DIY March 2026

ISSUE 158 • MARCH 2026

DIYMAG.COM

tickets & info :

16–26 JUL

WITH AMERICAN EXPRESS

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SOMERSETHOUSE.ORG.UK

CONTENTS

NEWS

6 The Xcerts

10 Fcukers

14 Festivals

NEU

16 waterbaby

28 SLAG

23 Jonique

FEATURES

24 Arlo Parks

32 Book Of Churches

34 Kim Gordon

38 Snail Mail

42 The Orielles

44 Courtney Barnett

REVIEWS

48 Albums

58 Live

EDITOR’S

LETTER

While it might feel like barely any time has elapsed

since Arlo Parks hit our radar, it’s now been six years

since the then-19 year old first stunned us with her

brand of evocative bedroom pop. And while time

continues to march on, the past few years have seen

her grow into an even more incredible artist. Now on

the cusp of releasing third album ‘Ambiguous Desire’

- a mature record of awe and self-rediscovery - we

couldn’t be more thrilled to have her back on our

cover this month.

Elsewhere, we talk growing older with Snail Mail’s

Lindsey Jordan, get (just a little bit) existential

courtesy of Kim Gordon, and reconnect with

Courtney Barnett as she prepares to release her

first full-length proper in five years. Plus, we get an

exclusive insight into the forthcoming new album

from The Xcerts (ooh-er) - just flip the page and dig

in!

Sarah Jamieson,

Managing Editor

Dest. 2002

FOUNDING EDITOR

Emma Swann

MANAGING EDITOR

Sarah Jamieson

DIGITAL EDITOR

Daisy Carter

DESIGN

Emma Swann

CONTRIBUTORS

A. L. Noonan, Alex Rigotti, Bella Martin, Ben Tipple,

Caitlin Chatterton, Ciaran Picker, David Addison,

Dylan McNally, Ed Lawson, Gabriele Naddeo,

Gemma Cockrell, Gemma Samways, Harvey Thibault,

Jerrome Volk, Joe Goggins, Kathryn Vann, Lorène

Bienvenu, Louis Griffin, Louisa Dixon, Matthew Davies

Lombardi, Matthew McLister, Minty Slater-Mearns,

Otis Robinson, Phil Taylor, Pooneh Ghana, Rishi Shah,

Rhys Buchanan, Sophie Flint Vázquez, Z. Raza-

Sheikh.

COVER PHOTO AND THIS PAGE

Pooneh Ghana

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. 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 DIY 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.

NEWS

[This record] had a direction

and a goal, and it came from

the three of us in the room.”

- Murray Macleod

6 D

The Xcerts

We head to Brighton to get the exclusive lowdown on album number six from the poprock

stalwarts, finding out why it’s driven by desperation, urgency and an acceptance of

the uncomfortable.

Words: Rishi Shah

gonna give you one of these,” Murray Macleod

says, offering a fist-bump, in order to keep

germs from a recent illness to himself. Explaining

that drummer Tom Heron is currently struck

down by a bug himself, we head into tuckedaway

pub The Foundry to find the last Xcert “I’m

member (metaphorically) standing; bassist Jordan Smith is sat,

accompanied by a pint of Guinness and a Flann O’Brien book.

Since relocating to the South Coast for university, the Aberdeen

pop-rock trio fully made Brighton their home, now scattered

between the city centre, Hove and Saltdean. Calling arena giants

like Architects and Royal Blood some of their best mates, the

band have become an integral part of the city’s furniture.

“Our finger isn’t quite as on the pulse as it used to be, but

I’m aware that the scene in Brighton is booming,” admits

Murray, acknowledging that The Xcerts might now be the elder

statesmen of their world, as we perch on stools inside this “oldman

pub”. Currently busy promoting January’s comeback track

‘do it to myself’ in the confusing world of social media, the band

are quick to remind us that they’ve seen it all.

“We’re the generation who have one foot in the internet, one foot

out,” muses Murray. “I feel so sorry for younger generations at

the moment, because it’s so loud out there, to cut through…

there’s a lot of artists not playing that game, though, that have

completely blown up purely because of the music. Cameron

Winter and Geese, Dijon, Mk.gee. Even on a more mainstream

level, Fontaines DC or Phoebe Bridgers. They really do let the

music do the talking.”

hat principle is a driving force behind the next chapter

of The Xcerts. Having switched both management and

Trecord labels, they found themselves with no push-back

or pressure against the fundamentals of the songs. When their

new label home FLG heard ‘do it to myself’ and two others, they

were instantly on board, offering the band a record deal within a

matter of days - like “something out of the ’90s”.

After a series of interactions over recent years with producer and

Hundred Reasons guitarist Larry Hibbitt - who was a fan of 2023

single ‘GIMME’ and saw the band at 2000trees - the trio made

it their mission to sign him up. Testing the waters at his own

Beehive studio in Hertfordshire, the simplicity of his wish “to

capture the essence of the band” made for an instant match.

When speaking to DIY back in 2023, Murray described fifth

album ‘Learning How To Live and Let Go’ as the “purest” version

of The Xcerts, encapsulating elements from all of their previous

four. That essence of the band, surely, was more apparent than

ever. Perhaps even a blueprint for what would come next. Or not.

“Yeah, I completely lied…” the frontman grins, when we put his

own words back in front of him. “I mistook freedom for purity,

and there is a big difference there. The whole point of the last

record was to utilise the studio as an instrument, rather than

focusing on the true essence of our band and our chemistry.

That was freedom, because we had the run of the playground.

There were no teachers or adults.”

“Whereas this record, we approached it with a more determined

sense,” Jordan continues. “It’s not random playtime. It had a

direction and a goal, and it came from the three of us in the

room. When we were 18, [we’d go] into the cheapest rehearsal

room, your amp is broken, it sounds terrible, and you leave with

the biggest smile on your face, [thinking] ‘we’re in the best band

in the world.’”

The upcoming sixth LP from The Xcerts, set to be announced

in due course, juggles the spirit of their younger selves with

the present day. Ensuring it remains “age-appropriate”, that

balancing act ties together an understanding of where they are

with the urgency of what came before. An urgency, truthfully,

that has never left them.

“Bad things happen, they will happen again,

and we’ll still be here. We’re not going anywhere.”

- Jordan Smith

“We started this band when we were 15, getting snuck into

venues in Aberdeen to play shows with adults, and it felt like

we had to go 10 times harder to be heard, seen and taken

seriously,” remembers Murray. “We never really lost that thing.

“We never sat down [and discussed], ‘what is our band?’

Unspoken, we wanted to bring back the urgency of the three of

us playing. The desperate noise that we make, that is our band.

One of Jordan’s friends made a comment: ‘The Xcerts, to me, is

the three of you, as soon as the distortion kicks in, banging your

head.’”

J

anuary’s ‘do it to myself’ is an unmistakable indication

of that assessment. Channelling the hard-and-fast

momentum of 2014’s ‘There Is Only You’, The Xcerts’

first single of 2026 rightfully opens their new album. It was the

springboard for everything that followed at Beehive, as images

of its Moccamaster coffee maker and the back of Larry’s head

flood back to the band.

“We wanted to merge the worlds of early post-hardcore with

a New York [element],” says Murray, before Jordan jumps in to

specify The Walkmen. “It really re-affirmed that feeling of us

bleeding it all out,” the frontman continues. “Everything we wrote

after that was [self-assured]... I definitely had a bit of ego after

that. It was a healthy arrogance: ‘This is what the fucking Xcerts

do.’”

Euphoric as the chorus may feel, the track is an “uncomfortable”

admission of Murray’s tendency to self-sabotage and

subsequently hurt those close to him. As ever, the frontman

wears his heart on his sleeve with brutal honesty.

“My dad was diagnosed with cancer in December 2023,”

explains Murray. “I lived with a lot of fear that year, and [thought]

it’s fine to dabble in a bit of escapism. But that escapism was

relentless, and my partner at the time intervened in a very

healthy way. I established that even when things aren’t good, I

will make that 10 times worse for myself, and obviously that has

D 7

NEWS

a knock-on effect if you live

with your loved one.

“The first verse is about

childlike terror, this fearful

plea to my partner that I

want them to take me in and

fix everything. It’s a funny

juxtaposition, because my

dad is the one who had

cancer, yet he was the

strongest out of anybody.

Honestly, it was a graze on

the knee to my dad. I took

stock after that and was

like, ‘I can’t be acting like a

victim.’”

ts refrain of “Will it always be like this?” is a question

Murray asks more than once across the record. Rather

Ithan dressing up discomfort and pain with a happily ever

after as they’ve actively sought out in previous records,

The Xcerts allow this one to end in flames.

Murray even suggests that closing track, ‘in your eyes’,

“was a bit too emo, which is saying something for me”.

As it unexpectedly erupts into a wall of stadium rock, the

sentiment comes from a saying that is often heard in the

professional sporting world: treat every game like it’s your

last.

“‘If this is our swansong, then we’re going out fucking loud’

- it’s good to sometimes have that mentality,” says Murray.

“I guess I did have that Michael Jordan feel of the last

quarter. We’re gonna do everything to make this one loud,

crying moment for our band.”

Then there’s ‘pretty ugly’, a rampant curveball on which

Murray screams like never before. Written in part about

criticism the band faced when they dropped ‘GIMME’, the

song showcases the frontman at his most bulletproof, his

voice distorting not unlike ‘The Colour And The Shape’-era

Dave Grohl.

“I haven’t felt the need to put anger in our music for a

long time,” he says. “It shakes hands with [2010 album]

‘Scatterbrain’ for sure, that song, but takes it to a whole

new level… it stemmed from something as human as

feeling really fucking angry. The lyrics are comically

brutal.” “Because they’re so indiscernible and covered

in distortion, you feel this freedom to say some really

personal shit,” adds Jordan. “Once in our career, there’s

We’re gonna do

everything to make this

one loud, crying moment

for our band.”

- Murray Macleod

actually a point where you could say, ‘Open this shit up.’

We never got to tick that box…”

t’s a fitting mid-point for an album rooted in the

discomfort, loss and pain that The Xcerts experienced

Iin real time. Instead of an act of catharsis, this album

serves as more of a mirror image to their lives, with plenty

of the incidents discussed in the record still unresolved

or ongoing. Importantly, they have learned to live through

such hardship.

“Learning to sit in it, that’s the main thing,” says Jordan.

“Not pushing away from it or trying to get away from

discomfort. You can’t let it consume your life, but you can’t

run away from it. You have to just sit with it, like a horrible

hot tub. You don’t want to be in it, but you paid for the

hour…”

Whether it’s youthful exuberance or the familiarity of the

types of struggles they faced around their debut, there’s

a comfort in this sixth record that The Xcerts are set up to

cope with whatever challenges life will throw in the way.

With that logic, their future stands in good stead.

“The joy of three people in a room with broken speakers

hammering out songs, and the circumstances that

surrounded making the record, those things happened

again,” rounds off Jordan. “There’s this weird full-circle

thing where you’re like, ‘oh, I know what this is. We’ve done

this before.’

“You realise how strong you are. Bad things happen, they

will happen again, and we’ll still be here. We’re not going

anywhere.” D

Toy Story

Having spent ages teasing fans, Foo

Fighters have finally revealed that their

next album, ‘Your Favorite Toy’, will

be arriving on 24th April. The band

have ushered in this new chapter by

dropping the LP’s propulsive title track,

as well as playing a trio of special

underplay shows in Dublin, London,

and Manchester. Sounds sweaty…

Back To The Toon!

It’s official: The Mercury Prize has

confirmed that it’ll return to Newcastle

for another year, taking place on 22nd

October after the city also hosted the

2025 ceremony - the first time ever

that the event had been held outside

London. “This year, we’re going

further - expanding access, opening

more pathways and ensuring Northern

artists don’t just take part, but set the

agenda,” says Mick Ross, CEO of local

music champions Generator. Hear

hear!

Kick Off

Midwest emo icons American Football

have announced that their fourth studio

album is due to land on 1st May, and

have marked the occasion by sharing

its eight minute lead single ‘Bad

Moons’ - a track that frontman Mike

Kinsella has described as “actually a

Frankenstein of two different demos

we’d been passing around for quite a

while: one playful, one brooding.” Get

all the details onsite now.

Tickled Pink

PinkPantheress was named Producer

Of The Year at The BRIT Awards 2026,

making her the youngest producer ever

to be given the title, and the first ever

female winner (!). Elsewhere, Olivia

Dean followed her Grammys win to

scoop four BRITs at the Manchester

ceremony - including Artist Of The Year

and Album Of The Year - while Wolf

Alice, Dave, Geese, and Fred again..

also took home trophies. Check out the

full list of winners at diymag.com.

House Party

Somerset House has unveiled details

of its annual Summer Series - a run of

gigs that take over its historic London

courtyard each year, and which has

previously played host to the likes of

Amy Winehouse, Adele, Patti Smith,

and ROSALÍA. Between 16th-26th

July this summer, it’s the turn of Black

Country, New Road, The Cribs,

Benjamin Clementine and more;

tickets are on sale now.

The Xcerts, JMEnternational

8 D

2026

09 APRIL

MANCHESTER

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10 APRIL

BRISTOL

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11 APRIL

BIRMINGHAM

O 2 INSTITUTE

16.09 - NEWCASTLE

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19.09 - DUBLIN

21.09 - BIRMINGHAM

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25.09 - CARDIFF

26.09 - LONDON

protoje.com

12 APRIL

LONDON

O 2 FORUM

KENTISH TOWN

17 May Dublin Workman’s Club

19 May Glasgow SWG3 Poetry Club

20 May Manchester Night & Day

22 May Birmingham O 2 Institute3

23 May London

O 2 Academy2 Islington

in deep

“people are always

going to want to

party. i think it’s

something that’s

inherently in all

of us.”

- shanny wise

life

of

the

party

DIY In Deep is our monthly, online-centric chance to dig into

a longer profile on some of the most exciting artists in the

world right now.

Everybody wants to party with Jackson Walker Lewis

and Shanny Wise. New York duo Fcukers have entranced

everyone from Harry Styles to Tame Impala with their

addictive blend of ‘90s house, UK garage and trip hop, and,

as they prepare to release their debut album ‘Ö’, they take

DIY on their rollercoaster journey to the top.

Words: Alex Rigotti

or every old fart lamenting Gen Z and their sexless, sober proclivities, a

horde of sweaty young things are proving them wrong - and you can bet

they’re all headed to a Fcukers gig. Since launching their first show in

2022, the band have combined ‘90s rave music with feral post-pandemic

energy to stage a multicontinental night out.

“People are always going to want to party,” vocalist Shanny Wise posits.

“That’s human nature to let loose, to be crazy and want that release. I think it’s

something that’s inherently in all of us.”

Shanny and producer Jackson Walker Lewis are bundled up from the New York

winter while on Zoom to DIY, reflecting on the huge milestones they’ve already hit

(including a sold-out, screaming crowd at their inaugural gig, rave reviews, and

support slots with Tame Impala, Justice, and soon, Harry Styles) with only one EP

- 2024’s ‘Baggy$$’ - to their name.

“We literally had no plan at all,” Shanny tells us. “We thought: ‘let’s mess around

and make some songs for fun for ourselves. We’ll call it Fcukers, because it’s a

joke for us’.”

This March, though, they’re set to finally drop their long-awaited debut album, ‘Ö’.

Made in a whirlwind two weeks with producer Kenneth Blume (fka Kenny Beats), it

promises to show Fcukers at their highest - and lowest. So, the question remains:

can they keep the party alive when the going gets tough?

hanny and Jackson don’t strike you as your typical club brats: Jackson

is the gregarious one, doling out anecdotes like a dad at a barbecue;

Shanny’s sweet and shy, speaking in the same hypnotic lilt as her songs.

Despite their rowdy, boisterous crowds, the pair themselves seem pretty

grounded - though perhaps, that’s because their success has been hard won.

When Jackson first moved from his hometown of Los Angeles to New York around

2016, he was told: “Don’t move here for music. The industry doesn’t care.” No

one was signing bands, or paying attention to New York at all, Jackson claims. He

ignored the warnings anyway and formed rock band Spud Cannon; by 2022, they

had folded. Now, he was just another 20-something in the city trying to make it,

DJing house nights at Pianos for rent - on a Monday, no less.

Shanny felt similarly disillusioned, having left her psychedelic-indie act The

Shacks when she bumped into Jackson at a vintage fashion shop. They bonded

over their electronic tastes; Shanny was getting into dubstep, being no stranger

to the dancefloor. “Growing up in New York, it’s pretty easy to get into trouble

young,” she nods. “I was going to clubs at 15 with a fake ID, being at 1 Oak with

bottles, which is kind of crazy.”

The duo had no reason to believe things would be any different when they started

Fcukers. But this time around, the pandemic had ended, and a swarm of urbanites

hungry to dance descended upon New York. Turns out, all Fcukers needed were

two tracks - ‘Mothers’ and ‘Devils Cut’, a Paradise Garage-inspired cover of the

Beck song ‘Devils Haircut’ - and fans were hooked.

“It was an amazing time, and the scene did naturally coalesce,” Jackson

explains. “The beauty of [that period], which doesn’t get talked about a lot, was

that everyone was focused on what was happening locally. No one had grand

aspirations. It was like: ‘what’s going on in the city?’”

Then, The Dare dropped his debut single ‘Girls’ that same year, singlehandedly

kickstarting the indie sleaze revolution that Fcukers suddenly found themselves

immersed in. “I remember the day after ‘Girls’ came out, he came [to Pianos]

on Monday and said: ‘So I finally made it to one of these damn Pianos

parties!’,”Jackson laughs.

Whether they identify as “indie sleaze” or not (spoiler: they don’t), Fcukers were

now at the centre of the burgeoning New York scene - a scene which fostered

healthy competition, not least when it came to finding unusual rave locations.

“Everyone was trying to low-key one-up each other: ‘oh, you did a show in an

abandoned subway? Well, I’m going to do a show in an abandoned pool!’”

Continuing to take advantage of the luck that came their way, the pair soon found

themselves expanding beyond the NYC underground. A month after their first

show, a Japanese girl caught wind and blogged about them; when the band

spotted 300 new followers from the country, they took the risk and enquired about

a potential show in Japan. “We hit up the girl and said ‘hey, if we come, will you

get us a show?’”

Then, when Celine paid for the duo to DJ their party at Paris Fashion Week, they

blagged an additional show at London’s famed George Tavern. The rest, as they

say, is history: by the end of 2024, Fcukers had released ‘Baggy$$’ and toured five

different continents. They found themselves bumping into their friends - The Dare,

Frost Children, Chanel Beads - on festival lineups, along with veterans of both

scene and city like LCD Soundsystem. The power of the New York wave leaves

the band awestruck to this day. “There was no [conversation of] ‘let’s make it to

Europe’,” Jackson says. “That’s why it’s so beautiful.”

i

t wasn’t all fun and games, though. ‘Baggy$$’ received such spectacular

hype that it left Fcukers dreading their looming debut album. “I was absolutely

going through it at the time - I was feeling the pressure,” Jackson recalls. The

success of the EP was so big, he tells us, that it felt like a full-length record - which

presented the risk of ‘Ö’ turning into a sophomore slump. They agonised over

tracks that weren’t working, and, after a while, went back to their label and told

them they might not be getting any music in 2025. Then, they met Kenneth Blume.

Previously known as Kenny Beats, the producer has recently experienced an

unexpected renaissance, thanks in part to his work with fellow New York upstarts

Geese on their runaway success ‘Getting Killed’. Before that, he was more known

for his hip-hop work, boasting collaborations with Vince Staples, Rico Nasty and

Denzel Curry. So when Blume suggested they hang out in the studio, Fcukers had

no idea what to expect. They accepted, assuming they’d ditch the session anyway

to attend their label signing party, never to see him again.

“I thought: ‘This is weird, we’ve never worked with big producers’,” Jackson says.

“But I remember sitting down at his keyboard for the first time and thinking: ‘Fuck

it. You have nothing to lose. You just told your label they’re not getting anything

this year - go for it’.”

‘Ö’ is out 27th March via Ninja Tune. Read the full feature at diymag.com/

fcukers now. D

Jeton Bakalli

D 11

NEWS

MUNA

Dancing On The Wall

Ever felt like a situationship has you

talking to a brick wall? On new single

‘Dancing On The Wall’ (and title track

from their upcoming fourth record)

MUNA are talking to that wall, slamming

their head against it, and dancing along

the top - all to an irresistible synth-pop

backdrop that, understandably, has

earned its spot as the band’s favourite

song they’ve made together.

The four years since the release of

their excellent self-titled third album

have seen the band enter the world of

podcasting, tour the globe and put out

a live recording of their show at The

Greek Theatre in LA, while lead vocalist

Katie Gavin briefly stepped out of the

MUNA universe (Munaverse?) to release

her debut solo record. Now back as a

three-piece, on ‘Dancing On The Wall’,

they are reminding the world of what

they do best: propelling you out of your

feelings and straight to the middle of

the dancefloor. Caitlin Chatterton

A handy round-up of the biggest and best tracks from the last month.

Lana Del Rey

White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter

If you thought you had Lana Del Rey all figured

out, think again. On ‘White Feather Hawk Tail Deer

Hunter’, she tears up her own rulebook, trading hazy

Hollywood-noir for something spookier, gothic and

fairytale-esque. Co-written with husband Jeremy

Dufrene, brother-in-law Jason Pickens, and her sister

Caroline “Chuck” Grant - while produced by long

term collaborator Jack Antonoff – the track leans

into ghostly, gothic-country balladry. Cinematic

strings and creepy orchestrations swell throughout,

adding suspense against Lana’s sprechgesang

vocals. Meanwhile, surrealist lyrics like “Whoopsiedaisy,

yoohoo, yelling ‘I love you’” cut through the

drama, adding whimsy and unpredictability. ‘White

Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter’ follows ‘Bluebird’ and

‘Henry, Come on’ as the third preview of upcoming

album ‘Stove’, and here, Lana delivers a sound akin

to a beautiful nightmare – anxious, bewitching and

enthralling to the bitter end. Matthew McLister

Bleachers

you and forever

Starting off with distorted haze and a repeated

melodic line that forms an instant hook, Bleachers’

new track ‘you and forever’ builds for the first 20

seconds before vocalist Jack Antonoff steps in.

When he does, his powerful lyricism shifts the song

into something even more cinematic, turning it

into a sweeping piece of storytelling centred on a

consuming romance. As the echoes on

the backing track continue, stretching

and repeating the word “forever”, the

production creates a tangible sense

of yearning, feeling both nostalgic and

earnest, like a soundtrack to falling in

love. Though soft and tender at its core,

the track swells with explosive, almost

ephemeral energy, building steadily

to its euphoric close. It’s an uplifting,

emotionally charged track that leaves

nothing but hope for the outfit’s fifth

album ahead. Izabella Draczkowska

Genesis Owusu

STAMPEDE

Hypnotic, metallic synths kick off

‘STAMPEDE’, and when its drums and

blunt lyrics crash in, the riff that clangs

throughout the track hits like a wake-up

call. Lines like “snatch a crown from

a king, then I tell you where I spat”

and “find an oligarch, get him taxed”

leave no ambiguity about the song’s

message, as the Ghanaian-Australian

artist urges “the ones below” to fight

back, together. With his incendiary attitude igniting

the track’s infectious melody, Genesis cements this

rap-punk crossover, trading the metaphors and

electronic-heavy productions of his previous releases

for a more direct approach. This is a galvanising

call-to-arms that feels as if it’s burst out straight from

a public protest while also begging to be blasted at a

summer festival - ideally

one stacked with the

likes of Paris Texas,

Young Fathers,

and Gorillaz.

Gabriele

Naddeo

Foo Fighters

Your Favorite Toy

While the last album to come from Foo Fighters came

coloured by the reflective grief felt in the wake of the

passing of both drummer Taylor Hawkins, and Dave

Grohl’s mother, it’s with ‘Your Favorite Toy’ that the

slate feels to be somewhat wiped clean, the band

ready to begin again. While 2023’s ‘But Here We Are’

came packed with the kind of epic, towering riffs

that the group have become so renowned for over

the past 30 years, the title track of their forthcoming

twelfth album bears a hefty driving force at its heart,

encased amongst roughened edges. Clocking in at a

concise sub-3 minutes and drenched in scuzz, it’s as

close to punk as the Foos are likely come these days,

and it’s a guise that suits them

well. [Just a shame about

the typo in the title, eh! -

Ed] Sarah Jamieson

Dean Bradshaw, Isaac Brown, Alex Lockett, Elizabeth Miranda

12 D

NEWS

1. Puma Suede Classic Sneakers

Having first launched all the way back in 1968, these

iconic Puma sneakers have been a staple ever since, but

it’s this spring and summer that they’re really coming

into their own. Grab a pair and be at the forefront of the

fashion pack.

RRP: £100

BUY IT: uk.puma.com

2. Champion Woven Nylon Full Zip

Hooded Track Top

Longtime purveyors of streetwear, Champion are easily

one of the coolest brands around, and this loose fit track

top just backs that theory up; the fact it’s made from

lightweight but durable fabric also means it’s the perfect

transition piece as the weather starts to turn.

RRP: £75

BUY IT: championstore.com

3. Fred Perry Original Fred Perry Shirt

Let’s be honest; this polo shirt needs no introduction.

Worn by artists and music fans the world over since it was

first made in England back in 1952, Fred Perry’s classic

design comes in both male and female options, to ensure

that it’s the perfect fit every time.

RRP: £110 for men / £90 for women

BUY IT: fredperry.com

4. OBEY 6 Panel Strapback Cap

Caps are an absolute must to get you through the next

few weeks of unpredictable, drizzly weather so why not

invest in one from one of the most recognised streetwear

brands, which equally has a much-needed dose of colour?

Choose from 4 different shades.

RRP: £45

BUY IT: obeyclothing.co.uk

5. Farah Morween Lucky Lion Tee

British heritage brand Farah are having a bit of a moment

right now, and this music-nodding, psych-inspired Lucky

Lion tee makes for a classic (and, more importantly,

premium) addition to any wardrobe.

RRP: £40

BUY IT: farah.co.uk

1

4

3

5

2

Spring has sprung and it’s time to treat yourself. Here are some of

DIY’s latest must-haves...

6

9

8

10

7

6. Marshall Middleton II Portable Speaker

As summer inches ever closer, you’ll want to listen to your

playlists wherever you go, so investing in a durable, good

quality portable speaker is the way to go. This Marshall

Middle II model makes the experience even more special,

with 360° sound and over 30 hours of portable playtime.

RRP: £259.99

BUY IT: marshall.com

7. Wasted Paris World Sucks T-Shirt

Want to express your existential dread in a swift, succinct

way just via your outfit choice? French brand Wasted Paris

have very much got you covered, with this straight-to-thepoint

statement tee.

RRP: £35

BUY IT: wasted.fr

8. Goodhood Worldwide WTAF T-Shirt

East London’s own Goodhood have a knack for bold,

eye-catching designs and this slogan t-shirt is no different.

Asking the question that’s usually on all of our minds, this

t-shirt manages to be both minimal and striking all at the

same time.

RRP: £40

BUY IT: goodhoodstore.com

9. ACS Custom PRO Series Custom

Earplugs

Looking after your hearing health might not be glam, but

it sure is important, and that’s why ACS Custom have a

range of earplugs to help protect your hearing. Made of

soft silicone, choose from 7 different models depending

on your need; use code DIY15 for discount on all Custom

Fit Products.

RRP: £155

BUY IT: acscustom.com/uk

10. OBEY Blurred Soccer Jersey

Time is flying by and it won’t be long until this summer’s

World Cup has rolled around. Don’t know who to support?

Never fear, OBEY has you covered with their new

jersey; be a football lad that looks great but doesn’t feel

the pressure.

RRP: £95

BUY IT: obeyclothing.co.uk

D 13

HERE COMES THE SUN. (ETC ETC ETC)

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

It may be barely March, but we’re already eagerly looking ahead to festival season.

That’s right, The Great Escape has just expanded its 2026 lineup to include

scores of new additions, including sex-positive cultural icon Peaches.

The electroclash pop provocateur joins Irish group Kingfishr to be the second artist

confirmed for a special Spotlight Show at Brighton

Dome Concert Hall, where she’ll be playing on

Friday 15th May. Both Spotlight Shows are set

to be ticketed separately to the main festival,

with tickets on sale now via TGE's website.

Elsewhere on the bill, there’s a whole

host of genre-spanning new names to

explore, including Keo (who’ll be headlining

the beachside Billboard UK stage), London rockers VILLANELLE, gothic

auteur Heartworms, theatrical pop phenomenons Haute & Freddy,

Brighton locals - and DIY faves - Lime Garden, and many, many more.

DOWN ON THE SOUTH BANK

Harry Styles has been confirmed as the curator of this summer’s

Meltdown - an annual multi-media programme of events held at London’s

Southbank Centre, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2026.

Following in the footsteps of seminal past curators such as David

Bowie, Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Nile Rogers, and most recently

Little Simz, Harry will oversee the Centre’s artistic offerings

for the festival’s 11 day span, from 11th to 21st June.

His curatorship promises to draw on his vast array of influences - from his

pop roots to the more electronic leanings of his hugely anticipated fourth

album ‘KISS ALL THE TIME. DISCO, OCCASIONALLY.’ - and will include

a public programme of free and interactive events geared towards young

people, as well as a headline gig from the man himself. “My goal as the

curator is to share the music and art that I love, and to celebrate the rich

history of the venue,” Harry has said, discussing his

plans for the festival. Watch this space for more

details on the festival’s full bill and ticket info.

IN THE RIGHT

DIRECTION

More new names have been added to the lineup

for Deftones’ headlining turn at All Points East

(presented in partnership with Outbreak Fest

London), including ’00s New York legends

Interpol, ‘witch house’ pioneers Salem, and

Philadelphia rockers Mannequin Pussy.

Taking place on Sunday 23rd August in

East London’s Victoria Park, the day fest

is already shaping up to be a storming affair, with the likes of IDLES, Amyl and The Sniffers and

JPEGMAFIA stirring up a healthy dose of chaos before the bill-topping alt-metal icons take to the main stage.

In other APE-related news, a series of new additions have also been added to Lorde’s headline

show (taking place a day prior, on Saturday 22nd August) with former cover star Djo set to

appear, alongside other acts Sienna Spiro, Erin LeCount and Erika De Casier. Tickets for all of

2026’s All Points East shows are on sale now - head to diymag.com to find out more!

GREEN WITH ENVY

Welsh festival fave

Green Man has finally

shared its much-anticipated

2026 lineup, and it’s

been worth waiting for.

Wolf Alice will be topping

the bill for the first time,

alongside fellow headliners

Wilco, Four Tet and Mogwai.

Due to take place from 20th to 23rd August against the

stunning mountainous backdrop of Bannau Brycheiniog

National Park, the weekender will also feature performances

from DIY stalwarts like Dry Cleaning, Wednesday, Shame,

and Daniel Avery, as well as national heroes Cate Le

Bon, Panic Shack, and even Charlotte Church!

Tickets for Green Man 2026 are now fully sold out,

but anyone who missed the boat can try and nab

‘em via its official resale platform, Tixel. Iechyd da!

This year’s A Stone’s Throw (23rd

May 2026) has revealed details of its

first announcement, with the likes of

Luvcat, Working Men’s Club, Chalk

and Panic Shack all set to head up

North Shields this May.

The bill for Paris weekender

We Love Green (5th - 7th June 2026)

has gotten even bigger, with newlyconfirmed

acts including Role Model,

Etta Marcus, Luvcat, Erin LeCount

and more. They’ll join names such as

Gorillaz, Hayley Williams, Addison

Rae and The xx at the Bois de

Vincennes event this year.

LIDO 2026 (12th - 14th June 2026) just

keeps on getting bigger and better. The

festival have shared news of another

brilliant headliner for this summer’s

event: Bombay Bicycle Club! They’ll

play two sets on the Sunday event

alongside special guests including

Metronomy, Alice Phoebe Lou, Billie

Marten and Lucy Rose.

A host of new names have been added

to the lineup of Latitude (23rd - 26th

July 2026) including Jalen Ngonda,

Alessi Rose, Lime Garden, and

DEADLETTER. What’s more, Sir Lenny

Henry will also be appearing at the

Suffolk event, marking his first standup

performance in 17 years.

A second wave of acts have been

added to the bill for this year’s

Deer Shed (24th - 26th July 2026). The

likes of LIFE, Madra Salach, Man/

Woman/Chainsaw and Murkage

Dave are just some of the artists that

will join the previously-confirmed

headliners Sleaford Mods, Everything

Everything and Say She She at the

North Yorkshire event.

Lorde has been confirmed to headline

this year’s edition of FORWARDS (28th

August 2026) in what will mark her

first ever show in Bristol. Returning to

Clifton Downs this summer, the event

will also boast performances from Djo,

Audrey Hobert, Rose Gray, Esha

Tewari and Grove.

While Blood Orange was confirmed as

RALLY’s (29th August 2026) headliner

earlier this year, the event has now

added a whole host of other names

to the bill. The likes of Daniel Avery,

Smerz and YHWH Nailgun will also

appear at the Southwark Park event

this summer.

The Squirt Deluxe, Lloyd Wakefield, Emma Swann

14 D

FEATURING

AND

OUT NOW

NEU

New artists, new music.

“To feel seen is

such a crazy thing –

it’s very beautiful,

and very jarring.”

N

waterbaby

On debut album ‘Memory Be a Blade’, Stockholm’s waterbaby is

reckoning with contradiction and coming to terms with her past.

Words: Sophie Flint Vázquez

There’s something contradictory about

waterbaby. On our Zoom call, the

Stockholm-born singer-songwriter

speaks in careful, measured

sentences, each word chosen with

intent and deliberation. “I’m so scared

of being misunderstood,” she admits, almost as if

confronting the thought there and then. “To feel seen

is such a crazy thing - it’s very beautiful, and very

jarring. It’s literally life-affirming.” And yet, her debut

album, ‘Memory Be a Blade’, is deeply vulnerable;

a collection of thoughts built from improvised lyrics,

unguarded feelings, and fragments she didn’t fully

understand until she heard them played back to her.

The album follows her 2023 EP ‘Foam’, and while

that release had sharper edges, ‘Memory Be a

Blade’ is a softer, hazier blend of bedroom pop and

R&B, as if she’d taken the decision to view her art

through the same rose-tinted glasses with which

she views the past. Some of this shift in sound

comes down to geography. Written between LA and

her native Sweden, the transatlantic to-and-fro left

her feeling unmoored, a feeling that seeped into the

music. “Travelling makes me very dreamy and a bit

less grounded,” she says. That lack of grounding,

as it turns out, became one of the album’s

defining features.

‘Memory Be a Blade’ also began in pain. While it

came to life as a way for her to process the end of a

relationship, her songs took on a different meaning

when, midway through writing, a second breakup

followed. Rather than sitting down to confront her

feelings head-on, she found a different way in. She

began freestyling lyrics over looped melodies to

bypass self-censorship, breaking down the barriers

between herself and what she was saying. Initially,

this made for “a lot of gibberish”, as she’s quick

to note, but the final result was something much

more honest than deliberate writing ever could have

created. “I was like, ‘I don’t know what this is right

now, but it sounds true, and it sounds pretty’,” she

recalls. “I did not try to take it back.”

The truths that emerged in these sessions could

be difficult to reckon with, and often, it wasn’t

until months later, when something in her life had

shifted, that she was able to truly understand the

significance of what she’d said. In some cases, she

didn’t even realise she’d written a lyric until she

heard it played back. Take ‘Clay’, and the line “I’m

like clay how you mould me / I, I twist and bend”:

“I didn’t remember it, but it was listening back that

I heard it,” she says. For someone who describes

herself as “quite guarded emotionally”, the

experience of being so exposed was overwhelming

and cathartic in equal measure. “I also tried to not

evaluate so much as much as I observed,” she adds.

ts title captures this precisely. Memory, for

waterbaby, isn’t always soft or nostalgic, as

I the album’s sound might suggest. Instead, it’s

something with an edge, capable of cutting through

the defences she’d spent years building up. “I’m

very nostalgic and sentimental. I’m starting to think

this is just me as a person,” she shares. “I just have

to let it not be my crutch too much.” However, in this

case, it’s proven to be a tool that has allowed her to

confront her past at an angle, approaching difficult

truths sideways rather than head-on.

The instrumentation works in a similar way. Across

the album, her vocals are accompanied by flute,

cello, clarinet, trombone, and saxophone, among

others. Unlike the lyrics, the instruments don’t spell

anything out. Instead, they occupy the “middle

space between daydreaming and wishing and

planning and real life”, carrying the emotional

register where words fall short. waterbaby sang in

her school choir, and there’s something in ‘Memory

Be a Blade’ that feels like a return to that early

relationship with music, letting feeling - rather than

rationale - guide her sound.

The result is an album that sounds like a “house of

nostalgia”, each song a different room and holding

a different memory. Some of these rooms face

inwards, others out: “Looking back at someone

looking at me with [their] eyes was almost like a

dopamine hit,” she says. “It would almost calm me

down. Like a little kick.” It’s a habit that had followed

her since long before the album. Still, she’d never

put it into words, until, almost by accident, in the

writing of the title track, collaborator Marcus White

finally nailed what she’d been feeling: “My favourite

me / Is still the girl / I used to be / In your eyes.”

It’s a striking image from someone who spent

much of the record not quite knowing what she

was saying. But that, perhaps, is the point. For as

much as ‘Memory Be a Blade’ is an album about

understanding the past, perhaps more importantly,

it’s about letting it speak, and being willing to

listen. D

Levi Axenne

D 17

N

SLAG

Meet the Brighton quintet putting flamboyance and fun firmly

back on the menu.

Words: Sarah Jamieson

In a world where we constantly seem to be banging on about the rise of

AI and a lack of real human connection, it’s really rather comforting to be

reminded that the magic of finding your people just by chance actually can

- and does still happen. Take the origin SLAG as a prime example; a group

of five uni students who first met in a smoking area of Brighton’s Concorde

2 venue during Freshers week.

“I sort of came to Brighton on a mission to create SLAG,” nods vocalist Amelie

Gibson, as she digs into their earliest meeting back in September 2023. “I came

with the goal of finding the rest of the band. Me and Seb met,” she nods to her

bandmate, keyboardist Seb Cooper, in his alternative Zoom window, “because

we lived near each other, and we attended some Freshers events together,

looking for the rest of the band; we found them on that first day.”

After an unexpected match of rock, paper, scissors helped decide their guitarist

Dan Phillips’ place in the band, the rest was - as they say themselves - history,

with their lineup completed by drummer Luke Martin and bassist Freya Eastcote.

“It’s just so funny that the formation of our band was very much this ‘stars

aligning’ moment,” notes Seb. “Everything kind of fell into place.”

F

rom then on, the quintet hit the ground running, rehearsing and playing

together regularly before beginning to gig locally. “We were all coming

at this from completely different backgrounds, musically, and with

completely different influences,” Amelie explains. “It feels a bit like the Power

Rangers when we’re writing, where we’re all sort of like, ‘Hands in!’,” she laughs,

referencing the iconic power move: “everyone’s bringing their different thing, but

I think it creates something quite unique.”

That’s something evident from the eclectic nature of their discography so far.

Having tested the waters with three previous singles (2024’s ‘Ripped’, followed

by last year’s ‘Heaven’ and ‘Legs’), they’re now heading towards the release of

their debut EP, ‘Losing’ (out this month, via Big Scary Monsters), a heady, fivetrack

opening statement that ushers listeners into the technicolour world of the

band - a world that doesn’t just start and end with the songs themselves.

“We all love dressing up, it’s so much fun,” enthuses Amelie, with regards to

the visual personality of their band. From the kitsch prom night that acts as

backdrop to the video of their EP’s title track, through to the painstaking spraypaint

production line they set up for their vinyl sleeves (“I did feel like I was back

in school doing arts and crafts,” the vocalist grins), via the creation of their very

own magazine, if there’s one thing that really defines SLAG’s output so far it’s a

sense of creativity and fun.

“It’s not just the music at this point,” Seb offers, “there’s so many parts to this

that are just as enjoyable.” “I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with fun,”

Amelie rounds off. “That’s what guides us quite a lot. A lot of our decisionmaking

is fueled by what we think would be the most fun.” Arguably, as it should

be. “We just get to hang out with our best mates and do fun stuff all the time,”

Amelie laughs, “and that’s great!” D

“A lot of our decision-making is

fuelled by what we think would be the

most fun.

- Amelie Gibson

Elwood Rainey

18 D

MAR

Jana Horn

The Ivy House

Thursday 5 March

Amanda Bergman

The Lexington

Tuesday 10 March SOLD OUT

Svaneborg Kardyb

Jazz Cafe

Thursday 12 March

Seamus Fogarty

MOTH Club

Friday 13 March

Jens Lekman

EartH Theatre

Saturday 14 March SOLD OUT

Sunday 15 March

Buck Meek

EartH Theatre

Friday 20 March

elsas

The Waiting Room

Wednesday 25 March

Joanne Robertson

St Martin-in-the-Fields

Friday 27 March SOLD OUT

Bremer/McCoy

EartH Theatre

Sunday 29 March

APR

Avalon Emerson &

the Charm

Islington Assembly Hall

Thursday 2 April

By Storm

ICA

Friday 3 April

Eiko Ishibashi &

Jim O’Rourke

Union Chapel

Monday 13 April

Ellie O’Neill

The Horse Hospital

Thursday 16 April

The Ivy House

Friday 17 April

Nadia Reid

live with strings

St Matthias Church

Friday 24 April

Big Thief

O2 Academy Brixton

Thursday 23 April SOLD OUT

Friday 24 April SOLD OUT

Saturday 25 April SOLD OUT

Sunday 26 April SOLD OUT

Silvana Estrada

Union Chapel

Tuesday 28 April

Wednesday 29 April SOLD OUT

MAY

Spencer Cullum

MOTH Club

Friday 1 May

My New Band

Believe

EartH Theatre

Saturday 2 May

Joep Beving

Soho Theatre Walthamstow

Friday 8 May

Anatole Muster

Oslo

Saturday 9 May

Great Lake

Swimmers

100 Club

Sunday 10 May

infinite bisous

MOTH Club

Saturday 16 May

Dobrawa Czocher

St Pancras Old Church

Monday 18 May

Kitty Craft

Bush Hall

Wednesday 27 May

Aldous Harding

Barbican

Friday 29 May SOLD OUT

Saturday 30 May SOLD OUT

Sunday 31 May

JUN

Sunset Rollercoaster

Troxy

Tuesday 9 June

Poppy Ackroyd

Grand Junction

Wednesday 10 June

Mac DeMarco

O2 Academy Brixton

Wednesday 10 June

Thursday 11 June SOLD OUT

Friday 12 June SOLD OUT

Ganavya

Union Chapel

Friday 12 June

Skullcrusher

EartH Theatre

Tuesday 16 June

Allah-Las

MOTH Club

Sunday 21 June SOLD OUT

Monday 22 June

Tuesday 23 June

femtanyl

EartH Hall, London

Thursday 25 June

Gorilla, Manchester

Friday 26 June

AUG

RALLY Festival

ft. Blood Orange, Smerz,

Daniel Avery (live) & more

Southwark Park, London

Saturday 29 August

SEP

Hudson Freeman

St Matthias Church

Wednesday 9 September

GHOSTWOMAN

ICA

Thursday 10 September

OCT

Ólafur Arnalds

Eventim Apollo

Tuesday 6 October

Wednesday 7 October

Ulrika Spacek

The Dome

Friday 9 October

Alice Costelloe

The Lexington

Thursday 15 October

NOV

Life Without

Buildings

KOKO

Thursday 19 November SOLD OUT

Friday 20 November SOLD OUT

London & beyond

birdonthewire.net

N

N Recommended

Your pocket guide to the new names who’ve been catching our eyes (and ears) of late.

Madra Salach

Old-time Irish culture brought into a shining new age.

Born from the streets of Dublin City, this lot seamlessly embody the very best of traditional Irish folk while

also giving it a fresh post-punk tinge. Vocalist Paul Banks’ vivid imagery shines

a light on the modern struggles of growing up in the capital, via themes of

financial precarity and the complicated, long-standing

dilemma between emigration and finding work at home.

Their beautifully self-produced recent EP is a confident

opening chapter, capturing a young band balancing

tradition with a contemporary edge, full of the potential to

stand the test of time.

LISTEN: Try ‘Blue & Gold’ or ‘Murphy Can Never Go

Home’, for a taste of what the sextet are all about.

SIMILAR TO: Traditional Irish folk balladry, as

well as contemporaries like John Francis Flynn.

Harvey Thibault

Girl Group

High energy pop turning pejoratives into empowerment.

Existing as a woman is a simultaneously difficult yet incredibly joyful experience, and

Girl Group - a project born out of enduring frustration towards music industry sexism

- capture both its highs and lows with astute sass - and zero sugar-coating. From

taboos around sexual expression and the lack of research around female healthcare,

to the messy antics of a girl’s night out, their takes on the trials and tribulations of

womanhood strike the perfect balance between tongue-in-cheek and bang on

the money.

LISTEN: ‘Rage Song’ perfectly captures the essence of Girl Group’s

growing discography.

SIMILAR TO: Self Esteem’s cheeky little sisters. Minty Slater-Mearns

Debbie

Celestial slow jams that charm the

charts and soothe the mind.

Life is anything but a straight line. Just ask Debbie; within a couple of

years, this South Londoner signed with 0207 Def Jam as a teenager,

teamed up with Stormzy, and opened for artists like John Legend

and RAYE - only to part ways with her label before releasing a fulllength

album. Their loss is our gain, as her uplifting vocals still have the

power to resonate. If heartfelt neo-soul is your church, there’s every reason to

keep having faith in Debbie.

LISTEN: ‘The Rain Isn’t Over’ is the ultimate playlist segue between Cleo

Sol and Adele.

SIMILAR TO: A carpool karaoke with Elmiene. Gabriele Naddeo

Ledbyher

An underground rap wunderkind primed for her breakthrough.

She may only be 22, but Scottish-Indonesian multi-hyphenate Rachel Diack - or ‘rachy’, to

those in the know - has spent the last few years tearing up the UK underground. Existing

in the street-lit liminal space between alternative R&B, rap, and what she terms “lady trap”,

recent mixtape ‘The Elephant’ - her third, and first with a major label - is a metamorphic

project that’s at once spacious and gritty, self-assured and vulnerable. Between a packed

Boiler Room set, a burgeoning fashion profile (she’s already walked in LFW) and cosigns

from members of cult collective NINE8, hers is the name on all the cool kid’s lips.

LISTEN: ‘BACKWARDS,INTO U’ is the perfect soundtrack to a bleary night bus home.

SIMILAR TO: The effortless swagger of early M.I.A. Daisy Carter

Dutch Interior

SoCal six-piece providing sonic warmth in chilly times.

As their standout project ‘Moneyball’ turns one year old, this LA sextet are

gearing up to release new EP ‘It’s Glass’. And with it, it seems the long-time

friends are finding their colour: where their earlier work leaned towards lo-fi

slowcore, they’re now embracing a brand of slacker rock that comes infused

with subtle country tones. This evolution is best captured by ‘Ground Scores’ - a song about, as the band put

it, “how silly it is to be in love like this when the world is falling apart.”

LISTEN: ‘It’s Glass’ is out now.

SIMILAR TO: The simple joy of an open-roof roadtrip, or a clear night sky. Lorène Bienvenu

If Bayonet was a movie, what would its

strapline be?

Katie Garcia: “Dreaming and scheming” -

Sam Weisenthal (our head of marketing).

Your roster spans a real range of genres,

from the experimental pop of yeule to the

jazz-rock of Mei Semones. What makes

an artist the right fit for Bayonet?

It’s cool that you can see the range of styles

on the label, haha - that’s something we

strive for. As far as artists go, we look for

someone who challenges the norms of genre

and style; an artist who has a vision and

unique perspective. That singular sound is

what drew us into the worlds of Scarlet Rae

and Grumpy, our two newer signings.

We live in a hugely digital world, and

yet the past few years have suggested

an encouraging resurgence in physical

media. Does this tally with your

experience as a label? Why do you reckon

this is?

I think as our cultural lives become

increasingly more digital, people are looking

for things that aren’t ephemeral and that

create community. I think it’s the same

reason things like Pokemon trading cards

have had such a resurgence: ultimately,

people crave connection.

Why did Brooklyn need a label like

Bayonet? Tell us a bit more about why you

decided to set it up.

Dustin and I wanted to start a label that had a

diverse, eclectic sound. We want to support

artists who are innovating new sounds and

forging their own paths. I feel like we’ve been

able to do that over the last ten(?!) years, and

I’m very proud of the artists we’ve been able

to support.

What are some of your highlights or most

memorable moments since founding

Bayonet?

I think putting out Frankie Cosmos’ ‘Next

Thing’ was a big turning point for the label

overall. Greta was one of the first artists I

approached when starting the label because

I loved the project so much. Another funny

Bayonet moment was when Post Malone

helped make a promo video for the label to

show at our distributor’s conference - I’m

glad he was game to help us out, haha.

What’s one piece of label running advice

you’d give your younger self?

Trust your instincts! When I was younger, I

feel like I pivoted in the industry in ways that

I would never pivot now. Seek out mentors

who mirror your values; it’s so easy to get

cynical and lose sight of why you actually

work in music. I think everyone who works

at Bayonet, including myself, is truly a huge

music fan. Our love for what we do is genuine

and that’s something you can’t fake or buy.

Musically or otherwise, what are you most

excited about for 2026?

US midterm elections,

so we can take away

power from our evil

fascist government. :)

Robbie Stickland, NWSPK, Alex D’Cruze, Kyle Berger, Ebru Yildiz

20 D

N

The Buzz Feed

All the buzziest new music happenings in one place.

Feeling Casual

Pop wunderkind flowerovlove is back with

her latest track ‘Casual Lady’, a playful,

buoyant number that finds her lamenting

her lost independence once she realises

- shock, horror! - that she’s accidentally

fallen for a boy.

Introduced by a tongue-in-cheek voice

note courtesy of her friend and influencer

Madeline Argy, ‘Casual Lady’ picks up

right where that viral Vogue article left off:

“I don’t care what anyone says, having

feelings for a man is embarrassing!”

says Argy. “God gave me the power

to love women, and I genuinely just

caught myself finding dandruff on this

guy’s t-shirt collar sexy.”

It’s flowerovlove’s first music

of the new year, and follows in

the wake of a string of singles

released throughout 2025, including

‘I’ve seen ur ex’, ‘new friends’, and her first ever

Christmas song, ‘wishlist’. Check it out over on

diymag.com now.

Hello 2026

The final night of our annual gig series is an exhibition of

innovation, inventiveness and sheer quality.

Photos: Dan Landsburgh

Night 4

The end is nigh, and with January

in its death throes, we say a solemn

farewell to DIY’s Hello series for

another year. Might as well make it a

proper send off, right?

And thus we shall: first up tonight,

Darlington’s pollyfromthedirt

ascends to the stage, their face

encased in what can only be

described as a half-cat, half-Venetian

mask. Beneath that mask, though,

is a master of their craft. Atop a

technicolour canvas of ornate, Beach

Boys-esque melodies and stiff bass

weaponry, pollyfromthedirt sounds

like if Panda Bear was from the

North East, and had been given a

production masterclass in UK bass

by James Blake. Quickly following

on is one of the more hyped acts of

the evening, Pearl2 - an outfit who,

live, are akin to transmutation in sonic

form. Metallic grooves and clangy

samples encompass contorted

trip-hop beats, while dubby bass

guitar sits firmly in your sternum -

tighter and more engulfing than any

live bass has ever sounded. Lola

Stephen’s spectral vocal is ghostly

and whispered, dancing over beats

that morph from the churning roll

of Massive Attack to the space of

Air, via the minimal techno of Kelly

Lee Owens.

After coming down from such a high,

the only course of action is to go back

skywards with Lover’s Skit. Early

technical wobbles breathe a slight

awkwardness into the set, but this

Get Your Hopes Up

Less than a year on from their welloversubscribed

performance at The Great

Escape, enigmatic dance-pop duo The Itch

have shared plans to release their first full-length

on 10th April.

Due for release via a special collaboration

between Fiction Records and I OH YOU, the

band’s debut album, ‘It’s The Hope That Kills You’,

will be eleven tracks in length and is set to feature

previous releases, 2024 single ‘Ursula’ and last

year’s ‘Space In The Cab’. What’s more, alongside

news of their forthcoming album, they’ve shared

another new cut, in the form of the Subway Takessampling

‘Aux Romanticiser’, which definitively

declares, “We’re done with DJs”.

As well as the record’s release, the band - made

up of Georgia Hardy and Simon Tyrie - have also

confirmed details of a series of headline shows,

set to take place throughout May. Alongside

appearances at The Great Escape and Dot To

Dot festivals, they’ll perform at Leeds’ Headrow

House on 8th May, before playing in Glasgow,

London, Manchester, Amsterdam and Paris

before the month is out. Head to diymag.com to

find out more.

is child’s play for the Stockholm trio,

who barrel into a day-glo assault of

electro-clash and bloghouse inflected

tones. By the end of their brisk and

bolshy set, the crowd are staunchly

on side. To close, the OBL is treated

to some of the finest songwriters in

the country: Silver Gore. Once the

duo launch into their set, the room

is wholly rapt. In combining timeless

pop writing with warped avant-garde

sonics, the duo present what can

only be described as meta-modern

sounds in an indie-pop wrapper. As

vocalist Ava Gore launches into the

anthemic ‘All the Good Men’, she

scans the room and reassures us:

“it’s okay to have a good time.” We

couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

A. L. Noonan

LOVER’S SKIT

SILVER GORE

THE NEU

PLAYLIST

Fancy discovering your new favourite

artist? Dive into the cream of the new

music crop below.

Blossom Caldarone

Wreck

Blossom Caldarone is one of

those artists who just has a

knack for taking a deeply

personal situation and

making it relatable to anyone

and everyone. Latest single

‘Wreck’ finds Caldarone at what feels to be

her most vulnerable; there’s a quiet anger to

her vocal, and a cinematic quality to the

strings of the sweeping instrumental. The

track sucks you in enough that you really feel

the power of her candid lyrics, too, as she

reflects on a situation in which the cards

dealt to her were clearly the makings of a

losing hand. Minty Slater-Mearns

Dutch Interior

Grounded Scores

We’re still in a boom period

for country-inflected indie,

and Dutch Interior remain

one of the most interesting

bands operating within this

wave. As such, ‘Ground

Scores’ foregrounds a romantic vocal

melody, backed by a dusty instrumental

which shifts gently, like changes in a

landscape through a car window. The band

are unafraid to lean into their country

influences - this track features wistful pedal

steel and the unmistakable ‘boing’ of a jaw

harp - but they’re equally willing to innovate: a

flamenco guitar periodically surfaces, and

the track is underlaid by a dreamy keyboard

bed, hardly noticeable until the very end of

the song. David Addison

Nxdia

Cool

Ironically - or perhaps

not - it’s hard to imagine how

this track could be any

cooler. All the ingredients

are here: the throbby,

earworm-ready bass line;

carefree beats; fly-by guitars; and of course

Nxdia’s mellow but upfront vocals. The DIY

Class of 2026 star may have dialled back the

riotous energy for this one, but their bold

aesthetic and self-awareness are still just as

strong. ‘Cool’ is a laidback, lightly acerbic

track which skirts and pushes alt-pop

boundaries. Phil Taylor

Blood Wizard

Lick The Big Star

On ‘Lick The Big Star’, Blood

Wizard lean into a heavier,

more emotive palette, a bold

step towards the heart of

upcoming EP. Guitars swell

and crunch beneath Cai

Burns’ searching vocal, capturing the rush of

chasing fantasy without pausing to count the

cost. Written collaboratively across South

London, the track

carries a restless,

homespun energy,

its layered

samples and

shifting textures

marking a clear

evolution from

‘Grinning William’.

Gemma Cockrell

Emily White

22 D

N

Jonique

After setting out her stall as a brilliant newcomer via scuzzy duo Fräulein, Joni Samuels is

returning with a new, more introspective solo project.

Words: Rhys Buchanan

It’s never easy stepping away from a

project, especially one that carries the raw

momentum and excitement that London

two-piece Fräulein did. Yet, even as the

brooding and grungy duo were riding high,

Joni Samuels felt a nagging feeling that she

still hadn’t found her true voice.

“As I was growing up and time was passing,

it just made more sense for me to end that

project,” she explains. Formed in 2018 and

inspired by scuzzy guitar-led giants like PJ

Harvey and Nirvana, she says it was the

urge to explore an altogether different sonic

palette that was central in the decision to start

something fresh.

“With Fräulein, I was so young and fresh but

I started that band two years after I started

playing guitar and writing music for the first time

which led to this immediate two-piece intense

rock thing. As I was getting better, I got really

into influences like Joni Mitchell and Big Thief

with this rhythmic finger-picking style and that

came with more considered lyricism.”

The sonic shift has naturally led to her most

introspective and personal work so far, via her

new project, Jonique. “I’m trying to be less

afraid and more open. I’m talking about things

that are really important to me like family and

growing up. I’m trying to put the pieces of

myself together and I see each song as another

piece of the puzzle.”

R

ather than releasing new music into the

world straight away, Joni has instead

been taking her time and playing shows

across the capital at institutions like Moth Club

and The Windmill. “I’m really excited for people

to hear the music but the live thing has just been

about giving people a taste of what I’ve been

working on over the last few years,” she says.

“Weirdly enough even when I wasn’t performing

or telling people I had all of this new music, I

felt way more like an artist and a musician than

I ever had done before. I was just so invested

in the world of it. I’m still working on more

‘produced’ demos and I’m not quite sure what

they’re going to be yet but I think they’re so

strong and I really believe in them.”

Those early live shows have also been

something of a real-time feedback loop. “The

songs are still changing every time I play them

so it feels special to share that with people and

evolve them.” She says she’s noticed a change

in the way this new work has been received

as well. “I think people are relating a bit more.

I played a show at The Windmill at the start of

the year and it was a full room but it was just so

quiet. It was just so nice that people were really

listening to it and paying attention. The vibe has

totally changed but I’m really into it.”

Moving forward, it’s about growing out this

new world on stages rather than rushing out

any material. “I’m just going to really take my

time because I want to do the songs justice,”

she explains. “I’m thinking about putting out

some demos or something more stripped back.

I haven’t decided yet but it’s about playing

shows and sharing stuff with people. I’m just

really excited for listeners to sink their teeth into

it.” D

“I’m trying to put the pieces of

myself together and I see each song as

another piece of the puzzle.”

- Joni Samuels

Charlie Barclay Harris

D 23

rlo Parks is gazing outside her LA apartment window, admiring

the bleak Thursday morning grey clouds, telling us how it reminds

her of London. In some ways, it’s hard to believe that the former

Hackney regular has relocated abroad, swapping dining at Elliot’s

for underground New York clubs. Now, she’s speaking from a suave

living room - a striking black-and-white painting gifted from a close

friend hangs behind her - that’s cosily filled with a closet’s worth

of books (notably, shelves of Yves Klein signature blue Fitzcarraldo

Editions). It’s been almost four years since Arlo made her move - in

some part due to a previous relationship - but today she seems

ebullient, even with a busy schedule of in-person promo pencilled

in. Or, as she charmingly puts it, she’s been away in “interview land”.

At 25, Arlo’s world of radical intimacy and hushed tones have

become her industry imprint. Her tender debut single ‘Cola’ quickly

picked up praise and amassed almost three million streams online.

By 2020, the West London-born singer’s lyrics on friendship,

yearning love and the emotional fallout of heartbreak positioned

her, rightly, as Britain’s must-know indie star. The fierce might of her

minimalist trip-hop and carefully calibrated tracks, enmeshed with

thoughtful, poetic lines, earned her global fans including Phoebe

Bridgers, Billie Eilish and Lorde. In the same year, she was hotly

appointed as BBC’s Introducing Artist of the Year. By 2021, Parks’

name was stratospheric.

When her coolly pleasant debut album ‘Collapsed In Sunbeams’

landed, Arlo won a slew of awards: the BRITs named her Best

New Artist, she scooped the Mercury Prize’s coveted Album of the

Year trophy, and was a tri-fold nominee at the MOBOs. In 2023,

she released her second album, ‘My Soft Machine’, which peaked

promisingly at #9 in the Official Albums Chart. Now, eager to share

her third album, ‘Ambiguous Desire’, she’s ready to step back into

the industry limelight.

It wasn’t so very long ago that Arlo took a self-advised break

from music, cancelling tour dates with a post on social media that

highlighted her need for time to rest and recuperate. Now, her

brain whirring, she’s already reflecting on what life will be like after

her new album, keenly awaiting fans and critics to join her new

sonic wavelength.

“I looked at the little Spotify countdown and there’s only a month

and a half [left]. I thought: ‘oh my goodness!’,” she laughs, lighting

up. “It feels exciting because, with this music, I feel like I put so

much of myself into it. When it comes out, I’m going to feel as

represented as I am now, sonically, which is really exciting to me.”

iding time between now and her release date, Arlo

has filled her quieter oments away from the public

eye, curiously soaking up Criterion Collection

movies, screen-stepping from Robert Altman’s

Three Women, to Sluizer’s The Vanishing and

David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, to art house

documentaries and Kim Gordon’s autobiography.

She creates time to feel out new types of

storytelling, revealing that she’s been watching a

lot of new wave Taiwanese films and digging into the history of New

York City’s famous Mudd Club.

“You can hear in the music what I was directly swimming in on a

life level, but also in terms of what creative food I was taking in,”

she says. Taking time out, Arlo realised she needed to explore her

freedom and indulge in things she had missed out on [in her early

twenties], even if that meant putting aside her beloved avant-garde

Maggie Nelson books. “I got to the end of the last album cycle and

D 27

thought: ‘okay, I need to carve out a space for spontaneity and to

just live some life’. I’ve been here in LA for almost four years now,

but I spent so many of those first few years touring, in motion, and I

didn’t get to grow deep roots.”

Intuitively following a feeling, Arlo discovered her great, sweaty

escape in New York City, seeking out connection via Paradise

Garage and David Mancuso’s iconic Loft, and finding euphoria in DJ

legend Larry Levan. “I was spending a lot more time in New York,

where there is so much culture around dance spaces, club spaces,

and community. These DIY hubs are where outsiders and people

who are trying to find their place in the world come together, and it’s

been that way since forever. I found myself kind of sucked into that

world,” she reflects.

‘Ambiguous Desire’ is an album as curated as its title, its skittering,

club-beat rhythm thrumming away as Arlo’s gentle vocal washes

through its 12 tracks. On lead single ‘2SIDED’, she breezily

confesses to waiting for the right moment all night, only making it

out for the romantic interest in question. Having grown up with her

mum listening to Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Prince, and Michael

Jackson, she draws on these influences - and their deep cuts -

with delight.

Her switch to a beating club-inspired album, then, has been an idea

long pinging away in the back of her mind. “I was brought up with

the feeling of music creating movement. I’ve [always] been really

connected to electronic music, whether it’s kind of the post-dubstep

Joy Orbison, early James Blake, Hessle Audio, Cody 9 or all the

Hyperdub stuff, or artists who have sprinkles of electronic elements,

like Underworld or Radiohead’s ‘King of Limbs’ remix album, where

it’s kind of blending both,” she says. “I always had a connection to

that music, and so it was almost stored up inside me. I didn’t know

when, but I knew it would come out in the work.”

Arlo’s notes are well studied and her music fine-tuned, with

glimmers of 2007 Radiohead (especially ‘In Rainbows’’ ‘Weird

Fishes’) and Portishead’s ‘Dummy’ on display. “Those are two of

my favourite records ever,” she says excitedly. “I’ve referenced them

every single time. Literally last night I was listening to Portishead

performing ‘Glory Box’ and ‘Cowboys’ live from Roseland Theatre -

it’s that minimalism combined with the power of their two voices and

how tasteful the drums are. Even before ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’,

‘In Rainbows’ and ‘Dummy’ have been my favourite records, so it

makes sense; I’m glad that you heard that in it. I love it, I love it, I

love it.”

he gentle authority of Arlo’s discography is

illuminating. Her songs coax you in, drawing you

into her crisp, well-measured soundscape.

‘Ambiguous Desire’ dials things up, with Arlo

utilising the help of a long-time friend, Kelly Lee

Owens. “Yes, my girl! I love that woman. It’s pure

friendship, honestly,” she beams. “We first met

when we were both about to get an easyJet flight

to Porto and we figured out we were playing at

the same three festivals in three different countries in a row, so it

was kind of like summer camp. We’ve just hung out every day since

then, and she’s a dear friend of mine.

“I love the way that she approaches her music. She’s so decisive

and knife-sharp and just creates things that are so from the heart,

which was inspiring to me in terms of approaching more electronic

elements and techno,” she raves. “We’ve spent a lot of time

together; she’s a spiritual, magical human being. She recommended

this book, Poetics of Space, which is really amazing. I’ve just always

felt so connected to Kelly.”

Of her lo-fi single ‘Heaven’, Arlo recalls a moment that transpired

while at Kelly’s show in LA, inspiring the song. “With ‘Heaven’, I

went to see her supporting Caribou at this venue that I love under

the 6th Street Viaduct bridge, purely because we were mates. I love

seeing her play. I love just seeing her in her element, so I wrote that

song about that night.”

28 D

D 29

30 D

With the neon green days of ‘brat’ now passed, we’re seeing artists

from all walks of life - from Arlo herself to Harry Styles - seeking to

celebrate the anonymity and community of a frenetic nightclub, Arlo

also praises FKA twigs’ latest album ‘EUSEXUA’, which earned the

Hackney artist her first-ever GRAMMY win.

The unravelling of ‘Ambiguous Desire’, at times, showcases Arlo

at her most vulnerable. It’s a record about nocturnal spaces and

levity, but Parks also pulls back her pristine, magazine-ready, redhaired

image to give a deeper look inside her mind. “I think it’s a

space that everyone can get something out of. It’s been amazing

to see so many people interpolating those experiences into [their

work], because you can really hear it in the music,” she says. “Even

thinking about Twigs’ record, Lorde’s [new] album, or Charli’s

album, where it is a bit more off the cuff in a thoughtful way - there’s

something there that I wanted to tap into too, where you’re just not

getting in the way of yourself. You’re just flowing.”

‘Ambiguous Desire’ is as devastating as it

is euphoric; over the course of the record,

Arlo sings of an unshakeable sadness, a

breakdown of communication in New

York, and her yearning for peace. As an

artist who’s often dizzyingly busy, she

delicately showcases the fragile alongside

elements of lust and

determined self-discovery.

“I often have these moments where I’m trying to figure out where

I belong or where I kind of get in my head. I feel like we all have

moments where we’re dancing and, suddenly, your real life or the

world around you kind of flicks, and you start to reflect on the world

outside that room,” she explains. “You think about whether you’re

moving through grief or confusion. It’s also just coming of age. I

think I’m at the age where I’m coming into myself and understanding

my place in the world. [‘South Seconds’] was a bit more personal,

but it’s also broadly existential.”

Her art, then, is valiant and exposing. “I don’t think, for me at least,

there would be much point in creating music that felt like it was

almost shielding the truth,” she says. So, to craft a kinetic album,

Arlo creates a fizzing multi-track getaway, one she says feels as rare

and vibrant as a queer club room. “I started making music quite

young. I never really went to university or had a moment where I

could just be free and dance and move with a sense of abandon

and anonymity,” she says. “I came to that a little bit later, and I do

feel like there is something personally that drew me into that space

where you lose yourself and find yourself at the same time. I think

it’s something really unifying as well.”

As Arlo mulls over what she wants for the album, she settles on

the idea of growth - one that taps into listeners’ cores, much like a

vivid A24 film. “I want it to be something that people can journey

with. I feel like there is a coming-of-age energy to the record, and

I hope that people who are moving through transitions feel like it

accompanies that journey,” she says.

There is a timelessness to ‘Ambiguous Desire’, as well as a mental

cinematic visual that runs alongside it, like a glimmering lyric

booklet. So, for fans that are ready for the full-experience, here are

Parks’ favourite four films that, to her, creatively feel like ‘Ambiguous

Desire’: “The first one would be Rebels Of The Neon God by Tsai

Ming-liang, which I think really captures the kind of painterly visual

poetry elements to the songs,” she muses. “Second would be The

Moon Is The Oldest TV, which is a documentary about Nam June

Paik, who was the pioneer of video art. It’s about performance art

and New York - it’s that kind of alchemy that’s really interesting to

me,” she shares.

“Then, there’s this documentary called Maestro, which is all about

Paradise Garage and has interviews with Larry Levan and Todd

Terry. It also has little mini interviews of people who were going

to the club and spilling out onto the street at 4am - they’re talking

about their favourite moments of the night, and you know that

some of them were queer, and had possibly been disowned by

their family, and had found [chosen] family there. It’s a really raw,

naturalistic kind of filming that feels really true to the idea of the

record. The last one is a film called Orpheus by Jean Cocteau. I’ve

watched it so many times.”

As the Criterion closet of her mind closes, she reflects on her final

note: “I want [‘Ambiguous Desire’] to be something people live

with. My favourite records are ones that I live with - ones I can pull

out and that remind me of a moment in my life, but that I can also

always find new little nuggets to enjoy.”

‘Ambiguous Desire’ is out 3rd April via Transgressive. D

D 31

“I had to learn that commodifying my art was only going to mak e it worse. If I want to

make good art, I have to just do it for me.”

The Whole

Hands

World

Fresh from a hectic 18 months in the wake of their debut’s release,

Divorce’s Felix Mackenzie-Barrow is already back under his new Book

Of Churches moniker, with a new album that connects with simplicity,

nature, and the need to keep his feet on the ground.

Words: Rishi Shah

- like a bend in the road,”

spells out Felix Mackenzie-Barrow,

as he speaks to DIY with the crisp

winter sun of Bend, Oregon behind

him. Half the world away from his

“B-E-N-D

Nottingham home, Felix - also

co-vocalist in Divorce, and about to release a debut

album solo, as Book Of Churches - is midway through

an extended North American trip, one which has already

included sessions on the band’s follow-up to last year’s

debut ‘Drive To Goldenhammer’, and left him with enough

time to catch the spring migration of birds when he heads

to Vancouver within the week.

“Today I’m going to drive down to a wildlife refuge, read

a bit of the history and get my head around the place,”

he explains. “Whenever we’re on a big road, me and

Adam [Peter-Smith, guitarist] look at each other if we see

a cool bird, which is a nice reminder that there’s a world

outside playing shows. You can’t really feel like your job

and music is that important when you’re looking at a wild

animal, fully in the place that they’re in.”

Despite describing himself as an “amateur” bird-watcher,

Felix knows his herons from his storks. Second Book Of

Churches single, ‘The Quiet Was A Heron’, immortalises

the moment he spotted one flying over the noisy chaos of

a music festival, finding comfort in the idea that there was

someone else also “feeling a little overwhelmed”. In this

digital age that can often feel shielded from nature, Felix

feels uneasy if he’s not grounded within an ecosystem,

always searching for those therapeutic pockets of

wilderness that help him get by.

“The human world that we’ve built, a lot of the drive

behind it is to insulate ourselves from the wild,” he

ponders. “I try and resist the temptation to insulate

myself as much as I can. The other thing is that it takes

money to be in a place where you can find those pockets

of nature. It involves travelling, having equipment or a car,

and it’s not possible for everyone. I would never want to

seem preachy, but it feels like I should be grateful for the

opportunities that I have to do that.”

It was from similar pockets of downtime that Book Of

Churches came into existence. As Divorce’s existence

became ever busier, Felix’s natural instinct to write

music helped ground him in a similar way to going for

a walk or birdspotting, facilitated by the folky simplicity

of a guitar, microphone and GarageBand. “I could

reach a state where I was able to [create], lose track of

time and shut the world out,” he explains. “It was an

exercise in grounding myself, doing what I can and not

overcomplicating it.”

With no plan to release these tracks - or if he’d even

have permission from the band’s label - it was the top

and tail of the process that helped Felix realise an album

was afoot. Opener ‘Song By A Stranger’ “felt like a good

blueprint for how I was going to do the rest of the record,”

he explains, ditching his sunglasses as he sits behind

the wheel of his hired car. “Things slotted into place: I

discovered where I was going to place the two mics, I

could hear the sound in the room.” After wrestling with

fragile closer ‘Stones In Your Bag’ for hours, he realised

the sense of finality in lyrics like, “Just me and you / In a

hotel at the end of the world”.

Reluctant to let too many voices into the process, Felix

worked with trusted faces, including mixing engineer

Richie Kennedy and his partner, Klara Szafrańska, who

sculpted the heron bones on the LP artwork. “It all felt

pretty homemade,” he notes. Self-titling the album as

‘Book Of Churches’, he suggested that the moniker gave

him the “freedom” that releasing under his “long and

relatively convoluted” birth name would have lacked.

“I had the title knocking around in my head for a few

years,” he offers. “The church reference, that’s partly

about reclaiming my idea of what churches [mean]. I’m

not a religious person, but I do feel spiritual in some

ways, and that probably has roots in some of the things

that I grew up with. But also I have a real frustration and

an anger towards the church, in terms of the way that

faith is used to control people and [used] for bad. It was

about reclaiming that, in some ways.”

Carrying the wisp and depth of a Bon Iver

record, ‘Book Of Churches’ feels fundamentally

separate from the alt-country twang of Divorce,

but undoubtedly linked to the persona of

Felix Mackenzie-Barrow. Admitting there is a grey area

between the two, he suggests that much of the writing

he does for Divorce bears co-vocalist and bassist Tiger

Cohen-Towell in mind. And although Book Of Churches

is purely for himself, its existence is intrinsically linked to

Divorce’s story so far.

“I had a solo project under my own name when I was 16,

but I was young, trying to figure out what I was doing, and

I really wanted to be a full -time musician,” he reflects. “I

could only really have written this record and attempted

the whole Book of Churches thing because Divorce

has given me a job, for now, and a sense of the music

industry and how I want to approach that as a solo artist.

“I didn’t come from a background where art was just

for art’s sake. My parents run a theatre company, and

they’ve made a living - not a big one - from doing plays

and from getting people to pay for tickets. My first

experiences of art were, ‘Okay, I need to make this a

business,’ but actually, I ended up making music that I’m

not really that proud of.

I had to learn that commodifying my art was only going

to make it worse. If I want to make good art, I have to just

do it for me.”

‘Book Of Churches’ is out now via Gravity Records /

Capitol. D

In His

Holly DeLooze

D 33

Play

Time

Both musical icon and purveyor of

originality, Kim Gordon’s newest solo album

‘PLAY ME’ sees her take aim at the state of

the world, all in a way that couldn’t be

anyone but her.

Words: Gemma Samways

34 D

flu. Advocate. Pregnant person.

Immigrants.” On the 2025 rework

of her Grammy-nominated single

‘Bye Bye’, Kim Gordon substitutes

her original lyrics for phrases the

“Bird

Trump administration is reportedly

seeking to ban. Full of jarring juxtapositions, references

to climate change butt up against language around

diversity, equity and inclusion, creating a surreal stream

of consciousness that’s darkly humorous - especially

when delivered deadpan, over blown-out beats originally

intended for Playboi Carti.

“I think [humour is] useful if you are gonna skirt around

political things,” the former Sonic Youth frontwoman smirks,

speaking from her home in LA today. “But also, my lyrics

are more like abstract poetry than anything else.”

As per her art, there’s an air of inscrutability to Gordon in

conversation. Economical with her words, the 72-yearold

seems totally at ease with silence, often letting her

answers hang in the air between us. She confessed as

much in her 2015 autobiography, Girl in a Band, explaining,

“from growing up listening to jazz, I picked up another,

cooler aspect of the female voice - the idea of space,

and in-between-ness.”

Coolness and originality are never qualities Kim has had

to worry much about. From her 30-year tenure in Sonic

Youth, to spells fronting alt-rock outfit Free Kitten and

experimental noise duo Body/Head, she’s always made

pushing the parameters of alternative music look effortless.

And yet, arguably, this late-period solo career is proving her

most fascinating chapter so far, finding her fusing noiserock

roots with influences from avant-rap.

“I’m just not so interested in ‘conventional music’,” she says

of her drive to break new ground. “I mean, other people do

that quite well, but it doesn’t really interest me. I don’t find

it compelling. And I do really see myself as a visual artist

who makes music, so I think I have a different attitude to

other musicians.”

Regardless, Kim has found a kindred spirit in longtime

producer Justin Raisen (Charli xcx, Yves

Tumor, Sky Ferreira). Across a 10-year working

relationship, Justin has collaborated on all three

of her solo albums so far, and the evolution of their sound

can be clearly traced. Building on the glowering footwork

on 2019’s ‘No Home Record’ and the abrasive blend of

industrial and trap beats that underpinned 2024’s ‘The

Collective’, her excellent new LP ‘PLAY ME’ marks a shift

again, nodding to Krautrock trailblazers Neu! as well as

more melodic hip hop.

Brevity was a watchword throughout. “Justin works a lot

with rap artists, and he’s always saying ‘Rap songs aren’t

longer than two minutes.’ [In hip hop] a lot of people don’t

think in terms of albums - it’s more song-oriented. And

once you’ve said what you need to say in a song, you

get out.”

This concision can also be read as a comment on

diminishing attention spans, particularly in the light of a

title track that explicitly critiques lean-back listening. On

it, Kim lists Spotify playlist titles over a breezy trip hop

instrumental, her detached drawl exposing the hollowness

of vapid mood music: “Rich Popular Girl, Villain Mode, Jazz

and Background, Chilling After Work...”

Kim describes the song as “more anti-Spotify than it is

anti-streaming,” singling out the Spotify Radio algorithm

as one of the platform’s worst offences. “It’s like, if you

like this band then you’ll like these bands,” she shudders.

“And then there’s the fact that [Spotify] make playlists for

brands so then you’ll find your music suddenly endorsing

Nike or something, and not getting paid for it. Which is

doubly problematic because you’re getting paid hardly

anything anyway.”

She’s not wild about the alternatives either: “None of

them are much better. And Apple take money from ICE

for advertising.” Beyond uninspiring music choices, she

worries how this passivity towards art bleeds into other

areas of public life. “You lose that muscle of seeking things

out,” she rues. “Technology has made everything more

convenient, but it also takes away a certain amount of

freedom and choice.”

“I’m just not so

interested in

‘conventional

m usic’.”

D 35

Big tech proves a prime target for satire throughout. On the

innuendo-heavy ‘Dirty Tech’, she considers the insidious

creep of AI, playing a brainwashed protagonist who flirts,

“Are you my white collar service worker?” over ticking

beats and the wipe-clean whoosh of synths. Elsewhere, the

glowering throb of ‘Subcon’ sees her baiting Elon Musk,

Jeff Bezos and the rest in the autotuned refrain, “You want

to go Mars / And then what?”

Indelibly influenced by the social context it was

created in, ‘PLAY ME’ is an album that audibly

bristles with tension. ‘No Hands’ stitches together

shards of guitar distortion with hyperactive

breakbeats, while ‘Black Out’ is built around a sinister

hip hop loop worthy of Clipping. Aforementioned single

‘ByeBye25’ provides the perfect conclusion, laying bare

the dystopian suppression tactics of an administration that

seeks to outlaw terms like “women” and “climate change”.

As Kim puts it, “the destruction is kind of overwhelming.

Just [Trump’s] complete unwillingness to admit climate

change is real, and him getting rid of all these safeguards...”

What responsibility does she feel as an artist to incite

positive change? “Music doesn’t have to do anything. To

me, music is really about freedom. When you listen to any

music, it really changes your brain. But one thing music can

do is build community and bring people together.”

In terms of what gives her hope, Kim is heartened to see

Trump’s approval ratings dropping. “Republicans are now

starting to speak out against him, and people see that he’s

not going to be here forever so they’re now trying to kind of

move towards a different stance that’s not MAGA, but going

back to conservatism. Ultimately, I think what people seem

to care about most is the economy and Trump’s not doing

anything for that, so.”

There’s much reason for personal optimism too - five

decades in, Kim is arguably in the best creative shape of

her life, with several exhibitions of her visual art in the works

as well as a music career that’s setting new precedents,

including her first ever Grammy nominations. As a defiantly

independent artist, just how validated did she feel receiving

nods in 2024 for ‘The Collective’?

“It felt nice to be recognised outside of my bubble of

experimental music or indie music or whatever. But the

Grammys is never anything I’ve aspired to. That side of the

industry is another world to me. It has nothing to do with

music - it’s more about show business.” Regardless, she

enjoyed attending the ceremony with her daughter, Coco.

Kim grins: “She described it as ‘an interesting experiment’.”

It was also an opportunity to stop and take stock -

something that an artist as forward-facing as Kim rarely

does. “I forget about looking back,” she laughs. “It feels

like a luxury or an indulgence, almost.” Happily, there have

been an increasing number of opportunities to do just

that, what with the recent 10th anniversary reissue of Girl

In A Band, and the Sundance premiere of Tamra Harris’

documentary The Best Summer - a backstage account of

1995’s Summersault Festival, featuring Sonic Youth, Bikini

Kill, Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, Pavement and Breeders

side-project The Amps.

Reflecting on that period, Kim can see clear artistic growth.

“I think I’m more confident now. Nowadays I could worry

about something, but I just have to do it, and not overthink

it.” But truthfully, she’d rather not dwell, and her focus turns

to the future and the impact she’d like ‘PLAY ME’ to have

on listeners: “Honestly, I hope they take a sense of joy away

from it. Like, ‘oh, this is something that I’ve been wanting

to hear…’”

‘PLAY ME’ is out on 13th March via Matador. D

Moni Haworth

“Music

doesn’t

have to do

anything. To

me, music

is really

about

freedom.”

36 D

I tried to be really

intentional about

what kind of writer

I wanted to be,

what I wanted to

say. ”

Returning with her first album in five years, Snail Mail is armed with a renewed selfawareness

as she tackles the small matter of life, death and what comes after.

Words: Caitlin Chatterton

here have been umpteen reasons to

feel the clutches of existential dread

as of late, be it a passing glance at the

news, the climate crisis, or the fact

that time feels like it’s moving

exponentially faster (we’re closer to

2050 than we are to the release of the

first Shrek film). Snail Mail has

definitely felt that dread: “I’m terrified

of getting old,” she sighs. “I’m terrified of ageing - I’m just

terrified of being alive!”

Lindsey Jordan joins our Zoom call from New York, where

she’s in the home run of a busy press week promoting third

album ‘Ricochet’. “It’s different now than last time I was doing

all this,” she says, of her schedule. “It’s more video heavy, in

an intense way. The camera is always there. I swear everything

used to [just] be print.”

The last time she was “doing all this” was in 2021, for her

second album ‘Valentine’. That (literally) heart-on-sleeve

account of love and heartbreak came wrapped up in a kitsch,

pastel-drenched aesthetic, and reasserted her reputation as

an indie rock heavyweight built by the runaway success of

2018 debut, ‘Lush’.

While those records were “outpourings of pain and agony

and teenage emotion”, this time around Lindsey opted to

lay off “the love stuff” as much as she could (“not entirely -

impossible to do entirely”). Instead, ‘Ricochet’ zooms out to

take existentialism as its central preoccupation. She cites

Charlie Kaufman’s 2008 film Synecdoche, New York as her

inspiration of sorts, in that watching it for the first time five

years ago activated a pretty debilitating stream of intrusive

thoughts about death and dying - understandable; it’s not

exactly an optimistic take on the human condition after all.

“I’d be out with a friend, and in my head be like, ‘damn, I don’t

want to have to mourn you; that’s gonna be so nasty’,” she

recalls. “It was quality-of-life destroying.”

The headspace Lindsey was writing from is evident from the

outset: “I know you’ll miss me when I’m gone,” she sings on

opener ‘Tractor Beam’, where sunny guitars disguise gloomier

lyrics. On the grungier ‘Hell’, she’s pleading with the “bouncer

in the sky” to let her into an imagined afterlife, while ‘Nowhere’

- which takes inspiration from Laura Gilpin’s 1977 poem The

Two-Headed Calf - yearns for escapism. But, despite her

confessed terror vis à vis being alive, the record reaches a

far more peaceful conclusion. “What if nothing matters?” she

frets on ‘My Maker’. By the penultimate title track, she seems

to have found an answer: “If nothing matters / We can do

whatever we want”.

“I think years of it really severely freaking me out has rounded

my brain about it a little bit,” she nods. “By the time I was

ready to turn everything into a lyric, I was definitely like, ‘okay,

this feels like a waste of my youth, the amount of time that I’ve

been worrying about this. When I’m old I’m gonna be really

mad at myself about this’.”

Although ‘Ricochet’ allowed her to process her

fears and reach a verdict far less depressing than

Kaufman’s, creating the album wasn’t necessarily a

cathartic experience. Where ‘Lush’ and ‘Valentine’

were the result of inward-looking self-expression,

allowing Lindsey to adopt a “this is me, deal with it” attitude,

the sheer scale of her subject matter this time around gave

her pause.

“I tried to be really intentional about what kind of writer I

wanted to be, what I wanted to say,” she says. “I was really

worried about talking about something that everybody has an

opinion on. I’m not a sage religious expert. I’m not a science

expert. I don’t have a particularly unique point of view here.”

That sought-after moment did emerge after writing the album,

though, via the filming of a Coldplay-inspired, one-take video

for ‘My Maker’ in which she rides in a hot air balloon. “I was

doing my research and I was like, ‘it’s kind of crazy nobody’s

done this; I gotta jump on this’,” she recalls, admitting that

this video idea was what drove her to pick the song to be a

single. “Now I know why people don’t do it: it’s really, really,

really hard.”

After a week of getting up at four in the morning to learn that

the slightest gust of wind had cancelled yet another attempted

flight, they finally got the shot, which culminates in Lindsey

gazing over a vast expanse of Arizona stretching out below

her. “There’s something really whimsical and freeing about

it,” she grins. “I thought it would be cool to be close to the

heavens, and feel the ‘I’m so small in this big universe’ feeling.”

While her social media mentions consist mostly of those

celebrating the ‘Snail Mail renaissance’, a somewhat more

surprising community has formed among those with a more

specific association: the artist they used to listen to in their

car while having a cry on their lunch break. “That’s really

funny,” Lindsey grins, recalling a similar comment made in a

recent meeting, where someone characterised her music as

‘something [people] liked in college’. “Hopefully those people

are feeling better. I totally get it; that’s what it’s for.”

D 39

not only finds Lindsey exploring new themes in

her songwriting, but, five years on from ‘Valentine’, she’s

also learned how she prefers to write: she worked on all the

songs for ‘Ricochet’ simultaneously, stitching instrumental

‘Ricochet’

sections together before figuring out any lyrics. It marked a

departure from her previous method of focusing on them each one by one

- something that often spiralled into “intensely staring at something for six

months and thinking, ‘I actually can’t even tell if it’s good or not anymore’.”

“It was so devastating, the way I was doing it before. I knew that there had

to be a better way,” she says. “I definitely feel like I’m learning how my brain

works better as I do this.”

Alongside a more sustainable method of writing, “yet another piece of the

puzzle” was leaving her old New York apartment behind. Although she

originally moved to the Big Apple to be near her friends, her relentless

touring schedule meant that it became more of an exercise in “throwing

rent money into the void” for a place she was very rarely in, and, when

Covid did land her back there for an extended period, she learned the city

was not for her. “I felt watched,” she remembers. “I was like, ‘people can

hear me’. I felt really insecure about making noise.”

She’s now based in North Carolina, where the space, quiet and lack of

distractions have proved far more favourable for her creative output.

“[‘Ricochet’] feels almost like my first record of knowing what to do,” she

says, reflecting on how the past few years shaped the project. “Every single

step of it is super by my design, and thinking, ‘I’m pretty sure if I just flip it

and do it this way it’s gonna be way more enjoyable’.”

It’s a common sentiment; each year bringing new, sometimes

groundbreaking wisdom, discounting everything the version of you from

twelve months ago had known to be true. It goes some way to alleviating

those fears about ageing, as did a “forever ago” conversation Lindsey

had with an older friend. “Your thirties are dope because you’ve got a lot

closer to learning how you’re supposed to live, and how to take care of your

body and self’,” she remembers them telling her. “That genuinely keeps me

going. I’m like, ‘okay, my thirties are about to be badass!’”

While this decade has naturally been a process of self-discovery - and

becoming less freaked out by the wider workings of the universe -

something that’s remained a constant in Lindsey’s career has been her

determination not to fall for the sheen of celebrity. She takes aim at the

fickleness of the industry and its social scene throughout ‘Ricochet’,

but most explicitly on its closing track ‘Reverie’. “Met a guy so far up his

own ass / I gotta laugh to keep from crying,” she laments, before later

concluding that “All my heroes are nothing more than socialites”.

“One thing my adulthood has taught me, that I didn’t really care about as

a teenager, is that I really can’t walk through the world in a way that I’m not

proud of,” she says. “Maybe there won’t be a consequence, and you will

just live your life and be really rich and famous and successful - it’s really

hard to not be jaded when you have opinions about anything, and humanity,

and you’re around the monster factory all the time.”

Putting all of her frustrations onto the album wasn’t always easy, and

often felt strange (a line on ‘Butterfly’ where she quips that “the suit is just

another grifter with a card” was interesting to play to, ahem, the suits) but

it’s part and parcel of the album’s thesis. There’s no way of knowing what

comes next. Maybe something; maybe nothing. Maybe that’s terrifying. But

you need to be able to live with yourself along the way.

‘Ricochet’ is out 27th March via Matador. D

Daria Kobayashi Ritch

[‘Ricochet’] feels

almost like my

first record of

knowing what

to do. ”

40 D

Scan here for tickets

Wednesday 25 March

Thundercat

Thursday 16 April

Miguel

Wednesday 22 April

Dry Cleaning

Thursday 22 — Sunday 26 April

Big Thief

Tuesday 1 September

The Black Keys

Friday 18 September

Baby Keem


Saturday 11 April

Leigh-Anne

Saturday 18 April

Amber Mark

Friday 15 May

Fcukers


Saturday 11 April

Archive

Tuesday 14 April

Kim Gordon

Monday 15 June

Camilo

Four albums and almost ten years in, The Orielles’ new LP ‘Only You

Left’ is a tale of two halves that sees them continue their evolution as

one of Britain’s most intriguing outfits.

Words: Louis Griffin

You Left’, the fourth album by The

Orielles, is an album of contrast. Half

recorded on a Hamburg industrial

estate, half on the Greek island of

Hydra, it bears both tightly-wound,

‘Only

machined grooves and languid,

unravelling refrains and, in turn, more clearly than ever

takes the band from their 2010s indie beginnings to

somewhere else entirely.

Made up of Halifax natives and sisters Sidonie and

Esmé Dee Hand-Halford alongside Henry Carlyle Wade,

the origins of ‘Only You Left’ lie in the trio’s pragmatic

approach to writing and rehearsing amongst the realities

of the music industry today. “Because of the way we

work and live our lives, we have collective days off at the

beginning of the week,” explains Henry, “and that was

when we’d be writing. Then we’d all go off and live our

lives, work our jobs, mulling over these phone recordings

and when we’d come back, we’d have a list of ideas of

where to take songs. It really felt like in the early days,

what we were most attracted to was just the three of us

playing, and trying to find a pure expression of how we

were feeling and what we were going through.”

It’s always hard, really, to hear The Orielles’ work as that

of just three people - Henry’s guitar joined by Sidonie’s

percussion, and Esmé’s bass and ethereal voice. The

band create wide open spaces within these relatively

restrictive confines, with songs ebbing and flowing

towards crescendos that bely their number. “That was

what was most exciting,” continues Henry, “these big

dynamic shifts, and then emptiness. I remember us

getting obsessed with the musical idea of things changing

suddenly, and then never being able to go back to how

they were.”

This time, the band set out to approach

recording with specific spaces in mind

while writing. They eyed up two studios

in particular: a state-of-the-art space in

Hamburg, and a relatively rudimentary one on

Hydra, a Greek island. “The record in its initial

stages required quite a lot of imagination,” recalls

Esmé. “Each of us had these ideas of these

spaces we’d not been to yet, and the sounds we

were going to create or attain in those spaces.”

“When we found these two really contrasting

things, it gave us a theme,” adds Henry.

“Something to chew on, in terms of this duality

that then became more and more extreme as

we imagined what would be recorded where -

how different a song would be if it was recorded

in Greece or Hamburg.”

The first leg of recording, in Germany,

sounds like an almost monastic experience.

“Hamburg was very far out of the centre,

on the fifth floor of this warehouse,” says

Henry. “We lived on the floor below, which

meant we hardly left - to go to the shop to

buy beer and fags, or to go to Der Kebab.”

This lack of outside distraction led to a

deeply productive time for the band - and

for their longtime collaborator, producer

Joel Anthony Patchett. “We kind of

smashed it in Hamburg, to the point

that when we got home we were like,

‘Oh, fuck, what are we actually going

to do in Hydra?’” grins Henry. “But

I personally believe that the record

came into its own, because what

came out of there completely filled

in the other half of the contrast.”

So, to Greece, where despite

“trying to avoid the

holiday bragging”

(as Henry puts it),

the band relay

an idyllic time,

spent pushing

deeper into the

world they were

creating, in a place with a dreamlike sense of calm. They

recorded in a single room, and stayed on the other side

of the island. “Every morning we had to walk across this

port, which was such a great ritual. Have an espresso

and a spanakopita on the way up. There was an islandwide

noise curfew, so we could work until three in the

afternoon, and then there was a compulsory no noise

until five or six, siesta-type thing.” He pauses to smile.

“So we were basically forced to go and swim at that time,

because we couldn’t make noise. Then we’d just hammer

the session until ten or eleven each night, and go and get

some scran in the town.”

“On Hydra, as well, it’s a completely car-less island,”

explains Sidonie. “The complete lack of noise pollution

because of that was crazy, I’d never heard real silence

before, really, until an evening on that island.” There’s

a genuine sense that this was a truly special shared

moment for the band. “Basically the whole island was our

studio in a sense, because when we’d be recording you

could hear reverberations bouncing off the buildings all

around us. We actually leaned into that quite a bit, and

ended up recording the sound of Henry’s guitar, but from

a mile away. It was really beautiful.”

The result is eleven songs with a distinct sense of

space, a peek into the centre of the band’s world, as

if at the centre of where they’re playing. Underlying

all that is the trio’s bond - there aren’t many bands

The Orielles’ age who can claim fifteen years of shared

history. “It’s just always been such a weekly ritual,”

Henry reflects. “To make music, the three of us - forever.

Through high school, university, and then young adult life,

it’s been the grounding anchor.” Esmé smiles. “I really

enjoy the slowness of it as well. I do believe that good

things are slow - they take their time, and there’s more

longevity to it. To get to the point where we’ve had these

amazing studio experiences - I mean, maybe if we were

on a major label we might have had that long ago. But it’s

nice to be able to discover these things, after so much

time, with my two best friends.”

What, then, is success for The Orielles? “People define

it as a monetary thing,” replied Henry. “We don’t. Being

able to live off music is essentially an unattainable goal

with the way the industry works now, so being able to

do it at all is pretty successful, we reckon. It’s more of

a question of people taking their own things out of it

that excites us. Some of the stories people have told

us about their personal connections to the songs are

quite overwhelming and completely life-affirming.” Esmé

smiles. “It’s about connection: all these people that you

wouldn’t have had the opportunity to have conversations

with and have shared something with, if we weren’t

making music.”

Four albums and fifteen years in, The Orielles are

continuing to create oblique, beautiful music entirely on

their own terms. ‘Only You Left’ is a document of many

things - the places it was recorded, the experiences of

the band who wrote it - but more than anything it’s a

reflection of the deep bond between Esmé, Henry and

Sidonie. In fact, the album’s opening track is called ‘Three

Halves’ - an apt description of The Orielles’ own.

‘Only You Left’ is out 13th March via Heavenly. D

42 D

“I’d never heard

real silence

before,

Neelam Khan Vela

until

an

evening

on

Hydra.”

- Sidonie Dee

Hand-Halford

D 43

Old Habits

Die Hard

You can take the girl out of her comfort zone - just don’t expect her to

enjoy it. Returning with her first studio album in five years, Courtney

Barnett has stopped sweating the small stuff and learned that,

sometimes, unfamiliar paths are the only way forward.

Words: Daisy Carter

As children, we’re conditioned to believe that selfdevelopment

- and, in extension, success - is

a quantifiable, linear process. We’re schooled

to attain grades, pass tests, gain qualifications,

each one a measure of progress made. Social

milestones - promotion, homeowning, marriage

- are worn like Scouts badges, pinned to the lapel of our

Instagram grids. Every year is a stepping stone until, as adults,

we stand complete. Finish line reached. Job done. Except that’s

never quite how it works, is it?

“I started therapy and meditating a few years ago, and had the

realisation that this is a constant [battle]. I think I was looking for

THE answer: ‘when am I going to get fixed?’” chuckles Courtney

Barnett. “Instead, you realise: ‘oh, we have to think about this

and do this work forever’. It’s not like you put in the hours and

then you figure it all out.” Life, as it turns out, is an eternal

learning curve. “And I guess,” she nods, “I’m trying to embrace

that now, instead of feeling overwhelmed or threatened by it.

That’s just how it is.”

Returning this month with her fourth studio album - the follow

up proper to 2021’s ruminative ‘Things Take Time, Take Time’

(since which she also released the instrumental record ‘End

Of The Day’ in 2023) - Courtney is no stranger to overwhelm.

Widely beloved for her wry, prosaic lyricism, she writes with

the unpretentious, often anxious candour of one for whom

things have always been slightly bewildering. “I saw something

recently talking about directors essentially making the same

film over and over again,” she muses, kicking herself for not

remembering the specifics. “And I connected with it, because in

some ways I feel like I’m making the same songs over and over

again. At the crux of it, I’m essentially saying the same thing, but

trying to find a different answer within it somewhere.”

Having cycled through various guises with each

LP, trying on different hats as she went - selfdeprecating

aphorist, sociopolitical critic,

introspective philosopher - it seems that, with

this latest outing, she’s dropped the act entirely, emerging

from a decade-plus-long metamorphosis with a new

ethos: acceptance.

‘Creature Of Habit’, Courtney tells us over Zoom, was born out

of a prolonged period of doubt: globally, we were reckoning

with a post-pandemic world, our rapid return to the pace and

pressures of life before lockdown a jarring contrast to the

enforced stillness of the early ‘20s. Personally, too, she was

adrift, “at a point in [her] life where [she] didn't know what [she]

was doing, or what [she] wanted to do, or where [she] wanted

to be.”

Abandoning her usual instinct to overthink for the pull of new

horizons, the Aussie alt-rocker upped sticks from her native

Melbourne to land in the US, an “adventure” she sorely hoped

would jump-start her stalling creative engine. “A few years ago,

when all of this happened, I think I was just feeling so lost and

unsure of what I was doing,” she reflects today, speaking from

the satisfying comfort of her LA pad, in the middle of a “really

weird” rain storm. (Prior to our chat, she’d even nipped out

briefly, à la Drew Barrymore, to enjoy the downpour). “There

were some pretty dark times; it is a strange existence, I guess,

to work and to live so entwined like that.”

Attempting to extricate her personal identity from her

“A few years ago, I

think I was just feeling

so lost and unsure of

what I was doing.”

professional self, Courtney consciously put music on the back

burner and leaned into more mindful pursuits, spending her

days hiking in the beautiful, barren landscape around her thenrental

in Joshua Tree. Away from the mire of ‘grind culture’ and

social media’s self-improvement obsession, her eyes opened to

the slow magic that already surrounds us.

“I had the idea for [album track] ‘Same’ after hiking in the

national park, and being at the top of a mountain, and just

having that feeling of being a tiny speck of dust amongst this

huge world and universe,” she observes, summarising the

sensation as “that humbling feeling of just existing.” Setting

a peppy synth soundscape against lyrics which scan as both

reassuring affirmation and uncomfortable epiphany (“I am a

drop, I’m a drop in the ocean / [...] / Floating around, and if I ever

drown then / I’ll be the leaves in the bottom of your tea”), the

song finds her reckoning with the inevitability of change, doing

her best to welcome our worldly insignificance. While admittedly

daunting, she also finds the perspective strangely grounding.

“It can be overwhelming for sure, but in that moment you realise

that some things we’re worried about really don’t matter.”

Despite her best intentions, then, Courtney found

the studio calling once more - but this time, she

returned determined to ease the pressure, having

struck on inspiration precisely when she wasn’t

D 45

seeking it out. “I think it’s interesting for me to observe that my

response [to uncertainty] was to figure it out through the act of

writing or making music,” she acknowledges.

“That’s so funny to me. And it was nice because then I felt that I

WANTED to do it, instead of feeling like it was a burden. It wasn’t

[saying]: ‘I have to do this because it’s my job’, or ‘because people

are expecting it’. In those moments, it feels really beautiful because

it's not about the outcome or the finished product or whatever it is;

it's just about the process. It felt like a big circle to go in, but maybe

it was necessary.”

That’s not to say it was easy from there on out. For a self-confessed

control freak, this new, looser framework lent itself not only to

freedom, but also to intense vulnerability. Heading into Joshua

Tree’s Rancho de la Luna armed only with unfinished lyrics and

incomplete songs, she had no choice but to surrender herself to

the process. “‘Maybe I don't need to know exactly what's going to

happen. Maybe that's okay’,” she suggests, recalling her forcefully

hopeful attitude.

“But instead,” she continues, “[the fact that] I didn’t feel in control

of myself or the work that I was presenting kicked in, and I kind of

psyched myself out and went to these dark places in the studio. I

thought: ‘I'm wasting everyone's time. Nobody wants to be here.

Why did I bring everyone here to make these songs that I haven't

even finished?’. I was being so negative and down on myself.”

Acknowledging that she was actually surrounded by “the most

beautiful, generous musicians” in what was “this really safe

environment”, Courtney notes that “we all have our weird little

insecurities, and those things affect everyone so differently.” Did

she expect to still feel so exposed, four albums and over ten years

into the game? “I think about this a lot,” she nods. “Maybe the

answer is that you have to be so confident and so egotistical that

you don't even care about those things… but then you lose this

vulnerability or softness.”

And those are two qualities that ‘Creature Of Habit’

possesses in spades. Anchored by buoyant, analogue

warmth and shot through with natural imagery, it sees

Courtney turn - at first desperately, then gratefully - to

simplicity as a salve for her too-loud mind. “Rip this thing out of

my head / Gotta get this off my chest,” she howls in urgent opener

‘Stay In Your Lane’; “Let’s figure out the rest another day,” she sighs

later, on grace-giving Waxahatchee collab ‘Site Unseen’.

This is also Courtney at her most earnest - still whip smart and

witty, sure, but no longer using clever quips to deflect away from

her inherent uncertainty. They say hindsight is 20/20; now, when

she looks back on her earlier work, she understands that “‘maybe

I made jokes because I was actually being defensive, or maybe I

was being sarcastic because I was scared.” Back then, she reflects,

“I probably thought I was tough; I didn’t realise that I was trying to

hide something of myself. I thought I was doing [one thing], but now

with some distance and time, I kind of see it from a different angle.”

In many ways the antithesis of her 2015 debut and its acutely

specific observations, here, album centrepieces ‘Mantis’ and

‘Sugar Plum’ indulge in inarticulation, finding a real sense of elation

in not having all the answers. “Yeah y’know those words don’t

come easy to me / So I’m looking for a little leniency,” she shrugs in

the latter’s jangle-pop outro. We quote these lyrics, and Courtney

chuckles. “That makes me so happy to hear, because I do feel like

it’s a really joyful album, even though a lot of it was hard to write

and hard to finish. There's pain and all that stuff in there, but that's

just life.

“This record took so long for me to finish; I really struggled

with it. It’s almost like I was holding myself to these incredibly

high standards, and then was upset that I wasn't churning

through things.” In an age of instant gratification and perpetual

overstimulation, it’s disconcerting, we offer, to step off the hamster

wheel. She nods: “I think a lot of it was reminding myself to slow

down and enjoy life, but also take the time to get it right. A few

people close to me jokingly referenced my last album title, saying

‘well, things take time, don’t they?’ I just thought: ‘shut up!’”

she laughs.

‘Creature Of Habit’ saw Courtney Barnett do battle with herself; but

as a result, it’s utterly armourless. Beauty, it suggests, can be found

simply by shifting the emphasis - here, she’s looking not down

at the ground, but up at the sky. “Part of it, for me, was changing

these habits in my life, changing these patterns,” she shares. “It

was leaning into this darkness or confusion or doubt, feeling it, but

then choosing joy instead. And I hear it in the final product.”

So do we: it’s in the quiet resolve and country-tinged chorus of

understated banger ‘One Thing At A Time’; it’s in the bird song of

sun-streaked closer ‘Another Beautiful Day’; it’s in the artwork’s

praying mantis, a symbol of stillness and patience. “It's not about

finding the answer or figuring it out,” Courtney says simply, “it's just

about the steps that you take to get there.”

‘Creature Of Habit’ is out on 27th March via Fiction. D

Stars Aligning

Produced by John Congleton and Warpaint’s Stella

Mozgawa, ‘Creature Of Habit’ also features some

serendipitous contributions from a few more familiar faces

- but how did they come about? Courtney gives us the

lowdown…

Katie Crutchfield (aka

Waxahatchee) - ‘Site Unseen’

“I wrote ‘Site Unseen’ and had the harmony idea, and I just

thought her voice would be so perfect for it. I was so lucky that

she sang on it, ‘cos I think she’s amazing. Her songwriting is

incredible and her voice is so beautiful, and that just made the

song extra special to me.”

Flea - ‘One Thing At A Time’

“As a kid, I grew up listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers, and

I love them. I made this demo alone in Joshua Tree, and as I

was doing the bass line, I thought ‘what would Flea do?’. Jump

forward a year or two, I was doing this Patti Smith tribute show

in New York, and Flea was in the house band, and we hung

out. A week later, I was back in LA and I needed a bass player

to re-record that song, so I asked him if he was up for it! It was

quite natural how it all came together, but it was so weird that I

had already thought of him for that song.”

Floating Points - ‘Same’

“Sam [Shepherd] was visiting, staying at our house in the

desert, and he came into the studio while I was working

on demos and just started playing along. I loved that main

descending synth line he came up with; it was the perfect

counterbalance to the chorus, and just made the song. And

so when I re-recorded the real version, I asked him if he'd try

to replicate what he'd done that day, because I didn't want to

change it too much.”

Lindsey Byrnes

46 D

“I do feel like it’s a

really joyful album,

even though a lot of it

was hard to write and

hard to finish.”

REVIEWS

This issue: Harry Styles, Mitski, James Blake, Snail Mail & more.

Testimony

to the

importance

of taking time

out.

ALBUMS

¢

HARRY STYLES

KISS ALL THE TIME. DISCO,

OCCASIONALLY

Erskine / Columbia

In certain corners of the internet, the

enduring image from St Peter’s Square

in Rome on the announcement of

Pope Leo’s election last spring was

not of the white smoke billowing into

the sky, but of a pop star’s attempt to

remain incognito in the middle of the gathered

throng, sunglasses and a baseball cap failing to

disguise his A-list status, even within the most

highbrow of ceremony. Crowned ‘side quest

king’ as a consequence, it appeared that Harry

Styles would do just about anything except be

seen heading into the studio to follow up 2022’s

‘Harry’s House’.

In reality, it had not even been two full years

since Harry had wrapped Love on Tour - a

live run which had not only begun way back

in 2021, taking in both ‘Harry’s House’ and

2019’s ‘Fine Line’, but had also found itself

selling out Wembley shows in two consecutive

years (almost to the day). ‘Harry’s House’ was

recorded in 2020 and 2021 - that internationally

enforced break be damned. As far as we can

tell, the recording of ‘Fine Line’ also coincided

with the end of his previous tour, which itself

began only months after the release of his

2017 self-titled debut solo record. (If that

sounds exhausting, then consider that One

Direction released five albums in consecutive

Novembers, all the while on a near-constant

world touring schedule).

Songwriters will often speak of the need to ‘live

life’ to garner the imaginatory fuel to create:

here is a man who’s been playing pop star

since he’d barely entered puberty. It may not

even be hyperbole to suggest he didn’t yet

know how to ‘live life’; there’s a sad poignance

to an almost throwaway quip in a recent

interview he gave: “I don’t remember… if I’ve

ever sat down and just had a coffee.”

Thankfully - for both Harry and all - the cap

he failed to hide behind on that particular day

in Rome revealed that he’d at least found the

dancefloor, bearing the slogan: ‘Techno Is My

Boyfriend’. And not just any dancefloor, oh no,

but arguably the world’s most famous: cult

Berlin club Berghain. The one place (probably)

where his level of fame would be irrelevant; an

audience for whom seeing an international pop

star throwing shapes wouldn’t even register

on the list of standout things they’d seen that

hour (not to mention its strict rules on camera

usage).

So, as ‘KISS ALL THE TIME. DISCO,

OCCASIONALLY.’ is a strange mouthful of

a title, it does in fact fit both its context and

sound: be an autonomous, living, breathing

human being - and sometimes dance. Where

previous records’ variations in sound and

style appeared as if Harry was trying them

on for size to find out who he is artistically - a

delayed musical coming-of-age of sorts - here

that’s almost flipped, the thread of his own

songwriting - in collaboration with longtime

producer Kid Harpoon - augmented by the

sounds he’s spent time with while away from

the pop grind.

The most obviously dancefloor number here

- alongside single ‘Aperture’- is the on-thenose

‘Dance No More’, where an all-but-

Chic-indebted bassline is eventually paired

with a one that similarly digs at disco’s core

tragedy-tempo axis (“There’s no difference

in between the tears and the sweat”), before

Harry adopts a proto-white boy rap delivery

that echoes Blondie’s ‘Rapture’. Its use of calland-response

gang vocals - “DJs don’t dance

no more

they

said” - also brings another Rapture to mind:

see the New York band’s 2006 single ‘Whoo!

Alright - Yeah...Uh Huh’.

The bassline of ‘Ready, Steady, Go!’ drips with

indie sleaze, while the LCD-a-like synth squelch

that powers ‘American Girls’ sits at pleasant

contrast to the song’s otherwise pure early ‘80s

feel, from the warm and infectious cadence of

the chorus refrain (“My friends are in love / With

American girls”) to its markedly ‘Sound and

Vision’-esque bassline. It’s perhaps notable

here that both these tracks list Berlin’s Hansa

as a recording location - a space with a storied

discography that most famously includes

Bowie’s ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’.

‘Taste Back’ - which structurally speaking

is wholesale classic pop - is here met with

ghostly backing vocals (courtesy of Wolf

Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, who pops up on multiple

songs across the record) and a synth pattern

that brings to mind The Postal Service. Closer

‘Carla’s Song’, meanwhile, could otherwise fit

in with anything on ‘Harry’s House’, save for an

insistent beat before its refrain “I know what

you like / I know what you’ll really like”, which

is repeated as if already halfway to a remix:

essentially, it’s ‘Satellite’ on disco biscuits.

The heart of the record, though, sits within a

one-two of which the first is in almost direct

contrast to everything else. The point at which

a trumpet joins ‘Paint By Numbers’ takes it

from being ‘quite Beatlesy indeed’ towards

confirmation of the famous quote Pablo

Picasso almost definitely never uttered: “…

great artists steal”. For while, yes, there are

multiple Gallaghers ahead of Harry in the

queue for that particular magpie stash, here

he evokes the world’s first boyband to deliver

his own gut-wrenching and entirely related

musings (“They put an image in your head and

now you’re stuck with it”; “Holding the weight

of the American children whose heart you

break”). And then there’s ‘Pop’, a song which

by rights should become one of the year’s

biggest singles, more than living up to its name.

Impossibly catchy, here a disco bassline meets

Robyn-esque synths, while its rhythm section

amps up the oomph to ‘Kiwi’ levels, taking that

same ‘reflections of a poster-boy’ premise but

drenching it in double entendre. “It’s just me

/ On my knees / Squeaky clean fantasy,” he

sings, “First time tasting it / It’s nice to mix two

flavours together”. It’s like George Michael’s

‘Freedom ‘90’ updated, just with a hand barely

stifling its giggles - as if to say “oops!”, but not

mean it for one single second.

There’s a strange paradox in play where the

artists with the most resources to fund time

off don’t appear to take it. The combination

of an industry machine that fears inaction

causing irrelevancy, the pressure to repeat

huge commercial successes, and simply

not knowing how to press pause all leads to

expectations of a constant conveyor belt of

new. But everything here - the confidence

of often leftfield sonic choices (including a

five-plus minute lead single); of not falling into

repeating his own writing patterns; of not being

afraid to give a wholly knowing wink in various

ways - not only make ‘KISS ALL THE TIME.

DISCO, OCCASIONALLY.’ an excellent record

that is at points raw but more often joyful, but is

also testimony to the importance of taking time

out. Emma Swann

LISTEN: ‘Aperture’, ‘Pop’

4

MITSKI

Nothing’s

About To

Happen To Me

Columbia

Of an ever-increasing list of artists finding a

wider fanbase via online virality, Mitski is

perhaps the most unlikely. Taken from her

2018 album ‘Be the Cowboy’, the beautifully

nostalgic ‘Nobody’ found a whole new life

on TikTok two years later, rocketing the

Stateside singer-songwriter headfirst into the mind of a whole

new generation. And it turned out that was just the start, as

‘My Love Mine All Mine’ garnered similar attention to propel

2023’s ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’ into the

charts as her most commercially successful release to date.

At least on the surface, it sits at odds with the orchestral

arrangements that underpin this, her eighth studio album,

one that like much of what has come before nods to an era

gone by yet remains effortlessly timeless; its span of decades

laid immediately bare as opener ‘In A Lake’ traversing from

her trademark delicate vocals to literal urban soundscapes,

and setting the scene for the driving, unquestionably modern

twist of ‘Where’s My Phone?’, arguably one of Mitski’s most

alternative songs to date. But much across ‘Nothing’s About

To Happen To Me’ remains familiar, painting a considered,

dreamy landscape over live instrumentation courtesy of her

touring band. It remains as unlikely as ever, built on gently

ebbing soundscapes and catastrophic crescendos that swirl

around introspection and despondency.

It’s here that Mitski finds her common ground, cutting across

generational divides. “Would you have liked me better if I

had died?”, she asks on ‘Dead Woman’, before declaring

she’d “do anything to make you love me again” on standout

‘I’ll Change For You’. “It’s supposed to be my house,” she

spits on ‘That White Cat’, “but I guess according to cats now

it’s his house,” she concludes with a bitter tinge of anger

and bemused resignation. By balancing the mastery of her

nostalgic sound and her universally relatable lyrics, Mitski

turns the unlikely into generational truths. Ben Tipple

LISTEN: ‘I’ll Change For You’

Turning the unlikely into

generational truths.

Stella Blackmon, Lexie Alley

D 49

ALBUMS

4

THE SOPHS

GOLDSTAR

Rough Trade

The Sophs are used to making a big first impression. The story

goes that the Los Angeles six piece were signed to Rough Trade

off the back of a demo sent with resigned hope, but that saw them

being called by the label the very next day. Subsequent debut

single ‘SWEAT’ similarly turned heads immediately, with its broken

vocals and snarling guitars. But it’s no surprise really that the

song’s East Coast, Strokes-esque drawl isn’t fully representative of the West

Coasters, with their home city’s sun-kissed hedonism and multiculturalism

overflowing through the album’s ten tracks, each as brilliantly unpredictable as the

next. Take the tellingly playfully titled opener ‘THE DOG DIES IN THE END’ and its

sudden declaration of hatred for the four-legged friend moments before the song’s

riff truly drops, introducing a record deliberately placing frontman Ethan Ramon as

an unlikely protagonist seeking redemption. As the title track toys with mariachi

over electric guitars, soundtracking Ethan’s deep-rooted yearning for validation, it’s

clear that The Sophs pride themselves and their success on ripping apart the

rulebook. Cold dropping a demo tape without having ever played a live show and

being signed the next day, it seems, is just the tip of the iceberg.

Elsewhere, ‘GOLDSTAR’ leans into lounge jazz, hillbilly hoedowns, and wishes for a

death in the family to liven things up, while penultimate track ‘They Told Me Jump,

I Said How High’ offers a perfectly baffling, rambling stream of consciousness. It’s

whimsical, yes, but The Sophs carry it with a raucous expertise akin to the lofty

comparisons drawn out by their 2025 run of singles. As a collection, ‘GOLDSTAR’

is the type of first impression that may well leave one slightly lost, a little confused,

and with their head certainly spinning, but after it all anyone who meets them will

be damn happy they did. Ben Tipple

LISTEN: ‘SWEAT’

4

SNAIL MAIL

Ricochet

Matador

In the five years since the last Snail Mail album,

Lindsey Jordan has left New York, taken up acting -

and perhaps most crucially, given herself some space.

Her return, ‘Ricochet’, muses on life and the embrace

of its uncertainties, combining her natural introspection

with assured sonic direction.

‘Tractor Beam’ draws on jangly guitars for a luscious, power-pop

infused opening statement, while ‘Hell’ is straight up alt-rock. Shoegaze

and dream-pop elements are a constant throughout the record: she

may not have been a ‘90s kid but it’s clear where she’s drawing from

here - even the spiral cover is reminiscent of The Sundays’ ‘Reading,

Writing and Arithmetic’. And while the inspirations are obvious,

‘Ricochet’ isn’t simply a cobbled together pastiche; those inspirations

are greater than the sum of their parts, and often complemented by big

string arrangements for a lush and expansive soundscape.

Lyrically, the themes are big too. “Don’t need this vessel, don’t need

this frame”, she sings on ‘Cruise’. ‘My Maker’ finds her imagining

a flight to heaven. This is certainly not the tales of heartbreak and

teenage love on which she made her name. But, by building on the

power and drive of ‘Valentine’ and the introspection and storytelling

of ‘Lush’, ultimately ‘Ricochet’ is a record that lives in the fact that, no

matter what, everything changes. Dylan McNally

LISTEN: ‘Hell’

‘GOLDSTAR’ is the type of first

impression that may well leave one

slightly lost, but anyone who meets

them will be damn happy they did.

¢

VARIOUS

Help(2)

War Child

Reconvening 30 years

after the legendary first

‘Help’ album, War Child

once again pulls

together a who’s who of

the music world around

a critical and timely cause, led by storied

producer James Ford. An intriguing mix

of strikingly fresh covers and affecting

originals, the compilation shines

brightest when its artists fully commit to

the poignance and scale of the cause

they represent.

Bat for Lashes’ ‘Carried My Girl’ is as

genuinely heart-wrenching a song as

it gets - a chilling tale of loss delivered

through an unmissable and deeply

sincere vocal performance. “Are you

moved by all of these tears / That

have swept away the dead?” she

asks midway through. Lending their

signature “Spanish Sahara”-style sense

of anthem-sized drama, Foals bring

grandeur with “When the War Is Finally

Over”, while Pulp sound as alive and

spiky as ever on the urgent, punkleaning

“Begging for Change”.

It’s a constantly compelling proposition.

Where Radiohead once stood in 1995

as charismatic, enigmatic and almost

disgustingly talented songwriters, in

2026 that mantle most convincingly

falls to Geese’s Cameron Winter, who

sits comfortably alongside the likes

of Damon Albarn, Alex Turner and

Beth Gibbons. His unsettling standout

‘Warning’ marries insistent, stabbing

strings with his characteristically

obscure and evocative lyricism - “Is

this the work of your life, or the work of

a beginner?”

Among the covers, Depeche Mode

take the boldest approach, draping

a bubbling, cybergoth energy over

Buffy Sainte-Marie’s 1960s protest

song ‘Universal Soldier’, a scathing

deconstruction of conflict. ‘Obvious’

reveals a delicacy and tenderness

from Wet Leg not often seen, while the

sheer magnificence of bringing together

Anna Calvi, Nilüfer Yanya, Wolf Alice’s

Ellie Rowsell and newcomer Dove

Ellis results in the beautifully nuanced

‘Sunday Light’.

Perhaps the record’s brightest

supernova of star power is ‘Flags’ -

uniting Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten

and Kae Tempest in a shape-shifting,

melancholic centrepiece driven by

Albarn’s piano and a choir featuring

Johnny Marr, Carl Barât and Dave

Okumu. The closer, a cover of ‘The

Book of Love’, provides a peaceful

and hopeful finale from pop sensation

Olivia Rodrigo, the final surprise in

a compilation that is far from short

on them.

The project’s peaks tend to dominate

the landscape, yet for something that

sits somewhere between music’s

most illustrious meet-up and a bona

fide 2020s Hall of Fame, there truly is

something here for everyone.

It’s heartening to see so many icons

step forward for this cause and

immensely rewarding to witness such

artistry and creativity sharing the

spotlight without competing for it. 30

years ago, today and, no doubt, 30

years from now, the message remains

clear and universal - no child should

ever be part of war. Ever. Matthew

Davies Lombardi

LISTEN: ‘Warning’

50 D

ALBUMS

#

COURTNEY BARNETT

Creature Of Habit

Mom + Pop

On the surface, ‘Creature Of Habit’ is

classic Courtney Barnett, full of incisive

and introspective lyrics combined with

a laidback attitude and sound - a

canon to which tracks like ‘Site

Unseen’ and ‘Mantis’ are welcome

fresh additions. Elsewhere, there are suggestions of

new horizons, too: the wistful closing moments of final

song ‘Another Beautiful Day’ and the drum machine/

synth loops on ‘Same’ (courtesy of Floating Points) are

interesting moments of experimentation.

Seemingly, though, these threads weren’t carried

any further, left instead as tantalising what-ifs. While

Courtney may sing of the necessity of change, there’s a

sense here that she hasn’t entirely practiced what she’s

preaching. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, given her

blueprint is one that undoubtedly works, yet it would be

even more exciting to hear her strike out even further

- to take the reins off and really run with it. ‘Creature

of Habit’ has some great moments, but they’re

moments which suggest yet-still-untapped potential.

Dylan McNally

LISTEN: ‘Another Beautiful Day’

4

FCUKERS

Ö

Ninja Tune

Just three years into a journey that

began with a sold-out show on the

Lower East side, the New York duo

comprised of Shanny Wise and

Jackson Walker Lewis come good with

an 11-track record that takes their

audience along on a night out. ‘If you wanna party,

come over to my house’ is such a playful invitation to

join in on their mischief that it’s hard not to catch

FOMO. The droning buzz of the bass on ‘Play Me’

accentuates Shanny’s smooth vocal that almost dances

through the melody, ‘Lonely’ shifts the vibe to project

dancefloor-based connection, and slower-paced closer

‘Feel The Real’ perfectly matches the feeling of seeing

the sun during an early-hours walk home. A swift album

that’ll prove difficult to grow tired of. Kathryn Vann

LISTEN: ‘If you wanna party, come over to my house’

She effectively

reflects the

absurdity of the

times, without

claiming to offer a

solution.

4

KIM GORDON

PLAY ME

Matador

Those unaccustomed to Kim Gordon’s solo work might be reaching to check they’ve

pressed play on the right thing. While best known for co-fronting slacker-rock antiheroes

Sonic Youth, she’s ploughed a very different path since the group folded. ‘PLAY ME’ -

Kim’s third album in a decade with producer Justin Raisen - kicks off with a dusty,

swaggering groove and lazy lounge brass, more West Coast G-funk than NYC garage fuzz.

Throughout, the vibe is characterised by glitchy beats and abrasive sounds, heavily

leaning into hip hop and trap. Justin’s production is fidgety and restless; a smash-and-grab collage of

random snippets - stark 808s and sampled snatches of conversation - as if frenetically doomscrolling with

an idle flick of the finger.

Apparently, that’s Dave Grohl behind the kit on ‘Busy Bee’, trading blows with an old school drum machine

- though you’d be hard pressed to tell; his dirgey, loping beat is cut up and distorted beyond recognition.

Elsewhere, the bowel-shuddering kick drum on ‘Sub Con’ is so dubby that only whales could appreciate its

low-end majesty.

There’s plenty of bravado and very little melody. Every utterance of Kim’s hushed, husky voice is a drawnout

sigh, as if contemplating if it’s really worth the effort. ‘Girl with a Look’ finds her back on (slightly) more

familiar territory - a scuzzy, lo-fi stoner racket, albeit exploring a wider palette of textures.

Trump-baiting closer, ‘ByeBye25!’ (an update on the Grammy-nominated ‘ByeBye’) reels off the POTUS’s

‘banned terms’ like a shopping list: Mexicans, immigrants, transgender, climate change, peanut allergy…

surreal, chilling but compelling.

Often, it’s hard to tell whether it’s not all just a big wind-up. But maybe that’s the point. Here, Kim Gordon

effectively reflects the absurdity of the times, without claiming to offer a solution. Jerrome Volk

LISTEN: ‘ByeBye25!’

A compendium of his best parts,

and perhaps his first album to truly

be so.

¢

JAMES BLAKE

Trying Times

Good Boy

There’s a lot to be said about consistency. From the

release of his self-titled 2011 debut on, James Blake has

maintained a spot at the top level of electronic music,

entirely undeterred by ebbs and flows in the genre’s

wider popularity. He’s cemented himself as a soulful

pioneer in the space, deliberately straddling his

singer-songwriter alter ego both on record and at live shows. Even at his

extremes - take 2023’s heavily dancefloor ready ‘Playing Robots Into

Heaven’ or the comparable minimalist EDM of his debut - he has

embodied something far removed from the genre that first birthed him,

yet that effortlessly places him right at its centre.

Now, for ‘Trying Times’, his first solo record in three years, James goes it

alone. Self-released through his own Good Boy imprint, it foregoes much

of his previous record’s density for a curated cherry pick of the individual

elements that have driven his career. There’s the rhythmic simplicity of

‘Walk Out Music’, his trademark genre-hopping on the Dave-featuring

‘Doesn’t Just Happen’, and the largely lyricless underground fever dream

of ‘Rest of Your Life’. Elsewhere, there’s innovation on the soul led ‘Didn’t

Come To Argue’, again featuring regular collaborator Monica Martin, the

falsetto beaty of ‘Through The High Wire’, and an unexpectedly welcome

orchestral flourish on cathartic closer ‘Just a Little Higher’. “Something’s

wrong in the city I was born in,” James croons in its opening moments.

“I’m breaking, I hide it well,” he reveals on the title track, with it finding

himself again in an exploration of the multiple components that build

his sound. It seems that adversity has taken him back in and out of the

clubs, between sombre reflections and ethereal hope, and ultimately to a

record that couldn’t be more consistently him. It paints this, his seventh

studio album, as a compendium of his best parts, and perhaps his first

to truly do so. Ben Tipple

LISTEN: ‘Through The High Wire’

Eric Daniels, Moni Haworth, Robbie Lawrence

D 51

ALBUMS

4

TIGERS JAW

Lost On You

Hopeless

As the latest emo revival continues apace, and particularly as

midwestern heroes of its second wave like American Football enter

into whole new chapters, some of its more modern stalwarts

continue to go from strength to strength. That would appear to be

especially true of Philadelphia mainstays Tigers Jaw, as they enter

into their third decade together with this scintillating eighth record.

Over the years, they’ve alternated between lush, multi-layered sounds and rawer,

noisier work; both sides of that divide are in evidence on this first album in five

years, ‘Lost on You’.

There are poppier, more melodic moments - the standout ‘BREEZER’ is

appropriately titled - as well as more reflective indie rockers that play like paeans

to some of their forebears; ‘Baptized on a Redwood Drive’ is a case in point, as is

the moody ‘Primary Colors’. The aim of the last Tigers Jaw album, 2021’s ‘I Won’t

Care How You Remember Me’, was to capture the febrile energy of the group’s live

show and that carries over into ‘Lost on You’, particularly on boisterous lead single

‘Head Like a Sinking Stone’. There is no reinvention of the wheel here from Tigers

Jaw, but when they do heart-on-sleeve emo this convincingly, that doesn’t matter.

Joe Goggins

LISTEN: ‘BREEZER’

4

WATERBABY

Memory Be A Blade

Sub Pop

While her 2023 EP

‘Foam’ introduced

Stockholm artist

waterbaby in

melancholic soft focus,

this full-length debut

moves with darker intent, its eight tracks

denser, richer in arrangement and

sharper in interrogation. Across ‘Memory

Be A Blade’, she circles her memories

not to wallow but to examine how they

have shaped her, particularly in the

aftermath of two relationships that

reframed the record as it was being

made. That sense of shifting meaning

runs through the album’s emotional core,

as songs written in the relative safety of

one romance take on a different weight

once it ends. The result is a body of work

that feels unsettled in the most

compelling way.

‘Amiss’ wrestles with questions that

have no easy resolution, its slow burn

arrangement framing a vocal that hovers

between restraint and release, as if

she is still deciding in real time. ‘Beck

n Call’ widens the frame. Featuring a

verse from her brother ttoh, the song

introduces a familial intimacy to the

album’s exploration of validation and

worth. Their interplay feels unguarded,

lending warmth even as the lyrics probe

the discomfort of moulding the self to fit

another’s expectations.

ttoh also appears on ‘Clay’, which began

as a freestyle over collaborator Marcus

White’s super-pitched-up guitar. The

track carries the same rawness that

defines the album’s most affecting

moments. Like the title track, ‘Clay’ finds

waterbaby reflecting on her desire to

be seen as worthy of love. This gradual

shedding of her people-pleasing

tendencies also fed into the way the

album took shape, encouraged to lean

into long freestyles. Lines feel discovered

rather than constructed, giving the

record an intimacy that borders on

intrusive. Paired with arrangements

that draw on her classical background,

complete with strings, horns and piano,

the effect is expansive yet fragile.

‘Memory Be a Blade’ captures an artist

in transition: rather than offering neat

conclusions, waterbaby sits with her

discomfort, turning nostalgia from a

place of safety into a site of reckoning.

Gemma Cockrell

LISTEN: ‘Memory Be A Blade’

#

BRIGITTE CALLS ME

BABY

Irreversible

ATO

Almost two years on from debut ‘The

Future Is Our Way Out’, ‘Irreversible’

finds Brigitte Calls Me Baby updating

the home-grown, ‘80s-inspired indie

sound they made their name on, but

retaining its rock punch, as most

often defined by Wes Leavins’ vintage vocals. ‘I

Danced With Another In My Dream’ is one standout

- an amusing-yet-profound tale of infidelity which

pairs these with an infectious, danceable beat.

Where at points - particuarly on ‘The Pit’ and ‘The

Acts Of Which We Were Designed’ - things drag,

with tired, repetitive lyrics, Wes’ bandmates pick

up the slack, as guitarists Jack Fluegel and David

Rosendahl, and bassist Devin Wessels, orchestrate

some velvety-soft rhythmic harmonies that carry the

record back into fun, with the upbeat ‘I Can Take The

Sun Out Of The Sky’. Not perfect, then, but further

evidence that their upwards climb remains a steady

one. Kathryn Vann

LISTEN: ‘I Danced With Another In My Dream’

A daring and ambitious

statement.

Midwest emo’s modern

stalwarts continue to go from

strength to strength.

4

CHALK

Crystalpunk

ALTER

This long-awaited debut album from Chalk is an

intense, marauding exploration of how relationships

with place, people and purpose shape personal

identity. Splicing together the rock music that first

brought the Belfast duo together with electronic

sounds, ‘Crystalpunk’ is a malevolent and certainly

not subtle record.

Its sleeve, a spiky black glove against a white background, sets the

scene perfectly for a collection that’s full of stark contrasts, jagged

edges of sharp sonic clashes, and slathered in a dark, almost

sexy industrialism.

Opener ‘Tongue’ explodes into focus as Ross Cullen’s ominous

vocal descends into cathartic screams of “Should I go fuck

myself?”. ‘Longer’ delves into a more ‘00s indie-adjacent sound as

crashing drums and heavy guitar chords take centre stage, before

‘One-Nine-Eight-Zero’ unravels a tale of paternal loss and familial

trauma over a bouncy synth-led backdrop which allows the narrative

to hit that bit harder. The record’s magnum opus, arguably, is the

seven-minute ‘Béal Feirste’, illuminating shades of Underworld’s

‘Born Slippy’.

Elsewhere, the throbbing electronica and metallic sounds of

‘Skem’ - clearly a track built to get the blood-pumping - swirl into

some slightly overwhelming sequences, with closer ‘Ache’ ending

with the same dramatic, devilish note on which we started: there

is an argument to be made for slightly more nuance in among its

gothic techno.

As the soundtrack to a night in a sweaty underground club,

‘Crystalpunk’ stands tall - all the more for its thematic emotional

heft. A daring - if, at times, a little overdone - and ambitious

statement. Ciaran Picker

LISTEN: ‘Béal Feirste’

Nicole Busch, Tatiana Katkova

52 D

ALBUMS

#

BOOK OF CHURCHES

Book Of Churches

Gravity / Capitol

Felix Mackenzie-Barrow

probably could have been

forgiven for resting on his

laurels creatively after the

2025 he had; the band he

fronts, Divorce, were one of

the indie rock stories of the year, and their

debut album, ‘Drive to Goldenhammer’, made

the business end of many a year-end list.

Quietly, though, he’s been working on a side

project, with quietly being the operative word;

this debut album under his solo moniker, Book

of Churches, is a minimalist effort in the grand

tradition of indie folk singer-songwriters.

The tracks were each written and recorded

in a single day and then set aside, making

this a collection of snapshots in which

Felix ruminates on some weighty issues

in quiet moments stolen away from the

noise of Divorce’s rise. There are reflections

on breakups (‘All the Good Things’), the

psychological disruption caused by long-haul

travel (‘North Atlantic Ocean’), fear of flying

more generally (‘Catalpa in the Sky’) and the

heaviness of life on the road (‘Hard Ride’), all

delivered handsomely and in his thoughtful,

if occasionally over-earnest, lyrical style.

‘Book of Churches’ is a debut effort rich with

promise; with Divorce continuing to go from

strength to strength, you suspect that he’ll

continue to seek refuge from the chaos in this

softer side of his expression from time to time.

Joe Goggins

LISTEN: ‘Hard Ride’

#

THE ORIELLES

Only You Left

Heavenly

This fourth full-length from

Manchester trio The Orielles

has been self-heralded as a

completion of a cycle - a

return, of sorts, to the indie,

song-led roots of their 2018

debut ‘Silver Dollar Moment’. Tempering the

unfettered experimentation of their last outing,

2022’s ‘Tableau’ (where tracks clocked in

anywhere between 50 seconds and eight

minutes), ‘Only You Left’ does indeed emerge

as a more structured project, roughly bound

by a central polarity of “wood versus metal”

- categories inspired by the band’s dual studio

locales of Hydra and Hamburg.

It’s a textural contrast that colours not just

their lyricism - ‘The Woodland Has Returned’;

‘All In Metal’ - but their compositions, too,

with the former characterised by organic

instrumentation and unfurling harmonies, and

the latter by harsher lines and atmospheric

closeness. Most interesting, though, are

the moments these two material motifs

converge: in ‘Shadow Of You Appears’, stabs

of increasingly urgent, Psycho-like strings

push to the point of elastic limit, before its

propulsive, grounding guitar hook pulls us

back from the brink; similarly, ‘Tears Are’ pairs

the breathy cool of Esmé Hand-Halford’s

airy vocals with grungy riffs and, later, an

exhale of simple acoustic guitar, imbued with

folky, bucolic warmth. Then there’s ‘Ember’

- built on skittish switchboard flashes and a

resonant two-note bass refrain, it blossoms

into an anxious, knife-edge soundscape of

oppositional beauty.

By the record’s final third, however, its already

loose ties are slackening, and the closing

tracks start stretching to fill space beyond

their timestamp, curiously all-consuming but

intangible and untethered. A circle completed,

then? Not quite - The Orielles have never dealt

in such concise shapes. Daisy Carter

LISTEN: ‘Ember’

#

ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND

Lean In

Fiction

‘More’ may not be a word that instantly

comes to mind when considering Art

School Girlfriend, but across this

follow-up to 2023’s ‘Soft Landing’, the

artist – aka Polly Mackey – expands the

scope of her sonic texture while

continuing to evoke the kind of cinematic, quietly

maximalist atmosphere she’s built her name on. Which is

to say in less roundabout ways, it’s more of the same, as

well as more broadly, ‘more’. ‘Almost Transparent’ is more

trip hop, with Polly’s whispery vocal eventually fading away

before the beat returns – with more. ‘Save Something’ is

more soothing, with a subtly catchy piano refrain, and

closer ‘Framer’ adds more with noticeable vocal effects

beyond her trademark layering, as well as more varied

instrumental sounds – strings, an organ – which bleed in

before the track almost literally tunes out. ‘Hope More,

Hopeless’ is yet more subtle, although it does eventually

lead to the closest the record gets to euphoria; so strong is

its almost magnetic attraction to glum – at its ‘most’ during

the barely-there ‘The Field’ – that even the line “what do I

do with love when I get it” on ‘Lines’ doesn’t come with a

positive outlook.

If there’s ‘more’, though, there must be ‘most’, and this

falls during standout ‘L.Y.A.T.T.’, as its sort-of-titular refrain

“I love you all the time” repeats atop a more dancefloorfriendly

beat; making it post-xx in both style and likely

playlist placement as a consequence of that.

Given her choice of sounds and dynamic, it’s evident the

kinds of statements Art School Girlfriend intends to make

are subtle ones – and this is exactly that; one for anyone

who was looking for ‘more’ from the musician. Ed Lawson

LISTEN: ‘L.Y.A.T.T.’

Art School Girlfriend’s Polly Louise Mackey tells us a little more about the making of her third album...

What sort of headspace did you find yourself in

ahead of making ‘Lean In’ and how did you prepare

to begin work?

I think by the time you get to your third album, you have

nothing to prove anymore. I made this album purely for

the process, following my instincts in the present without

worrying what it was going to be. It was the first time I’ve

made a body of work in my own studio, and I recorded

and produced it myself, so I was working alone. It

became a form of therapy; all of my deepest and darkest

thoughts and worries and questions and answers were

explored in a way they hadn’t been before. The studio

was an empty box when I got it, and I filled it and patched

it in a way so it could become a sonic playground;

everything always plugged in and on so I could just tinker

away in private. This album and that time period taught

me a lot about myself and I’m very proud of it.

There are a lot of big (and sometimes existential)

themes explored within the record; how did you go

about making sense of them in a way that still felt

cohesive?

I’ve never written songs that could be perceived as quite

obviously political, philosophical or existential. Obviously

those themes have always been threaded through my

music — and when you’re a lesbian writing about love it

becomes political whether you like it or not. But a lot of

the songs on this album reflect on the current state of the

world, the career I’ve found myself in, society, the internet

and how late-capitalism has infiltrated our most basic

human acts (but also love, family, joy, queerness). These

are universal feelings for so many people at the moment,

but is also a very in-your-thirties mental state. We’re

designed to feel like we’re working towards something for

so much of our youth; and now I think a lot of people are

losing hope in things. But this record is about me coming

out the other side of that, reaching a very calm and

contented point of positive nihilism and realising I have

everything I could ever want in this world.

Was there one particular song or moment during

the writing / recording process that really helped

crystallise what you wanted to achieve with ‘Lean

In’?

Yes, two songs, ‘L.Y.A.T.T.’ and ‘The Peaks’ - they both

wrote and produced themselves in a day each. ‘The

Peaks’ is about health anxiety and wanting desperately

to stay alive to carrying on being with the people that

you love. ‘L.Y.A.T.T.’ is telling someone how resilient

and permanent your love is despite any depression

or distance. They’re as direct as I’ve ever been

lyrically, I think because I was feeling a lot of very

pure feelings. I had a lot of big life events happen

during this period and it just distilled down the

meaning of life into its purest form — it was both

scary and beautiful which I think you can hear

in these songs; they’re quite desperate. The

Q&A

production of these two tracks also really defined the

album direction, this mixture of distortion and beauty,

intimacy and vastness.

This was the first time you self-produced one of your

albums; what about that process felt satisfying as an

artist? And was the idea of it ever a little daunting?

I had self-produced my first two EPs and following

singles, so I always class my self as a self-producer.

Collaborating on my first two albums with a co-producer

Riley MacIntyre was a brilliant experience; it’s so quick

and creative to have another brain in the room to bounce

off. He’s such a good friend and a musical soul mate

really. But for ‘Lean In’ I was very excited to see what

happened when I had no one else to rely on during the

creative blocks. I ended up making more music than I

ever have before, and went deep down so many sonic

avenues. I’m also a much better engineer now than I was

when I first started out, so anything felt possible. The

daunting part came towards the end, when I tried to mix

it myself. I thankfully realised it needed fresh ears (and I

trusted Riley’s) to get it over the line in a way that would

retain all the shoegazey smeariness that would usually

get cleared out in the mix.

Zak Watson

54 D

ALBUMS

4

SURFBORT

Reality Star

Todo

One would hope that to deem Surfbort an act who really

need to be seen live would do nothing to diminish their

recorded output. Captivating as largely a consequence of

vocalist Dani Miller’s chaotic on-stage persona, there’s

nothing from this third album from the New York outfit to

suggest that’s likely to change. However, it’s in the less

obvious moments – for an act renowned for their frenetic vintage-hued

punk rock, at least – that ‘Reality Star’ twinkles brightest.

‘Jessica’s Changed’ is the runaway winner of these. There’s a wonderful

juxtaposition of an imagined ‘then’ and now: the ‘90s slacker rock-via-

2010s lo-fi resurgence sound that’s instead clear, crisp and almost epic in

its sonic scale; the titular Jessica – a mainstay, at least from an acrossthe-pond

perspective – of late-20th Century American teen drama; “I

used to hang with Jessica / But now she’s changed / And I’m falling in

love with the ghost of Kurt Cobain,” sings Dani with seemingly Gen X

ennui, only before the chorus ends with a line that could really only apply

to the here and now in both tone and intention: “I’m a sexy ass bitch in a

world gone mad.”

The title track sits in a similar place, its reference to “quaaludes in the

1900s” sitting alongside a vocal delivery that can only be described as

‘sweet’, turning its hook of “Reality star stuck inside reality / Reality star

everything you wanna be” into observational – and yet not mocking –

satire. ‘Peaches and Cream’ too, talks of “banging our heads to Rock

Lobster” while Dani’s vocal takes on a bored drawl. On their own,

these points may seem curious to a less seasoned listener of the band,

but ‘FUGOMF’ does a stellar job of marrying the two sides, as Dani’s

repetitions of “It’s not worth it,” and “I feel nothing” both end by reaching

a full-on scream. Closer ‘Jessica’s Changed’ is also worth a mention here,

as it’s so complete a vibe shift musically, with Strokes-like guitars piercing

a pure indie sleaze beat.

From a band who’ve nothing to prove – and likely wouldn’t want to feel

they had to anyway – ‘Reality Star’ is both satisfying fuel to power their

live self, and a sparkling showcase of a noisy outfit adept in sprinkling

their – on record - ferocity with wit and personality. Louisa Dixon

LISTEN: ‘Jessica’s Changed’

4

YONAKA

Until You’re Satisfied

Distiller

It’s almost unbelievable to think that it’s been seven years

since YONAKA released their debut album, considering the

Brighton trio have shared two EPs and a mixtape in the time

since. But on this second full-length, the band appear to be

making a much more definitive statement. A record that

- according to vocalist Theresa Jarvis - delves into matters of

the heart in all their gory glory (or “the dirty bits and the harsh bits”), ‘Until

You’re Satisfied’ picks up where the grand ambitions of their debut left off, but

this time, manages to make a return to the attitude and intrigue of their earlier

works. Granted, there are still humongous, widescreen rock moments: take

the stadium-sized ‘Eat You Alive’, or ‘Miss Millennial’, which bears the bite of

Alanis Morissette’s ‘You Oughta Know’, set against a nu-metal-ish backdrop.

And yet, it’s an album that twists and turns in unexpected directions, moving

from the serene, orchestral feel of ‘Intro’ through to the brooding ‘Problems’,

via the swaggering ‘Trouble’ and the gnarly scuzz of ‘Hit Me When I’m Sore’.

Theresa’s vocals are equally surprising, with the frontwoman meandering

through styles to dizzying effect. What previously might’ve felt confused,

instead now feels zealous, proving the trio to be a band who want to continue

pushing the boundaries of their genre’s confines. Sarah Jamieson

LISTEN: ‘Eat You Alive’

EPS, ETC*

*anything they refuse to call an album.

#

ANNA CALVI

Is This All There Is?

Domino

Proclaimed as the first of three related releases on which Anna

Calvi muses on themes of identity and change, ‘Is This All There

Is?’ sees the singer-songwriter take the former on in almost

literal form, with each collaborator on this four track EP infusing

their respective recordings with their own sonic imprint. The title

track featuring The National frontman Matt Berninger, is,

perhaps unsurprisingly, the closest in style to what most might expect from Anna

Calvi, and perhaps as a consequence, the pair’s classic spin on a duet - their

complementing vocal lines sometimes a simmering echo, at others more

straightforward call-and-response, and elsewhere allowing for Anna to go full pelt

– is likely the record’s standout. Iggy Pop brings a thundering swagger to opener

‘God’s Lonely Man’, his gruff voice here a smart textural contrast to Anna’s lower

register, while Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas is close to a whimper on Bonnie

‘Prince’ Billy cover ‘I See A Darkness’, as the track expands to an almost epic

scale behind him. Most interesting, meanwhile, is the turn of Laurie Anderson on

another cover, Kraftwerk’s ‘Computer Love’, where her delivery of the song’s

repetitive lyrics is often as if she’s beginning to understand them in real time.

Hardly an undiscovered talent, of course, but one which sits at a 90-degree angle

to the other three tracks in a mind-scratching manner. A short-and-sweet curio

that’s just as much setting Anna Calvi – and whichever assorted pals she brings

along next time – to go just about anywhere her question-happy whim takes her.

Bella Martin

LISTEN: ‘Is This All There Is?’

4

MASTER PEACE

Stupid Kids

Big Family

Ostensibly a banner under which Master Peace can put a

selection of recent singles, if there’s a thread to be found through

‘Stupid Kids’ beyond Peace’s instantly identifiable vocal, then it’s

fun. Opener ‘There’s No More Underground’ takes a fully ‘70s

punk riff and matches it to some similarly searing messaging

(“They’re cutting down the Amazon / To make room for Amazon”

stays just the right side of the obvious-repetitive line), while at the other end –

both sonically and literally – Declan McKenna joins in as the metaphorical angel

on Peace’s shoulder. His harmonic backing vocals are a smart addition to a track

that’s soft musically – though boosted by some delicious guitars come the

chorus – but heart-on-sleeve introspective lyrically, its refrain of “I fuck it up all

the time” and reference to having been a “little shit” delivered in a manner both

self-deprecating and unapologetic that it just works. In direct contrast, the title

track makes too much of this same premise, its chorus’ repeated “woah-oh-ohs”

as ham-fisted and overwrought as the literal mention of “pockets full of drugs”.

For the most part, though, this is a delightful trip through Peace’s magpie-like

cut-and-paste approach to indie, as ‘My Guitar’ squelches with ‘00s indie disco

synth lines, ‘Spin The Block’ takes a Two Door Cinema-like guitar and keyboard

combo and a Jamie T-indebted chorus yelp, and ‘Good Times’ yearns for the

return of Dark Fruits Twitter with glee: “Let’s go out / And get pissed / Good

times”. Given that imperfect-yet-fun was the premise for much of the records

his music suggests he collected during the misspent youth he sings of, on this

premise it’s pretty much job done. Bella Martin

LISTEN: ‘Fuck It Up’

56 D

3rd April

ARLO PARKS - Ambiguous Desire

DEARY - Birding

RED VANILLA - Where I Should Be

THUNDERCAT - Distracted

10th April

GRETEL - Squish

HOLLY HUMBERSTONE - Cruel World

JESSIE WARE - Superbloom

LIME GARDEN - Maybe Not Tonight

MY NEW BAND BELIEVE - My New Band

Believe

PUNCHBAG - I Am Obsessed

THE ITCH - It's The Hope That Kills You

WESLEY JOSEPH - Forever Ends Someday

16th April

BLOOD WIZARD - Lucky Life

17th April

EAVES WILDER - Little Miss Sunshine

FAST MONEY MUSIC - Fast Money Music

SKINDRED - You Got This

TEEN SUICIDE - Nude descending staircase headless

TOMORA - Come Closer

ZAYN - Konnakol

24th April

FOO FIGHTERS - Your New Favorite Toy

FRIKO - Something Worth Waiting For

JULIA CUMMING - Julia

KNEECAP - FENIAN

METRIC - Romanticize The Dive

MISS GRIT - Under My Umbrella

NOAH KAHAN - The Great Divide

WHITE DENIM - 13

1st May

AMERICAN FOOTBALL - American Football

LIP CRITIC - Theft World

MELANIE C - Sweat

MODERN WOMAN - Johnny's Dreamworld

THE BLACK KEYS - Peaches!

WEIRD NIGHTMARE - Hoopla

8th May

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE - Remember The

Humans

COLA - Cost Of Living Adjustment

MUNA - Dancing On The Wall

15th May

DUA SALEH - Of Earth & Wires

FARVEBLIND - Micro Pleasures

KEVIN MORBY - Little Wide Open

MAISIE PETERS - Florescence

22nd May

ALT BLK ERA - Our World

BLEACHERS - everyone for ten minutes

LOWERTOWN - Ugly Duckling Union

MARMOZETS - CO.WAR.DICE

5th June

OVERPASS - Elsewhere, Always

12th June

LA SÉCURITÉ - Bingo!

19th June

SWIM DEEP

- Hum

#

WITCH POST

Butterfly

Partisan

At the heart of Witch Post is cross-country folklore, the pair - Alaska

Reid and Dylan Fraser - spanning Scotland and the US while conjuring

placelessness and happenstance with their music. Across their second

EP ‘Butterfly’, they’re just as captivated by and fanatical about the

strangeness of a journey or transition: this time, a brooding, listless

dissection of memory and regret. Remnants of 2025’s ‘Beast’ remain,

where rustic Scottish rock intertwined with North American indie to forge heady and

steely roots, but this time they’re looking up towards a sun-drenched canopy, their

ghostly alt-Americana sounds less grounded and more abstract. Take standout

‘Witching Hour’ and its haunting penitence driven by a hypnotic electric guitar riff, or the

similarly affected ‘Country Sour’, a barn dance through dizzying self-reproach, both

reaching for absolution or something simpler, easier. The liminality of its indie-pop

sound - a grungy, temperate dreamscape - is accompanied by a Lynchian short story

that sees the duo drive through ‘familiar places’ that “shift and change in a matter of

minutes” to dig up an unnamed, uncertain buried artefact. It reaffirms the supernatural

tension within ‘Butterfly’: that there exists a remorseful presence which keeps them at

once both stuck and moving, a desire for destination and resolution, even in the

absence of any at all. Across this touching second entry, Witch Post cement their vision

for animated, folky indie-rock - all while crafting engaging lore - and arrive at an exciting

road ahead. Otis Robinson

LISTEN: ‘Witching Hour’

4

ERIN LECOUNT

Pareidolia

Atlantic

Named after the psychological

phenomenon that sees the

brain impose meaning onto

chaos, ‘PAREIDOLIA’ is a

striking, self-assured

statement Erin LeCount. At just

23, the Essex newcomer channels the

theatricality of Kate Bush and Fiona Apple into

a sleek, contemporary pop framework that

feels entirely her own. Across brooding synth

bass, swooning live strings and glassy

electronic flourishes, she traces a willing

descent into self-sabotage, positioning herself

as a paranoid, unreliable narrator throughout

this dark, diaristic six-track collection.

The EP finds Erin embracing a more

otherworldy tone: see ‘808 HYMN’, which pairs

confessional lyrics with brooding synths and

haunting orchestral arrangements. “When I

was young, I thought the moon was walking

me home,” she sings, confronting the loss

of youthful naivety and the stark truths of

adulthood with clarity. On opener ‘I BELIEVE’

lush, synth-driven production frames her

haunting vocals and introspective lyricism,

creating a sound that’s both sweeping and

intimate. It demands attention, confirming Erin

LeCount as both rising talent and artist with a

bold, singular vision. Gemma Cockrell

LISTEN: ‘808 Hymn’

¢

SLAG

Losing

Big Scary Monsters

They say a picture is

worth a thousand words,

and the EP artwork from

rising Brighton quintet

SLAG - in all its

relevantly simple glory

- does a pretty good job of relaying their

spirit. Managing to encapsulate their

out-and-out sense of playfulness while

giving an insight into their sense of

musicality (you can see a good dose of

indie sleaze, art-pop and glam-rock

courtesy of the glittery platform, fishnets

and multiple skinny belts on display),

‘Losing’ is a five-track blitz through their

eclectic but effervescent personality as a

five-piece. Even without having a sense

of their wider visuals, the likes of ‘Face

Off’ and the EP’s title track are earwormy

and chaotic in equal measure, the former

flecked with math rock-esque noodling

while the latter’s different layers heighten

things to a frenzied level. ‘Still Here’,

meanwhile, has a delightful swagger,

with vocalist Amelie Gibson proving

herself to be a captivating leader. A

delightful introduction to a band who

clearly have the most potent of

chemistry. Sarah Jamieson

LISTEN: ‘Face Off’

COMING UP!

Your handy list of records worth getting excited for.

Pooneh Ghana, Raz Azraai, Parker Love Bowling, Sal Redpath, Alexa Viscius, Yoshitaka Kono

D 57

LIVE

JADE

Roundhouse,

London

A joyous, community-oriented

call to dance.

58 D

FRED AGAIN..

Alexandra Palace, London

If Fred again..’s first Ally Pally

residency three years ago

was an underscoring of his

own emphatic mainstream

domination, then this return - a

four-night homecoming spell

to cap his international ‘USB002’

tour - is an ecstatic affirmation of

the other sounds that got him here,

too. A metamorphic live run that

began with the concept of playing 10

shows in 10 different cities around

the world across 10 weeks (while

releasing 10 new tracks to boot),

these performances were purposebuilt

to have the same openendedness

as his ever-evolving,

“infinite” ‘USB’ album (which,

currently, stands at 36 tracks).

Previous outings under this banner

saw him team up with Daft Punk’s

Thomas Bangalter in Paris and

three-fifths of Fontaines DC in

Dublin; two weeks ago, under

this same iconic roof, he united

Underworld and Mike Skinner for a

spine-tingling take on ‘Born Slippy’.

Assembling heroes more effectively

than Marvel, Fred has already set

his own bar very high indeed. How,

then, to keep raising the roof? With

an eclectic, genre-spanning roster

of innovators past and present.

Given that doors tonight were 5pm(!),

you’d be forgiven for presuming

that proceedings might take a little

while to properly warm up (not

least because half the crowd would

have to try and hot-foot it up to

North London during rush hour).

Such is the DJ’s charismatic pull,

though, that hordes are here from

the off, most even heeding his urge

to put their phones away. (Except,

that is, when he unexpectedly

drops an unreleased track from

Harry Styles’ new album…).

Trading a traditional stage setup for

one which pulls the decks forward

into the vast room, allowing space

for an in-the-round style crowd of

guests to dance behind them, the

show design somehow manages to

make the Great Hall feel (relatively)

intimate thanks to a floating

canopy installation - a production

masterstroke that undulates with the

music, heightening and lowering to

variously evoke the arched canvas

of a festival tent or the close, sweaty

ceilings of a basement club.

It’s the latter that’s in order for the

night’s centrepiece - a blistering

three-way exchange between

JME, D Double E, and Flowdan,

who trade bars both familiar (‘Too

Many Men’; ‘Man Don’t Care’) and

fresh (‘Rumble’) atop a deckside

platform as Fred gleefully

throws out wildcard mixes. Where

previously, cuts from his Mercury

Prize-shortlisted breakout LP ‘Actual

Life 3’ were the crux of crowd

fervour, now those tracks - while

still beloved - are aired alongside

selects from 2024’s ‘ten days’ as

sort of musical axles, more solid

points around which the rest of the

night can move. The whole five hour

set is a party, but these guest sets

are undoubtedly the life and soul.

Elsewhere, BERWYN’s turn

- particularly the stomping

‘BerwynGesaffNeighbours’ - is

an easy highlight, as is the curtain

call appearance of La Roux for

a rare live rendition of Skream’s

dubstep classic ‘In For The Kill’

remix. (That she didn’t then cap

it off with ‘Bulletproof’, though, is

frankly criminal). But it’s perhaps

tonight’s most unexpected crossover

which reigns supreme. Trooping

onstage, trumpets and saxophones

aloft, Ezra Collective should, in

theory, be outliers at a 10,000

capacity rave. And yet, for all their

obvious differences, the group’s

DNA is much the same as Fred’s,

defined by a joyous, communityoriented

call to dance. Joined

by one half of electronic duo Joy

(Anonymous), their roof-raising turn

is the euphoric epitome of ‘USB’’s

central collaborative concept.

On this tour, Fred has gathered

a collection of artists who - from

grime to dubstep, synth-pop to

jazz - all once stood at the vanguard

of pushing popular music’s

traditional boundaries; tonight, he

joins their ranks. Daisy Carter

OLIVIA DEAN

Albert Hall, Manchester

It’s been two years since Olivia Dean last played

Manchester’s Albert Hall, she recalls on stage,

framed in a sultry spotlight and surrounded by

a sea of flickering candles. It’s a setting that’s

nothing short of majestic for the five-time BRIT

Award nominee, who now arrives on that same

stage for a hugely intimate performance, as part of War

Child’s annual run of special charity shows leading

up the main ceremony. The iconic North West venue

makes for a stunning backdrop with its ecclesiastical

interiors, and is filled to the brim with palpably excitable

fans from all walks of life - an immediately obvious

cross-section of the superstar’s wide appeal.

In those two years, Olivia has risen exponentially through

the ranks, her pending tour dates now far surpassing

the modest size of tonight’s stage, with multiple dates

across global arenas - not least, four nights at New

York City’s world-famous Madison Square Garden -

booked in for the months ahead. With the release of

last year’s acclaimed ‘The Art Of Loving’ - for which

most of this evening’s reaction is saved - she’s forged

a meteoric climb to the top, but as she takes fans

back to the start, there’s a clear sense that everyone

here has been with her for the entire journey.

Slotted in after opener ‘Lady Lady’, an early outing for

the insatiable ‘Nice To Each Other’ truly kickstarts the

night, as Oliva glides from full band to acoustic guitar,

even touching on acapella. Each variation is delivered

flawlessly, dominated by her smooth and effortless

vocals, every note as elegant as her shimmering

green dress. There’s a touch of consistent nostalgia

to all that she presents, be it her homage to smoky

jazz clubs or her beaming adoration for the on-stage

musicians. At one moment, it’s the band themselves

who take centre stage, playfully called forward by

the star as she loses herself in their own music.

As free flowing as it is meticulous, and as effortless as it is

perfect, the whole performance is heightened even more

by her ebullient personality, which positively radiates

from the stage in a manner belying her superstar status.

As rousing closer ‘Man I Need’ rings out in tonight’s

intimate setting, it’s easy to understand Olivia Dean’s

unparalleled rise. If two years can cement such growth,

there’s no telling what the next can bring - but surely,

undoubtedly, they’ll hold a BRIT Award or two. Ben Tipple

Nothing short of majestic.

Theo Batterham, Aaron Parsons

D 59

LIVE

DEFTONES

The O2, London

Few could’ve expected the trajectory

of Deftones throughout their third

decade as a band. Having long been

festival mainstays, but barely playing

a handful of UK headline shows over

the past ten years, it seems almost

unbelievable to think that the Sacramento stalwarts

would sell out a huge stint at Crystal Palace Park

(in mere minutes, too) last summer, just to return for

a full arena tour this February. Yet what, on paper,

would’ve been an ambitious feat ten years ago,

now feels entirely justified, as their final night at

The O2 is ready to burst at the seams. What’s more

remarkable, perhaps, is their audience; while they

may be a band celebrating their 33rd anniversary in

2026, vast swathes of tonight’s crowd were clearly

barely even born when they released their debut

‘Adrenaline’ back in 1995. It’s a humbling reminder

that the success stories of algorithmic trends and

viral videos aren’t always flash-in-the-pan.

An atmospheric band to the last drop, Deftones excel

in rooms of this size; their heady brew of alternative

metal manages to be staggering and fierce one

moment, gorgeous and full of vibrant life the next.

The show’s stage production adds yet more hefty

clout to the spectacle of tonight - with a full size

moving screen that slithers with the bright white

snake of their most recent album’s artwork one

minute, before shifting into a hazy, apocalyptic sunset

later in the show. But really, it the band’s chemistry

and skill as musicians that is most impressive. An

indisputable live force of nature - led by the defiant

Chino Moreno, who leaps and bounds about the

stage all evening - they’re a band who never seem

to falter on stage, even this far into their career.

As such, we’re treated to a powerful set that runs

through almost every different chapter of their time

as a band: from the iconic clout of their ‘Around

The Fur’ cuts ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’

and ‘My Own Summer (Shove It)’ - which sound

arguably more bludgeoning today then when they

were first released in 1997 - through to their more

expansive, genre-blending works in ‘Ohms’ (tonight

they air ‘Genesis’) and last summer’s ‘private

music’. A testament to both the grandeur of their

discography and their still all-too-evident place at

the top of metal’s hierarchy, tonight is a tremendous

feat in more ways than one. Sarah Jamieson

Staggering and fierce one

moment, gorgeous and full of

vibrant life the next.

SET LIST

Be Quiet And Drive (Far

Away)

Locked Club

Rocket Skates

Diamond Eyes

Ecdysis

Digital Bath

My Mind Is A Mountain

Souvenir

Swerve City

Rosemary

Cut Hands

Infinite Source

Sextape

Hole In The Earth

Change (In The House Of

Flies)

Genesis

Milk Of The Madonna

Cherry Waves

My Own Summer (Shove It)

7 Words

Clemente Ruiz

60 D

LUCIA FAIRFULL

HEADLINER:

STEVIE

NICKS

It has to be Stevie Nicks.

BUT, she’d play her solo music

from the ‘80s. I love Fleetwood

Mac, but she would only play Stevie

Nicks solo music - ‘Rock A Little’ is

one of the best albums ever. I went to

see her play twice a few years ago, and she brought out Harry Styles

on stage at Hyde Park. Then I saw her in Glasgow and she dragged it

out for ages - she’s such a yapper, in a marvellous way - and all these

girls around me started getting their phones out, ‘cos they’d seen

videos of Harry Styles before… and then she brought out her vocal

coach, who is this 60 year old bald man. I thought that was such a

flex, it was so funny.

But I feel like on this occasion, she’d bring me out. I’d be her special

guest! She has ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ with Tom Petty, and

I’d be Tom Petty. Then, maybe we’d go backstage together afterwards

and do spells together or something.

SUPPORT: LUCIA & THE BEST BOYS

I’m sorry to say, but there’s no way in hell this is all going on and we’re

not playing. We’re the support, obviously!

VENUE: EILEAN DONAN CASTLE

For me, it has to be in a castle. I’m a bit of a castle fanatic, and I would

probably choose Eilean Donan Castle, which is on the West coast. It

sits on its own little island, and when you drive past it at night time it’s

really beautifully lit up - it looks so surreal. So maybe the castle would

be the backdrop to the stage, and the stage would be on that island.

That would be wild. I think we’d have the gig as the sun’s setting,

so by the time Stevie Nicks is on stage, we’re in full celestial mode.

Gorgeous!

WHO ARE YOU GOING WITH?

I’d take my band - I think they’d be pissed if this was happening and I

didn’t. Obviously we’re playing, so they’d have to be there… but they

make everything ten times more fun anyway, so they’d be VIPs. Then

I’d just invite all my best friends. I’d probably write the invite to Cher

too - I think she’d have a good time. I think Cher is also a witch, so this

would be right up her street; she’d be down to come for a little party

in Scotland.

WHAT ARE YOU EATING / DRINKING?

Maybe a banquet has happened… Maybe we’ve got a banquet

backstage, and that’s our rider. Everyone’s drinking whisky and fine

wine, but not out of shite plastic cups; they’re drinking it out of crystal

glasses and goblets, like the kind you’d find in your grandparents’

house.

IS THERE A PRE-GIG ACTIVITY?

One of my favourite things to do is wild swimming, and being at

Eilean Donan Castle, there’s probably a lot of good wild swimming

spots. You can drive there, but I was thinking we would enter from the

waterside on a boat, and spend the day jumping into the sea. We’d be

cleansing our souls with a wild swim before we go to the show! And

with a little bit of peer pressure, I’m sure we could get Cher and Stevie

to have a go.

IS THERE AN AFTERPARTY?

We’re in the North of Scotland - we’re definitely having a ceilidh in

the grand hall of Eilean Donan Castle. Everyone’s drinking out of their

goblets and crystal glasses; there’s a live ceilidh band. And we’d do

Strip The Willow - one of the ceilidh dances - and make the longest

Strip The Willow line ever known.

When we’re there, it’d be impossible to get everyone an Uber home,

so everybody would just stay over in the castle. You know when you

watch medieval films, and there’s always those scenes after they’ve

had a big night in the grand hall, and they’re all sleeping with their

heads on the banquet table? That would be us.

ANY ADDITIONAL EXTRAS?

There would be a room filled with incredible clothes, and you could

choose whatever you wanted from there to wear for the rest of the

evening. You’d go in, and anything you desired would be in

there - you could kind of manifest your outfit. I feel most

powerful when I’m wearing black, so maybe I’d wear a

more dramatised version of this black velvet Westwood

dress I have. It’s my one prized item of

clothing. I’m also really thinking

about being coordinated with

Stevie’s stage look as well, so

we’re the most iconic duo ever.

I won’t steal the shawl though,

that’s her thing.

Lucia & The Best Boys’

latest single, ‘Lonely Girl’

(feat. Lauren Mayberry), is

out now. D

Eusebius, CC BY 3.0

62 D

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