA

REVIEWS

60 ALBUMS

62 SURPRISE, SURPRISE

76 LIVE

Founding Editor Emma Swann

Managing Editor Sarah Jamieson

Features Editor El Hunt

Neu Editor Jamie Milton

Online Editor Tom Connick

Art Direction & Design Louise Mason

Marketing & Events Jack Clothier,

Rhi Lee

Contributors Ali Shutler, Cady Siregar,

Charlie Mock, Craig Jones, Danny

Wright, Dave Beech, David Zammitt,

Emma Smith, Henry Boon, Jessica

Goodman, Liam McNeilly, Martyn

Young, Maya Rose Radcliffe, Mustafa

Mirreh, Nina Keen, Ross Jones, Tom

Hancock, Tommy Horner, Will Richards

Photographers Amin Musa, Carolina

Faruolo, Cheryl Georgette Arent, Mike

Massaro, Phil Smithies, Sarah Louise

Bennett, Sinéad Grainger

For DIY editorial

info@diymag.com

For DIY sales

rupert@sonicdigital.co.uk

lawrence@sonicdigital.co.uk

tel: +44 (0)20 3632 3456

For DIY stockist enquiries

stockists@diymag.com

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.

Grand Designs always makes these ‘flat pack houses’ look like a.

piece of piss, but Dan found himself in full-on ‘mare mode. .

6 diymag.com

SUNDAY 17TH JULY

VICTORIA PARK

THE ULTIMATE SUMMER SUNDAY

LIANNE LA HAVAS

CAT'S EYES

KIDS' GAMES & RACES

W/ ARCOLA THEATRE

ANDREW WEATHERALL

VOODOO RAY’S

THE 2 BEARS

SUNDAY SPORTS DAY

FT. DISCO DODGEBALL

BEARDYMAN

FEASTS FROM

STEPHEN HARRIS

(THE SPORTSMAN)

SIGUR RÓS

HONNE

GO EXPLORING W/ SECRET ADVENTURES

CALEXICO

FRIENDLY FIRES DJ SET

SUNDAY PAPERS LIVE

FT. EDDIE 'THE EAGLE' EDWARDS

i-D & SOFAR SOUNDS

COMEDY PRESENTED

BY UNDERBELLY

A LONDON EXCLUSIVE

SUSANNE SUNDFØR

KINDNESS DJ SET

TINARIWEN

BIRD

NATHANIEL RATELIFF

& THE NIGHT SWEATS

ART WORKSHOPS BY THE INDYTUTE

CARIBOU

MARIBOU STATE

LIVE

BATTLES

OLD VIC

NEW VOICES

MATT CORBY

SUBMOTION ORCHESTRA

FABRIC

SUNDAY SESSIONS

DELECTABLE COCKTAILS

& BLOODY MARYS

PATTY & BUN

ALL THIS FOR £49.50 + BF

SUBJECT TO LICENCE

7

NEWS

Glastonbury

8 diymag.com

Glastonbury

NEWS

“Now I’ve found the salt beef

bagels on Brick Lane I understand

that is where I belong.”

Return of The

MAC

Between eBay purchases and low-key birthday celebrations, Mac DeMarco has had a (for him, at least)

quiet few months. No longer - he’s heading back this side of the pond to inject that “real famous”

festival, Glastonbury, with his own brand of chaos. Words: Henry Boon

Having just concluded the low-key celebration of his

26th birthday, Mac DeMarco is reaching the end of a

four month break, the longest of his career to date.

An unassuming hobby that sky-rocketed into cult

stardom, Mac’s been happily riding a wave of raucous, boozy

tours for the best part of a decade.

Like the victim of some crazy kidnapping, he’s since had to

readjust to being a civilian in a slowed down world that he’s

hardly seen in his adult life. “I kind of forgot what I used to

do!” he laughs, admitting that although he’s been able to

spend some time in his home in Far Rockaway, Queens, it’s

not a place he’s ever really got to know. So, what can you do

in a quiet neighbourhood where you know nobody, with no

idea how to pass time offstage? For the most part, it’s the

same as us.

“Sit around the house watching too much YouTube and

smoking too many cigarettes,” he says. But for Mac there’s

one other thing having a stable address does bring: access to

a certain online auction website. “I got a little bit addicted to

buying stuff off eBay. There was a time where I’d be waking

up like, where’s the FedEx guy? Where’s my UPS man? He was

coming every day.”

Some of his purchases were, of course, productive - music

gear, for example. Then, some of it’s just stuff he loves - mostly

vintage Simpsons merch - others, classic Mac DeMarco-outof-this-world;

most prominently a leather S&M dog mask as

donned by Mac’s friend Yuki in the video for his Prince tribute,

‘It’s Gonna Be Lonely’.

“I just love that internet - I love that FedEx, I love that

internet!” This isn’t Mac metaphorically bathing in money

from his whirlwind of tours and indie stardom; he’s still barely

spending anything. He hasn’t bought the $5,000 life-size

Simpsons living room set he really wants, for example.

Mac’s headed off back to his natural habitat soon with another

mammoth tour that includes his first ever Glastonbury

appearance (“it’s a real famous one, which is cool”) and a

smattering of London shows which he’s excited about for

various reasons. “I love it over there,” he says. “I always had a

lot of trouble knowing where to go, we were always playing

different venues and I didn’t know, I could never get my

bearings. But now I’ve found the salt beef bagels on Brick

Lane, I understand that is where I belong. I get the little soup, I

get the bagel, I love it.

“The audiences [in the UK] are really, really excited, more so

than a lot of the States and pretty much the rest of the world.

Maybe comparable to Buenos Aires or some places in South

America, but the kids there are crazy so it’s really fun - it’s like

we’re in Nirvana or something.”

9

NEWS

Glastonbury

Between internet shopping, slobbing about and watching

denim fetish videos (don’t ask), Mac’s been writing too. As is

fitting, he’s pretty relaxed about it. “At some point I was just

like ‘mmmm I don’t really feel like working on this right

now’,” he says, not giving much away because, at the

moment, it’s just the bare bones.

“I have some demo arrangements but for the most

part it’s just a keyboard and my voice or a guitar

and my voice, so they’re all pretty open right

now and could go any which way. Right now

it kinda sounds like a folk record because

it’s just a guitar and my vocals. Maybe I’ll

have something like that, who knows?

Probably not, but who knows?”

What he does know, though, is that he’s hoping to have

something polished off by August, and is planning to head

in new directions… probably. Maybe. “I’ve done this similar

style of record for the last three, the one before that was like

a totally, totally different feel and before that it’s like the old

stuff I used to do, so I feel like I might as well switch it up a

little. Maybe try and put a little bit more effort in to go in a

different direction, I’m not really sure what that direction is,

but something a little bit different.”

This vague news might come as a disappointment to the

fans who worked themselves up into a small frenzy when

Mac was pictured in the studio with MGMT man Andrew

VanWyngarden recently. Unfortunately the story behind that

- though endearing - isn’t quite what some may have hoped.

“Andrew is a friend of mine, he’s like the only friend I have in

this neighbourhood that I live in,” Mac chuckles, amused by

the flurry of activity the picture started, “I was just over at his

house and we were just playing around, I don’t even know if

they’re working on anything right now!”

While not quite the mega-gossip we hoped, when it comes

to hot scoops, Mac does have one insight to offer into his

new material. “I have a new song that I wrote for the album

that has the word dog in the title… Actually I have a couple

of songs with dog references, I don’t really know why,” he

reveals. As for the rest? “It will

just sprinkle down upon me

while I sleep.” DIY

Mac DeMarco will play Open’er. Head to

diymag.com/festivals for details.

Mac’s milkshake brings

all the boys to the yard.

GLASTOWATCH? MORE LIKE SASS-TOWATCH

A lot of people go to Glastonbury. Like, a

LOT, so obviously, a fair few punters have

questions they need answering. Maybe

it’s their first time at the festival, perhaps

it’s their fortieth. Others just really want

to know where they can charge their

phone, or if Tesco will deliver cider to

their tent door. So, when they need an

answer, where better to turn that the

fountain of knowledge that is Twitter’s

@GlastoWatch?

It’s not just helpful hints and tips that

GlastoWatch’s Twitter account offers up

though. Oh no - there’s a good dose of

sassiness on offer too. Here’s just a handful of

our favourite Sass-toWatch moments so far…

10 diymag.com

11

NEWS

Glastonbury

LADS ON TOR

It’s almost time for the biggest festival in the world and, as ever, it’s set to be a

smasher. From the no-doubt brilliant return of LCD Soundsystem to whatever

batshit stage set-up Muse arrive with, this year’s packed to the rafters. Mac

DeMarco’s not the only one heading Somerset way this June though - here’s a few

more unmissable acts at this year’s Glastonbury.

B

E

A

S

C

I

E

N

C

E

R

D

Gatekeepers of the Facial

Hair Hall of Fame, oh-so-

American classic rockers

ZZ Top were one of the first

acts to confirm themselves

for this year’s event. So,

obviously, we made a list

of the other beards vying

for attention at Worthy

Farm later this month.

Jimmy Smith,

Foals

“It’s the best, once you’re

in you can do anything

you want, no dealing with

security all the time, you can

just disappear off the map

for five days which is a nice

feeling.”`

Mikey Goldsworthy,

Years & Years

“It’s every band’s dream

to go and play at

Glastonbury. It’s wild!

It’s literally the size of

a small city, hundreds

of bands play and we

had one of the best crowds

we’ve ever experienced. We

had the best feeling coming

off stage… then went and

saw Kanye! What’s not to

love?!”

Joel Amey, Wolf

Alice

“I’m ready to get

spacey at Glasto again.”

Fun fact: Adele calms any on-stage.

nerves by cradling an invisible puppy.

ADELE

Apparently ‘quite a few’ people have heard of Adele (who

knew?! - Ed), so chances are it may be busy down at the

Pyramid stage by the time she appears. It’s already clear

that hers will be one helluva special set. Having previously

declared she’d never step foot in a festival, her mind has

evidently been changed (thanks, Emily!). Her set at Worthy

Farm could well go down in history.

SKEPTA & STORMZY

No longer is grime just an underground authority: festivals

are finally beginning to take note. After letting some of its

pioneers creep onto bills last year, it’s only now the likes of

Skepta and Stormzy are being afforded the platform they

deserve. With Skepta’s ‘Konnichiwa’ only being held off the

top spot by those pesky blokes in Radiohead, it’s high time

the world sat up and paid them some real attention.

BRING ME THE HORIZON

If, way back when, you’d told Oli Sykes and co they’d be

playing at Glastonbury in the near distant future, they’d

have probably exploded with laughter. Yet now, with the

humongous ‘That’s The Spirit’, they’ve beaten down the

boundaries of niche metalcore and mainstream rock and

completely conquered it all. Glasto better watch out: Bring Me

The Horizon are on their way.

JACK GARRATT

There’s something slightly

Amish about our Jack’s

face-fuzz, which when

paired with his mop of red

curls has him resembling a

small puppy. This might be

due to his claimed recipe

of “the tears of abandoned

puppies and concentrated

desperation”.

YANNIS PHILIPPAKIS

The length of the Foals

frontman’s bristles varies

month on month, but we’re

hoping for a full-on forest

come the band’s no doubt

incendiary Somerset set.

JOHN GRANT

Greying like the titular

tickles of his latest album,

John Grant’s whiskers give

him a distinguished air, like

a history professor, or art

expert (these are, of course,

the two most distinguished

roles in the world).

MICHAEL EAVIS

Well, duh. King of the

festival, and probably the

main admirer among the

Glasto staff of ZZ Top’s facebased

topiary, the big boss’s

beard has remained, like the

Pyramid stage, a constant at

the festival since the 70s.

12 diymag.com

ALEXIS TAYLOR

PIANO

10/06/2016

Ltd Edition LP w/ Bonus 6" Vinyl,

ltd Edition LP, CD & Download.

"Devastating for its

lightness of touch" -UNCUT

“Make new music?

Hat’s a good idea!”

SLOW CLUB

ONE DAY ALL OF THIS

WON’T MATTER ANY MORE

19/08/2016

Ltd Edition LP, CD & Download.

Slow Club's amazing new album

produced by Matthew E White.

@moshimoshimusic

www.moshimoshimusic.com

13

Are We Human,

Or Are We Dancer?

Oxford’s Glass Animals have ditched their tropical alternate universe for a trip back

to Planet Earth. That doesn’t stop new album ‘How To Be A Human Being’ from being a

twisted firestarter, insists Dave Bayley. Words: Jamie Milton. Photo: Emma Swann.

Glass Animals would be forgiven for existing

in hyperspace. The alternate reality of 2014

debut album ‘Zaba’ - a twist on the Jungle

Book, with even more palm trees - was given

an extra-surreal story when the Oxford

four-piece suddenly blew up Stateside. UK

crowds are still flocking bit-by-bit, but over in the U.S. they

were playing to thousands every night. Dodgy sleep patterns

and a big fanbase are enough to send anyone off the rails, but

with their second record they’ve kept themselves as rooted

as possible.

As soon as the group’s world tour simmered out, frontman

Dave Bayley took a flight home and went straight from the

airport to a studio in Hornsey, London. Less than two weeks

later, he’d written the bulk of the record. Clearly he’d been

bottling up a lot of thoughts while crossing state borders.

Dave wanted to opt against the tropical flavour of Glass

Animals’ debut. Instead, he tried to capture the reality of

people’s everyday lives, which can often be more fascinating

than licking a poisonous frog in the jungle. “Have you ever sat

around a bit bored and tried to imagine what other people

do with their lives?” he asks. “You think, ‘Fuck, I wonder what

their story is.’ You start to embellish it in your head. ‘That guy

makes these weird inventions that never see the light of day,

but his mother thinks he’s a mad genius and he’s got this

weird seventy-year-old girlfriend.’ You wonder how these

people came to meet and what the story is. Some of it is me

hypothesising, but there’s definitely a lot of truth.”

It clearly takes a good imagination to make this ‘true story’

schtick actually work. Otherwise you’re left with Johnny

Borrell parading streets with an acoustic guitar, trying to

figure out how the world spins. Dave’s perspective has a

wondrous quality, and he’s not afraid to dive into weird

Ten minutes later, Drew still hadn’t noticed his shoelaces were tied together.

14 diymag.com

“We’re

gonna

get

through

all

the

condiments

by

album

seventeen.”

- Dave Bayley

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT

territory. New album ‘How To Be A Human Being’

contains some real zinger lyrics. There’s a story

about “Northern Camden’s own Flash Gordon”,

whoever that is. He sings about “codeine Coca-

Cola”; how his “girl eats mayonnaise, from a jar

when she’s getting blazed.” Strange territory,

but Dave’s got it covered.

“We’re gonna get through all the condiments

by album seventeen,” he jokes, referring to the

“peanut butter vibes” lyric Glass Animals are

most associated with. But there’s “definitely an

emotional heaviness” to these songs, he insists.

“I still feel very odd listening to these strangely

personal songs. We’ve never done that before. I

didn’t want to sound like this band or that band,

with a sprinkling of Beyoncé. The opposite,

almost. I tried not to listen to any music. I didn’t

want any sonic references. I just made these

sounds that popped into my head.”

Even though they’re no longer swinging from

rainforest canopies, Glass Animals’ imagination

is still running riot. Their playful spirit hasn’t

calmed down one jot, and they’ve made a

record that’ll do nothing to slow down their

ascent. Chances are this trip back to Planet Earth

is just a quick detour on their space mission. DIY

Glass Animals will play Best Kept Secret. Head to


TITLE ‘How To Be A Human Being’

WHERE Hornsey, London. The studio doesn’t

have a name. Dave’s christened it “Awesome

Studios.”

SONGS ‘Youth’, ‘Season 2, Episode 3’, ‘Life Itself’

DUE Summer 2016

OTHER DEETS The studio wasn’t massively

kitted out, so the band had to make do with

inventing their own sounds. “I recorded what

I had; some crisps, some cheese, a cigarette

packet,” says Dave. The big question: what flavour

of crisps? “I’m probably going to break a lot of

people’s hearts here, but it’s salt and vinegar.

I don’t like them very much, so I was happy to

smash those into the back of a guitar. If it’s a nicer

flavour, those would be in my belly.”

NEWS

in Brief

DIFFERENT BRUSH,

SAME STROKES

STOP PRESS!

The Strokes are the latest cheeky

so-and-sos stealth releasing. New

EP ‘Future Present Past’ is out RIGHT

BLOODY NOW, featuring three fresh

numbers (‘Drag Queen’, ‘OBLIVIUS’

and ‘Threat of Joy’) along with a remix

of ‘OBLIVIUS’ by drummer Fab, all via

Julian’s own Cult Records.

NEW BRAND NEW

Brand New have returned with new

music. ‘I Am A Nightmare’ is their first

track to land since ‘Mene’, both tracks

being their only fresh material in the

last six-and-a-half years. Still no news on

that album though (boo!).

IT’S ABOUT HAIM!

Haim time has finally arrived! Well. Sort

of. At the band’s recent Santa Ana show,

they played two brand new songs live

for the first time ever. ‘Nothing’s Wrong’

and ‘Give Me Just A Little of Your Love’

are (we assume) both tastes of that

long-awaited second album.

EEEEZ-EH

Hinds have shared a new video for

‘Easy’; a destructive blur of dizzying

camera pans, dramatically smudged

make-up, and regurgitated pasta

(mmmm!?!) Watch it over at

diymag.com now.

15

Hello there! Can you believe it’s already been three

years since ‘No Blues’? Where does the time go?

Gareth: Do you know what? Yes, I can believe it - it

seems like forever. I feel like my life runs in two separate

lanes, one inhabited by the band and the other with

everything else. The band timeline has really dragged,

with us having done very little, just itching to do

another record, while the time involving everything else

in my life has gone at a thousand miles an hour. Since

‘No Blues’ came out my football team has celebrated

a heroic promotion, and then faced a lacklustre

relegation. That can really age a man.

We hear you’re hard at work on a follow-up, how’s

that been going?

Tom: Good thanks! I started writing songs when I was

in Seattle last year, in-between two legs of a US tour

playing in Perfume Genius’ live band. It’d been about

three years since writing the songs for ‘No Blues’ by

then, so I felt suitably refreshed and excited to write

again. I’ve been living and messing with that set of

songs for about a year now, so I feel like they’re at a

point where I’m happy to start sharing them.

G: What Tom’s written for this new record is fantastic,

like, really exciting for me. So now I’ve gotta write the

lyrics to do it justice. This meant I quit my job (not that

much encouragement was needed) and am spending a

lot of time day-drinking in beer gardens with a note pad,

scratching down drunken ideas.

What’s going on with...

LOS CAMPESINOS!?

It’s been three years since the Welsh seven-piece

released their brilliant ‘No Blues’ and with only a few

festival appearances in their calendar, it’s easy to wonder

what they’ve been up to of late. So, we decided to ask -

Gareth and Tom Campesinos! spill the beans.

How are the new songs sounding?

T: I’m probably a bit close to judge, but I think ‘No Blues’

was, psychologically at least, the last record we made

as a ‘pro’ band. The past couple of years have been

extremely frustrating for a bunch of reasons I can’t really

mention, and I think we’ve been forced into questioning

whether we want to do this anymore or why we’re still

here. So I think these songs are a combination of an

excited, affirmative answer to that questioning as well

as a release of that frustration. Basically it’s a bunch of

loud euphoric pop songs that’ll hopefully make you

dance and cry.

Do you have a timescale?

G: I promised people there’d be a new LC! album in 2016

but we’ll be looking at January or February next year I

reckon. We could get it out this calendar year, but I think

records that get sneaked out in time for November and

December often suffer for that. For certain we’d like to

get at least two or three new tracks out this year though

- as this will be our longest ever gap without releasing

new music - and some headline shows towards the end

of 2016 too.

16 diymag.com

NEWS

Mystery Jets

We know what you’re like, dear readers. We know you’re just as nosey as we are when it comes to our favourite

popstars: that’s why we’re putting the power back into your hands. Every month, we’re going to ask you to pull

out your best questions and aim them at those unsuspecting artists. You don’t even need to pay for postage! This

month, Mystery Jets’ Blaine Harrison and Jack Flanagan are poised with the Qs.

If you could relive one day from the

past few years, which would it be and

why? Lucy, Portsmouth

Blaine: The day we were stranded at sea,

out on the Redsands WW2 forts to shoot

the ‘Bubblegum’ video is one I’ll never

forget. I spent many weeks writing for

‘Curve of the Earth’ living in a beach hut

on the north Kent coast and the more

I found out about these little specks

on the horizon, the more obsessed I

became with them. We were blessed with

glorious weather on the day we went

out there to film, and sent cameras up on

drones to capture the performance from

360 degrees. Rocking out, on abandoned

WW2 forts, in the middle of the sea - it

was definitely a pinch-yourself moment.

What’s been the most surreal moment

while you’ve been in the band? James,

via email

B: I’ve been fortunate enough to cross

paths with several early heroes of mine

along the way, but one occasion was

when I was invited to perform solo at a

one-off concert at the Barbican called

‘Songs In The Key Of London’. I invited

along a string quartet to cover a few of

my favourite songs about London with

me - one of which was ‘Man Out of Time’

by Elvis Costello. As if performing solo

Popstar

Postbag

for the first time wasn’t enough, you can

imagine my horror when the man himself

patted me on the back to wish me good

luck? Did he say nice things afterwards?

Yes, but if he reads this I’m still waiting for

that invitation to open for him next time

he’s in London.

What is your favourite thing to see

when you look out to the crowd during

gigs? @aimzeee

Jack: I love seeing people that you

would never expect to be there. Also,

it’s amazing making eye contact with

somebody who is really enjoying the

show, knowing that the energy you’re

putting out is being fed back to you. As a

footnote it also makes me very nervous

when my mother is in the audience.

If you could go back in time to give

yourself one piece of advice before

starting the band, what would it be?

Michael, Fife

B: Sing in your own voice. Record

everything you write, and back it up

three times. Sorry, that’s three.

What is the speech sample at the

beginning of ‘Midnight’s Mirror’?

Pearl, via email

J: The speech sample was taken from a

scene in Mike Leigh’s classic ‘Naked’ (read

by David Thewlis). I think William [Rees,

guitarist] watched and the line struck a

huge note of relevance with what he was

trying to write about.

Blaine, we’ve all seen your hair

evolving through the years but now

it looks the best. What do you do to

keep it in such condition? Agnieszka,

via email

B: I actually had pretty nondescriptlooking

hair until I shaved it all off at the

age of 16, in tribute to Chris Martin circa

‘Parachutes’. To my horror, it grew back

in tight curls (probably as a means of

punishment). At the moment I’m kind

of enjoying letting it go back to doing

its thing. I suspect my Irish ancestry is

mostly to thank for its resilience. And lots

of argan oil.

Mystery Jets will play Best Kept Secret.

Head to diymag.com/festivals for details.

NEXT MONTH: BLACK HONEY

Want to send a question to DIY’s

Popstar Postbag? Tweet us at

@diymagazine with the hashtag

#postbag, or drop us an email at

popstarpostbag@diymag.com. Easy!

17

HAVE you HEARD?

MØ - Final Song

It’s already been one hell of a year for MØ. She’s been steadily stepping up her game since 2014, shooting for the pop bullseye

and skewering it cleanly with needle-sharp writing every single time. Outrageously great fun, she’s a well-publicised fan of

brilliant pop. Likewise, there are no self-aware bells and whistles to ‘Final Song,’ no clever tricks or nose-taps in sight. Simple,

bold, unswerving, and with all the instant impact of colliding headlong with a tidal wave of jelly and icecream flavoured Panda

Pop, massive xylophones plunk atop a tower of scuzzing stabs, and crisper-than-a-rice-krispie-cake snares. Every element’s right

up in your face like it’s taken a healthy glug of ‘Drink Me’ potion. In every way going, ‘Final Song’ is fucking huge. (El Hunt)

Metronomy - Old Skool

All neon bubble fonts, dodgy 80s

hairdos, and gaudy disco funk, Joe Mount

isn’t just taking a step away from the

heartbreak fuelling Metronomy’s last

record ‘Love Letters’. Gentle shoopshoops

and subtle building waves have

been lobbed well and truly out the

window. Brash, kitschy, and propelled

by furiously hyperactive glass-chings,

‘Old Skool’ harks back to Joe’s ‘Nights

Out’ days as he yowls of overindulgence,

money making, and superficial parties

in the West End. “I love sex, and I love

dancing, and reclining in your backseat,”

he announces. It makes barely any sense,

and it’s brilliant. (El Hunt)

Glass Animals - Life Itself

Bouncy and bongo-led, the second

iteration of Glass Animals finds them

polishing their diamonds, rather than

opting for reinvention. Buffed-up and

shimmering like never before, they’re

a thousand times more confident. All

fidgety, colliding time signatures and a

toy box of instrumentation, Glass Animals

feel reborn, shedding the murky skin

of ‘Zaba’ in favour of a kaleidoscopic

new set of scales. ‘Life Itself’ is evidence

they’re ready to break free - a flamboyant

swan dive into the deep and shimmering

lagoon of pop perfection. (Tom Connick)

Wild Beasts - Get My Bang

Wild Beasts have always wrestled with a

masculinity crisis and shifting identity,

every move sprinkled with sleaze. But

their previous two records never hinted

at a song like ‘Get My Bang’ being in their

locker. A stop-start lead melody sounds

like it’s a hound jumping hurdles, and

Thorpe’s in peak seedy form. Never have

Wild Beasts sounded this love-ravaged

and swerved by their own instincts. Just

when all bases looked covered across a

diamond-encrusted career, they’ve hit a

new high. (Jamie Milton)

Speedy Ortiz - Death Note

“How many times do I have to say it?”

asks an exasperated Sadie Dupuis

repeatedly over ‘Death Note’’s dissonant,

unwieldy melody lines; strained howls

of guitar feedback peeping through

the gaps. It’s the kind of reflection

we’ve come to expect as standard

from the sharp songwriting mind of

Speedy’s frontwoman. An outtake

from the Northampton, Massachusetts

band’s categorically ace second album

‘Foil Deer,’ it’s a powerful sounding

juggernaut of a track; cathartic, complex,

and shadowy. There’s just no foiling this

lot. (El Hunt)

18 diymag.com

DIY HALL of FAME

GOSSIP - STANDING IN THE WAY OF CONTROL

A loud, proud record that refuses to conform, ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ is the latest

inductee to DIY’s Hall Of Fame. Words: El Hunt

the Facts

Released: 24th

January, 2006

Standout tracks:

‘Dark Lines’, ‘Standing

in the Way of Control’,

‘Listen Up!’

Something to tell

your mates: The

majority of this album

was recorded at Bear

Creek - Lionel Richie’s

favourite forest-top

studio. “Hello, is it tree

you’re looking for,”

anyone?

Against 2006’s backdrop of identikit boys armed with

super-tight jeans and frail-framed jangles about

girls that are “sooooooo naïve,” Gossip stood out

like a sore, very pissed-off thumb. By title alone,

‘Standing in the Way of Control’ deliberately made itself

an annoyance and an obstacle. Plonking itself bolt upright

and right in the way, and forcing everyone to physically

manoeuvre around its fast-punching presence, Gossip’s third

LP wielded the body as a weapon. It’s a gargantuan record

crammed with juggernaut blues riffs that can’t be pinned

down; tenacious dance beats that flicker and frenzy their way

to near-oblivion.

Written as an almighty fuck you directed at the US

Government’s attempts to make same-sex marriage illegal,

‘Standing in the Way of Control’’s title track bursts with anger

and unconstrained rage, but at the same time throws its head

back to party on regardless. “Nobody in the States was that

surprised or shocked by what Bush did, but it made everyone I

know feel helpless and cheated,” frontwoman Beth Ditto said

at the time. Sweating glitter and screaming with gaudiness,

this record is unapologetically different, and camper than a

Butlins-themed cabaret performance at G-A-Y late. When it

came to small-town noughties teens whose only knowledge

of queer culture came from token storylines on EastEnders,

Gossip busted off the hinges and flung open the door to an

entire new world, containing

Le Tigre, Hunx and His

Punx, Peaches, Tribe 8, and

an entire treasure trove of

bold, brash badasses who

couldn’t be bothered with

conforming.

“Heavy make-up doesn’t

cover up the many sleepless

nights I can’t hide,” lulls

Beth Ditto at her gentlest

on ‘Dark Lines’, a chiming,

smoky and Southern-soul

tinged track where covering

up weakness and blending

in becomes exhausting.

Elsewhere, there’s the gritty

image of fists painstakingly

performing their own

chemistry with carbon;

slowly grinding burnt out

coal into gleaming, crystalclear

diamonds. For every

rallying battle-cry – the

roaring confrontation that

is the title track, the searing

empowerment of ‘Fire with

Fire’ – this record also shows

the flip-side. ‘Yr Mangled

Heart,’ even declares “I can’t

take it no more”. Though

it’s frequently angry,

triumphant, and pissed-off,

‘Standing in the Way of

Control’ also strays towards

the verge of buckling and

giving up. Beth Ditto tells

you that it’s ok to be totally

tired of fighting against a

flawed, difficult world, too.

Taking on the spirit of Kurt

Cobain’s unabashed dresswearing,

Kathleen Hanna’s

rrriot of unshaved pits and

the anger of a thousand

furious punks, political,

non-conforming badasses

like Beth Ditto - and bands

like Gossip - are rare, and to

be celebrated. DIY

19

The Magic

Gang

+ Abattoir Blues

The Crowndale, London. Photos:

C

L

DIY

V

E

Emma Swann

rammed into new London venue

The Crowndale, The Magic Gang

are hopelessly batting balloons

away from their instruments. Hundreds

of frenzied fans are rushing the stage

while mic stands and speakers fall over.

The security guards don’t know where

to look. This is much better than getting

a cake, staying at home and watching

The One Show.

In a twist of irony, perfect chaos is incited

when The Magic Gang play ‘No Fun’,

their pre-encore closer about being sick

and tired of parties. This party’s a lot

of fun, mind you. Across the road, Mac

Miller’s playing to a sold-out Koko. So

it’s nice of The Magic Gang to give the

Pennsylvania rapper a timely shout-out.

That’s right before closing the night

with go-to, brilliantly miserable party

anthem ‘Shallow’. Frontman Jack Kaye

ditches his guitar and barks out the “I’m

so shallow!” mantra. Balloons are bursting,

arms are flailing. Talk about a party.

Mac Miller should have had an invite,

come to think of it. (Jamie Milton)

Future of

the Left

Electric Ballroom, London. Photos:

“N

Sarah Louise Bennett

ow, we all know the Queen’s

a cunt, but imagine being

so much of a cunt that you

have your birthday on the day Prince

dies…” cackles Falco mid-way through

Future Of The Left’s largest London show

to date. That bratty attitude in check,

it’s a typically raucous showing from the

Welsh mob. They showcase everything

from early Mclusky cuts like ‘To Hell With

Good Intentions’ right through to the

newer likes of ‘The Limits Of Battleships’

with every bit of noise and chaos present

and correct. Don’t let that new album title

fool you – there’s no peace or truce with

Future Of The Left, just a gripping, nonstop

bludgeoning. (Tom Connick)

20 diymag.com

21

NEWS

We’re all going on a summer holiday, no phone signal for a day or three...

FESTIVALS

17th - 19th June

Now it’s firmly established as one of the Netherlands’

biggest festivals, they should probably find a new

name for Best Kept Secret. This year features headline

sets from Beck, Jamie xx and Editors, plus notable

appearances from the returning Two Door Cinema

Club and Bloc Party, veterans Air, Wilco, and Low, plus

lots and lots of new acts including Weaves, Beach

Slang, The Japanese House, Ho99o9, Danny L Harle,

and Class of 2016 alumni VANT.

A few seconds with…

Mattie Vant, VANT

So, you’re taking your set

to lots of new places and

new faces this summer..?

We’re damn excited, shades

and sun cream at the ready!

Also our next single ‘Karma

Seeker’ will be out by then.

It’s always exciting to see

people’s reactions to new

songs once they are out in

the ether.

What can ‘the people’

expect from your festival

set?

We try and retain an

element of surprise with

all our shows to keep

ourselves guessing just

as much as everyone else.

It’s the first time we’ll be

playing some main stages

BEST KEPT.

SECRET.

this summer so I’m looking

forward to trying some

mass interaction tactics at

some point!

What’s the most

audacious thing you’re

gonna add to your rider?

Apparently Best Kept Secret

festival has a private safari

for the bands so maybe

some kind of Jumanjiesque

fancy dress could

add to the authenticity.

On a scale of 1-10, how

good are you at keeping

secrets?

10.

Can you tell us a secret?

My lips are sealed.

22 diymag.com

THE

HAPPENING:

JUNE

1st - 5th

16th - 18th

Primavera Sound Mad Cool

Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, Bastille, Biffy Clyro, Two Door

Parquet Courts, The Last Shadow Cinema Club, Diiv, Lucy Rose,

Puppets, Savages, Tame Impala Temples, Twin Atlantic, The Kills

3rd - 5th

Governors Ball

The Strokes, The Killers, Kanye

West, Beck, Haim, Chvrches,

Jamie xx, Against Me!, FIDLAR

3rd - 5th

17th - 19th

This Is Not A Love Song 110 Above

Foals, Parquet Courts, METZ, DID, Vaults, Sundara Karma, The

Dilly Dally, Yak, Girl Band, Battles, Japanese House, Theme Park,

Protomartyr

Clean Cut Kid, Fatherson

9th - 29th

Belsonic

Bring Me The Horizon, Biffy

Clyro, Foals, Skepta, Ellie

Goulding, The Vaccines, The

Chemical Brothers

9th - 12th

Isle of Wight

The Kills, Everything Everything,

The Cribs, Iggy Pop, Queen +

Adam Lambert, The Who

9th - 11th

NOS Primavera Sound

Savages, Brian Wilson, Air, Sigur

Rós, Battles, Chairlift, Animal

Collective, Parquet Courts

10th - 12th

Download

Rammstein, Black Sabbath, Iron

Maiden, Deftones, Frank Carter &

The Rattlesnakes, Milk Teeth

10th - 12th

Long Division

Field Music, Gang of Four, Los

Campesinos!, Johnny Foreigner,

Malcolm Middleton, Emma

Pollock

11th - 12th

Bestival Toronto

The Cure, Tame Impala, Grimes,

Jamie xx, Swim Deep, Daughter,

The Wombats, Madeon

11th - 12th

Field Day

James Blake, Four Tet, Skepta,

Dilly Dally, Formation, Mystery

Jets, Parquet Courts

11th - 12th

Parklife

Wolf Alice, Jamie xx, Bastille,

Years & Years, Skepta, Katy B,

Stormzy, Major Lazer

16th - 19th

Secret Solstice

Radiohead, Deftones, Of

Monsters and Men, Róisín

Murphy, Novelist, Kelela

17th - 19th

Body & Soul

Santigold, Mercury Rev, Ho99o9,

Floating Points, St. Germain,

Junior Boys, Wolf Parade

16th - 18th

Sónar

Skrillex, The Chemical Brothers,

FKA twigs, Hot Chip, Jamie xx,

Duran Duran, Flying Lotus

17th - 19th

Northside

Beck, Jamie xx, Deftones, Iggy

Pop, The Chemical Brothers, Bloc

Party, C Duncan

18th

Bushstock

Bear’s Den, Charlie Cunningham,

Chartreuse, Dean Lewis,

Gillbanks

22nd - 26th

Glastonbury

Adele, Coldplay, Muse, Wolf

Alice, Skepta, Beck, Foals,

Bastille, Chvrches, Bring Me The

Horizon (See p8 for more)

25th - 2nd

Roskilde

LCD Soundsystem, Foals, MØ,

Savages, Tame Impala, Bring Me

The Horizon, Chvrches, Skepta

30th - 2nd

Bråvalla

Biffy Clyro, Mumford & Sons,

Rammstein, Bastille, Bring Me

The Horizon, Angel Haze, Hinds

30th - 3rd

Rock Werchter

Rammstein, Florence + The

Machine, Bring Me The Horizon,

Jamie xx, Courtney Barnett, MØ,

Paul McCartney

latitude

AL-THE-COVE’S A STAGE

That terrible pun means we’re hosting the Alcove Stage at

Latitude once again, readers.

Hurrah! Not only are we once again heading down (it’s up,

actually - Geography Ed) to Suffolk as Official Media Partners

of Latitude Festival, but we’re also hosting the Alcove Stage

once more. Where last year had Rat Boy causing mayhem in

the forest in addition to notable sets from Nao, Tuff Love and C

Duncan, this year’s even better.

Class of 2016 alumni and total babes The Magic Gang will be

there, as well as hot properties like Danny L Harle, Kagoule,

Petite Noir, Kero Kero Bonito, Rationale and Skinny Girl Diet.

For the full line up - plus more on all things Latitude - head to

diymag.com/latitude.


Lawrence English, Kagoule

We’ve already seen you at Live at Leeds this year - are you

well and truly in ‘festival mode’ now?

Almost. Live at Leeds was one of the first festivals we’ve

played this year so we’re kind of just dipping our toes in so far,

maybe coming up to knee deep soon.

Are you looking forward to Latitude?

I’ve always wanted to go there, never mind play it, so this is

great. It’s always a nice feeling to play festivals you’ve known

about about forever, because you know the 12-year-old you

would be well impressed.

Who are you hoping to watch over the weekend?

The line up is so good. I’m still bummed I couldn’t go last year

and see Portishead, but I definitely want to catch Kurt Vile,

Suuns and Father John Misty.

The Alcove stage is hidden away in the woods - how are

you with nature?

Great. We all live surrounded by grey things everywhere so

any opportunity to hide away in some woods is good. We will

all definitely get lost though - even if they aren’t dense woods,

we’ll find a way.

23

wild life 11th - 12th June

Best buddies Disclosure and Rudimental are teaming up for a second year to

bring their favourites both old and new to Brighton City Airport. Both acts

headline (with festival-goers hoping for a few guest spots for good measure

- hi Lorde!), and there’s also notable spots for Busta Rhymes, Ice Cube, David

Rodigan MBE and returning Aussie mystery machine The Avalanches on one

side, and Rat Boy, Mura Masa, Jorja Smith and Frances on the other, with Four

Tet, Jamie Woon, Annie Mac and cover stars Bastille somewhere in between.


Howard Lawrence, Disclosure

You’re returning for a second year…

It was amazing last year. Getting Wu-Tang Clan was a

big deal for us, and obviously Wiley and Skepta showed

up. It was a great couple of days. This year, the line-up’s

equally strong, and hopefully the weather will match up.

It’s a really interesting bill. You seem big on bringing

in new acts.

We wanted to have a mix - up-and-coming acts and

more established artists. The bookers smashed it - they

got pretty much everyone. We were very happy.

What was the location like?

To me, it felt really good. It felt like the right amount of

space. That airport can hold a lot more than last year’s

capacity. Last year was 32,000 a day, but it can be double

that. We’re gonna slowly expand, but we still want it to

feel cosy, so you don’t get that vibe of feeling like it’s

empty even when it’s sold out.

OPEN’ER

17th - 19th June

This month’s cover stars Bastille, plus LCD Soundsystem, Chvrches, Grimes,

Savages, Tame Impala, Pharrell Williams, Florence + The Machine, Sigur Rós,

PJ Harvey, Kurt Vile and Mac DeMarco are among the acts heading to Poland

at the end of the month. Also on their way are Twin Atlantic, otherwise hard at

work on the follow-up to 2014’s Top Ten album, ‘Great Divide’

Field Day

11th - 12th June

Kero Kero Bonito, Arthur Beatrice,

Astronomyy, Daphni and Let’s Eat

Grandma have been added to the

bill over the two days, plus they’ll be

showing the England v Russia game on

Saturday in Victoria Park. Score.

Glastonbury

22nd - 26th June

Dua Lipa, Danny L Harle, Four Tet,

Ekkah, Lion Babe and Idris Elba are

among those announced for Silver

Hayes, with the previously-announced

Stormzy, Nao and Lady Leshurr also

poised for the stage.

Bilbao BBK Live

7th - 9th July

Hinds, HANA, Ocean Colour Scene,

Bad Breeding and DMA’s join the

Basque shindig, joining Arcade Fire,

Pixies, Foals, Wolf Alice, Chvrches,

INHEAVEN and lots and lots of others at

the top of a mountain.

Positivus

15th - 17th July

Mark Ronson, BAIO and Minor

Victories are among the acts added to

the Latvian event, which already boasts

Wolf Alice, Grimes, Years & Years and

Iggy Pop.

Citadel

17th July

Battles, Beardyman and Honne, Flyte

and Boxed In join the London all-dayer

alongside Lianne La Havas, Caribou,

Sigur Rós and Cat’s Eyes.

LeeFest

28th - 30th July

VANT, Circa Waves and Everything

Everything join ‘The Neverland’, with

Demob Happy, GIRLI, Spring King,

The Big Moon, Big Deal, Formation

and Lianne La Havas already

announced.


Sam McTrusty, Twin Atlantic

After a few months away, how are

you looking forward to returning to

the stage?

Lots. We’ve gone through a big change

since anyone has seen us last. So we

don’t even know how this is all going to

play out. There are no rules anymore.

Do you have anything special

planned for your festival sets this

summer?

Well we have been working on a new

project that we might unveil at the

festivals. It’s always a scary place to dive

into at the best of times but we are so

on our toes and so amped up about

music that it seems like the right time

to do it.

Have you played live in Poland

before? How was it?

Yeah we’ve played two shows in Poland.

One small club show which was equal

parts strange and fantastic. The second

at another festival where we had a

solid day hanging out with Wolf Alice

and staring at Noel Gallagher from a

creepily close distance.

Standon

Calling

29th - 31st July

Yak, Blood Red Shoes, INHEAVEN and

Toy join the bill for the Hertfordshire

weekend, joining Swim Deep, Kelis,

Suede, Everything Everything and

others.

Y Not

29th - 31st July

Yak, INHEAVEN, VANT, and Kagoule are

heading to Derbyshire this July, alongside

the previously-announced Creeper, The

Magic Gang, Milk Teeth, The Cribs and

Rat Boy (and others).

24 diymag.com

Visions

6th August

Dream Wife, JD Samson and Bleached

join the East London all-dayer, with

Babeheaven, Jessy Lanza and Let’s

Eat Grandma also appearing.

Green Man

18th - 21st August

Laura Marling is the final headliner,

with Charlotte Church bringing her

Late Night Pop Dungeon along for

the ride, which already stars Belle &

Sebastian, Wild Beasts and James

Blake, plus Gengahr, Warpaint and

Formation.

Lowlands

19th - 21st August

AlunaGeorge, Noel Gallagher’s

High Flying Birds and Chase &

Status are among those joining LCD

Soundsystem, Muse, Foals, Biffy

Clyro and The Kills in the Netherlands

this August.

AMA Music Festival

23rd - 28th August

The Neighbourhood and Kula Shaker

join Foals, Thee Oh Sees and Funeral

Suits at the event, taking place at

“Italy’s most beautiful village”, Asolo

(their words, don’t blame us).

Reading & Leeds

26th - 28th August

There’s another massive batch of acts

for the August Bank Holiday weekend,

including faves like Spring King, VANT,

The Magic Gang, Milk Teeth and The

Japanese House, plus SWMRS, Pulled

Apart By Horses, Nas, Eagulls, Thrice

and Mastodon.

Rock En Seine

26th - 28th August

Peaches, Dua Lipa, Slaves, Soulwax,

Jack Garratt and L7 have been added

to the Parisian weekend, joining the

likes of Foals, Bring Me The Horizon,

Two Door Cinema Club and Sum 41.

“All together now! ‘Heads, shoulders,

knees and Elbow...’”

MELTDOWN

10th - 17th June

Following in the footsteps of such

artistic luminaries as Jarvis Cocker,

Yoko Ono and David Bowie, this

year’s Southbank Centre extravaganza

is ‘curated’ (they use that word

at Serious Art Places dontchaknow)

by Elbow frontman and professional

northerner, Guy Garvey. He’s picked

acts including Laura Marling, Femi

Kuti, The Staves, Richard Hawley,

C Duncan and pals I Am Kloot to

appear across the event’s week-long

duration, as well as one of our faves,

singer-songwriter Marika Hackman.


Marika Hackman


Guy Garvey

Who is it in particular that you’re

looking forward to seeing at

Meltdown?

Well, I’m really, really glad that Laura

Marling said yes – she was the first

person to say yes. I’m over the moon

that Lift To Experience are reforming,

too. That’s a real coup! I once toured

with those guys – about fifteen years

ago – and through the years, I’ve kept

in touch with Josh [T. Pearson] and

we’ve become good friends. To get the

band to reform for Meltdown is really

unbelievable, so really excited about

that.

End of the Road

1st - 4th September

The Shins will play their first UK gig

in four years at the event, with new

additions also including Cat’s Eyes and

FEWS.

Reeperbahn

21st - 24th September

Dilly Dally, Moose Blood, Declan

McKenna, Gold Panda and perpetually

surprised chart-bothering singersongwriter

Jamie Lawson are among

the first acts as all things ‘new music’

prepare to descend on Hamburg.

How happy were you when Guy

Garvey asked you to come and play

Meltdown?

It’s a real honour to be asked to play a

festival like that, when someone you

admire is curating the whole thing. And

to be playing with Laura again is lovely,

that’s going to be fun.

Talking of Laura Marling, you two are

good pals. You’re playing the same

night as her. Is there going to be

another ‘Animal Fear’ moment where

you turn into a werewolf and eat her

mid-set? Or does it depend on the

quality of the backstage rider?

It depends if she says something to me!

I may have a fiery temper and pounce!

Who knows. I’m really chilled actually.

She’s probably more likely to turn into a

werewolf than me.

Guy Garvey’s obviously well known

for being in Elbow, so naturally we

need to ask; would you rather have

elbows for knees, or knees for elbows?

I feel like I have quite pointy knees

anyway. I think my legs might fail if I

had elbows for knees. If I had knees for

elbows, I’d have very strong arms. And

I’d still be able to walk. Picture an elbowsized

knee. That’s just dumb.

25

26 diymag.com

CHALK

FARM

CHALK FARM ROAD

STABLES

MARKET

CAMDEN

LOCK

CAMDEN

TOWN

CAMDEN HIGH STREET

MORNINGTON

CRESCENT

27

neu

Family

and

heartbreak

are centre stage in

this rapper’s work, but

he’s doing his best to

avoid “melancholy

spiel.”

LOYLE

Words: Tommy

Horner. Photos:

Emma Swann.

28 diymag.com

It’s hard work being this talented.

Keep it in

the Family

n stage fans can see Loyle

always adorn himself with his

Ostepdad’s adored Manchester

United shirt, hailing the hero in

‘Cantona’. His familial role model was

always meant to join Loyle on stage.

Proudly he performs for him instead,

“a successful, stable male presence,

when I was a hyperactive kid. I wasn’t

even his!” Not that the backstory is

burdensome, as Loyle can’t stand “the

melancholy spiel” of some artists.

The words are

referential but the

man is forwardfacing.

CARNER

Loyle Carner stands tall for his family and wants to

be counted. That’s the ethos of this London boy

with a local sentimentality, who’s beginning to

count himself international in stature. Proof as

much has come from the feet of crowds and the

nods of journos. Most recently, he’s returned triumphant from SXSW,

representing UK rap for the first time as a flag-bearer alongside Little

Simz and others.

Last summer, this new talent took to small stages before staggered

audiences and in that short expanse of time since, he’s already eclipsed this.

Yet, despite his rising star, Loyle - real name Ben Coyle-Larner (see what he did

there?! - Ed) - keeps a calm count of his blessings. “My mum always taught me

to pay credit where credit is due, so before I even get to things I wanna talk on,

there is a lot to thank others for first”.

Across his proliferating catalogue, Loyle’s human element is at

the fore: there’s no fourth wall, no facade. He does keep

one secret close to his chest, though: his nan’s famous

pancake recipe, as referred to in ‘Florence’, his

touching ode to wishing for a younger sister.

“I can’t give that away! I will say there

are a few special ingredients, one

being vanilla… once you

have that right you are

laughing - proper

morning

vibes!”

It’s safe to say that Loyle is somewhat unconventional, and knows for some

vocal critics it’s all “girls, mum, dad, girls, mum, dad!” From his earlier releases

to the latest singles he sticks to an inner monologue - a note to self. “I find

my criticisms come mainly from myself,” he readily admits, “but my mum’s

happy about it.”

It’s still with a sense of humour that he relentlessly puts the heat on

himself. Of ‘BFG’, a typically confessional track about his stepdad’s

death, he “almost couldn’t put it out! I couldn’t help feeling, ‘No one

wants to hear this, this guy moaning away.’”

“Everybody thinks I’m fucking sad / Of course I’m fucking sad,

I miss my fucking dad,” run the lyrics, a defiant and cherished

act of self-scrutiny. Even in school, he was putting emotion

to page and performed a poem in memory of Christian,

a close companion who died of leukemia: “It was the

first time I had performed anything for anyone.” Is

that candid character changing? “I feel as though

people can use their platform for good or for, well,

for certain uses. I want to keep it personal, spread

positivity. I wouldn’t want to make it political and

lose what was true to what I’m doing.” Loyle’s no

longer the outsider from West Norwood “on

the outskirts looking in”, only ever “wanting

to be part of the conversation.” DIY

Loyle Carner will play Latitude and

Standon Calling. Head to


29

neu

Tour buddies rarely get to rekindle

their flames three times in a row,

but that’s the case for Baby In

Vain, who were recruited to support

The Kills on successive tours.

“Nobody does that,” the Danish group readily

admit. But last month’s DIY cover stars have

clearly taken a liking to the sludgy aesthetic

and intense mood of the trio’s early output.

Back in 2014, they were put forward as

a potential would-be support for Alison

Mosshart and Jamie Hince. They were “in a

pile” to choose from, and they were pick of

the bunch. “They chose us! Alison chose us!”

vocalist / guitarist Lola Hammerich beams.

It all sounds rosy, a musical match made in

heaven. Not quite. “To be honest I’m sick of

being a support band,” claims Lola, and her

bandmates are in agreement. “It’s weird,”

starts fellow guitarist / vocalist Andrea

Thuesen. “The first time we toured with The

Kills, we had the feeling, ‘We never wanna be

anything else beyond this. We love being a

support band. We can do this for the rest of

our lives.’” But the novelty’s worn off. Baby in

Vain want to be centre stage, and they’re not

BABY In vain

This Danish trio already have huge support slots under their belt. But with a killer

instinct, they want to go way bigger. Words: Jamie Milton. Photo: Emma Swann.

wrong for thinking they deserve a step up.

This year’s ‘For The Kids’ EP is a ferocious,

twisted mission statement. If Josh Homme

packed the deathly march of their track ‘Muscles’,

he’d be declared a genius. ‘The Urge’,

meanwhile, finds the trio ditching guitars in

favour of gloomy, Trent Reznor-ready synths.

Closing track ‘Jesus Freaks’ is pick of the

bunch, and apparently it’s about Jesus being

killed by gangsters - always a bonus. “Well

it’s not really literal!” replies Lola. “It’s just

the Jesus within yourself. It’s killed by the

Mafia within you,” she continues, somewhat

abstractly. “Mainly, it sounds cool to sing!”

This itch to go further is “probably a good

thing,” notes Andrea. “Because then we have

to work hard to get beyond the supporting

act thing. Right now it’s a lot of travelling

and a lot of hard work for very little,” she

says. This EP packs more purpose here than a

cheetah on the prowl - it sounds like they’ve

been ready for the next level for some time.

Give or take a few more support slots, and

they won’t have any problem snatching the

spotlight. DIY

Lie, Cheat,

Steal, Kill

Almost every Baby in Vain

song has an in-depth,

bizarre story to match. Take

‘The Urge’, for example.

“I have some friends and

they talked about what

the worst thing in the

world would be,” Andrea

remembers. “They both

said, ‘If my boyfriend

cheated on me.’ And it just

seemed so strange to me.

I can think of a lot of worse

things. I don’t believe that

people are meant to live in

monogamy, so. And I was

watching a series on Netflix

about serial killers, and in a

weird moment I made that

connection, between the

urge to cheat and the urge

to kill.”

30 diymag.com

Goldenvoice Presents

CLARE MAGUIRE

06.06.16

ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH

SOLD OUT

BLOODY KNEES

08.06.16

LONDON ELECTROWERKZ

RIVRS

09.06.16

LONDON RED GALLERY

PIXX

+ LITTLE CUB

14.06.16

THE PICKLE FACTORY

PARQUET COURTS

14.06.16

BRISTOL TRINITY

12.10.16

HOVE THE OLD MARKET

KAMASI WASHINGTON

27.06.16

GLASGOW

QUEEN MARGARET UNION

28.06.16

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2

29.06.16

BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE

30.06.16

BRISTOL ANSON ROOMS

THE STRUMBELLAS

05.07.16

HOXTON SQUARE

BAR & KITCHEN

AIDA VICTORIA

07.07.16

LONDON SERVANT

JAZZ QUARTERS

GIRLI

12.07.16

LONDON THE GARAGE

SOLD OUT

ALLIE X

13.07.16

LONDON OSLO

LEO KALYAN

26.07.16

LONDON

THE PICKLE FACTORY

LIVE EVIL

08.10.16

LONDON THE DOME

09.10.16

LONDON THE DOME

MEADOWLARK

23.11.16

BRIGHTON HOPE & RUIN

27.11.16

LONDON WAITING ROOM

JP COOPER

17.10.16

BRIGHTON HAUNT

20.10.16

OXFORD O2 ACADEMY 2

21.10.16

NORWICH ARTS CENTRE

22.10.16

SOUTHAMPTON BROOK

26.10.16

LONDON O2 FORUM

KENTISH TOWN

27.10.16

MANCHESTER ACADEMY

29.10.16

BIRMINGHAM

O2 INSTITUTE2

KHRUANGBIN

19.10.16

LEEDS WARDROBE

21.10.16

MANCHESTER

DEAF INSTITUTE

22.10.16

NOTTINGHAM BODEGA

25.10.16

LONDON ISLINGTON

ASSEMBLY HALL

26.10.16

BRISTOL TRINITY CENTRE

HONNE

23.10.16

BRISTOL TRINITY CENTRE

28.10.16

LONDON ROUNDHOUSE

01.11.16

BIRMINGHAM

O2 INSTITUTE

KIKO BUN

23.10.16

BIRMINGHAM RAINBOW

25.10.16

BRISTOL LOUISIANA

26.10.16

BRIGHTON KOMEDIA

SLEAFORD MODS

24.10.16

NEWCASTLE O2 ACADEMY

26.10.16

LEEDS BECKETT SU

27.10.16

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 1

28.10.16

LIVERPOOL

GUILD OF STUDENTS

31.10.16

BRIGHTON DOME

03.11.16

NOTTINGHAM ROCK CITY

07.11.16

COVENTRY EMPIRE

08.11.16

BRISTOL O2 ACADEMY

10.11.16

LONDON ROUNDHOUSE

YAK

27.10.16

SCALA LONDON

CROWS

31.10.16

LONDON 100 CLUB

BEAR’S DEN

02.11.16

BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE

ISLAND

02.11.16

LONDON SCALA

TOM ODELL

04.11.16

BRIGHTON CENTRE

05.11.16

PLYMOUTH PAVILLIONS

06.11.16

SWINDON OASIS CENTRE

12.11.16

BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY

BILLY BRAGG

& JOE HENRY

07.11.16

LONDON UNION CHAPEL

SOLD OUT

08.11.16

LONDON UNION CHAPEL

SOLD OUT

THE SPECIALS

15.11.16

LONDON THE TROXY

16.11.16

LONDON THE TROXY

JUN – NOV

goldenvoice.co.uk

31

Even mice vape these

days. Who knew!

Elohim

A synth-sheened new

sensation.

Once in a blue moon, the world

gets a song like Halsey’s ‘New

Americana’ - a stop-you-inyour-tracks

triumph on every

airwave going. Had Halsey’s

world domination not already

happened, the path would

be open for Elohim, a more

elusive but equally exciting

pop sensation. The Los Angeles

newcomer’s debut EP is full

of striking, crunching synth

pop, the kind you’d pour

milk on for breakfast.

Similar to: Chvrches on a

death cruise.

Listen: Elohim’s debut EP

is out now via B3SCI.

neu

Recommended

The Bay

Rays

An amplified instant fix.

This October, thrashing fellas

The Bay Rays join forces with

Neu favourites ESTRONS for

a massive DIY Presents UK

tour. The former are fresh

out the water, a fuzz-backed

Kent trio who specialise in

rollicking, old school rock

’n roll. Debut track ‘Four

Walls’ has a Drenge-style

momentum, while ‘New

Home’ showcases the magic

of three guys sharing a space

and making brilliant noise.

Similar to: A pissed-up

Drenge on a road trip down

the States.

Listen: ‘Four Walls’ is an allthrills

debut.

Jodie Abacus

Smile-inducing smoothness.

Back in October last year, Jodie Abacus released the stupidly

happy ‘Good Feeling’, a glistening dose of vitamin-stuffed

pop. The smile still hasn’t been wiped off his face, and since

then he’s worked with friendly songwriting giant Tobias Jesso

Jr., as well as starring on DIY’s Great Escape stage last month.

Similar to: Thundercat racing towards the charts.

Listen: ‘She’s in Love With the Weekend’ is his slick latest

single.

Muna

Post-Haim goodness.

Muna throw everything at

the wall, before seeing what

sticks. Fortunately, 99.9% of

their funk, soul & electronic

pop hybrid is made of gold.

The Los Angeles trio’s debut

EP is as buzzy as they come - a

Fleetwood Mac-nodding hype

train that stops in Haim-ville

and Lorde-town.

Similar to: Every massive pop

breakthrough from the last

few years, rolled into one.

Listen: ‘The Loudspeaker

EP’ is out now on National

Anthem.

32 diymag.com

neu

All the buzziest new

music happenings,

in one place.

Nao we’re talking

It’s been a busy, buzzy month for Nao. The Class of 2016

Londoner was on Jools last month, turning heads en masse.

She’s also revealed her video for ‘Fool to Love’, plus huge

UK dates, including London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire in

November.

AND she’s (finally!) announced her debut album,

‘For All We Know’. It’s out this July and it’s going

to be amazing. She hasn’t confirmed a tracklist,

but chances are this year’s massive ‘Fool to Love’

single will feature - last year’s ‘Bad Blood’ and

‘It’s You’ ought to get a look in, too.

NO

laughing

Masa

Brighton-via-Guernsey

producer Mura Masa is

getting crafty. He’s shared

some new music via an

album documentary,

combining behind the

scenes tomfoolery with

choice cuts. It’s all leading

towards a debut LP and a UK

tour, starting September.

Get in

Formation

Cowbell-hugging dance pop

gems Formation are edging

closer towards a debut

record. They’ve also shared

‘Pleasure’, the anti-apathy

juggernaut they’ve always

been destined to make. Will

Ritson knows it, too. He told

Zane Lowe the band are

“really showing the world

who we are now.” As for

the album, expect all sorts.

“There’s some real free jazz

saxophone. Some ballads.

Some hip-hop-esque stuff.”

Stick to the bangers, lads.

33

Seven hours later, Isaac was still

mesmerised by the pigeon.

neu

Just one show into his

first headline tour

and Isaac Gracie’s

already exhausted.

The whirlwind of hype that’s

surrounded the singersongwriter

since his ‘Last Words’ demo

courted Zane Lowe spins and major label

offers by the bucketload seems to have torn

his sails somewhat. “It’s weird, you know?

All of it came off the back of one song,

as well…” he ponders ahead of a debut

London bill-topper.

Purpose-built for those year-ending lists

of ‘The Next Big Thing Whether You Like It

Or Not’, Isaac’s tender acoustic balladry’s

destined to be everywhere as the year

progresses. “I’ve found it quite hard to

write,” he admits. “When everything starts

getting a bit serious and your life changes,

you have to start to re-evaluate what

matters and what your goal is and what

makes you happy and stuff… As soon as

you’ve got a lot of people looking at you…

you’re writing the song, and you’re thinking

about everything to do with writing the

song, and you’re hyper-analysing - you’re

thinking, ‘Who’s it for? Is it me?’ All these

questions, it gets in the way.”

That said, his busy schedule’s finally reaping

the rewards he craves. “What is the worth of

100,000 views on Soundcloud?!” he laughs,

“compared to seeing someone actually truly

relate to your song – actually feeling it.”

“All this music industry jargon, it’s all just

steps on the ladder. It doesn’t really mean

anything to me that I’m headlining a bill,

because it’s obviously to very small crowds.

The main thing to me is that it’s a more

intimate or more purposeful endeavour

– the actual act of playing has more

purpose, because you know that people are

potentially switched on to it.”

Isaac

Gracie

A sure-fire bet for massive success, this singer-songwriting

sensation’s hit peak buzz before he’s even out of the demo stage.

Words: Tom Connick. Photo: Mike Massaro.

Those crowds are only going to swell in size,

but Isaac’s ready for the challenge. Citing

Jeff Buckley as a huge influence – “nothing

compares to when he has a full band going

and everything’s really powerful, you

know?” – he’s ready to break free of the

softer side, and fill the massive academies,

arenas and (whisper it) stadiums that are

no-doubt awaiting him. “I produced my

demos and stuff – the ones which have

been on the EP – and all of that was just

on GarageBand, and me trying to make

something out of a song that was inherently

just me and my guitar. In the future – by the

time the album comes out - it’d be nice to

play with a band.” DIY

Isaac Gracie will play Latitude and Reeperbahn.

Head to diymag.com/festivals for details.

34 diymag.com

neu

LIVE

report

ANOTHER BRICK IN WALL’S WORLD DOMINATION

Brooklyn’s most exciting post-punks get real in their home city.

Words: El Hunt. Photos: Cheryl Georgette Arent.

W

ALL’s haunt of choice tonight (22nd April) in Bushwick is incredibly fitting

– if perhaps slightly coincidental. Along with conveniently being another

word for.. well, a wall, Palisades is slap-bang wallop in the middle of

the post-punks’ adopted stomping ground; serving up cut price tinnies, with a

side-serving of scrawl-covered toilets, covered in visiting bands’ autographs. Barely

contained and dangerous sounding, like a volatile chemical lump on the teetering

razor-edge of self-destruction, WALL feed off the messy, dusty chaos that saturates

New York’s air.

Slightly surreal, endlessly unforgiving and forever monochrome, they follow in

an abrasive tradition of New York post-punks that match up to their hectic home

of choice. Like their equally absurdist contemporaries Parquet Courts, the band’s

core touchstones are familiar ones, sure; the tinfoil-coated Velvet Underground, the

fuzzing Television, and Sonic Youth’s impossibly meticulous puppet control of barely

contained noise. One thing marks WALL out. They’ve got that unnameable, hard-topin-down

quality as a band which whacks you round the chops without warning. The

only reaction is to stand bolt upright and pay full attention.

Frontman Sam York - in possession of an often-menacing, occasionally-frenzied drawl

- leads with calculated, rising urgency during the mean ‘Cuban Cigar’, and there’s

an odd, magnetic weighting of syllables to her every delivery. “Crinkled, ageing,

washed up, faded, conquered, jaded,” she chants over the gut-punching abrasion

of ‘Last Date’, trying each word on for size and then tossing it out into the room. It

brings a sort of poetry to WALL’s otherwise unforgiving onslaught, and it’s a tension

that only grows more potent by the minute. They might still be laying down their

first foundations as a band but they’ve evidently got grand designs in mind. DIY

GIG GUIDE

The must-see new music gigs taking

place this month.

Buzzy first steps

Sweat

Moth Club • London • 17th June

Everyone’s going on about these weirdpop

pioneers; a Jungle-style collective

who sport dodgy shades and pack

clever songs.

On tour

Elvis Depressedly

UK • 8th-17th June

Amassing seven albums, it’s about time

Mat Cothran booked his first ever UK

tour. He’ll be stopping over in London,

Bristol, Manchester and Glasgow. See

the full schedule on diymag.com.

Racking up the airmiles

Rationale

Knitting Factory • Brooklyn • 9th June

Hyped London producer (and pal of

cover star Bastille) Rationale makes

head-turning, slick pop - the kind you

couldn’t replicate even if you had an

exact recipe. He plays his first US shows

this month.

35

IT's a

wild

world

Bastille’s journey over the past four years has been ridiculous. Platinum-selling albums, BRIT Award victories and

worldwide tours are now part and parcel for the quartet, but they’re not content with looking back. Now, they march

forward, bringing new album ‘Wild World’ with them.

words: SArah jamieson. Photos: Mike Massaro

36 diymag.com

lot can

change in

four years.

Back in June

2012, an

u n k n o w n

S o u t h

London quartet were

beginning to make

their mark. Their

second single ‘Bad

Blood’ was fresh to

ears. It would take

another nine months

for the band to

release their debut

full-length of the

same name. And yet

within that time, their

entire lives would

be turned upside

down. If someone

had sat Bastille down

to explain what was

about to happen,

they wouldn’t

have – couldn’t

have – believed it.

The list of their

achievements so far

goes on and on: from

four million albums

sold to a British

Breakthrough BRIT

Award tucked neatly

in their collective

(metaphorical) belt,

it’s all a little hard

to comprehend.

Not least for the

band themselves.

But worldwide

success and Grammy

nominations aren’t

things to dwell on. It’s

time to look forward.

“Whenever people

recount what we’ve

got up to over the

last few years in a few

sentences, it always

sounds ridiculous,”

frontman Dan Smith

admits. “It feels like it

happened to us but

also kinda didn’t.” Dan

is sat with bandmate

Kyle Simmons in a

South London pub

not all too far away

from where he lives,

pretty much back

where it all began. It’s

the first time they’ve

opened up about

their next step - new

album ‘Wild World’ -

and, as ever, they’re

both much more keen

on thinking about

what comes next.

“We’ve never wanted

to succumb to sitting

around, patting each

other on the back

because, well, what’s

the fucking point?”

he continues. “There’s

always a million other

interesting things

to think about! I

think we’ve been

so obsessive over

the new record, and

looking forward,

that we haven’t

really had time

to think back.”

As anyone

v a g u e l y

f a m i l i a r

with Bastille

– Dan and

Kyle are joined

by drummer

Chris ‘Woody’ Wood

and bassist Will

Farquarson - already

knows, the foursome

stop just short of

workaholics. Since

the release of ‘Bad

Blood’ in 2013, they’ve

spent almost two

years on the road,

while last summer, as

their campaign was

winding down, they

still managed to clock

37

in over twenty festival

appearances across

the globe. They’re also

constantly working on

new material, which

has wound its way

onto three different

mixtapes, as well as a

deluxe edition of their

debut. The fact they’ve

somehow found time

to make an album in

amongst it all seems

almost superhuman.

Yet – as Dan recently

revealed in their

recent ‘LP2’

teaser video

– it was:

w r i t t e n

on tour

buses, in

back stage

a r e a s

and hotel

rooms across

the world,

there’s a little

bit of all of those

places embedded into

‘Wild World’ itself.

“We put that trailer

out and then basically

went and spent a lot

of time back where

we made the first

album,” explains Dan,

referencing the studio

where they worked

with collaborator Mark

Crew on the debut.

“It’s a weird one where

we’ve been travelling

and making music

in all these mad and

very different places,

but then ultimately,

we came back to this

tiny little room, under

an estate in South

London, with Mark,

and that’s where

it’s come together.”

“We made that first

record in quite an

u n s e l f c o n s c i o u s

way. It was a bit of a

hodgepodge of ideas

and things we loved

at the time, and we

just put it out. Then,

inevitably, when you

tour a set of music

for a long time, you

see people react

to it positively and

negatively.” That’s

what sometimes

drives bands to push

against expectations.

While Bastille are no

strangers to that - “I

mean, we rejected

the idea of guitars on

the first album, then

we thought, ‘No, fuck,

guitars are amazing!’” -

they found themselves

deciding to scratch

every creative itch

along the way, before

throwing all sorts of

ideas into the process.

“Just in terms of

influences alone,”

continues Kyle, “we

were in a very different

situation writing this

album than the first

one.” “We’ve made a

lot more music than

what’s ended up on

this second album,”

adds Dan. “Along with

the mixtapes, we’ve

almost made two or

three second albums.

We were exploring

much darker R&B,

much heavier guitar

stuff and soon we did

this roundabout route

back to what we initially

loved about Bastille.”

Despite so many

varying ingredients, the

record is still, at its core,

a Bastille album. Each

track comes packed

with its own story, its

own personality, the

only constraints being

its perfectly-formed

pop mould. This time

around, however, their

moves are - consciously

- bigger and bolder. “If

we wanted the swagger

of an old hip hop tune,

we didn’t want to shy

away from it, we wanted

to go for it. If we wanted

to use slightly obscure,

ridiculous quotes from

70s sci-fi films, and a

massive horn riff, then a

big old beat, we would.”

“I remember in the early

days,” he thinks back,

“a journalist was trying

to describe who we

were, to pigeonhole

us into a genre, and

we almost had a bit

of an argument about

it. I didn’t know, or

really care, what genre

we were and we’ve

never cared. Within

what we do, there’s

intimacy and ridiculous

bombast; anything

and everything in

between. There are

moments of darkness

and moments of fun

and the kind of music

we want to make - the

kind of band we want

to be - is experimental

and tireless and, we

constantly, from song

to song, want to have

some reinvention.”

It’s an approach that’s

spilled over into

the album’s lyrical

themes too: while

‘Bad Blood’ saw Dan

draw inspiration from

mythology and cinema,

‘Wild World’ focuses

in more on the human

condition. While some

songs tackle how we

endlessly absorb the

horrors of the world

through media outlets

and television sets,

or our newfound

fascination for true

crime, he also explores

our innate need for

relationships and

human connection.

“Conceptually, the

song that really started

tying it together was

‘Warmth’,” he confirms.

“That was the track

that articulated, for

the first time, how

overwhelming

can seem to be

watching or

r e a d i n g

the news

and it

seeming

so mad

a n d

confusing.

It’s about

figuring out

it

“We want to evolve and change, but

we want to do it

ourselves.” - Dan Smith

38 diymag.com

39

“there’s

intimacy and

ridiculous

bombast;

anything and everything in

between.” - Dan Smith

ways to react against that, and

sometimes that is just running

to the person that you love

because they’re the perfect

distraction in that situation.”

“It’s just about trying to have an

honest reaction to things. A song

like ‘The Currents’,” a number

the group aired live for the first

time at Austria’s Snowbombing

Festival back in April, “alludes

to hearing people - be they

high profile or just in the pub -

expressing opinions that you just

can’t comprehend.” “Opinions

that are so ridiculous, they can’t

be real,” adds Kyle. “It’s about

how you surround yourself

with like-minded people, and

when someone infiltrates that

group, it’s like, ‘What is that?!’”

“I mean, we’re not offering

a solution,” the frontman

continues, “it’s just about

that human reaction. That

song is about the need to get

out and completely escape,

to fill your lungs with some

fresh air because it can be

depressing to hear all that

crap, that hateful talk and lies.”

But while ‘Wild World’ may

touch upon some of the more

politically-charged moments of

our everyday lives, it’s also about

seeing the beauty in escapism

and, quite simply, having fun.

“It was really fun to make,” he

I KEEP ON

FALLIN ’

Just days ago, Bastille

revealed the first taste

of ‘Wild World’ in the

form of a ‘mysterious’

trailer. Dan gives us a bit of an

insight into what exactly it means.

“We’ve sort of been toying with this imagery of

falling backwards - and that idea that you’re in a

mid-state of either jumping or being pushed - and

landing, or whatever happens at the bottom. That

feeling’s a bit of a rush, and it’s kind of scary, but

when you’re resigned to it… It’s about reacting to the

situation that you’re in. Last summer, during festival

season, we had this sculpture hanging behind us of

a falling man and this video is very much about that.

There are people looking up and there’s this person

falling, but they’re not scared, they’re not sad.”

“It’s about that sense of a lack of control and maybe

resigning yourself to it, but also being in the moment

and maybe enjoying that. It’s about all of those

complications that are provoked in you. We’ve all

had a falling dream, we’ve all woken up with a start

and you’re not dead at the end of it. For ages, I just

had this idea and we wanted to start with something

really evocative and provokes a lot of questions.”

40 diymag.com

41

confirms. “I don’t want it to

seem too much like we’re

sitting in a corner, shaking at

the daunting nature of

the world - we’re

not at all. It’s

also about

how fucking

a w e s o m e

people are,

and how it’s

fine to have

someone as a

crutch, because

people are wicked

and funny. In a song like

‘Warmth’, it’s about losing

yourself physically in

somebody, while a song like

‘Snakes’ is about that ‘Fuck

it, it’s Friday’ feeling. Some of

the best times you can have

are with your best friends

or complete strangers. It’s

about reacting to the world

and within that, finding and

relying on those connections

which make everyday

life fun and the reason to

get up in the morning.”

Despite the list of accolades

and gigantic numbers thrown

in their direction since the

release of ‘Bad Blood’, the

band aren’t letting the

pressure of expectation get

to them. While most groups

in their position could have

been tempted to team up

with big name producers,

or head into fancy studios,

bastille

Bastille knew that after such

a long time on the road, the

best place to go was home.

“It’s just a very different

situation,” Dan admits. “I

think going back to that

studio represents all the hard

work that went into the first

record, and then went into

this one again. It was almost

bare-faced determination

from us. It was important to

us because, in being away

so much, there’s something

about coming home. To be

like, ‘Fuck you, we’re gonna

do what we want to do, it’s

gonna be different and we’re

gonna do it ourselves.’”

“The first time around, we

didn’t really think about

it.” Now, however,

people are ready

and waiting.

“This time,

there are

some people

out there who

care, and are

really gonna

want to hear what

we’ve done next. We

know that there’ll be people

out there who loved the first

album and maybe don’t like

this one, but maybe there’ll

be people who hated the first

one, but like stuff on this one.”

“We’re kind of standing on the

Eye-ful Tower, geddit?.

42 diymag.com

“The kind of music

we want to make is

experimental

and tireless.”

- dan Smith

edge right now,” he laughs. A

few months away from the

record’s release, they’re still

figuring out its final touches,

but if one thing’s certain,

it’s that they’ve done things

exactly the way they wanted.

“In six months’ time, it

could’ve all fallen to shit and

we could be looking for jobs,

we don’t know! Within this

world of Bastille, we want to

evolve and change, but we

want to do it ourselves.”

Bastille’s new album ‘Wild

World’ is out later this

year via Virgin EMI. DIY

Bastille will play Wild Life

and Open’er. Head to

diymag.com/festivals for

details.

43

Between stolen laptops, sweaty stages and a break-up, Kacey Underwood

NO

and Alice Costelloe were dealt

BIG

a rotten hand while making

‘Say Yes’. It ended up their most victorious album yet.

“We went through so much shit making

it, we thought ‘fuck it!’” - Alice Costelloe

44 diymag.com

DEAL

Words: El Hunt. Photos: Mike Massaro

As rotten luck and tricky obstacles go, it’s

fair to say that while making third album

‘Say Yes’, Big Deal were privy to just a few.

After breaking up with each other and

somehow overcoming all that related

fall-out without too much anguish, Big Deal’s Kacey

Underwood and Alice Costelloe broke up with their

record label, too. The duo took a giant leap of faith,

cobbling together the money to self-fund the record,

and after months of graft and rebuilding, finding a

new label and road-testing new material on tour, they

lost everything all over again. After accidentally letting

some shady characters into their house party, Kacey

and Alice woke up the next morning with more than

woozy hangovers. They realised all their demos had

been stolen.

“We looked at the table where Kacey’s laptop always

was, and it wasn’t there,” remembers Alice. “I’ve never felt

like that before. ‘Oh my god, all this work is gone.’” “It fell

into line with a lot of things happening that year,” Kacey

points out. “Things blowing up and falling to pieces,

going missing, or starting again.”

Still, for all the chaos and difficulty that paints the new

album’s backdrop, ‘Say Yes’ as a lead slogan alone is an

affirmative statement. It’s a life-grabbing album title in a

nutshell; one that opens itself to every new experience.

And despite the lyrical vulnerability of songs like ‘Still

My Dream’ and ‘Don’t Forget’ – starkly honest songs

that could easily be conversations between the band’s

heartbroken lead singers – there’s nothing gloomy or

defeated about this record. Saccharine vocals coat like

sherbet, in tense contrast with a bitter-laced dib-dab of

clouded melodies. Time and time again, the pair make

zesty, sugary lemonade out of sour lemons. ‘Say Yes’ is

braver, bolder, and riffier than anything Big Deal have

done previously – not to mention it’s rollickingly great

fun.

“We went through so much shit making it, we thought

‘fuck it!’” agrees Alice with a cheerful shrug. “Not as in

‘I don’t care anymore’. As in, ‘I don’t want to hide or be

private anymore.’ Hopefully all of that,” she goes on,

referring to Big Deal’s various stumbling blocks en route,

“adds something positive to the record, as well. It’s very

much about overcoming what’s handed to you, and

things going wrong. That definitely inspired us.”

Big Deal’s biggest moment of realisation, however,

came while they were supporting Depeche Mode on

45

a gigantic stadium tour. A roasting hot

arena (“they heat the stage really hot, so

it’s like Bikram yoga,” according to Alice)

and a troupe of leather-clad electroheads

for company isn’t the most conventional

setting for an epiphany, granted. “You

see a band like Depeche Mode – and you

think, ‘Why not just go for it?’” reasons

Kacey. “‘What are we saving it for?’ We do

really believe in this, and we are happy

with this, so it’s time to own up to it.”

Having to compete with flickering lasers,

sweaty stage conditions and twenty

thousand-odd people gathered in one

giant venue sounds like a perfect recipe

for having the shit scared out of you.

Yet, for Big Deal, it’s where they realised

exactly what they wanted the band to

become. “We’re both quite private, and

shy,” admits Alice. “On the first, and even

through the second [albums], onstage

we’d always be very closed and hiding.

Touring with Depeche Mode in arenas,

we thought, ‘oh my god, you can’t hide.’”

“And now,” grins Kacey, “we wear leather!”

Big Deal might not have morphed into

Hells Angels or Moog-loving electropunks

overnight, but they’ve certainly

cranked things up several notches.

“When we made the first record [‘Lights

Out’], our mums and grannies liked it!”

exclaims a slightly horrified Alice. “We

were like, ‘What have we done?!’ I guess

that’s the aim,” she ponders. “Make sure

your parents don’t like it. My grandma

liked the quiet songs on [second album]

‘June Gloom’ and she very sweetly put it

on her old lady’s table at her house,” Alice

smiles, “with the white tablecloth and

trinkets.” It’s safe to say that monstrous,

fired-up moments like ‘Hold Your Fire’

and ‘Lux’ would knock the socks off any

tea dance.

Newly signed to FatCat – who they

approached with a long-finished ‘Say

Yes’ - Big Deal freely state that this record

feels like the turning of a chapter, and

the beginning steps toward a whole new

realm of possibilities. “We’re still in the

womb, but we’re ready to burst out any

moment in a flood of ectoplasmic goo,”

says Kacey, deploying a charming piece

of imagery in the process.

“Nah!” interjects Alice. “We’ll emerge like

one of those babies in the movies where

they come out without any gunk on

them, with a full head of hair. They look

beautiful already.” “Yeah,” nods Kacey, “I

feel like we’re finally the band I’ve always

wanted us to be.”

Big Deal’s new album ‘Say Yes’ is out

10th June via FatCat. DIY

DEAL OR NO DEAL

“Do you need a

triangle player?!

Pick me! Please!”

Throw us the mere hint of a decent pun, and we’ll run with it. With this in

mind, we challenged Big Deal to a game of Deal of No Deal. In doing so,

we were responsible for American Kacey’s first ever introduction to Mr

Blobby. We’re so sorry.

You’re offered a million pounds on a

plate, and you can have it if you eat

an entire bowl of prune flavoured

baby food. Deal or no deal?

Alice: Oh my god, deal! I’d do that for

ten pounds! I don’t even

mind prunes.

Kacey: That’s an easy

one for us. We kinda

like baby mushy foods.

Deal.

Blouse-wearing annoyance Noel

Edmonds offers to disappear off

the face of the earth forever, but in

return, Mr Blobby will always follow

you, everywhere. He will be hiding

in every room you ever go in. Do you

take the deal?

Alice: Kacey’s lived in England for ten

years, and he still has no concept of Mr

Blobby, let alone Noel Edmonds. He

doesn’t even know who the Chuckle

Brothers are! When we load in, I try to

start up ‘to me, to you’ but nothing. He’s

a British kids’ character, Kacey. He’s a

bit weird.

Kacey: [Is stunned and silent as he views

a photograph of Mr Blobby and Noel

Edmonds for the first time in his life] Oh

my god. I think that’s a no deal for me,

then. I’m sure that guy is annoying. He

seems mean to me, from that picture.

But I can’t. That thing is terrifying.

Kim Deal offers to be your official

MC. Every time you enter a room,

she’ll appear to introduce you

in a very badass way. There’s a

catch. Every time you sneeze,

you’ll spontaneously start singing

‘Cannonball’ by The Breeders. Deal

or No Deal?

Alice: Deal! That sounds like the

perfect sneeze!

Kacey: I might try that, because

I do these horrible,

epic sneezes which

freak people out.

Alice: Although

I feel like if Kim

Deal introduces

you, people are a

bit let down by the time you

walk up…

You can have a superpower where

you win every quiz you ever enter. In

return, you can only eat Tesco Meal

Deals. For the rest of your life.

Alice: Oh shit! When I went to 6th form,

I only had access to a really shitty Tesco.

It was either a meal deal, or you starved.

I have eaten so many sandwiches that

taste like fridge already, and I couldn’t

do it for the rest of my life.

Kacey: I mean, I could go on the game

shows and win loads of money…

Alice: You’d be in the Bahamas with a

meal deal, Kacey!

Kacey: That’d be okay. I wouldn’t get joy

from food anymore, but I’d give a lot of

money to people who don’t have food

at all. There you go.

46 diymag.com

THE

FESTIVAL

T H R E E M I L L S I S L A N D

LONDON E3 3DU

SATURDAY 3RD SEPT 2016

12-11PM

T I C K E T W E B . C O . U K

ROBOMAGICLIVE.COM

THE1234FESTIVAL.COM

FACEBOOK.COM/1234FESTIVAL

POWERED BY ROBOMAGIC

NOW

THE CRIBS

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN

SPECTOR CARL BARAT & THE JACKALS

THE W YTCHES TOY GANG OF FOUR

MILK TEETH TELEGRAM

SAINT LEONARD’S HORSES NANCY PANTS

CLAW MARKS BO NINGEN THOMAS COHEN

VIRGIN KIDS LOVE BUZZARD JIM SCLAVUNOS

PHOBOPHOBES USA NAILS TEN FÉ

NOVA TWINS THE BLINDERS CROWS

TEENAGE MOTHERS PINS

THEE MVPS THE WINACHI TRIBE

STR ANGE CAGES GIANT BURGER

SHAME THE LUCID DREAM

SISTERAY GARY THE TALL (NTS)

D/R /U/G/S DJ

SEX CELLS

47

Tarek Musa .

Plays: Drums, vocals.

Did you know? Tarek and Pete used to be in a band

called The Bodyboarders. They made sunny-sideup

surf pop, tongues firmly in cheek. And they were

also very, very young. Just look

how baby-faced they are.

Favourite food: “A Thai green

curry. I like Thai food a lot.”

Favourite album of all time: The

Beach Boys, ‘Pet Sounds’. “Has to

be. It’s what inspired me to start

Spring King.”

WE

FORMED

Spring King started out as a cobbled-together, ‘that’ll-do’ project. Three years

on and on the brink of a massive breakthrough, with one of the year’s best debuts by their side, DIY heads to

Manchester to discover exactly what makes their dynamic so special. Words Jamie Milton. Photos: Amin Musa

Andy Morton

Plays: Guitar.

Did you know? Andy

wants to train to be

a masseuse. He likes

to “relax as much as

physically possible”

when he’s not touring,

so this is the logical

next step. “I’m really

keen to learn about

that. That’s about a

year course, but you

can do it in parts. “

Favourite food:

“It’s gotta be pasta.

Especially the filled

pasta. Tortellini and

Kinder Buenos. Maybe

in the same dish.”

48 diymag.com

Pete Darlington

Plays: Guitar.

Did you know? Pete used to scout

for 4AD, as well as running his own

label. “My dream as a kid was to start

a record label,” he says. “I was really

inspired by labels where the artists

control everything. Our earliest

releases were always like that. And

we self-released ‘Who Are You?’. But,

maybe a year ago, I thought, ‘Fuck

doing the record stuff.’ I needed to

be in the band.

Favourite football team:

Macclesfield Town.

Worst musical habit: “I have a

bad posture when I play guitar. It’s

something I have to be conscious of

now, because my shoulder’s actually

been damaged. I’m always leaning

in to play. It’s a bad technique, but

then I got really bad pains and had

to see a physio about it.”

A BAND

James Green

Plays: Bass.

Did you know? James has his own

electronic project, Claremont.

“When I went to uni, I was hoping

to find all these proper indie kids

who listened to The Drums. But

there was just nobody into the

same kind of stuff,” he says. “I

was practicing production on my

own. It’s way easier to practice

than working in a band. It’s a nice

way to spend time as something

separate outside of the band.

Whenever we’re off tour, I work

on Claremont. Otherwise I’d

completely lose my mind.”

Favourite football team: James

is a Burnley season-ticket holder,

but the touring life means he only

catches the odd game.

Favourite album: “Joy Division’s

‘Unknown Pleasures’. The start

of ‘Disorder’ is just the most

powerful thing. Amazing.”

49

This time last year, Spring King

probably didn’t expect to be

sharing a room with Jools Holland,

Elton John and Bloc Party. They’ve

always been a confident bunch,

but chances are they didn’t see

themselves playing one of the

best TV debuts in recent memory,

either. Then again, these last twelve

months haven’t exactly been

standard fare. Slightly more likely than Leicester winning the

Premier League, Spring King’s rise still wasn’t written in stone.

Whisked from relative obscurity into the hands of a major

label, they’re selling out tours all over the shop, making

inroads with every step. Forthcoming debut album, ‘Tell Me If

You Like To’, is a rough-edged blueprint for anyone thinking

about starting a band. It dishes out one thrashing triumph

after another, but it also teaches a few

lessons, the smartest being: a journey

from bedroom-based chancers to

soon-to-be giants won’t be easy, but

plug away relentlessly and your luck

will change.

Their story is fairly simple, from the

outside. Tarek Musa started the project

in an empty house, while his parents

were away for the year. Guitarist Pete

Darlington stayed there, too. Fellow

guitarist Andy Morton and bassist

James Green soon got involved. They

spent years self-releasing, touring with

big names like Slaves and Courtney

Barnett, gaining a dedicated mob of

fans along the way. Their fortunes

took a ridiculously surprising turn in

June last year, when Zane Lowe chose

hellraising single ‘City’ to be the

first song ever played on his Beats 1

station. Labels flocked in droves. A&Rs

who wouldn’t give Tarek and co. the time

of day suddenly had them on speed dial. They signed a deal

with Island, who told the band to do what they always do - no

outside producers, nobody peering over their shoulder. Three

weeks later, they had a debut record.

It’s all very, very exciting. Few things compare to watching a

relentlessly hard-working, refreshingly enthusiastic band get

their big break. And if everything goes to plan, ‘Tell Me If You

Like To’ will send them skywards.

But their story started years ago. And it’d be foolish to put their

success down to one game-changing radio play.

A week before their momentous Jools Holland appearance,

nerves don’t appear to be in the air. The four of them are

packing up their gear at Manchester’s Blueprint Studios.

It’s a swanky space with its own bar, and the band rent it

out whenever they’re approaching a tour (or a big deal telly

appearance, as you do). Elbow use the vast expanse upstairs,

and countless musicians choose Blueprint as a base.

Retreating to a nearby café, it’s clear things used to be a little

more makeshift. Their first rehearsal took place a couple of

miles away, at Brunswick Mill - “literally a huge, dilapidated

mill,” as Andy describes it. James turned up without having

played the bass before. They rented the space for a couple of

hours, paying no more than twenty quid. “You go through

these huge metal gates, you’re taken through this weird path

that goes through unused fridges. This little room, no carpet -

brick walls falling down,” Andy says, picturing the scene. “There

was no light. One lightbulb in the room, and the speakers had

holes in them. I tried to pay the guy and he told us to leave

money on the table,” Tarek remembers.

James first got involved when he

responded to Tarek’s Facebook

status, where he asked if anyone

he knew could play bass. A few

people got in touch, but Tarek

replied to James because “he just

looked like he’d never been in

bands before.” He was the “only

guy smiling” in his profile picture,

for starters. “He looked really

enthusiastic. Whereas us three

are miserable old gits. We needed

some energy in the band! James

brought that.”

Pete remembers the first rehearsal

being more than encouraging. “It

was shit, but it was a good shit,”

he astutely declares. “I thought

there was a good energy to it.”

James was keen too. He “definitely

did not buy a bass” straight after,

though. “I had a great time, but it wasn’t £300 great.”

As it turned out, Andy and James lived round the corner from

each other. “Oranjeboom brought us together,” says Andy. The

pair would buy beer cans, set up a den and play video games

every day. It all sounds very productive.

In fact, Andy first got involved in music when playing Halo.

“One day I was on the Xbox Live,” remembers Pete. “And I was

playing with Andy, who I’d just met in the skate park. I was

like, ‘Mate, can you play guitar?’ He couldn’t. But I told him all

he needed to do was play the A chord over and over again.

He was like, ‘Sure thing.’ And we booked a gig without telling

him.”

50 diymag.com

“OUR FIRS T

REHEARSAL

WAS SHIT, BUT

IT WAS

A GOOD

SHIT.” - PETE

DARLINGTON

Pete Spring King is flying without wings.

51

“That was my first ever gig, and I played a clarinet solo,” Andy

says, recalling those patchwork days. “I can’t play clarinet

either.”

Needless to say, looking back on those first steps, Spring

King didn’t look destined to go as far as they already have.

But there was a spirit in their early recordings - and those

cobbled-together rehearsals - that gave them something

to chase. Tarek was encouraged by Pete to take up the

‘singing drummer’ role, much to the former’s distress. “I gave

[playing drums and singing] a go in my bathroom,” he says. “I

remember being breathless, playing the drums and trying to

sing. I was like ‘We can’t do this, it’s impossible.’ But we did it

anyway. Why did we do it, again?”

“I forced you to do it,” Pete pipes in. “Because I think the sound

of the drums in Spring King is integral to the sound of the

band. Tarek’s got quite an individual style, and we’d never

find someone who could replicate it. Therefore he had to do

it. Otherwise the band wouldn’t be a real band. That’s how I

felt, anyway. It was a bit shaky in the beginning but now it’s

second nature.”

in school.” Music that mimicked hip hop records, “where you

rap and lower your voice.” A few years passed, and by this

point Pete was doing a music industry internship in New York.

Somehow, Tarek convinced him to come back to Manchester

and get involved in his new band, Kankouran. Things were

taking off for the group when a song was commissioned to

soundtrack teen drama Skins. “The band started getting crazy

attention, having done fuck all,” Pete states, “and then that fell

apart. One of the other members didn’t really have his heart in

it. And then we were back at square one again. I was back from

New York but had no work. That was definitely a down period.”

As the years passed, everyone involved persisted with music,

to the point where Spring King made them quit work, ditch

home and travel the world.

Only recently has it become an actual job, but this strange

early history is full of fascinating nearly-moments. What if Pete

stayed in New York? What if Andy wasn’t playing Halo with

Pete at the time? What if some grumpy cynic replied to the

bass advert, instead of James? What if Tarek hadn’t ended up

horrendously pissed one night, to the point where he recorded

debut Spring King track ‘Let’s Ride’ in a drunken haze? That’s

the magic of a great band. So many variables come into

play. So many pivotal moments which probably seemed

like nothing at the time, but

actually end up being key when

considered today.

To this day, all four have never

recorded in the same room

together. It sounds like some kind

of One Direction, separate private

jet scenario, only a bit more

low-budget. But it’s more a move

that’s come out of circumstance.

Tarek’s bathroom studio was

too small to fit everyone in. And

in the three weeks where they

recorded ‘Tell Me If You Like To’,

members were juggling jobs,

travelling to the studio whenever

possible.

“AT MY FIRS T EVER

GIG, I PL AYED A

CL ARINET

SOLO.” - ANDY MORTON

Tarek and Pete have been friends since their teens. They’ve

always made music together, too. Tarek handed Pete a

cassette containing At The Drive-In and AFI, which sounds too

good to be true, but it led Pete towards the music he’d always

wanted to hear, and they decided to start a band. Together

they made “a couple of joke albums, which made us celebrities

“If it was up to us, we’d have had

two years to finish the album,”

says Andy. And even though

these bright, bursting songs

have such a flame-lit energy, the

production is “meticulous”, insists

Pete. “To get it right, there’s a lot

of subtle tweaking. It didn’t used

to take time, but it does now.”

They’ve emerged with a record that somehow captures

those crazed early days, without being overwhelmed

by chaos. ‘The Summer’ is a festival anthem in-waiting.

‘Demons’ is a hyper-paranoid call to arms. ‘Rectifier’, a

single from last year, feels like a vital moment within

this record, piecing together the band’s two extremes -

all-out noise and the sharpest eye for melody. Given the

circumstances of how Spring King formed, even getting as

far as making a full-length should be considered a triumph. But

they go the extra mile, here. Newly-assured of their power and

their place in the world, they’ve struck gold.

Spring King’s debut album ‘Tell Me If You Like To’ is out

10th June via Island. DIY

52 diymag.com

Your support helps us offer subsidised

tickets, giving thousands of young people

their first taste of live performance.

Guy Garvey © Thomas Butler

10 – 19 JUNE

GUY GARVEY’S MELTDOWN

LAURA MARLING | RICHARD HAWLEY

GUY GARVEY | FEMI KUTI

I AM KLOOT W E N I T S H E M T H B E L E

M I L L E N N I A

THE STAVES | CONNAN MOCKASIN

LIFT TO EXPERIENCE

THIS IS THE KIT

PLUS

MARIKA HACKMAN | JESCA HOOP | N Z C A L I N E S

TIGGS DA AUTHOR | C DUNCAN | J A N E W E AV E R

KIRAN LEONARD | T H R E E C A N E W H A L E

T H E P LU M E D O R E S

Media Partner

Hotel Partner

53

R E B O R N

IN

THE

USA

54 diymag.com

As she heads out on tour with latest album, ‘Puberty 2’, Mitski’s entering

her longest stretch on the road to date, and leaving a lot behind.

Words: Will Richards. Photos: Phil Smithies.

The New York apartment that Mitski

Miyawaki desperately clung onto

while her star quietly rose has finally

gone. Now, the singer-songwriter’s

choosing a quiet, cheap suburb of

Philadelphia to base herself in for

her precious few moments off tour. “I tried for

so long to keep an apartment in Brooklyn while

touring,” she begins, “but I would never be there

and it was so much more trouble than it was worth.

I really want a place to call my own and really settle

into, but right now it can’t happen.”

Having moved to the city to study six years ago

at the age of nineteen, following stints in (deep

breath) Turkey, Malaysia, the Democratic Republic

of Congo and her birthplace of Japan, Mitski had

reached “the end of the honeymoon period” in

the run-up to recording fourth album, ‘Puberty

2’. It’s a feeling that spawned the album’s gigantic

lynchpin and first single, ‘Your Best American Girl’.

“I wanted to be

able to express

these feelings

without simply

just laying out

how I feel.” -

Mitski

“I felt like I was now American, and therefore

needed to put down roots, forge relationships

and to be a real adult here,” she offers up. “That’s

when you start to realise the conflicts of doing

that. I’m also from Japan, and over there much

more stress is put on being homogenous and

part of the group. When there’s a natural disaster

in Japan, everyone acts so quickly and orderly,

because there’s such a sense of togetherness. I’m

not putting down any cultural value, but in terms

of being different, there’s more room to achieve

that in the US. However, the US is extremely

consumerist, so I think the ways you are allowed

to be different are driven by that - you can be

different, but only if you are still consuming.”

The song’s striking video was one she never

envisaged - “It’s such a melodramatic song, and

when you make a video to go with that kind of

song, it often just becomes cheesy, and I was very

afraid of that” - but an idea she couldn’t turn down

when director Zia Anger came to her.

‘Your Best American Girl’ depicts Mitski struggling

to grow into the home she’d made for herself in

the US, and its accompanying clip reflects as much.

Engaging in a bit of harmless flirtation with her

dashing ‘All American’ co-star, things soon take a

turn for the worse as a rival love interest walks on

scene, causing Mitski to take things - quite literally

- into her own hands when it comes to finding her

place in the world.

Even from just the record’s title, there’s a

transitionary feeling from the off. Lyrically it’s an

exercise in more abstract expression, with the

singer beginning to add characters and outside

elements to her tales. “None of the songs are

fictional, but I wanted to be able to express these

feelings without simply just laying out how I feel,”

she explains.

So she’s hurling herself into the record and

everything that it’ll bring at breakneck speed.

“It’s hard to think you have a real job as a musician

when there’s no definite schedule. There’s no

person telling you exactly what you should do -

no rules, no track you should go on. It’s hard to

see it as a job when you don’t quite understand

what your responsibilities are.” Is the fragmented

lifestyle worth it? “Of course! This is my skill.

Everyone gets that thing that they’re supposed to

do - this is my thing.”

“A lot of this job is about momentum,” she says,

relishing the increased attention she’s had since

the release of third album ‘Bury Me At Makeout

Creek’ back in 2014. “Not just public momentum

outside of yourself. It’s very easy to become

complacent if you’re not proactive. It’s very easy

to fall out of the habit of being a musician, as it’s

a very specific kind of lifestyle and skill, and when

you’re off tour for a long time, you remember

how great it is just to live somewhere and have a

routine.”

That momentum looks set to continue, and right

now stopping just isn’t an option. “When I finish

recording an album, I always have an excess of

songs ready to record next and carry on with.

Without them I’d feel very lost.”

Mitski’s new album ‘Puberty 2’ is out 17th June

via Dead Oceans. DIY

Mitski will play Reeperbahn. Head to


55

POP

S T

Y L

From indie

stalwarts to chart

connoisseurs, Tegan

and Sara are finally

where they want to be:

making perfect pop.

Words: Charlie

Mock

Tegan and Sara’s stint as

undercover cops is getting dangerous.

56 diymag.com

To reach the dizzy heights of album eight, an

artist usually has a certain degree of success

under their belt. With that, they’ve likely

learnt what does and doesn’t make a good

record, along with how the definition of

‘good’ fits comfortably within their sound.

For Tegan and Sara, there’s little doubt

surrounding their achievements or, for that

matter, their ability to make a ‘good’ record.

Fitting this comfortably within their ‘sound’,

though? That’s where things get interesting.

“It’s not like we’ve arrived at this place out

of nowhere,” Sara Quin begins, thinking

carefully about exactly where she and identical twin Tegan find themselves.

It’s a tough question for anyone to answer more specifically, particularly

when they’ve been performing for nearly two decades. “[Even in 2007] my

ears were already starting to gravitate towards things that now I perhaps

just do all the time without thinking,” she considers. “I like when things are

sort of, tailored and fixed and made to sound perfect.”

Tailored is perhaps the best way of describing “the place” that Sara is

talking about, that also plays host to the duo’s most ‘pop’ venture to date.

‘Love You To Death’ is a masterclass in 80s-inspired melodies and clean

production. Here, synths need no signposting and hooks are as frequent as

cat’s eyes in the road, guitars an all-but-distant memory for the Canadian

pair so rapidly speeding along the

highway from indie idols to Top 40

mainstays.

“I think it’s too easy to write off pop

music as being the same,” Sara says.

“When I got out of high school, I didn’t

think pop music was cool because I

was like, a contrarian, you know?” she

remembers, relaying the details of her

minimum wage job and room in her

parents’ basement. “I was grumpy and I

was drawn to what was marginal, what

was outside of the norm. I didn’t want

to be normal, I didn’t want to listen to

what was on the radio.”

E

But, she explains, as times changed

she wanted different things from the

music she was both listening to and

creating. “I just don’t operate from that

place anymore,” she says, looking back.

“I’m 35 years old [now], and when I’m

listening to music I’m not necessarily

listening to it for the reasons I did

when I was 18 or 19.” Naturally, then,

as they’ve continued to push further

into the world their younger selves

had written off, Sara has become

increasingly incensed with the haters.

“I get really annoyed when people are

like, “‘[pop music] all sounds the same!’

I’m like, ‘but what do you mean?’,” she

says. “When people don’t like pop

music, I think what they’re also saying

is that they don’t like the pop music

lifestyle - the idea that you’re this

57

branding machine that doesn’t have a soul.”

“When people are like, ‘Fucking pop music sucks, I hate this

award show because it’s going to be all those horrible pop

musicians’, I just always think, ‘Oh well, they’re grumpy about

all the kind of peripheral accoutrements that come with being

on radio or on television or whatever’,” she continues. “Some

of the most interesting ideas in songs are coming out of pop

music,” she enthuses, looking back to Justin Timberlake’s 2006

masterpiece ‘FutureSex/LoveSounds’ to further evidence that

it’s not just a recent development.

Contrary to popular belief, pop isn’t just about fresh-faced

boybands and the cyclical overuse of saxophones. Having

long provided an arena for artists to express fluid sexual and

gender identities on a mainstream platform, the pop world

remains instrumental in bringing queerness to the attention

of the masses - just look at the likes of Olly Alexander or

Christine and The Queens. “It is a huge part of what helped

change the majority opinion of the population around

sexuality,” Sara emphasises, “I really think almost more than

anything it did.”

And while some may be quick to dismiss the catchy tunes and

even catchier costumes of our more fantastical stars, Sara

maintains that the impact of free expression in the public eye

can’t and shouldn’t be underestimated. For Sara, this freedom

is most clearly embodied in one bonafide pop queen. “I think

about Madonna a lot,” she says. “The first time I saw people

who were gay on TV was in Madonna’s ‘Truth or Dare’ when I

was in seventh grade,” she reminisces. “It opened a door in my

mind and it allowed me to see something that I knew about

myself but had not been able to see represented in society

at all.”

“In the 80s and early 90s with Bowie, with Madonna, with

Prince - those characters who were gender fluid,” she

continues, “people were doing things outside of the norm

and it was exciting.” But then came the dark days. “The

mainstream got super straight for a while,” Sara recalls of

the hetero rock and indie artists that spearheaded the charts

through the mid-90s and turn of the century.

Though times have changed somewhat, it’s been a long

haul. Touching upon lead single ‘Boyfriend’, Sara believes

it wouldn’t have been possible to release a track so openly

narrating a lesbian relationship as recently as five years

ago. Not surprisingly, this isn’t because the banging chorus

would’ve proven too much for us all to handle. Instead, she

suggests, it’s because the mainstream’s discussion around

queerness was coming not from members of the community.

The likes of Katy Perry’s ‘I Kissed a Girl’ and more recently,

Demi Lovato’s ‘Cool For The Summer’ may have been called

for interrogation, but Sara has just one thing to say. “To have

a giant pop star basically singing ‘who gives a shit, I kissed a

girl, it was great, I liked it’, that immediately changes things,

it just does.”

That ‘Boyfriend’ was a response is a fair assumption; the song

focuses on the complicated space between relationship

and friendship that’s recognisable across any spectrum. By

contrast, Lovato and Perry’s tracks are acutely aware of their

‘this isn’t what I usually do’ attitude, but it’s that the language

is there at all which is so important, reckons Sara. “People

underestimate how powerful that message is to society.

These ideas around gender identity and sexuality and fluid

identities, this language is just blasting into the mainstream

right now and it’s awesome,” Sara continues, excited by the

prospect of things to come, “It’s like, ‘Okay, this is getting a

little gay again. This is great.’”

Tegan and Sara’s new album ‘Love You To Death’ is out 3rd

June via Warner Bros. DIY

“ I t ’ s n o t

l i k e w e ’ v e

a r r i v e d at

t h i s p l ac e

o u t o f

n ow h e r e . ”

Sara Quin

58 diymag.com

JUNE ~ LIVE ~ 2016

2nd Zak Abel sold out / 3rd JoCee & Her Soulful Sounds / 4th Introducing Scarz

6th Aria / 8th Sounds Familiar Music Quiz / 9th Avec Sans / 10th Chalk

1th Bambooman / 13th Sound & Vision: Mistaken For Strangers

17th Saint Agnes / 25th Duck House / 27th Moonface & Siinai

~ LATE ~

4th

11th

18th

25th

every friday

90s hip hop and r’n’b knees

up for all you cool kids

Bridging the gap between

live and electronic

Wedding themed, time

travelling party

Fresh bands straight

off the stove

Weekly Friday alt-pop

& contemporary sounds

Dates, times & tickets: www.hoxtonsquarebar.com

HOXTONSQUAREBAR | HOXTONHQ | HOXTONSQUAREBAR

Manic depression stopped me

from playing to the point of

getting rid of my guitar to pay for

somewhere to live.

Help Musicians UK got me back

on my feet. I dread to think where

I would be without them.

We helped Matt when a crisis

stopped him from performing.

Can we help you?

helpmusicians.org.uk

020 7239 9100

Backing musicians throughout their careers.

Registered Charity No. 228089.

59

Help Musicians UK - Matt HP H.indd 1 25/05/2016 12:44:36

eeeee

RADIOHEAD

A Moon Shaped Pool (XL)

On their ninth album, they’ve locked

For the last

decade, every

member of

Radiohead

has been given complete licence to do their own thing. Solo

projects are allowed to come first, when the timing’s right.

When the opportunity knocks to form a band with Flea, of all

people, who says you can’t? Previously all-consuming,

life in this band has taken on a new form. And every member

of the group - if you include Colin Greenwood’s fashion show

catwalk phase - has done their own thing.

The same applied to 2011’s ‘The King of Limbs’, Radiohead’s

first attempt at rekindling magic after following opposite

strands. There was nothing disastrous about that record; it

showcased some of their smartest songwriting - the sound

of five brilliantly talented musicians bouncing ideas off each

other - and in a song like ‘Separator’, some of their most

complete work. But looking back - and when comparing to

follow-up ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ - it has a distinctly patchwork

feel. No surprise, really, given the circumstances. But on their

ninth album, it’s as if they’ve locked limbs once more for a

bigger cause.

60 diymag.com

limbs once more for a bigger cause.

Not only is ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ a rich transformation, lifting

from previous Radiohead eras without ever playing the

same hand - it’s also the first time the members’ own musical

strands have merged so drastically. Like the best of their work,

if you take one piece out of this jigsaw, the whole thing’s

defunct: the house of cards supports itself.

There are countless eureka moments: the tension of Thom

Yorke’s voice when declaring “broken hearts make it rain” on

‘Identikit’, his closing line on ‘The Numbers’, the string-led

bleakness of ‘Glass Eyes’. Each song - multi-dimensional in

the extreme - has something special, lifted from a different

world. Best of all is ‘Ful Stop’, three blanket minutes of

constant, deranged build, giving way to a breathless, euphoric

interchange, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since

‘Bodysnatchers’. “This is some foul tasting medicine,” Thom

spits, at his feverish best.

With every Radiohead record, fans creep themselves out

and speculate over it being their final bow. But beyond

anything, ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ feels like the beginning of a

new chapter - the first time these five have merged their own

idiosyncrasies without compromising or crossing wires. (Jamie

Milton) LISTEN: ‘Ful Stop’, ‘Daydreaming’, ‘True Love Waits’

61

Surprise,

Every massive act under the sun wants to release their album without warning. The

days of announcing a record and waiting a few months are long gone. Everyone’s on

their toes, waiting for so-and-so to make their next move. But is all of this worthwhile?

Are artists getting back some of the power they might have lost when music

started being sold for pennies? And most importantly, is this actually any fun?

What’s Going On, Then?

Very few musicians could announce a record, put it out

immediately and get the attention they deserve. But that

doesn’t mean other chancers aren’t trying it.

In the last six months, giants like Radiohead, Beyoncé, Kanye

West and Drake have all gone for this option. James Blake,

Chance the Rapper, M83 and Skepta have also taken the route

of saying their album’s coming out, waiting between four

hours and two weeks, before dropping the thing.

These aren’t all strictly ‘surprise releases’. We know they’re

coming, in some shape or another. But they all play a similar

game. Most of the fun happens when fans are unlocking

cryptic clues, gossiping on forums about the last Drake

billboard they saw in Toronto, or figuring out what year Frank

Ocean meant exactly, when he said ‘Boys Don’t Cry July’.

This is happening months before a record comes out. It’s like

having a front-row seat to the world’s most all-star pop show,

without knowing who’s going to peer out from behind the

curtain first.

Why’s This Suddenly

Happening?

It’s less an all-new phenomenon, more something that’s

been happening bit-by-bit for years. Radiohead were the first

to shock the system. 2007’s ‘pay-what-you-like’ ‘In Rainbows’

was announced on 1st October with a very matter-of-fact

message from Jonny Greenwood: “Well, the new album is

finished, and it’s coming out in 10 days.”

Up to that point, no album had dropped out-of-the-blue.

Every record played the same game. Announce a few months

in advance, get the critics on board, make sure record shops

are fully stocked - watch the people flock. But in the years

preceding ‘In Rainbows’, this routine was losing its purpose.

Albums were leaking for free, months ahead of schedule.

62 diymag.com

Surprise!

Everyone was making their

own mind up on records

long before big-wig journos

had their say. And musicians

were beginning to come last

in the pecking order. Labels

still dictated when records

came out, promos sent to

critics were appearing online

- bands just sat back and

watched it all happen. “We

were trying to avoid that

whole game of who gets in

first with the reviews,” Thom

Yorke explained to David

Byrne in a Wired interview,

around the time of that

seventh album. “Whoever

gets their opinion in first has

all that power. Especially for

a band like ours, it’s totally

the luck of the draw whether

that person is into us or not.”

Shunning album reviewers

was Thom’s main motivation,

apparently. But the wayahead-of-schedule

leak of

previous LP ‘Hail to the Thief’

must have stung, too.

eeee

James Blake

The Colour In Anything (POLYDOR) Polydor)

The go-to punchline for anyone searching for a “sadboy”, James

Blake’s renowned for his melancholy. It’s an unfair pinning, really. He

premiered Jamie xx tracks under the pretence they were new cuts

from one “Simon Tallywhacker”, and created the character DJ Badger as an excuse to wheel

Stephen Merchant onto his radio show. The class clown who still manages to get straight

As, alongside those Radio 1 Residency japes his 1800-Dinosaur collective have been quietly

penning some of UK dance’s most pulverising cuts, letting them loose under low ceilings

and in dingy corners of every major city as part of their intimate club nights. Heartbroken

though that solo work may be, there’s more to Blake than blubbing.

Admittedly, he might not be cracking lyrical in-jokes with all the Saharan dryness of a

Stewart Lee sketch, but every other facet of James’ personality is encased within ‘The

Colour In Anything’. Stripped-back piano balladry (‘f.o.r.e.v.e.r.’ and the album’s title track)

sits alongside club-influenced numbers like ‘Points’ and ‘I Hope My Life’. Blake’s trademark

clicks and bleached-out percussion staple everything together without a seam in sight.

His’ voice remains the deserving centrepiece. Still fragile, but now sounding more confident

than ever, those pipes are warmer and thicker than ever before - every one of countless

layers of that vocal which make up ‘Choose Me’’s choir-like opening sound fit to fill a

cathedral. Where before even the slickest statements were crackly and nervous in their

delivery, here he sounds ready to take on anything.

“Music can’t be everything,” he ponders on ‘Meet Me In The Maze’. It’s a surprising

statement from a man whose every move is analysed like the liner-notes of a high-art

exhibition. Instead, he’s opted to shift the power balance, pouring his everything into the

music itself and finding his multi-faceted personality on the front-foot like never before.

(Tom Connick) LISTEN: ‘Radio Silence’, ‘I Need A Forest Fire (ft. Bon Iver)’

63

Once Radiohead did their thing, the rest of the music world

played catch up. It wasn’t until 2013 when another act tried

something on a bigger scale. Beyoncé’s 2013 self-titled

album was dropped twelve days before Christmas (aka the

time when music tends to have a well-earned rest). Each

song had its own video. Nobody knew it was coming for a

second, let alone a couple of days. She took the no-warning

game to another level.

eeee

DEATH GRIPS

Bottomless Pit

(Third Worlds / harvest records)

For a band who supposedly retired just

last year, claiming to be over because

“we are now at our best”, Death Grips are surprisingly busy.

They’ve always been a provocative band, both musically and

in their approach. Whether it’s faux retirements, not turning

up to shows and leaving a death note on a screen onstage, or

releasing albums out of the blue, you can always expect the

unexpected.

And yet, musically you always know where you stand. The

sound of a Death Grips record is unmistakable - powerful,

aggressive and confrontational. Which leads us on to

‘Bottomless Pit’ – more of the same, while pushing forward.

One criticism of Death Grips has been that for all their energy

and intensity, they have a penchant for self-indulgence. Not

so here, which only serves to emphasise the rage at the heart

of the group. If there’s a lesson to be learned here, it’s to

predict the unpredictable with Death Grips. There’s no point

believing a word they say or trusting them to deliver a perfect

album next time around. All that matters is that for now,

they’ve nailed it. (Craig Jones) LISTEN: ‘Eh’, ‘Bottomless Pit’

eee

DRAKE

VIEWS

(Young Money / Cash Money)

Such is the culture around Drake

these days that as quickly as the

Canadian rapper can become a

web omnipresence, he can be

turned upon. A glance at a longer than average tracklist, a

half-listen to a few opening tracks, or one too many selfindulgent

lines, is enough to break him, just as one hook can

shoot him skywards.

Drake, like the Alfred Hitchcock of rap, is a master of suspense.

Forget for a second the tired stereotypes: the wonderfully

terrible puns (“and my wifey a spice like David Beckham”),

the moping self-pity juxtaposed with the over-glamorous

bragging and of course, the inevitable ‘internet reactions’.

None of these things are accidental, and the way Drake uses

his own mockery to his advantage is nothing short of genius.

Far from perfect, if it’s hits you’re after, you can probably cut

‘Views’ down to a handful of bangers. But as a showcase of

Drake as so much more than just a dancefloor-filling meme

machine then it’s here, in an all-encompassing album format

that he really shines. You just have to work for it. (Henry Boon)

LISTEN: ‘Still Here’

We’ve finally hit the stage where everyone thinks this is

the sensible thing to do. Why now? It has a lot to do with

streaming going centre-stage. Artists and labels can give

one of the big three streaming giants - Spotify, Apple

Music, Tidal - the gubbins in advance and nobody has to

know. There’s no requirement to order test pressings or

keep anyone old-school in the loop. And with these online

juggernauts fighting it out for exclusives, there are more

opportunities for acts to dish out their record to one party

only and get tons of money for it.

Is It Working?

For some people, yes. Beyoncé’s certainly enjoying it. But

then again, not everybody is Beyoncé. Few have the budget

to launch a seamless audio-visual film on HBO at the same

time as putting out their new record. And in the case of her

most recent surprise drop, not a single album on Earth has

a narrative quite like ‘Lemonade’. For a surprise release to

work, it needs to capture attention. Nothing gets people

talking quite like an exposé on Jay Z’s wrongdoing. And

the record was released exclusively on Tidal. Everyone’s a

winner!

It’s a bit more complicated when you turn to someone like

Kanye West, who generates headlines from a single tweet.

So when the time finally came for him to stop sodding

around, he went on a timely rant about ex-girlfriends and his

holy place in the world. Once heads were turned,‘The Life of

Pablo’ emerged. A couple of singles came out in advance -

he failed to upload the thing once or twice. But when Yeezy

knows that trending topics are today’s currency, it wouldn’t

be a surprise to find out he’d released and deleted a song on

SoundCloud on purpose, just to get people talking.

Poor James Blake had his luck cut out when he released

‘The Colour in Anything’. Four hours passed between him

announcing the album on BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac show

and the whole thing turning up on Spotify. Everything was

coming up Blakey. But a few hours later, Radiohead dropped

‘Daydreaming’ and a Paul Thomas Anderson-directed video.

Two days on from that, they put out ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’.

The spotlight was snapped away from poor James, and his

third record charted at #13 in the UK, eleven places behind

Skepta’s ‘Konnichiwa’, itself announced just a couple of

weeks before coming out.

There’s a definite knack to this, and there’s a risk involved for

everyone trying it. You need a ridiculously active fanbase

for it to work. Few things compare to the nerd-out value of

Radiohead’s diehards, and even in just a few years, Chance

the Rapper’s stolen the hip hop agenda - he can do anything

at any time.

The key thing that’s being forgotten about is the fans.

They’re being played, in a way. Sometimes it’s fun,

sometimes it’s unbearable. Everyone was joking after

64 diymag.com

31st July last year when Frank Ocean’s album still hadn’t

turned up, but you can bet that loyal fans had their hearts

broken. When Radiohead drop a clue on Instagram or

send out cryptic cards in the post, it’s exciting. When

Beyoncé unleashes a gigantic body of work all in one go,

it’s fantastic seeing everyone play catch-up, listening to

each song in unison. In these cases, new releases are a

shared experience once more. The magic was lost when

fans stopped queueing outside record shops because they

already had a 128kbps rip, but it’s coming back.

It’s convenient to say ‘we’ve never had it so good’ when

looking at the streaming wars. £30 a month gets you a

Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal subscription. If a massive

new release is going to land, the money you’d ordinarily

pay for three CDs has you covered. But there’s something a

bit off about one of the world’s richest men (Jay Z) and two

of the world’s biggest, most invincible companies having

all that power. They control how musicians release their

albums and how fans get access to the artists they love,

and there’s no going back from here.

Fans aren’t getting the best deal, here, and the same

goes for smaller, independent acts and the labels trying

to take them to the next level. “Now bigger artists really

need these shock tactics to grab a consumer’s attention,

because all musicians are now fighting for the same space -

the attention of the 30 million paid subscribers on Spotify,

the 13 million on Apple Music,” says Nathan Roberts from

UK label Lucky Number Music (Hinds, Dream Wife). “[And]

it massively affects smaller labels and artists. If you’re

planning an album launch, especially a debut album for

a new band or artist whose star is on the rise, you really

have to hope that you can hinge your campaign around

a “quiet” week. It throws a lot of plans into the wind, and

newer artists are continually being thrown under the bus

a fair bit by the established names, the likes of Radiohead

included.”

What’s Next?

For the time being, there aren’t many massive, we-cando-what-we-want

artists left who haven’t just released

a record. Frank Ocean’s going to be perfecting his

masterpiece until July 2021. Kanye West’s probably going

to put out something new sooner rather than later. LCD

Soundsystem’s triumphant return will, most likely, arrive in

full form after festival season runs. But don’t expect to be

given much warning.

An

all-slaying

work.

eeee

BEYONCÉ

Lemonade (Parkwood / Columbia)

From opening to closing lyric, Beyoncé’s sixth album is

designed with the clearest purpose. Every last drop of

‘Lemonade’ exists for a reason. And while the current ballbusting

talk around the record’s narrative won’t subside,

there’s so much more than an enthralling story to draw out of

this all-slaying work.

Queen Bey takes no prisoners - that much was clear on

previous records. But this isn’t so much a middle finger as an

endless, apocalyptic storm. Far from being just an oh-no-hedidn’t

tour de force, ’Lemonade’ matches context with real

substance. Moments of realisation on ‘Hold Up’ and fragmented

opener ‘Pray You Catch Me’ are touching. And when anger

gives rise to acceptance, a “make lemons with lemonade”

conclusion, the record loses none of its purpose.

In a year when the world’s biggest artists have put their necks

on the line - Rihanna’s leave-me-alone, independent streak

of ‘ANTI’, Kanye West’s scatterbrained, ever-changing doodle

‘The Life of Pablo’ - Beyoncé can count herself as a risk-taker

breaking new ground, up there with the bravest. (Jamie Milton)

LISTEN: ‘6 Inch’, ‘Hold Up’, ‘Sandcastles’

The tables have turned dramatically, but unless you’re

a world-beater, artists are still trying to work things out.

Perhaps James Blake will give us more of a heads-up next

time. Chances are Beach House won’t put out two albums

in the space of a month again, either - because there’s

only so much woozy dream-pop one person can handle

at a time.

But the real giants won’t stay quiet. In fact, they’ll be

hogging headlines even more with their next move.

Publicity stunts are a given. Eventually, cryptic clues will

be dropped before some bands have even gone into the

studio. Drake will throw a physical form of his new record

from the top of a Toronto landmark, and whoever catches

it gets the only copy. Something like that, at least. One

thing’s for sure: music’s biggest names are only just getting

started. Everyone else just has to deal with it. DIY

65

A gutsy

blueprint for a

bright future.

eeee

SPRING KING

Tell Me If You Like To (Island)

Spring King have come a long way from bathroom

studios, shower gel wrestling for space with hi-hats.

Debut album ‘Tell Me If You Like To’ possesses the same

breakneck-speed spirit of their first steps, but it’s also

a full-bodied beast - the sound of a band racing to the

finish line to accept their prize.

From ‘City’’s 100mph charge onwards, the four-piece

force sludgy guitar lines and chunky drums into every

possible space. ‘Rectifier’ is their call-to-arms, a spirited

trip out of the doldrums (drummer/vocalist Tarek Musa

sings “I’ll give you my struggles, then I’ll get out of

sight”) into a forbidden no man’s land. “I’m not the same

person you met while you were around,” he barks, a

coming-of-age tale compressed into a mammoth indie

triumph. ‘Demons’ has a similarly bittersweet edge -

every thrash is peppered with paranoia. That’s the best

part of Spring King - their songs can be chanted in mad

unison, or embraced on a one-to-one level. Complex

tales that mirror as all-embracing anthems aren’t easy to

teach, but these guys are masters of the game.

‘Tell Me If You Like To’ ticks every box required. It’s a

rabid, gutsy blueprint for Spring King’s bright future.

And even though the last year’s been a whirlwind, you

get the sense these four are only just approaching the

actual storm. (Jamie Milton) LISTEN: ‘Rectifier’, ‘City’,

‘Demons’, ‘Tell Me If You Like To’

eeee

THE

INVISIBLE

Patience

(Ninja Tune)

‘Patience’, as its

name suggests, is built around the idea

that time is the absolute necessity when

it comes to healing problems. Following

the near-fatal electrocution of singer

Dave Okumo while on stage in Lagos, it

communicates the band’s rejuvenated

appreciation of the value of life. “I know

how I feel / Never been so clear / So sure

about myself”, he sings on lead single

‘Save You’ – a snapshot that captures

a gracious sense of self-assuredness

defining every step of this return. It’s

been four years since ‘The Invisible’’s

last album ‘Rispah’. That period of selfreflection

and resulting new energy is

presented beautifully here, and despite

the mantra of patience, is delivered with

a sense of immediacy. Not in a massivehook-smashing-you-in-the-face

kinda

way, but it’s the sort of record that’s

affecting from the moment you hit play

– euphoric even in its more reserved

moments. (Liam McNeilly) LISTEN:

‘Different’

eee

DEERHOOF

The Magic

(Polyvinyl)

San Francisco’s

Deerhoof have never

been a band interested in convention

and conformity: unpredictable, erratic

and anarchic are all words which could

be used to accurately describe them.

In spite (or often because) of this,

they’re a band that have received

almost universal critical acclaim over

a twenty-two year career. When

everything a band touches seems to

turn to gold, how do they keep things

fresh and exciting for themselves? They

swap their studio for an abandoned

office space in the New Mexico desert,

plug in and attempt to capture ‘The

Magic’.

But while unpredictability is certainly

still part of Deerhoof’s charm, and the

aim of ‘The Magic’ was to take listeners

out of their comfort zone, the erratics

can feel contrived and its off-kilter

aesthetics too disparate for it to ever

really take hold. (Dave Beech) LISTEN:

‘Plastic Thrills’

eeee

WHITNEY

Light Upon the

Lake (Secretly

Canadian)

It’s barely been

a year since Max Kakacek (ex-Smith

Westerns) and Julien Ehrlich (ex-

Unknown Mortal Orchestra) joined

forces, but it’s as if they’ve been bottling

up the spirit of ‘Light Upon the Lake’

for over a decade. Out it pours - these

songs about missteps, misled youth and

forgotten nights. At their best - Max’s

guitar lines going full-throttle, Julien’s

soulful falsetto never missing a beat

- Whitney are exceptionally smart at

capturing a feeling that’s hard to contain.

They could document every second of

someone’s teenage years into a fortyminute

record, if they put their minds to it.

No doubt about it, ‘Light Upon the Lake’

is a record thousands will hold dear.

The record’s finest moments relate to

everyone’s lives, in one way or another.

Whether it’s golden youth or present day

regrets, there’s something to cling onto.

(Jamie Milton) LISTEN: ‘No Woman’,

‘Golden Days’, ‘No Matter Where We Go’

66 diymag.com

Creepy in the best

possible way.

eeee

CAT’S EYES

Treasure House

(Kobalt Label Services)

The question of which Harry Potter

house Faris Badwan and partner-incrime

Rachel Zeffira would belong

to has been circling around this

reviewer’s head for about twenty

minutes, dear reader, as both intro

number and title track ‘Treasure

House’ and the twinkly ‘Everything

Moves Towards The Sun’ have us

thinking of Hogwarts (it’s probably

hints of the pair’s recent foray in to

film soundtracks combined with our

terrible IMDB view count, tbh).

‘Treasure House’ is - as the name

suggests - a luscious, rich selection

of otherworldly tracks, disparate in

nature but still oddly cohesive. And

it’s as timeless as that dreamy world

JK Rowling created. It doesn’t stray

far from their ‘60s weirdo pop roots -

there are plenty of Phil Spector drum

rhythms, for example, just as Rachel’s

versatile voice is often layered in the

sort of ways Joe Meek would picture

in his head. Soaring, melancholic, and

creepy in the best possible way. Still

no sorting hat, though. (Emma Swann)

LISTEN: ‘Be Careful Where You Park

Your Car’

eeee

LADYHAWKE Wild Things (polyvinyl)

Back after four years away, Pip Brown packs more of a punch than ever. From the kitschy slogan tee on the front cover,

to the loomingly gigantic synth-pulses of title-track ‘Wild Things,’ Ladyhawke’s third album sets out with the words

‘brilliantly good fun’ practically scrawled across its mood board in bright gold glitter pen. Everything on this record is

turned up to Technicolour ten.

Ladyhawke has always had an ear for gigantic writing like this – just take one look at ‘Paris

Is Burning’ for ripe evidence. ‘Wild Things,’ though, sees her step up to another new

level of ace. Her most consistent album to date, and let loose like never before, it’s

good to have her back. (El Hunt) LISTEN: ‘Dangerous’

Q&A

Pip tells us lots of things about ‘Wild Things’.

What’ve you been up to since your last record, ‘Anxiety’?

I’ve really been delving into the full spectrum of human activities

and emotions since that album came out! So to list what I’ve been up

to could be a bit of an essay! To give you a short form idea of what’s

been happening: travelling, gaming, writing, playing, partying,

recovering, singing, sleeping, marrying, flying, swimming, eating,

recording!

Apparently you scrapped an entire album before you wrote

‘Wild Things’. Why?

Yeah! Well to be fair it was more like around eight demos, but had I

pursued it, it could have become an album. It wasn’t that I hated the

material, because I definitely didn’t make something I hated. It just

really reflected a bad state of mind I was in at the time and I felt a bit

sick being constantly reminded of that every time I listened to the

songs. I wanted to feel happy inside and for the music to reflect that.

67

eee

FATHERSON

Open Book

(Sony RED / Easy Life Records)

Since the release of their debut

album ‘I Am An Island’ back in

2014, Fatherson have steadily

been gaining themselves quite

the dedicated following. It’s no wonder why either: the trio

have always had a knack for offering up slices of uplifting,

meaningful indie-flecked rock. It’s with new record ‘Open

Book’, however, that they’re shifting things into another gear

entirely.

Opener ‘Just Past The Point of Breaking’ begins things on a

brilliantly poignant note, before lead single ‘Lost Little Boys’

soars into life, all rhythmic marching drums and choir-like

choruses. It’s a record that reaches head-dizzying heights

(‘Open Book’) before diving back into intimate, delicate

moments (‘Joanna’), all tied together with their unmatchable

heart-on-sleeve honesty. (Sarah Jamieson) Listen: ‘Forest’

eeee

MINOR VICTORIES

Minor Victories

(Fat Possum / Play It Again Sam)

The formation of Minor Victories makes

sense, both on paper and on record. Editors guitarist Justin

Lockey had the intention to create an extreme noise EP,

recruiting Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite and Slowdive’s Rachel

Goswell. While that EP never materialised, his vision has led

to the formation of something altogether more enticing. It

would be easy for each band member to stick to their day

jobs – Editors are still a huge live draw, Mogwai are constantly

busy honing their sound, whilst Slowdive finally have a new

album in the works. That they’ve chosen to branch out is one

thing, but to create something altogether new - a record so

atmospheric and beguiling - is beyond expectation. At no point

of this record are you left hoping for another Editors anthem or

waiting for that new Slowdive – yes, that would be wonderful,

but we now have Minor Victories to savour. Hopefully they’re

here to stay. (Craig Jones) LISTEN: ‘Out to Sea’

‘LOVE YOU TO DEATH’’S

BANGER PIE CHART

80% Monster

bangers

Check out that suit!

0% Bangers.

you’d buy.

from the.

butchers.

10% Bangers

about being

friendzoned

10% Bangers

named after

motor-vehicle

manoeuvres

eeee

TEGAN AND SARA

Love You to Death (Warner Bros.)

The evolution of Tegan and Sara has been nothing short of fascinating.

Having made their mark as heroic indie-rock twins in the early Noughties,

each of their moves since have seen them branching out in new directions.

Now, with eighth album ‘Love You To Death’, the transformation is complete

and they’re virtually unrecognisable. The pair are a completely new entity,

in the best possible way. Their latest comes littered with glorious synths and

infectious Eighties-styled melodies, with ‘Boyfriend’, ‘Stop Desire’ and ‘Dying

To Know’ all leading the charge. An album full of bubbly bangers that still

carry integral messages of gender and sexuality, Tegan and Sara are proving

themselves to be a vital presence in pop right now. (Sarah Jamieson) Listen:

‘Stop Desire’, ‘100X’

68 diymag.com

eeee

BIG DEAL

Say Yes (FatCat)

Since their introduction, Big Deal have

subtly yet consistently played with

the way they write and progress as a

group. The added grit displayed on

2013’s ‘June Gloom’ was a departure,

a mix of layered clamour that

perhaps overwhelmed their reserved

introspection. The group have finally

returned refreshed and with purpose.

Where ‘June Gloom’ grew from within

its slow-burning warmth, the record

- in particular its stand-out opening

half - is sharp, determined and all the

more compelling for it. It’s another

marked change, but with way more

impact. With ‘Say Yes’, Big Deal have

mustered a real knack of knowing how

to deliver their music. The album is

a cohesive combination of touching

sentiment and purposeful release - it’s

a big progression for a group keen to

open new doors. (Ross Jones) LISTEN:

‘Avalanche’

A marked

change with

way more

impact.

eee

ALEXIS

TAYLOR

Piano

(Moshi Moshi)

Alexis Taylor has

never been a man to shy away from

sentimentality, in whatever creative

guise he adopts - most notably in Hot

Chip. But his return as a solo artist

with ‘Piano’ might just be the logical

conclusion to a career of unabashed

candour. Crafted with a different

spirit to ‘Await Barbarians’, on ‘Piano’

everything is stripped away, seeing

Alexis at his most exposed, only the

bare elements of a piano and his

delicately emotive voice as the tools

at his disposal. These are tracks that

could easily be ballads slipped into

a Hot Chip record, but where there

they’d be bolstered with synths and

programmed beats, here they are stark

and knowingly bold in their simplicity.

These songs are tactile, human and

weaved with themes that transcend

belief. (Emma Smith) LISTEN: ‘So Much

Further to Go’

ee

DJ

SHADOW

The Mountain

Will Fall

(Mass Appeal)

Josh Davis’ ‘Endtroducing…..’ debut

took hip hop and deconstructed it. It

spun it around and threw it in the air,

its pieces landing in a mess before

being fashioned into something else

entirely. He showed the workings of

the genre like a magician revealing his

hand before the cards disappear up his

sleeve. What followed was more of a

nightmare scenario.

And so we have the first album of

Davis’ forties, hoping for a late change

in fortunes. Unfortunately it hasn’t

arrived. Indeed, the only real highlight

is ‘Nobody Speak’. DJ Shadow feat. Run

The Jewels has a pretty good ring to it

and the collaboration is a menacing,

incendiary cracker. There just aren’t any

melodies. Where did they all go? (David

Zammitt) LISTEN: ‘Nobody Speak (ft.

Run the Jewels)’

PHOTO: MIKE MASsARO

69

eee

FEWS Means (Play It Again Sam)

There are no gimmicks when it comes to FEWS’

debut album ‘MEANS’. The Swedish-via-USA fourpiece,

known for their contorting guitar lines and

burgeoning live vigour have delivered a record that’s heavy, bold

and entirely their own.

Championed by producer Dan Carey, the multi-national four-piece

hold nothing back as they break down walls with psychedelic-tinged

fuzz and noise-packed indie rhythms. Stand out tracks ‘The Zoo’

and ‘100 Goosebumps’ are prime examples of their beautiful yet

sinisterly dark sound. It’ll be exciting to see where they go from here.

(Mustafa Mirreh) LISTEN: ‘The Zoo’

ee

LET’S EAT GRANDMA

I, Gemini (Transgressive)

Let’s Eat Grandma have an eye for the odd. Two

teenagers - Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth

- based out of Norwich, they’ve been friends since

day one. And their debut album packs a childlike sense of wonder

that hints at higher climes, strangely-built pop with intentionallyweird

production. Problem is, this imaginary world they inhabit

isn’t the most inclusive. At times, ‘I, Gemini’ is a bit like someone

stomaching all the Narnia Chronicles at once and randomising the

plot. The pair clearly have potential to merge fantasy and instant-fix

pop, but this debut is more a showcase of their peculiarities than

anything else. (Jamie Milton) LISTEN: ‘Deep Six Textbook’

eeee

SKEPTA

Konnichiwa (Boy Better Know)

“By now you should know I hate waiting, I’ve got no

patience,” begins Skepta on ‘Konnichiwa’’s opening

title track. It’s a bit of a fib, really – ‘Konnichiwa’’s

been waiting in the wings for years now, gestating

while grime surged to the top. Now it’s here, though,

he’s hitting the ground running.

Punctuated by samples and skits that paint the most

vibrant picture of inner-city life put to tape in years,

it’s impossible not to see ‘Konnichiwa’ as grime’s

golden moment, but it’s its human side that really

shines. ‘Man’, ‘Lyrics’ and – of course - ‘Shutdown’

might revel in bravado, but it’s the spoken word

exchange at the end of ‘Corn On The Curb’ and

the reinvention at the heart of ‘That’s Not Me’ that

show Skepta to be self-aware like few in his position

could manage, holding fame at arm’s length while

he comes to terms with his own psyche. (Tom

Connick) LISTEN: ‘Man’,

‘Konnichiwa’,

‘That’s Not Me

eeee

YUMI ZOUMA

Yoncalla (Cascine)

Yumi Zouma make a glorious and gentle form of

dream-pop. Debut EP ‘The Brae’ was a timeless,

effortless sunkissed classic, echoing all the best

bits of pop. It sounded like a disco Fleetwood Mac. But at the time,

the group’s music was the sound of people collaborating between

Auckland, New York and Paris - the group’s first practices took place

on arena stages supporting the likes of Lorde. For ‘Yoncalla’ the

band finally recorded together; you can hear it. It takes a lot of work

to create a sound that feels this effortless. But like that oft-used

cliche, ‘Yoncalla’ is more than the sum of its parts. It’s a coalescing of

sparkling sounds which helps to bottle that rarest of things: pop that

shimmers and grabs you when you’re least expecting it to. (Danny

Wright) LISTEN: ‘Short Truth’

eeee

KATE JACKSON

British Road Movies (Hoo Ha Records)

A lot has happened for Kate Jackson since

her widely adored band The Long

Blondes called it a day back in 2008. Relocating to Rome

to become a painter, her life as a musician took a

significant break. Her first solo album is a reinvention

of astounding beauty.

Travelling from soaring guitar pop to downbeat,

piano-led creeping, ‘British Road Movies’ feels like

a trip in the truest sense, and representative of that

which Kate herself has gone on: from leader of one

of Britain’s most sorely missed bands, via eight

years out of the game, to returning as one of its

most intriguing new solo artists. (Will Richards)

LISTEN: ‘Last of the Dreamers’

Self-aware

like few in his

position could

manage.

70 diymag.com

eeee

YUNG

A Youthful Dream (Fat Possum/

tough love)

Yung’s debut album is constantly wrestling

with itself. It’s murky, muddled and littered

with distraction - but there’s a singleminded

focus and blind optimism driving it

forward. The struggle is real but ‘A Youthful

Dream’ couldn’t be easier to get along with.

Underneath the fuzzy buzz of the record lies

a shining serenity. If you want it, there’s a

beauty in the darkness.

Everything is in a state of flux here,

mirroring the shifting plate tectonics that

the band straddle. Dedicated to “bad things

and good people”, ‘Uncombed Hair’ is full

of conviction and uncertainty. ‘The Sound

of Being Okay’ tries to find just that. The

twelve tracks form a turbulent ride but they

give you plenty to cling onto, and while the

end offers no

resolutions,

there are

kindred spirits

throughout.

(Ali Shutler)

LISTEN:

‘Pills’

Q&A

We delve deeper into the

dreamy Danish debut. Duh.

What does ‘A Youthful

Dream’ mean, then?

I think it’s a common fact that

young people tend to be a bit

naive but ‘A Youthful Dream’

doesn’t necessarily relate to

that - more to the appalling

naivety some dreams can have.

Has writing this record

opened a lot of new doors,

like Thom Yorke in that

Radiohead video?

It has definitely opened up a lot

of new doors. This was the first

time we wrote songs where we

knew that the finishing line

meant a full-length album.

Writing and recording this

record has taught all four of

us a lot of valuable lessons.

We definitely don’t want to

settle down musically.

eeee

WEAVES

Weaves (Memphis Industries)

‘Wonky pop’ was a short-lived label

coined in the mid-00s to describe pretty

much anyone making pop music who

didn’t appear on any of Simon Cowell’s

TV shows (a nod to that perennially

yucky word, ‘authenticity’, apparently).

Oddly, it’s also the best term to give

to Weaves’ self-titled debut, the

Canadians’ sparse, angular noises being

at once both joyously earworm-like, and

perched precariously on the brink. It’s

frontwoman Jasmyn Burke’s vocal that’s

key to everything here, as line after line

it falls away before bouncing back with

ferocity, like a vocal Weeble.

Add to that various squelches, postpunk

bass lines and the feeling of

your Walkman quickly running out of

battery power, and ‘Weaves’ is a whole

lot of fun, from the deliciously raucous

standout ‘One More’ to the delicate

‘Eagle’ via the whimsical ‘Coo Coo’ and

the Pixies-ish ‘Two Oceans’. (Emma

Swann) LISTEN: ‘One More’

71

Q&A

Abattoir blues? Fear of Men talk the weird space where ‘Fall Forever’ was made.

Did you really record your new album in an old abattoir?

Dan Falvey (guitars): We recorded our last record in this underground studio at night

time, for the most part because we could get free studio time then - so that’s where

that was done.

Jessica Weiss (guitars / vocals): That was in Brighton, but we did do a lot of demoing

on the farm as well as field recording!

Everyone seems to love you guys in the States, when so many bands fail over

there. Why is that?

JW: There’s definitely something about the novelty of British bands over there.

There’s a strong following of acts like The Cure and The Smiths, who we probably

don’t like as much now, but we definitely look up to them and had elements of them

in our earlier sound.

DF: I think it might be partly the way we’ve gone about things, which is a slightly

more slower, American approach - starting out on DIY labels and cassette tapes and

doing stuff ourselves.

eeee

FEAR OF MEN

Fall Forever (Kanine Records)

Few bands know their own strengths like Brighton’s Fear of Men. Every speck

of their sound and vision has been considered to the nth degree. But with ‘Fall

Forever’, the trio have perfectly refined what they’re about.

With Jessica Weiss’ vocals more pronounced than ever, there’s no hiding place

for the band’s stark, mythical songwriting. Guitars sound like they’re peering up

to the surface from underwater, drum parts are scattered and pronounced, while

Weiss has no time for the abstractions that snuck into ‘Loom’. With opener ‘Vesta’,

they match Roman goddess imagery with ominous effects. ‘Ruins’ sounds like

Chromatics if they ditched the Drive-style high life for a grizzly mountain trek. And

in ‘Island’ and ‘Sane’, they’ve written their sharpest melodies to date.

There’s still plenty of room for Fear of Men to grow, but without outside influence,

they’re already masters of a unique craft. (Jamie Milton) LISTEN: ‘Island’, ‘Sane’

eeee

CHANCE THE RAPPER

Coloring Book (Self-released)

‘Coloring Book’ intertwines gospel, jazz,

hip hop, R&B and touches of Chicago

house alongside some of the biggest

names in the game - including Yeezy

himself. Each style is perfected and full

of purpose.

Where Chance The Rapper’s previous

works have seen him make passing

reference to his faith, ‘Somewhere

in Paradise’, ‘Angels’ and ‘Blessings’

see him wearing his beliefs round his

neck like prayer beads - his spirituality

omnipresent. While nearly everything

we’ve seen from Chance up until this

point has been as innovative as it has

distinctly organic, this third mixtape

finds him evolving further. From every

familiar “Igh!” that bursts in throughout

verses to the way the words are

administered, ‘Coloring Book’ is exactly

the kind of record to elevate an artist

from viable to visionary. (Maya Rose

Radcliffe) LISTEN: ‘Blessings’, ‘Angels’

eee

MELVINS

Basses Loaded

(Ipecac Recordings)

Washington’s

Melvins have been

an almost ever-present fixture within

American alternative music ever since

they emerged back in 1983 with their

brand of sludgy, monstrously heavy

grunge. They’ve never quite ascended

to mainstream status, but their place

within the pantheon of US rock is

firmly secured - which allows them to

do whatever the hell they want, just

like they’ve always done. The group’s

twenty-fifth studio record does

everything you’d hope. It flits from

doomy death marches to frenetic, fuzzy

psych-rock freakouts. Nirvana’s Krist

Novoselic even makes an appearance.

On the accordion. Anything goes, here.

(Martyn Young) LISTEN: ‘Maybe I Am

Amused’

72 diymag.com

eee

MOURN

Ha, Ha, He (Captured Tracks)

If music is a form of escapism, then it’s surely at its most apt

in that capacity when the escapists inhabit a region which is

plotting an escape of its own. MOURN hail from Catalonia, where

the pro-independence movement has gained traction in recent times. The shadowy

second full-length effort from the punk-leaning foursome – with a crucially melodic

edge – may not be a separatist soundtrack, but it possesses a fiercely independent

spirit.

‘Ha, Ha, He.’ frequently hints at the makings of something truly spectacular –

‘Howard’ and ‘Second Sage’ give plenty of reason to rave with excitement – but it

often lacks the absolute finishing touches. It mustn’t, however, go unmentioned that

MOURN are yet to all reach their twenties, and to already have two studio albums

under their belts is laudable in itself. The latest, though, feels nigglingly incomplete,

and while they haven’t stumbled at the unshakeable hurdle of the ‘difficult second

album’, the ‘wow’ factor of their debut has since diminished. Thankfully, there’s

enough youthful grit and promise on show here to suggest that a spectacular

something is on the horizon. (Tom Hancock) LISTEN: ‘Howard’

eee

THE GOTOBEDS

Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic (Sub Pop)

Pittsburgh four-piece The Gotobeds’ Sub Pop debut is a

delightful, riotous post-punk concoction. Ripe with guttural

guitars, catchy riffage, and spitting vocals, it feels like the band’s

cathartic output for their own skittish energy. The record’s experimental in nature

– tracks such as ‘Bodies’ are laced with sun-soaked garage-pop sensibilities, while

the beautiful, delicate build-up of ‘Red Alphabet’ explodes like a slow-burning

volcano and sprawls across the palette from indie rock to artful, noisy dissonance.

The Gotobeds execute a formula of beer-drenched reckless abandon, tense odes to

the unloved and loveless. The result is a smart, sharp record to soundtrack the end of

the world (or maybe even just a hungover Sunday afternoon.) (Cady Siregar) LISTEN:

‘Bodies’

eee

MAGIC POTION Pink Gum (Beech Coma)

Releasing their debut EP last May, Swedish garage-punk group

Magic Potion carved out a niche amongst the blue skies and

scorching sunlight of holiday season. A blissed-out venture

through elated highs and worn-out sighs of summer, debut

album ‘Pink Gum’ is a continuation of that sun-scorched sound - an ode to the

longest of days and lightest of nights. EP numbers ‘Deep Web’ and ‘Booored’

appear once again, the latter’s near impossibly contagious enthusiasm as fresh

and freewheeling as it felt the first time around. Out of time and out

of place, ‘Pink Gum’ is as fitting a soundtrack to the summer of

anyone’s wildest wishes as it is to a season spent wasted in the

sunlight. (Jessica Goodman) LISTEN: ‘Booored’

eee

ADULT

JAZZ

Earrings Off!

(Tri Angle)

Debut album ‘Gist Is’ wasn’t exactly

straight-down-the-line, but with

‘Earrings Off!’, Adult Jazz have

descended fully into the primordial

ooze. Twisted and gloopy, the title-track

and ‘Eggshell’ are both wonderfully

playful. Other experiments work less

well, though, ‘Ooh Ah Eh’’s attempts

at free-form structure collapsing in on

themselves in seconds. (Tom Connick)

Listen: ‘Earrings Off!’

ee

LETLIVE.

If I’m The Devil.. (Epitaph)

Few bands carry a live reputation quite

like letlive. – fewer still can say that it’s

fully deserved. Snarling, wide-eyed

madness abounds at a letlive. show;

part of the reason it’s so crushing to

find ‘If I’m The Devil…’ to be so flat.

Forcibly removing their roughed-up

edges, it’s the sound of letlive. gunning

for the charts, and casting aside all that

once made them such a captivating

prospect. (Tom Connick) LISTEN: ‘Good

Mourning America’

73

eeee

MITSKI Puberty 2 (Dead Oceans)

More often than not, sequels are a fad and a waste of

time (sorry, ‘Zoolander’). Puberty? That’s also a shitter.

With that in mind, Mitski’s ‘Puberty 2’ could be a recipe

for disaster. But forget stereotypes - this is a boldly and deeply brave record, one

that confronts ugly truths and bleak reality without a second to spare.

Mitski Miyawaki has been making emotionally-bare music for years, but ‘Puberty

2’ goes beyond the twisted heroics of last album ‘Bury Me At Makeout Creek’

by some distance. This is stark, emotional songwriting with the floodgates

permanently open. And grim tales are made to seem even worse than you could

possibly imagine. It’s a brutally ugly shock to the system, one that will leave a

permanent trace. (Jamie Milton) LISTEN: ‘Happy’, ‘Your Best American Girl’

eee

PAWS

No Grace (FatCat)

Since 2012’s ‘Cokefloat’, Paws have

been an archetype hooky, fuzzy

guitar band. ‘No Grace’, however,

takes a subtly different turn that at

certain moments verges on poppunk

(a version of the chicken/

egg question raised by the fact it

was produced by blink-182’s Mark

Hoppus). This album often sees

them polishing that initial fuzz on

a lot of their songs, with riffs that

shimmer in turquoise and lilac.

At its best, when it doesn’t take

itself too seriously, ‘No Grace’ is

a perfectly fun album. ‘Clarity’ is

an all-thrills ride, and the opening

riff of ‘Asthmatic’ is gorgeous

when listened to in isolation. As

an experiment, ‘No Grace’ could

go further. But PAWS continue to

have fuzz defining their every step.

(Nina Keen) LISTEN: ‘Clarity’

ee

DROWNERS

On Desire (Frenchkiss)

Back in 2013, Drowners established themselves as indie

heartthrobs with the most earnest of intentions. Frontman

Matt Hitt, a boy from rural Wales making it as a rockstar in

New York City, embodied the kind of escapist dream that

everybody finds themselves having from time to time. With classic good looks and

a roguish style, the band charmed audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Three

years on, and two albums in, and very little – if anything - has changed. ‘On Desire’

is exactly as expected. A little more comfortable in their own skin, the band have

made their home in breezy, easily pleasing refrains and crooning choruses. Which

would be all well and good if each song didn’t sound somehow the same. Sweet but

stereotyped, it’s easy to find the flaws in Drowners. They’ve done nothing to break

their mould, and ‘On Desire’ does little to appease the want for something more.

(Jessica Goodman) LISTEN: ‘Cruel Ways’

74 diymag.com

Q&A

‘No Grace’ was a ‘do or die’ moment for

PAWS. Sounds serious. Rhys Buchanan gets

the gossip.

When did ‘No Grace’ come together?

It came about from touring the first two

records so heavily. We had some hardships

along the way and were just so burned out.

Towards the end of that we decided we

needed the time to get our shit together. So

unlike before, we actually took time to sit and

write an album. It’s us reflecting on the last

couple of years in that sense.

You’ve said it’s a ‘do or die’ moment, what

do you mean?

We feel like we want to connect with people

physically rather than depend on the internet

to get our music out there. We’ve always

had a hands-on approach to tour as much as

possible. So I think the new album is born out

of us sharing what it’s been like to do that from

our point of view. Everybody relies, focuses

and pours their expectations into the internet

these days; they forget about just connecting

with people.

What was it like having Mark Hoppus

behind the desk?

As teenagers, blink-182 were around us

constantly - they were the first concert I ever

went to, back in Glasgow when I was fourteen.

So it’s cool going full circle; the fact that one

of the people that inspired me to do this has

helped us record the music that I’m proudest

of. I’m very humbled by it. After the first five

minutes it was just like having another guy

in the band, it was really relaxed. He brought

an element of confidence which made a big

difference to the record.

eeee

THE KILLS

Ash & Ice (Domino)

Jamie Hince’s story of how ‘Ash & Ice’ came

to be, well, ‘Ash & Ice’, is a fitting one, as The

Kills’ fifth album swiftly moves from the stoic

bravado of ‘Doing It To Death’’s “doublesixing

it night after night” to a darker place,

increasingly introspective as the record goes on. “That love you’re in, it’s

fucked up” sighs Alison Mosshart repeatedly during the piano-led ‘That

Love’.

It could also be attributed to the miles (and then some) Jamie spent

travelling across the depths of Russia, or perhaps the injury that almost

meant he’d have to give up the guitar completely. We know nothing of

Alison’s troubles in the months making this LP, but chances are there are

some. The path to ‘Ash & Ice’, you see, was not a simple one.

And yet it’s a record that’s so comfortably The Kills: ‘Hard Habit To Break’

has echoes of ‘Hitched’ from 2003 debut ‘Keep On Your Mean Side’, there’s

a little of the vocal rhythms of ‘Midnight Boom’’s ‘Sour Cherry’ to closer

‘Whirling Eye’, and the pulse of ‘Blood Pressures’ cut ‘Heart Is A Beating

Drum’ echoes throughout ‘Siberian Nights’.

That’s not to suggest it’s a carbon-copy, more a culmination of all that’s

come before; a band confident in their own skin, their identity clearer

than ever, their mission unchanged since those transatlantic tapes at the

turn of the millennium. (Emma Swann) LISTEN: ‘Hard Habit To Break’,

‘Siberian Nights’

eee

DEAKIN Sleep Cycle (My Animal Home)

After seven years of faffing about with Kickstarter

fundraisers and “fatal perfectionism,” part-time

Animal Collective member Deakin’s ‘Sleep Cycle’

is finally here. “I’ve lost my voice, I need direction,”

goes ‘Just Am’. Really, this is the first time we’ve ever heard Deakin

unobscured by swirling mists. Painting vivid landscapes flecked with

rainbow mushrooms and glitter clouds, ‘Sleep Cycle’ is a short, but richly

atmospheric record; nodding towards to his work on Animal Collective’s

‘Feels’. Constructed from snatched field recordings from a trip to Mali,

and heady with dense, intricate arrangements, ‘Sleep Cycle’ serves as a

fascinating glimpse into the mind of AnCo’s most mysterious member. (El

Hunt) LISTEN: ‘Just Am’

•••••COMING Up•••••

BLINK-182 California

The stadium-filling pop-punks return with

their first Tom DeLonge-less album. Alkaline

Trio frontman Matt Skiba fills the vacant

guitar/vocals slot - it’s out 1st July.

BADBADNOTGOOD IV

These know-it-all producers might hit the big

time with their fourth record, starring Future

Islands’ Samuel T. Herring and the buzzy

Kaytranada. It’s due 8th July.

THE JULIE RUIN Hit Reset

Kathleen Hanna and pals are back with

another no-prisoners triumph, out 8th July.

75

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Various venues, Brighton. Photos: Emma Swann

PARTYBABY

76 diymag.com

The yearly migration south for all things buzzy is

something of a pilgrimage by now; the myriad of

venues throughout Brighton hosting everything

from tiny courtyard side-shows to massive indemand

showcases (hi, Stormzy) throughout its

jam-packed three days.

Our adventures begin on Thursday afternoon at Komedia with Aussie

singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin, who comes as the ‘talk of SXSW’, and

it’s not hard to hear why. Hers is a vocal that pierces through tedium,

setting alight lines like “my heart is heavy when you’re high.”

Opening the DIY stage down on the pier at Horatio’s in the evening

are Liverpudlian trio Trudy and the Romance, and it’s a surprise

frontman Oliver Taylor’s fingers aren’t bloodied by the end of their

set, given his stubborn lack of a pick. He bare-handedly plays bonedry

guitar parts, thrashed within an inch of their life.

DILLY DALLY

Even before VANT hit the stage, the air at Patterns is fizzing with

anticipation. Focused and unsettling, Mattie Vant’s already a

fully-formed frontman.

The band’s songs, while

BLACK HONEY heavily political, are lean

enough to still pack an

almighty punch; it’s all

head banging and gang

vocals, the crowd throwing

themselves towards the

stage in tandem. They’re

still buzzing when Spring

King take over, running

relentlessly through

air-tight renditions of ‘Tell

Me If You Like To’ and

‘The Summer’, the crowd

hanging off every word that

multi-tasking master Tarek

Musa sings.

Back at Komedia, the standout,

pick-your-jaws-backoff-the-floor

quality that

Pumarosa possess is a hard

one to pin down. Isabel

Munoz-Newsome leads the

charge, wielding a drum

beater like a summoning

staff, meticulously

whacking her guitar across the chops with

it at semi-regular intervals.

Meanwhile, at Horatio’s, there’s no

stopping Bleached, whose songs are

roughed around the edges to glorious

effect. As frontwoman Jennifer Calvin

abandons her guitar in favour of stomping

across Horatio’s’ tables, it’s impossible to

not be pulled into their brilliant, scuzzedup

world.

VANT

“We’re from ‘da north’,” North East fuzzfiends

Eat Fast sarcastically offer up by

way of introduction on Friday afternoon.

“This song is about all my mates who

moved to ‘da south’.” ‘Da south’ rightly

laps it up.

77

Thanks to a pesky power adaptor, the

first words Katie Monks later shares

with The Haunt are to explain that

her microphone keeps electrocuting

her. Luckily, that’s not enough to get

in the way of Dilly Dally’s ferocious

performance, the quartet brilliantly

tight from the off; a lean, growling

machine.

Twelve months ago, Black Honey were

taking their first steps outside their

top-secret bubble, a treasure-chest

full of potential. At Horatio’s a year on,

they’re unstoppable, owning the pier

so effortlessly that it wouldn’t be a

surprise if the famous lights changed

to read Black Honey for the evening.

“Brighton!” snarls frontwoman Izzy B.

Phillips, “are you with me!” Half of the

town is, by the looks of things - the rest

queuing outside the venue trying to

sneak a peek.

Diet Cig’s rough-and-ready floor show

in the corner of The Hope and Ruin

on Saturday afternoon sounds like a

Greatest Hits set, and a well-honed one

at that. Later, packing out a rammed

Corn Exchange for DIY, The Big Moon’s

crowd are singing ‘Cupid’ so loudly that

Jules Jackson has found herself with an

impromptu backing choir. This lot do

not have an Achilles heel; they’re totally

unstoppable.

The Corn Exchange is also the perfect

setting for headliners Mystery Jets

and the huge bombast of their latest

album ‘Curve of the Earth’. New tracks

‘Midnight’s Mirror’ and ‘Blood Red

Balloon’ hang gloriously in the air,

floating and spiralling out of proggy

control.

LIVE AT

LEEDS

Various venues, Leeds. Photos: Emma Swann

Back at Horatio’s, it’s time for

Partybaby to make their UK debut.

Bringing the big American, er, party to

the oh-so-British surrounds of Brighton

Pier, they’re worth every second of

the wait, and every scrap of the hype.

New single ‘I Don’t Wanna Wait’ opens

proceedings, proving it’s three-forthree

on their stadium sized pop-punk

bangers to date. There’s no band out

there like Partybaby.

It’s with a shot full of adrenaline that

Saturday night’s proceedings draw to

a close, as Bristol’s Milk Teeth serve

up a slice of gritty punk rock at the end

of the pier. “I’ve never played on a pier

before,” grims Becky Blomfield, “I hope

we don’t sink!” With the ruckus that

they cause, it’s a wonder Horatio’s is still

standing by the end of it all. DIY

ESTRONS

78 diymag.com

RAT BOY

By the time Kagoule

hit the stage, the

Brudenell Social Club

is already packed out,

and the Nottingham

band are in their

scuzzy element. Familiar favourite

‘Glue’ rings out with its brilliant

taunting chorus before newer track

‘Pharmacy’ trembles with dark

trepidation.

Teen prodigy and last year’s

Glastonbury Emerging Talent

Competition winner Declan

McKenna admits he’s having a

“fucking nightmare” - the Korg’s

broken, and Declan’s having to

improvise. He does so impressively,

switching ‘Paracetamol’’s synth

line into guitar chords and leading

the group through his emotional,

affecting pop.

With a queue snaking the whole way

around the venue, back to the main

road, and across a nearby car park,

Mystery Jets’ mid-afternoon set at

the O2 Academy is easily one of the

most contended places to be. Those

who stick out the wait certainly

aren’t disappointed. Playing a set

that spans across their thirteen

years, the group are in rude form.

Estrons claim they’re about to play

“slow and romantic” music, but

they’re lying. The Welsh four-piece’s

music would prefer to bite your

head off than launch into a loved-up

serenade. Vocalist Tali Källström is

possessed, throwing herself across

the Brudenell’s stage, every vicious

scream a call to arms. Romance can

wait - these guys are stampeding

past the hype with energy lining

every seam.

Tucked away around

the corner of Leeds

Beckett’s SU bar, it’d

be easy to assume

that INHEAVEN

could find themselves

hidden from view.

When they play their

first few chords,

though, their

gravitational pull

INHEAVEN draws in punters in

droves. Already, the

band sound gigantic,

their shoegazey

guitars both mesmerising and

commanding. New single ‘Baby’s

Alright’ is a real highlight with the

throng at the front echoing back

every word.

Feeling sleepy? Spare a thought for

Sløtface, a Norwegian force who’ve

been in three countries over the last

twenty-four hours. Final destination

Leeds could be the unlucky recipient

of a tired performance, but Haley

Shea and her crew of ridiculously

tall Nordic chaps are on fire. Naps

aren’t an option, so instead they

launch themselves into an all-killer

set, ‘Kill it With Kindness’ and new

single ‘Sponge State’ both snarling

standouts.

The excitement greeting Spring

King as they take to the stage

at Stylus is nearing fever pitch.

Each song from debut album ‘Tell

Me If You Like To’ is met with the

fondness and enthusiasm of a dear

friend, and the group revel in every

moment. Mayhem breaks out in a

matter of minutes, energy driving

the audience into circle pits and

crowdsurfers sailing towards the

stage (before being chased back

where they came from by security at

rapid speed).

Anticipation hangs thick in the air,

back at Leeds Beckett’s SU. By the

time Blood Red Shoes stride out on

stage for one of their first live sets

in almost a year, the room’s packed

with bodies. The pair might have

spent the past nine months off the

road, but they’re as visceral as ever,

and tonight is proof that they really

have been missed.

Later at the Brudenell, all eyes

are on Loyle Carner, a London

wordsmith who mixes tragedy with

quick-witted lyricism and sleepy,

strung out beats. There’s a presence

to this newcomer, a confidence

defining his every move. He gives

a “real” freestyle (not like those

other chancers, he claims), debuting

impressive new material alongside

the touching ‘Florence’.

For the past year, Rat Boy’s soaked

up the plaudits, a season ticket

seat reserved on the buzz train. But

now it’s business time for the Essex

youngster, whose debut album is

prepped for release later this year.

Tonight’s headline set at DIY’s

Brudenell Social Club stage screams

of a step up. New material like

‘Splendid Young Man’ and ‘Morse

Code’ sits pretty with certified giants

‘Fake ID’ and ‘Move’ - Rat Boy’s

showcasing a new ambition. DIY

79

The Kills burst back into clattering, ear-wrenching

life earlier this year - after five years away - with

a bold promise. Opening gambit ‘Doing It To

Death’ talked of “double sixing it night after

night” without a single loaded dice or sneaky

sleight-of-hand in sight. Defying the usual laws

of chance, Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince don’t believe in

half measures or safe bets. Befitting The Kills’ new album title

‘Ash & Ice,’ the titchy-by-their-standards Village Underground

is crammed to the brim, and fizzing with fiery anticipation.

Shaking the entire arch with almighty rip-roaring guitars, and

snarling, pummelling chants, The Kills double-six it, alright.

Any notion of gently easing into proceedings is defiantly

thrown out the window in a split second. The surging crowd

finish every line of ‘No Wow’ with raised fists, and that’s

just during the first song. Darting in hyperactive dot-to-dot

between records - from the snaggy-sharp corners of ‘Midnight

Boom’ cut ‘U.R.A Fever,’ to the veering runaway chants of

‘Heart is a Beating Drum’ - The Kills don’t piss about. Ducking

slyly about like a bomber-jacket clad Artful Dodger armed

with a possessed fretboard, Jamie constantly trades smirks

and riff-blows with the front row. Alison, meanwhile, is volatile

and fast-combusting. One minute she’s standing stock still;

hair-twirling, feigning faux-nonchalance while her bandmate

shakes every ear drum in the room. The next, she’s letting

loose vicious, smoke-stained chants, miming puppeteer

The Kills

Village Underground, London. Photos: Emma Swann

hands, and yelling ‘Sour Cherry’ straight at a particularly

enterprising fan up on their mate’s shoulders.

The stage is second nature for The Kills; in the same way as

many people might consider their trusty sofa, microwave

popcorn and Netflix account to be home. It seems like the

only logical place that Jamie and Alison would ever unleash

‘Ash & Ice’ for the first time, and with Village Underground

at fever-pitch, that’s just what they do. Brand new and

unreleased, ‘Hard Habit to Break’ leads the sudden onslaught

of new material; tenacious, vice-addicted, and spiky. ‘Heart

of a Dog’ - just a few weeks old - sounds fully embedded, too.

Boldly reactive, soaring with gigantic, unshakable hooks, the

packed-out audience step up as unofficial backing singers,

howling and roaring along like life depends on it.

Even a fast-approaching curfew and a few technical hitches

don’t throw The Kills off their tracks. After a quick exchange

with the sound desk - “we’re having a meeting,” quips Alison -

the pair dive headlong into a triumphant encore. As the band

take graceful curtseys, bowing low to the room and cheerfully

holding hands like they’re closing out a pantomime, their

parting statement is ‘Tape Song’. “Honey, time don’t give a

shit,” they snarl, “You’ve got to go straight ahead.” Effortlessly

evading the old, constantly shunning nostalgia, and rolling

a fresh pair of sixes every single time, it’s The Kills all over. (El

Hunt)

Photo: Chris Bethell

80 diymag.com

TICKETWEB.CO.UK/FESTIVALS

Photo: Chris Bethell/Lovebox

81

DIY

INDIE DREAMBOAT

Of the Month

Simon Neil

Biffy Buffy clyro

Full name: Simon Alexander Neil

Nickname: The Atmosphere

Star Sign: Virgo

Pets? I had two dogs, Rosie and

Lulu, but they actually passed away

in the last eighteen months.

Favourite Film? There Will Be

Blood. I love that movie so much,

it’s brutal. I love Daniel Day Lewis.

Favourite Food? Miso black cod,

a beautiful fish dish. I can’t make it,

but I can eat it!

Drink of choice? Tequila, straight!

Signature scent? Acqua di Parma

What song would you play to

woo someone? To woo someone?!

I don’t know if I’m that guy! I’ve

been loved up for a while! I’d

probably choose a Stevie Wonder

song; ‘Superstition’ has a swagger

to it.

If you weren’t in a band, what

would you be doing? Trying to be

in a band probably. I basically can’t

do anything other than write songs.

I might be playing violin actually…

I played it from when I was four

years old, and then gave it up when

I discovered guitar.

Chat up line of choice? “Do you

like Biffy Clyro?”

82 diymag.com

83

84 diymag.com

DIY, June 2016

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

Delete template?

Save as template ?