This month in Upset Riot!
4. THE WONDER YEARS 8. ARCANE ROOTS 10. VANS WARPED TOUR 12. DEFEATER 13. FOXING
About to Break
14. THE WINTER PASSING 15. MUSKETS
Reading & Leeds 2015
16. FIDLAR 26. PVRIS 28. FRANK CARTER 32. AMERICAN FOOTBALL 34. AGAINST ME! 38. FRANK TURNER 40. PIERCE THE VEIL 42. RADKEY 44. NECK DEEP 48. DON BROCO 50. MARMOZETS 51. FRANK IERO
Rated
52. ALBUM REVIEWS 58. LIVE REVIEWS
upsetmagazine.com Editorial: editorial@upsetmagazine.com Stockist enquiries: stockists@upsetmagazine.com Advertising: advertising@upsetmagazine.com This month’s edition of Upset is brought to you by... Ali Shutler, Ben Tipple, Emma Matthews, Emma Swann, Heather McDaid, Jessica Bridgeman, Louise Mason, Phil Smithies, Ryan De Freitas, Sarah Louise Bennett, Sarah Jamieson, Stephen Ackroyd, Tom Connick, Will Richards, Viki Sinden 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 Upset. 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 Upset holds no responsibility.The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Upset or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally. 3
Riot! THE LOWDOWN ON EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN ROCK.
The
WONDER YEARS
DAN ‘SOUPY’ CAMPBELL WAS LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION. AND THEN IT HIT HIM. MOVE FORWARDS AT ALL COSTS. WITH THEIR NEW ALBUM, THE WONDER YEARS ARE SET TO CHANGE EVERYTHING, FOR THE BETTER. WORDS: ALI SHUTLER.
“I’m no closer to heaven but I’m going to keep walking.”
S
itting on the front step of his house, shaking slightly in the November chill despite a winter coat, Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell was writing in a notebook trying to figure out his next record. “I just couldn’t sit inside any more,” he reflects. “[I was] just sitting there and writing. Not even writing lyrics, just ruminating on the concepts. There were three pages filled with what in the world was frustrating me and then trying to hone in on why that was happening and how I could fix it. All of a sudden it just popped out. I ended up writing this line, ‘I’m no closer to heaven, but I’m going to keep walking’. Shit, I get it now,” Dan remembers. That moment of clarity spearheading the emotional
and progressive charge that is the fifth The Wonder Years album, ‘No Closer To Heaven’. “It’s about the idea that we should be striving for progress at every turn and that we shouldn’t be resting on our understanding. It’s almost scientific and I really think people are going to love it.” Talking during one of his rare off days from the Warped Tour - “It’s the hardest tour to do; really, really exhausting, but it’s always rewarding to work hard” - Dan is “incredibly, unbelievably excited” about the imminent album. “Every time I get to show somebody new, I get like a giddy child. I can’t wait for you to hear it,” he starts. He’s less nervous than normal ahead of its release and for good reason. “We’re really confident that this is inarguably and unequivocally our best record. There’s not even a shadow of doubt in my mind - I know we put everything we had into it. I
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Defeater embrace natural progression with new album ‘Abandoned’ They may have moved to Epitaph, but Derek Archambault isn’t trying to make Defeater “blow up”. Words: ALI SHUTLER.
“W
e’re still the same fucking band, we’re just on a different label now,” states Derek Archambault, defiantly. When Defeater announced their move from Bridge 9 to Epitaph earlier this year, the punk purists came a-calling. “We definitely got a lot of flack from people who… who knows what the fuck they think,” the vocalist reflects. “We were getting called sell outs from people thinking we were jumping ship. Chris [Wren, Bridge 9’s owner] put it very well. He said, ‘Dude, it’s not a lateral move. You’re not moving to another label of the same size, it’s just natural progression,’ which is a weird thing for me to even say.
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conviction. “It’s not something we ever thought we’d get to do with our band. We thought we’d just put out a record, tour on it and then probably break up, because that’s what bands do,” he reasons. “We got lucky.” The first point of business at their new home of Epitaph is to release their fourth studio album ‘Abandoned’. The record carries on the narrative of a New Jersey family struggling post-World War II, this time from the perspective of a lapsed Catholic priest. The storyline has run through their whole back catalogue but a question about the limitations of this device is met with a resounding no. “In my head, these characters are living and breathing,” Derek states with absolute
“They’re meant to just be a vessel for the listener,” he explains. “I’ve heard a lot of different spins on the story and people taking very different things away. People connecting with it at all is incredible to me.” “There’s definitely stuff written from a personal influence, but it’s meant to be for the everyman. I’ve pulled that influence from my favourite songwriters.” A humble disclaimer about not comparing himself to ‘The Boss’ is quickly shared before he continues. “The stuff I’ve taken from Springsteen is that it might seem like an incredibly personal song and it’s extremely affecting, but when it comes down to it,
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though. We’re all happier with the results. We’re actually functioning as a band now,” he adds with a smile. “Before things were hectic. We were doing everything by the seat of our pants and not putting forth the effort we should have. Now, we’ve been able to take the time and actually write as a band. It only took us five years but we’re much more of a real band now,” he continues. “We’ve practiced maybe ten times in the past six and a half years so we’re not normal. Everyone’s talented enough that we can just show up and everyone can play their parts.”
he’s just telling a story. He’s just really good at writing for the everyman. That’s why people connect so deeply with his music, they feel like it was written for them. That’s what I want to convey.” Defeater’s audience has always felt connected to the band; from 2008’s ‘Travels’ to last year’s ‘Letters Home’, but it hasn’t always mirrored the band behind it. “We’ve hit a couple of rough patches where not everyone in the band was happy,” says Derek, “We were all much more involved with this new record and the last one
Sitting backstage at Download Festival, interrupted by the offer of a ride to the stage while bassist Mike Poulin sits on a plastic chair eating food from a paper plate, Derek comments that being here is really strange for him. In a few hours, he’ll be commanding a packed tent. Even a guest appearance by Beratooth’s Caleb Shomo won’t detract from his captivating power. “I never saw our band getting to this point,” he repeats. “I’ve toured the UK and Europe with one of my old bands and that was mind-blowing. I knew it was attainable but not on this grand a scale. It’s very surreal.” Even with ‘Abandoned’ being gifted a larger platform through Epitaph, Derek has no burning desire to force Defeater to the next level. “I’m content here. I’m not trying to blow up or turn our band into anything bigger than it is. Whatever happens naturally happens but we’re not trying to play the main stage. At the root of it, we’re still just a bunch of idiot hardcore kids who want to relive our youth.” P Defeater’s album ‘Abandoned’ will be released on 28th August.
Foxing: “We’re trying to make everything a step forward” With second album ‘Dealer’ out later this year, the St Louis emos are constantly evolving. Words: WILL RICHARDS.
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hat does a small, largely DIY band do when every ounce of their equipment is stolen mid-tour? “We just had to carry on”, explains Foxing bassist Josh Coll. “It’s all we could do”.
our fans will do for us.”
When the band’s van was broken into in July, half way through a jaunt with mewithoutYou, the future of their tour, of future tours, and of their year as a band, had no certainty. “Luckily, this UK and European run with Tigers Jaw was never in doubt because we’re renting stuff out here, but for the remainder of the mewithoutYou tour, and for everything in the US from here on in, we were – and are - still rebuilding,” explains vocalist Conor Murphy.
This UK and European tour in support of Tigers Jaw is a chance for Foxing to see out the era of ‘The Albatross’, while also looking ahead to new album ‘Dealer’ and the future. Speaking to the band on only their second night on the continent, they’re already picking up differences between the crowds and communities this side of the Atlantic, as Hellwig details. “The crowds here actually listen to what you’re saying in between songs, where in America you have to shout to get a word in! We’re still trying to get to grips with the way things work over here, but so many of our friends in bands have toured here and have an extremely high opinion of the scene.”
One thing the band have taken from their misfortune is an appreciation for the kindness of fans and the DIY community. “Within minutes of us posting online about the theft, we had fans from all over the world offering us help, equipment and money to get us back on our feet. It’s something we’re so appreciative of. Our feelings turned from despair to a wonderful realisation of what
When the band return from Europe, they’re heading out on another long US tour after a short break, before the campaign for ‘Dealer’ begins. “Finally coming over to Europe is huge for us, so with this finally ticked off, and with a new appreciation for actually even being able to carry on doing this, we’re just trying to make everything a step forward and keep on progressing.” P 13
THE BIGGEST ROCK WEEKEND OF THE YEAR IS HERE. R E A D I N G & L E E D S 2 0 1 5 I S PA C K E D W I T H A M A Z I N G B A N D S . O V E R T H E N E X T 3 6 PA G E S W E TA L K T O S O M E O F T H E V E RY B ES T.
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L E L z S M Sg LI Kw E PUr NK SPd IRIT FIDLAR
MAIN STAGE READING: SATURDAY LEEDS: SUNDAY
FROM THE STORIES ZAC CARPER CAN TELL, THE FACT FIDLAR’S SECOND ALBUM IS HERE AT ALL SEEMS ALMOST RIDICULOUS. AS THEY PREPARE FOR READING & LEEDS’ MAIN STAGES, THAT IT’S ONE OF THE ALBUMS OF THE YEAR IS NOTHING SHORT OF INSANE. WORDS: ALI SHUTLER. PHOTOS: PHIL SMITHIES.
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FI DL AR
“I
t was really scary not singing about drugs and alcohol, but fuck it. I needed to do it,” says Zac Carper with matter of fact clarity. You see, FIDLAR mark ‘Too’ might have started saying no to narcotics, but everything else is still met with a resounding yes. “This is going to sound so cheesy,” he continues with a gentle shake of his head. “But before FIDLAR was a band, it was still a thing. It was this mentality we all had, just do whatever the fuck you want.” It’s an outlook that rages through the band. From their all-caps name, lifted from the notebook graffiti of Fuck It Dog, Life’s A Risk, through the chaos of the live show, there’s a freedom. Their debut album, selftitled for a reason, painted a grotty picture of drug-fuelled partying and alcoholinduced escapism. And that’s fine for a while but ‘Too’, the band’s imaginatively named second album, is a follow up beyond chronology. Those DIY tattoos can’t be washed off in the morning. “I really believe in this whole skate culture, punk rock idea. It has an almost religious aspect to me and that’s contagious,” Zac explains. “It’s a very unique mentality but it’s important. Not everybody can be Oasis. Not everybody can be witty and cool or wear those shades and have that look. I wish I could, but our thing is a little different. It’s for the generation of people who just are. We’re not selling music, we’re selling a lifestyle,” he explains before pointing at the door. “Just get out there and do it.” It’s a confident stance from a man who’s had to be pushed into it. “The thought of
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F I DL A R
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FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES
THE PIT READING: SUNDAY LEEDS: FRIDAY
BLOoM IN
IT MAY HAVE TAKEN A DECADE BUT FRANK CARTER HAS FINALLY GROWN INTO THE MUSICIAN HE’S ALWAYS WANTED TO BE, AND HE’S NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED.
“I
think...” begins Frank Carter, searching for the right words. “I’ve not been as excited about anything musically that I’ve done, as I am about this. It just feels like the right thing.” He pauses again. “It feels… I can’t explain it!” he laughs, shaking his head. “I can’t put it into words. I just have this feeling as I’m walking around at the minute that something good is going on. I’ve not had that for a long, long time.” Frank’s sat in the midst of a noisy East London food market, fresh from having completed his first full headline tour under his new guise Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. His newest project first reared its head a little over three months prior, but judging from his excitement, it’s something he’s been working towards for a lot longer than that.
“It was one of those things…” he starts, revisiting his previous incarnations. “With Gallows, I was dealt the best hand but I didn’t know how to play the cards. Then with Pure Love, I was super keen to play the game and I got the shittest cards. This time, it feels like I’ve got a winning hand and I’m a really fucking good player. It feels like I understand what I need to do and I’ve been dealt the perfect hand to do it. I’ve handpicked everybody
WORDS: SARAH JAMIESON. PHOTOS: PHIL SHARP.
around me. I fired everybody and made sure to be out of all those fucking contracts and reached out to people that I’ve trusted. Now, I’ve got this really good team that really care about me and the music and my sort of vision for it, so excitement is abound right now. It’s kinda nuts. I keep calling Deano - he’s the guy who I’m writing the music with - and I keep needing him to give me a bit of a reality check.” It’s been a decade since Frank first made his mark. All fiery red hair and stark tattoos, his role as the savage frontman of Gallows soon allowed him to become an icon. Yet after two albums he called it quits, leaving his maniacal image forever seared into the minds of fans everywhere. Next, he decided to explore his own limitations by teaming up with The Hope Conspiracy’s Jim Carroll for Pure Love, before the duo – as he says himself – were dealt “the shittest cards.” “I think when I left Gallows, it was because I was really unhappy,” he thinks back. “I just didn’t like the direction they wanted to go in musically. I always promised myself, ‘The minute it feels forced or I’m not enjoying the music, peace out’. So I did, and then Pure Love was a reaction to that. It was an experiment in finding my limitations, of which I found none really. I went and learned to
sing and played the same shows that I’ve always played. When that ended, that’s when I felt really bad. That’s when I felt truly lost and I didn’t really know what the next step was.”
It was then that Frank decided to walk away. Having already established himself as a soughtafter tattooist, he decided it was about time to settle down and gain some stability, for both his wife and newborn daughter. “I really tried my hardest to cut music out of my life,” he admits. “It became like, ‘Get rid of this, it’s not working. Be a dad, be a husband. Be a good adult’, and I felt the weakest version of me. I was miserable, I was mean. I was a grumpy arsehole to be around and my wife was like, ‘Please start a fucking band!’” he laughs. “She knew it before I did. When I told her, ‘Look, I’m gonna quit music and focus on tattooing’ I thought she’d be stoked to lock ourselves in and get some security, but she was so nervous. I didn’t understand that at all. It was security and a future. The one thing she kept saying to me was, ‘You can always go back’. Before Christmas last year, we’d had a really rough year with lots of ups and downs and it was just before our daughter was born. I was like, ‘I think I wanna start a new band’ and her first reaction wasn’t, ‘Are you fucking kidding me? We’re going to have a baby in a month!’ Her first reaction was a big fucking smile and she was so happy. Then
“We’re having a lot of fun together.” THE LONG AWAITED AMERICAN FOOTBALL REUNION SHOWS NO SIGN OF SLOWING DOWN. WORDS: TOM CONNICK.
A
year into an American Football reunion tour that was meant to last two October nights at New York’s Webster Hall, emo icon Mike Kinsella is reflecting on the runaway success of the band’s return. “I kinda thought it’d be those couple of shows and we’d walk away,” he explains, “but it turns out we’re having a lot of fun together, hanging out. So we keep doing it.” It’s an interestingly off-thecuff approach for a band whose original incarnation seemed destined to avoid the elephant in the room of their unfinished business, but once the wheels started turning, Kinsella and co. found it hard to stop. “It seems to be the right time to do it,” he admits. “A lot of bands who are doing super cool things now, if you trace their lineage, you’re gonna work your way back to American Football. So their young fans who are enthusiastic and into stuff, they weren’t there. Five years ago, I don’t think these people who have been there. So we sort of brought it back at the right time. It was the right time for us personally, too.” Personal is pretty much American Football’s middle name, with the intimacy of their self-titled EP and LP finding favour with generations of lonely teens in the years of the band’s absence. “I mean that’s what’s funny too,” he shrugs when asked how it’s felt to revisit material nearing twenty years old. “We first said we’d do it and I was like ‘man, how are we gonna get up and play these quiet, slow, sad songs to lots of people?’ But it turns out everywhere we go there’s a bunch of sad people like us!” he laughs. “So they’re
all stoked, they’re all quiet and they all wanna hear it, and we’re having so much fun playing.” “I thought I’d be getting up there and really cringing at a lot of old lyrics. It turns out it’s cool! I’m so far removed from them that I don’t have to act like I’m cooler than that now. Maybe for a while, maybe I thought I was cooler than that – I felt like I had to prove I was cooler than 20-year-old me! And now that I’m almost forty it doesn’t matter – y’know, who cares? So now that’s part of why it’s more fun too; everything I was stressed about turned out to be in my own head. So as long as I’m just going with it, it’s super fun.” The next steps of the band point to Reading & Leeds – the UK focal point of a reunion that’s seen many members of American Football visit places they’ve never been before – these stages, too, are new ground for the four-piece. “It’s sort of a new thing, obviously, for us – we’ve done a couple [of festivals] and I feel like there’s been a crowd of people for us and that sort of makes it easier. But this one in particular, we’re all like, ‘I dunno if anyone’s gonna be there to see us!’ So it might be a little weird. I think we have something that’s different and it’s unique to offer, so if you’re just there all day watching 12 bands I think we’ll stand out in a way that’s at least different,” Mike offers diplomatically. That’s not to say, though, that the band have nothing in common with those they’re sharing the line-up with. As well as influencing a number of the bands on the line-up directly, American Football are also sharing reunion experiences with
the likes of Refused and Alexisonfire. “Festivals are funny,” he explains. “It’s just a funny backstage, cause obviously there’s like 150 bands. Obviously all these bands getting back together are old dudes, and we’re all kinda jaded. Not in a bad way, but in a sort of way like it’s not like everybody’s walking around trying to schmooze and sell their band or talk about their band – it’s just a bunch of old people excited about free beer and catering and stuff.” “It’s definitely… I don’t want to call it a ‘trend’ because I’m part of it and it has a bad connotation, but [playing festivals] makes sense for these bands. They’re older, they’re doing other things with their life, and to be honest it doesn’t really make sense to get back together and play a bunch of tiny unsuccessful shows,” he laughs. “So if you’re able to play festivals then it totally makes sense. “Reading & Leeds in my head, I’m like ‘oh my God, it’s the same stage Def Leppard and Iron Maiden or whoever [have played]” he continues, before offering up possibly the surest indictor of his years of musical experience. “In my head, y’know, these were big bands and I’m sure they were getting laid and doing coke all the time – but for my experience, with the crew I’m running in, it’s just like ‘oh cool, it’s a vacation and we get to play music to a bunch of people’.”P
Q g+A b
HOW ARE YOU PREPARING FOR READING & LEEDS? The only thing I’m trying to do – I’m trying to drink enough every night while I’m home so that while I’m there, I don’t get to too drunk and try and pick a fight with Lars Ulrich! That’s how I’m training for these shows – I’m building up a tolerance so I don’t get beat up by Metallica’s bodyguards. SO YOU’RE NOT LOOKING TO START ANY BEEF THEN? Nope! The wife, she clearly stated that I can’t start a fight with Metallica, and she said I can’t make fun of the guy from Limp Bizkit. I need to not get drunk, which means I need to drink more here so that my tolerance is built up.
ONCE YOU HIT THAT FESTIVAL SITE IT’S KIND OF ‘ANYTHING GOES!’ Anything goes, man – you’re all in catering together, the guy from Limp Bizkit’s walking around like a total dork, what are you gonna do? Should be quite a nice atmosphere, to be surrounded by people who know what you’re going through. Yeah, we played Primavera and we were just sitting by the hotel pool, and it was like [Corin Tucker] from Sleater-Kinney’s daughter, playing in the pool and splashing everybody. It’s just a bunch of dads like ‘oh that’s so cool! We should’ve brought our kids!’.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
NME / RADIO 1 READING: FRIDAY LEEDS: SATURDAY
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Reading & Leeds 2016 headliner?
FRANK TURNER
FESTIVAL REPUBLIC READING: SUNDAY LEEDS: FRIDAY
“Nothing good comes from being in your comfort zone.”
FRANK TURNER HAS A READING CLOSING NIGHT HEADLINE SLOT ON HIS WISH LIST, BUT FIRST THERE’S A BRAND NEW ALBUM TO DEAL WITH. WORDS: ALI SHUTLER. PHOTO: SARAH LOUISE BENNETT.
“I
t’s good to be back in the saddle,” starts Frank Turner. “There was a break and a lot of that was arguments over what to do with the album, but I won my fights. I won my battles with record labels and now, I’m just excited to be on tour with this record.” It’s the road that’s been his home for the past decade. “By my standards, I’ve had a fair amount of time off the road in the last year,” he offers. “Part of it was working on the record and part of it was, at the end of the ‘Tape Deck Heart’ tour, there was definitely a feeling shared
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everyone in the band that, ‘Wow, we’re nearly dead.’ “There’s a certain degree of bravado in my tour schedule and I realised the only person who really gave a fuck about it, was me. What is the point in sacrificing yourself on the altar of your own ego? That’s ridiculous. We have resolved to take it a little bit easier but I’m very excited to get back on tour, from Reading [& Leeds Festival] I’m going to be out for at least a year. Reading to Reading would be an interesting one,” he ventures. ”Ready? Go.” “I first went [to Reading] in 95 so it’s definitely changed. In
some ways it’s bigger, in some ways it’s not,” he explains before pausing. “That makes this 20 years, which hadn’t occurred to me until just now,” the dawning realisation taking him aback. “I’m getting old,” he exhales with a certain degree of melodrama. “With all due respect to Glastonbury, when I was a kid there was definitely Reading kids and Glastonbury kids and it was quite the social divide, Glastonbury kids were generally people interested in getting wasted and the vibe while Reading kids were into seeing the following bands in the following order. I was definitely more on the Reading
side of that divide, so there’s an allegiance to it on that level. “Reading isn’t cool in the way that Glastonbury is and that’s part of the reason I like it. I feel like that myself, I’ve never been particularly cool, I don’t think I ever will be and that’s fucking fine,” he adds with a smile. “It’s got a slightly nerdy quality about it.” Frank appearance at this year’s festival makes it nine appearances in nine years, which is an impressive run. “Over the years we’ve had a steady ascent, which is nice. I played three of four years in a row, it went well and it just kind of turned into a
thing. It was already kind of ridiculous how many years in a row I’d done and the guys at Reading took us to one side and said, ‘It’s fine, just keep playing.You’re welcome back anytime’.” It’s an offer Frank’s looking to hold on to. “Hopefully we’ll go to ten years next year. This year’s a slightly weird one. I think we’re planned for something quite big next year so they’re putting me on ice this year,” he says shaking his head. ”Putting me on ice, I’m headlining a stage, what a ridiculous thing to say. It’s going to be a solo show, which will be fun. I’m grateful to be invited and people generally come to whatever stage I’m playing so it’s all right.” He’s played practically every stage at the festival but there’s one slot he’s still got an eye on. “Fuck yeah, headlining Sunday night,” he fires back immediately with a smirk. “Of course there’s a little bit of nerves but I’m quite proud of this record,” Frank ventures of ‘Positive Songs For Negative People’. “I think it’s what I wanted to do,’ he adds. “I just wanted it to be more raw and in your face this time round. With ‘Tape Deck Heart’, we got really lost in a studio and it seemed like an interesting thing to do. I’m always trying to change up what I do, every time I do it. I always think it’s important to go out of your comfort zone because nothing good comes from being in your comfort zone, but there are parts of ‘Tape Deck Heart’ I would do differently in retrospect, shall we say. This time I wanted to capture the sound of me and The Sleeping Souls playing live, which is something we haven’t done before. Hopefully we’ve done it but it’s not really for me to say.”P Frank Turner’s album ‘Positive Songs for Negative People’ is out now.
WIN tickets to Reading & Leeds 2015 B RI N G M E T H E H O RI ZO N . A L E X I SO N F I RE . M ETA L L I CA T H E R E AR E LOADS OF AMA ZING BANDS PL AYI NG READI NG AND LE E DS T H IS SUMME R WHO WE HAVEN’T EVEN HAD TI ME TO ME NT ION IN T H ESE PAGES . WA N T TO G O ? O BV I O US LY. WA N T TO G O FO R F RE E ? T H O U G H T SO. W E ’ V E G OT A PA I R O F T I C K ETS TO E I T H E R RE A D I N G O R L E E DS - YO U R C H O I C E , D E A R RE A D E R - TO G I V E AWAY TO O N E O F YO U. I N T E REST E D ? H E A D TO U PS ET M AG A Z I N E .C O M N OW TO E N T E R , BU T G ET O N I T - T H E FESTIVAL TA K ES P L AC E T H I S AU G U ST BA N K H O L I DAY W E E K E N D, SO T H E C O M P ET I T I O N W I L L C LOS E V E RY B LO O DY SO O N I N D E E D. 39
“We want people to hear it and think, f**k, finally!” AFTER A FIVE YEAR WAIT, RADKEY FINALLY ARRIVE WITH THEIR DEBUT. WORDS: HEATHER MCDAID.
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eenage boredom is the source of a lot of things: wandering through the same town over and over hoping something different happens, well maintained Tumblr accounts, the search for new hobbies. The latter is what Missouri-born brothers Radkey faced, starting a band and jamming indiscriminately after traversing the waters via their father’s extensive music collection. What few may have expected was that by the time any of them reached their twenties, they’d have ticked several of the bucket list boxes for bands. They may have only formed in 2010, but they’ve played festivals all over, toured the other side of the world, and even performed on Later... with Jools Holland. A far cry from the humble room in which they began. It’s in 2015, though, that this culminates in a definitive work of sorts; their debut album ‘Dark Black Makeup’ marks them leaving behind their homeschooled roots and discovering the world on the road. “We wanted to do something different this time,” says bassist Isaiah Radke. “We wanted to actually experiment with some other sounds and work to our absolute limit to see what we could do.” Their musical influences broadened through this push for something new. “This time we were able to find some weird heavier stuff, some mellow stuff and some weirder things. We would jam and it would be a lot of gibberish with a melody and I would just listen to the recordings of that and we’d write lyrics to it for like hours.”
movies, some home-grown observations. “There’s stuff like Stanley Kubrick’s movies that really inspire the vibe, to have a few things that were pretty interesting to listen to or maybe some lyrics that would catch you. It’s things like that, just drawing people in to something that sounds sort of disturbing, so maybe you want to see it through and hear the rest of the songs, see where it goes from there.” Their title track is about youth wasting their potential, which seems a particularly interesting topic given Radkey’s trajectory through their own teenage years. “A lot of young people these days... not everyone, but there’s just a lot of waste. It seems that a lot of people are trying to be cool and doing whatever they feel they are supposed to do. It’s like mass-produced shit. If you could just be an individual and make your own decisions, you would spend more time doing what you want to do instead of sitting around being mad at some shit. Just disconnect from whatever’s towing you down.” Just one listen to their album showcases
command attention when they’re playing from their erratic and free-flowing stage presence.You never know what’s going to happen next, but you’ll definitely stay to find out. “We’re really excited. We did the festival tour last year and we’re really stoked to get to do it again. It’s a pretty crazy experience - we’ve never done Reading & Leeds or anything like that, so we are pretty stoked. I watch live Iron Maiden DVDs and stuff like that,” he adds, on how they prepare for taking their show to that next, festival level. “You have that archived in your brain, so you’ve kind of seen that big crowd before and you’ll make sure you won’t be really boring.” Radkey’s live shows are notoriously raucous and well-received, so much so that it’s just as integral a part of the band’s identity as the music itself. “I think a live show is one of the most important parts of a band. We just sort of have fun and do whatever’s natural to us when we’re on stage. It feels right, and it seems to be working out.” Working out so well, in fact, that they’re returning shortly after their festival run for a UK tour from Brighton’s Green Door Store towards the end of October through to The Dome in London on November 5th. “We’re expecting to have a really good time. Last time was incredible, the time before was amazing, so hopefully this time can be even better than those.”
“It seems that a lot of people are trying to be cool; it’s like mass produced shit.”
They’re open about how they grew up limited the experience from which they could draw lyrical inspiration, so the album benefits from them reaching adulthood on the road, giving their stories a legitimacy they previously guessed at. “There was a lot of made-up stories,” Isaiah notes. “We didn’t have a lot of life experience, but now we have more to write about.You hang out, you play some shows, you meet new people, you meet girls. I feel that to really write a song about it, you have to go through the bad experiences too to really draw relatable, weird stuff.” That relatable edge they sought is tinged with a darker treatment, exploring themes from obsession and jealousy to regret and insecurity, some of which come from
ISAIAH RADKE the leaps that they’ve made over the years. They throw musical curveballs without a second thought, surprising the listener on top of drawing them in to these more mature stories they weave. It feels like a bold statement against mediocrity. “We want you be really excited for rock music in the future. We want people to hear this and be like we want more albums like this. Like it’s rock and it’s catchy and heavy.” There’s an element of disenchantment with the current standing of a lot of music, and that’s what they want to tackle head on: “We want people to hear it and think, ‘Fuck, finally!’” It’s a sentiment that’s evident in a live setting, and one that will dominate their sets at Reading & Leeds Festival. The brothers
It’s said that Radkey see music as a chance to articulate, a mode of pure expression, so, in its essence, what do they ultimately want to say? “Cut loose, relax and fucking party. Have a good time and don’t worry at all about what other people think about you and how you may look while rocking out. Just enjoy it all.”P Radkey’s album ‘Dark Black Makeup’ is out now.
RADKEY
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NECK DEEP
MAIN STAGE READING: FRIDAY LEEDS: SATURDAY
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NECK DEEP AREN’T TRYING TO REINVENT THE WHEEL, THE BAND EXPLAIN; THEY JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN. WORDS: SARAH JAMIESON.
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hen you think of pop punk, it’s easy to be instantly transported Stateside. Hanging out on a sun-drenched beach, heading to a pool party with red cup in hand, jumping in the car for a road trip to Warped Tour; it’s a genre that’s somehow come to embody an entire way of life. But what you probably don’t think of when putting on your favourite pop punk record is, well, North Wales. Wrexham quintet Neck Deep are doing everything within their power to change that. With their debut record ‘Wishful Thinking’, they laid the foundations. It’s with their forthcoming second effort, though, that they’re really making the genre their own. “We didn’t wanna change,” begins frontman Ben Barlow, on the essence of his band. He’s currently in the midst of Warped Tour, on an off-day during which there’s a party at “Mattie from A Loss For Words’ house.” Right now, Ben’s living the dream, and it’s all his. “We didn’t want to reinvent the wheel,” he goes on. With their new
full-length the band were just intent on being the absolute best version of themselves. “We just wanted to keep doing what we’re doing, and make music that we like. To make music that we grew up on, because that was the kind of music that made us fall in love with music, so we’re just trying to put our own spin on that.” For ‘Life’s Not Out To Get You’, they’ve done just that. Having decamped to Florida last year, the band found themselves working with the rather impressive trio of Andrew Wade, Tom Denney and A Day To Remember’s Jeremy McKinnon, who all offered a hand to have Neck Deep’s vision of direct simplicity come to life. “They’re pretty much responsible for A Day To Remember’s success and it’s pretty clear why, after working with them,” offers Ben. “Tom is just a riff machine!” he laughs. “We were actually meant to have a week just with Tom before we went into the studio with Jeremy and Wade, but he was really sick so we missed out on a couple of sessions. We got the bones of three songs out of him though. He gave us some ideas that he’d been working on and sometimes,
we’d just sit and jam something out, but yeah, he was awesome to work with. “Jeremy is awesome,” he continues. “He’s obviously a big figure within this world, and it was great to work with someone who has done as much as he has and accomplished. I trusted his judgement on a lot of things, but at the same time, he wasn’t too overpowering, he didn’t want to change our sound. He said from the beginning, ‘I want this to be a Neck Deep record. Anything you don’t like, let me know.’ We had a good rapport going on. Some of his ideas turned to be some of my favourite parts on the album. He was a super chilled guy, really humble. Wade’s just a genius and works super, super hard. All of them were just full of ideas, really nice dudes who were great to work with and seemed to just really get what we were about.” Together, the band were able to hone their songwriting skills and make real progress. Having previously only ever worked with Ben’s brother Seb taking on production duties, the change not only saw them stepping out of their usual environment in a less
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Live Marmozets O2 Academy 2, Oxford
“G
od damn it, isn’t music great,” comes the breathless realisation of Becca Macintyre three songs into Marmozets’ headline show at Oxford’s O2 Academy 2. It’s an unrelenting lesson that the Bingley five-piece take great pleasure in teaching again and again throughout the evening. The last time we saw Marmozets, it was during a sold out run of UK headline shows at the start of the year. Wide-eyed and triumphant, the band looked like they couldn’t believe their luck, but fresh from a run of international festivals, and with more before them, tonight they know exactly what they’re capable of. From the spotlight-searching introduction of ‘Move, Shake Hide’, the band leads the room in a frantic, intense celebration of acceptance. The floor is swaying under the movement of the engaged crowd. Later on, Josh Macintyre will pass out backstage from the heat. Burning through a roaring ‘Is It Horrible’, the scratched ‘Love You Good’ and the quivering ledge of ‘Particle’, the band are still as gloriously awkward as ever but are wearing it with an newlycrystalised confidence. Marmozets own the stage with an assured step. “Music, money and the world is a funny thing. We’re just trying to go the right way about it and we hope you guys can appreciate that,” reasons Becca moments before a pulsating ‘Vibetech’ once again turns crowd into united mass. It’s the first of a few comments angled towards the idea of selling out, but as the band air a two minute sneak peak of upcoming material – determined, lucid but with a wicked
Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett
sense of chaos about it – it’s the only crack in Marmozets’ rugged charm. “Wait till you hear the rest,” grins Sam Macintyre. With the end of a chapter looming, and recording penciled in for the end of the year, there’s a real sense that Marmozets are about to do something arching, transient and life affirming. Tonight, they’re already there. Ali Shutler
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